by: Cathy-chan
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Part I: Eternal Key
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"Van!!!" No matter how hard she willed herself not to look helplessly at Van's unmoving body, her eyes still found their way to the blood stained center of the room. Between Hitomi and Van stood Blayde, with his back now turned away from what he had just done to the young king. When Hitomi had the chance to look at the red-eyed man, she couldn't see any emotions in them. All she saw was an unliving being who was governed by what he believed was the righteous path. Slowly, she crawled beside her love. The tears kept falling as she made an effort to lie Van's head on lap.
Behind her, Hitomi heard the sound of Blayde's sword drop from his hands. "It is now over. The Key is no more," Blayde uttered.
Hitomi could hear Blayde approach from behind her. She could feel he was close by, but she couldn't care if such a cruel man was there. The only thing she could think about was how could anyone she loved so deeply be taken away from her so easily. Softly she let her hands feel Van's face. "No...you can't be--!" Hitomi whispered to him. "I wanted so much to be with you...and now you're--!" Gradually, her weeping became stronger. She held him tightly in her arms. The side of her face pressed on his as she said, "...Don't go! Please don't go! Y-You can't! I love you!!"
"Van...?" Hitomi thought her wishful thinking had made her imagine a small movement...
No one had noticed before that the white stone was abandoned on the floor. As Blayde found it and placed it on his hand, it suddenly emitted a powerful bright light. It became brighter than ever before. The light was so strong that Blayde felt as if he was absorbed into another world only filled with white. Everything was completely white except himself. Navy blue feathers were starting to fill the white void as a human figure could be seen far away. The figure came closer until Blayde recognized that it was a beautiful woman. Her eyes were the colour of fresh violets on a spring day, and her whitish blue hair flowed gently behind her.
Blayde spoke of a name so old, but not forgotten to him. "...Laria..."
She smiled gently and sadly to him as she approached. Her smile reminded him of a pain he felt when he lost his heart entirely. The feeling that struck him when he watched Atlantis and Laria burn into ashes. Her creamy pale hands were graceful as she lifted them up towards him. "Where are you, Andreus?"
He looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean?"
She stared directly at his eyes with sorrow. She said once again, "Where are you? You're lost, but you don't want anyone -not even yourself- to find you. Why?"
"I am not lost. My mission is over. My immortality will disappear."
"Is that what you've been believing all of this time? That you've become immortal because of your mission to destroy The Key?"
"What else is there? Fate has chosen me to destroy such a powerful entity. For centuries I did not stop until I have killed the source of The Key. I realized that if either the girl from the Mystic Moon or the King of Fanelia be eliminated, then The Key will be no more. Hence, I will die. Just as the prophet from my childhood told me." Blayde spoke clearly and steadily as if he was proving a very precise, scientific theory. Even when he told her of his imminent death, he still spoke with no sentiment.
"You've been living your life for nothing but an evil task to fulfill. Your mind may say that what you've done to the King of Fanelia and to the girl will stop all of your torment. You even went as far as wiping out nations just to find The Key. What you've done to Freid, Fanelia...and others who gave their lives to protect their home...All of it just to make your pain go away?"
"Keeping them apart did not work, demanding for the pendant did not work. I simply used another plan. I did not expect for it to disappear so easily with just one death. Killing does not relieve my pain...nor does killing worsen it." He stopped and looked upon Laria's out-stretched hands, then to his own. It was strange how his hands appeared menacing, and covered with a red only he could see. "I do not feel anything."
Blayde was shocked to see Laria place her hands on his so lovingly. "I don't believe that. I know you're still in there. Not only I but the girl, Hitomi Kanzaki, believed it too. You say The Key has disappeared, it hasn't at all. For you see anyone, even a spirit such as I, can hold The Key." She lifted one of her hands up to point a finger at his chest. "And somewhere in there, you have it too." She stepped a bit closer while, gently, her white wings were revealing themselves behind her. When only an inch was between them, she rested her hands on his face and said, "It's not possible to destroy The Key inside anyone. Especially not the ones inside the two people whose love is eternal. I have not given up on finding you, and I do not hold you responsible for what happened to Atlantis. Let fate die. If you don't your entire soul will vanish. Please, don't die for a prophecy. Just find yourself and rest with me, Andreus."
