~Remember I don't own Escaflowne or its characters!~
~I hope you enjoy reading this chapter! I bet you'll never guess what's
going to happen next!~










The Fate of Two Worlds
By Angel Wings

Chapter 22 ~ Farewell, Fallen Warrior

~Mystic Valley~
Hitomi stood at the edge of the valley's cliff letting the wind blow
through her flowing hair. Her emerald eyes swept over the beautiful land
surrounding her enjoying the view. Lavender flowers dotted the grassy land
as a small brook ran at the bottom of the famous valley. Several birds flew
through the clouds marking the sky with their grace. A silent meadow lark
flowed in the air giving the land a peaceful feeling. There was only one
thing out of place....

The feature outstanding the most in the mysterious land was the large gray
stone temple surrounded by roman pillars. The young seeress stared at the
gray building of stone curiously. The temple was about a quarter of a mile
away laying at the edge of a cliff towering over the valley. A gravel path
lead to the large entrance of the ancient structure showing its importance.
Dozens of pillars were spread out in a circle around the temple like a
boundary of its area.

A deep silence shadowed the ancient building, but the seeress felt
something lively from the ghostly structure. Her senses could feel the
imprint of Draconian powers dwelling within the stone surfaces. It was the
same feeling she had gotten when she had the vision of her going through
those old halls of gray stone.....

Turning her head of brunette locks she glanced back at the group melding
behind her. Several soldiers were being chosen to accompany the group on
the hike to the building at the end of the gravel trail. Hitomi smiled
lovingly at her fiancé as he talked with Allen and Dryden about which
soldiers should come on the trek. Her beloved look so hansom in his old
attire of his red sleeveless shirt and cream pants. Even as he chose the
soldiers for the trek she couldn't help, but notice how well built he was.
The men continued to discuss the matter as they glanced at the remaining
soldiers. Already five guards had been chosen for Prince Chid and the three
other females, but the men still thought more soldiers were required.

With a sigh the young seeress turned away from the breath taking view to
return to the group. As she walked up beside the three men she caught the
last bit of their conversation.

"--I believe that would be for the best" replied the knight of golden hair
as he stared at the women. The two royals nodded in agreement causing
Hitomi curiosity to get the best of her.

"What would be for the best?" the angel girl asked her friends. The three
men turned towards the respected woman as the dragon king answered her
question.

"We thought perhaps that Allen along with Celena and Prince Chid should
stay behind. Just in case Kusari arrives to make trouble" replied the young
king. Hitomi glanced at the rest of the group in thought. The beautiful
woman knew he was right. If Kusari arrived and someone wasn't here to watch
their backs then it would really become a problem. The fewer people there
in the temple the better.

Glancing towards the group again Hitomi asked, "How about if only Van and I
go into the temple?"

Dryden gave a playful smile, "Hitomi! I know you want some time alone with
King Van, but all you need to do is ask for us to leave."

A deep blush fell on both Hitomi and Van as the two men tried to hold back
their laughter. The young seeress shook off her embarrassment and said,
"No, I just think it would be best if fewer people were in the temple."

The knight's face changed from playful to stern, "I don't know if that is
wise, Hitomi. It's best if we stick together. The more guards the better at
that."

Hitomi looked up into the sky checking for any signs of the dark bristle
bush fortress as she spoke, "Kusari will definitely be coming soon..... I
can sense it..... I just want to go check out the temple for a few minutes
then we'll return. There is no danger here except for Kusari, and I doubt
he beat us here seeing we had to go through a week of finding unknown
landmarks. Therefore, there shouldn't be an ambush waiting for us there."

Allen's hand went to his chin as he thought of what she was suggesting.
Hitomi turned her eyes back to the hansom knight as she continued, "It's
best if you and Dryden stay behind to have the guymelefs ready for an
attack. Prince Chid along with the other women will only be good targets if
they tried to harm us while we're still in the temple. If me and Van only
go we probably can go a lot faster and get out before Kusari gets here."

Dryden gave a sigh of defeat, "She's got a point..... Hitomi always has a
point......"

