Chapter 22

Fateful Repercussions

Rayden Xing sat on the steps of the palace in Freid, looking out over the royal gardens. A sour expression decorated his face as he gazed upon the beautiful flowers and topiary of the garden, listening to the birds singing in the late afternoon sun. The Prime Minister, Casam Singh, noticed the lion-man sitting alone on the steps as he walked by. Rayden's sullen mood reached out to Casam, drawing him in.

Casam approached and stood beside Rayden, looking out over the gardens. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is magnificent," Rayden replied softly. "…and peaceful, too. We had a garden like this in Zin before the Black Dragon came. It was so full of life. I'd go there whenever I needed to just find a moment's peace."

"I know what you mean," Casam answered, sitting down next to Rayden. "This is Duke Chid's favorite garden. He had it replanted after the Destiny War ended because it held so many memories for him. However, it isn't as magnificent as it was before the war." He pointed to a spot off to the left, adding, "Over there is where he first talked to Lady Hitomi in depth when she came to Gaea the first time. He speaks of those conversations so fondly."

"The Duke's a good man, isn't he?" Rayden asked.

"The best…he's even surpassed his father," Casam said softly. "The people love him dearly."

"I'm sure they do." A soft sigh escaped Rayden's lips.

"What's troubling you, Rayden? You seem a bit melancholy."

Rayden glanced at Casam. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yes," Casam replied. "It's hard to miss. What is it? Maybe I can be of some help."

"I'm not sure what it is, just that something's amiss. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, though."

"You're worried about your friend from Cydonia, aren't you?" Casam asked.

"Yes…I am," Rayden admitted. "I'm wondering if she made it to Fanelia in one piece."

Casam patted Rayden on the shoulder. "You shouldn't worry. I just received word from Fanelia that a tigress piloting the Blue Escaflowne is there and actually helped to apprehend a Black Dragon assassin when she arrived."

"That's welcome news," Rayden answered with a sigh. "She's a close friend of mine and I worry about her despite the fact I know she's extremely capable of taking care of herself."

"I see," Casam stated. "I understand that she received a better welcome there than we gave you. I hope you can accept my apology for the frosty reception we gave you."

"There's no need to apologize. If I were in your position, I would have acted in the exact same manner. But still, your apology is accepted. I'm honored you allowed me to join with you." Rayden suddenly fell quiet as the chattering of the wildlife abruptly ceased. He looked around urgently, rising to his feet as the whole area went dead silent.

Casam rose to his feet. "What's wrong?"

A deep growl rose from Rayden's toes as he scanned the whole area. "Something is very wrong. I sense something coming but I can't tell which direction it's coming from." A faint odor of ozone tickled his nose, followed by a tingling in the extremities that even Casam felt. Before either of them could speak, a flash of light blinded them followed by a, earth-shaking boom. Instinct took Rayden and he tackled Casam to the ground, shielding him. Two seconds later, the light vanished, leaving the smell of burning sulfur and ozone. "Are you all right, Prime Minister?"

"Yeah," Casam replied as Rayden helped him up. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Rayden answered as they looked out over the garden. A pall of sulfurous smoke hung over the garden in a layer four feet thick. Directly down the steps in front of them, the grass, flowers, and shrubs in a hundred foot radius smoldered…burned to a crisp. Guards poured out of the palace to investigate the disturbance as the smoke began to dissipate.

"Prime Minister, Lord Rayden…are you all right?" the captain asked.

"We're fine," Rayden answered.

"Rayden…there's someone down there," Casam pointed out, seeing several bodies lying in the burned area beneath the dissipating smoke.

"I see them," Rayden said. Speaking to the guards who came out, he added, "Let's go see who they are. You should stay here, Prime Minister, until we can determine who these intruders are." With that, Rayden led the guards down to the garden where the bodies lay. "Spread out and be careful. They may be armed!"

Rayden cautiously approached the first body with the captain next to him. "Who do you suppose they are?" the captain asked.

Rayden knelt down, turning over the first body, seeing a woman dressed in a technician's uniform. "What the hell…" he muttered, seeing the Black Dragon's insignia on the uniform. Half a second later, he noticed the woman was alive with her arm mangled below the elbow.

"Who are they?" Casam called out.

"This one is a Black Dragon technician!" Rayden announced. "And she's still alive! How about the others?"

