Chapter 2: Mixing
Van paced restlessly. He usually didn’t resort to so blatant a gesture of ill ease, but he couldn’t help it. He still hadn’t heard from Allen, or the scouts. The Crusade had returned to Asturia; the last time Dilandau had disappeared, he’d appeared just outside the city. It was a logical place to check.
But then, Dilandau hadn’t disappeared--Jovey had kidnapped Celena. Therefore, there was really no telling where they’d gone. He’d already dispatched carrier pigeons to Zaibach, Jovey’s most practical choice of escape, but he couldn’t expect them to receive his message for days. He was already growing impatient.
“Lord Van,” Merle said from her usual seat beside his now empty throne. “Calm down.”
“I can’t,” he replied sharply. “Next time they come back, it may be to attack!”
“But Zaibach isn’t evil anymore,” she attempted to reason with him. “They won’t support Jovey--he’s defected.”
Clearly her logic was wasted on him. “But that doesn’t mean he won’t alter the Alseides. What if he returns with a stealth mantle, and flamethrowers? What if the sorcerers convert Celena for good?” He stopped pacing abruptly and looked to the door. “I should be waiting in Escaflowne for them. They’ll--“
“Lord Van, please calm down,” Merle implored. “Even if they do, it would take weeks to travel from Zaibach. Enough time for us to get word of them”
“Unless they find a way to use the pillar of light.” He began to pace once more. “Hitomi said there was some machine the sorcerers developed to mimic its effects. What if there were other Zaibach soldiers he brought back? Our samurai could handle one visible Alseides, but--“
The king stopped abruptly, and his face went pale. When Merle started to question he cut her off with a wave of his hand. I should have considered earlier, he cursed, closing his eyes in concentration. The true meaning of the pillar of light.
Hitomi?
Hitomi seated herself next to the hospital bed, unsure as to how she should begin. Mariko hovered over her shoulder, while on the other side of the bed stood Kenji and his father. “He’s just asleep,” the doctor said. “You should be able to wake him easily.”
She nodded, hesitantly reaching out to nude the youth’s shoulder. Her mind began to buzz, but she ignored it, determined not to let her imagination run. This was simply a lost foreign boy she was trying to help. She nudged him again, a bit harder. “Hey, wake up.”
The dark-haired youth began to stir, and slowly his eyelids fluttered open. He took in his surroundings and sighed. But upon seeing Hitomi he paused, which led to the realization that he had an audience. He glared at the doctor defiantly.
“There’s no need for that,” Hitomi muttered. “He’s the one taking care of you.”
To her surprise he grudgingly replied, “He drugged me, so I don’t trust him.”
She blinked, leaning back. That was perfectly understandable. But when she looked to see Dr. Narita’s reaction, she found only a blank expression. Did he…not hear? She licked her lips and spoke again. “Can you understand me?”
“Of course.” He continued to watch both Naritas suspiciously. “I may be injured, but I’m not crazy.” At last he turned his heavy stare on her. “How did I get here?”
“Hitomi?” Mariko tapped her shoulder. “Well?”
“Can you understand any of it?” asked Kenji.
Hitomi gulped. They don’t understand him, but I do. Just like…when Van first came. Her heart began to race, and she struggled to remain calm. This man--he’s from Gaea. But…but how? That light really was…. Trying and failing to restrain her confusion she blurted out, “You’re from Gaea, aren’t you?”
The boy regarded her carefully. “Of course. What’s going on? Where am I?”
Oh God, he is. I…couldn’t be hallucinating, could I? No, no. He really is from Gaea. “Calm down,” she said slowly, wondering for a moment whom she was giving the advice to. “Tell me your name.”
“Why?” he questioned suspiciously.
“I’m not trying to hurt you--I’m trying to help. Someone brought you here, right?” A woman. Who could it be? And why would they leave him here? Where would they go? “I want to help you find that person.”
The youth stared at her, trying to judge if her words were sincere and if he could trust her. Their audience waited anxiously. He snorted once. “My name’s Jovey Garrelli.”
“Kanzaki Hitomi,” she introduced before his name had sunken in.
For a moment time stopped as the pair stared at each other, mouths agape in shock. They animated at the same time: Hitomi leapt to her feet and stepped back, and Jovey sat bolt upright.
“You’re that Dragonslayer!” Hitomi cried.
“You’re the Phantom Moon girl!” he exclaimed simultaneously.
“Then the woman who brought you was--“
“But what happened to--“
They stopped abruptly, and returned to staring. Jovey’s face was of a sick pallor, as he asked. “A woman brought me?”
Hitomi licked her lips.
God, this is the Dragonslayer Van
“told” me about, who’s been causing all the trouble lately. But how did he get here? A
small gasp escaped her. And if he’s here, what happened to--
“Wheels?” Kenji was suddenly beside her. “Hey, who is this guy? Do you know him?”
Can I possibly
explain? “Not really,” she answered carefully. “But…a friend of mine told me about him, once. A foreign friend.” She turned to Dr. Narita.
