Chapter Four

The Coming of the Storm

- - - - Asturia - - - -

All the representatives had gathered in the main hall. The scout had returned, confirming all Folken had said. However, he had discovered something else as well.

"The shadow has stopped spreading in all directions, and instead is sending out a single stream, which is moving very fast."

"Where is it going?"

"We couldn't tell exactly, but if it continues on its current course, its heading either here or Fanelia!"

"WHAT!" That came from Van.

Folken spoke. "Something must be drawing it. It seems to kill anything it comes in contact with, and both Asturia and Fanelia are heavily populated."

Several people's faces paled. "Wherever it goes, it will be a plague unlike any other." Dryden summed up.

"We have to stop it!" Chid cried in dismay.

Millerna spoke. "But how do we stop a shadow?"

"Kill it! BURN it!"

Folken nodded. "The shadow recovered quickly from our own attacks, but the fact that we damaged it at all proves that Dilandau's suggestion is possible, but we simply no longer posses the numbers to do so. Zaibach will provide all of our available troops, few that there are, to aid whomever decides to face this threat, provided that we cannot think of another solution?"

Silence.

Dryden spoke. "Then it is agreed. All remaining troops from all allied countries shall meet to combat the shadow and drive it away. Refusal to acknowledge this call to arms will be excluded from the Gaian Alliance. Are we in agreement?" A chorus of affirmations rang through the hall. "Good."

Folken turned to the Fanelian king. "I believe that it would be beneficial for everyone if Escaflowne will join us in this fight. Will you do us this honor?"

Van clutched the empty pendant and closed his eyes. "I'll be there."

Dryden leapt up. "Alright, everyone. Based on its current speed and form, we have less than four days to assemble and engage this shadow before more innocents are lost. I advise you all to hurry." The representatives took this as their dismissal and left.

Folken stood more slowly than the other representatives. He strode outside, his black cloak billowing in the in the ocean breeze without revealing his artificial arm. He lifted his head and spoke. "Naria. Eriya. Sand a message back to Zaibach. All remaining guymelef soldiers are to proceed to the gathering point where Dilandau, Adelphos, and I will be waiting. I believe that we are in no danger here. Also, be sure to bring as much Zaibach weaponry and dragonium as possible. We will need it."

Twin hisses of "Yes, Lord Folken." reached the emperors ears, followed by a faint hum.

2 days later

- - - - Fanelia - - - -

Van's horse was about to collapse, being driven so far so fast. Van left it at the stables, rushing back to the castle as fast as he could while the rest of his convoy struggled to catch up with him. He burst into the main hall shouting to everyone present to summon his generals to him immediately. Noting the urgency in their king's voice, several people departed rapidly to fetch them.

Van sat in his throne, trying to put on a calm façade. The attempt was failing, as Van could not keep from tapping his foot rapidly or strumming his fingers on the throne's arm. Just as Van felt as if he was going to scream, Merle and Allen burst into the room, gasping for breath.

"Van-sama, you shouldn't leave us behind like that!" Merle cried, indignant at being ditched. "You should have-"

"Merle, the shadow will be here in less than a day and a half, or in Asturia the next day. We have no time to lose." At that moment, the three generals of Fanelia strode in through to open door. Merle and Allen stepped aside to allow the three men to bow before their king.

"M'lord, for what reason have you summoned us?" One of the generals asked.

"Getna, I have summoned you here to tell you to mobilize all available troops. An unnatural threat is advancing on the area, and all available military force in the Gaian Alliance is to gather to stop it. I will be joining you in Escaflowne. Your opponent is a large Shadow creature. This may sound crazy, but I assure you, it's all true. Reports say that it kills anything it comes in direct contact with, so warn all you men to be careful. Assemble them now; we have less than a full day before we must meet this danger to our people. I will awaken Escaflowne and leave for our destination in two hours. All who are ready are to follow me then. Go." Van leapt up off the throne and headed for Escaflowne's resting place, Merle and Allen following.

"Van, how do you plan on fighting? I don't think a sword or spear will do much damage to the Shadow." Allen stated, keeping pace with the king.

