ESCAFLOWNE: A CALL TO ARMS
Chapter 4
by Asher Cross
DISCLAIMER: Escaflowne and its characters are property of Bandai, Sunrise, etc.
------
CRUSADE II
As Escaflowne set down on the metal floor of the hangar, Van transformed it into Guymelef mode, and the machine shut down.
Van, stepping out, jumped out and looked behind him to see Hitomi climb down from Escaflowne's shoulder and run into his arms. "Van, thank God!" she exclaimed as she squeezed him tightly, and Van returned the embrace.
Hitomi looked up into his eyes, and saw the eyes she fell in love with one year ago. The same trance was happening to Van. "Hitomi..."
Their lips slowly met...
"Hitomi, thank God you're sa--" Koichi, who had run into the hangar, stopped just inside the door, and took a sharp breath as he saw Van and Hitomi locked in a kiss.
His eyes and heart fell, as he took a flustered step backward.
Hearing his call, Hitomi quickly pulled away, surprised and ashamed of herself. *Oh my God, how could I just forget about Koichi like that?* "...Koichi? I'm so sorry--"
Koichi shook his head. "No!" He ran out of the room, Hitomi starting to give chase, Van looking toward them in concern.
------
Koichi, his throat burning as he tried to force down the sobs that threatened to overcome him, ran at full speed through the corridors of the Crusade. He felt betrayed, lost. *What's happening to me? I'm in this...insane fantasy land, and my love, the only connection I have to my world, is lost!*
Suddenly, his left foot slipped, and he landed violently on his right knee, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from Koichi, and finally landed on his stomach, knocking the breath out of him.
Hearing Hitomi getting closer, he desperately tried to get up, but the pain in his right knee was intense.
Hitomi approached him, and grabbed him by the shoulders. Hysterical, Koichi tried to push her away, but Hitomi held on. "Koichi, calm down! You're just hurting yourself!"
Koichi calmed down enough to look at Hitomi, his eyes pleading. "W...why?"
"I don't know, Koichi, and I'm so, so sorry. I just...saw his eyes, and I forgot about you. That time, a year ago, when I was here, I found that I loved Van, and he felt the same. I...never really got a chance to kiss Van before I went back to Earth. I thought for weeks about what we could've had. Then I met you, Koichi. You made me feel special."
"And I was a nice replacement for Van, wasn't I?" Koichi added sarcastically. "And now that you're back, you and Van can ride off into the sunset, can't you? Well, go ahead, I won't stop you, if it's what you really want."
Hitomi could tell Koichi was hurt, from the tone of his voice and his body language. She knew him too well...when he was angry, it usually meant he was forlorn.
Koichi continued his rant. "Were you really in love with ME all that time, or Van? Because I noticed something interesting when we went to rescue you. Although we have different haircuts...Van and I look ALMOST EXACTLY ALIKE."
*Oh my God...I hadn't realized that! How stupid could I be?* Hitomi thought to herself. "I loved you, Koichi...but deep down, I loved Van too."
"Well, you'll have to come to a decision sooner or later. Just ask yourself this question: Once this is over and we find a way to get back, are you coming back to Earth...or staying here?" he said sourly, then stormed off, Hitomi standing in the corridor, thinking about what he said. *He's right...sooner or later, I have to choose who I want to spend the rest of my life with...*
She jumped when she heard Van's voice. "So...you found someone else."
Hitomi turned and hesitantly answered, "Yes, I did."
"...I'd be lying if I said I understood. I thought we were in love." Van spoke quietly, but his words dug deep.
Hitomi, frustrated, lashed out. "I thought I would never see you again! What was I supposed to do? Wait for something that would probably never come? Besides...there was too much to love in Koichi to just keep hoping. He reminded me so much of you, I thought that...maybe in a small way, I could be with you..."
"You used him."
Those three words stabbed right into Hitomi's heart like a sharp dagger, each syllable causing a sharp pain.
Van continued. "You used him to pretend that I was still with you."
Fighting in her mind, Hitomi's hands tightened into fists. *No, no, I really did love him! No, it couldn't be true!!* She screamed, "How dare you?! I would never use him! He's too kind, too gentle, I would never do that!"
Van sighed, then turned to walk away. He looked over his shoulder. "Look deeper. Find the truth," he said, then walked away.
Hitomi stared after him, then looked down at her hands. She'd tightened her fists to the point where four small slices from her fingernails appeared, pooling blood.
