Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness Falls ❯ Chapter 10: Guests, Explanations, and Visions, Oh My! ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 10~~ Guests, Explanations, and Visions, Oh My

The room fell silent. The shadowy figures shifted uneasily under the harsh scrutiny of 10 pairs of eyes. Both figures were carrying large boxes. The figure closest to the group and carrying the largest load, stepped cautiously forward, letting himself be engulfed by the yellow light from above. His boots thumped rhythmically on the hard wood floor as he walked. He set his load carefully down on the display case next to the register. He turned back to face group and smiled nervously. He had black hair, cut short. His brown eyes sparkled anxiously, darting from one unfamiliar face to the next. He was dressed in the standard USAF military garb with insignias on his shoulder indicating he was major.

"So… um, I brought coffee," the man stated. "Wills, you weren't kidding when you said how many people would be here."

"Xander!" Serena cried out with joy as she ran up and hugged him tightly. Xander laughed, gently lifted her off the ground, and spun her around in a circle as she laughed. The blonde knight glared at the dark-haired man, anger boiling in his veins. His fingers stroked the hilt of his sword lightly as jealousy rose in his throat.

Xander put Serena down and lightly kissed her on her forehead. Allen drew his sword and positioned himself into an attack position. "How dare you insult my sister's honor with your sinful pursuits? I challenge you to a duel in defense of my sister's honor!" Xander stared at the blond man for a moment before it registered in his head what the wannabe Barbie was challenging him to.

"Hmmm, well, it seems I left my sword in my Hum-V, so, yeah." He shrugged and backed away from the overly protective blonde.

"Better not give Blondie any coffee; I don't think he needs the caffeine. He's already off his rocker to begin with," he mumbled.

In a flash, a petite figure blocked the knight of Caeli's prey and gripped the end of the blade hard enough to draw blood. Two crimson drops rolled down the edge of the blade before dropping to the ground. Allen looked down toward the small spots of red and to the angry platinum blonde girl before him.

"Who do you think you are?" she said with venom dripping off every word. Anger flickered dangerously in her eyes. "You have not seen me for the past, what? 13 years? I am not some little damsel in distress who needs a Pansy-ass excuse for a brother to save her! I can take care of myself and have been ever since I was set free of him. Do you understand me?"

"I will not watch my sister's honor be soiled by some lowly commoner!" Allen scoffed. Alex and Hitomi watched with a mix of interest and smug knowledge. The last time she was this angry with a guy, he wound-up in the hospital for 3 days. Serena sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. She opened them a split second later and ripped the sword she was holding out of his hands. The sword flew through the air and landed with an audible thud against the wall behind the register. Blood dripped from her right hand with a steady pitter-patter.

"Alexander Harris is hardly a commoner," she said coldly. "He's a major in the US Air Force, which makes him equal to you. He leads his own squadron of B-52 Bombers. Besides, he's engaged to be married and, unlike you, he won't cheat on her. I heard all about your past, Brother. I will not tolerate you berating me when you have the audacity to be a hypocrite."

Serena brushed passed him and walked into the back room. Allen shifted on his feet and went behind the register to retrieve his sword. As he came back, Serena came out of the back room with her hand wrapped in a bandage and carrying her laptop. She went to the table and set up her computer. She hooked up her headphones and put on a Linkin Park CD. Allen glanced at her and considered going over and apologizing to her, but thought better of it. She didn't seem that interested in talking to him right then anyway.

Willow walked up to Xander, smiling. "Been awhile, hasn't it, Xander?"

"Yeah, been a long while," he replied as he hugged her tightly. "So, what's goin' on here?"

"Well, that's what we were going to find out when you showed up."

"It would seem we have perfect timing," the second figure spoke up as he stepped toward the center of the room, setting the box he was carrying down next to Serena's laptop.

"Angel!" Hitomi cried out as she ran to him and hugged him. Angel pulled away and rested his hand on her waist, holding her close to him. Van clenched his fists into a tight ball. Anger rose in his throat. He stood there quivering with jealousy and anger as a barely audible growl rose from deep within his throat. His fists clenched into tighter balls, his fingernails digging small crescent moons into the calloused flesh of his palms. In his rage, Van failed to notice Angel looking at him with a confused and amused expression.

