A/N: Hello again readers! Thanx for all y'all who reviewed the last chapter, I'm happy everyone likes long chapters, because there are some doozies in this fic, let me tell you! Sorry for the wait, I've been focusing on my math class right now…there is a lot more work in college than in high school when it comes to basic algebra! So, yeah sorry again, I'll TRY to be better.
Oh, and I also do not own the song, "Light in Your Eyes," by Blessid Union of Souls, they do. It just happens to be on Hitomi's I-pod as well ! Enjoy this chapter!
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Key to Atlantis:
Chapter 3: A Hundred Years…
Hitomi lost track of how long both she and the cat-girl, Sari, had spent on Escaflowne's back, flying through the air like a knife and flowing with the air current as a plane on Earth would. It was not that she didn't want to talk with the black-haired girl, but every time Hitomi opened her mouth the words seemed to die on her tongue, the girl's probing gaze and angry expression deterring the seeress from speaking. She stole a quick glance back at the stiff cat, and saw the anger that radiated back at her from those blue eyes, accusing Hitomi of an offense that she should have been able to stop.
'I don't even know what I did,' Hitomi thought to herself sadly as she turned forwards again to stare sadly at Escaflowne's white neck. 'Why does she hate me so much? I just met her…and she seems to know what's going on in Gaea, but she won't tell me. Neither of them will…maybe Merle will answer my questions. Wow, I can't believe I just thought that, Merle helping ME out! Yea, that'll happen.'
"Children," a voice said gently, shocking both Hitomi and Sari out of their ponderings. "We are approaching the village of Jeroma; I suggest that you both hold on tight so we may descend."
"Okay!" Hitomi shouted as she tightened her arms around the dragon's strong neck. She winced slightly as Sari gripped her midriff for dear life, but soon forgot that pain as Escaflowne dove, the swooping sensation in her stomach taking full attention. She could hear Sari's terrified yowls and whimpers the entire descent, but Hitomi did not feel as scared as before, deciding that the dragon must have been truthful when it said she would grow accustomed to the flying as she had before. All that was missing was…
"There!" Sari yelped loudly in Hitomi's ear, signaling the dragon where to land. "That patch of clear land, land there you stupid dragon!"
Hitomi thought she saw Escaflowne smile slightly at Sari's insult at its intelligence as the dragon landed gracefully on the ground and folded its wings to let the passengers off. While Hitomi was able to slide off better than before, Sari rolled off clumsily and landed in a pile on the ground, muttering that she was never going to fly on a dragon's back again.
"I thought cats always landed on their feet," Hitomi teased as she helped Sari up, a smile dancing in her green orbs.
"Are you trying to pick a fight you stupid girl!" Sari replied angrily, shoving the other girl away and brushing herself off. Not waiting for an answer, Sari impatiently pointed and shouted, "This way you two. Oh, and you have to walk behind me, or else the clan will think you're prisoners, and they don't treat prisoners all that well these days. Well come on!"
Letting the white cat-girl lead the way through the trees and into the small settlement, Hitomi fell into step beside the white dragon, letting its presence calm her nerves. She had no idea what to expect from Merle after two years, the two were never that great of friends to begin with, and now she was going to her for help to find Van.
Escaflowne looked down at her and smiled with its kind maroon eyes and said, "Do not fret child, all will be well with the cat-woman. She did think of you as a friend, she just was a little protective of my master. Your questions should be answered here today seeress, and I must tell you this…you may not like what you receive. As I said, many things have changed since your last visit here…many things indeed."
Hitomi nodded quietly, trying to focus on quelling the growing trepidation in her heart, and reached out to gently pet Escaflowne's smooth scales. Sari led the other two into the village after a short period of time, and Hitomi smiled albeit the dread she felt in her heart as she saw the community of beast folk come into view. It was drastically different from the previous village of Arzas, smiling children running through the streets and smiles with kind gazes meeting them from every corner.
As the trio ventured further into town, Hitomi could notice the excited pointing and whispering as she passed, piquing her curiosity even more as to why the village of Jeroma was so excited to see her. She nearly ran into Sari, she was caught up with the sights and cheers the beast people were emitting, who was conversing with another trio, this one comprised of older and wise looking cat folk in front of a hut.