She stared at her hand. *That's never happened before. I've...never been that angry...but was I angry at Van...or at myself?*
There were too many questions, too many answers were 'maybes'. She wiped her hand on her school uniform, and leaned against the corridor wall, breaking down into sobs.
------
On his small bed in the dark guest quarters, Koichi lay face-down, motionless, except for the occasional shudder of sobs. Overcome with feelings of hurt and sorrow, he soiled his pillow with tears.
The door opened, and Koichi's muffled voice shouted, "Go away!" However, whoever it was didn't leave.
Koichi sat up and turned toward the door, yelling, "I said--"
Suddenly, the guest (hiding against the side of the bed) tackled him, pinning him to the bed, too late for him to struggle.
As he squinted against the dim light of the doorway, he recognized the face of the intruder. "Merle?!"
"Yes!" Merle hissed playfully.
"What are you doing? Get off me!"
"Oh, you're no fun!" she complained as she rolled off him, and sat beside him on the bed.
Merle noticed his face was flushed, and leaned closer. "Were you crying?"
"..Yes, I was crying." Koichi said, not looking at her.
"Why?"
"Oh, nothing. Just found out my entire relationship with Hitomi was one gigantic lie," he muttered sarcastically.
"You're really bitter, you know? You have to get over it!"
"Get over Hitomi? Oh, you don't know what you're talking about." He leaned back and laid on the bed. "Hitomi was the best thing that ever happened to me. She always smiled that gorgeous smile...she also had such a carefree attitude--that's what I loved most about her. I don't ever remember her ever being worried about herself. She was always concerned with me, and her friends, but never with herself, because I think she knew we would tell her if she was doing something wrong."
Merle rested her hands on her chin. "Sounds like you were really smitten."
"You don't know the half of it. But now...I don't know."
"Well, I had a hard time getting over Van and Hitomi too, but I've gotten over it. Just try, I'm sure you'll do it." Merle climbed over him to the other size of the bed, and ruffled his hair before scrambling out of the door on all fours.
------
Allen sighed as he leaned back on the chair in his quarters, resting his hands behind his head and groaning in exhaustion. The situation was indeed becoming grim. Hitomi had explained to him about Lord Ghydal, the Energist Key, and the malfunctioning of the Guymelefs.
He also wondered about the dragon that helped Hitomi escape. *How could it have broken Ghydal's control? Perhaps Hitomi had some part in it...she does have a gift, after all...*
His train of thought was broken when the door opened, and Celena walked in, feeling cheery. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, brother."
Allen sat forward, slightly annoyed. "My dear sister, didn't Dryden teach you about knocking in that year you were in his employ?"
"So I WAS interrupting?" Celena said, with a sly smile.
Allen chuckled. "I surrender. Yes, as a matter of fact, I was contemplating our situation and how we can get out of it."
"Anything so far?"
"No. All we can do is head for Ralenia, so Lord Raylen can gather his forces, and take them by force."
"Can't we just take a small team to the Cave of Dragons, sneak in, and destroy the Energist Key?"
"No, wouldn't work. He'd have the dragons on guard, and they'd find them instantly. Guymelefs wouldn't work because of the Key's capabilities." Amused, Allen said whimsically, "My, my, some of Dilandau's strategic genius must be carrying over onto you."
Celena frowned, and turned away. Allen stood and held her by the shoulders. "I'm sorry to bring that up."
"It hasn't stopped. Dilandau is not dead. Sometimes...she comes back, particularly when I become saddened."
"Don't worry, sister. We'll get him out of you, and my sister will come back to me." Allen hugged her from behind, and Celena leaned into him.
------
Lord Raylen walked into the bridge, where Dryden, Gaddes, and Fjal worked the controls. Raylen gave a small smile as he saw the borders of his homeland, Ralenia.
Dryden, turning to him, said, "Glad to be back home, sir?"
"Just Raylen. And yes, I am."
"I'm glad, Raylen. I'm personally looking forward to a little R & R after this little crisis."
"I'm afraid you might not get much. We'll be taking the army out as soon as possible. Ghydal would likely have moved after we found him. He may be gone already."
"Damn."
"But I'm sure we will hold off for a few days. That should be ample time for everyone to get some rest."
Gaddes, glancing over at the target screen, widened his eyes in surprise. "Oh shit!"
Fjal, Dryden, and Raylen turned toward him. "What?"
"A swarm of dragons rapidly closing on us!"
Dryden yelled orders. "Fjal, contact Allen, get him up here. Gaddes, how close are they?"
