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…

Conflicting Emotions

"What do you mean 'she's gone'?!" Kenji's dark brown eyes searched her green ones with alarm.

"I'm sure she's safe," Hitomi lied, trying to calm her younger brother. And perhaps herself. "She's…"

"What, she ran away? Why would she do that? She couldn't have eloped?! What happened?"

"No, no…she didn't elope…she didn't really run away either…"

"What do you mean?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing. "Where is she?"

"I--It's…kind of…h--hard…to …to…explain… She…she's--"

"She's there. In the same world you were when you were her age, right?" Kenji cut her off. He started pacing back and forth. "When you disappeared, just like that. You were fifteen too, right? You were there one minute and gone the next. That must be where she is too, right? Right?!"

"Y-yes…Gaea…But I'm sure she's fine…"

"This is nuts! What the heck am I supposed to tell Reika? That we have this 'family curse' and now our daughter's gone?! Damn it!" Kenji cursed between his clenched teeth. "It's a good thing she stayed with her mother for a while, but she's gonna come back. What am I gonna tell her then?!" Then he stopped. "I want her back." He turned to her, his face hard. "I want her back. And I want her back NOW!"

"Kenji…I…"

"I knew this would happen!" Kenji resumed his pacing. "I always knew something was terribly wrong with the girls in our family! I remember mother telling me about what happened to grandmother. The same happened to you. And now, Myaku! She's just fifteen, for goodness' sake!" Ken looked at her, his face looking old and haggard. "Where is she? I want her back!" He neared Hitomi and grabbed her arms. "Find her! Do something! Go back…to wherever that place is…go back and get her!" He shook her, his eyes wild.

"Ken! You're hurting me! Let go!" Hitomi cried, shaking her brother's strong hands off her. "Stop acting as if something bad has happened to her! For all we know, she might be having the time of her life!" Hitomi heard herself add with a tone of jealousy. She looked away, embarrassed at her unexpected burst of emotions.

Kenji smirked. "Oh, so you're jealous now, huh? If you love that place so much, then why did you come back? No, correction. YOU came. The Hitomi I know never came back. She was replaced instead with a…a clone. A very bitter clone. Oh, sure. At first it seems like nothing changed. But it did. YOU did. You were always staring off to space, like some sort of love-struck teenager. Then, when we told you about it, you started being so touchy. You were always thinking, as if you're trying to decide some life-and-death situation. That's when your clone came in. She couldn't seem to do anything without sighing. She's always sad. Always crying at night. She didn't even marry! I don't want my daughter to end up just like you when she comes back. I don't want her to become bitter like you!"

A hand came flying to his cheek. Tears streaked her pale face. He closed his eyes for a second, then slowly walked out of the room.

Hitomi collapsed, sobbing, the moment the door closed. She cradled her tear-stricken face on the palm of her hands, her whole body shaking.

"I'm sorry…" she cried. "I'm so sorry…"

~~~***~~~

The guymelef took a shaky step forward, then lurched suddenly to the other side.

"Heh! This is almost too easy!" Dilandau snickered. He raised the other hand of the Alseides, releasing its metal fingers directly to the staggering Escaflowne.

His attack was blocked by another guymelef, a familiar blue one.

"Allen Shezar!" Dilandau scowled. "You're always getting in my way!"

"I don't want to hurt you, Dilandau," Allen's muffled voice warned from inside the Sherazade.

The boy's frown turned into an evil grin. "Oh, yeah? But that doesn't mean I won't kill you…DIE, ALLEN SHEZAR!" Flame shot out from the red guymelef.

Escaflowne suddenly rose, only to stumble down again, but bringing the Sherazade down with him, escaping the hot fire by mere seconds.

Dilandau was about to let another one go when he heard a static voice.

"Enough, Dilandau," a male voice boomed through one of the connections. "Bring the girl back."

"Just a few more…" he muttered unconsciously, as he shifted into invisible mode again. Escaflowne stood up unsteadily, sword drawn in front of him, searching desperately for his enemy.

"Now, Dilandau," the stern voice warned. "NOW."

He growled, but followed the command nonetheless. But not before firing hot flames all over the city. "We'll meet again, Allen Shezar!" he managed to scream before soaring back to their floating fortress, followed by his faithful subordinates.

