Disclaimer:
I own everything except Gundam Wing, Escaflowne, and all related places and characters.

Authoress Note: You all very confused now? Well, this chapter won't clear much up. In fact, it might only confuse you further...

Tama-neko: Confuse them? What about us poor muses?? We helped *write* it and we're still confused...

Heero-Plushie: *deathglare*

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Elements of Destruction: Chapter 1

Changing Worlds

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Eighteen years later...

The gentle breeze swept in from the east, blowing through the cheery blossoms, rustling the tall grasses. A young woman sat on one of the gently rolling hills, surrounded by fields of flowers, and in the shade of a tree. She had dark blond hair and gentle emerald eyes. The woman was dressed in loose jeans and a T-shirt, with a duffel bag to her side. Her name was Hitomi Kanzaki.

She let out a long sight, and fell back onto the grass, staring at the clear blue sky above. She rested her head on her duffel and thought I don't want to go... She took in a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Why did I even apply? Hitomi had recently applied to a college in England, and had, much to her surprize, been accepted. She'd only been to England once, on a trip to visit her old friend and onetime crush, Amano. It was cold and dirty there, in her opinion. Of course, Tokyo was no less polluted, but she loved her home and would make any excuse to stay. If she ever were to leave Japan, it would be for...

Gaia

The thought conjured images of beautiful cities, dragons, bloody battles, black hair, ruby eyes, and white feathers. His smiling face flashed thought her mind. She saw him standing before her. Behind him, off to the side, was Allen, his long blond hair blowing in the wind. She could see others behind them. Was that Chid? And was she Millerna? Hitomi couldn't be sure because of the great distance between them. Oh, I miss you all so much... I wish I could be with you now... she thought.

They all disappeared in a white flash, except for Van. She felt herself float above the ground. Her eyes shot open and she quickly grabbed her duffel bag. Looking up into the column of light that now surrounded her, she smiled. There he was, waiting for her, reaching out his hand to her. She suddenly noticed that he was wearing jeans. They didn't have jeans on Gaia. A horrible felling of doubt stole over her. She got close enough to see that his hair was not black, but rather a chocolate brown, and his eyes were a deep, dark blue.

"Relena!!" he yelled.

Her eyes widened in shock.

That's not-

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Van Fanel, King of Fanelia, splashed ice cold water on his face, fully awakening himself. He tried to shake the strange dream out of his head, but those soft green eyes refused to leave him. He couldn't afford to think about the Seeress from the Mystic Moon. Now he'd be distracted all day. Van threw on one of his old comfortable shirts, and strapped his sword to his belt, unable to stop thinking about her.

Van was King, and therefore had a lot of things to worry about, and getting a queen and heir was one of his more pressing concerns. He knew he was in love with Hitomi, he'd known it since the day she left, when he felt her being pulled from his arms by the magic light. Fortunately for him, if not for his kingdom, most of the eligible princesses had heard the story of the King of Fanelia and his love, the Seeress from the Mystic Moon. They were also all hopeless romantics, and thought that it was so sweet that the two of them had fallen in love. Therefore, they all gave him room, and only went through the motions of trying to win Van's heart, to please their fathers. Instead, they focused their efforts on other single princes and kings. He was quite amused when, while dancing with one of the young ladies, they would ask how Lady Hitomi was doing.

Van shook sharply his head again, and marched out of the room. He headed for the stables, enjoying the brisk pre-dawn air. After a short greeting to the stablemaster, Van mounted his favorite stallion and set out for the Fanelian forests for his morning ride. The horse galloped around the woods, jumping streams and narrowly missing trees, grateful for the exercise. Van used this time to think about anything that crossed his mind, except for her.

To get his mind off of that which was tearing up his heart, he thought about the rather disturbing news that his spies brought him the night before. Van would trust the messenger and spy with his life, and with his kingdom. Van held few people in as high regard as this one. Van, therefore, could not doubt her word.

Asturia was preparing for war.

As best as the young woman could tell, they were fortifying all of their borders, especially those on the embattled land of Zaibach, where, after three years, civil war still raged. More disturbing, Asturia was putting a special emphasis on the borders with Fanelia.

Zaibach was of no concern to Van. It was powerless in its current state of infighting, and it was too closely watched by every country on Gaia. They would not start another Fate War.

Which did not mean that no one else would. He couldn't think of why anyone would wish to control Fate, but not everyone had the experience in meddling with greater powers that he did. Besides, no one ever really understands the bad guy anyway.

What did concern him was the fact that the normally peaceful land of Asturia was raising armies. Now that Millerna was Queen, he could not imagine Asturia going to war.

