Echoes of Fire and Gold

Summary: Their story didn't start with the war, and didn't end with it either. Trauma inspires a will of steel. Friendship has a beginning and an end. Devotion has many forms. Those shaped by war can evolve to become more. Secrets are revealed, new friends made. Danger in unexpected forms, and help in unlikely places. The reunion of souls, and the separation of friends. Celebration, battle, and resolution.

Warnings:

Torture, alcohol, domestic abuse, suicidal thoughts, murder, eating disorder, skin disorder, mental disorder, fighting, blood, drug abuse, and discrimination.

Thanks To: Gurakruor for being an awesome unofficial beta and sounding board!

Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne, nor the characters presented in this fanfiction. Characters, setting, and references from the movie belong to Bandai/Sunrise, and Kazuki Akane and Ryuta Yamaguchi

Based and Inspired by:

Escaflowne the Movie:

Girl on Gaea

With inspiration thanks to:

Vision of Escaflowne, the Series

Authors Notes:

Just want to thank everyone who takes the time to read and enjoy this story. I know our fandom is very small, but I'd like to give this

fanfic to those who loved and enjoyed the movie as much as I had, and those who have a soft spot for the under appreciated antagonists.

Except Folken, because screw that narcissist.

I've learned a lot about good and evil. They are not always what they appear to be.

Charles Van Doren

Dilandau - Fire

He found the plate in front of him, left on the ground near the tree line. It had some cooked chicken that smelled appetizing, sweet and not hot at the touch. He picked it up and tore at it, eating every bit of the pink meat and fat. He even tore through the cartilage and swallowed it until it was gone. He didn't care if it had a off taste. It was amazing.

He came back regularly, even if it made his stomach ache.

He liked the little humans for their small size, feeling akin to them. They would toss him things, and he'd tried to catch them. Sometimes he'd get hit and have to deal with the wound later. Then they'd run around after him, with sticks and would kick rocks at him. He learned to dodge and play their games. They'd pat his head like they did their own pets, but would scream and run away laughing when he tried to touch them back.

He continued his visits. He'd bring them animals from the wasteland as gifts. One child got bit by a snake he brought. The big humans tried catching him, but only resulted in running him off.

He still returned, remembering only the good feelings, and the food they fed him.

When one boy came after him, with that curved blade like the farmer child he screamed as he tried to get away. They herded him back towards the village, ignoring his cries. Only his mama wouldn't come for him anymore. He ran into the box, and it was sealed tight.

The smell of smoke hit his nose as the box fell to pieces around him. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Folken standing over him. Reaching down with a kind face, luring him closer. His hand reached for his lord's, his long red fingers, with long sharp claws bled from every joint. He screamed at the frightening appendage as it was not his.

The image of Folken in front of him warped and ripped into shreds.

His screams got louder, and he could feel his body falling apart at the seams as everything got hot again. "ALSEIDES." he heard its name, and saw the crumbling structures under his feet. The broken bodies with familiar faces getting crushed as his screams turned to laughter.

Ryoun watched Gatti leave, and laid down closer to Dilandau and Chesta. He cushioned his head with his arms and watched them sleep. Dilandau could easily die in the next few days, and Chesta was refusing to take care of himself. Gatti couldn't take five minutes of talking about Dilandau being in a fragile state without running away. When did he get his chance to be pathetic?

He heard Gatti return an hour later, and caught him stepping through the brush wearing only his pants. The other laid on his coat next to Dilandau, close enough to wake if the other did. Ryoun wanted to admire Gatti's loyalty, but knew there was more to it. He ignored them on so many occasions.

He glanced at Chesta as he tried to sleep, he could see all the tiny veins in Chesta's eyelids from the firelight. He turned over and tried to fade off. He was too frustrated, he counted the stars to stop focusing on his dilemma with Chesta. He tried to stop going over the speech he'd give Gatti when Dilandau didn't get better or worse, died. He tried not to focus on the hypotheticals that kept him up that night. His anger and anxieties outnumbered the stars above him.

The next day brought most of the same as before. Dilandau laid with faint breathing in the same position. None of them slept well, each waking at the tiniest of sounds. Gatti woke every time someone moved, which was usually Chesta who couldn't get comfortable. And Ryoun from his frustrated tossing and turning.

