Gaea:
The Crusade has landed at
Fanilia, and preparations are ready for the journey ahead.
Gadis: "You men load
those creates carefully and those chests go to the Empresses rooms.
Allen walks into the
control room of the ship.
Allen: " Gadis, good to
see you. How are the preparations?"
Gadis: " Perpetrations
are almost complete Commander. But
after loading all of the empress's things I'm not sure if this ship will get
back off the ground."
With that said Gadis
flips his commander a salute and returns to work. As Allen leaves the ship he meets Millerna.
Allen: " Princess"
He bows, and then goes
down on one knee and taking her hand kisses it.
Millerna: " I was looking
for you. A convoy heading for Astoria
will take Aries and Celena back with it. Ceid left this morning. He
wanted me to tell you he regrets there wasn't more time to spend with you this
trip. And to invite you and Celena to
come to Freid when you are free.
Allen:" He understands
that something is wrong, but he will not mention it. I think he will be a great Ruler one day.
Millerna: " I know he
will. Hitomi foretold it."
As Allen turns away
Millerna thinks of the two of them 'Oh
Allen you and Ceid need each other.'
As late afternoon
approaches the Crusade awaits one passenger before it can set sail. Finally Empress Terrial arrives. She is greeted by Van, with Merle close by
his side.
Terrill: "I didn't expect
her to accompany us."
Van: "I didn't want your
honor to be questioned by traveling without a companion."
At the word companion
Merle's tail fur raises. She leans over
speaking low so only Van hears her.
Merle: "I never thought
I'd say this, Lord Van, but I will get even with you for this. Then she turns to Terrial and motion's to
her to follow.
Merle: "Come your "Lady
shipppp" I think you need to rest in your cabin."
Terrial throws her head
back as if to protest, then thinks better and follows Merle from the room. They head for her room.
The Crusade is traveling
through the night sky toward Fanilia's eastern boarder. Van sits on the floor thinking. They are close to the place Van left
Escaflowne earlier. How will he capture
the dragon. How will they even find it. So many questions.
Dryden is pouring over
charts and text still trying to figure out when the eclipse will take place. Unlike the passing of the Firestar, which occurs
once each hundred years, eclipses have never been charted with such accuracy.
Dryden: " I don't know
why I can't figure it out. When is the
dam thing going to happen.
Mr. Mole is sleeping in
the corner of the room. As usual no one
knows when or how he ended up on the Crusade. He rouses and looks at Dryden.
Mr. Mole: " The eclipse
you say. Let's see blue moon 3rd
day. Why?"
Dryden: "Are you sure? How do you know.?"
Mr. Mole: "I'm a mole
remember. I make it my business to know when there is going to be a little
extra darkness."
The Crusade in
anchored. Stopping for the night to
give crew and passengers a rest. Van
opens the ramp in the guymelth bay and hops out onto the ground. He heads in the direction he left
Escaflowne. He knows that Escaflowne
will obey his thoughts and would have come to the ship under its own
power. But he feels the need to get
out. Just for a second he feels sorry
for Merle stuck with the job of keeping the Empress occupied.
Van reaches Escaflowne
and places his hand on the chest crystal to open the cockpit. As he is about to climb in the energist
starts to resonate. A bright pillar of
light descends through the night sky.
Van: "Hitomi!"
He rushes forward thinking
that Hitomi has come back to him. Back
when he needs her so very much. It's
not her, he realizes as two people are in the pillar holding tight to each
other. As their feet touch the ground
the pillar of light vanishes. Ukuari
opens her eyes and together with Amano, she looks up in the sky. There is both the moon and the earth above
them. The sound of someone approaching,
the two turn not knowing who or what they will be facing. What they see is Van approaching (they
recognize him from the track, when he took Hitomi back to Gaea) and behind him
the giant Escaflowne.
Van: " Allen?"
Amano: "My name is Amano, and this is Yukari. We remember you from the track when you
returned to Earth for Hitomi."
Amano holds out his hand,
there is a feather in it. Van's white
feather, the one he gave Hitomi. Van
reaches out and takes the feather into his own hand.