The older king smiled down proudly at the woman as she nodded her thanks to
the kind man. Van already had accepted the idea of going by themselves
since it seemed like the best course of action, but the blonde knight
wasn't willing to give in just yet.

"Do we even need to go to the temple, Hitomi?" he asked doubtfully. The
young girl's emeralds turned towards the stone structure honestly not
knowing. The only reason she wanted to explore the gray building was
because she had a strange feeling of needed to go there...... sort of like
a gut feeling...... Slowly she nodded to the knight not turning from the
temple.

"Yes...." she replied quietly, "We need to go there..... I don't know why,
but we need to go...."

She turned to the sky blue eyes of the knight and could still see doubt. It
wasn't that Allen didn't believe her, but he didn't like the idea of them
going by themselves. What if something happen?.... His warrior instincts
were yelling at him saying they shouldn't go unescorted. Hitomi took a step
toward her close friend with pleading eyes, "Please understand, Allen.....
Trust me....."

Closing his blue jewels the knight breathed a heavy sigh. He couldn't help,
but have complete faith in the woman. He had known her almost as long as
Van and he had learned from experience that Hitomi was a wise woman who
trusted her instincts. Glancing at Hitomi a final time the knight
nodded.....


~Dark Fortress~
The silver headed dragon slayer stared at his commander as he snarled in
anger. They had finally arrived, but still the dark leader made no move on
the enemy. He only watched the blue glowing sphere that floated in the
center of the shadowy throne room. Dilandau's anger was growing with each
passing moment. He wanted to take down King Van and he hated to be deprived
of his fun. With a growl the red and black soldier emerged from the shadows
in a rage, "Kusari! Why are we waiting?! We are finally here and they are
standing like frozen targets! Why do we wait?! I demand to here your
excuse!"

Dilandau breathed deep trying to control his growing rage. He needed to
remember he was dealing with the devil himself. If Kusari so much as looked
at him he could easily kill the slayer. With angry eyes he watched the dark
angel slowly rise from his seat of thorns and step down the gray marble
stairs at the foot of its platform. As the man dressed in the black made
his way to the metal table that stood below the glowing globe, the blue
light from the sphere played over his face giving him a sinister look. His
blue eyes of cold ice glanced at the map once again as a dead smile pulled
at his features.

"Dear Dilandau....." he hissed in a dark voice, "Are you becoming
impatient?....."

The dragon slayer's fists rested at his side as he bit down on his tongue
to keep from snapping. Just the thought of him having to hold his tongue
for this man made him cringe. Never before had anyone been able to tame his
wild soul and yet this man appeared to have complete control over him.
Dilandau was beginning to reach the point where he would rather die than be
under the control of this dark demon.

The man's eyes glared at the red and black uniformed soldier, "Time grows
short for the seeress...... Soon she we will come to us and then when I
have the stone in my hand we can do whatever we desire to these reckless
people!"

Dilandau snorted at the absurd idea, "That witch will never come to us!
She'll try to keep the pendant as far away from us as possible!"

A hollow chuckle escaped the man's pale lips as it echoed through the vast
room, "My dear slayer, anyone will come to you...... if you give them the
right incentive......."


~Ancient Temple~
Hitomi's emeralds ran over the frame of the large entrance of the stone
building. She couldn't help, but think that the design of the temple was
rather similar of the roman architect designs which she had seen in her
history books. It was somehow related for it had pillars and engravements
just like that of the ancient Roman fashion. On the top of the building
etched above the large doorway was a design of an angel in a circle of
swirling lines.

The seeress frowned at the emblem. Strange..... It was the same emblem
design that had been on the red legendary dragon, Shakaku...... Perhaps the
dragon had been a friend of the Draconian.... Whatever the reason it didn't
matter at the moment..... She was busy with the present and had no time for
such things involving the past.......

Van stepped closer to the seeress catching her attention. Turning to her
beloved she gave him a small nod before they stepped over the threshold
into the ancient temple that held the mystery to their people's culture.

