The Legend of El Hazard
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by Florencio B. de la Merced, Jr. (fmerced@pworld.net.ph)
A Fanfic inspired by the anime El Hazard.
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The World of El Hazard
The Prologue
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El Hazard
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A week ago, Makoto Mizuhara had a normal life. He was an excellent student
in Shinonome High School, a cut above everyone else. The most popular
student, and generally acknowledged for his good looks, athleticism, and
kind at heart and manners. So he didn't really have any trouble. Except
that day. During the first few weeks of school, and just after the student
body elections, a freshman accidentally discovered a mysterious room buried
underneath the very foundations of the High School.
Six days later, Makoto found himself outside on one of the terraces of the
palace of Floristica, the capital of Roshtaria. This was of course in the
magnificent world of El Hazard now, a few dimensions from what he had known
as Earth. He was there in the land of magic and adventure, but his heart
was somewhere else. He looked down, grasping the power key staff that was
given to him only a few hours ago. "Ifurita, why?" His mind was ten
thousand years away, his emotions was farther still.
"Makoto, I..." The look alike second princess of the kingdom of Roshtaria
step out on the terrace joining Makoto. "I never said how grateful I was.
I'm sorry for your loss." Makoto looked at Fatora, he still wasn't used to
the sight of her, a mirror of his physical self. "Well, thanks. Gotta
run." As quickly as she appeared, Fatora ran off. Makoto didn't know what
to think about Fatora, she was...well, she was not what she had expected she
would have been. He remembered the picture hanging in one of the rooms of
the palace, Fatora looked like him, but..she had Rune Venus' smile.
"Ifurita?" His lips didn't deceive him, all he could really think of right
now was the one person that wasn't in El Hazard anymore. "Why?"
-----
"Professor Shattlubug, please. You've got to help me." Makoto pleaded in
front of the dean of the Scientific Academy, and chief adviser of the Royal
Family of Roshtaria. But, even the ten feet high pile of ancient verses and
books that blocked the dean's view from Makoto couldn't help both of them.
"I wish I could, Mizuhara." Shattlubug appeared from one side, engrossed in
a dust ridden book. "But all the ancient text can't tell me anything. Even
these figures from the ancient ones don't seem to make any sense." He threw
the book down just in front of Makoto, stirring up a cloud of dust that made
their breathing quite difficult.
"But there must be a way, there has to be a way of getting Ifurita back."
Makoto sat down, angry and frustrated. He contemplated of going back to the
Eye of God that was still floating above the Stairway to Heaven. But his
early visits there didn't help a bit. He tried to feel his way through the
catacombs and innards of the Eye, but with it's inactivation since Ifurita's
disappearance, there wasn't much he could see. And turning it on again was
out of the question. He couldn't allow that to happen again. He dumped his
head desperately on his tired hands, and only trying desperately to stop the
tears from falling.
"There, there, Makoto. Something will come up, I'm sure." Shattlubug
brought out another pile of old text and dumped them on the table nearby.
Makoto looked up, finally noticing the book that was thrown at him a while
ago. The figures and drawings looked familiar. No, that can't be, he said
to himself. But, it was true, he couldn't deny it, those plans on the big
old book really looked familiar to him. He reached out and took the book,
browsing a bit and uncovering a lot of dusty pages in the process. Yes, he
couldn't be wrong at what he had discovered. "Huh? What is it Makoto? "
The learned dean asked behind a pile of books.
"This book, I think I know what these plans are." Makoto brushed a bit
further trying to reveal some text. "But, I can't read these text. Can you
translate them for me?" Shattlubug took another look at the book.
"Let see. These are in the ancient text, so it'll be difficult to
translate.." The dean's finger traced through a whole paragraph, "this seems
to be the plans for...a contraption of some sort. An ancient...hmm," he
wiped more, "seem like a ... toas.."
"Toaster! That's it, it's a toaster!" Makoto heart leapt by his discovery.
Dean Shuttlubug looked at him curiously.
"So, you know what exactly does this toaster do, Makoto?"
