Esca Fantasy
Hello my lovely readers, here is the third chapter of my story, I hope you guys are enjoying it!
Freelancer47: Thank you for all your praises, I really love your reviews J and you're right, the Treppies are weird, I think they should be locked in a cage and then we can poke them with sticks! hehe.
Little fairy: Yeah Escaflowne and ff8 are the best! I think Millerna is good as Selphie too, I wasn't sure if she should be Quistis, but I decided it would be better if Merle played her for reasons that we find out later.
Kanja: Thanx for the review, I'm really glad that Van and Squall have similar personalities, otherwise this would be really hard to do. And about the Quezac thing, I did that on purpose, I hate the 'otyl' bit on the end, I think Quezac is much better!
Love Witch: Mega lucky! Does your brother really look like Van, I can't believe there can be any body in this world that does. Hitomi will be making her appearance in chapter 5, so not long now, Allen's lackeys appear in this chapter so you can find out now and Folken will be in this story but Cid is just going to be himself, Folken is going to be someone more important. Thanx for reviewing.
SabineballZ: you should definitely try and play it, it's the best game ever! Thanx for the review!
Esca-lover: you have to play it, it's a great game! Thanx for all the positive comments! And make sure you get chapter 9 out ASAP! J
Iesu: Thanx for the review, update your story soon k!
Thank you so much to all my wonderful reviewers *runs over and hugs you all* you really make me happy with your reviews and despite the hours and hours it takes to write this coz I gotta play the game and write down what they say as well and then type it up into a story it all makes it worthwhile when I read your lovely comments Thank you!
Previously on Esca Fantasy
After a few seconds of waiting a dry wind started to blow up from the pit, lifting small pieces of rock and rubble, followed immediately by a large column of fire shooting out from the ground, and from this fire came Ifrit, the Guardian Force of flame. He was a true beast GF, he had a large muscled body, covered in brown hair with a blazing red mane down his back like a streak of fire, razor sharp claws coming out his hands and large black horns protruding from his head. With his lips curled up in a snarl and dark eyes burning with rage, he looked truly menacing.
Van watched the intimidating display before him and taking a deep breath got into his fighting stance with his gunblade held out before him.
"Here goes".
Chapter 3
The Fire Cavern
Van raised his gunblade and charged towards the fire beast, he jumped into the air, swinging his blade down to strike, but Ifrit blocked the attack with one of his iron like horns and using a large powerful fist, he knocked Van to the ground with a hard punch. Van quickly jumped back up however and took another swipe at Ifrit, this time he struck him across his thick upper arm, cutting a long gash into him. Ifrit roared in pain, and using the same arm, backhanded Van, sending him flying back to where Merle was watching anxiously.
"You impudent humans!" Ifrit roared in anger. He leapt into the air towards Van who was still down, with one arm pulled back, ready to pound Van into the ground. Merle now decided it was her time to intervene. She quickly took her coiled chain whip from her side and swung it at Ifrit, causing a loud 'CRACK' to snap against his chest, throwing him off course, he landed a few feet away from Van. Merle jumped forwards, cracking her whip continuously at Ifrit, trying to keep him away from Van..
Van pushed himself up from the ground, his chest aching from the powerful blow and he watched as Merle held back Ifrit who was snarling furiously.
"Damn!" he thought as he stood up, "physical attacks aren't going to work against him, he's too strong" and he watched as Ifrit managed to dodge under one of Merle's whip attacks and grabbed her arm, throwing her to the side like a rag-doll where she slid along the rough ground.
"Merle!" he called out but she didn't move. Van's eyes narrowed and his brows pushed together in a frown; he was on his own now. While Ifrit was distracted he raised both his palms and concentrated, above Ifrit's head, a large, icy boulder, began to form and grow, Van then released it, crashing it down onto the fire beast's head. It left Ifrit feeling slightly dazed from the hard blow, but no where near defeated, it still wasn't powerful enough, despite being an ice attack and only heightened Ifrit's anger.
