Part III (last of the parts I've written)

Please, I could use _lots_ of help here...

(Also, if anyone wants to pick this up, feel free...)

Yours,

Kevin Shiue                      | Willpower cannot change Fate,
                                 | Fate cannot change Willpower.
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~shiue | Therefore, we can only hope...
http://www.escaflowne.ml.org     | For the best, and smile.


---Story Begins---


	Hitomi walked to the door, and opened it.  The corridor was dark,
so she was blinded by the light that came from within the room... but
after a few minutes, her eyes adjusted, and she could see the chamber in
which she entered.  It was a great hall, with a stainless steel floor and
great glass dome.  Outside it was dark.  Along the sides of this enormous
circular hall was a marvel of technology.  A circular assembly line had
multitudes of mechanical robots, which were building the latest model of
melefs on raised platforms that moved about in a circle, coming and going
in and out of the middle of the room.  Everything hummed as the melefs
were filled with the strange liquid metal which made them so powerful.
Other than the sound of the automated machinery, it was relatively quiet.
Suddenly, sirens went off, and the doors, which Hitomi hadn't seen before,
opened, and men in military type uniforms, brandishing guns, came pouring
into the room, and walked in an orderly line toward the center of the
chamber. Hitomi looked around, alarmed, unsure of what to do, and one of
the men spotted her.
	"You!" he shouted, and walked toward her menacingly.
	Hitomi shrunk back in fear.
	"It's time to wake up, we've arrived."
	"What?" said Hitomi as the scene dissolved around her, revealing a
great city, built out of the temple, after the war, with its shining
multicolored stone walls rising out of the desert like great gems embedded
in rock.
	"We're approaching Polta... and I see you slept well," said Van,
with a warm smile, as they flew toward the rebuilt city.

---Return of Escaflowne, Part III---
---Vision Without Light          ---
---By Kevin Shiue (4/1/97)       ---

