Escaflowne: The Legacy

By coolpriss

…A girl in search of her identity…a puissance quietly bidding its time…as it awoke, it claimed her…she who lacks in spirit…yet holds their hearts…

A Mysterious World

The bright light blinded her eyes. She decided to close them. Her mind drifted off to what her aunt told her.

…far away…in a place called Gaea…

~~~***~~~

He was sitting on the balcony of the castle. As always, he was staring thoughtfully at the Mystic Moon. The air smelled warm and cold at the same time, sign of a brewing storm. He could hear faint thunder rolling like voices of angry gods. He closed his eyes.

It has been quite a while…quite a while now…

He could feel the gem under his shirt glow. The warmth of the pendant tickled him. With his eyes still closed, he wrapped his left hand on the small stone and thought of her. Her light brown hair. Her emerald green eyes that seems to see right through his very soul. Her smile that always makes his heart melt. Her skin, her touch. A wistful smile formed on his weary face. He felt the pendant grew hotter and hotter.

Light came from behind his closed eyes. He tried to open them, and then he saw it. The very same pillar of light that brought her to his world. The very same pillar of light that took her away from him.

Could it be…

Van jumped up from his seat on the balcony railing.

The light came from that forest. But that forest's too thick. I can't find her now, especially since its already dark. But I have to see her now, I need to. There is no other choice.

Van climbed onto the same place he sat earlier. He looked down. He started to lean forward, his arms embracing the wind, and let himself fall. He then, closed his eyes, and let the pair of silvery white wings spread from behind him. A snow of feathers surrounded him when he opened his reddish dark brown eyes. He was now soaring in the sky, a mixture of anxiety and determination on his handsome face.

I'm coming, Hitomi…

~~~***~~~

She felt her feet touch the soft ground. But she still didn't open her eyes. She let her knees sink on the grassy earth underneath her. She was tired…so tired…

~~~***~~~

He was leaning on his on his arms, against the wooden table of his quarters when he saw the light. He looked outside his window. No, he wasn't dreaming. There it was. Again. After all these years. She has come back.

He slowly made his way to the command center of the ship.

"Seen that, Boss," asked his second in command, and good friend. "It's been a while since we last saw her."

Allen Shezar nodded with a small smile. "Change course for a while. Let's check that one out."

"Knew you'd say that," Gaddes chuckled as he turned the steering wheel swiftly to the left.

~~~***~~~

A few minutes passed. She didn't dare move. She tried to open her eyes again, this time slowly. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the dark surroundings.

Where am I? Is…is this…Gaea?

She looked towards the cloudy night sky. The moon was hanging majestically on the expanse of the heavens. But it wasn't alone. She also saw the Earth, just around the moon.

What? Hey, wait a minute. Wasn't that exactly like the one in my dream? So…this IS Gaea…?

~~~***~~~

He saw her. He couldn't be mistaken. It had to be her. The same unusual clothes…the same light brown hair…only now, it has grown up to her shoulders, with their edges softly pointing outwards…

"Hitomi!" he whispered, his heart beating wildly.

Then his exited face paled. He saw her glance up at the sky. It was then, he saw her eyes. The very same emerald green eyes…but something was different…something was not right…

~~~***~~~

She saw something move from behind her. She stiffened, watching carefully out of the corner of her eyes. She saw it again. This time she stood up quickly, turning around, her terrified emerald eyes darting back and forth from one man to the other.

"Hitomi…" she heard one of them call out to her. "It's me, Allen…don't you remember?"

Hitomi?

"She's not Hitomi," the other man told him.

"What do you mean, Van?" the first man looked back at her, this time studying her closely. She blushed as the man's azure eyes gazed at her, and decided to look at the other one instead. Long dark hair covered almost half his face, she couldn't see his eyes. His upper body was bare and his muscular form glistened with the light from the moon.

Van…?

"You're right. She's not Hitomi…but she looks just like her…" she heard the man with the long silvery blond hair whisper. Then he smiled and took a step forward. "It's okay…we're not going to hurt you…"

She took a few steps back. Confusion was still evident on the pair of emerald green eyes.

"Who…are you…where…what…How…how did you know…Aunt H-Hitomi…?" Myaku asked, her voice shaking, her hand balled in a fist around the sides of her skirt in an attempt to stop them from trembling.

The other man, the one called Van, blinked. He looked at her thoughtfully. "So, you do know Hitomi?"

"Y-yes…she's…she's my aunt…" her fright was very slowly evaporating. Somehow, she felt at ease with him. With them.

"My name is Allen Shezar, a retired Knight Caeli of the kingdom of Asturia," the owner of the azure eyes and long hair once again stepped closer to her. This time, she looked at him, baffled, but she didn't back away. "And he is Van Fanel, King of Fanelia."

"I…my…my…name is…Kanzaki Myaku…umm…you…you can call me Myaku," she stuttered, still a bit dazed.

Knight…king…? Maybe this is all just a dream… She decided to pinch herself, just to be sure. Her eyes watered as she silently realized she wasn't dreaming.

Suddenly, she felt something from behind her. She turned around just in time to see a giant robot unveil itself from nothingness.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a sneering voice from inside the mecha addressed the three.

"Dilandau," Van breathed as he hurried in front of Myaku, his sword drawn.