The last few words touched a living being inside of the harsh Blayde that had not been awoken in countless years. As Blayde stared deeply into Laria's eyes, his eyes began to change colour. Like the colour of the sky during sunrise as the day begins. It was as if someone inside of him was returning to the world. His wings, as well, were turning from a navy blue, to a pure white. Instead of his sadness that was buried deep within his eyes, honest emotions were apparent through his face. "Yes, it's time for me to rest...but there's one more task I must finish. I know I cannot atone for such evil as what I've done. I must let Fate's Death conquer Gaia. I am going to fulfill the rest of the prophecy written in the scriptures, but with my own ending."
Laria closed her eyes and nodded an agreement. Along with the surrounding white, she began to float away from him. "Until then...I will be waiting for you here."
Hitomi was not imagining things at all. Faintly, she could feel the gentle air of Van's breath tap lightly on the side of her cheek. Slowly, but anxiously, she lifted her head up to look at the young man lying on her lap. There was life inside Van's body as she saw him move his hands. While Van's eyes began to open, Hitomi inspected Van's injury. It appeared that the sword did not plunge into his chest. She didn't realize before that Van was able to dodge back from the blade so that only the section below his shoulder had a deep cut. The wound was serious, but he was able to speak clearly. "...I'm sorry...I don't think I've ever told you..."
Hitomi hadn't stopped weeping, but this time her tears were accompanied with a joyous smile. "T-Told me what...?" she said shakily. Affectionately, she pushed Van's long strands of hair away from his eyes.
"...That I love you too..." he answered in a soft whisper.
"Van!" She gave him a kiss on the lips, and smiled. "I know you do. Oh, Van! I thought I've lost you! I was so scared! For a moment, I thought I was going to be alone if you leave me."
"You will never be alone. As long as The Key...The power of your emotions...lives on as one. It is eternal," a familiar voice told them. They both saw a man walk up to them. For certain it was Blayde, but somehow instead of an endless creature, it was a living Atlantean with blue eyes that they were beholding. His feelings of sympathy were very obvious on his eyes and face. He held no pair of jagged swords in his hands, and white wings had sprout out of his back. "I understand that no apology I can say to you will forgive what I've done. I now understand that it wasn't The Key's fault that The Power of Atlantis turned against us. It was foolish to think any mortal can ever create utopia through machinery and sorcery. I will stop the war that I've created with my own hands." With that, he turned briskly to the huge doors. Once he was in front of the doors he paused, then he looked directly at Hitomi and said, "...Thank you...for believing."
From an opening in a broken window, he flew outside and into his winged guymelef. Now that they had gone berserk, there was no way to call them back. However, since he built the cybernetic guymelefs with his own alchemy and engineering, he knew that a strong opponent would automatically attract the entire fleet on one single enemy. And so with that in mind, he started attacking a group of them at a time, until all of them recognized him as a powerful enemy. After seeing that the fleet was focused on him, he led them up quickly to the sky. According to the knowledge he had from building the black giants, he knew that his guymelef would rupture due to the force of an extremely fast speed. Then the chemicals inside the machinery would react, and a large explosion would occur. The explosion would be large enough to annihilate the army of giants. As he waited for the guymelef to climb higher, he began uttering words. Slowly and in a rhythmic beat, he chanted his own conclusion of the written prophecy:
And from the Blue Planet
The One will come.
With her, a second.
From The One,
Darkness will overcome Gaia,
The Sacrifice will follow.
With The One,
Fate's Death will conquer all
And from this Death,
The Eternal Key
Will awaken Destiny's new path
By Gaia's will
The Sacrifice,
The Unliving Heart,
The Endless Blade,
Will find rest and peace
Thus Ends The Prophecy."