	"Yes, I remember, now," said Hitomi, as she recalled the events
from the day before.  Van had taken the energist out of its storage place,
hidden in some box in some room, and taken the ruby red gem to the resting
place of Escaflowne.  There, he knelt and prayed.  Hitomi hadn't been
there herself, but she had seen everything, as her power of vision was
stronger than ever.  Van had taken the crimson stone, and inserted it into
the larger holding place for it on Escaflowne.  A powerful light enveloped
Van and Escaflowne, and the two were embraced by matching souls, hearts
united as one.  Hitomi, too, was connected to Van and Escaflowne, through
the mysterious link that came from the pendant, which had come from
Allen's father, the links spread out from Escaflowne like a spider, with
the web of fate entwined about Van, Hitomi, Allen, and Atlantis.
	After reviving Escaflowne, Van became one with it, and took Hitomi
and Merle in his hand, and they left for Polta.  Using this mode of
transportation, they had already travelled two days, and the scenery had
changed, from lushious forests to spire-like peaks of the mountains, to
the jagged desert.  Polta was within sight, and it loomed closer and
closer, as Escaflowne, now in the shape of a dragon, flew toward the city.
Out of deference, Van changed out of Dragon mode, and waited in front of
the large city door.
	They did not wait long, for then the doors opened,
instantaneously, almost as if the people of Polta expected them.  Slowly,
as Escaflowne, Van inched through the massive doorway, and walked through,
revealing a bustling city with thousands of citizens, all looking up in
wonder at a marvel of the Ispano civilization.  The people formed a large
multicolored fluid that enveloped the main street and the side
alleyways... it seemed that everyone had gathered to meet them.  Suddenly,
a gong sounded, and the crowd quieted.  Through the silence, down the main
street, in between the entranceway and the rebuilt castle, was an
entourage, approaching them, in greeting.  The procession consisted of a
child riding on a large elephant, surrounded by older, scholarly looking
people.  It was King Sid, followed by his advisors, come to welcome the
King of Fanelia.
	Sid was now three years older, and those years made a big
difference.  He was no longer the chubby-faced child from three years ago,
since he had grown healthily, and grown tall for his age.  As he saw
Hitomi his eyes lit up in recognition, sparkle of which could rival that
of sunlight.  Through the silence, the two looked into each others' eyes.
As time seemed to stop, and Hitomi's heart beat seemed to be the only
sound that echoed through her ears, she noticed that he had happiness, but
also fear in his eyes.  His smile was genuine, but masked a greater
emotion of anxiousness.
	Van gently took Merle and Hitomi, and set them on the ground, and
himself leapt down, gracefully, from the guymelef.  Sid, too, was helped
down from the elephant, and motioned for his advisors to stay back, and he
walked up to Hitomi, Merle, and Van.  Van knelt down on one knee, and
motioned for Hitomi and Merle to do the same.  As they did, Sid placed his
palms together, held his fingertips to his chin, and bowed deeply.
	"I'm glad you came," said Sid, "There's someone I think you'd want
to meet.  But, I'm not being polite... please come with me to the castle.
We have much to talk about."
	Van returned to Escaflowne, and Hitomi and Merle joined Sid on the
elephant, as the entourage made its way to the castle fortress at the
center of Polta, the new capital of Freid.  The key to Atlantis had been
returned here, but there was no reason to guard it anymore, for Atlantis
had been truly destroyed, for good.  The key now served as a memento, a
reminder of what misguided feelings would cause.  The ruins of Bhuddasm,
too, would serve as a memento, as Sid had decreed that it would be left as
a grave, and, indeed, those with loved ones who had perished in the war
would go back and pray there, among the spirits of the dead, to wish them
a happy reincarnation, if they hadn't yet gone.
	Sid, during these three short years, had made wise choices, as
Hitomi had predicted before, and was very well liked by the people, even
admired, despite his tender age.  And with his leadership, combined with
the positive emotions of the people, the Freid Kingdom was rebuilt
completely, and quickly: the scars of war had mostly been erased.
However, as one war began to fade from memory, another one loomed in the
horizon.  This, the people didn't know.
	What the people didn't know was that the Madowshi of the ZaibachEmpire had chosen a new leader, who would forward the science andtechnology at an ever increasing rate.  The Zaibach Empire would again be
the instigator of peace... by simply conquering the rest of Gaea, and in
that process, killing thousands of people, devastating lands beyond
imagination.  It would all be fueled by feelings.  And science would
prosper, in its perverted twisted way, as no life would be sacred in the
Madowshi's hunger for experiments, human experiments, among others.
	This Van did know, as communications between the new Alliance had
increased as reports of new weaponry, new tools of war leaked out of
Zaibach.  He did also know, that the foreigner from the Visionary Moon had
something to do with this, and would soon answer to the questions of the
Alliance.
	What Van didn't know, he would find out, today, with the
questioning of the prisoner.  His mind was distracted, though, by
something else... as he could not take his heart, his mind, off Hitomi.
He remembered how much she was disturbed by the war three years ago... and
he did not want to see her hurt again, but as King he had a
responsibility: in addition to protecting Hitomi, his position commanded
him to protect the citizens of Fanelia, and more globally, maintain the
peace of Gaea.  Had it been that long that the lessons taught to them by
the awakening of the Utopia Machine were forgotten?  Had it been so long
that people hungered for war?  Van knew the answer was no.  A new element
had entered the fate of Gaea, and unfortunately, it would change the face
of Gaea forever, if not stopped.
	"Van, what's wrong?" asked Hitomi, as they followed Sid down the
long corridors of the castle-fortress, going to meet with the other
leaders of other nations.  Van snapped out of his reverie, and hugged
Hitomi closely, whispering "Nothing is wrong, at all..." and his face
burned red with emotion, with feeling.  Yes, having Hitomi here would be a
distraction, but perhaps a welcome one.
	As Sid, Van, Hitomi, and Merle approached the meeting room,
several of Sid's advisors, in addition to two servants, approached them
from the opposite side.
	"Please, let me show you your room" said one of the servants,
motioning for Hitomi and Merle to follow.  Van entered the meeting room
with Sid, as slowly other representatives from other nations gathered.
	"Van," thought Hitomi, "I'm afraid for you..."
	"...but I'm sure you'll be fine," she added, as her mouth turned
up to a smile, in an attempt to be cheery, but Van's sober face stuck in
her mind, and inward she was not entirely convinced everything would be
all right. Sid, too, seemed troubled.  As Hitomi walked with Merle and the
woman leading them, she mulled over her situation.  Yes, perhaps it was
nice to be back, but what of all the gloom that seemed hang over everyone
she saw.  Van hadn't told her anything.
	"If you truly love them, you must..."
	Hitomi was again enveloped by the black, dark, void, facing a
reflection of her grandmother, whose spirit again reminded her of her
shortcoming.  But she did not hear all that was to be said, for...
	"Hitomi!" shouted Allen.
	"Allen?" said Hitomi, "Allen!  You're here!  I'm so happy to see
you again."
	Hitomi ran ahead, to Allen Shezar, the former Tenku knight, who
was now in Polta because?
	"I'm here as an ambassador," said Allen, who otherwise hadn't
changed at all.  "Drydem chose me to represent Asturia, for which I'm
proud to represent, since Drydem has led us well.  So, you've come back to
visit? That's nice..." and Allen took Hitomi in his arms, and looked
solemnly in her eyes.  "I have to tell you something..."
	"Allen!  It's time..." shouted Van, peeking around the corner,
right outside the meeting chambers.
	And Allen left.
	Again Hitomi was torn.  What was it that Allen had wanted to tell
her?  What was it that made him that serious?  Hitomi would have a long
time to ponder this in her room, where she now stood, directly outside,
looking in.
	"Hitomi?" asked Merle, "are you all right?  You're making that
funny face again."
	"I'm fine, really," answered Hitomi, as she plopped down on the
bed to consider her circumstances.  She loved Van, but she still very much
had feelings for Allen, yet... the emotions were beginning to be confusing
again.



