Contains some spoilage for both series. I recommend you
see both (they's durn good!) before you read....


An Escaflowne/El Hazard story.

Explanations and apologies to follow.

Escaflowne is the creation of Shoji Kawamori. El Hazard was
created by the wizards at AIC. Both are very good, and I'm
desecrating them by doing this without the permission of
the creators, but also without intent to profit (so that
kinda balances out, right? Whaddaya mean it don't balance
out!?!). Comments of all sorts are appreciated, sought after,
solicited, propositioned, et cetera.

						Reunions




Hitomi.

I can finally come for you.

	"Vaa-aa-aan! Are you going to leave us now?" asked Merle, who
had snuck up behind Van Farnel, king of a rebuilding Farnelia.

	Van turned around with a rueful grin on his face. "Was I
thinking out loud again?"

	Van had his back to the night sky, the Mystic Moon, which he
had most likely been staring at earlier (he generally did that when
he could), where Hitomi came from silhouetting him. "Farnelia will
be fine without me for a little while-- just until I see Hitomi
again. I need her, Merle, I need her."

	"I know," a disconsolate Merle whispered softly. "I know."
Merle smiled suddenly, blinding with not-quite forced happiness.
"Just bring her back safe and sound." Her head quirked to a side, a
thought just occurring. "How are you going to get to the Mystic
Moon?"

	"I did it before, without knowing I was there and this time I
have this," Van said, holding out a familiar pendant which held a
shard of Drag-Energist.

	Merle nodded. "Take care. Come back soon, Van." The king of
Farnelia was not the only one who had grown since Hitomi first
came.

	A beam of pink and white light pierced the night sky, and then
Van was gone.


							***

	Afura Mann, holy priestess of Mount Muldoon and bearer of the
Lamp of Wind was engaged in what was arguably her favourite
activity, as well as one of the perks of being the wielder of this
particular lamp: flying. Currently she was over Mount Muldoon,
about to land there for a brief check-in (and perhaps to dust. It
got dustier there than you would expect with all the winds. Must be
the dry mountain air) at the temple when she saw a beam of
pink-white light part the sky and touch down somewhere on the
temple grounds. She sped up, the need to investigate taking
priority over the exhilaration of flight.

							 *

	Van Farnel looked around. Was this the Mystic Moon? The
architecture looked different from when he killed the dragon there
before. Also it was day here. He left at night. Before, when it was
night on Gaea when he left it was also night on the Mystic Moon. He
called out, "Hello? Hitomi? Are you here?" but no one answered.

	A sound behind him, a foot touching stone. Van whirled around
as his hand grabbed fro his sword-- which was not there. He did not
bring a sword, not seeing the need. He cursed that lack of
foresight in himself and laughed as soon as he thought of it. A
lack of foresight? Hitomi never had that problem now, did she?
	The source of the sound, now visible, turned out to be a woman.
Dark, dark brown hair and pale skin. Tight-fitting clothing which
covered everything while revealing everything as well in green, as
well as some strange belt. Very attractive, but she was not who he
was looking for. The clothes were strange but in a different way
from Hitomi's. Might as well be polite though. "Hello? I am Van
Farnel, king of Farnelia on Gaea. Is this the Mystic Moon?" What
did Hitomi call it that time? "Is this Earth?"

							 **

	Afura Mann touched down at the shrine, and could find no
evidence of damage from the beam. In fact, the only thing different
from what she remembered was the man in front of her-- he was not
there before. As soon as she landed he spun around on the ball of
his foot and dropped into a crouch as he reached instinctively for
a weapon on his side which was not there. The young man (around
Makoto and Nanami's age, Afura guessed) straightened himself and
smiled ruefully. Red shirt, short sleeved with a couple of ties
closing a v-neckline. Pants, possibly leather, a tan so light as to
be almost white. Wiry muscles, from what she could tell. Then he
spoke.

	"Hello? I am Van Farnel, king of Farnelia on Gaea. Is this the
Mystic Moon?" Van paused. "Is this Earth?"

	Oh my. Perhaps the earthers could help figure out what happened
to him. At any rate he claimed to be a ruler of some sort, so
logically she should bring him to meet Rune. "This is El Hazard,
not Earth. I know some people who may be able to help you; they are
from Earth. I'll take you to them, as well as to the princess Rune
Venus of Roshtaria, where the Earthers stay as guests in her palace
in Florestica, the capital." Afura sighed. Looks like she would be
landbound again.