Quietly the couple walked through a long stone corridor with only their
steps across the marble floor echoing through the chambers. Hitomi and Van
glanced at several of the drawing etched into the walls as they passed. The
angel girl noticed she hadn't seen any of the pictures engraved in this
hall and knew this had not been the corridor Queen Iris had shown her in
her dream. Emeralds along with fires studied the ancient marking with
growing interest. They wanted to stop for a moment to get a better look at
the designs, but they knew soon a battle would break out. By then they
wanted to be back at the Crusade and out of danger.

After several minutes of passing drawings and stories the two lovers walked
into a vast room that was very familiar to the young seeress. Hitomi
couldn't help, but smile as her emeralds of deep green came to rest on the
eight statues standing in the center of the glorious room. With the angel
king by her side she walked down one of four plush red and gold carpets
that led to the center statue. Her emerald eyes scanned over the room that
she had only seen in her vision. The red curtains,...... golden ropes,.....
large skylight,...... four halls,...... pillars, it was all here...... The
room was exactly like it was in her vision. In fact Hitomi had to reach out
and finger one of the soft red curtains to believe it was all real!

Van smiled as he saw his beloved growing excited. She looked so beautiful
when she held such a playful smile. Before he could have said a word Hitomi
walked over to the center statue of the former queen of the Draconian.
Emerald eyes looked up into the stone face of the woman and remembered how
she had looked so beautiful in her vision. Iris had looked every bit a
queen in her glowing rob and flowing hair. The young seeress couldn't help,
but wonder 'did she look like a queen?'..... Probably not...... Have you
ever seen a queen wear pants?..... A gentle laugh came from Hitomi's pale
lips as she looked up at the stone figure..... The seeress thought she
almost say a smile form on the stone figure's passive face.......

The young angel king came up beside the brunette woman with a smile, "And
what are you laughing about?"

With dancing emeralds the girl replied, "Nothing important....."

If it had been at better times perhaps the dragon king would have insisted
on the answer, but such pressing times kept his tongue from pursing the
matter further. With a sweet sigh of defeat the royal asked, "What do we do
now, Hitomi?"

The girl of emerald pools looked back up at the stone figure that towered
over her. The sunlight from the overhead window washed over the three
figures like a sea of gold as the lovers contemplated the situation.
Hitomi's pale fingers brushed down the smooth surface of the statue
thinking that she had no idea on what to do.

The poor seeress was about to answer the young angel man when she
remembered something. Turning away from the hansom man suddenly she
proceeded to climb up the statue of the angel woman. Her tennie shoes
lifted onto the stand as her hands clutched a stone arm. A small grunt
passed through the girl's clenched teeth as she lifted her face to the
outstretched frozen palms. With curious eyes the angel woman inspected the
gray hands as she remembered in her vision that those same palms had held
the ancient pendant she now wore.

Looking closely with her green pools Hitomi noticed a small grove in the
center of the palms. Van watched with curious eyes as his angel removed the
red stone from her slim neck. Glancing at the stone one last time Hitomi
placed the red teardrop in the tiny groove of the frozen gray palms.

As soon as the stone came into the familiar holder it began to radiate a
red light that lite up the room. The glowing light was so powerful that it
turned from red to a blinding white in a thunder. The sudden power of the
light caused the young seeress to fall off the statue and land at her
lover's feet with a 'thud'. The raven dragon king took hold of her arm as
he helped his fiancé to her feet while the light grew in intensity. A
sudden beam of red light swallowed the stone figure and shot through the
overhead sky light. After a few moments the beam grew and began to expand.
The wonderous glow filled every nook and cranny with this glow throwing
away all shadows and darkness from those ancient halls. Soon neither of the
two occupants of the glowing room could see anything in front of them......
except a blinding white......


~Dark Fortress~
Kusari turned so suddenly to the silver haired dragon slayer that he
startled the evil soldier. When the boy saw that those ice blue eyes held a
new glint he knew his time had arrived. The man's pale face glared over at
the slayer not with anger for the soldier, but for the angel woman who
stood below at the Mystic Valley.