Faster and faster he ascended the guymelef into Gaia's outer atmosphere. The tremors became stronger, and he could feel the gravity forced upon him. He closed his eyes and saw a white land far away where a beautiful angel smiled serenely.
With an effort, Andreus smiled back. "Laria..."
Hitomi helped Van walk to the broken window pass the throne room's double doors to watch a large wave of energy erupt high up in the sky. The soldiers and samurai stood still as they saw the end of the entire dark fleet in one instant. When the loud boom of the explosion finally ceased, The Fanelian's voices could be heard rising in joy and chants of victory amongst the fallen streets of their kingdom. Below the windows where Van and Hitomi looked out to, Yukari and Allen waved to them happily. As the people worked side by side to destroy the flames, a clear and sunny sky was unveiled through the smoke. Everywhere a head turned, voices of people were rejoicing as they ran to their loved ones. Peacefully, Van and Hitomi smiled as they held each other's hand. Alas the battle had ended.
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Part II: Is This Farewell?
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It had been a week since Blayde's death. In honour of the men that had died in the battle, they were all buried under a monument in the forest behind the castle. On top of the monument was a stone dragon holding a sword with its head pointing upwards. Underneath the statue was inscribed: "Here lies the valiant souls that fought for our kingdom. With their honour and sacrifice, we will begin a new era for Gaia." As if guarding the graveyard, Escaflowne knelt peacefully beside it.
Hitomi and Yukari stood beside Van as he stood quietly in front of their graveyard. Hitomi felt a familiar and sad emotion as Van turned around. She knew that the same scenario played itself three years ago when she left Gaia. The sadness was very strong as she realized that the scenario might end the same way yet again. For a while, Van stood staring back at her. Both of them knew what would come after the crisis with Blayde was over. As Hitomi shared the same sadness in her eyes as Van's, it seemed to her as if even The Key could not keep two people from two different worlds together. The serene week that had passed by beforehand gave them time to think about their next actions. Or perhaps it wasn't a time to think at all,....but a time to say their good-byes. Finally, Van broke the silence and said, "...Your family probably misses you back at your own world."
Hitomi nodded. It was difficult for her to speak while trying to hide her tears. "It'll be pretty hard to explain to them where I've been. I'm sure it's the same case with Yukari's family too." She made a false laugh and turned to her friend. "Don't you think so, Yukari?"
Yukari's response was surprising to say the least. Hitomi had expected her friend to be cheerful and silly during the conversation, but Yukari almost seemed encompassed by a deep and sad thought. Without saying anything back, she grabbed Hitomi's shoulder. While Hitomi asked her questions, Yukari dragged her away from Van without any reply. At last when it was far enough for the two of them to speak privately, she began speaking in a low tone. "Hitomi, we need to talk."
"H-Huh? What's up with you? You're freaking me out, Yukari!"
Yukari slowly leaned closer to her friend and said, "Are you sure about this?"
"S-Sure about what?"
As Yukari whispered back she held her hand. "About leaving, I mean."
"H-How did you know...?" Hitomi's voice was beginning to shake a little.
Almost instantly Yukari returned to her cheerful self. "Silly! I know how you're feeling right now. I'm your best-friend, remember? I know you're planning on leaving him again as soon as you're through talking. You two looked so dark depressed that any fool could see what was going on. Not to mention you've been giving this a lot of thought over the past few days....Well? Am I right?"
Hitomi's voice was almost inaudible as she looked down on her hands. "Yeah...You're right. What else am I suppose to do? He's from Gaia and I'm from Earth. It's just...I mean," she paused as she tried to find the right words, "I badly want to be with him, but...my family...my life back in Earth..."
"You don't sound happier when you say that. C'mon, Hitomi! Ever since you came back from that spooky time you disappeared, you've been acting very weird. For the entire time we were in high school, you didn't check one guy out." She laughed, loud and vibrant. "Now that's what really scared me!"
"...Then...what should I do then?"