"You will pay human!" Ifrit snarled and he jumped into the air again and opened his mouth wide, baring his large sharp fangs and a blazing breath of fire erupted from his throat, headed towards the lone soldier. Van managed to jump out of the way of the fiery blast just in time, he turned around and looked at the black, scorched earth where he had just been. Van growled deep in his throat.
"Ice magic won't work either…..in that case….", he closed his eyes tight and a mysterious wind started to blow around him and from no where four misty blue lights appeared, streaking across the battle field and twisting around each other till they came together at one point, as soon as they touched the ground, a sharp stalactite shot up and as the mist rolled off of it you could see a woman encased within the cold ice. Her eyes flew open and the ice that surrounded her shattered into thousands of pieces that sparkled around her like diamonds. This was Shiva, the Guardian Force of ice. She had cold blue skin that faded from light to dark on her hands and feet, long blond hair that was separated into three locks and icy eyes that could freeze anything with her gaze, she was a GF that was shrouded in mystery.
She raised her arms out in front of her, her blue hands held out elegantly and a bright light gathered at the end of her finger tips, as the light grew she brought her arms up over her head, arching her back gracefully before swiftly shooting the light towards Ifrit. Ice, snow and a strong wind followed the light, freezing everything in its path, including Ifrit. Ifrit roared as the coldness bit into his skin. Then the ice shattered just as before and Ifrit fell to his knees.
"They….have Shiva", he panted, completely worn out by Shiva's powerful attack, "very well…I will….join you", he said bowing his head as his body disappeared and turned into a hand full of large blue lights that floated over to Van in large curving arcs before sinking into his body.
Van let out a breath of relief and smiled slightly, relaxing the tense muscles in his body. He sheathed his gunblade and turned towards Merle, who by now had recovered from her fall and was walking towards him, rubbing her sore head and wiping the dirt of her clothes.
"Well done, you succeeded in capturing Ifrit", she said, smiling proudly, "now let's get back to Garden, you need to be prepared for the field exam later". Van nodded his agreement and they left the Fire Cavern and made their way back to Balamb Garden.
***
"Once again well done", Merle said when they got to the front gate, "now change into your uniform and don't forget the field exam is at 1600 hours and we are meeting in the hall. Oh! And maybe you should go see Dr. Kadowaki and get her to look you over, Ifrit gave you some pretty hard blows, and you need to be in top condition for the exam." She advised.
"Yeah, ok", Van replied and Merle smiled.
"Good, well then I'll see you later." And she walked into Garden.
"Is he finally coming out of his solitary shell?" she thought, after his unusual answer.
Van then walked into Garden also and turned left to walk clockwise round the ring walkway, when he reached the infirmary block he stopped outside it and thought for a moment.
"I've spent enough time in there already today," he thought to himself as he continued walking.
"Maybe I'll go into the Quad for a bit and try to unwind before the exam", and he turned left down the next bridge walkway with the pink stripe on the floor and walked into the Quad. This was a beautiful area with trees and plants with subtle blue and yellow lights that shone around them, and with ponds and fountains of crystal blue water, like inside the main hall and there were dark blue, intricate, swirling patterns painted onto the silver floor. Van sat down on a bench under one of the trees and shut his eyes, feeling himself relax within the peace and serenity of the area.
"Excuse me, do you play an instrument?" Van opened his eyes and staring at him were two familiar amethyst orbs framed by wavy blond hair; it was the girl that had bumped into him earlier. Annoyed that she was disturbing his peace he shut his eyes again and laid his head on the back of the bench. "Come on don't ignore me." She said resting her hands on her hips, still he just sat there with his eyes closed, not acknowledging her at all.
"The nerve of this guy", she thought to her self huffily, "why does he have to be so rude? Hang on a minute, I recognise him", and she walked around to the back of the bench to look at his face that she couldn't see because he had his head back.
"Hey I know you, I ran into you by the classroom right?" Van sighed in submission.