With a voice that was hollow and deadly the commander in black growled,
"Take the men and attack the Crusade! Kill whoever you want for they are no
longer needed, but you must wait till I signal you before you attack."

Twirling in anger the man of absolute darkness stormed to the two large
metal doors. Placing both hands of pale skin against the cold surfaces of
the slabs of metal he thrust the doors open in a mighty swing. The two
metal doors swung hard into the walls causing a loud ring to sound through
the dark ship announcing that the commander was finally leaving from his
dark seclusion. Dilandau watched as the black demon thundered through the
dark hall heading towards the control room.

With an evil laugh that was well known by many the red and black uniformed
soldier called out after his commander, "And what of the seeress and her
dragon king?!"

The man of black demon attire continued his prowl down the shadowy hall
ignoring the question for the moment. It was extremely quiet in the empty
corridor except for his hollow footfalls echoed through the hall as if the
grim ripper was approaching. The little light from the fixtures in the wall
barely allowed the man to be able to see where he were going. As the dark
angel proceeded down the long corridor the shadows played over his features
like they always did making him look a demon prowling in his dark
dwellings.

Kusari's mouth twisted into a dark smile as he whispered in a dead voice,
"I will handle the seeress and the king....."


~Ancient Temple~
As the light of glowing white faded from the couple's eyes the seeress
focused her sight back on the tiny red jewel. The teardrop of blood now
laid lifeless as it was cradled in the stone hands of the ancient queen.
The incident seemed strange to the angel girl, but what was normal in this
world?......

In a graceful leap the girl climbed back onto the statue to retrieve the
ancient drop of blood. With tender fingers of pale milky skin Hitomi
removed the red stone and clutched it in her palm before jumping off the
statue. Landing softly in front of the raven king the girl brought the
teardrop to her face to better inspect it.

A confused look fell on her gentle face as her emerald eyes ran over the
pendant. Physically the jewel hadn't change except for its sudden lack of
light, but using her senses the angel knew there was an extreme difference.
The power embedded within the confines of the red droplet had grown
drastically. Hitomi stole a glance at the stone figure beside her thinking,
'Queen Iris was right..... here at the Mystic Valley the powers are
stronger......'


~Dark Fortress~
The docking bay's doors slid open as the red guymelef holding the old
warrior in its control seat walked over to the opening doorway. Light from
the outside world shone through the guymelef's chest causing the slayer's
features to become evident. The evil smirk and dark eyes sparked evil
intentions as he looked out at the world. With the light causing shadows
across his twisted face it made him look like one of the demons of
darkness. His cold hands pulled at the controls and his guymelef responded
by walking over to the edge of the open doorway. Several buttons were
pressed and soon a telescope appeared before the dangerous man's face.
Looking through the glass with his lavender eyes he saw the metal ship
below. With a smirk he noticed that there were dozens of people lingering
outside the open docking bay of the Crusade.

Pushing the telescope away the soldier clenched the controls eagerly. They
were easy targets. All he had to do was wait for the command. Thinking
about having to wait caused the man to snort in anger. He was growing more
and more agitated with the man. If Kusari didn't sound the order soon he
would go without his consent.

The man of the dark void clothing thrown open the door leading into the
control room of his dark thorn fortress. All occupants of the large room
filled with panels turned at the sudden appearance of their lord and
master. Several shocked faces stared at the man as he took a solemn stance
at the window. Their commander had not been seen by anyone except Lord
Dilandau for over a week and now seeing him acting as if nothing had
happened was once again performing his duties as a commander. Kusari's
hands were clasped behind his back as he stared out of the window at the
land below.

"Start up the engines....." the dark man growled without turning from the
large glass. No crew member budged for they were still all in shock. When
no one followed his orders the man in black twirled around in a rage and
shouted, "I SAID START UP THE ENGINES!!!!!"

The highest ranking crewman on the deck nodded weakly and said quickly,
"Yes, Sir!"