Suddenly, the ship rocked violently, sending them sprawling to the floor. Gaddes, pulling himself up with the console, replied shakily, "That answer your question?"
Allen ran into the bridge, fuming. Mole Man, Millerna, and Celena followed. Allen shouted, "What's going on?"
Gaddes replied, "Dragon's, sir. Shitloads of them, directly attacking us."
"Raylen, can your people send reinforcements?"
"What are they gonna send, Guymelefs?" Raylen answered.
"...Dammit, you're right. Evasive action!"
"There's no room to maneuver, they're everywhere!!"
"See if you can reach Van, get him to deploy Escaflowne."
An extremely violent explosion rang throughout the bridge, crew thrown everywhere. Dryden slammed into the wall, and crashed to the floor, out cold.
"Gaddes, damage report!"
"Hull damage critical. Hangar's caved in, so Escaflowne can't get out. That last hit was our left levistone. Right's heavily damaged. We're falling," Gaddes reported.
Allen shouted into the P.A., "All hands, brace yourselves!"
------
Koichi ran through the corridors. "Hitomi?! HITOMI! Hitomi, where are you?"
Struggling through the frantic crowd of passengers, he saw a small boy crying, trying to hold on tight against the crowd, wailing a name and trying his best not to get trampled.
Koichi made his way through to the boy, and held onto him, getting him through the crowd. "You're the kid from the village, right?"
The boy nodded. "Theran."
"Don't worry, Theran, I won't let anything happen to you."
"Where's Chid?"
"The other boy, royalty?" Theran nodded. "I haven't seen him. I'm sorry, kid."
"It's okay." Theran hugged Koichi's neck as tightly as he could, as Koichi carried him through the frantic fog of people.
As he ran through the corridors, he spotted someone else -- Merle! Merle ran forward, shouting, "Koichi!"
"Merle, what's happening?"
"The dragons are attacking, and we're falling! I just came back from Van--he can't get Escaflowne out!"
"Is Hitomi with him?"
"She wasn't. But what are we going to do?"
Koichi sighed in defeat. "I suppose there is nothing to do. Maybe if we find a secure place, we could...die quickly."
Tears began to well up in Merle's eyes, and she hugged Koichi's waist. "We've still got to try. Is there any way off this skiff?" Koichi asked Merle.
"There are no other craft to exit with, and we're going to fast to simply jump."
Another blast rocked the skiff, and this time a wall panel blew inwards, cutting a hole in the ship. Koichi, Merle, and Theran held on tightly to the wall, trying to not get sucked out. Merle, her cat-like claws keeping her firmly gripped to the wall, looked out the hole. They were getting closer to the ground, which wasn't that far away now. "The dragons are gone!"
Koichi added, "They've taken us out. There was no need for them to be here."
"Koichi?!"
Koichi looked back to see Hitomi rounding the corner and stopping. "Hitomi!"
"Listen to me. Before we die, I need to tell this to you..." Her eyes pleading and tear-stricken, she shouted, "I love--"
The wall panel protecting Koichi, Merle, and Theran from the wind behind them blew out, and the three were sucked out of the ship, into the open air.
"NOOOO!!!!" Hitomi screamed, falling to the floor in shuddering sobs.
She tucked in her legs to her chest, and sobbed into her knees. She didn't want to die like this.
------
On the bridge, everyone braced for the impact. Mole an tried to revive Dryden, but Fjal stopped him. "Let him sleep when he dies...spare him the pain."
Allen and Celena held each other, and Millerna joined in. Millerna whispered into his ear, "I love you, Allen."
Allen replied, "I love you...Millerna."
The three tightened their embrace.
------
In the dilapidated hangar, Van sat in Escaflowne's cockpit. He worried over what would happen to Fanelia, his people. Over Merle, how the cat-girl would be saddened.
Over Hitomi...
He pictured him in her mind, smiling a reassuring smile, mouthing the words, "I love you." He thought about a lifetime he would never have with her.
Van leaned back, and for the first time in an eternity, cried.
------
The crew of the Crusade II--Hitomi Kanzaki, Koichi Samamoto, Van Fanel, Allen Schezar, Merle, Millerna, Celena, Gaddes, Chid, Dryden, Raylen, Gaddes, Fjal Trawen, Mole Man, and Theran, prepared themselves for death, as the Asturian skiff crashed into the ground, falling apart, shards of metal careening into the dim light sky.
And Lord Ghydal contemplated his plan for the complete and utter domination of Gaea...