“His name is Jovey Garrelli.
Narita-sensei, can you describe the woman who brought him here?”
“I believe she was
about your age,” he said, scribbling the name down on his charts. “A blonde, I think; a short haired blond
woman, rather pale. She had a cut on
her left thigh, from a knife.” He
glanced up. “Do you think you know
her?”
It sounds like
Celena. But why would Celena leave
him? If she was Dilandau….
Hitomi shivered almost violently at the thought.
“Well?” Jovey
demanded in anxious impatience. “Who
was it? How did I get here?”
“I think it was
Celena,” Hitomi replied, hoping for a favorable response. To her dismay, Jovey looked positively
sick. “The doctor says it was a pale,
blond girl. I’m sure she’ll be back for
you,” she added.
But Jovey wasn’t
listening anymore. His head was
lowered, staring at his bandaged left arm, and the I.V needle stuck in his
right. He didn’t respond, and after a
moment Hitomi turned to her friends.
“It’s all right,” she assured them, beginning to calm herself. “He doesn’t mean any harm. He’s just…a little lost.”
“But where is he
from?” Dr. Narita insisted. “We’ll have
to contact the authorities, and his relatives--“
“Celena will be
back for him.” When she said this,
Jovey slowly lifted his head. “I know
she will.”
Kenji eyed her with
mock suspicion. “I think you at least
owe us an explanation.”
Hitomi took a deep
breath. “You’re right. I’ll…explain. Come with me, okay?”
Jovey reached out
suddenly and clasped her wrist. She
nearly yelped in surprise. “Don’t go,”
he told her, his eyes desperate.
“You’re the only one I understand, so--“
“Don’t worry, I’m
not going far.” She somehow felt
responsible for him, remembering how lost and confused she’d felt when first
coming to Gaea. Even if the days were
exciting and filled with adventure, she’d suffered many lonesome nights. She didn’t want Jovey to feel the way she
had.
“I’m going with
them to get some food, and explain where you came from. It’ll be easier, and when I come back you
can tell me what happened. We’ll find a
way to get you both back to where you belong.”
She smiled, and he released her.
“Get some rest, and I’ll be back soon.”
Hitomi led the
group outside. It was then that Dr.
Narita excused himself, as he had other patients to attend to. The three teens thanked him and went to the
hospital’s cafeteria. “Well, this isn’t
what I had in mind,” Kenji chuckled as
they took their seats, “but I can at least get us something.” He returned a moment later with Popsicles
for all of them. “Cherry for
Mariko-chan and grape for Wheels.
Orange for me.”
“Of course,” Mariko
mocked. Then she turned on Hitomi. “Okay, spill.”
“You won’t believe
me,” Hitomi said immediately. “But I’ll
tell you anyway. Yukari can corroborate
a little of it, at least, but for the rest you’ll just have to trust me.”
Kenji smiled
humorlessly. “After what I saw in that
room, I’m ready to believe anything.”
She winced a
bit. He’s got no idea what I’m about to tell him. But he’ll trust me--he has to. With a deep breath she began.
“I know you both
have heard about me and Amano-sempai.
Three years ago before he left for America, I made a bet with him in
order to win a kiss.” Hitomi blushed at
the memory, and Kenji grinned. Mariko
only lifted her eyebrows appreciatively.
“Anyway, back then I was superstitious, believing in fortune telling and
destiny. I kept my own tarot cards with
me everywhere, and I even had a lucky pendant given to me by my
grandmother.” Even now she could
remember how the delicate chain weighed around her neck. “It usually brought me luck, but that
night...” she plowed through without hesitating. “…It took me to another
planet.”
“Another planet?” Mariko--typically--exclaimed.
Kenji nearly fell out of his chair.
“You’ve got to be kidding! Like,
Mars? That’s impossible.”
Hitomi quickly
shushed her. “Remember where you are,
okay? Geez.” She glanced around cautiously to see if anyone had heard. Thankfully, the cafeteria was relatively
empty that day.
“Wheels,” Kenji
said in a low tone, “we were prepared to listen to a serious story.”
“I was being serious,” she insisted.
“It’s the truth--even Yukari and Amano-sempai saw it. Just like the bright light last night. It took me to a world called Gaea.”
Kenji and Mariko
exchanged dubious glances. “Alright,”
Mariko sighed. “So this guy--Jovi or Jove or whatever--is really an alien? He looks human.”
“Well, he is
human,” Hitomi explained. “They…kind of
migrated from Earth a long time ago.
But anyway, just listen.” They
nodded and waited for her to go on.
“The girl who brought Jovey here was Celena Schezar, the sister of a
friend of mine. She kind of has two
identities--Celena, and Dilandau.” Her
friends appeared to be lost, and she grimaced, but continued anyway. “As Celena she’s a gentle person, but as
Dilandau…let’s just say we’ve been enemies.”
“Enemies?” Kenji
echoed incredulously. “As in she wants
to kill you?”