Soon the room became a rush of bodies running into different directions as
dials, switches, and buttons were worked. In seconds generators fired up
and propellers began to turn. The clouds in the sky began to retract and
the first glimpse of the dark ship could be seen from the ground below.
Metal sounds of running engines and turning propellers filled the air as
the ship began to lower from the cover of the clouds.

The dark commander smiled as he got a better view of the stone temple that
laid on the cliff along the valley. Turning towards the commanding officer
Kusari hissed, "Power up the main cannon and get ready to fire."

The man of black spiked hair nodded and signaled a few men nearby to handle
the task. The soldier turned back to the dark commander who now had his
back to the man and asked, "Will the target be the Crusade, sir?"

Pupils of hollow darkness glared at the stone structure as evil thoughts
filled his deadly mind. Shaking his head his silver hair bounced while he
spoke, "No..... the temple on the cliff below is the target...."

A frown formed on the lower officer's face as he stared at the back of the
head of spiky silver. Was their commander insane?.....

"Lord Kusari, why should we attack the temple?" he asked ruefully, "Sources
say only two beings are in there. What purpose is there in killing those
two people?"

Without a word the man shrouded in death turned to face the questioning
man. Kusari's face was shadowed giving him a satanic radiance. Through the
darkness you could barely see his eyes of sharp ice. A growl grew in the
depths of the man's throat as his anger grew. With a snarl the commander
hissed through clenched teeth, "Are you questioning my orders.....
officer?....."

Shaken with sudden fear the man stuttered, "No, sir....."

The demon man glared at his soldier, "Then I suggest you attack the
temple....... before I lose an officer....."

With a swift nod the man rushed to the men at the large gun to start the
attack. A victorious smile that was much like the smile of the devil grew
on Kusari's pale face as he watched his plans working out perfectly.
Bringing the black guadlent to his mouth the dark angel said, "Dilandau, as
soon as the main cannon is fired you may start the attack on the
Crusade....."

A voice within the static could be heard over the communication array as
the slayer growled, "Understood......."

The man of silver locks turned so sharply that his hair swirled around in
the motion. He no longer needed to be in the room. When the seeress would
come he wanted to confront her in his dark dwellings of his throne room.
Plus he could better watch the battle by looking at his blue sphere.
Smiling wickedly the commander left the busy control room barely noticed by
his men because of the many errands going on. As he heard the cannon
release an attack of electricity he thought of his chest pieces on the map
of Gaea in his throne room and the man whispered, "Time has come for you to
face me, Lady Hitomi....."


~Ancient Temple~
Hitomi felt the sudden presence of the black fortress in the sky and
quickly turned to her angel. With great urgency in her voice she warned her
beloved, "Van! Kusari's here!"

The raven king swirled so suddenly that his dark locks lifted and fell into
his face making him have to brush them aside with his tan fingers. He
looked at his fiancé in shock and said, "We need to go back to the
Crusade!"

Just as the man took a step towards the brunette seeress thunder roar
outside and the foundation of the stone building shook like a scared child.
Dust and bits of debris fell from the ceiling landing on the two angels.
Both of the couple staggered about trying to regain their balance when the
young seeress heard a voice echo through her head.....

"Time has come for you to face me, Lady Hitomi......" the voice hissed in
the thick air of tension.

"What?--" the girl's clear voice was cut of as an angry hiss of electricity
thundered in the two lover's ears. The seeress turned her emerald eyes to
the skylight to see a streak of blue lightning come crashing down on the
stone building. Fear struck through her heart as she saw the ancient
structure give way and the cracked walls begin to crumble. Her legs were
frozen where they stood and her mind shut down as she saw the chunks of
stone come crashing down towards her.

The boy king watched in horror as he saw the roof above his beloved tear
apart and come crashing down. Panic race through every pore of his body as
he saw the seeress wasn't moving to evade the danger. Time slowed to a
crawl as Van race to save his lover.