THE END
OR
IS IT?
Chapter 4
by Asher Cross
DISCLAIMER: Escaflowne and its characters are property of Bandai, Sunrise, etc.
------
CRUSADE II
As Escaflowne set down on the metal floor of the hangar, Van transformed it into Guymelef mode, and the machine shut down.
Van, stepping out, jumped out and looked behind him to see Hitomi climb down from Escaflowne's shoulder and run into his arms. "Van, thank God!" she exclaimed as she squeezed him tightly, and Van returned the embrace.
Hitomi looked up into his eyes, and saw the eyes she fell in love with one year ago. The same trance was happening to Van. "Hitomi..."
Their lips slowly met...
"Hitomi, thank God you're sa--" Koichi, who had run into the hangar, stopped just inside the door, and took a sharp breath as he saw Van and Hitomi locked in a kiss.
His eyes and heart fell, as he took a flustered step backward.
Hearing his call, Hitomi quickly pulled away, surprised and ashamed of herself. *Oh my God, how could I just forget about Koichi like that?* "...Koichi? I'm so sorry--"
Koichi shook his head. "No!" He ran out of the room, Hitomi starting to give chase, Van looking toward them in concern.
------
Koichi, his throat burning as he tried to force down the sobs that threatened to overcome him, ran at full speed through the corridors of the Crusade. He felt betrayed, lost. *What's happening to me? I'm in this...insane fantasy land, and my love, the only connection I have to my world, is lost!*
Suddenly, his left foot slipped, and he landed violently on his right knee, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from Koichi, and finally landed on his stomach, knocking the breath out of him.
Hearing Hitomi getting closer, he desperately tried to get up, but the pain in his right knee was intense.
Hitomi approached him, and grabbed him by the shoulders. Hysterical, Koichi tried to push her away, but Hitomi held on. "Koichi, calm down! You're just hurting yourself!"
Koichi calmed down enough to look at Hitomi, his eyes pleading. "W...why?"
"I don't know, Koichi, and I'm so, so sorry. I just...saw his eyes, and I forgot about you. That time, a year ago, when I was here, I found that I loved Van, and he felt the same. I...never really got a chance to kiss Van before I went back to Earth. I thought for weeks about what we could've had. Then I met you, Koichi. You made me feel special."
"And I was a nice replacement for Van, wasn't I?" Koichi added sarcastically. "And now that you're back, you and Van can ride off into the sunset, can't you? Well, go ahead, I won't stop you, if it's what you really want."
Hitomi could tell Koichi was hurt, from the tone of his voice and his body language. She knew him too well...when he was angry, it usually meant he was forlorn.
Koichi continued his rant. "Were you really in love with ME all that time, or Van? Because I noticed something interesting when we went to rescue you. Although we have different haircuts...Van and I look ALMOST EXACTLY ALIKE."
*Oh my God...I hadn't realized that! How stupid could I be?* Hitomi thought to herself. "I loved you, Koichi...but deep down, I loved Van too."
"Well, you'll have to come to a decision sooner or later. Just ask yourself this question: Once this is over and we find a way to get back, are you coming back to Earth...or staying here?" he said sourly, then stormed off, Hitomi standing in the corridor, thinking about what he said. *He's right...sooner or later, I have to choose who I want to spend the rest of my life with...*
She jumped when she heard Van's voice. "So...you found someone else."
Hitomi turned and hesitantly answered, "Yes, I did."
"...I'd be lying if I said I understood. I thought we were in love." Van spoke quietly, but his words dug deep.
Hitomi, frustrated, lashed out. "I thought I would never see you again! What was I supposed to do? Wait for something that would probably never come? Besides...there was too much to love in Koichi to just keep hoping. He reminded me so much of you, I thought that...maybe in a small way, I could be with you..."
"You used him."
Those three words stabbed right into Hitomi's heart like a sharp dagger, each syllable causing a sharp pain.
Van continued. "You used him to pretend that I was still with you."
Fighting in her mind, Hitomi's hands tightened into fists. *No, no, I really did love him! No, it couldn't be true!!* She screamed, "How dare you?! I would never use him! He's too kind, too gentle, I would never do that!"
Van sighed, then turned to walk away. He looked over his shoulder. "Look deeper. Find the truth," he said, then walked away.
Hitomi stared after him, then looked down at her hands. She'd tightened her fists to the point where four small slices from her fingernails appeared, pooling blood.