"So, you say that this girl claims to be Hitomi Kanzaki of the Mystic Moon?" Hitomi heard one of them ask Sari excitedly.
"That's what she says," Sari said with a shrug. "The dragon…Escaflowne confirms this. She wants to speak with Merle; apparently she doesn't have a clue on what's happened in Gaea since her absence."
Hitomi scowled for a moment at Sari's comment, but quickly pushed the annoyance aside to pay attention once more to the conversation. As she started to listen to Sari tell of their encounter, Hitomi felt a tug at her skirt and looked down to find a group of young kittens looking up at her in awe.
"Are you weally the seewess fwom the Mystic Mwoon?" a little male kitten asked, his big brown eyes round with wonder.
"Uh, yes," Hitomi said with a kind smile as she knelt down to look at the child face to face. "My name is Hitomi, what's yours?"
The little boy-kitten merely blushed and scampered away, the rest of the children following him back into the crowds towards their parents without a doubt. Hitomi, confused at their behavior, adopted a look of puzzlement as she rose and stood next to Escaflowne. 'Why does everybody treat me as if I'm a legend or something? This is so bizarre…what's going on?'
"Hitomi Kanzaki of the Mystic Moon," one of the elder beast folk addressed to her, drawing her attention back out of her thoughts. "You say you wish to talk with Elder Merle did you not?"
"Uh…yes," Hitomi answered slowly, wondering why this man had called Merle an elder. "Yes please, I was told by Escaflowne, the white dragon, that she would be able to help me find King Van Fanel of Fanelia."
She was startled to hear the cries of surprise and wonder that met with her last comment, but the man in front of her remained still as a statue as he then asked, "You seek Van Fanel child? It would seem that Sari was correct when she deemed you unknowledgeable in Gaea's history…I concede to your request and deem that you indeed must speak to Merle. Sari will lead you and Escaflowne to her."
"Thank you," Hitomi mumbled, seething at Sari for calling her 'unknowledgeable' to the whole village. Sari motioned for them to follow so they did in silence, Hitomi still aware of the whispers and pointing that followed her all the way to a small hut in the center of the village. Hitomi glanced up at Escaflowne in worry as Sari entered the hut saying she would fetch Merle, but was calmed by its ever kind gaze towards her.
"Hitomi Kanzaki," a voice that the girl vaguely recognized rasped from in front of her, bringing Hitomi's attention back to Sari and a small, hunched form next to her. "It's about time you showed up you stupid girl…how would I have slapped you for getting close to Lord Van if I was dead?"
"Merle…?" Hitomi asked breathlessly, gazing at the form before her, not believing what she saw what looking back at her.
"What?" Merle rasped in a scratchy tone as she hobbled forward with her walking stick, her wrinkled eyes narrowing in a sick amusement. "Did you expect I'd look good at seventy-nine years old Hitomi?"
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"Are you saying that the mythical seeress from the accursed Mystic Moon has reappeared on Gaea?" Emperor Salodin asked the Ferra gathered in front of him, a grim expression spreading across his hawk-like face. His dark, inky black eyes narrowed when the cloaked forms nodded their heads in assent, and he placed two thick fingers to his temple. "She was supposed to have just been a legend, but now she's real and back on Gaea…didn't she fight alongside Allen Schezar and the Draconian king?"
"Yes my lord," Zorbane hissed, his head bowing towards the emperor. "Our many auguries have confirmed this. The legendary dragon Escaflowne accompanies her, and it seems that she is looking to rid Gaea of the just Zaibach Empire as she did before with her dark power to see into the unknown."
"Is that all you can tell me you worthless bunch of monsters!" Salodin asked angrily, his frustrations finally breaking through at the stoic Ferra. "I could have told you what she was planning on doing! How do you stop her is what I want to know!"
"We cannot see that my lord," another Ferra said as he stepped next to the kneeling Zorbane and also dropped to one knee. "However, we believe we know where she might be headed…Maboch. It would be prudent to send a company of Ferra to go and capture her, if it pleases you my lord."