“…Yes.” They exchanged another look. “It gets worse. Jovey works for Dilandau, so he may….” She shook her head. “No,
he trusts me. I have to make him trust
me.”
“Hitomi.” Mariko was watching her very carefully. “I…don’t know if I can really believe what
you’re saying,” she told her. “But if
this guy Jovey is at all dangerous, then this is serious. We’re your friends and we don’t want you
getting into trouble.”
She nodded, staring
intently at her melting Popsicle.
Someone touched her shoulder: Kenji, his gaze serious. “Hitomi…this other world…he’s there, isn’t he?”
Hitomi started and inhaled sharply.
“How did you….” She trailed off,
trapped by the knowledge held in his eyes.
Not only did he believe her, but he understood. He knew, as if seeing the hole in her spirit
where part of her had once been; the part she’d left on Gaea. She closed her eyes, swallowed hard, and
answered. “Yes. I guess it’s about time you knew the real
story. When I was on Gaea, I met
someone…who I haven’t been able to forget.”
There was a pause.
After a moment Mariko prompted, “Hitomi?
Are you okay?”
“I….” She stopped suddenly, as a strange anxiety
had risen inside her. Her hand moved
instinctively to her chest, and for a moment she imagined that she could feel
the smooth stone of her grandmother’s pendant.
Some was calling to her urgently.
“Van?”
-Hitomi?-
I’m here, Van. She
waved off her friend’s concerns. “I’m
fine,” she told them and the swelling uncertainty inside her. “Really, I am. That was his name--Van.
Van Fanel.”
“You don’t have to
tell us everything,” Kenji staid gently.
Hitomi nodded,
trying to calm Van’s almost violent pervasion on her mind. “Will you excuse me
for a second? I need to go to the
bathroom.”
“Of course.” It was a bad excuse--they all knew that--but
he didn’t question. “Take your time--we’ll
wait.”
“Thank you.” Hitomi smiled in a way she hoped was
encouraging and left them, exiting the cafeteria at a strictly controlled
pace. Immediately Van’s questions rose
up. He spoke to her as he always did:
through pictures and colors and raw emotion.
Yes, Jovey is here, she replied, focusing on making her
response clear a she moved to the washroom.
He’s fine--it’s all
fine. He knows who I am, but he trusts
me. I’m trying to help him.
-Celena?- the misted voice rejoined.
I think she’s here,
somewhere. She entered the white tiled room. Now
hold on a minute. When he tried to contact her again she
scowled. “I said wait,” she
muttered. “Kings have no respect for
privacy.”
Once Hitomi had
finished she washed her hands and face, and sought counsel in her
reflection. The face held there looked
very tired--as tired as she felt. “All
right, Van,” she whispered, opening herself to him fully. “Tell me.”
The impressions she
got from Van’s mind voice were ones of danger and mistrust. “I don’t understand,” she said aloud;
sometimes speaking helped to make her questions clearer to him. Or at least, she assumed so. “If she’s Celena, she should be okay,
right?”
He sent her an
image, one clearer than almost any other she’d received from him. It was of his recent battle with Dilandau,
in what must have been Fanelia’s main shrine.
She could see through Van’s eyes.
Dilandau’s laughter filled and tainted her ears. She held her breath, startled by the
gleaming insanity in his face, his very aura. Even more shocking was when Allen stepped forward to bind him, and
the youth thrashed and screamed like a mindless beast.
The vision
subsided, and Hitomi reminded herself to exhale. My God…was Dilandau
ever that bad? She remembered the few occasions in which
she’d actually seen Dilandau, but this image was far more severe. Allen
must be in such pain, she thought,
and her heart throbbed in sympathy.
“Van?”
Van showed her
another scene: Celena falling into the grasp of an Alseides, and soon after,
the pillar of light. “Yes, Van, they
came here,” she replied.
-Alseides?-
“Probably, but I’m
not sure. I haven’t heard of it.” She leaned against the sink basin. “I don’t know where Celena is, either.”
-Looking for you-
“Me?” Hitomi frowned. It made sense--if Celena had been brought to Earth accidentally,
then the first thing she’d want to do would be to get home. As the only earthling who even knew of Gaea,
Hitomi was her best chance. “Well,
she’ll come back here eventually to see Jovey.”
-No--escape-
“No, Van,” she said
firmly, shaking her head. “If Celena
needs help, I can’t run. I’ll show them
that they can trust me. Besides, even
if she becomes Dilandau, he’s smart enough to realize that he’ll need me alive
to get home. I don’t thin I have to
remind you that it’s you he’s after, not me.” She sighed, wondering
if he could understand all that. For a moment she was worried that she’d spoken
too harshly, as he didn’t respond.
“Van?”
-I trust you-
Hitomi sighed. “Thank you, Van. I’m going back to wait.
I’ll contact you when I know something.
Stay calm--I’ll be fine.” She
checked her reflection one more time before heading for the exit.
Her hand touched
the handle, but before she could take it, someone opened the door from
outside. She paused, waiting for
whoever it was. When she saw, however,
she stood frozen.
It was Celena.