"Yeah, that's right". He said and he opened his eyes again, but was shocked to see that she was leaning over him, looking down at him. Van suddenly felt very awkward and he sat forward, resting his arms on his legs. The girl walked back to the front of the bench and sat down next to him, with her feet tucked daintily to the side.
"Hi, I'm Millerna Sarah Aston, I recently transferred here from Trabia Garden", she said with a friendly smile, "and you are?"
"Man, she's bugging me again, well I suppose it can't hurt to tell her my name," Van thought to himself.
"My name's Van Fanel", he said, sitting back up and looking at her.
"Well hello Van Fanel. I'm on the executive committee for the garden festival. If you're interested come by and check out the stage, it's my dream to form my own band, of course I'll need four people….wanna join?" she asked eagerly. Van stood up from the bench.
"No thanx". He said bluntly and he walked out of the Quad. Millerna sat and watched him as he left.
"What is wrong with that boy?" she wondered as she got up and headed further into the Quad where the stage was.
***
When Van got to his dormitory he looked at the clock on the wall.
"I should probably get ready for the exam", he thought and he walked into his room. The dormitories were quite pleasant places to live. Van shared his with another student, but he didn't talk to him much, he didn't even know his name. The dormitories had a main sitting room with a table and a few chairs around it, a small kitchenette to the side as well as a small bathroom and two bedrooms; Van was glad of this, he didn't want to share a room with some one he didn't know. Van's room was quite plain, it had a simple orange tiled floor, a bed in the corner with a shelf next to it where he kept a few books, a small desk at the end of the bed and a cupboard to the side with a large window on the outside wall. Van changed into his blue student uniform, leaving the jacket undone with a white T-shirt underneath and attached his gunblade sheath to his belt. He then left his dormitory and walked back to the main hall.
***
Merle was standing by the directory in the main hall, looking over a few things on a clipboard she was holding when she noticed Van walking down the walkway.
"Van! Over here!" she called out. Van saw where she was calling from and walked over to her. "I'll be announcing the squad assignments for the exam now. Let's see….." she looked at the clip board in her hand, running her finger down a list of names, "you'll be with…….Dilandau Albatou, quite a lively fellow." Van put his hand on his hip and looked to the side in disapproval.
"Lively? He's just loud. Can't I switch members?" he moaned. Merle shook her head.
"I'm afraid that's not possible", then something behind Van caught her eye, "Over here! Dilandau!" Van turned around and saw a boy doing karate moves through the air. He threw a few punches to the left before doing a kick to the right, each move fast, powerful and accurate, he then went into a cartwheel followed by an impressive back flip, landing steadily on his feet. He twisted his upper body around to face his audience and gave a thumbs up sign, with a big grin on his face. He then walked over to where Merle and Van were standing, but stopped a metre or two short when he noticed Van.
Dilandau Albatou was a very cool student at Balamb Garden, he was the same age and height as Van, with flawless porcelain skin, blood red eyes and perfectly styled silver hair and also had an intricate black design tattooed down the left side of his face. He had the sleeves of his uniform jacket rolled up to his elbows and his collar hung open casually, and adorning his hands were a pair of black fighting gloves. He was very energetic but with a short temper and was known to act on impulse rather than reasoning. Dilandau entered Garden at the age of 13 with unsurpassed martial arts skills and was also known to have a small passion for fire.
"Whoa! I'm with you!?" he said in shock, looking at Van in amazement. He rubbed one of his sweaty palms oh his trouser leg and stuck his hand out for Van to shake, but Van just crossed his arms and looked away. Dilandau put his hand down after a few moments of holding it out and recovering from his shock returned to his cool facade. "You don't get along with Allen do you? I heard he whooped you pretty bad this morning". He said mocking taunt.
"We weren't fighting, we were training." Van retorted, not understanding why everyone was making such a big deal out of it, it seemed that Van and Allen's rivalry was always a hot gossip topic.
"I bet you he doesn't think so", he said smirking, "everyone knows that Allen is just a pain in the ass, all you have to do is ignore him", he said in his smooth and cool voice.
