Ollen70: When I said I was gonna do a Dornkirk story, this was not at all what I had in mind. I have no clue where this came from, except that I've been stressed lately and stress does frightening things to me. I think part of it might be because I've never heard of another story with this premise and thought it might be fun to try something different (and believe me when I say that this definitely qualifies as different.') Oh well.

This turned out to be what should probably be classified as a Dark Hitomi' story. As such, there's bound to be quite a few out-of-character moments, but I did the best I could to try to blend it together and not traumatize anyone. Just please don't hate me forever, okay?

*Dives behind computer as objects come flying at him*

I really did have good intentions when I started. The next story will be more normal, I promise.



Disclaimer: The premise of The Vision of Escaflowne does not belong to me. No money is being made from this story.






Fate unbound

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There are some actions that hold consequences above our ability to perceive them. There are some discoveries, even in the ever-golden name of science, that could, in time, lead to more strife and heartache than we could ever even begin to imagine. There are so many obstacles, treacheries, and pitfalls on the way to our sophistication that it is a marvel to me that we still pursue that path at all. I wonder if we might regret it someday.

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Action and consequence are at their absolute strongest here... stronger than I could have imagined. Folken gasped out the words, dropping to his knees on the dias high above her. The power of the altercation of fate... Is this the end...?

She cried out when he fell, his blood spilling down his body to mix with the black feathers of his one-regal wings. Hitomi clapped her hands to her eyes as she cried, not willing to grasp what this meant. Folken, who had lost and then gained back Van's admiration, was now lying dead in his own blood, and there was nothing she could have done.

The great gears of the machine above her were turning under an odd, green sky, and the war was only growing hotter. All of her worst fears were slowly coming true, and it was only a matter of time before Van's blood covered the ground as well.

I don't want to see any more. She wept quietly, aware that there was no longer anyone left alive in this place to hear her. That didn't really matter. She could feel Van's pain and it absolutely overwhelmed her. There had to be a way for her to help him - to take away that pain, or to change fate, for once, for the better. She was only barely aware of the gears that were by now spinning so quickly that her eye couldn't follow them.

It has begun.

The voice startled her from her reverie, though the sight of what stood beside her was far more unnerving. Dornkirk, dressed in regal robes and holding a cane, glanced up at the frantic machine. The zone of absolute fortune is born.

What... What do you mean? She asked, drawing away from him. The old emperor was dead. Folken's sword had killed him right before her eyes. She didn't understand how he could have returned, but that wasn't even the most pressing of her problems. She could guess easily enough what the zone of absolute fortune was supposed to be.

The wishes of all those who suffer will finally come true. I've built for these people a world without pain or loss - a world where fear can become an illusion and joy a cornerstone. I have done for Gaea what I had always hoped to do for our own Earth. He stepped closer to her, his smile kind.

It won't last. This is the power that destroyed Atlantis. She almost felt sorry for him, if all he'd ever wanted was to do what she herself wanted now for Van. He was just an old man in her eyes now, not a cruel emperor or a madman. Tired and careworn, he looked content now that he had accomplished his goals.

But it wasn't happening. Closing her eyes, Hitomi could feel the fighting that still raged on. Dornkirk looked on at his old destiny device, apparently as shocked as she was.

she appealed to him, what's going on? Why are the allies fighting? Shouldn't the war be over?

For a long moment, Dornkirk didn't answer. He looked at her for a long moment, fingering his long beard thoughtfully.

It appears that human emotions make it so.

You've got to stop that machine! Please! There has to be some way to end all this! Don't you see that you're causing pain instead of ending it?

was his cool reply. Once set into motion, these things can't be stopped. We are but spectators, forced to watch the affairs of the people until the end. If it is destruction the people wish for, we shall not deny them that. We must simply accept this fate.

It was then that it dawned on Hitomi was the old man was hiding in those words. He wasn't being entirely honest - no matter what he told her, the fear in his eyes spoke more loudly.

War exists out there because it exists here. She said simply, letting the
words form slowly as the realization became more and more clear.



Folken wished for your death and it was granted. Now that you don't live any longer, it isn't your place to try to determine fate. Hitomi spoke with more confidence now. Not everyone's wishes can come true, because we all want different things. All that can come from this is chaos and more death, and I won't let that happen any longer. Your time is over.



Dornkirk stared for a long time at this girl before him. In her, there was a power that he could not deny any more than he could understand it. Who she came from, how she was brought to Gaea and why she should posses her power over fate were all unknown. Before, all that had mattered to him was drawing her away from the dragon and then using her as a catalyst for his own purposes. It never even occurred to him that she might have the strength to fight back.

You are dead, old man. You don't belong here and I won't let you stay. You proved yourself unworthy of this power when you allowed yourself to be killed, but someone must hold it. Someone has to save Gaea.

You're going to take the power of Atlantis? He asked, stunned by what he was hearing.



What of your love? What of the dragon and its fate? Are you willing to betray them merely for the sake of power? He frowned at her deeply, willing her to recant this foolish decision. Deep down, he was terrified. He had never meant his power to be wielded by one person alone. Everyone deserved to have wishes granted - there was no one person who should be granted that terrible power, to decide the fate of the world alone.

Those things are important to me, but this is bigger. I'm doing it for him. Van will understand, and if he doesn't, I'll make him.

What were you, dear child, and what have you become? He asked with poorly masked horror. Destiny is not a tool.

You would have used it that way. If you didn't mean for it to be a tool, why did you rebuild the Atlantis machine in the first place? I didn't start this, after all. It was you who let the power slip through your fingers.

You're mad. This wasn't meant for you. Dornkirk spoke it loudly, wincing at the reverberations of his own voice in the chamber. Hitomi didn't look at him, her eyes half-closed in the cold light around her.

This was your war, emperor, and it has to stop now. You started all of the death and destruction and refuse to stop it. I'm doing what I have to.


In the end, this was her only choice. Maybe the manipulation of destiny wasn't something to fear. Rather, it was something to embrace. She wasn't sure if she was making the right decision even now, but it didn't really matter. Something had to be done, or Van would die. Their destinies were growing apart - she could feel it happening - and if she did nothing, the warfare of Gaea would kill him.

It would have been better if none of this had ever happened, she thought. It was an easy, foolish thought at that. Things weren't supposed to end this way, but she couldn't deny that part of her secretly wanted this.

Your time is over.

And yours is beginning? Dornkirk scowled at her contemptuously. Do you believe that you can command or even begin to comprehend the magnitude of the power you reach for? To your dismay, you will learn that you cannot. Your time will not come.

She watched the destiny machine for a moment, focusing only on it and the deep, sympathetic throbbing from within her pendant.

You might be right... I don't know for sure either way, but one fact can't be ignored.

And what might that be?

You don't belong here anymore. Raising one hand, she felt it tingle and go numb after the ghostly outline of the emperor flared brilliantly. When the light cleared, he was gone.

Hitomi looked back up at the machine, surprised when she realized that she wasn't afraid. She spread out her arms, thinking only of Van for a moment before she let his memory go.

You were wrong about more than you knew, she told the emperor's empty chamber. Fate isn't always flexible. Sometimes we really have no choice.



Ollen70: And that, as they say, is that. Please don't hurt me.