"I'll figure something out." He declared. They arrived at Folken's tomb. Van paused, looking at it. "I'll have to do something about this." He reached past the engraved stone, and removed Escaflowne's drag energist from an alcove carved in the monument. Energist in hand, the king strode over to where the White Dragon kneeled, covered in ivy. He pulled down the creeper plants and climbed up onto the giant's knee. He then placed the energist back in the gem where it had resided before. The White Dragon's heart began to beat once more. The cockpit opened and Van climbed in. The great guymelef stood, towering above the king's companions. Escaflowne transformed into a dragon and soared into the sky. It circled the palace as its pilot observed his men's progress. As he turned, he saw the Crusade II approaching. Must be Allen's crew with Sheherizade. Good, we'll probably need all the help we can get. Van informed Allen of his crew's arrival, and landed as the knight left. "Merle, while I am away, you must take care of my kingdom. Will you take this responsibility?"

Merle stood strait before her king. "I will not fail you Van-Sama. But you had better come back, you hear me!"

Van smiled. "I will, Merle."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Van turned and soared into the sky, Fanelian airships and the Crusade II following soon after.

The Fanelians arrived at their destination just before daybreak. Soldiers from Asturia, Freid, Goddeshem and Zaibach were already there. No one from Basram was present. As Escaflowne landed, Van noticed that the Zaibach guymelefs were passing out odd silvery weapons amongst those present.

"What are those weapons?" the Fanelian king asked a passing guymelef. It was one of the cat twins, though he could not tell which one.

"Normal blades and arrows have no effect against the shadow. These are heat blades, which are powered by four energists apiece and do much more damage for those who cannot shoot fire. Speaking of which..." She trailed off and, before Van had a chance to react, snatched Escaflowne's sword form its back. The feline guymelef then leapt into the air as its pilot called out, "Sister, Escaflowne is here. Dip its blade so it can fight."

To Van's horror, the silver-haired guymelef threw Escaflowne's blade toward a large vat of bubbling silver liquid. A golden-haired melef caught the spinning weapon and dipped the blade into the silvery substance. Van guided Escaflowne over to the golden sister and asked what she was doing.

Any metal not treated with dragonium will do little damage to the shadow. This mixture is made of dragon blood, fortune blood, powered energist, powered unicorn horn, and a strong sealant. When striking an enemy with a dragonium-treated weapon, a burst of energy1 is delivered along with the strike itself. The energy is what hurts the shadow, not the impact." Eriya pulled the sword out of the vat and passed it back to Escaflowne. "Give it time to cool and dry, and you'll be ready to go. Who's next, Naria?" As Naria flew toward her sister with another clawfull of weapons, Van piloted Escaflowne toward the Sheherizade, mindful of his cooling sword.

"Allen, do we know where it is?"

"The people from Zaibach are monitoring it. According to them, it will be here in less than an hour. By the way, your sword is done."

"Oh." Van sheathed Escaflowne's sword and looked out to the horizon. As Allen left to go check on his crew, several maintenance men ran up to Van and started to paint Escaflowne's outer armor with a substance similar to the dragonium. Van ignored them, and stood still as a new model of Zaibach guymelef silently glided up behind him. It resembled a gray Escaflowne crossed with a black Alsedies. It landed next to Van, and Folken's voice sounded from its cockpit.

"We have received no word from Basram. The shadow will be here soon."

Van only grunted in reply. There was silence between the two brothers for several minutes before Folken spoke again.

"You miss her, don't you?"

"That's none of your business," Van snapped.

"Perhaps, but it is never a good idea to go into battle preoccupied. You should know that by now."

Van hesitated, and then sighed. "...I'm afraid I'll never see her again. And yet, I hope I never do. She was hurt and nearly killed many times when she was here because of me, and I don't want to put her in that kind of danger again. It is better for her to stay on her own world, where it's safe."

"I don't think that's for you to decide, Van." Escaflowne turned, showing the confusion in Van's expression. Folken smiled and continued. "She has a strong will, and I don't think she would appreciate you making decisions for her. I believe that she has proven that she can take care of herself if she must. And besides, if she truly is a-" Folken was cut off as a siren pierced through the air.