"Kul'sac," Salodin said to the new Ferra. "You really believe I would send only your kind out to capture this girl? I want her dead dammit! To ensure this, I'm going to send a quatrain of my Elitists to accompany the Ferra you send. I want my Ghost to command them as well."
"As you wish my lord," both Zorbane said in deference as they bowed low to the floor. Salodin cast them one last look of contempt before sweeping from the chamber, claiming to have other important matters to attend to. Zorbane and Kul'sac rose form the floor and dismissed the other Ferra before also leaving the room in a sweep of their cloaks.
"Zorbane," Kul'sac hissed to his leader in an unsure tone. "The arrival of the girl does not bode well for us. That, and now Salodin wishes to send the Ghost after her as well…we both know of what she seeks."
"Yes, we do," Zorbane said without worry as they turned a corner into a dark study lighted in a reddish-haze. "But we can use this girl to our advantage Kul'sac. We did not expect the Key to be sent away as well, it seems her protection still lingered around it, and now she will be sent to look for it, to keep it from us. I will send De'miraz and select others to accompany the Ghost and Elitists in search of the girl and the Escaflowne. She will be able to control those humans, no matter what the Ghost may be."
"Yes Lord Zorbane," Kul'sac said with a strange hand motion to his brow in respect. "I will go and inform the emperor of this and contact De'miraz at once."
Zorbane nodded as Kul'sac left to fulfill his leader's wishes, and then turned his attention to the room he was in. It scared the other tenants of the palace, but it suited the Ferra perfectly for a place to meditate and practice their art. It had once been the experimentation room of the Zaibach sorcerers under Dornkirk, but now it was where the Ferra cast off their disguises and reveled in the greatness they thought to possess. Zorbane thought it ironic that the Ghost had been created here so long ago, from one of the purest beings no less, and now the Ferra used it to hide their true intents from the world of Gaea. Zorbane continued to walk down the hallways of the large chamber, enjoying the blood-tinted light the red torches cast upon the walls, until he reached a small study room lined with notes upon notes on the lost city of Atlantis, collected from various historians and ancient texts over the years.
To regain the power of Atlantis, that was what the Ferra were after, but Zorbane had no intention of repeating the same mistake Dornkirk and many before had made. The power of Atlantis, the power of human will and thought, could not be controlled through any simple means, such as a Fate Alteration Machine, it needed to be controlled just as the instruction manual said it had to be.
"All these scrolls and texts have all been telling us the same thing," Zorbane said in fervent whisper as he poured over the notes for a countless time. "They all tell me what I need to control and harness the power of Atlantis! The seeress is of no immediate consequence…but she may be more useful than she may want to be very soon. The vessel will fall into my hands one more… 'Of two worlds, but part of neither…Chosen line shall bear the Jewel…' It's all right here! Soon, very soon, all of Gaea and even the Mystic Moon…Earth…will shiver at the power the Ferra will wield! Whoever thought such an abomination would end up being so useful to our cause."
He cackled a little bit before turning his attention back to the scrolls, back to the information that would make him a God on Gaea. Everything was going according to a plan he had conceived over a hundred years ago…everything would end up as he wished.
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I feel…I feel strange. I can feel her pain and suffering, and I don't even know who she is. At least I think I don't…I don't know anything anymore. Did I ever before? It was quiet until just recently; I have no concept of time though so how would I even know that? No…it was just a little bit ago, I'm sure of it…then she came and…I don't really know.
I can still feel the same burning sensation in my…mind? No, maybe my soul. I don't know that either. Am I even talking to anything else? Maybe just myself, trying to tell myself I'm still real, even though a rational part of me knows I'm not. The brain is telling me to give in, to quit this charade I'm keeping up…but my heart…or my soul I guess…that tells me to not give up just yet…to keep this up through the pain I'm constantly in, not exactly physical but pain nonetheless.
My heart tells me that there is someone waiting for me, and that I'm waiting for that person…is that true or am I just delusional?