							   *

	A sudden strong gust of wind, something which happened
extremely frequently at these heights and with the sudden
outcroppings of rock-- corners everywhere, a small breeze could
turn into gale-force wind, blew and slammed into Van's back,
throwing him from the edge of the shrine and down into the depths
of the mountain. 
	Taking a moment to look down, Van noticed that there was a lot
of distance between him and the rocks. Enough time, in fact, to
take off his shirt, which he did. No sense if wrecking clothes if
he did not have to, after all.


							  **

	Afura watched with horror as a freak gust of wind picked up the
young man, Van, and threw him off the cliff. That should not have
happened, the wind simply should not have been that strong. The
beam Afura had seen before (which, upon reflection, probably
carried Van Farnel here) probably had something to do with errant
wind. Afura darted over to the cliff, activating her powers in the
process; she had plenty of time to rescue the foreign king, but one
should not waste time in case something unexpected happened.
	Afura was about to leap down when she saw the strangest thing.
Van was taking off his shirt. That was... odd. Nice back, she noted
absently, good definition. And then... his back... and then...
feathered wings... and... and.... Oh my!
	Perhaps the trip to Florestica would not be land bound after
all.


							***


	The court gathered at the request of Rune Venus. All the
Earthers were there, with the exception of Katsuhiko Jinnai, of
course. The request from Rune Venus was in actuality a request from
Afura Mann, who asked the princess to do so, saying she had
something important to tell, and that Makoto and his friends
(Makoto in particular) should find it interesting, to say the
least.
	All the players were present, except for Afura and whatever
reason she had for requesting thing. Afura entered from the far end
of the hall, a young man behind her. He wore a red shirt and light
tan pants, and carried himself with the unconscious grace of a
skilled fighter and a presence of command one used to ruling has.

	"Your highness," Afura began, "may I present to you the King of
Farnelia, Van Farnel."

	The court was suitably confused. Where was Farnelia? Who had
heard of such a kingdom? Was this another Phantom Tribe trick? A
quick look at Nanami assured everyone that it was not, but what was
it then?

	"Farnelia?" Rune Venus asked. "I cannot say I have heard of
it."

	"You would not have, princess," Afura answered, "because it
cannot be found in El Hazard. The King Van Farnel comes from Gaea,
seeking the Mystic Moon, or Earth."

	"What?" twenty voices, fifty voices, all the voices except
Van's and Afura's shouted, Makoto's amongst them. 

	Makoto sprang to his feet and ran forward, questions flying
through his mind. Afura, knowing this would be a likely response,
was ready with an introduction. "Your Majesty? May I present to you
Makoto Mizuhara of Shinanome High School on Earth. He is the one I
think might help you the most." 

	Van inclined his head to Makoto, who, remembering his position,
quickly sketched a bow. Van looked towards Rune and said to her,
"Princess Rune Venus, I must ask you for a boon. I regret that I do
not have the time to do this properly, to talk as rulers talk to
each other, but time is of the essence to me. I have to go to the
Mystic Moon as soon as I can. I have been told that mister
Mizuhara," Van gestured to Makoto," might help me understand what
happened and why I came here instead of there."

	Rune nodded and gestured for the court to disperse. Everyone
began to file out when she said, "Not you, Makoto. You, and mister
Fujisawa and miss Jinnai may stay. The priestesses, current and
former," (a nod to Miz, who was now Mrs. Fujisawa), "may also stay
if you so desire." They all so desired. "I must ask you why you
wish to go to Earth. Why did you not send someone else, or why go
at all?"

	"Hitomi," Van said.

	"A woman?"						Van nodded.

	"You love her?"					Van nodded again.
	
	"Ah. I understand," Rune said, and she did. "Then you shall
have all the help we are able to give." So saying, Rune Venus left. 

	Makoto tugged Van's arm. "I need to ask you some questions.
Let's go to the Library."

	Van nodded and walked along-side Makoto to the Library. Passing
one of the windows, he noticed the Eye of God and stopped. "What is
that," he said, pointing to the huge device. "I asked priestess
Mann, but she would not give me an answer beyond that it was the
Eye of God."