~~~***~~~

"What did you do?!" he asked angrily, as small drops of water fell from the dark sky. "You're not even Crowned Prince yet! How could you have waken Escaflowne?! You have no idea what you got yourself into! And where did you get the drag-energist?"

"Well, what did you expect me to do?!" he retorted, jumping down from the mecha. The rain was falling faster now. And harder. Clouds of smoke could be seen floating upward, battling the downpour. "The whole city was burning and YOU were nowhere to be found! Some king you are!"

Van sank his fist on his son's face. Basil reeled a few steps back. He wiped the small stream of blood from a corner of his mouth with his damp fist. He looked disgustedly at Van.

"Stop it, you two!" Merle's voice intervened. "This is no time for fighting! Most of the citizens were evacuated, and are now in the palace, but they need help."

"She's right," Allen called out, still inside his guymelef. He lowered the Sherazade's hand. "Hop on."

"No, thanks, I have my own," Basil started to climb his way back to the still lying Escaflowne.

Van scoffed. "That is if you could learn how to pilot him," he muttered as he himself climbed onto the 'melef's hand. The Sherazade's other arm was a few feet above him, shielding his head from the downpour.

"He was just like you when you were his age, Lord Van," the blue eyed cat woman reminded him with a chuckle, as she jumped in beside the King. "And he was just trying to do what he thought was his duty, as a prince."

Van just folded his hands in front of his bare chest. Nature was doing its best to quench the raging fire eating almost half of Fanelia. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was right. It was his recklessness that destroyed his beloved city once again. He surveyed what was left of his Fanelia. Blood boiled inside him. It took years for his kingdom to regain its splendor. Countless hours of heavy labor. Sweat and blood of the Fanelians were sacrificed to the mend the country that was destroyed by Zaibach. All the money, the hard work--gone with mere minutes that he was away. Then he remembered the girl. She looked so much like Hitomi.

"Hitomi's niece…" he mumbled unconsciously.

"What?" Merle peered at him. "Lord Van?"

Van was snapped out of his reverie. "The pillar of light brought another girl from the Mystic Moon," he told her. "Hitomi's niece. Myaku Kanzaki."

Merle was speechless for a second. Then she looked at him sadly. "You were there, weren't you, Lord Van? You thought…I'm sorry…" she mumbled, looking away.

"Nonsense," Van tried to sound indifferent. "Allen, we have to rescue her. We owe it to Hitomi." He felt a dagger through his heart when he mentioned her name.

"You're right," Allen glanced at the King from inside his guymelef. He knew what Van was feeling. But a question was inside his head. How could we rescue Hitomi's niece without harming my sister?

~~~***~~~

Her eyelids were heavy. She felt the metal hand holding her limp body release its grasp on her, and she was falling. Her eyes flew open and a scream escaped her dry throat. Then she felt strong arms catch her, stumbling a few moments before standing steadily. She looked frightendly at the young man, before he guided her down on her own feet. He has a ridiculous light pink hair, matched with cold, dark brown eyes, with the slightest flecks of gold. He was wearing a blue armor, just like the others beside him. She was still a little light-headed, and was blinking rapidly when she noticed someone stop in front of her. She looked up, only to find her face inches away from a young man with silver hair and blood red eyes. Her own emerald ones widened, and she took a few surprised steps back. She stumbled and fell hard on her bottom. She realized she was still holding her backpack. She glanced up meekly at the young man in a red armor in front of her, who was now laughing hard. She quickly stood up, holding her bag close. He stopped laughing and studied her for a moment. Then his eyes narrowed.

"Wait a minute…you're not the same girl!" he exclaimed. He moved around her, studying her closely. "You have the same clothes, same hair," he muttered as he stopped in front of her. "BUT YOU'RE NOT HER!" He slammed the palm of his hand on the pale face of the bewildered girl. She heard a vein snap when her head was turned suddenly to her right. She stumbled a few steps before landing back down on her rear. Her breath came in small gasps. She didn't dare move.

"Is that any way to treat a lady, Dilandau?" a male voice chided.

Dilandau scowled at the dark purple-haired man who knelt in front of Myaku, offering her his hand. "A very beautiful lady, at that." He smiled, his amber eyes showing no signs of real warmth.

Myaku hesitated for a moment, then placed her hand on top of his palm, allowing him to help her up. "You," he pointed to the men in line, "Escort the lady to her quarters, at the right wing. She is to be treated as a guest, and not a prisoner," he said pointedly.

"Yes, Lord Janus," they replied in one voice.

Myaku looked curiously at the man, who turned his back on her and was talking quietly to Dilandau, who was still eyeing her.

"This way," the man with the pink hair told her, holding her by the elbow. She nodded and walked silently, surrounded by the young men in blue armors.