"Same here!" a guard called out. "But this one is dead. Looks like something tried to eat him."

"I also have a dead Black Dragon over here! This one's face is melted off!" a second guard called out.

A third guard shouted, "This one is Black Dragon too and he's alive. But it looks like something tried to rip his guts out!" The guard and his colleague immediately began treating the unconscious man.

In seconds, the guards discovered three more mangled, burned corpses.

The technician Rayden and the captain hovered over moaned as Casam approached. "What are Black Dragon techs doing here?" Casam asked.

"I don't know," Rayden replied. "But it looks to me that they're victims here. Look at this girl…do you see the mark on her forehead?"

Casam and the captain squatted down to get a closer look. She had a claw-shaped scorch mark in the middle of her forehead just above the eyebrows. "Upon my word…what is that?" Casam asked.

"That mark is how the Black Dragon controls his minions," Rayden explained. "I saw it when they overran Zin. These marks are placed on people he deems too important just to kill outright. These marks insure their obedience."

"So this woman here is not helping the Black Dragon of her own accord?" the captain asked.

"Exactly," Rayden stated. "But something has gone wrong here. We have people appearing out of thin air from the enemy's camp and some of them are torn to shreds. Something sinister is definitely going on here. Prime Minister, I strongly suggest that you make a sweep of the capital to make sure we don't have some other uninvited guests."

Icy chill raced down Casam's spine at the suggestion. "That's a wise thing to suggest. You heard the cat, captain…go!"

"Yes sir," the captain stated, rushing away.

The technician moaned and then puked violently. Rayden rolled her on her side until the vomiting subsided. He wiped her mouth and gathered her into his lap. Her eyelids flickered, and then opened with her first sight being Rayden's lion face. Fear flooded her face as she whispered, "Where am I? Who are you?"

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. I'm Rayden and you're in the royal garden of the palace of Freid," he answered. "What are you doing here, Black Dragon?"

Confusion filled her face, followed by excruciating pain. Tears streamed from her eyes as she grasped her mangled arm with her good hand. "What happened to my arm?"

"I don't know," Rayden replied. "Just like I don't know how you got here. Who are you and why are you here?"

"My name's Sandra," she moaned. "And I have no idea how I got here, wherever this is. The last thing I remember is working on the Fate Alteration Engines we recovered from Zaibach on board the Namizar. Lord Mephisto and General Yoshitora were testing the Atlantis Machine and I was monitoring one of the Fate Alteration Engines hooked to it when there was roar and a blinding flash. Now I'm here with a mangled arm and a pounding headache."

"I knew something was wrong," Rayden growled. "I could feel it. Sandra…how do you feel about the Black Dragon destroying every country he encounters?"

"Terrible...it's not ri...ahhh!" she shrieked, releasing her mangled arm and clenching her forehead with her hand. A few seconds later, she passed out.

"I thought so," Rayden crowed. "She's definitely not a willing participant in his madness. Prime Minister, she's not our enemy and has valuable intelligence on Mephisto's plan. We should keep her secure and help her and the other survivor here break free of the Black Dragon's control. What they know may be very useful in our fight against him."

"Agreed," Casam stated. "Guards...take Sandra and the other survivor to hospital and keep them under twenty-four hour guard."

"Yes sir," the guards barked. Two of them gently took Sandra from Rayden and carried her away.

"We must be alert now," Rayden stated. "If this incident was truly a test of the Atlantis Machine, then we must be prepared for the worst. It means he's almost ready to move into the final phase of his plans."

"Any thoughts on how to break the Black Dragon's hold over them?" Casam asked as they walked back up the stairs to the palace doors.

"It's going to take someone of extraordinary telepathic strength and skill to break the hold he has over them," Rayden explained. "If we can get word to the Dragon King and Wing Goddess in Fanelia, they might know how to do it."

"I'll send word at once," Casam declared as they disappeared into the palace, leaving the guards to clean up the bodies in the garden.

