It's time Chapter 21, an escaflowne fanfic

"We have company coming. Be ready to fight." Hitomi warned him.

Van tossed her a dagger that she hooked to her skirt. Van unsheathed his sword now buckled around his waist. They took their fighting stances simultaneously. Van blocked a frontal assault. "It'll take more than that to take me down." He dodged and parried with the black robed person. There were some that were starting to surround both of them. One glance at Hitomi told him that she was holding her own for now.

Hitomi was doing a roundhouse kick taking out more than one of them. She was getting tired. They had been fighting for a few minutes now but the black robes kept coming out of the trees she couldn't take all of them. One knocked her down from behind and another was trying to attack her from the front. She locked his knees forward causing him to fall backward. She then kicked another in an attempt to get up.

Someone in a blue cloak held out a hand to her. "Thank you." Hitomi pulled her dagger for some use. Van was still fighting but was almost backed to her. The three of them stood back to back of each other ready to take on hopefully the last wave.

'He's a flirt, nothing but a flirt. He plays the field with no consideration for any other woman.' Her brain muttered.

"Hey, he never said that he was yours.'

'No only laid claim on me for no uncertain amount of time.' She argued with the voice.

'Have you never considered that was his way of communicating?' A warm female voice said inside her head.

Gomen for not putting what previously happened in chapter 19 in chapter 20's update the other day. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own them. I merely enjoy writing them!

Chapter 21

The kittens saw them coming and hid behind their mother. "Lord Van what's going on?"

He motioned for a guard to take the prisoner but the person on the blue cloak continued to follow with an arrow knocked. "Lord Van!" The kittens ran to him knocking him down.

Van gave a deep laugh when they finished their rather wet sandy greeting. "Hey there kits. What are you doing up so early? Merle didn't allow you to take a catnap yesterday, did she?" They sat on their hind haunches giving the cutest little kitty look.

Van groaned rubbing his hands down his face. "What is it?"

"Can we take her, Van-sama?" They begged.

Van looked at Hitomi's rather amused look from him to the kittens. "In a while, little ones." He promised. Van smiled at them before he took Hitomi's hand. "Merle, you'll want to join us in the conference room in an hour." Merle knew it wasn't a request as she watched the two leave the gardens.

"I wonder what is up." Merle turned back to her kittens curling up in little balls to sleep, "my beautiful darlings."

Merle arrived to the conference room to find that they were all waiting for her. "Sumimasen." She bowed to Van and sat across from a familiar looking woman in the blue cloak but she couldn't quite place her.

"That's alright Merle." Van took his seat. "You remember Celena Schezar?"

"It can't be… we all thought…"

"I know. It had to be that way or you would have all been in danger, just as I had to reveal myself now. You're in danger now." Celena looked directly at Hitomi.

"Yes, I know." Hitomi confirmed.

"You're son and Analous will be in danger as well. Someone wants your throne Lord Van and they will stop at nothing to get it."

Van wasn't surprised at this bit of news. He had figured this out last night while Hitomi lay cocooned in his wings last night.

"What do you know?" Analous spoke up.

"They want to rebuild Atlantis. The Destiny machine will be placed into the center to the streets as it was before it was destroyed. It will not be with the destinies of the desire of the people of Gaia but of the few that build it. The problem is that the ones that build it are puppets in a sense. The High priestess has never been able to quite put her fingers on what they are. The only ones with a will are the ruler and the one that commands them."

"What happens if we take the hoods off?" Hitomi asked.

"The harsh light will kill them. It makes them sick to go beyond the caves without the protection of their robes. In the realm of the caves they still get sick to a certain degree but not to the degree that they do here. It has never been done before but if you can get this one to tell you what is going on and get them to remember who they are then I will commend you. They are kidnapped from the time they are children. There is a world in the caves to where they are raised and taken care of but are taken right around the age of 14 for the completion of their destiny. By this time they have no clue who they originally were and only know what they were taught." Celena sat down.

"How do you know so much about them?" Merle finally asked.

"You would be surprised at the library that these people have. I studied for many hours there, quite often late into the night. This was one of the things I found mentioned in there."

Celena, the silver in your hair?" Hitomi asked.

"From the experiments they performed on me as Dilandau and a young girl. They didn't know what would happen to the persons they did them on." Celena played with one of the silver strands. "It won't end my life as it did Folken's but it has shortened it some."

"We have to see if we can get to him." Van said.

"Hitomi, you're the only one here that can. There is another but she is in the realm of the caves and soon to be in danger." Celena said.

"Celena, I will need your help." Hitomi exited the room looking every bit the queen/diplomat that she was.

Hitomi walked into the dungeons remembering, the dungeons of Freid. Of the fake Plaktu interrogation, the trance, the touch of the pendant, the vision that had been revealed, and the feeling of life snuffed out. She shuddered at the mere memory of it. It had taken her a week to get those visions out of her head.

The black hood had been removed to reveal a black haired man who looked up at the mere shimmering of power that had just entered the room. He recognized Hitomi's and Analous' face that had been etched into each of the heads/ he should kill them while they were together but he couldn't move and no one came to release him. That's alright because they weren't going to get any kind of deals out of them.

His nearly hollow eyes shocked Hitomi, who wasn't sure as it was if she could peer into this soul without coming out unscathed.

"I don't know how long I can keep a barrier up but I will for as long as I can." Celena told Hitomi. Analous stood with his arms crossed across his chest and legs spread almost as if he dared anyone to come near, though no one would dare touch the queen.