"That's none of your-"
"-business", Merle said, finishing his sentence again, "Ahem…" she said, to get their attention, they both turned around and looked at her, "Excuse me, but….that pain in the ass you're talking about….. He's your squad leader." Van and Dilandau both stared at Merle in disbelief, neither one could believe what they'd just heard. Coming out of his shock; Dilandau stomped the ground in anger.
"WHAT!?" he shouted. Merle shook her head.
"It can't be changed". She said apologetically but firmly. "Allen! Over here." Allen walked up to the small group, still wearing the grey trench coat and not his uniform. Following him were his two lackeys; Gaddes and Teo. Gaddes was tall like Allen, with dark blue hair and blue eyes, he wore a blue jacket with black trousers and boots. Teo was a well-muscled student, which meant that he was shorter than Allen and Gaddes, he had dark brown hair and eyes and wore a sleeveless green top; to show off his muscles with black trousers and boots.
"Gaddes and Teo tagging along as usual….Guess that makes up the whole disciplinary committee." Van thought to himself when they approached. They stopped in front of the group, Merle turned around to face them.
"Allen you're the Squad leader", she informed him, "You're all assigned to squad B. I'll be the instructor in charge, teamwork is of the utmost importance. Let's get through this exam everyone!" she said encouragingly.
"Listen up", said Allen, "Teamwork means staying out of my way. It's a squad B rule. Don't you forget it!" he said giving Van and Dilandau warning glares. Dilandau was shaking with anger, desperately wanting to punch Allen.
"Ok then everyone", Merle cut in, trying to avoid any trouble, "I wish all of you the best of luck".
"My dear instructor", said Allen in a suave voice, with one eyebrow slightly raised cockily, "I hate it when people wish me luck", behind him Gaddes and Teo were chuckling, "Save those words for a bad student who needs them eh?"
"Ok then", she replied calmly, "Good luck, Allen". Allen frowned, glaring daggers at her and growled in his throat.
"Gaddes," he said, not taking his gaze off Merle, "add instructor Trepe to the list."
"The list?…..What's that?" Van thought to himself, as he watched the confrontation before him.
"Everyone here?" came a warm, jolly voice, catching everyone's attention. A short, balding man, with a large belly wearing a red waistcoat over a white shirt with beige trousers walked up to them, his hands clasped behind his back. He had bright blue eyes, surrounded by wrinkles and framed with glasses that rested on his bent nose. His thin lips were curved into a smile. "It's been a while everyone, how's everyone doing?" he asked. This was headmaster Cid, he smiled warmly at the group. "This exam will involve twelve members from squads A through D….You will be proceeding to a real battlefield. Obviously, the battles are for real. Life and death, victory and defeat, honour and disgrace….Each of these go hand in hand. There's only one way or the other", he said, gesturing with his hands, "How bout it? Are you still up for it?" He said, testing their bravery and nerve, with a twinkle in his eye. "You will be accompanied by nine other SeeD members, should you fail, these members shall get the job done. They always do. At least that's one less worry on your minds. The pride of Balamb Garden! The elite mercenary force, SeeD!" He said in a loud and proud voice, "Learn from them, obey their commands and accomplish the mission. Prove yourselves worthy of becoming a member of SeeD. Best of Luck!" he said, bringing his long and inspiring speech to an end. On that note Allen walked of, with Gaddes and Teo following, Van and Dilandau followed soon afterwards, they all headed for the Garden car park in the North East block, when they got there they all climbed into the yellow Garden car, all except Gaddes and Teo. The trio waited a few minutes for Merle before they drove off, heading for Balamb Port in Balamb town. The inside of the car was very big, they sat on four purple chairs facing each other. Merle sat opposite Dilandau, with a straight posture and her hands resting on her lap, next to her was Allen, he had his arms resting on the back of the chair casually, Van was opposite him, sitting forwards with his elbows resting on his knees, as usual, deep in thought. After a few minutes of driving in silence Dilandau began to get restless.