"HITOMI!!!!!" the royal cried as he leapt through the air and slammed both
of the seeress and himself to the ground. The young angel king covered his
lover's body with his own moments before the large pieces of broken stone
and dust fell onto their bodies in a crash. A cloud of dust rose as the
final remains of the roof fell onto the two couples......


~Dark Fortress~
Dilandau watched as the gray temple crumbled under their power surely
killing the king and the seeress. Although the slayer wanted the death of
both the angel king and his lover he was angry he had not been the one to
execute them. Smiling his dark sneer the slayer thought, 'Well at least
they are dead.... I have more than enough people to torture and burn......'

Laughing cynically the slayer pulled the controls causing his red guymelef
to jump into the sky. The rush of air sent up the dark cloak on the red
guymelef in a fluttering wave. Soon dozens more dark giants followed their
commanding officer. Going into flight mode the army soared towards their
victims..... The battle would finally commenced.....


~Ancient Temple~
A painful throbbing in her head woke the seeress. She hadn't really blacked
out from the experience. She only been shook up a bit when the rubble had
landed on her and the angel king. Opening her emerald eyes she saw that she
was deep beneath the pile of broken stone and dust. The horrible cloud
filled her throat causing her to cough uncontrollably. After several
moments of removing the vulgar dust from her throat she slowly tried to
escape the enclosure of stone.

Luckily the rubble had fallen in such a way that it had created a sort of
tunnel where the angel woman laid within. Two large chunks of stone were
holding together by pressing against each other and forming a sort tent of
stone. There was not enough pressure on the two slabs for them to cave in,
but if one piece was pushed a few inches away from its current position
there was a good chance the tiny structure would not hold. Careful to not
disturb her shelter for fear of it fallen on her Hitomi crawled out of the
debris. The task was rather difficult because there was so much debris and
fragments in her way. Also the fact that there was no light didn't even
help the situation. It took her several minutes just to get a glimpse of
light from within her enclosure. After fully escaping the terrible pile of
dust and stone she sat on some of the pile to catch her breath. Taking deep
intakes of fresh air she wondered what had just occurred.

'Kusari must have fired at the temple.....' she concluded in her thoughts.
With the back of her dusty hand she removed the growing sweat on her brow.
When she pulled back her hand she noticed a red liquid smear over her skin.
Glancing down at her attire she noticed her jacket was torn apart and held
spots of blood. Tenderly she felt the wound trying to see how bad it was.
She had somehow gotten a gash on her forehead, but fortunately it wasn't
deep. It was just bad enough for the wound to bleed. Luckily the gash was
the worst of injuries it seemed.

Suddenly panic clutched her chest, 'Where's Van?!'

Ignoring the painful headache the brunette woman turned around and began to
dig through the rubble calling her lover's name. Sadly there was no sign of
the dragon king as she did her best to remove the debris. Tears sparked her
eyes as she realized he could be suffocating under all the ruins. Her hands
move frantically amongst the fragments, but the seeress felt she wasn't
nearly going fast enough. Her voice began to crack as the attempts became
more and more distressing. She could barely call his name out now.

About that time her hands came to rest on a large slab of stone and once
moved away she spotted a bloody hand of tan skin. With new energy the
seeress tore the rubble away until the familiar face of the young angel
king could be seen. His eyes were closed and his face was filthy in dirt
and blood. His ebony bangs where matted to his brow by the red liquid
pouring from the blow to his head. There were several red scratches across
one of his cheeks just making him look all the more terrible. Carefully the
angel woman removed the remaining debris off his chest for fear she might
injure him more if she removed the pieces too roughly.

Quickly she kneeled by the man's side and checked over his body for other
injuries. His cream pants was ripped to shreds and was soaked by his blood.
His right leg was twisted in an irregular pose and was obviously broken.
The red material of his shirt held several large tears and even though you
could barely distinguish the red liquid from the matching coloration of the
man's shirt you could smell the blood seeping from several wounds. His left
arm held an extremely large gash that went from his shoulder nearly to his
elbow in a single stroke. Blood trickled from his nose and mouth bringing
fear into the girl's heart. It was common knowledge that once a being had
blood pouring from their lips meant their death was near.