Far to the east in the ruins of Wansuchi at the same moment the Pillar appeared in Freid, the Pillar boomed, depositing one of the Black Dragon's assassins and two sorcerers in the ruined city center at dusk. The assassin staggered to his feet, holding a gash his belly. "What the hell was that?" he cursed, completely confused. Scanning the square and seeing broken columns and buildings all around, he heard a cry. Following the cry, he found one of the sorcerers fused to one of the overturned columns with his legs, hips, and right side of his torso welded to the stone. The sorcerer waved his free arm in agony; a gurgling cry escaping from his lips. The assassin gawked at the man fused into the solid stone block, which bled. "By the Dragon Gods!" he cursed through his own intense pain. Seconds later, he heard a noise.

The other sorcerer appeared from behind a building, panic-stricken. As he dragged his useless left leg along, he cried out, "Run! The Jackals are coming!" No sooner than he spoke, three jackal dragons pounced on the man from the shadows. A blood-curdling shriek escaped the sorcerer's lips as the animals ripped him to pieces in seconds.

The assassin began backing away from the sorcerer stuck in the stone, only to find that they were completely surrounded by thirty of the beasts. Panic filled his mind and he drew his sword. The jackal dragons maintained their perimeter, staring at him as a jackal dragon the size of a large tiger slunk toward him from his kill of the sorcerer. It eyed the dying sorcerer trapped in the block menacingly. In seconds, it stood over the man and crushed his head in its jaws. Chewing on the bloody pulp, it turned its hateful gaze toward the assassin…staring at him with blood dripping from its maw. A deep guttural growl emanated from the beast. The pack closed in on the assassin.

When they were within ten feet of him, he realized he couldn't escape, so he dropped his sword. Reaching into his pocket, he removed a grenade and pushed the button on it. "Okay…come get some," he hissed. The large jackal roared and the pack advanced en-mass. The assassin's form disappeared into a writhing mass of jackal dragons as they started eating him alive. Seconds later, the grenade exploded, providing him with a merciful end and killing twenty of the jackal dragons. Pieces of his body and pieces of the pack rained down all over the square, splattering blood over a fifty-foot radius. The large jackal snarled after the explosion and led the remnant of his pack into the shadows of the ruins.

Across the planet in the courtyard of the Khimerazar palace, a wrecked Black Dragon guymelef lay skewered on an obelisk. Smoke poured from the machine, flames licking around the cockpit as it opened. An armored jackal-man clawed his way out of the machine, blood running down his face and arms. He slipped and tumbled to the ground with a grunt, stunning him. The dense smoke pouring from the machine brought him to his senses. Pushing himself to his knees with one good arm, the jackal eyed his wrecked guymelef, seeing the fire raging dangerously close to the machine's core. "Shit!" he cursed, willing himself to his feet and fleeing the wreck, dragging a mangled left leg while holding his dislocated right arm. Seconds later, the guymelef exploded. The shockwave flung him across the courtyard, slamming his wounded body against the pedestal of a demolished dragon statue, sending him plummeting into darkness.

Hitomi's team paused at the edge of the city when they heard and saw the explosion in the central courtyard. "We're not alone," Argus stated, eyeing the smoke column. "That smoke is from a guymelef. I've encountered enough of them to know the scent."

"Who do you suppose it is?" Saya asked.

"You don't think it is one of our friends, do you?" Tala chimed in.

"I don't know," Kusanagi answered. "It's hard to tell. This place has such a high level of interference that it's impossible to know."

"What do you think, Hitomi?" Tsung queried.

Hitomi shook her head. "I don't…" Her words trailed off as a flash vision struck her full force. She found her avatar moving through the ruins so fast it blurred. Suddenly, the main courtyard loomed before her. Her vision moved past the burning guymelef wreckage to the unconscious jackal-man lying next to a pedestal next to the stairs to the main palace. As her vision closed on him, she saw a claw-shaped scorch mark on his forehead. Movement from the surrounding courtyard drew her attention. Flitting around the shadows were jackal-dragons, slowly closing on their unconscious victim. As quickly as the vision came, it vanished. She groaned, holding her forehead with one hand and staggering. Argus steadied her.

"What did you see?" he asked.

"You're right about us not being alone, Argus. I don't know how I did it, but I just saw the main courtyard in front of the palace. There is a burning Black Dragon guymelef and a jackal-man dressed in a Black Dragon uniform. He's unconscious near the main entrance, gravely wounded. This guy also has a claw mark on his head and is being surrounded by these small dragons. I think they intend to eat him. We should help."

"Jackal dragons…how many did you see?" Argus asked.