"Hey Van, show me your gunblade, will you?" he said gesturing to the sheathed weapon at Van's side. Van just sat in silence, not responding to his request. "Come on, Man!"
"………."
"Just a peak".
"………."
"Fine", said Dilandau huffily, "Why you gotta be so selfish!?"
"………."
"Say something will you!?" he shouted in frustration, "What's on your mind?" Van sighed in annoyance.
"Why can't he just shut up and leave me alone?" Van thought to himself. Van decided to reply in the hopes that he would then stop bugging him.
"Nothing". Said Van and Merle in unison. Merle chuckled and Van just looked at her, unimpressed.
"Why does she keep doing that? It's really starting to get on my nerves", thought Van as the group fell back into silence, however, Dilandau got restless again, realising that trying to make conversation wasn't going to work he stood up and started throwing practice punches through the air.
"Stop that….." said Allen, "it's annoying…..", and he sat forward, leaning towards Dilandau with a smirk on his face, "…..Chicken."
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?" shouted Dilandau in a rage, getting into a fighting stance. Allen laughed to himself and Merle stood up with authority in her movements.
"Knock it off!" she said assertively and both of the boys backed down. She then sat back down in exasperation and shook her head. Dilandau sat back down and folded his arms staring at a corner of the passenger compartment, pouting.
"…..Instructor…..", said Van after more silence and he looked up at her. Merle turned to look at him questioningly. "Who was that girl in the infirmary this morning?" he asked. Merle looked up in thought and put her hand to her chin.
"Was there someone there? I didn't notice anybody else?" she looked back down at him, "Is there a problem?" he looked down, returning his gaze to the floor.
"No…..not really…." He replied simply. Allen chuckled to himself again.
"This is great….I have a chicken-wuss and a guy who just reached puberty in my squad…." He joked, chuckling more. Merle just put her hand to her head and let out a sigh from the stress and Dilandau shook with anger trying to control himself.
***
Soon afterwards they arrived at Balamb port and when the car parked up they all climbed out, and looked at their water vessel. It was floating gently on the small waves that lapped the side of the harbour. The harbour itself was only small, there were a few crates and boxes around but nothing much else.
"So that's the vessel?…." commented Van, nonchalantly.
"There's no turning back now," said Allen, who was starting to feel the adrenaline, excitement and anticipation of the battle ahead. He looked at Van who was still watching the vessel, an unreadable expression on his face, "You're not scared are you?" he asked Van, smirking. But Van didn't get a chance to answer as a Garden member called out to them from near the vessel. They both drew their attention to the voice.
"Hey! You guys are the last! Hurry up and get in!" it shouted. Allen turned back to Van.
"Don't disappoint me now." He said as he headed towards the vessel. Van stood there a while longer, his thoughts concentrated on the approaching exam; a real life battle. Merle got out of the Garden car and noticed Van standing, gazing at the vessel, obviously lost in thought.
"Come on, move it!" she called out to him, taking on the role of an instructor completely. He didn't acknowledge her when she called, he simply made his way to the vessel.
Up close he could see that it was a very smooth, streamlined shape and about the size of a bus it was painted dark blue/grey with a few subtle red and gold designs painted in various places, it was quite an elegant looking ship. He walked the stairs of a platform that jutted out from the harbour and entered the vessel through a door in its side where he found himself in a small room filled only with four chairs in a similar lay out to the Garden car, except these were separated with a small table down the centre, and on a wall to the right of the chairs was a large screen. Allen had already taken a seat on the right, nearest to the screen, Dilandau had done the same on the left, Van sat down in the chair next to Allen and Merle came in and sat opposite Van. Shortly afterwards a girl entered the vessel, closing it's door behind her, she then turned to face the group.
She was wearing the SeeD uniform and she had wavy, silver blond hair that hung down to her shoulders and bright, sapphire blue eyes that were friendly but also serious.
"Hi Merle", she greeted the pink haired instructor with a warm smile.