While Yukari spoke, she gazed up at their home planet. "Having a distant relationship with Amano has taught me lotsa things. For one thing...It sucks to be in a distant relationship with someone! No seeing the guy in person, no way to have any kind of dates what so ever...Now you two have it even waaay worse! Two different planets, girl! I can really tell you love this guy. Your...'Key'...saved an entire planet! Wow! How many people can say that about their love life?"
Yukari became even more cheerful as she saw her friend's face lift up with a smile upon it. With a pretended and dramatic cough, she continued. "All I'm saying, Hitomi, is that if you two are really than into each other then...why keep each other apart?"
The prospect of staying seemed to be in favour of Hitomi as she smiled. However, her eyes focused back to her hands. "But...what would my family think? That I just disappeared somewhere to never come back?"
"Nah! I don't think so. Seeing how your guy was able to go back and forth from both worlds with just thinking about it, I say you'll see them again." Yukari patted her back energetically. "Besides...with him being still injured an' all...I'm pretty sure you could...look after him, right?"
Hitomi found it odd that Yukari would mention Van's injury as a means to stay in Gaia. She thought that Yukari of all people would convince her to leave Gaia so Hitomi could live her life on Earth. Despite that fact, Hitomi found it odd, but not surprising. For she knew how thoughtful her friend could be. The thought of never leaving Van crossed her mind more than once over the past week. A desire, so powerful and bewitching, made her wish that both of them originated from the same planet. Ever since she realized her feelings for Van, she thought of how wonderful it would have been if she stayed with him for those three years they were apart. Since then, she dreamed of how they would spend their days together. To, not only be together spiritually, but to be together physically as well. After a long while, Hitomi replied. "I guess...It's not like I was enjoying college. One of my new instructors a big jerk...But...my mother, father and little brother? What kind of excuse are you going to come up with?"
Yukari gave her a sheepish grin, and shrugged. "Uh...That you've found true love? If I were your mom, I would be happy for you!"
After looking at Yukari's sheepish grin, Hitomi couldn't help but laugh. She shook her heard and said, "I...want you to give this to them then." From her jacket she fetched out a folded piece of paper. It was addressed to her family. "I want you to give this to them. I wrote it yesterday, and...I didn't know whether I needed it or not. And please tell them that..." For a brief moment she glanced back at Van. "...that I'm very happy, and that I will see them again one day."
Yukari was almost to the point of crying as she hugged her long time friend. "Right...I'm going to miss you, Hitomi. And I thought Kamakura and Tokyo were far away!" While still holding on to each other they laughed. "I'm happy for ya, Hitomi. You guys are meant for each other, and I don't need your Tarot Cards to figure that out."
Hitomi watched as a bright column of light surrounded Yukari. She held on until the light started lifting Yukari up towards the sky. For just a small fraction of a moment she felt doubt on her future ahead. What will now become of her life in Gaia? Will she truly see her family again? But her doubts were cast aside as soon as she remembered who she would spending the days with her forever. After seeing the column of light take Yukari away to the blue planet, she walked back to where Van was.
"...Hitomi..." Van uttered. He knew why there was a kind smile and bright eyes upon Hitomi's face. He didn't know what to say at the moment. No words came in his mind, but as Hitomi came closer to him, he realized that there was no need for words. Lovingly he held her tight, letting the time pass by into another afternoon without worry. A sense of belonging that has no hint of uncertainty was felt only between the two of them. The Key would conquer any of the darkness the loomed over them. They will be one...in their hearts...and in their destiny's eyes...as two angels gaze upon them.
Author's Note: What do you think? Yeah...very mushy ending, but what can I say? I wanted that kind of ending for Van and Hitomi! It seems appropriate to me. Did you figure out what The Key is? Just to make it clear The Key is Love. It's a concept that I think is strongly obvious in the series and in the movie. It may seem like a sad ending for Blayde 'cause he died, but I think it's a happy and noble one. Anyway, don't forget to give me some feedback about the story! And thank you once again! I don't think I could've ever gotten enough inspiration and encouragement without your support!