"I couldn't tell," Hitomi replied. "They were sticking to the shadows, but there was movement from all over the courtyard."

"Why should we help a Black Dragon soldier?" the tigress Jin Liu demanded.

"Because he's being manipulated," Hitomi snapped. "The claw mark on his head is exactly the same I saw on Van's cousin Kuirio when we first encountered the Black Dragon at the Shrine of the Ancient Oak. The feeling I got when I saw this guy is that he's a victim of the Black Dragon's evil just like the rest of us. He doesn't want to be part of this."

Kusanagi smiled. "Your powers are growing exponentially, Hitomi. Just being in this place is causing your dormant powers and memories to come out. Izanami had the uncanny ability to see remote locations in real time in flash visions. Apparently, you have the same power. I think we should check this out. Besides, we're going that way anyhow. You said you needed to get to the palace, right?"

Hitomi nodded. "Yeah, I did. Whatever is calling to me is getting stronger the closer we get to the palace."

"Then we can determine this soldier's fate in route to the palace," Kusanagi said. "If he really is being controlled, then breaking Mephisto's control over him is in order. It'll provide us with a powerful ally who has knowledge of Mephisto's plans that we can exploit."

"A sound strategy," Argus commented. "But that's based on whether this soldier is still alive when we reach him."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Jin retorted. "Shouldn't we be concentrating on finding the Seal and getting back to Fanelia?"

"Yes," Hitomi replied. "But we also have a duty to help those who need our help, whether they are Black Dragon or not. I'll be able to tell for sure whether this man is being manipulated when I get close to him. But if we keep arguing about it, he will surely die and I've seen enough death already. I'm not going to let that happen if I can help it. Besides, if he turns on us, we can deal with him."

A smile crossed Argus' reptilian lips. "You're starting to sound like Izanami, Hitomi. That's exactly what she would've done."

"Somehow, I know," Hitomi returned. "I've always known. Now let's go and not disturb the ghosts of this place any more than we need to." With that, Hitomi took up the lead with Argus shadowing her closely followed by the rest of the team, heading directly towards the central courtyard of the palace. Jin Liu followed up the rear with Kusanagi, feeling a bit defeated by Hitomi's insistence on helping the fallen soldier.

"Don't feel so bad," Kusanagi said softly to her. "Hitomi understands your concern. But she is determined to do what she can to undo what Mephisto has done, even if it means doing it one person at a time. I'm sure if that were you out there under Mephisto's spell, she'd do the same for you."

"I know," Jin muttered. "But she is so inexperienced in these things. Breaking Mephisto's control over Van's cousin is one thing, but to break his control over one of his warriors is an entirely different game. I'm not sure she's up to it. I just don't want to see her get hurt or her inexperience get anyone else hurt."

Kusanagi smiled broadly, patting Jin on the shoulder. "No one wants to see that. I understand your concerns, but I think you underestimate her abilities just a bit. When she is focused, there is literally nothing she can't do. It's just a matter of getting her to focus. That's why we are here…to help teacher her how to focus her power and fulfill her destiny as the Wing Goddess. Without that focus, there is a very real possibility that she could prove to be our destruction. That's why we must help her learn what it is to be the Wing Goddess."

"I didn't see it that way," Jin whispered. "So she really does need our help."

"And our friendship," Kusanagi added. "It is the bonds of love and friendship that give her the ability to focus and tame those raging powers that lie just beneath the surface. Do you want to know what the worst case scenario would be for us?"

"Yeah," Jin returned.

"The worst case scenario is not that the Mephisto captures her and strips her of her power," Kusanagi stated. "The absolutely worst case would be that something corrupts her innocence, turning her light into darkness. With the power of the Wing Goddess, she could lay waste to everything everywhere simultaneously. It is this power that Mephisto seeks to steal for himself. With that power, he could wreak his revenge on the entire universe in single moment of time. This is something we cannot allow, even if it means that we have to do the unthinkable."

"You mean kill her to keep her power from coming under Mephisto's influence," Jin murmured.

"I hesitate to even consider this," Kusanagi whispered. "But it is a possibility. We must be prepared to do whatever is necessary to keep Mephisto from reaching his goal. Entertaining this thought makes me shudder. I love this girl like my own daughter. But we must be prepared for every eventuality. The fate of the universe may depend on us making the hard choices."