------
"Nanami, let's get something straight." Shayla stammered in between drinks.
Nanami was across the couch, drinking as well. Fortunately for them,
Fujisawa-sensei was .. preoccupied with some priestess matters. "Makoto is
not your boyfriend, right?"
"Oh, I keep telling you! We've.." Nanami was cut off by the sudden
opening of the doors. From the doorway appeared Makoto, the one and only
that had been the subject of their conversation. Both women tried to run
and hide. In their state, it wasn't pleasant for them to be seen with the
boy that was the target of their...eh, shall we say affection.
"Nanami! I've got..." Makoto brought a plate full of bread towards the two
women, who were still stunned by Makoto's sudden barging in. "Try it,
quick!" Shayla reached in immediately, irking Nanami just as quickly.
"Gee, Thanks. Don't mind if I do." The sound of the bread grounded in her
mouth. "Hmm, kinda crunchy."
"Hey, Makoto offered those to me!" Nanami took a bite. "Hey, these are..."
Makoto cheerfully nodded, "toasted bread? But, how? Wait, they don't make
toasted bread here, do they?"
------
"Oh, my dear Masamichi. What are you doing now?" Miz looked on from the
doorway, while Fuijsawa continued to pack a lot of things in his carrying
bag.
"I'm leaving." He snapped on the latch and hung it over his shoulder, a
modified pick axe in his other hand. "I'm...whoa!" Miz Mishtal threw
herself at him, almost knocking him down on his bed.
"No, don't leave me, Masamichi! What about our...you know?" She started
crying, dragging him down further. "Please, I love you. I want to be
your...you know. Don't you?" Fujisawa was confused and unresponsive.
"No!"
"Miz, priestess. I'm just going to climb that Stairway to Heaven, you
know...that thing that goes really way high up." He pulled her up. "Ever
since I saw it, I wanted to climb it."
"You mean you're not really leaving me? How wonderful! Then I shall escort
you, my love." Miz hugged Masamichi even more, much to her forced fiance's
discomfort. Before Masamichi could break free, the doors of his room was
thrown open wide by the crowd that had suddenly appeared.
"Teacher, you've got to see this!" Alliele shouted as she and Fatora held
each other. Shayla carefully stayed a distance from the two freaks. Nanami
held out a plate full of toasted bread for her teacher to taste.
"Interesting." Fujisawa took another piece, "Do you probably have jam?"
------
"What? You're telling me that..." Masamichi couldn't believe what he was
hearing. Makoto took a whole lot of books and had spread them all over the
floor of the library.
"No, I'm not kidding. These ancient plans. They're all Earth devices."
Makoto opened a few more books, though the text were foreign to him, the
plans of an electric fan, and a short-wave radio wasn't. He could see that
these were engineering plans, most on common devices that didn't really add
up in one category for a single archive of books. He thanked his lucky
stars that his father was an engineer, and at one time his inspiration in
schooling.
"Makoto, I've finally translated the titles in these books." Shattlubug
entered the room with a handful of papers that appeared to be computer
printouts. "It would seem that the titles are what we suspected. These
books are the ancient archives of instrumentation and applied technology."
Everyone stared at the dean with suspicion. "Well, at least that was what
the translation came out."
"Strange, but I guess it makes sense." Everyone turned to Fujisawa, their
mentor and teacher. So if their was an explanation for the discovery, it
had to come from Masamichi. "It seems that El Hazard started out in as much
the same way Earth did. Well, at least with the appliances and stuff."
"I've never heard of this...Microwave?" Fatora was standing by a few books,
translating by heart the labels she had read. "Nor this...Television?
What in the world is that?" Rune Venus was observing from a distance. She
too was aroused by the link of El Hazard's past and that of the world where
her new found friends, and the saviors of the new El Hazard.
"Well, at least we know that the technology evolved here in El Hazard."
Afura Mann got everyone's attention as she pointed towards the huge
spherical ball, the Eye of God, that was hovering above El Hazard. "But I
don't know what this discovery will tell us."