Angel smiled at Willow and said, "I can't stay long, but I need that one potion we discussed over the phone."

Willow smiled and moved away from the register towards the backroom where she kept all her pre-made potions. "Sure."

Van silently touched the hilt of his sword, contemplating the many ways he could disembowel the man…or worse.

Angel noticed the slight stroking of his sword. He leaned toward Hitomi and whispered in her ear, noticing the way Van stiffened at the action, and the soft growl grew louder. "Is he your lover?" Angel asked the shorter girl.

Hitomi leaned on her tiptoes and softly replied, "Hai, Niichan. That's my Koi."

Angel smiled down at her and patted her on the head. He let go of her and looked toward Van with a half smile and a cruel glint in his eye. He motioned for Van to follow him and walked to a secluded and dark corner of the store. Angel glanced at the unfamiliar faces as he passed them. The young cat-girl was watching mesmerized as Serena showed her the wonders of her laptop. Gaddes watched them both from a far with an unreadable expression. Alex had given up on Dilandau and was now sitting at the table with her headphones on. The faint sounds of Excess by Tricky filtered out. Willow hadn't come out of the backroom yet and Allen was trying to look inconspicuous after his incident with the girl that was his once innocent little sister. Dilandau was exactly where Alex had left him although he had dropped the ice onto the floor and he no longer needed the Kleenex. He had a mixture of boredom and annoyance written over his face, but Angel noticed that he kept glancing at Alex. 'What is it with Alex and attracting the bad boys?' He thought to himself.

Van followed Angel, wondering what this kusottare wanted to discuss with him. He stopped in a darkened corner and turned toward the young King before him. Van crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. Angel moved close to Van, keeping the gap between the two small. He leaned forward. "I am sure that brilliant brainiac who does the research for you, taught you about vampires, right?"

Van nodded and sneered at the man before him. He could care less what he wanted to say, he just wanted him to stay away from his Tomi.

Angel smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. Van tried to pull away but his grip was like an iron vice. Angel's face changed in an instant. His yellow eyes gleamed with amusement and his bared canines flashed in the low light as Van's face shifted from surprise to horror to anger. Angel leaned in so his mouth was even with Van's ear.

He whispered softly, "If you hurt her, I will personally hunt you down and make you beg for death before I drain your body of its blood."

He pulled away and smiled at Van's gaping mouth. He patted him lightly on the cheek and strolled over to where Xander was standing. Xander wore a knowing smirk and smacked Angel on the back before whispering to him.

"Still playing the overprotective brother?"

"Of course! I have to protect them from the male species. If I don't, who will?" Angel whispered back.

Both of them laughed and glanced toward Van. Van stood there for a few more seconds contemplating the threat. He turned back toward Hitomi and sauntered over to her. He wrapped his arms around her so her back was against his chest. She relaxed into him and he smiled lightly into her hair.

"What is that Onore to you?" he asked her eyeing Angel suspiciously.

"Van! He's like my Niichan! Eew!" Hitomi cried out, contorting her face in playful disgust. Van moved nervously and felt heat rise in his cheeks. He looked around the room and noticed that both Serena and Alex had taken their headphones off and were now snickering at him.

Merle, turning away from the laptop, asked, "What's wrong, Van-sama?"

"Van thinks that me and Angel-Eew! Never mind I'm not going to think about it!" Hitomi answered with disgust, shaking her head to rid it of the thought. Laughter rose up and filled the room. Gaddes couldn't contain himself any longer and was rolling on the floor. Allen chuckled lightly to himself. Folken looked on amused. Serena and Alex gave small smiles before they put their headphones back on and devoted their attention somewhere else, Serena on her computer and Alex on her music and the occasional glances she took at Dilandau.

Willow chose this moment to wander back in, with a small bottle in her hand and a piece of paper with instructions on it. Walking over to the smirking vampire, she handed him the bottle and the paper. Looking around the room, she noticed the angry yet embarrassed expression on Van's face as well as the overall laughter in the atmosphere all of which pointed towards Van.

