Kings and Traitors: Chapter 11
AN: Sorry about the long wait!! I had a serious case of writers block… T_T But I'm back now! ^___^ *disappointed groans from the audience* -_-;;;
Okaaaaaaay…..on with the fic…..O_o
Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne.
~~~
Van concentrated hard on the horizon from Escaflowne's reigns, willing himself not to fall asleep.
"Hitomi, how much farther? It's almost dusk," Van whispered to Hitomi, so as not to wake their two sleeping cat companions.
"Not far…I'm sure of it," Hitomi replied. She looked west at the sunset, the beauty of it lost to her as she realized what it implied. (AN: Would she really look west at a sunset? Where does the sun set on Gaia? O_o)
Hitomi snapped herself out of her depression and looked over at the additional member of their party. Yukari was awake and gazing blankly at the Gaian fields rushing past below them. Hitomi removed her arms from around Van's waist and went over to her friend.
"Yukari?" Hitomi said trying to get her attention, not really knowing what else to say.
"Huh? Yeah, Hitomi?" Yukari replied softly.
"I was, uh, just wondering if you were okay I guess…," Hitomi trailed off.
"Yeah. I guess," Yukari said in the same quiet tone.
"Are you sure?" asked Hitomi uncertainly.
"Yeah. I am. Really," Yukari sighed as she knew she'd have to give her worrisome friend a better answer than that. "Part of me still believes that this is just some weird dream I guess…you know, that I'll wake up and none of this will have happened…that everyone will be okay and everything will be back to normal…but I know that's not true. It will never be 'normal'. Not after everything that's happened. Because this is real. This isn't a dream. We could…we could all die tomorrow and never make it back……….but you're my best friend, Hitomi. You have been for…well, a long time…and I want you to know that I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make sure that we can both make it back alive…that everyone can stay alive…even if I die trying…because then…because then if I die, I'll know that my life wasn't a waste…that I died for a reason instead of just standing there…standing there like last time…," Yukari trailed off.
Hitomi nodded her head in understanding, then got up and went back over to Van so Yukari could be by herself.
"How'd it go?" Van whispered.
"She'll be okay."
Van nodded and turned his attention back to the distant horizon when he noticed something. It looked as if it were a large castle, old and windswept from many years gone past.
"Is that it?" Van asked, perhaps a bit too loud as it caused Merle and Tiger to stir.
"Yes. Hurry, Van. We don't have much time."
~~~
Erebos walked slowly into the sacred stone circle. He had all the ingredients, everything was in place. Nothing could ruin his plan now.
As he approached the alter where the mysterious blue flames of ice were burning brightly, he slowly pulled the Heart Stone out of his pocket. The blue fire reflected off its glassy surface and cast eerie shadows across the desolate room.
He placed the pendant in the center of the alter, careful to keep his hand just out of reach of the dancing flames. Then he began the spell.
"O, imprisoned lords of darkness,
Fallen demons with desire only for vengeance…"
The Heart Stone slowly began to turn pitch black.
"Creatures of the night with blood of ice and hearts of
steel,
I ask you to lend me your power…"
~~~
"Oh no!!! Van-sama!! The sun!! It's setting!!!" Merle screamed.
"We're not going to make it…," whispered Tiger.
Van gritted his teeth as he pulled hard on Escaflowne's reigns, trying hard to reach the castle in time as the final rays of sunlight slowly disappeared behind the horizon..
~~~
"…And together we
shall plunge Gaia into eternal darkness
Where we shall roam free forever
And never again shall the hope for sunrise vanquish us…"
~~~
Van winced as Escaflowne's wing grazed a stone turret as he circled around the castle overhead looking for an entrance. He finally found one.
'I don't have time to land…'
"Merle, Tiger! Jump!" Van shouted over his shoulder.
"What?!" screamed Merle as she watched the ground flying past beneath them at terrifying a speed.
"Just ahead!! I need you to jump, Merle!!! We might not have enough time if I land!! You two need to go on ahead of us! Go!! Now!!!!!!!"
Merle gulped then nodded.
She grabbed Tiger's hand and they jumped.
~~~
"…Through the purist power of the Heart Stone
I hold in my hand…"
~~~
Van swerved then skidded to a halt on top of the roof nearest the entrance he found and was about to jump down when the last rays of the sun abruptly disappeared.
"We're too late."
~~~
"…BLACK MIST!"
~~~
Merle and Tiger were quickly scrambling down the narrow ledge that laced the castle, Merle avoiding looking down at the ocean waves, a good fifty feet below them. Then Tiger, who was ahead of Merle, stopped suddenly, causing Merle to run into him.
"Ouch…what'd ya stop for…..AHHH! What is THAT?!?" Merle screamed as she looked over Tiger's shoulder towards the aforementioned castle entrance and saw some sort of strange, pitch-black mist spreading out in all directions at a rapid rate.