They refilled the skins and remained quiet for hours. Picking at the meat from the deer. It's corpse had disappeared through the night when Gatti went to bury it.

Ryoun napped when he could tire out enough, but never remained asleep.

"I'm going to go check out some things." Gatti said after he washed his face some. "I wanna see how the city is doing. If I can find someone willing to look at Dilandau I'll come back."

"You sure that's wise?" Ryoun asked. "It's only been a day, that place is probably still digging dead bodies out of the wreckage."

"It beats sitting around." Gatti's voice strained.

Chesta remained quiet.

"Fine, be back before nightfall.." Ryoun glanced at Dilandau. "Try to find some medical supplies, anything at this point is better than nothing."

"Ok," Gatti pulled on a pack and took one of the horses.

The other two remained quiet, spending most of the day sleeping when they could. Ryoun ate at the deer meat, and put it away when Chesta refused.

Night fell and Gatti returned empty handed, and unwilling to say much. Resorting to laying back down next to Dilandau and going to sleep.

Chesta woke several times, only to reach up some and make sure Dilandau was still breathing.

One time upon waking and carefully reaching up he heard a rustle and his heart leapt.

"He's ok, get back to sleep Chesta." Gatti's voice cut through the dark.

Chesta was first to wake when the sun was up. He slipped away from the others to clean up alone. He peeled off the coat and uniform pants and glanced at his shoulder. Scowling some he rinsed off the best he could and scrubbed his hair. He knew that there was a chance that Dilandau could pass away. It had consumed his brain so much he'd dream either finding him awake and scowling, or cold and stiff. So much that he found it hard to remember how long they'd been out there.

He ignored his hunger, half the time he was too tired to eat, or not willing to cave in. He drank water to fill his stomach some. He hated how Ryoun looked at him when he'd decline food, just as much as he hated being dirty. There were flecks of blood under his nails and as much as he picked and scrubbed, nothing seemed to get clean.

He grabbed his coat and draped it over his shoulders and grimaced. They needed new clothes soon, his coat was gross smelling, but he couldn't stand not wearing it.

When he got back, Ryoun and Gatti were awake and working on some of the food left from the deer that Gatti had caught for them.

Ryoun looked up when he stepped closer to the camp. "Cleaned up?" He asked.

Chesta nodded and sat down. "I ate a bit earlier, before." he lied.

"Good." Ryoun had lied as well, the same look on his face. Chesta could see his eyes dart over to Gatti, both looking exasperated.

Chesta looked at Dilandau and felt a well of emotion rise up into his throat. He let his head fall to his knees.

Gatti had stood. "I'm making an executive decision, I think we need to move along to a healer and have him looked at."

Ryoun ran a hand through his messy hair. "I agree, are there any close villages that wont kill us upon seeing our uniforms?"

Gatti's shoulders dropped, "At this point I'd rather walk in naked."

Chesta tugged at some of the grass, "We still need to figure something out, he can't be healing well without food and water. His dragon blood won't do him much good without energy to sustain him."

Dilandau sat at the table in their dormitory, a single glass of wine in front of him and an empty bottle to the side. It was one of the only drinks he trusted, but mostly because he enjoyed popping open his own bottle. In the reflection of the bottle's side he saw movement.

Dilandau looked up for a moment, and saw each of his men, but couldn't hear them. Ryoun was walking around shirtless and eating whatever he could find. Gatti was walking back and forth, glancing in his direction every once in a while. Chesta was sitting in a corner on a pillow meditating, and trying to fend off Guimel who was teasing him by tugging his hair. He smiled, content. Miguel was cleaning, and complaining to Dalet who tried helping but ended up causing more of a mess. Their family was happy and complete, everything was ok. The war was still going and they were alive and well.

They all stopped dead in place, turning their heads towards Dilandau's spot at the table.

Miguel, who had stopped dead center in front of him began to bleed down his chest. Like a flower his wound opened up. "Its fools that die, and the strong who live." He said, but with Dilandau's voice instead of his own.