"Hi Celena" said Merle, standing up to greet her friend, "well, these are the members of squad B." She said, gesturing to the trio. This is Dilandau Albatou she said introducing the ruby-eyed boy. Dilandau stood up.
"That's me," he said coolly, while smiling and giving a casual wave.
"This is Van Fanel, " Merle continued, pointing to Van who stood up and saluted.
"Pleased to meet you." He said in formal politeness. Celena nodded her head in acknowledgment.
"Finally," said Merle looking up at the blond haired soldier, "this is-"
"-Allen," Celena finished for her, "How many times has it been now Allen?" she said sarcastically, not surprised at all that he was there.
"Oh, I just love these exams…." He replied casually, Celena simply shook her head in disbelief and turned to a more serious note.
"I will now explain the current situation and the mission," she announced as she made her way to the large screen. "Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom parliament. A request was made for SeeD 18 hours ago. Dollet has been under attack by the Galbadian army since about 72 hours ago," she explained as the screen behind her came on, showing a map of Dollet with little red and blue dots and arrows, representing the Galbadian and Dollet soldiers. "49 hours into battle, Dollet abandoned their position in the inner city. Currently they have retreated into the nearby mountains and are reorganizing their troops." She pointed to an area of the map, " That's the current status. Now onto the mission objective. According to our reports, the G-Army is mopping up the Dollet troops in the mountain region. We're to make a landing at Lapin Beach. We're then to eliminate the remaining G-Army soldiers within the city and liberate it A.S.A.P. Afterwards, SeeD members will intercept any G-Army forces trying to make their way into the city from the mountain region." She said in conclusion.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Allen asked.
"SeeD candidates are to eliminate the G-Army inside the city." She informed them.
"Sounds important!" commented Dilandau proudly.
"Sounds boring," Allen said dully, "so what you're saying is, we do all the dirty work?…."
"…..Oh, it hardly needs to be said, but…. the order to withdraw takes priority. Do not forget!" she informed them, ignoring Allen's complaints completely. "We'll be there soon. We anticipate battle as soon as we disembark. Just be prepared. That's all." And she left the room, leaving the candidates to psyche them selves up for the battle.
"My first real battle……I'm getting pretty nervous." Said Dilandau.
"Better not piss in your pants." Allen retorted.
"Huh!? You talking to me?" Dilandau said hotly, his blood now boiling in his veins. Allen just chuckled to himself, he loved how easy it was to get under Dilandau's skin.
"….Bastard…" Dilandau muttered to himself.
"Ok guys, that's enough talk," Merle cut in again.
"Well then Van, go outside and see what's going on," said Allen casually, as if telling Van what to do was a regular thing.
"….No.." said Van simply.
"This is an order from your captain, Van. Now go outside." He said more firmly and authoritatively.
"Damn him, he's right, so long as he's the squad leader I have to do what he says." Van thought to himself angrily, although he didn't let it show.
"…..Ok," he replied begrudgingly and he stood up and made his way to a look out point on top of the vessel.
***
The sky was streaked with orange and gold as sunset slowly approached. The sound of splashing water and engines could be heard as a dozen more vessels surrounded them and were all speeding through the water effortlessly. Van looked forwards, the wind was blowing through his raven hair, making it dance all around his head, as land came into view he narrowed his brown eyes. Ahead of them he could see large explosions on the edge of the land, causing water to shoot up into the air, and smoke could be seen rising from small fires through out the town. Small bodies were running all over the place in chaos and gunshots could be clearly heard, even through the loud explosions that kept going off. As they got closer and closer to the battlefield, Van could feel his heart beat racing and his veins were filled with adrenaline as he prepared himself for the difficult battle ahead that would determine his fate.
So there it is, chapter number three, as always please review, I really appreciate it when people do.
I'm not sure if I'm making my chapters too long, this one was 8 pages, what do you guys think? Should I shorten them or keep it the same? Next chapter is a lot of action and fighting but in the next one there's a party! J and we finally get to see Hitomi. So I'll try and get that out for next week. Thanx for reading.
Natalie xXx