	"Let's go outside. We can see it better from there and I will
tell you what I know about it."

	As they walked outside, towards the Eye, Makoto began to tell
Van about the Eye. "The Eye of God is something able to bore holes
through dimensions. In ancient times, it was used as a weapon and
almost destroyed the world. Not so long ago, just after we got here
from Earth, it was used again, this time narrowly avoiding the same
fate."

	"How did you avoid it this time?"

	"Ifurita. She had the ability to duplicate anything used on
her. She went to the heart of the overloading Eye and with my
direction redirected it's energies. It threw her through space and
time to Earth, where I found her and where she sent me here."

	Van blinked a couple of times. Makoto smiled. "Sounds strange,
doesn't it? But there's more. I have the ability to interface with
the technology of the ancients, which was how I was able to direct
her; she was made by them as well."

	"You love her too, don't you." 

	Makoto nodded. "Yes. You see why I want to help you go to
Earth, don't you? Because that means I can go to." Makoto looked up
at the all-seeing Eye. "I've figured out how it works, but I can't
use it."

	"Why not? Is there some mechanism or something that--"

	"No, nothing like that. Two reasons, actually. One, is that the
princesses have forbidden usage of the Eye-- every time it has been
used disaster has struck, even though this time I would know what
I'm doing. Two, I can't get up there on my own."

	Van looked at Makoto strangely. "So you're saying that if you
could get up there you would...."

	"In a second." Makoto smiled and laughed regretfully. "That's
not going to happen though, so why don't you tell me how you got
here, and also about why you call Earth the Mystic Moon."

	"There is nothing much to tell. I've been to Earth once before,
by accident. I was performing the rite of succession, trying to
slay a dragon, when I accidentally made my way to Earth. After I
killed the dragon and took out its Energist--"

	"Energist?"

	Van nodded. He held out Hitomi's pendant, and pointed at the
Drag-Energist in it. "This is a small shard of Drag-Energist, which
is what they are properly called. We use them to power many things,
but I don't need to go into that now. Anyway, I was transported
back to Gaea with Hitomi, whose pendant this is. Eventually, she
returned to Earth. I should have gone there instead of here, I
don't know why it happened, and until I do, I'm not going to try
again unless I'm desperate."

	"So you somehow used this Energist to pierce the dimensional
barrier then?" Makoto said slowly, puzzling it out.

	Van nodded. "I guess," he said and then shrugged.

	Makoto sighed.

	"You really can use this 'Eye of God' to open a way to Earth?"
Van asked suddenly.

	Makoto sighed again. "But I'd have to get up there, and I can't
do that without using the stairway, which is guarded, or by flying,
and Afura, quite understandably, wouldn't help me."

	Van smiled. The back of his shirt suddenly bulged in two places
and then ripped. "I think I know of a way around that."

	Makoto's jaw dropped as he pointed to Van's wings. "Oh my God!
You're an angel!"

	Van shook his head. "I don't know what that word means,
although Hitomi said that when she first saw them. I inherited them
from my mother. Let's not wait too long. Someone might suspect what
we're about to do. Besides, there's no time like the present,
right?"

	Makoto nodded dumbly. "Wait a second! There's something I have
to get! I'll be right back." Makoto quickly ran to his chambers, to
get the Power-Key staff that Ifurita would need. Van retracted his
wings and ran after Makoto.


								****

	"Are you ready?" Van asked, holding onto Makoto's shoulders in
garden just below the Stairway to Heaven.

	Makoto nodded. "I'm ready."

	Van unfolded his wings again, a flurry of white feathers flying
everywhere. The wings flapped slowly, gathering in strength and
speed and they began to lift off the ground.
	Nanami, unbeknownst to either of them, appeared out of the bush
with a smile on her face and a basket of food in her hands.

	"Hi, Makoto! Your Majesty! Ura told me she saw you coming here,
and I thought you might be hungry so--" Nanami said before she
looked at them and saw Van's wings starting to carry them away.
"Angel!" she cried.


								**

	Afura Mann looked up in the sky, idly sipping tea with
Shayla-Shayla. She spit out the tea, spraying Shayla in the
process. "Look! They're going to the Eye of God!"