"Alright people, that's enough picking on Van for now," she said aloud.

"Who is Van?" Xander asked.

"I am Van, you moron! Who else do you think would be holding Hitomi?" Van yelled out angrily.

"Excuse me for being new! I've been 3000 miles away. I don't know everything that happens here. I am not Willow."

Sighing Willow walked away from the group and grabbed for her bottle of aspirin. "Does anybody feel a headache coming on?" she asked.

"Blondie might. He's been thinkin' lately and his brain might've fried from the overload," Dilandau replied.

"Hey!" Allen exclaimed, offended. "I have not been thinking," he paused for a moment to contemplate what he just said. "Wait! I have not been thinking that hard," Allen finished as his face took on a bright shade of embarrassment.

"Right," Dilandau said with a smirk.

Willow looked at the bottle of aspirin in her hand. After shaking her head, she popped out two more.

"Willow-san, what are those?" Folken asked curiously.

Willow sighed and then proceeded to tell him that they are aspirin tablets and that they reduce the pain of headaches until they go away.

"Alright people! Sit, listen, speak and die," Willow tells them exasperated. All in the room complied, all but Dilandau who protested.

"I don't have to listen to this baka onna," he protested as he stood up and walked defiantly across the room towards the couch where Alex had transferred herself to.

"Dumme scheißkopf, verpischen Junge…" Willow cursed under her breath.

Alex, upon hearing the German curse words, grabbed a hold of Dilandau's wrist and pulled him into a seat on the couch next to her.

"Shut your fucking mouth, you idiot! You pissed her off!" Alex hissed out.

Dilandau, seeing his opportunity, pulled her into his lap thereby pissing her off. Alex stood up and slapped him hard across the face. He fell off the couch, nearly taking the couch over with him.

"Kuso," Dilandau cursed as he fell.

Alex walked over to her pull up bar and began hanging from it again. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned angrily.

"Alright, so, who is going to tell me what you all are doing here?" Willow asked.

"I will, Willow-san," Folken volunteered. He paused for a moment to let her answer, to which she nodded her head. He then began his story. "Well, back home on Gaea, we were attacked by these creatures we later found to be called orcs. After our research, we discovered that these creatures came from the un-traveled area of Gaea called Middle Earth. They are controlled by an evil man who seeks to destroy and conquer. The only way to rid our lands of these creatures and this evil is to bring the slayers from the Mystic Moon, Earth, back to Gaea where they will help us destroy this evil. In our research, we came across a prophecy that a set of three slayers would cure our planet; the seeress, the empathic and the power. We are not quite sure what all that means but I believe that each of the three slayers has a specific role and power. The first sees things that many wouldn't normally see, I'm not quite sure on this one but I think it has something to do with seeing the future and the past, much like Hitomi in the Destiny Wars. The second one I understood as one who feels the pain of others and senses things others normally wouldn't. The third one I took as being the strength of the group, possibly she has a special ability. We came here in search of these slayers as we discovered that they would be located somewhere within this town."

"So, you're looking for the slayers. In your research, did you find out anything else about them besides this prophecy?" Willow asked.

"Well, the only other thing we found out was that they are all women and that they are chosen to protect this world from beings called vampires, demons and something called an apocalypse. We were wondering if you possibly knew where the slayers are," Folken explained.

"Yeah, we know who the slayers are," Alex replied with sigh.

"We don't know about this prophecy you're talking about, but Alex, Hitomi, and I are the three slayers around here. There has never been more than two slayers at one time till now. So, I'm guessing we are who you are looking for in the prophecy," Serena said with a slight smile.

"The prophecy you were speaking about does it go something like…

'Day turns to night

Yet the moon shadowed from light

Three slayers shall cure all

The Seeress

The Empathic

The Power

Three shall restore the land

And the sun will shine again'

Willow asked.

"Yes, that is exactly how it goes!" Folken exclaimed.

"Alright, you are in the right place and you have found the three slayers you were looking for. The seeress is Hitomi, the empathic is Serena and the power is Alex," Willow explained.

"Oh, great! Do we ever get a fucking Holiday?" Alex exclaimed from her bar.