"I agree," Jin replied softly. "Hitomi is such a kind, tender-hearted individual. She may not be able to make those hard choices."

"That's why Lord Van is here," Kusanagi explained. "She may not be able to make those choices, but Lord Van can. He has the power and the will to make the hard decisions. It came from his experience in the Destiny War. As long as Lord Van and Hitomi are together, hope remains alive that we can solve this quandary with the Black Dragon without it destroying everything."

"Let's hope so," Jin declared. As they moved on, indistinguishable figures of all sizes flitted through the shadows of the ruins, watching them intently while a second group of monstrous shapes eyed Hitomi's team with curiosity. A low, rumbling growl rose from one of the larger shapes as it noticed the army of shadowy figures closing on Hitomi and her team. Its lip curled up in a sneer, baring its razor-sharp teeth along the length of its reptilian snout. Smoke curled from between its teeth; its yellow eyes blazing. A grunt from beast sent its colleagues melting into the gloom of the ruins, heading towards the main plaza and central courtyard of the palace.

In Fanelia, Van stood before the upgraded Escaflowne holding the new energist given him by the Ispano leader. Seras stood to his left while Tsura stood to his right. "Is the team assembled?" Van asked Tsura.

"Yes, Lord Van," Tsura reported. "They are assembled in the main courtyard next to the landing pad, ready to go. Alan insisted that we use the Crusade II for transport. "

"That was very kind of him. We certainly could use it. Who do we have?" Van queried.

"Fafnir and his squad are present along with Allan, Gaddes, and their melefs," Tsura stated. "We also have a melef for Seras and surprisingly, General Adelphos insisted upon helping…I think to prove his loyalty to the cause."

A sigh escaped Van's lips. "I don't like this. General Adelphos caused so much trouble in the Destiny War. But I suppose it's better that he come if he insisted. At least then I can keep an eye on him."

"And you have us in case he tries something stupid," Seras added.

"True," Van said. "Tsura, I leave you in charge while I'm gone. I expect to see everyone ready to deal with the Black Dragon when I return with Hitomi and her friends."

"Yes sir," Tsura growled with a salute. "We will be ready for anything."

"Good," Van replied. "Now take Seras to his melef. I will be out in a moment."

"Yes sir," Tsura said calmly. "Come, Seras. Your melef awaits." With that, Tsura and Seras walked away.

Van turned to his new upgraded Escaflowne Dragon Armor, looking at the glowing energist in his hand. The energist caused his hand and arm to tingle. He sensed a mysterious power emanating from the giant gem. "You're a strange heart," Van commented. "I've never felt an energist do this to me. I wonder who you were. The leader said you were a powerful and ancient dragon and for me to learn from you. Very well, I will start by using you to power my armor." Using one hand, Van bared a small length of blade on his sword. He then sliced his thumb, drawing blood. After pushing his sword back into its sheath, Van rubbed his bloody thumb on the glowing energist, saying, "Here, ancient dragon, know that I am Van Slanzar de Fanel, King of Fanelia and last King of the Dragon Clans. Take my blood and empower Escaflowne once more that we may fight for the lives of Gaea and the Mystic Moon."

The moment his blood oozed into the core of the energist, it flashed brilliantly and Van found himself on a plain of wildflowers, staring into the face of a dragon the likes of which he'd never seen before. This dragon spanned two hundred feet from snout to tail and was covered in golden scales. Its head was ten feet across with two long whiskers dangling from its snout. Its body was long and slender, almost snake-like with four massive legs with a long, broad tail covered with barbs. Two golden-feathered wings spanning nearly six hundred feet sat atop the back of this majestic dragon, whose very presence shined like the sun. It gazed at Van with a mix of admiration and sternness. Van stared at the colossal golden dragon and dropped to his knees in astonishment, completely bewildered as to what had happened.

"Lord Van Fanel of Fanelia, do not be alarmed," the dragon rumbled. "I mean no harm to you."

"Who…are you?" Van asked softly.

The golden dragon rumbled as it spoke. "You have not seen my likes for many incarnations, Dragon King. I am Fudo-Ryu-Chin, the dragon god of Khimerazar and Fanelia. Not since the rampage of Kano Phuong and the Dragon Wars has my assistance been required."