The encampment became a frenzy of activity as the rising sun illuminated a writhing black mass pouring over the horizon, rushing toward them. A crimson Alsedies shot past, maniacal laughter emanating from its pilot. The shadow, as if sensing is prey, reared up like a wave of water, ready to crash down upon those who would stand against it. Dilandau fired first, a spiral of flame striking its target. All the slime touched by flame became light gray ash, falling as powder to the ground. However, the ash was quickly covered by living shadow, making Dilly's attack seem insignificant.

There were about three thousand guymelefs total from the allied countries. All of them attacked. Dragonium coated arrows rained down from afar as swords and spears sliced into the slime, scattering gray ash across the plain. Every time a section of the living darkness was felled, it was quickly replaced. The draconic paint was preventing the shadow from crushing or piercing, but it was still finding its way through gaps in its opponent's armor or face plates, leaving bare skeletons in its wake.

Van was slashing left and right, the falling ash giving Escaflowne a gray tint. The new communication system installed in the white giant was shifting from person to person, and none of what the young king heard was good.

There's too much of it!

We're being overwhelmed!

HELP M-

Van bit his lip. So many were dying, and the darkness seemed endless. Unbeknownst to the raven-haired king, Escaflowne's heart began to glow as the transmissions were changing.

It's pulling back!

We won! It's retreating!

It stopped. Why? There was a pause.

Where is king Van?

Van gasped in surprise as tendrils of darkness seized the hilt of Escaflowne's sword and snatched it away, leaving him defenseless. As he looked around, he realized that he was completely surrounded by towering walls of black slime.

"VAN!"

Van looked up. Just over the edge of the shadow he spotted Folken's guymelef facing him in the air. The shadow shifted closer, blocking his view. He didn't dare shift into his dragon mode, as that would leave his body exposed to the corrosive slime. The shadow circle began to close in. Van put up Escaflowne's hands over its face in a feeble attempt to protect himself. The shadow engulfed the white dragon making him immobile. Shadow began to seep through his face plate, cutting off his air supply. This is it then. I'm going to die. He closed his eyes.

Van!

Lord Van!

I'm sorry Folken. I was never able to apologize...

/Van!/

Oh great, now I'm hearing things.

/VAN!/

Van opened his eyes. Hitomi?

Suddenly, mere millimeters from his face, the Shadow was torn away by an enormous gale. The wind was so powerful, Escaflowne was flung forward and slammed into the ground. Van brought the white dragon to its feet, looked around, and could not believe his eyes. The dark slime had been blown over 200 meters away from him, splattered along the edges of an enormous red-hot ditch path. Escaflowne stood in the middle of the ditch that seemed to reach both horizons. As he turned around, he could just make out the little patchwork army on the horizon from where he stood.

Van - - - -ear me? Folken's voice came weakly over the intercom. A- yo- -k? What - - - -pened?

Dilandau's voice followed. I - -ee –im! Several of the dots took flight and headed towards Escaflowne. Van looked around, noticing the shadows begin to re-form and come after him again. Without his sword, he could not defend himself, so he quickly shifted to dragon mode and took flight. As soon as he was airborne, streams of shadow launched themselves like crima claws at his exposed body with no time to dodge.

Another sudden wind sprang up from the opposite direction, blowing Escaflowne back to the ground. Van spotted something flash out of the corner of his eye, too quick to make out as spheres of crackling, glowing energy rained down from above and struck the shadow, spreading throughout its entire expanse and turning it to nothing but dust. A faint humming emanated from behind the white dragon so (after he shifted back to guymelef form) he turned around. There, about six meters away and slightly above Escaflowne's head, hovered a craft unlike anything Van had ever seen. It was mostly pale blue and white, had short wings and a dragon-like head. The head is what drew Van's attention, for it looked remarkably like the head of the mechanical monster from the attempt to contact Hitomi. The dragon's jaw was clamped down on Escaflowne's sword. Van stared at the craft, and it seemed to stare right back. Van heard several Zaibach guymelefs land behind him, but did not break his gaze with the blue dragon. Never once ending eye contact, Van climbed out of Escaflowne and strode toward the new craft while the red crystal eyes seemed to follow his movements.