"Simple, the plans of that Eye of God must be somewhere here inside this
library." Makoto made everyone happy with that revelation. The happiest
was him, and all he needed to know was to find the book that had those
plans.
Londs, the royal guardian and also another adviser to the princesses,
stepped forward. "It's not that simple, I'm afraid."
Rune Venus told everyone what she knew. "The plans for the Eye of God were
destroyed, a long time ago." Everyone felt the sadness in the room. Makoto
was hit the worst. He couldn't believe it, somehow his future looked bleak
and dark.
"There must be something here that can be useful!" Nanami protested, though
no one knew what to answer. She dragged a few books off the pile, kitchen
equipment mostly. She tried in vain, and so did everyone else. After an
afternoon long search by everyone, including Uhra, now Makoto's guardian
cat, the plans never came up.
-----
Exhausted and with lost hope, everyone started their way towards the exit.
Makoto was kneeling on his knees, praying for a miracle. He couldn't just
leave Ifurita behind, he promised. A promise was a promise. To everyone's
surprise, Alliele, the lesbian lover of Fatora, and the least useful in the
search was the first one to notice the huge portrait of a young man at the
far corner of the library.
"Hey, teacher. Who is that?" Alliele pointed to the painting, a worn and
dirty drawing that was hanging inconspicuously at the far wall. Dean
Shuttlubug put on his glasses and brought out a lamp that lit up that dark
corner of the library. He examined it, dusted some dirt off the title and
came back to Alliele and to everyone else with an answer.
"I don't recognize the man in the picture, but I think he's one of those
great wizards of El Hazard. One of the ancient ones that were responsible
for the technology of long ago. Even that of the Eye of God." Everyone
made some "oh" noise, Makoto however was intrigued. Finally, someone with
the answered he needed. Though he maybe dead, it was the only spark of
light that was burning at the dark and lonely tunnel that he was travelling
in. "I believe, from the title, that this man was once called Sage
Hinosuke." Makoto looked at the dean shockingly. Nanami and Fujisawa too
was aroused.
"Did you say, Hinosuke?" Makoto stared back at the painting, inspecting the
grim outline and details of the face that was responsible for the Eye of
God. What was he thinking? It can't be, it was too...preposterous to even
consider.
"Where have I heard that name before?" Fujisawa scratched his head in
thinking. Nanami came up with an answer.
"Hey, isn't Makoto's dad named..." Nanami was cut short again by Makoto.
"This is my father." Makoto turned to everyone, pointing at the painting.
"I don't know how, but this is a portrait of my father. The father I know
back on Earth. The one I left there." Makoto and the rest of them was
still in disbelief. The shock of the conclusion was too much for anyone to
try to even speak. Except for Fatora, of course, who didn't really care
what everything meant anyway.
"So why don't we just ask Makoto's father?"
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Earth
-------
"Where is that fool? He's late coming home again!" Hinosuke Mizuhara
walked back and forth in the living room of his home. His wife was with him
but sat on the couch instead.
"He's alright, maybe he's just with a girl or something?" His wife
continued reading a magazine, though she was worried too. Hinosuke sat
down.
"A girl won't get my son this late unless...." His wife started crying.
"Now, now. Don't cry. He's not doing that, I'm sure." Hinosuke wasn't,
but it made his wife calm down. "I'll give that boy a good spanking when he
comes home. I swear!"
------
Shinonome High
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Ifurita leaned back on the wire fence, she was very tired. She looked up at
the night sky, the stars were all looking down on her. She wished at one of
them, hoping a little prayer she had almost ten thousand years ago was
finally going to get fulfilled. She closed her eyes, and by tomorrow's
morning light she would see Makoto again. A hope she had filled her whole
heart for last ten millennia, and God wasn't about to disappoint her.
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End of Prologue
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Please C & C
Not that it matters, but this is the best fic series I could think off just
after watching the last tape of El Hazard OAV. Also, I've got no idea on
the spellings on several characters. Please correct me. Another thing, I'm
troubled by those flashbacks Ifurita saw. Can someone tell me how she was
in Makoto's past when she came only after? Or was it the past at all?
Thanks