"You should know Lex, we don't get holidays," Serena stated slightly miffed.

"You know, there was that one time 2 years ago when we all went snowboarding at Mammoth for the weekend," Hitomi said.

"Yeah…," Alex replied dreamily. "Willow, can we go surfing this time, please? In La Jolla? Please?"

"Maybe next year," Willow answered.

"But you said that last year when we wanted to go to Disneyland!" Serena whined.

"The happiest place on earth is not for slayers," Alex scoffed.

"Happiest place? What?" asked a confused Gaddes.

"Never mind," Serena mumbled aloud.

After a few minutes of silence, Serena noticed that Alex had taken off her jacket and she remembered the interesting tattoo she had on her right shoulder blade.

"Hey Lex, show everybody your dragon tattoo," Serena asked her friend.

Alex looked towards her friend and then looked around the room. She noticed that Dilandau was sitting near Serena and Merle, Willow was near Folken, Van and Hitomi were practically sitting on each other, Gaddes and Allen were sitting a little bit away from Willow and Folken and lastly Angel and Xander were near her. She looked down and saw the end table next to her with several large books sitting on top and a stone lamp. Picking up the lamp, she looked at it and then at Serena who seemed to have forgotten Alex never answered her and began to chat about how neat it looked. Alex looked at the lamp once more in contemplation and then set it down only to pick up one of the books and hurl it at Serena. Her toss was, however, slightly off its target and hit Dilandau instead smack dab in the middle of his forehead knocking him over once more along with the couch he had been sitting on. A muffled kuso was heard from him as he went down yet again. She smiled to herself and then picked up another book. She then hurled this one as well at the now laughing Serena, hitting her in the chest and knocking her off her stool.

"Alex!" Serena yelled out angrily. "Why'd ya do that?"

"Yeah, Onna. Why the hell did ya hit me with a stupid book?" Dilandau said as he got himself and the couch upright.

"'Cause I could," Alex finished in a childish tone with her hands held behind her back.

Looking at the trio Hitomi leaned farther into Van and whispered to him, "I think those two like each other."

Van looked at her and asked, "How can you tell?"

"Alex is only violent towards people she likes. Well, besides the vampires and Sere-chan and me," Hitomi replied.

Van looked at Alex and whispered, "I hope she hates me then." Hitomi laughed.

After a few minutes of laughs, arguments and normal conversations, the dragon tattoo was once again brought up.

"You know its funny, both Alex-san and Van-sama have affiliations to dragons," Merle said.

"Yeah, that is weird," Serena commented.

Alex, during this conversation, remained quiet. 'Dragons have always been a thing of mine. I can't really remember why. I know there is a reason for it but I just can't remember …," Alex thought to herself. While in deep thought, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body went limp. She fell from the bar that she was perched on. While she fell, she hit her head on the corner of the table, cutting a small gash across her eyebrow.

"Alex!" Serena screamed out as she watched her friend fall. She ran over to the bleeding girl. Willow ran out of the room and into the back where she found her first-aid kit. Hitomi stood up and took a few steps towards her friend but stopped as her eyes fixated on the brown haired girl. Merle ran up the girl as well and searched for her pulse. After finding it, she gave a slight sigh of relief.

"She has a strong pulse but she's unconscious. I don't know how long she'll be under. I don't think she has a concussion but we need to bandage this wound before she looses too much blood," Merle explained.

"Here's the bandages," Willow said as she ran back into the room. She handed them to Merle who seemed to be handling the situation with the skill of a professional nurse.

While watching Merle bandage up Alex, a faraway void passed over Hitomi's face and her eyes glazed over.

"Alex," she whispered out before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out, falling to the floor with an audible thump.

"Ah, shit! Not again," both Willow and Serena cried out simultaneously.