No, she is sad now…maybe I'm waiting for her. I don't want her to be sad, that causes more pain than the cloaked things I see when I…when I…when I'm not talking to myself I guess. Don't cry girl, it will all be okay.
It will all be okay? What am I saying? I don't know anything, how can I comfort her when I can't even convince myself I'll be real again…if I ever was. Yes…I was, I can feel it when I feel her emotions. I hope she isn't sad for much longer…I wish I could tell her that…tell her what? That seems familiar…maybe I've just repeated myself recently…oh, I hope she stays awhile longer. I hear them whispering again, but for some reason, this time it doesn't scare me. Is it because of you…is it because of the girl I keep feeling? Maybe, but all I know is that, for the first time since I don't know when, I feel…
…
…
I feel at peace.
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Hitomi was much to shocked to say, or do anything for that matter, for what seemed to stretch out for eternity; she simply stared at the old and wizened cat woman in front of her. She was not ancient looking, which surprised Hitomi when Merle had said she was ninety-nine years old, but she still looked old. The once pink hair was now completely white, and the brown fur covering her body had many streaks of gray through it. Wrinkles of both age and experience covered her face and body, still reflecting the beauty she had once possessed but had lost somewhat from time, and her eyes now had lost the once trademark innocence they held when Hitomi was last on Gaea. They were reflecting such an incredible amount of pain…pain of war and loss.
"Are you going to just stare at me Hitomi?" Merle said in a voice that still held her youthful tenor but was deepened and matured. She flashed a grin, exposing now missing teeth gaps that now joined her other white ones. "You did that when you first came here…remember?"
"Of course I remember Merle," Hitomi snapped, still shocked at what she was looking at she forgot just what she was looking at. "It wasn't that long ago…I mean, look at me!"
"And look at me Hitomi Kanzaki," Merle said in a serious voice Hitomi had never heard her use before. "Time has passed differently here than it did on your world…things have changed so much…I was beginning to think you'd never come. But, here you are! With Escaflowne no doubt…I haven't seen him for forty years, not since I first came here."
"Merle I…" Hitomi started to say, realization sinking in as her rational part of the brain began to register what her heart had known since she had first met Escaflowne. She tried to stop the tears from spilling, but she just couldn't find the strength, so she let loose all of her feeling right there, sinking to the ground in a heap and letting the sobs shake her body. Everything suddenly seemed so horrible, so horrible and too much for a seventeen, well nearly eighteen, year old to deal with. She was so absorbed in her own misery, her own 'why me's', that she didn't notice Merle walk over next to her until she felt a stinging pain on her cheek.
"Stop crying Hitomi," Merle said sadly, locking her deep brown eyes with the other girl's bright green ones. "I know you're upset, I was too when all this first started happening, but you sitting there crying in the dirt isn't going to help anyone…especially not Lord Van. You have a great power, so use it and stop moping around."
Hitomi stared back at Merle for a moment, her free right hand reaching up and cupping her red cheek, and then she sighed sadly, slowly pushing herself up off the ground. She glanced over at Escaflowne, the big maroon eyes showing sympathy towards her but also encouraging her to show strength and remember what she came here to do, even if what she learned pained her. She looked back at Merle and nodded her head, a grim determination hardening her bright green eyes, and said quietly, "Merle, I need to know what's happened since I…since I was last here. Escaflowne and I are looking for Van, but I need to know where to go, and I think you can help me."
"I knew you would come for him Hitomi," Merle said with a wily grin as she turned slowly and started to hobble with her walking stick back towards her hut. "Well, no ones getting younger are they? Come on in, I'll let you in on sixty-six years of history you missed. Sari, I think you should hear this too dear."
"But Grandma," Sari protested, her eyes blazing in anger that reminded Hitomi of Merle so much. "I need to head back towards Arzas; those soldiers may tell people about this girl. Besides, I've heard these stories a million times."
"They are not stories Sarisim," Merle replied in a dangerous tone. "I want you to hear them again, this time with someone who was there for part of it and who played an integral role as well.
Sari stared back stonily at Merle, the woman she called her grandmother, but then nodded her head stiffly and marched quickly into the hut, not looking at Hitomi at all. The young woman looked over at the elder cat woman, who was now shaking her head, and asked with her eyes about what the cat-girl had called her.