Van's musing were interrupted by the horse, its constant movement stopped. The creature was scared. Van patted its neck, comforting it, as he scanned the woods and sky around him. A dragon, perhaps...?

A column of light, a sight that Van knew all too well, appeared in the sky not far from him. His eyes widened. "Hitomi!" he whispered, and urged to horse closer to the light. When the animal refused to budge, Van jumped off and ran full tilt through the trees, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

He burst into a clearing just as the last wisps of the divine light faded into the pre-dawn darkness. On grass before him lay a still figure. It was female for sure, but her long blond hair masked her face.

Van dared not break the silence. He walked over and knelt in the dew-soaked grass by the girl. She groaned and tried to push herself up, but when Van reached out to help her, her arms buckled and collapsed under her. The young king quickly took the girl in his arms turned her over. He gasped. This is not Hitomi! he thought, as her eyes, her blue eyes, fluttered open.

"He...Heero..." she whispered, looking up at him. Then her eyes closed again. Van had no idea who or what this 'Heero' was, but he didn't care. He gathered up the limp body in his arms and found his horse. Mounting it, he took the second girl from the Mystic Moon back with him to Fanelia.

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Sakoto ran across the open field, laughing and jumping. Leaping as high into the air as humanly possible, and then still further on the wings of magic, she intercepted a large leather ball. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she set off at a dead run. Her eyes were bright with her success, and she let out a loud whoop. In all of her 15 years, she only managed to catch the ball a few times. She continued to run forward, her goal coming ever closer, until her foot caught on a large rock. Sakoto felt her ankle twist, quite painfully, father than it was ever meant to, and she fell to the ground.

Or, rather, she would have fell to the ground, had not a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind, sweeping her off of her feet. But, unlike the ancient cliche, her savior didn't set her down gently afterwards. Rather, she was lifted farther from the ground, until she was at least several dozen feet up. She was not scared at all, knowing full well who had caught her. Sakoto's stomach fell as she was deftly tossed free of the arms, only to be caught again in a more comfortable position.

"You have to be more careful." a young voice reproached. She smiled at the young man sweetly.

"I caught the ball." she said, still proud of her achievement.

"Winning the game is nothing if you get hurt." he said, his dark hair whipping in the wind. Sakoto pouted at him, her mismatched eyes twinkling.

"Kaoru, I can heal myself." she said. He flapped his broad white wings, heading down towards the ground. He landed and sent her down gently. Standing up straight, he pulling in his wings, a mark of his draconian heritage.

"That's no excuse for being careless." he knelt to inspect her ankle. Another draconian, a younger boy with blond hair, flew overhead. Sakoto deftly tossed him the leather ball that she had intercepted earlier. He caught it, and flew back to where the rest of the youth of their draconian tribe waited.

"You're much too overprotective." she continued their never-ending argument. She reached down and gently touched her twisted -no, broken- ankle. Kaoru placed his hand over hers, covering the red and swollen joint.

"You're much too reckless." he countered, a smile touching his lips. He was always practical, putting safety first. Sakoto, on the other hand, was a thrillseeker, who always loved a good adrenaline rush, regardless of the consequences. She was quick to anger, her personalty was as fiery as her long red hair. The two of them made quite a pair, their differences only enhancing their relationship.

His cautious nature had saved her from injury many times, but if it weren't for her willingness to plunge into the unknown, she would never have found the little boy with the broken wing all those years ago. It was because she was exploring so deep in the forests that she escaped the slaughter that took her family from her. She had heard the legends of the cursed people, the draconians, but that only drew her to him. The little human girl help him nurse his wing and the leg he had broken in the fall, drawing on her inborn magic talents. In return, when she found her family dead, he offered her a shoulder to cry on, and asked her if she wanted to come to live with his tribe, if he ever found them. His mother was only too glad to agree, when they were found in a cave a week later, and adopted the three year old child.

Whispering words of power, Sakoto pulled energy from the soil beneath her. Her ankle was enveloped in a faint green light, and the bones returned to their natural locations, kitting together.

The energy dissipated. Kaoru, being the gentleman he was, stood up, and held out a hand to her. She took it, and pulled herself to her feet. She then leaned against his chest, exhausted by first the game and then the spell.

One of their winged friends swooped overhead, narrowly missing Kaoru. "Go back to the camp!" he called. "The elders called for you two." Kaoru and Sakoto nodded their thanks to him, before Kaoru lept into the air, carrying her to the cluster of tents hidden by the thick forests.

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Well, we have some new characters, and some shuffling of character location occurs. I'll have more ready soon!! *hugs*

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-Ayanami_Chan
ayanami_rei@softhome.net
http://go.to/ayanami_shrine