"Dilandau, come here and place Alex on that couch. Van put Hitomi on that one. They'll both be fine. Hitomi is having a vision. This has happened once or twice before, they can pull her into unconsciousness. As for Alex, I'm sure will come to in a little bit. She has a hard head and she'll bounce back soon," Willow said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Vision *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hitomi saw a cliff with a large dark cave carved into the mountainside. She stood in front of the cave. Looking down from the cliff, she saw a forest with a small clearing next to a babbling brook. In the clearing was a huge red dragon with black wings. The beast was being attacked by creatures Hitomi could only describe as being big and ugly. Next to the dragon stood a small girl. The girl had long wavy brown hair. She was in the stance of an experienced warrior. Looking closer at the girl, she noticed that it looked like a younger version of Alex. The Alex look-alike was fighting the ugly beasts, protecting the dragon. One by one the Ugly things fell to the ground as their black blood spilled from their wounds. When the last ugly fell to its peril, the dragon turned to her. A moment went by and both the dragon and the girl were enveloped in a bright light. The light exploded when it reached its pinnacle. As the light faded, the girl was left standing with a sword hanging three feet off the ground in front of her. The dragon spoke to the girl. Hitomi tried to but she couldn't make out the words. When the dragon was done speaking, she took the sword into her hands. As she did this, the dragon became transparent and its body transformed into a snake. The dragon weaved its snake like body around her, lifting her off the ground. The girl cried out in agony. The clearing was once again filled by a flash of light. When the light was gone, a tattoo of a red dragon with black wings was burned and slightly glowing on her shoulder. Studying the marking, Hitomi noticed it was exactly like the one Alex had. The glow faded from the marking and the girl dropped to the ground. The sword in her hands vanished and a blue pillar of light shot down from the sky and drew the girl into the sky. Just as Hitomi expected, the girl was gone as well as the familiar blue light.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* End Vision *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lightly shaking her, Van got Hitomi to wake up. After a few shakes, she sprung up with a flying fist. Unfortunately for Van, the fist made contact with his cheek.

"Oh, my God! Van, I'm sorry. Gomen nasai, Van-chan," Hitomi apologized with a hug and a soft kiss on the cheek. "Gomen, Van. I thought you were Alex."

"She's still out cold, Tomi-chan," he told her softly.

"What did you see, Hitomi?" Willow asked.

"I saw a dragon that was being attacked by a bunch of ugly monsters. There was a girl too that looked just like Alex would have looked when she was younger probably at like age 12 or so. She was protecting the dragon by killing the evil creatures. When they were all dead, the scene flashed in a bright light and the dragon started speaking. He spoke a language that I couldn't understand, and I'm not sure if she herself understood it. In front of her was a sword that was a few feet of the ground. When she took the sword in her hands, the dragon became transparent and wove its body around her, lifting her off the ground. She started to scream, but then the dragon and the light went away. She was left on the ground with a glowing marking on her right shoulder of a dragon. Alex has the same one on her shoulder. The sword vanished from sight, a pillar of blue light came down picking her off the ground, and then she too vanished. The light was so much like the one that took me to Gaea and back."

Hearing a groan off to the side, they noticed Alex was holding her head. She sat up, looked around the room, and then groaned out once more.

"I remember everything now," she said. "Damn the Watcher's Council! They always seem to want to ruin my life," she mumbled angrily.

"What do you remember, Lex?" Serena asked.

"I remember I was, er…am from Middle Earth but my mom was from Gaea, Fanelia to be exact. My father was the king of Gondor and my mother was the younger sister of King Gao of Fanelia. I remember I had an older brother. He was my best friend growing up. He taught me so many different things, many things I wasn't supposed to know. He taught me how to fight and how to use a sword. I remember one day when I was about 12, I was wandering in the forest when I saw a dragon being attacked by orcs. My mother had always told me that dragons were sacred creatures and that they should be protected when need be. So, I fought the orcs. When I had destroyed them all, the dragon spoke to me but I don't remember what he said. The next thing I realize is I'm in pain and that was it. After that, all I remember is being here on earth with a new family and new memories," She explained to the group.

"So, that means you're Van-sama's cousin?" Merle asked. Alex shrugged and nodded.

"And that you're a Princess!" Serena cried out enthusiastically.

Alex sneered at her. "Please don't make my headache worse."

After a moment of their silence, Alex got up off the couch she had been sitting on and went to the back room. When she returned, she was carrying three small bottles. Each was a different looking bottle with a different liquid inside them.

"Anybody else need a drink?" She asked.