"In a way," Merle answered as she walked back to the hut, motioning Hitomi and Escaflowne to follow her. "I took her in as my own when her parents died ten years ago. They were killed by the Ferra, but you don't know about them yet do you? No, of course you don't, but I'll fill you in on those in due time."
Hitomi looked back at Escaflowne before entering the hut, asking with her face where he was going to be while she was inside. The white dragon smiled at her with his big, warm eyes and said softly, "I will be just outside child, do not worry. I will not leave you…ask questions whenever you have one; you cannot afford to not know everything you can before we start this journey. Stay strong young seeress."
"I will Escaflowne," Hitomi whispered as she gave the white dragon one last hug for comfort and then walked into the hut. "I will for Van."
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"So," Merle said as she settled in a large chintz chair and waited for both Sari and Hitomi to do so as well. She gestured to a small girl kitten to go and get some drinks for the others and her, and then cleared her voice and continued, "Where should we start Hitomi?"
"Um," Hitomi said unsurely, wringing her hands in her hands and mumbling a thank you to the little kitten giving her a drink. She raised her eyes to look back at the brown, calm eyes looking back at her patiently and shrugged her shoulders in agreement with whatever Merle thought was best.
"Very well," Merle said after she took a sip of her hot tea. "Let's start with the end of the Destiny Wars shall we? After you left, things went smoothly…very smoothly in fact, and all the different provinces rebuilt themselves and trade began again between the countries, including a reformed Zaibach led by the former General Adelphos. He was a good leader, and it seemed the only thing Lord Van had to worry about in Fanelia was picking a princess to marry."
"WHAT!" Hitomi asked loudly, positively seething at the smirk on both Merle's and Sari's face at her anger.
"Relax you stupid girl," Merle answered with a wave of her hand. "He was completely stubborn about it and was engaged only once, but somehow both he and that particular princess wormed their way out of it. Can I please continue with my story?"
"Uh, yes Merle," Hitomi mumbled, her cheeks now red with embarrassment as she heard Sari snort in laughter to the side. Hitomi looked over and shot the cat-girl a look and asked rudely, "Why are laughing so hard! It's not that funny!"
"Sorry Hitomi," Sari drawled in between he guffaws. "But, it is very funny. You're in love with a legend? I think that the kittens are playing make-believe today at midday!"
"SARI!" Merle exclaimed angrily, shocking the cat-girl quiet and causing her to lower her head in shame. "Please, keep your opinions to yourself for once in your life!" She paused for a moment and tried to assuage Hitomi's shock and obvious fright at what Sari had said by flashing her a smile and saying kindly, "He's not a legend Hitomi, you know this and so do I. If you give me some time, I can explain everything…can both of you just listen to my tale and keep your questions until I am done?"
When both of the girls nodded, Merle took another sip of her tea, cleared her throat again, and looked back at the others continuing with, "Good. Now, there was peace throughout all of Gaea for two years after the Destiny Wars, but there were whispers of the former Zaibach scientists tinkering with dark forces and unleashing imprisoned spirits or some nonsense, but the rulers of Asturia, Fried, and Fanelia along with others decided to keep an eye out for these apparitions. Sure enough…I'm not sure completely what happened because it was all so sudden, like when Fanelia was attacked the first time. Lord Van had just turned eighteen and…these things came and attacked Fanelia's capitol and the surrounding villages and provinces. They used dark magic, and I don't know if they were even alive, but they were ruthless and destroyed everything.
"Lord Van…Lord Van fought them to give the citizens time to evacuate, but this one cloaked thing, the leader I think, he fought with this blue stuff and hurt Lord Van. One of his wings broke underneath him then, and more of those things surrounded him…they created some kind of pillar of white light and it enveloped him…I heard him scream your name Hitomi and then…and then he was gone."
"Dead?" Hitomi whispered, dread filling her voice and tears filling her vision as she remembered the dream she had a few nights ago…it had been a vision after all.