A strange hissing noise emanated from behind the blue dragon's head, and something moved over its shoulder. A figure climbed up onto the dragon's head and waved wildly.

"Van are you all right?"

Van's eyes widened. "Hitomi? Hitomi!"

Hitomi crept up to the edge of the dragon's nose, looked down and spoke. "Typhoon, Kala, you can stop staring at Van now. Can you possibly let me down?" The red crystal eyes didn't move, but long silver tendrils whipped out of the back of the head. One of the metallic appendages wrapped securely around Hitomi's waist and lowered her to the ground. She then ran over to the Fanelian king and hugged him. "Van, I'm so glad you're all right. I was afraid that the shadow got to you, that we wouldn't get here in time!" she cried as she let go. Van was in shock, and no longer registering anything. Hitomi noticed this, and gave him time to process her abrupt appearance as she turned to the small group that had collected behind him. "Folken? Naria? What are you doing here? Make no mistake, it's good to see you, but aren't you, well, dead?"

A look of surprise crossed Folken's face. "Was it not you who resurrected us?" The crystal eyes were staring at him now.

"No, I couldn't-," Hitomi began before a new voice called out, interrupting her.

"Folken Stratagos? Naria? Eriya? " The strange craft dropped Escaflowne's sword with a loud clang, startling everyone. A flash of movement was spotted behind the blue dragon's head before a young woman leapt the ten meters to the ground, landed hard on her feet, and ran up to Folken. She stopped just in front of the Zaibach emperor and looked him dead in the eye. She stayed perfectly still for a good five minutes as no one moved. A large grin then broke across her face, and she seized mechanical in her own and shook it firmly. Folken was shocked that he could not break free of her grip. "Folkie-sama! I see that you have recovered from your death well. Good, good! How are your wings? They should be at least light gray by now, as most of the artificial blood should have been replaced with natural blood by now." She spoke too quickly for Folken to reply. She released his claw, leapt over to the cat twins and grabbed one of their forearms with each hand and firm grip. Naria, Eriya, I see that you are doing well also." She released the twins quickly and turned back to Folken. "And to answer your question whether or not it was directed at me, 'Kari here did not resurrect you. She rules all things spiritual; the physical plane of existence is my territory. I revived both you and your cats. Before anyone could say anything to the woman, she was standing in front of Dilandau, looking down impassively.

The pyromaniac was getting uncomfortable under her scrutiny, and clutched the hilt of his sword. When the bright green gaze continued to bore into his skull, he could no longer keep his thoughts to himself.

"What are you looking at? Who the hell are you, anyway? Get out of my face!"

The newcomer's face twisted into a frown. Her eyes narrowed, and she retorted to the rude exclamation.

"Is it not custom on this world to give your own name and title before inquiring that of others, demi-ifrit?"

"What...? How dare you! I am Dilandau Albatau, General of the Platinum army of Zaibach! I am one of the most powerful-," he was cut off as she seized his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Dillyfrit! You may call me Fenrir, the wind wolf." She danced backwards, knocking van over in the process. "Pleased to meet you all; Folkie-sama, Goldie, Silver, Dillyfrit. Kari, I gotta recharge Typhoon. Meet you in a while!" Fenrir sprang 10 meters straight up onto the craft and slipped inside. Seconds later, another huge gust struck the group, and the blue dragon was gone. The wind snapped Van out of his stupor, and everyone looked at Hitomi.

She chuckled nervously. "Well, Fenrir can be a little...eccentric at times, I suppose. Can someone give me a lift so you can explain what the message you sent me was about?"

.......................................................................................................

1 an electric shock

Ha! This story is not dead! Did I get Dilandau's last name right? Oh, and if Hitomi seems to know too much or is too familiar with Kala/Fenrir, keep in mind that her 'divine' memories are slowly returning to her, so she views Fenrir as a sister.