	That night, Hitomi could not sleep, and though she spent part of
the night gazing out at the double moons in the sky, she had but one
regret for coming back to Gaea, and that was, that all of her previous
feelings were coming back, and with that, all of her previous fears.  "Why
now," she asked herself.  "Why must I come at a time like this?"
	At that, she finally slept, and fell into a deep sleep, and dreamt
disturbing dreams...  The city burned, its citizens fleeing.  The melefs
were attacking a magnificent fortress in the center of the city as the
people valiantly tried to fight back.  The people suffered, yet the
inhabitants of the castle were well protected by blue beams of light that
emanated from the castle walls.  The light beams, though, were
indiscriminate in reaching targets, hitting both the melefs of the enemy
and other buildings in the city.  Pandemonium ruled the city, but inside
the fortress the people were calm.  They continued to plan, as they
watched their "experiement" in progress, and knew that they had nothing to
fear.  Emotions were an interesting study.
	The inhabitants of the city, though, did not know they were the
subjects of the experiments being carried out.  They just fought for their
lives.  Yet, they had lost, and had lost badly, for they were outnumbered,
outnumbered by a ratio of...
	"No! Why won't the fighting stop! Why must I see? Why?" Hitomi
awoke screaming, waking Merle in the process.
	"What's the matter?  You're always saying that, you're always
saying that, and I don't know what's going on.  It's so frustrating!!"
shouted Merle, who then flopped over and fell back asleep.
	"I'm sorry, Merle," said Hitomi, and she considered what her
visions, her visions without light, were about.  Nothing made sense, as
her mind tumbled and twisted from the turmoil in her soul.  Something was
wrong, but no one had yet spoken of it, not in full, anyway.  
Dissatisfied, Hitomi returned to her restless sleep. 
	And indeed her sleep was restless, as she dreamed that she had her
hands tied behind her back, blindfolded, and Hitomi, in her darkness, was
being taken somewhere, somewhere unfamiliar.
	And indeed, when Hitomi awoke, all she saw was blackness.  As she
opened her mouth to scream, a foul smelling rag was stuffed into it,
gagging her.  "Do not resist, and no harm will come to you," said the
voice.  "Work with us, and no harm will come to you."
	"Allen! Van! Someone please help me," Hitomi screamed in her mind.





To be continued...