Van's eyes grew round. "The Dragon Wars…you were there. Forgive me, great Dragon. Had I known this was your heart, I wouldn't have accepted it from the Ispano. No one has the right to command your power."

"It is all right, Dragon King," Fudo-Ryu-Chin replied. "The heart given you by the Ispano leader is not my true heart, but a temporal manifestation I created to allow those worthy to channel my power and knowledge."

"How did the Ispano come to possess it?" Van asked.

"The Heart of Khimerazar is a relic that protected the Dragon Clans for many generations until the corruption of Kano Phuong," the dragon god explained. "In the aftermath of the war that imprisoned Kano, the Akira Lung gave it to the Ispano for safe keeping. He feared its power and felt the Ispano were the only faction left that could secure it. Therefore, since the end of the Dragon Wars, the Ispano leaders have kept it locked away, safe until it would be needed again. As you well know, that time has arisen with the fulfillment of the prophecy. The Black Dragon rampages once again and the time has come for me to lend my power to the rightful Dragon King. That King is you, Van Slanzar de Fanel. History is repeating itself and the Dragon Brothers will once again war with one another for the soul of Gaea and this time, the Mystic Moon."

Van felt a tremendous weight of responsibility fall upon him. One question dogged his mind and he shared it. "Great Dragon, do I have a brother who was Folken's twin like Kusanagi said?"

The dragon god didn't hesitate in his answer. "Yes, Dragon King. The creature known as Mephisto is your older brother, Dune Fudo. His fate was set before he was ever born. You never knew Dune because he was taken before you were born. However, the curse he bears because of Kano's evil is not his fault. He is an innocent soul trapped by an evil that spans the eons. It is your task to separate that evil from your brother and then destroy that evil."

Van stared at the dragon in disbelief. "And how am I supposed to do that? This is just like having to deal with Folken all over again."

"Do not fret, Dragon King, because you are not alone in this task," Fudo-Ryu-Chin stated. "As the Dragon King, you can call upon your ancestors to help you overcome this fiend. Your brother Folken stands waiting to assist you. But more than that, you have the Wing Goddess with you. Only when you combine your powers with hers will you be able to separate the evil from your brother and then destroy it." The dragon leaned down, looking Van directly in the eye. "You have powers unparalleled in any Dragon King that has ever come before you. You just need to awaken these powers and ascend to your proper station. One such power is the ability for you to become one of us. Your brother has already mastered this power. Now it's time for you to do the same. Both Akira and Kano had this power. So do you. You just need to focus and let the Ace of Serpents become what it's meant to be…the Dragon Overlord." The dragon god backed away and presented a baseball sized glowing energist to Van. "I have been instructed by the celestial Dragon King Kin-Ryu-Fudo to give you this energist. Take it and merge it with your chest. It is the key to unlocking your most powerful form."

Van slowly stood and took the energist. "How do I do that?"

"The key lies within you, great Dragon King," the dragon stated cryptically. "…and in your connection to the Wing Goddess. In a perfect fusion of fire and ice will the path become clear. Speak to the king of the Drakenites and listen closely for from the heart of the enemy's territory will you find the key to our preservation. Now go, great Dragon King. I accept your offering and will power Fanelia's Escaflowne for the good of all Gaea."

With that, Fudo-Ryu-Chin roared. A blinding light surrounded Van. When his vision returned, he was still standing before the Escaflowne, energist in hand. But he quickly noticed he had a small dragon-shaped crystal on a necklace in his other hand. For a few moments, he stared at it, and then he looked up at Escaflowne. His countenance grew stern as his warrior spirit rose. Pocketing the crystal, he said, "Time to go to work, my friend. Gaea needs your help once more." Stepping forward, he pushed the glowing energist into the Escaflowne and let go. Once his hand cleared the energist chamber, the energist began beating like a heart. The guymelef Escaflowne lit up and the cockpit opened. Van unhooked his sword as he climbed into the cockpit, setting it aside while settling into the seat. The great machine hissed as the cockpit closed. "Okay, Escaflowne, let's get to work." In the blink of an eye, the control mechanism surrounded his arms and legs, flowing as if it were alive. Van gasped in astonishment as the harness closed around his chest, forming a complete suit of armor around him. A helmet-like apparatus emerged from the superstructure, forming around his neck and head. He felt a slight pinch at the base of his skull, and then a searing pain when two probes penetrated his neck, tapping into his blood supply. Van screamed, and then groaned as the pain vanished. The helmet apparatus around his head formed a visual eyepiece in front of his eyes seconds later that lit up with machine diagnostics.