"NO!" Merle said angrily. "No, Hitomi…he disappeared. That light swept him somewhere away from here…those monsters seemed angry though, and left immediately afterwards. The survivors traveled to Asturia and Freid for refuge, but no one believed our story…they thought Zaibach had betrayed the Alliance again. That's when…that's when the Ferra started to show up in Zaibach, and they convinced Emperor Adelphos that all of Gaea was planning on attacking Zaibach. The Ferra joined Zaibach and began taking over Gaea again…no one could stand up against them though because those Ferra…they are what destroyed Fanelia!"
"What!" both Hitomi and Sari exclaimed at Merle's declaration.
"Yes, I only told certain people that…Allen Schezar, Millerna Aston, Dryden Fassa, Duke Chid and a few others. Those who were close to Lord Van, so it's appropriate that I tell you Hitomi. Sari, now do you believe me and my 'tales' I told you? The Ferra were what destroyed Fanelia, made Lord Van disappear, and took over Zaibach in order to control Gaea…those scientists of Dornkirk's let them loose from wherever they were to begin with. They were called Arref, but changed their name so no one would believe the very few survivors of Fanelia…some little back-wash country that was surrounded by Dragons.
"Anyway, Zaibach started to attack all of Gaea, meeting almost no opposition from anyone. Asturia fell after ten years of struggle…Dryden died in Asturia, but was able to smuggle Millerna and their young daughter out of the country and to Freid, where Allen and the Crusade crew were. I was there too, Millerna died after a week, her wounds to grievous and coupled with her grief of Dryden's death, but she left a diary of the wars to her daughter, and the line still goes on today, but it's hidden. Allen was furious…it was about then that we found Escaflowne in the Dragon forests…we were there to hide from the Ferra after picking up refugees from Asturia.
"He was the one who gave us faith…he told us that for some reason he had been transformed into a dragon, but was waiting for you Hitomi to come again…you would be the one to go and find Lord Van! That meant that he was still alive, so we decided to try and discover as much as we could on where he might be so you would have an easier time whenever you came. Escaflowne also hinted to the time between the Mystic Moon and Gaea being disrupted, so we knew there was a good chance you wouldn't be as old as we were…which I guess is true.
"So, Freid and the last of the Alliance fought on for another five years or so…but then, but then Fried fell. Both Allen and Duke Chid fell in that battle, I don't know if Chid had a child or not so it is said that the line was killed off. Allen had sent me back with the Crusade to our outpost in the ruins of Fanelia…Millerna's daughter, Jessica, needed to be protected he told me. When I heard what had happened in Freid…Escaflowne comforted me and told me that I needed to wait for you to come… I needed to hide from the new Zaibach Empire and the Ferra. Those things purposely targeted those close to Lord Van to destroy…that's what made him a legend Hitomi and Sari, the people who knew the truth about him were killed.
"After a time, Jessica left and founded an underground resistance with her husband to fight off the Empire with the remaining members of the Crusade. It still exists today I think…it's called the Black Rose. I hear Emperor Salodin, the leader of Zaibach right now, is planning of eradicating them once and for all with some new weapon his Ferra have designed for him. But Fallan should be fine; he's one of the wiliest men I've ever met."
"Fallan?" Hitomi asked quietly, her mind trying to compute everything she had just learned…she refused to cry in front of Sari and Merle, she promised to be strong.
"He's the current leader of the Black Rose," Sari said in an uncharacteristic quiet voice, her eyes clouded over with conflicting emotions. "Fallan Fassa, great-grandson of Millerna and Dryden Fassa of Asturia."
"Oh," Hitomi said quietly, her mind spinning from everything still.
"Yes oh indeed," Merle said as she rose silently from her chair and gathered up the empty cups from her guests. "As far as I can guess, it would help to head towards him. He has all of Dryden's old manuscripts, and resources that can help us hide from Zaibach and the Ferra. Yes, I'll make arrangements tomorrow morning for supplies and maps and such."
"Wait," Sari said quickly, voicing what Hitomi was thinking as well. "WE? You're going Merle! But, but you're too…you're leg is hurt and can't take that much stress!"
