AN:// Hello people! Welcome to Distortion, my first fan fiction! I do hope this goes well, as I'm not used to writing any of my passing thoughts down. Well, here goes! Hope I don't bore anyone.
Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne or any related characters. I own a copy of the entire series on VHS English Dub, so don't get mad for any mistakes. Don't sue either; you'll only get a poster for Escaflowne the movie and three cents. This disclaimer refers to this whole story, however long it may be. Kala, Typhoon, and all related characters belong to me, so don't use them without permission!
AN: Oh! And Dilly's still here in this story; he was given a body of his own before the final battle, so he's still in Zaibach, or the remains of it. Folkie, Naria, and Eria are all alive too; I like them too much -_-. Folken is the new leader of Zaibach, but Van doesn't know he's alive yet.
Summary: Long ago, the citizens of Atlantis created a machine that turned wishes into reality. The universe needed a balance of order and entities, a single core with great power of light, and a great darkness. When the balance was weakened by the machine when it overloaded, the entities were greatly weakened, and forced to hide away until their powers returned. The darkness fled to Gaia, where it hid itself among the cracks in the new planet's shell. The light, also known as the Tsubasa no Kami, split herself in two and entered the life/death cycle of humans, to be reborn when needed. Now, the darkness has begun to stir, and both halves must unite to stop chaos's reign.
Key: = Time Skip
------------------- = Place change
Italics means thoughts
" " means speech
/ / means telepathic communication
* * means radio/ telephone
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Chapter One: Threat Reawakened ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
--------------------------------------------Miami, Florida---------------------------------------------
Dear Escaflowne:
Today's finds are incredible. Dr. Sycimore believes to have found evidence of a whole new culture off the tip of Florida. This place is very humid, and quite uncomfortable. The finding is actually an Atlantian outpost. I can't tell anyone that, of course, or I'll be shipped back to Japan and placed in an insane asylum-especially if I say how I know.
Oh, Dr. Sycimore, I happen to have been transported to another planet a few years back, and learned that Atlantians had wings and I could read their writing. Did I mention I'm psychic?
That wouldn't go over very well, especially in a scientific field like this. Oh, well. My link with Van seems to be weakening…I can feel his emotions when I reach for them, but I can't see him any more. I hope
"Hitomi!"
The brown-haired young woman snaps her journal shut and turns to the voice that called her. A young man, 22-23 years of age is jogging toward her.
"Oh, hey Josh. What's up?"
"What's up? Are you nuts? This could be the greatest find of the century and you're off doodling in your diary! As an intern, you need to start pulling your own weight around here!"
Hitomi rolled eyes. "So says the guy who sleeps 'till noon. Besides, it's too hot, and your father said that he was giving us the weekend off."
Josh Sycimore blushed. "So? It's not the weekend yet!"
"It's 9:30 p.m. on a Friday night."
"…oh. Well, how about your and me, tomorrow, go see Disney world or something?"
Hitomi smiled. "That's sweet of you to offer, but I'm heading up to Cape Canaveral. I've always wanted to see it, even if it takes all day to get there."
"We're just south of Miami, and I'll take you, if you'd like, 'cause you don't have a car."
Hitomi's eyes widened. "Oh, no, I couldn't-"
"It's fine! In fact, I insist."
Josh was stubborn. "I'm taking you to Cape Canaveral first thing in the morning!"
"…thank you."
Josh blushed.
-----------------------------------Cape Canaveral Air Force Station--------------------------------
The inside of the hanger was cold and dark. There was a single plane in the darkness, larger than most, with an oddly shaped wingspan. A single figure stood in the darkness, looking up at the plane. A feminine voice rang through the hanger from the figure. "Soon, Typhoon, we will have a worthy opponent. I can feel it in my bones. The other half approaches, as well, but most of her power is still suppressed. I'll have to fix that."