Yukari: " Van please help
us. Hitomi is in Trouble!"
Van stands there
astounded. Hitomi is here in Gaea. He should have known, felt her.
Van: "Hitomi is in
danger? But how, where is she. Did she send you for me? Tell me."
Amano: "We don't know
much, but we believe she's here on Gaea. She must be."
Van: "We can't talk here,
you will return with me to the ship, there we can talk."
Van turns from the two
newcomers and returning to Escaflowne, enters the cockpit. It closes behind his and the giant guymelth
stands extending its hand to Amano, and Yukari.
Van: "Here hop on we must
leave this place. I'm sure other's have
seen the light and will come to investigate."
Amano and Yukari climb
aboard the giant's hand and are lifted up as Escaflowne leaves.
It takes only moments to
reach the ship. As Van enters the
guymelth bay, the others have already gathered there waiting for him. Van sets the two strangers down before
emerging from Escaflowne.
Allen approaches the two,
his gazes fixed on Amano. The strangers
clothes are like nothing he has seen before, well almost never before. Could this be the man from the Mystic Moon? "How eerie it is, this man could almost be
me."
Allen: " How are these
people? Were they the reason for the pillar of light we saw?
Van: " They are friends
of Hitomi's brought here from the Mystic Moon. Hitomi is here on Gaea."
Allen: " What, here but
how can that be? Where is she."
Van: "I don't know. I thought it wise to bring them back
here. That pillar of light was probably
seen for miles. I didn't think we should
stay there out in the forest to talk."
Merle enters the bay,
stretching, extending her claws. The
two strangers are staring at the cat woman. She knows at once they must be from the Mystic Moon. Only those people surprise that easy.
Merle: "Yes, I think all
of Gaea saw that light, except her ladyship. She wears a black mask over her eyes and snores too. I had to get away for a while. Glad I came. Who are these people? There from the Mystic Moon aren't they."
Van: " Yes they are. This is Amano and Yukari. We will all find out why they are here soon
enough, but not here, someplace a little more private. Merle get Dryden and Millinera."
Everyone is gathered in
Dryden's makeshift study. The very same
room Dryden used all those years ago to read Allen's father's journal.
Amano: "Then she screamed
and was gone."
Dryden: "This comet you
talk about, it must be the Firestar. I
can't believe that the disappearance of Hitomi and the appearance of the
dragon's shadow are just a coincidence."
Van: " What are you
saying? That who ever brought forth the
dragon took Hitomi. Why?"
Allen: " She does have
the Power of Atlantice. Van you must
have thought of trying to bring her here. To help defeat the dragon."
Van: " Yes I did, but I
couldn't put her in that kind of danger again. So I didn't try."
Allen: "Someone may have
wanted to be sure that you couldn't."
Yukari: " I don't
understand, Hitomi told us about when she was here, but you make her sound as
if she were dangerous. Like she's some
kind of wepon."
Millerna: " To some
extent she is. Dornkirk used her power
and it almost caused the destruction of Gaea."
Yukari: " There is also
something else. I don't know if it is
important, but Mrs. Kanzaki, Hitomi's mom sent her duffle bag. She doesn't believe Hitomi will return home,
to earth."
Her voice grows so low
it's almost a whisper. Her eyes
expressing the fear she feels for her friend. She gathers her control and continues.
Yukari: "Van, Hitomi's
mom had a dream. In it a beautiful
woman told her Hitomi would not be returning. Mrs. Kanzaki said the woman had the wings of an angle."
Van: " Mother"
Allen: "It's late, we
must all get some sleep. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow. Now we must not only find the dragon, but
Hitomi as well. We might even hear news
of a foreigner she would stand out. The way she dressed always brought up
questions."
Merle: " Speaking of
foreigners those two have Mystic Moon written all over them."
Millerna: " Not for long,
with a change of clothes, and a story or two, they will be Allen's cousin and
his wife. They joined up with us during
the night.
Amano puts his arm around
Yukari leaning close and whispering in her ear.
Amano: " Wife, Nice
Idea."