	Shayla, who was too mad to really hear what Afura had said
sputtered out angrily, "Whadja do that for! I'm all covered in tea
now!" before she looked in the direction Afura was pointing. "Oh
shit," she said, summing it all up concisely in those two words.

	Afura literally leapt out the window and flew off towards the
Eye as fast as she could, knowing it would be too late but doing so
all the same. 


							   ****

	"Left," Makoto said, guiding Van to the heart of the Eye.
"It'll be easier for me to control if I'm in the centre of the Eye
of God," he said absently.

	Van merely nodded and continued towards the core of the Eye of
God.

							   ****

	Makoto and Van reached the centre of the Eye of God. Van set
Makoto down and said, "Now what?"

	"Just wait a moment while I...," Makoto trailed off, already
interfacing with the ancient satellite. 

	Machinery hummed and powerful energies sang and swirled around
them. "Just a little bit longer. I've finished the warm-up
procedure."

	I'm coming, Ifurita.

	I'm coming, Hitomi.

	I'm coming for you, we're coming for you. Wait for me, wait for
us, just this little bit longer. 


							   ****

	The dawn was coming from behind. Makoto found himself clutching
the Power-Key staff in the schoolyard, and there she was, against
the fence. There she was, running toward him; there she was, arms
wrapped around him and wrapped in his arms. There she was, as she
should be, with him, now and forever.


								 *

	Van Farnel found himself somewhere on the Mystic Moon, he knew
it had to be there and nowhere else. There was a garden, and a
stone, so he sat down and waited. An enigmatic smile grew on his
face. Hitomi would be here soon, he could wait, and when she came?
what then? Time enough to decide that when it happened.



Author's notes: I picked up my Escaflowne tapes I ordered with a friend
from AnimeVillage.Com this weekend. Now, I'd seen it before, and it was
only the first 3 tapes that I have, but the difference in quality (very
bad copy I originally saw) was... well, it was like watching them again
for the first time.
	Couple that with watching the last tape of the El Hazard TV series
(Wanderers), the end of the last episode especially with that little
wing symbol thingie.... So I came up with this. A rather hurried effort,
which was dictated into a recorder on my trip back from my parents (whom
I visited this weekend, amongst other things), to where I live.
	Meant to make some connection with the Ispanos (the people who
created the Escaflowne guymelef) and the ancient El Hazard peoples. Make
them one and the same or something like that (making the Ispanos, in 
effect, the creators of the Eye of God and perhaps Ifurita as well), but
it just didn't really fit here. An idea for a further story, or if there
were an expansion of this one, perhaps.
	Well, anyway, I just had to get this out of my head, as you can
probably tell, and so it suffers even moreso from my characteristic
lack of care. Heck, it's been the better part of a year since I saw
all of Escaflowne (except for the ones I now have, of course), so
I've bollixed some of it up, most likely (I tried to dodge around that
by remaining vague on a lot of the stuff, but...). Basically, what I'm
saying is that I'm not really sure about this one, and leave it up to
you to decide. 

	Other reason I wrote it? Well, both series suffer from a dearth
of fanfics, well-written or otherwise, and while this may in fact fall
under the 'otherwise' column, it's still an attempt of sorts to rectify
that shortcoming. Heck, it's also a crossover that doesn't involve
Ranma or Sailor Moon... it's pretty different just for that alone! ^_^
	Anyway, it's my second crossover, my first one being another, even
smaller basically spamfic one with Blade of the Immortal (why don't we
see more of that one? An interesting manga series, anyway) and 3x3 Eyes.
That reminds me, I've still got my "I'll give you C&C if it's Blade of
the Immortal, public or private, your choice" guarantee in effect, so
you know you'll have at least one reader and one reply....
(just doin' my part to bring a little diversity, folks) ^_-



Matthew "Maybeso" Lewis is:
InDefinitelyso on IRC
See him on FFIRC [bachman.newberry.edu fanfic]
Sojiro_Seta on Kawaiimuck
	maybeso@ican.net
Playing the fool in a foolish world
____________________________________________________________

Sheen watched his flight. "I forgot to mention the most
important thing," he murmured. "If there's one thing a mind
can't avoid, it is its automatic aversion to evil. The
moment he lets it into himself, he places his feet on the
road to demolition."
 		    -excerpt from A Billion Days of Earth
			by Doris Piserchia
____________________________________________________________