A strange light begins to glow from the base of the craft's wings, as if it was answering the woman. A faint hum accompanies the glow. The shadowy woman chuckled. "I'm sure you will, my friend. And no, you can't come with me. I'll be back soon enough." The figure turns and walks away from the craft. She opens a personnel door and walks outside. In the light, the woman looks to be 20-23 years old, standing at about 5'7". She has crystal green eyes and her golden brown hair had silver streaks through it. She cast one last look toward the craft before closing the door.
------------------------------------------------Fanelia---------------------------------------------------
The raven-haired king is sitting on sill of a large window, looking up at the Mystic Moon, while clutching a teardrop-shaped pendant.
"Hitomi, where are you? I'll never forget you, but why can't I see you?"
Sensing no answer, Van let the stone fall with a sigh.
"Van-sama! You have a visitor!"
Merle burst into the room with as much energy as usual. She had matured nicely over the past six years, and her hair went down to the small of her back. The king was taller, but hadn't changed much otherwise. Merle had discarded the dress, opting instead for one of Van's old red shirts and a maroon knee-length length skirt. Van looked up at the blond knight that had entered the room behind the cat-woman.
"Allen! What are you doing here? Your appointed check-ins are for another four days."
The knight's expression was somber. "Actually, Van, I'm here with a message from Austuria requesting your presence at a meeting of all countries leaders with Austuria hosting."
"What's the occasion?"
"Apparently, several conveys from Freid, Bazram, Goddeshem, and Egzardia have gone missing, and everyone wants to find out why." The blond knight said with a sigh.
"So? Isn't that the merchant's problem, then?" Van snapped his head up and narrowed his eyes. "There's something you're not telling me, is there?"
The taller man looked uncomfortable. "Well…"
"What?"
"The main reason the meeting has been called is because Zaibach wants to call a truce and become allies with Fanelia, Austuria, and Freid."
"WHAT! Are they nuts? Do they really think that we will accept any of their requests after what they almost did?" Van was very angry.
"Well. Dornkirk is dead. Maybe the new ruler wants to patch up his damage, and was against his whole plan. They have promised a share in their technology," Allen said, trying to calm the hot-headed king down.
"Do you honestly believe that?!" It wasn't working. "They're probably just trying to get all the leaders responsible for their downfall into one place to get revenge! You can't trust Zaibachians!" Van was in a rage, stomping back and forth in front of the window.
Allen sighed. This isn't going well. "Van, there will be safety precautions, and I believe Zaibach has very little to gain from such an attack. With what little remains of their forces, an attack would be suicide. Calm down." He stood up and seized the young king's shoulder. "You're making me dizzy."
"Sorry." The king sat on the sill again. They sat in silence, watching the moons. As a cloud drifted over them, Allen spoke.
"How is she?"
Van sighed. "She is doing well enough. She's often busy and I'm sure that she is just distracted."
"Distracted? What makes you think that?"
"Nothing, it's just, our link seems to be getting weaker by the day. I-I'm afraid that she's forgetting about me."
"Who could possibly forget you, even if they wanted to?"
"Hey!"
Allen grinned at the glare sent his way. "I take it you're coming?"
"Fine. Don't expect me to be polite to the Zaibach representatives if I don't have to, though."
"Wouldn't dream of it. See you next week, then, your highness." With that, the knight strode out the way he came. Merle, who had been sitting quietly in the corner of the room, spoke up.
"What was all that about?"
Van was staring into space. "Never forget…"
-------------------------------------------------Zaibach-------------------------------------------------
"Have you gone insane? You actually want to make a truce with them?"
"You're hardly the one to talk Dilandau, but I have to say I agree. Milord, what are you thinking? They have done such damage to us, and we to them, I hardly see them welcoming us into their alliance with open arms."
"Calm yourself Adelphos, Naria and Eria will prevent them from killing us on the spot. I will not make the same mistake Dornkirk did. I have looked through his fate telescope and what I have seen concerns all of Gaia."
"Dragon shit! You may be the new emperor of Zaibach, Folken, but do you think that that alone will get anyone to listen to you? Honestly."