She stared at her hand. *That's never happened before. I've...never been that angry...but was I angry at Van...or at myself?*
There were too many questions, too many answers were 'maybes'. She wiped her hand on her school uniform, and leaned against the corridor wall, breaking down into sobs.
------
On his small bed in the dark guest quarters, Koichi lay face-down, motionless, except for the occasional shudder of sobs. Overcome with feelings of hurt and sorrow, he soiled his pillow with tears.
The door opened, and Koichi's muffled voice shouted, "Go away!" However, whoever it was didn't leave.
Koichi sat up and turned toward the door, yelling, "I said--"
Suddenly, the guest (hiding against the side of the bed) tackled him, pinning him to the bed, too late for him to struggle.
As he squinted against the dim light of the doorway, he recognized the face of the intruder. "Merle?!"
"Yes!" Merle hissed playfully.
"What are you doing? Get off me!"
"Oh, you're no fun!" she complained as she rolled off him, and sat beside him on the bed.
Merle noticed his face was flushed, and leaned closer. "Were you crying?"
"..Yes, I was crying." Koichi said, not looking at her.
"Why?"
"Oh, nothing. Just found out my entire relationship with Hitomi was one gigantic lie," he muttered sarcastically.
"You're really bitter, you know? You have to get over it!"
"Get over Hitomi? Oh, you don't know what you're talking about." He leaned back and laid on the bed. "Hitomi was the best thing that ever happened to me. She always smiled that gorgeous smile...she also had such a carefree attitude--that's what I loved most about her. I don't ever remember her ever being worried about herself. She was always concerned with me, and her friends, but never with herself, because I think she knew we would tell her if she was doing something wrong."
Merle rested her hands on her chin. "Sounds like you were really smitten."
"You don't know the half of it. But now...I don't know."
"Well, I had a hard time getting over Van and Hitomi too, but I've gotten over it. Just try, I'm sure you'll do it." Merle climbed over him to the other size of the bed, and ruffled his hair before scrambling out of the door on all fours.
------
Allen sighed as he leaned back on the chair in his quarters, resting his hands behind his head and groaning in exhaustion. The situation was indeed becoming grim. Hitomi had explained to him about Lord Ghydal, the Energist Key, and the malfunctioning of the Guymelefs.
He also wondered about the dragon that helped Hitomi escape. *How could it have broken Ghydal's control? Perhaps Hitomi had some part in it...she does have a gift, after all...*
His train of thought was broken when the door opened, and Celena walked in, feeling cheery. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, brother."
Allen sat forward, slightly annoyed. "My dear sister, didn't Dryden teach you about knocking in that year you were in his employ?"
"So I WAS interrupting?" Celena said, with a sly smile.
Allen chuckled. "I surrender. Yes, as a matter of fact, I was contemplating our situation and how we can get out of it."
"Anything so far?"
"No. All we can do is head for Ralenia, so Lord Raylen can gather his forces, and take them by force."
"Can't we just take a small team to the Cave of Dragons, sneak in, and destroy the Energist Key?"
"No, wouldn't work. He'd have the dragons on guard, and they'd find them instantly. Guymelefs wouldn't work because of the Key's capabilities." Amused, Allen said whimsically, "My, my, some of Dilandau's strategic genius must be carrying over onto you."
Celena frowned, and turned away. Allen stood and held her by the shoulders. "I'm sorry to bring that up."
"It hasn't stopped. Dilandau is not dead. Sometimes...she comes back, particularly when I become saddened."
"Don't worry, sister. We'll get him out of you, and my sister will come back to me." Allen hugged her from behind, and Celena leaned into him.
------
Lord Raylen walked into the bridge, where Dryden, Gaddes, and Fjal worked the controls. Raylen gave a small smile as he saw the borders of his homeland, Ralenia.
Dryden, turning to him, said, "Glad to be back home, sir?"
"Just Raylen. And yes, I am."
"I'm glad, Raylen. I'm personally looking forward to a little R & R after this little crisis."
"I'm afraid you might not get much. We'll be taking the army out as soon as possible. Ghydal would likely have moved after we found him. He may be gone already."
"Damn."
"But I'm sure we will hold off for a few days. That should be ample time for everyone to get some rest."
Gaddes, glancing over at the target screen, widened his eyes in surprise. "Oh shit!"
Fjal, Dryden, and Raylen turned toward him. "What?"
"A swarm of dragons rapidly closing on us!"
Dryden yelled orders. "Fjal, contact Allen, get him up here. Gaddes, how close are they?"