"C'mon, Merle! Quick!" Tiger said as he began to climb the stone wall of the castle in hopes of getting out of the mist's reach. Merle quickly followed.
Only when they reached the top did Merle look back on the ocean scenery below to see…well, nothing. Everything the mist touched turned pitch black, so the entire scene looked as though it were being viewed at midnight on an overcast night with no moon.
"We were too late…," Tiger whispered to no one.
Suddenly, Merle saw something spring up out of the darkness.
"Tiger! Over there! What's that?!"
Merle screamed as the figure suddenly flew towards them.
"So we meet again…," it chuckled evilly.
"Mokoi!"
~~~
Erebos grinned as the dark mist began seeping from the alter.
"It worked!! Haha!!"
Suddenly the pendant shattered.
"What?!"
The blue flames turned to red and the black mist thinned so that it was almost transparent.
"W-w-what's going on?!? Did the spell fail?!?! But how?!"
~~~
Van heard a scream from near the castle entrance.
"Merle…?"
Hitomi looked to Van.
"C'mon, let's go!" he said as they took off towards where they heard the scream.
~~~
"W-what went wrong?!? …The ingredients…the Heart Stone?…wasn't it powerful enough?…of course it was! It's the tear of the gods!! But what then……..huh?!"
Suddenly Erebos sensed a presence behind him. He turned.
"Skadi?" Erebos said with a slight look of shock on his face.
"Yes, master. I have returned to you…unlike brother Mokoi who is currently attacking the trespassers without your permission…" Skadi said the last part slightly softer than the rest.
"Trespassers?" He asked, his expression hardening as the image of Van and his followers crossed his mind. "Van and the others you mean?"
"Yes, master."
"Kill them. And, should you reach him before I do, you may kill Mokoi for betraying me."
"Yes, master." Skadi nodded and left.
'Hmm,' Erebos though. 'The spell must have worked a little at least, otherwise those two could have never been brought back to life…I wonder how much of an effect it had…I guess I'll have to go and see for myself…'
Erebos faded out.
~~~
Meanwhile on the castle roof…
"Merle! Look out!" Tiger screamed as he saw Skadi coming at Merle from behind. He desperately tried to get past Mokoi to save her, but couldn't.
Suddenly, Van lunged at Merle, knocking her out of the way as a large ball of energy hit where they were just a split second before.
The energy blast caught Mokoi's attention and he turned to see Van.
"You…!" Mokoi was unable to finish his sentence because at that moment Skadi hit him from behind.
Mokoi recovered. "Skadi? I never thought you would be one to betray master Erebos!"
"No, Mokoi, you have it backwards. It is you who have betrayed the master. And now I shall kill you."
The others stepped back planning on letting the two of them kill each other.
Van started running in the direction he came from, motioning for the others to follow.
"C'mon!" he whispered. "We can escape on Escaflowne."
But just as they had almost reached the legendary guymelef, they heard a cold voice behind them.
"And just where might you be going?"
Van turned around slowly.
"Erebos."
The two stared at each other for a few eternal seconds, neither one making a move until Van suddenly turned and sprinted towards Escaflowne. After a moment's hesitation, the others followed.
"You can't escape me!"
Van jumped onto Escaflowne's back (it's still in Dragon Mode) and helped the others climb up. He didn't see Erebos preparing to throw a large ball of energy at him.
(AN: italics will be Erebos's flashback, Regular font will be current)
"Van!!!!!!!" she screamed as she ran towards him, ignoring the flying of swords and the clashing of steel, she ran through it all, and as she ran, her pendant began to glow...
"Van!!!!!!" Hitomi
screamed as she ran toward him, not noticing as Escaflowne's energist began to
glow…
'No,' thought Hitomi, 'This isn't a dream. This is real. We can't die. Not here. Not now. We have to get out of this alive, otherwise Gaia doesn't stand a chance…we have to live…'
'No,' thought Hitomi, 'We
can't die here…the spell didn't work, we stand a chance…we have to save Gaia…we
have to live…'
The pendant glowed brighter than ever.
The energist glowed
brighter than ever.
"What the…" said Erebos.
And in a flash of light they were gone.
"The Heart Stone…," muttered
Erebos as he stared at the empty space where they were only moments before. "The
other half…"
~~~
…but should the traitor forget the dragon's heart, the spell shall fail and Gaia will be trapped in a Crimson Twilight as the war for dawn rages on…
That's all 4 now!!
BTW, IMPORTANT ANNOUNCMENT!!! I did a web page 4 this fic yesterday, http://geocities.com/vanz_cat/Kings_and_Traitors.html so if u want 2 check it out sometime, just 2 let u know that I will be posting chapters as I write them there so u might not have 2 wait as long…
Thanx 4 reading (And REVIEWING *hint hint* *wink wink* *nudge nudge* =Þ)
~Merle