"Perhaps. Perhaps I am wrong, and we go through with my plan and are captured and executed. But if I am right and we don't, everyone will fall to the darkness I saw. We stand no chance against it alone. Even with an alliance with the other countries of Gaia, We will be overrun."
"Then what is the purpose of this meeting? How do you plan on dealing with this darkness milord?"
"Yes, Emperor Folken, how do you plan on keeping us alive?"
"With hope."
"Hope?"
"Hope?"
"Yes. Hope that my little brother can still call for help."
--------------------------------------------Cape Canaveral---------------------------------------------
"Thanks again for driving me here, Josh. I really appreciate it." Hitomi smiled at Josh, which brought a blush to his cheeks.
"S-sure thing, Hitomi. But why did you want to come here? Surely there are other places that you would rather be than a launch site for space shuttles." Josh drove up to the security booth and paid for parking.
Hitomi sighed, looking out the window to where she was sure Gaia hung in the sky. "I've always been interested in space exploration. You know, looking for life on another planet, that sort of thing. I was torn between getting a job working at a space program or working on digs. Then I realized that even if I did work in space program, I would never be an astronaut. So I put my abilities to use here."
"I'm glad you did. You always seem to find the most important artifacts. It's like you have a sixth sense or something." Josh pulled into a space and turned off the engine.
Hitomi let out a nervous giggle. "Sixth sense. Right." If only he knew. Some of the pendant's power must have rubbed off on me. I still haven't touched my tarot cards since I came back from Gaia, but I still have visions sometimes. That's how I know where everything was at the dig and how I knew that it was an Atlantian outpost. "Stupid visions," she muttered to herself.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." Hitomi was suddenly hit by the strangest vibe, as if her third eye was looking into infinity. She stumbled, and the feeling lessened, but was still there.
Josh had seen her stumble. "You ok?" Concern was etched into his tone.
Distracted, Hitomi replied that she was fine, and tried to pinpoint where the feeling was coming from. Picturing her pendant in her mind, she allowed it to swing and closed her eyes.
"Hitomi?"
The pendant swung to the right. Hitomi's eyes snapped open and her head turned. She spotted a shadow disappear behind a building. Instinct taking over, she gave chase, following the figure's aura. The trail was easy enough to follow, but no matter how fast she ran, she couldn't catch up with the figure. She could catch occasional glimpses of the figure, and knew it to be wearing jeans and a silver-grey jacket. She couldn't tell the figure's gender, but she guessed it to be female for the mid-back length silver-streaked golden-brown hair.
"Hitomi!" Josh panted, unable to keep up with the track star. He soon lost track of her altogether. "She better have an explanation for this," he muttered, heading back to the car.
Hitomi continued to chase the figure, yet despite her speed was unable to close the distance. The figure turned the corner of a building. Hitomi turned about three seconds later. It was a dead end, and no one was there.
"Wha..?" People can't just disappear like that. Not even in Zaibach. Hitomi focused on her pendant once more. The pendant swung in a circle, then stilled. What? Why did it stop? That wasn't supposed to happen!
"That won't work on me."
Hitomi whirled. The young woman was leaning casually against the side of the building, not even looking out of breath. "How did you get behind me? And why won't it work? Wait, how did you know what I was doing?"
"Questions, questions, questions. You certainly are a curious one, Hitomi."
"How do you know my name?"
The woman sighed, and pushed off of the wall. "I will answer all of your questions, but first, let's go somewhere more private. You're not allowed here. Come." She took out a key, and unlocked a door Hitomi hadn't seen. The two girls slipped into the hanger.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
AN:// So? You like it? Hate it? Tell me! However , flamers will be ignored if they do not have a valid excuse for flaming, so that I may correct it. Please review! The faster I get reviews, the sooner I'll post the next chapter. Oh, and can anyone tell me if I got the names of the minor countries right? Arigato!
Ja ne!
Lombardia Dragoncraft
