Disclaimer: They do not own Escaflowne. This includes Hitomi Kanzaki, Amano, Allen, Merle, and Van. The cowled sorcerers are theirs, in a way, as well as the plot.
"Kanzaki, are you ready?" shouted Amano, clutching her pendant in his hand.
"Yes, on your call!" she replied, bracing her foot on the starting block. 'I hope this works,' she thought to herself. 'I have to see him again.' Suddenly the lights turned on, illuminating the track and the two figures standing on it. Hitomi turned to see a redheaded girl waving at her. 'Yukari,' she grinned. Of course, she'd be here. Yukari was her best friend. She felt a twinge of guilt that she had to leave her, but was comforted by the fact that her friend would now have the chance to be with Amano.
Turning away, she concentrated once again on the track. The bold white lines stood out in stark contrast to the muddy brown. She slowed her breathing and focused on her goal. It wasn't on the finish line as it usually was. No, this time is was on a certain young king with black hair and dark maroon eyes...
"Get set," shouted Amano, seeing that she was ready.
'Van, wait for me. I'm coming.'
"GO!"
The pendant dropped from the former track captain's hand and began to swing. Each arc was the same as the one after it, neither hurrying nor slowing down, just continuing relentlessly on its course.
Hitomi burst from the starting blocks, her legs pumping steadily as she concentrated on her goal. In Amano's hands, her pendant began to glow.
One . . . Two . . . Three . . .
&&&
"Master Dornkirk, it's ready," reported a figure. Like all the other men of the Sorcerers, he wore a dark blue cowl that covered his face completely, throwing his features into shadow.
"If we alter the pull between the Dragon and the girl . . .it should be possible to generate the needed energy to repel them from one another," said another.
"Yes, the bond will be destroyed. The girl and the Dragon will be separated for good."
&&&
'I have to see her again,' thought Van as he steered the Escaflowne in its dragon form up towards the Mystic Moon. The air whistled by his ears, tossing his unruly mass of black hair.
From the ground, a young cat girl sat on her rooftop and watched as the form of her beloved Master Van grew smaller and smaller, disappearing into the night sky, heading for the one he loved; the girl from the Mystic Moon. 'Master Van...'
Van urged the Escaflowne on. Heedless of the air growing dangerously thin around him, he focused all of his attention on getting to the Mystic Moon.
&&&
"The elemental particle of fate has reached critical. Activating the device."
Somewhere on Gaea, a gigantic mechanism whirred to life.
"Altering fate!"
"Altering fate!"
"Altering fate!"
&&&
Four . . . Five . . . Six . . .
'This is it,' she thought, anticipation humming through her body.
&&&
The Fate Redirector short-circuited and bolts of power shot out of the machine, striking down the Sorcerers.
&&&
Escaflowne vanished into the sky.
&&&
Seven . . . Eight . . .
The pendant flared up, giving off a blinding light for a split second.
Hitomi held her breath, waiting for the pillar of light to descend.
Suddenly, the pendant's light faded, disappearing like a snuffed flame. It left no trace of the glow that had been there only a second before.
&&&
Merle, who had been watching as the Escaflowne disappeared in a flash of light, was about to go back inside, when she saw another flash. Turning, she saw the Escaflowne reappear and begin falling from the sky.
"VAN!" she screamed. She was too far away to do anything and thought frantically for something she could do, but there was nothing. She could only watch helplessly as Van plummeted to the ground below.
To her relief, at the last second, she saw a flash of white as Van spread his wings to slow the fall. However, the momentum had been too much for him and he still crashed painfully to the ground, raising a cloud of dust and feathers.
Merle quickly bolted inside to get Allen.
&&&
"Emperor Dornkirk, the operation was successful. The Dragon almost broke through, but we caught him at the last moment and sent him back to Gaea."
"Good," replied Dornkirk. "Now we can finally achieve our true destiny."
&&&
Hitomi finished her run in a bit of a daze. What happened? she thought to herself. Why didn't he come for me?
What happened next was a blur to her. She vaguely recalled Yukari running over to her and clapping her on the back in congratulations. Amano had walked over as well, but she didn't recall saying goodbye to him or walking home with Yukari chattering all the way.
All she could think of was, He didn't come for me. He didn't come. . .