Suddenly, the ship rocked violently, sending them sprawling to the floor. Gaddes, pulling himself up with the console, replied shakily, "That answer your question?"
Allen ran into the bridge, fuming. Mole Man, Millerna, and Celena followed. Allen shouted, "What's going on?"
Gaddes replied, "Dragon's, sir. Shitloads of them, directly attacking us."
"Raylen, can your people send reinforcements?"
"What are they gonna send, Guymelefs?" Raylen answered.
"...Dammit, you're right. Evasive action!"
"There's no room to maneuver, they're everywhere!!"
"See if you can reach Van, get him to deploy Escaflowne."
An extremely violent explosion rang throughout the bridge, crew thrown everywhere. Dryden slammed into the wall, and crashed to the floor, out cold.
"Gaddes, damage report!"
"Hull damage critical. Hangar's caved in, so Escaflowne can't get out. That last hit was our left levistone. Right's heavily damaged. We're falling," Gaddes reported.
Allen shouted into the P.A., "All hands, brace yourselves!"
------
Koichi ran through the corridors. "Hitomi?! HITOMI! Hitomi, where are you?"
Struggling through the frantic crowd of passengers, he saw a small boy crying, trying to hold on tight against the crowd, wailing a name and trying his best not to get trampled.
Koichi made his way through to the boy, and held onto him, getting him through the crowd. "You're the kid from the village, right?"
The boy nodded. "Theran."
"Don't worry, Theran, I won't let anything happen to you."
"Where's Chid?"
"The other boy, royalty?" Theran nodded. "I haven't seen him. I'm sorry, kid."
"It's okay." Theran hugged Koichi's neck as tightly as he could, as Koichi carried him through the frantic fog of people.
As he ran through the corridors, he spotted someone else -- Merle! Merle ran forward, shouting, "Koichi!"
"Merle, what's happening?"
"The dragons are attacking, and we're falling! I just came back from Van--he can't get Escaflowne out!"
"Is Hitomi with him?"
"She wasn't. But what are we going to do?"
Koichi sighed in defeat. "I suppose there is nothing to do. Maybe if we find a secure place, we could...die quickly."
Tears began to well up in Merle's eyes, and she hugged Koichi's waist. "We've still got to try. Is there any way off this skiff?" Koichi asked Merle.
"There are no other craft to exit with, and we're going to fast to simply jump."
Another blast rocked the skiff, and this time a wall panel blew inwards, cutting a hole in the ship. Koichi, Merle, and Theran held on tightly to the wall, trying to not get sucked out. Merle, her cat-like claws keeping her firmly gripped to the wall, looked out the hole. They were getting closer to the ground, which wasn't that far away now. "The dragons are gone!"
Koichi added, "They've taken us out. There was no need for them to be here."
"Koichi?!"
Koichi looked back to see Hitomi rounding the corner and stopping. "Hitomi!"
"Listen to me. Before we die, I need to tell this to you..." Her eyes pleading and tear-stricken, she shouted, "I love--"
The wall panel protecting Koichi, Merle, and Theran from the wind behind them blew out, and the three were sucked out of the ship, into the open air.
"NOOOO!!!!" Hitomi screamed, falling to the floor in shuddering sobs.
She tucked in her legs to her chest, and sobbed into her knees. She didn't want to die like this.
------
On the bridge, everyone braced for the impact. Mole an tried to revive Dryden, but Fjal stopped him. "Let him sleep when he dies...spare him the pain."
Allen and Celena held each other, and Millerna joined in. Millerna whispered into his ear, "I love you, Allen."
Allen replied, "I love you...Millerna."
The three tightened their embrace.
------
In the dilapidated hangar, Van sat in Escaflowne's cockpit. He worried over what would happen to Fanelia, his people. Over Merle, how the cat-girl would be saddened.
Over Hitomi...
He pictured him in her mind, smiling a reassuring smile, mouthing the words, "I love you." He thought about a lifetime he would never have with her.
Van leaned back, and for the first time in an eternity, cried.
------
The crew of the Crusade II--Hitomi Kanzaki, Koichi Samamoto, Van Fanel, Allen Schezar, Merle, Millerna, Celena, Gaddes, Chid, Dryden, Raylen, Gaddes, Fjal Trawen, Mole Man, and Theran, prepared themselves for death, as the Asturian skiff crashed into the ground, falling apart, shards of metal careening into the dim light sky.
And Lord Ghydal contemplated his plan for the complete and utter domination of Gaea...
THE END
OR
IS IT?