~~~***~~~

She heard a voice. It was a soft voice of a woman, and she was singing. She opened her eyes, but she couldn't see anything. She was surrounded by darkness. She listened closely to find the direction of the voice. She looked at her left. Then a strong light burst out, momentarily blinding her. She shielded her eyes with her hands and half-closed them. Then the light slowly turned to normal. She opened her eyes, and dropped her hand to her sides. Then she gasped. She was inside a pink sphere, on top of the highest building of the city. She could see everything that was happening down. But what surprised her was not what was below her; she stared at the beings above her.

…Angels…Is this…heaven?…Am I dead?…

Then her emerald eyes widened. In one quick movement, darkness enveloped the whole city. She saw the glorious beings fall down, one by one, to the ground. Darkness was eating up the whole area, destroying homes and buildings, and killing every living creature. Her hand went up to her mouth, to stifle a scream. She closed her eyes, in a blink, and when she opened them, a new sight was before her.

It was the same place; she was still in the same tower. But below her, she saw her aunt, at age fifteen, at the gate of the destroyed city. She was reading the inscriptions as if they were her native tongue. Then a fog covered her view. Aunt Hitomi! She tried to call out to her aunt, but she couldn't see anything. She pressed the palm of her hands onto the pink crystal surrounding her, trying to free herself. But she moved them away, as if burnt, when the glass around her started to glow. She looked around her in panic, but saw nothing but the glowing crystal. She felt a hot light envelope her body, once again floating in air. She closed her eyes, and allowed the light to take her. Then she felt the warm light disappear, replaced by the cold darkness. She opened her eyes, and found herself in front of a woman with her back turned on her. She couldn't see her face, but she could hear her voice. It was the same voice. The one singing. She couldn't understand her song; she couldn't hear it clearly. Then the woman faced her. As she did, a pair of red wings erupted from her back.

You're the Key…

Myaku searched the face of the woman, but saw none. All she could see was a blurred form of a woman with long dark hair and dark red wings.

You're the Key…

What? What do you mean? Myaku stepped closer to the woman, hoping to see her more clearly. But nothing changed.

You're the Final Key…

Then she heard other voices. Singing the same song. She looked around but saw no one. She turned her eyes back at the woman in front of her, but found nothing but darkness. And a blood red feather, floating above her. She stretched her arm, following the feather with her gaze as it slowly descended onto her palm. But the moment its light material brushed her fingertips, everything went black.

~~~***~~~

She opened her eyes slowly. Light was spilling from the velvet curtains. Then her eyes focused on something in front of her. Her eyes widened, and she bolted up into sitting position.

Deep red eyes were watching her silently. They stayed like that, staring at her deep green ones, for a few seconds, and then they closed. The woman stood from a chair beside Myaku's bed, her long jet-black hair flowing behind her.

"I brought in your breakfast," she said in a soft voice. "I shall return later."

Myaku looked at her, noticing for the first time a red symbol on her forehead, partly hidden by her ebony bangs. It was composed of two lines: a long vertical one, and a shorter horizontal, intersected at a point, slightly above the middle of the vertical line, forming a cross.

No, it's not a cross…

Three of the edges of the lines were rounded, but the lower part of the plumb line was pointed.

It's a dagger…

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