"Neural fusion complete," the machine said in Fudo-Ryu-Chin's voice. "Genetic encoding complete and verified…welcome Dragon King Van Fanel. You now have control of the system. All processes are thought activated. Whenever you need assistance, you may call upon the system."

Sweat beaded on Van's brow as he felt his strength rising from the connection to Escaflowne. "That's good to know. One question: why the painful hookup on my neck and back of the head?"

"The Ispano reconfigured the system for a complete neural interface, which includes not just a neural contact at the base of the skull, but blood hookup as well," the system replied. "The system only requires a tiny portion of your blood to complete the circuit. It makes a complete symbiosis between you and this system. It will enhance your strength, speed, and skill by allowing access to the core of the system and everything stored there. It allows you to learn at an exponential rate through direct contact with the system. The more you know and can apply, the harder it will be for any enemy to defeat you. Now, shall we get to work? The Wing Goddess is in need of your assistance."

"Right," Van replied, flexing his fingers and arms with the Escaflowne mirroring his actions. Slowly he pushed himself up until the machine was standing tall. "Now, let's move!" Following his very thoughts, the Escaflowne strode out of the bay heading for the Crusade II, every footstep of the thirty ton Escaflowne shaking the floor.

Minutes later, he entered the courtyard where his team waited with the airship Crusade II. It sat on the landing platform with its cargo doors down. Lumbering forward, he saw the team with Allan sitting in Scherazade with the cockpit open. Gasps erupted from the group. Van stopped Escaflowne in front of Allan and opened his visor, seeing the smile on Allan's face.

"Impressive, Lord Van," Allan admitted. "The Ispano really did a number on the Escaflowne. Looks like they recreated it from the ground up."

Van smiled. "You have no idea. This Escaflowne is a completely different dragon from the one I used in the Destiny War. Just don't get in my way. This beast is much faster than you realize."

"I'm sure it is, Lord Van," Allan agreed. "All the melefs except ours are stored on the Crusade. Shall we board and get under way?"

"By all means," Van answered. "Hitomi is in some deep shit. I just know it."

"When has she not been in trouble?" Allan asked, turning Scherazade to the Crusade.

Van laughed nervously. "Not since she's been on Gaea. That girl just can't seem to stay out of trouble." Moments later, Scherazade and Escaflowne were secured in the Crusade II's cargo bay.

As the loading ramp closed, Allan said, "Don't worry, Lord Van. We'll find Hitomi and her friends. You'll see." Once the ramp locked into position, Allan pushed a button, saying "Hangar secure. Get the Crusade in the air, Gaddes, heading northeast."

"Aye sir!" Gaddes' voice returned through the speaker. The Crusade II rumbled as it took off.

"Come, Lord Van," Allan said, gesturing to the left. "Let's get to the bridge." Van nodded and they left the cargo behind as the airship gained altitude, heading into the wilds of Khimerazar.

A/N: Forgive me for waiting so long to update. My attention had been diverted by school and work. I would like to thank Inda for periodically dropping me notes asking when I was going to update. Thank you, Inda. Now, at long last, the newest chapter and things are ramping up.

The Pillar of Light in the last chapter didn't just grab Hitomi and her friends, but Black Dragon people as well, depositing them across Gaea from Fried to the palace of Khimerazar in less than optimal condition. Hitomi sees one of the Black Dragon victims of the Pillar in a vision of the courtyard at Khimerazar and determines to help him while Van unexpectedly discovers the energist given to him by the Ispano leader is none other than the Heart of Khimerazar…a temporal representation of the dragon god Fudo-Ryu-Chin. In a meeting on the astral plane with the Dragon god, Van discovers a piece of his past and his future: confirmation of Mephisto's true identity and the ability to become the Dragon Overlord who can change himself into a dragon. How will Van deal with this? Will Hitomi save the wounded Black Dragon Warrior before he's killed by the jackal dragons? Or will she and her friends fall victim to Mephisto's minions in Khimerazar? Keep reading to find out. Dragon gods willing, the next installment will not be as long coming. Merry Christmas.

Beowulf Caverias