"Then it's good that we have a dragon I can ride isn't it?" Merle asked back snappishly, glaring at the younger cat with a look Hitomi knew all too well. The green-eyed girl smiled and rose from her seat and nodded her head at Merle.
"Merle," Hitomi whispered quietly, determined to let the two cats know what she felt what had happened. "Sari as well, I want you both to know something. Just before I was sent back here to Gaea, I had a vision, a horrible vision that showed the destruction of Gaea and everything living here in a sense. The smoke and…and the blood choked me and I was terrified. But then, I had another vision, one that showed peace and prosperity here…but it needed help to keep it from fading.
"Who I saw was needed was a purple-eyed princess, a red-clothed man with an eye-patch, a warrior trapped in a cage and by his past, a red-eyed angel…Draconian who was lost, and a…a cat with a severed tail."
Hitomi waited as realization settled into both of the beast-women, Sari's blue eyes going round and Merle's twinkling in excitement that had been lost for so long. Sari looked around at the hideous scarred stump she had for a tail, staring at it as if just now realizing its true burden, and then slowly turned back to gaze stonily at Hitomi. "Did the vision mean me?"
"Yes, I think so," Hitomi answered quietly. "When I first touched your arm after seeing your tail, the vision took me again. I think both you and Merle need to come on this journey with Escaflowne and me. You see, I promised to protect Van, and I'm going to do just that by finding where he's been for so long. I owe that much to him for all the times he saved me."
Sari didn't say anything for a moment, merely stared at Hitomi with her deep blue orbs, until she gave her head a curt, but skeptical nod. She bowed at Merle in respect as she left the tent, saying she needed to start to gather supplies for the journey, and the door swung shut behind her. Hitomi sighed sadly, knowing it would take some time before Sari came to believe her and Merle about…about everything.
"You saw Lord Van didn't you?" Merle asked quietly before Hitomi completely left the hut, her face downcast to hide her spilling tears. "The red-eyed angel? That's what you always called him…did he look…"
"He looked young Merle," Hitomi said sadly as she left, whispering the last part to herself as she wandered off to find some solitude to deal with her grief. "Which is what confuses me."
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The wind teased her honey brown locks across her face, painting a sad portrait of a young girl who had lost too much in a short amount of time. A small set of headphones were inserted into each of her ears, blasting comforting music to sooth her conflicted soul as she stared up at the setting sun, remembering a time not that long ago to her when she sat on a similar hill and swapped stories with a raven haired boy. She didn't know what compelled her to play the song she was listening to, but as she listened and sang along softly to it, she felt that it fit her current state of mind perfectly.
"I can't remember the last time that we kissed goodbye
All our "I love you's" were just not enough to survive
Something your eyes never told me
But it's only now too plain to see
Brilliant disguise when you hold me
And I'm free"
She had never told him how she felt…she had admitted it to herself, but she had never told him. Did he even still care about her wherever he was? She refused to believe he was dead, her mind rebuffing anymore deaths of people she was so close too. She had kissed another man, but not the one she was truly in love with…what was wrong with her and the world she had grown to love so much?
"I've been thinking and here's what I've come to conclude
Sometimes the distance is more than two people can use
But how could I have known girl
It was time and not space you would need
Darling tonight I could hold you and you would know
But would you believe"
Everything was so mixed up and topsy-turvy, she could hardly stand it. She wanted to scream at the sky in anger, picking its emptiness as a good candidate for her anger's outlet. Allen was dead, Millerna was dead, Dryden was dead, little Chid was dead, Van was missing, and Merle had grown old. Why had these horrible things happened to her friends? She had given up Tarot reading, and yet these things still happened, because of those black-cloaked creatures from her vision. This was not how she wanted to return to Gaea, this was not how she expected things to be.
"There's a light in your eyes that I used to see
There's a place in your heart where I used to be
Was I wrong to assume that you were waiting for me
There's a light in your eyes
Did you leave that light burning for me"
She wanted to be wrapped up in those strong arms again, she wanted to smell the fields again and wonder at the gleaming white feathers floating all around her. She wanted to press her lips to his and let her know how deep her feelings really went, even if she wasn't sure what all of those feelings meant yet. But he wasn't here waiting for her, and did she really expect him too? She had been prepared to give him up that night, why wouldn't he have as well? Tears flowed down her cheeks freely as she cried for all of her lost companions that she wasn't around to help.