Myaku took a few more steps back. Allen was beside her, his hand on top of his still unsheathed sword.

"You're really not thinking of fighting me with that thing, are you, Van Fanel?" he continued, taking a giant step forward. He looked at the girl. "Hmm, looks like a reunion…now, ain't this the perfect timing?" he snickered. "I have the perfect present, too…" then he screamed, "Look, Van Fanel, your city is burning --AGAIN. How'd ya like that, huh, Van Fanel?" he laughed.

The three looked at the direction of Fanelia. Thick, dark smoke could be seen ascending through the already dark sky.

"Damn you, Dilandau! DAMN YOU!" Van cursed angrily as he leaped towards the mecha's cockpit, his sword high in the air.

"No, Van!" Allen tried to stop him, but was too late. Van landed hard on the ground as the robot flung its metal arm towards him.

Dilandau laughed harder, shifting into invisible mode. Van searched around him. He could detect the invisible guymeleves before -- Hitomi taught him how. But his anger was blocking his senses.

A loud scream from behind him made him turn towards the girl. He searched his narrowed eyes around the girl but saw nothing. He saw her try to run, but tripped on what looks like a parchment of some sort. She grabbed the thing and stuffed it in a bag and started to run again, but was suddenly lifted to air.

"Help! Help me!" the girl cried as she floated higher and higher.

"So long, Van Fanel… Allen Shezar…hope you liked my simple gift…" the sick laughter echoed through the dark forest.

~~~***~~~

He ran a gloved hand through his raven hair in frustration. Chaos was everywhere. Houses were burning. People are running in all directions. Children are crying. Invisible monsters are destroying his city and he couldn't do a thing. He slammed his clenched fist on one of the castle walls.

"Where is he?" he muttered angrily. "Where on Gaea is he?!"

He saw another one of Fanelia's guymeleves crash to the ground, destroying several properties that took years to be rebuilt. His dark red eyes flashed, and his jaw hardened. He ran to his room, on the far end of the palace hallway. He dived directly on his bed, and felt around under his pillows. He grabbed the circular object he was looking for and ran frantically outside the palace, into the temple on the opposite side. One of the advisers grabbed his hand and tried to stop him.

"My prince! What are you doing! You have to go back to the palace, immediately!" Hubert held on tightly on his right hand.

He jerked his hand away and glared at the light-haired man. "I'm going to save Fanelia!"

"Prince! Come back!" the royal adviser was about to follow him when a hand rested on his shoulder.

"No, Hubert," the tall, slender figure of a cat-woman stepped beside him. "He's going to save Fanelia."

"Merle?" his deep blue eyes looked curiously at his wife, then back at the running boy.

"He's just like him…" she mumbled, her long orange hair flying behind her. Then she blinked. "But how could that be…"

~~~***~~~

He resumed his pace, his right hand shielding his face from the falling debris everywhere. He grasped the item on his left hand tightly. He ran the temple steps two at a time. He felt a Fanelian guymelef covering him, trying to block the attacks of their invisible enemies. He reached the huge temple doors and banged the left side of his body in full force, in a hurried attempt to open the doorway. The left door slowly creaked open. He ran inside, just in time, as the Fanelian guymelef that was guarding him came smashing down the front steps of the temple. He stopped in front of a huge beast, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He gazed at the beautiful machinery in front of him. It was not yet his time, he knew. But he has to do something. With a determined look, he took off the leather glove on his left hand, and unsheathed his sword with his right. He ran the edges of his sword on the forefinger of his left hand. He watched as his blood made its way slowly down his palm, onto the pink sphere he had been holding. The energist on his hand started to glow. He noticed the patch of pink crystal on the huge guymelef glow as well.

"I, Basil Allbion de Fanel, prince of Fanelia, summon thee, Escaflowne…Arise and serve thy master!" he stepped close to the legendary guymelef, and placed the glowing energist in his hand into the fluid-like crystal on the left side of the machine. All at once, the beast's heartbeat echoed through the desert temple.

"It's alive…" he murmured as he entered the cockpit that opened the moment his hand left the mecha's heart.

~~~***~~~

"That's right, BURN!!!" Dilandau's shrill voice rang through the city. He laughed hard as he stroked the scar on his right cheek. He leaned forward and watched gleefully at the golden flames eating almost half of Faneila. Then a movement on the temple opposite of the castle caught his attention. A wall of the temple was blasted from the inside. He narrowed his eyes and faced that direction. He noticed a figure of a guymelef emerging through the smoke.

"What the…how could that be possible…"

~~~***~~~

Myaku slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't see anything through the smoke. Her head felt heavy, and she couldn't breathe. Then she remembered. Steel claws were still around her body, although she couldn't see them. She felt her feet slowly falling asleep. Tears were forming behind her deep green eyes. She blinked several times, trying to control them. Then she felt her body being swayed swiftly to the left. A small cry escaped her chaffed lips. Her frightened eyes surveyed her surroundings. She must be a few feet above the ground. Fire and smoke was everywhere. She could see dead bodies, half-burnt and lying limply on the ground. She could hear children crying, and the painful screams of people running for their lives. Then her eyes rested on what looks like a robot, a few feet in front of her. She gasped.

"It's that one…the one in my dream…Escaflowne…"

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