Dilandau knew his words were wrong, it was a way to avoid thinking about Miguel's death. He chose them to nullify the sadness that came with death. The room began to flood with rain water as he was sealed to his chair, unable to get up to hold his soldier as he died. Something he was unable to do, something he promised them. That he'd take their hands and promise it wasn't in vain.

Miguel began to decompose, as moss and bugs began to crawl over him, devouring the other in front of them all.

The others stared at Dilandau, scorning him, even Gatti and Chesta. They hated him for all he failed to do. First Guimel, then Dalet disappeared, then Ryoun, and then Chesta.

Gatti was sitting down in front of him, he folded his arms down and gave Dilandau a sad smile. He started to move his lips, but his voice never sounded.

Dilandau screamed, he begged for the other not to leave him as well.

Gatti stopped talking and as the water around them began to swell more, Gatti disappeared as well.

"Neither will you Chesta," Ryoun commented, his frustration welled when Chesta spoke. "After he dies, you'll be next."

"I've not been asleep for three days Ryoun." Chesta bit.

"Guys." Gatti tried to dispel the tension, but it had already came to a head.

"No, but you've been active, at least while he's asleep, he's not aware of being hungry. Do you think you'll last long enough on little bits of water until he wakes up enough to slap you for not eating again?" Ryoun was done, his limit with the other was exceeded a long time ago. He stood up and stared the other down.

Chesta glared back at Ryoun, "I ate earlier."

"You are a liar." Ryoun countered. "None of it was touched."

"I ate at the stream," Chesta's voice came out as a whine.

"Liar!" Ryoun accused again.

Chesta had stood up, his hand pushing forward to move the other away from him. "What does it matter if I don't eat!?" He yelled, "We're going to die out here, we don't have Lord Folken to send a team to rescue us, we don't have Lord Dilandau to tell us where to go!" He wiped his eyes and ignored the coat on the ground. "We survive the forest, we cant go to town, the locals will kill us on sight."

"So you give up? Since the beginning all you've done is give up!" Ryoun laughed. "You survived something none of us could imagine, and as soon as you're part of our team, you act like you're ready to die."

Chesta bit the inside of his cheeks. "I am not!" He snapped back. "I.." he clamped his mouth shut. "I don't want to talk about this, not with you Ryoun." He talked through his gritted teeth. "I'm not giving you a chance to understand because you never gave me a chance to talk about it."

Ryoun stood silent for a moment, thinking of something to say. "I did everything I could for this group and it was hard enough losing Miguel, Dalet and Guimel, and you're bitter about my ability to care? They didn't want to die Chesta, and no reasoning what so ever will justify trying to kill yourself."

Chesta wanted to strike out at him, punch him. Yank his hair or rip it out. His shoulders tightened as he opened his mouth.

A bucket of stream water splashed against their faces.

Gatti was staring them both down. "Ok, if anyone has anything to complain about it's me. Chesta, sit your ass down and eat, I know its something emotional, but you're going to die if you keep it up. If Dilandau wakes up that's the first thing I'm going to say. I'm telling him that you haven't eaten, you wont air out your shoulder and he's going to be pissed. Stop going out of your way to make Ryoun angry, its obvious and its annoying."

Chesta started to open his mouth again but shut it at Gatti's scowl.

Gatti pointed to Ryoun. "And you, I told you not to harass him, and you played into it like a monkey. Also, where do you get off bringing the dead into this? They are gone, and they have nothing to do with you and Chesta's pissing contest." Gatti put his hands over his face. "You did everything? I looked for Miguel's body, I relocated Dilandau's fingers. I've been riding to Torushina looking for a healer! You just casually put out there that we're leaving the clan and suddenly you're the shoulders?" He turned and looked at Dilandau. "We could have talked about it, we could have planned it, but you took everything you thought was important and that's that. You didn't give any of us a chance to get closure and YOU call yourself the one who does everything like some kind of victim?" he stomped the ground. "How dare both of you, Dilandau is laying there, probably dying, and you both are being children. Yes, I don't want him to die, and I cant deal with him like this, but I'm not throwing a ta-"

Author's Note:

Thank you for sticking through to the end!

Let me know what you think! Gatti's chapter reads backwards in timeline if there is any confusion

Next Time: Things don't go as well as they hoped as the Abaharaki enter the story.