"Cards and phone calls and photograph pictures of you
Constant reminder of all the things you get used to
Is there a chance in hell or heaven
That there's still something here to build on
Or do you just pick up the pieces after they fall
But after all
There's a light in your eyes that I used to see
And a song in the words that you spoke to me
Was I wrong to believe in your melody
There's a light in your eyes
Did you leave that light burning for me?"
Her voice was shaking now, but she didn't stop, she couldn't stop. Her tears were now spent, she had no more to shed, but she still gazed up sadly at the now starry-filled skies, not sure of how many times she had played this song on her I-Pod, not caring that her battery would soon die. She closed her bright green eyes and pictured his face again for the millionth time, when he looked the most beautiful to her. Strange to describe him as that, usually Allen was associated with that, but she had no other word for how she felt about him then.
The way his impossibly messy black hair framed his face when he had his head cocked to the side, looking at her with warmth. A small smile would grace his shy mouth, a great treasure that she was thrilled he gave only to her. His eyes would lose the coldness they usually harbored and fill with such warmth that she swore they glowed a warm golden-red color. He was always on Escaflowne, holding his hand for her, but he was fading now. She felt another fat tear flow down her smooth cheek as she reflected again on what she may have lost because of her foolishness.
"Should I keep on waiting or does love keep on fading away
Fading away
It's been a while since I've seen you so how have you been
Did you get my letter I wrote you, but I did not send
I tried to call your old number
But the voice that I heard on the phone
I recognized but she told me the number was wrong"
She wiped the tear away angrily, telling herself to stop moping around like a four year old and do something about the situation if she was so upset. She would help avenge her friends; she would help them by honoring their sacrifices and helping Gaea. She saw his face again in her mind, encouraging her with his small, gentle smile that reflected the soul he hid underneath the warrior façade. She promised to find him, even if she was met with the same fate she was met with when she found Merle, she owed that much…she needed to tell him how she felt.
That she loved him, even after all this time. He was her only, the sole person who understood her and reached into her soul. She knew that now, maybe too late, but all that counted at that moment was that she knew. She would not be afraid of what the future held in store for her…she would be strong for Van; she would find him just like he had that night on the track. Her eyes hardened, and she belted out the last verse of the song, letting all of her feeling come roaring out at once.
"There's a light in my eyes but it's too bright to see
And a pain in my heart where you used to be
Guess I was wrong to assume that you were waiting here for me
There's a light in your eyes
Did you leave that light burning for me?"
She would find him, no matter what that meant for her future, she believed that with all her heart and soul. She breathed heavily for a moment, letting the chilly air cool her heated frame, before turning around to see Escaflowne's maroon eyes gazing at her in appraisal, somehow knowing the transformation she had just undergone. She gave the white dragon a small smile and let it drape a wing over her as the two walked back towards the village of Jeroma to rest for their journey the next morning. She could hear the dragon humming the song she had just finished singing in her head, and she gave another beautiful smile and tightened her left hand over the pink amulet around her neck and sang softly along with the dragon as they stepped towards their uncertain destinies, for light or dark.
"There's a light in my eyes but it's too bright to see
And a pain in my heart where you used to be
Guess I was wrong to assume that you were waiting here for me
There's a light in your eyes
Did you leave that light burning for me?"
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A/N: There it is guys! I bet y'all have a ton of new questions now, but I assure you everything is going to end up according to the plan in my head! This most certainly IS VanxHitomi, you just have to give it some time. Sorry if some of you guys are sad I killed off most of the canons, they'll still be in the story, just as flashbacks…especially our fav fallen angel!
Anyone wondering about Celena?...evil grin…give me some time.
I gave a bunch of clues in this chapter, try and find them all, very anal readers will probably figure out some of my plot already, but not all of it I assure you! Remember, REVIEW! The button is right to your left readers! I love feedback! Until next time!
Osco