"I do," both Hitomi and Serena, said together as they walked up to her.

Alex handed each of the girls one of the bottles and she kept the third.

"What are you drinking?" Dilandau asked.

"Jack," Hitomi replied holding up her bottle.

"Jimmy," Alex replied next as she too held up her bottle.

"Jose," Serena replied lastly.

"Wanna try some, Dilandau? I'm sure you can handle it," Alex asked with a smirk.

Dilandau nodded his head in affirmation and then walked over to the girl. She handed him the bottle and he put it to his lips and swiftly took a drink. Once the clear liquid flowed down his throat, he smiled at her and then took another swig.

"What is this?" he asked her as he handed the bottle back.

"Vodka," she replied.

"I like it," he whispered to her huskily as he leaned toward her slightly.

She smiled at him as she took a few small swigs.

"Here, Van. Try some its good," Hitomi urged as she walked back over to the couch where Van was sitting.

Van took the bottle and brought it to his lips. He took a drink and then nodded to Hitomi.

"It's not bad, what's it called?" he asked.

"It's Whiskey," she answered as she took the bottle back and took a drink herself.

"Hey, Allen. You want some? I bet if those two can handle it, you can too," Serena sneered.

"Fine, let me have some then," he said as he took the bottle from his younger sister. After taking a quick drink, he began to cough. When he finally stopped coughing, he grimaced.

"How can you drink that stuff? It's disgusting!" He exclaimed with a shake of his head as he tried to rid his mouth of the foul taste.

"Oh, but brother it's good," she replied with saccharine. She laughed and brought the bottle to her lips.

"Well, let's get going back to Alex's place before they drink themselves silly," Willow suggested as she went to the back room to grab her things.

Angel and Xander had been hanging of to the side until now. Willow had told them that Alex was different long ago and her revelation had just confirmed that. Angel hugged the three girls good bye and left into the night. Xander smiled at the three girls and pulled out three bundled objects. He handed one to each girl. They opened them in flurry and pulled out dog tags.

"Now, they're not official ones, but they still serve their purpose," he said. He smiled again and hugged the girls. They put them on and thanked him. They ran to the back rooms to pick up their things and go. While they were in the back, Xander waved to the group that remained and walked out.

Once they returned, they piled out of the shop and into the cars parked out front. Alex grabbed Dilandau and stuck him in her car. Alex drove a sleek silver Lexus SC 430 convertible with a bitching sound system. Willow took Folken, Hitomi and Van into her car. She was still driving her cherry red Mustang convertible and doubted whether she could ever give up her baby. Serena took the last of the group in her baby blue Jeep.

Before Serena got in her Jeep, she walked over to Alex's car and noticed that Dilandau didn't have his seatbelt on.

"Dilandau, you might want to buckle your seat belt," she suggested, as she glanced at Alex and smiled.

"What?" he replied, rather confused.

Serena sighed and grabbed the strap that was on his right. She pulled it around his chest and buckled it securely. Dilandau looked on even more confused.

"It'll keep you from dying." Serena patted his cheek and gave him a sympathetic look. "You'll see."

Alex laughed as she revved the engine. They took off like a bat out of hell driving down the deserted roads. Alex took the lead. As she took off, the sound of her motor was drowned out by the sound feminine laughter and the masculine yell of her passenger.

Author's Notes:

MdnitePrncez: Only one this time and it's at the end.

Caerné: Poor Dilly…hehehe…so abused….hehe. And cameos! Gotta luv 'em. You'll never see Angel or Xander again. **Sniffle**Sniffle** I like those two characters, too…

MdnitePrncez: Yup. Let's see….reviews. Thank you again, Feye Morgan!

Caerné: Yeah, thanks for the recommendation too! More people should review, but there is no way in Hell I am going to stop writing because of lack of reviews! I am having way too much fun with this fic.

MdnitePrncez: Yuppers. It'll be a cold snowy day on the Sun before we stop writing.

Caerné: Okay, we'll go now. Oh, I am going on vacation, so MdnitePrncez is in charge of updating.

MdnitePrncez: **grumbles something intangible** Review, please. Ja ne.

Caerné: Tschus!