"I won't hurt you. Just show me what you know." Hitomi's voice and eyes were gentle as she spoke. Hitomi touched his hand and was pulled into a pitch dark that was as cold as ice. They were on a bumpy road filled with rocks waiting for something. A door opened to reveal bright green hills and a lifeless village. Not a murmur, a whisper, a thought or a movement. The browns, reds and black colors gave the illusion of life unknown, like the town was merely sleeping.

The sound of an almost imperceptible horn broke it and life began to stir houses that could by just about anything. Stages of life were gone through. She saw young children being led away. The 'to fulfill your destiny' were repeated over and over in the direction of the boat that would lead them away. The children weren't clamoring to get out, almost as if they were in a trance.

The scene changed again. They were back in the pitch dark caves but this time they were led by a lit torch down a passage to a brightly lit white room where several sorcerers wearing cloaks much like Folken used to wear. Experiments were run and the children's trancelike state had changed to almost no desires, hopes or dreams. Even those were squashed as she watched them become more and more of the hollowed eyed man that sat before her. She had most of her answers but there was one more question. Who was the one that claimed to be in charge of all of these youth? She searched a little further coming across the face of Princess Najeh and one other behind her. He had brown eyes that looked familiar and long messy white hair. "Who are you?"

She used her pendant to continue further, she saw the building of Atlantis, the group, traveling to Alexandria, and yet there was more. For some reason this man focused on her son. Struggling to keep control and calm she followed where would lead on. There was a bright light at the end of the tunnel acting as a beacon flashing. Hitomi followed the light to see a sad, crying little spirit of a boy that was nearly shriveled up. "Come my child, it's time for you to make yourself known." The soul of the child looked through full, sad eyes took her hand.

"You must be careful they see more than you know." He went into her hand as a ball of light. They flew through everything permanently lighting the way through the inner spirit. Hitomi almost passed out when the soul of the boy released itself and her.

-In another place-

"Milord, someone has broken through I cannot see who."

"What do you mean? No one has been able to break through our hold since we began to use the Zaibach sorcerers."

"I know Milord, but someone has found a way to do it."

"Let me see." The young lad was ordered.

He waved his hand over the pull of water. At first you could see nothing but a flying light but then the block dropped allowing him to see a woman with jade eyes traveling at light speed not even to be touched. In her eyes he saw the worry for someone else. He focused on the woman, he saw a black haired young man with wine colored jade eyes.

"Milord, the princess wishes to speak with you." A servant stepped into the room.

"Send her in." He ordered the young man looking at the woman in the pool. She looked familiar but he couldn't remember her.

-Vanel and Loanna-

"I'm tired. You should be. You flirted with enough of those girls today and fought harder than I've ever seen anyone fight. You barely survived."

"I've survived worse and will have to again. Don't you see? We're all in this together. They will use you against me as they will try to use me against you. It won't take them long to figure out who and what you are."

"What do you mean by that? I don't even know what I am. I battle with this everyday! I hear these voices and can see into people's minds but that is not normal. It doesn't go away even."

"Loanna, it isn't going to. My Okaasan once wished for the visions to go away, but yet they didn't. She kept on seeing things that were so depressing and horrible that they haunted her dreams at night. It took years for them not to be a nightly occurrence." He knew that she had questions that she was not asking. "Why don't you look into my mind? Are you afraid that you are going to see the answer? Are you afraid of me, of yourself, of the voices that guide you on a daily bases?"

Loanna didn't answer him immediately. "Hai, I am afraid to see the things when your mind is totally open."

"What are you not asking me?" Vanel stood three feet from her but they didn't get any closer.

"Why do you open yourself to me? Why not some other girl? You seem to be able to get any that you want."

"I can open myself only to the right people. Most of the women I come across would be scared of what I am and what I can do. You accept it with ease most of the time. These girls mean absolutely nothing to me. They fight over guys, over clothes, and much more with venom that I don't understand. They don't see what is going on before them is much bigger than they have accepted. A mirror and a pretty head is not enough in either world to survive." Vanel stepped closer, "Look and tell me what you see."

She looked into his eyes. She saw a beautiful woman with sad jade eyes that thought the world of the both she cradled in her arms. The boy snuggled safely against and his wings wrapped around him keeping him warm. He was no more than two years old and didn't seem any different other than the wings wrapped around him. The woman who must have been the boys Okaasan gently touched the feathers memories passing through her head. The death of her mother was prominent but more importantly a look at a young man about the woman's age flying her through the skies. There was a joy that ran through her as he flew her bridal style to where they wouldn't be found for a time.

Loanna turned away from the memory of the young woman. She need not know more. These were his parents. She should know them. They looked familiar but well she couldn't place them. "Keep looking." He stepped closer. She saw the Mystic Moon in the sky and the sadness that lie in not being home for the short time. No longer was it there, but one of peace that he and his Okaasan were where they belonged. Then everything changed.

There was darkness to him, one he kept blocked even from her. She couldn't see past it and didn't know if he could or if he would accept it. "You hide part of yourself even from you."

His fingers touched her face. "My dear, you will find that we all have a darkness buried deep within us. We have the choice whether to bring it out or not. I choose that it is a bad thing to happen. What did you see?"

"I saw happiness, sadness, loneliness, and confusion. I saw your mother and father."

"Did you find the answers you seek?" He stepped a little away from her.

"Yes but why show me when I am to be captured."

"They will do you service when the time comes and they will only be able to get your name when they take you."

"Why you arrogant… How do you know what will be pulled out of me!"

"Why don't you ask the voices that speak to you? They hold the answers that you seek and then some." Vanel walked away.

She looked once more knowing he would allow her right now. She saw him smile sadly down at her while he held her unconscious body. "What's going to happen?" She whispered to his form.

I hope that you enjoy this chapter. You know the drill. Read and review!