Hitomi shook her head slowly unable to take in the terrible fact. The young
royal..... her true love was dying......No, it wasn't happening...... With
trembling hands the girl began to shake her lover awake.

"Van?...." the seeress whispered urgently, "Van?....."

The girl shook his tan shoulders a little stronger as she began to fear he
was already gone. No matter how much she shook the man he refused to wake.
The air in her lungs began to disappear as she thought her fear had become
a reality. You can just imagine the beautiful seeress's relief when her
young love began to cough. Tears of joy swam in her emerald pools as she
began to think he wouldn't die. The facts were wrong..... he would
live..... he had to live......

The young king opened his fire eyes and saw his glorious angel crouching
over him in concern. She was beautiful even though blood pour from a
horrible gash on her forehead and her silky locks of brown hair were matted
by drying blood. Even with her clothes torn and milky skin scratched up he
couldn't help, but think of how lucky he was to have her.

Weakly he smiled up at his fiancé and brought a bloody hand to her cheek
smearing more blood on her face, but the girl didn't even noticed. The king
soon became all too aware of the pain searing through his body. Wincing a
little he began to check himself over while he still looked into those
green depths. His leg hurt tremendously and he was sure he couldn't move
it. His left arm felt like it was on fire and his insides were hissing in
anguish. The taste of blood filled his mouth and ran over his tongue as he
realized he was not getting enough precious air into his lungs. Cold fear
gripped his soul as he realized he was dying. He had learned from
experience in battle that once a warrior had blood dripping from his mouth
it usually meant death was soon to fall upon the man.

Trying his best to hide the fact from his beloved he forced his smile to
widen. The tears in her eyes tore at him...... She already knew the
truth...... Hitomi brushed away his stiff bangs to better see his eyes.

"Why did you do that?" she whispered as she tried to keep her voice from
breaking.

Van felt himself falling into a pit of darkness, but he struggled to hold
onto the moment for a second longer. If he was to leave this blessed world
than he wanted to say his goodbye to his true love before he went to the
afterlife.

Looking deep into her eyes he whispered, "I had to.... I couldn't let you
die....."

Tears of emeralds fell down the angel woman's pale cheeks as she whispered,
"So you try to kill yourself......" The angel king was going to say
something, but the brunette girl beat him to it.

"Well Van Fanel, I am not letting you get out of this marriage!" she did
her best to joke in hope of somehow lighting the mood,....... but the cold
sadness within her voice was easily noticed by them both. They both
couldn't deny the deadly fact. It was something they couldn't go around.
The dragon king could feel his soul slipping away, but he held onto the
last strain of his life. He had to talk to her one last time......

The young royal could barely feel his own tears falling down his tan skin
as he hoarsely whispered, "I want you to know, Hitomi, that I love you and
that I hope you'll live a long life--"

"No!" she whispered harshly cutting off his words. With a determined voice
she cried, "Don't think like that! You won't die! You hear me! You will not
die!"

Her pale fingers dug into his shoulders as though if she were to let go he
would leave forever. Van could see the her emotional battle going on her
mind by looking into her glittering tears. A new fear swelled into his soul
as he saw one of her pale hand reach for her pendant.

Holding it in front of her over his chest she whispered, "I can save
you....."

Closing her eyes she used her senses to unlock the awesome power. With
unknown strength the man grabbed the red stone away and clutched it against
his bloody shirt, "No, Hitomi....."

Snapping her emeralds open the seeress tried desperately to take the item
back, but his words stopped her, "No..... If you do it again you'll surely
die....." The boy of stiff raven locks looked deep into her eyes, "I
couldn't live with myself if you gave your life for mine......"

Her fingers loosen their grip on his firm fist as she felt dread sink into
her mind. He was willing to die for her. She didn't want to let go of
him..... The angel woman placed both of her hands on his bloody cheeks and
looked into his rubies as she whispered, "But I could not live with myself
if I didn't even try....."

Van bit his lower lip as he realized she would do it no matter what. If she
got hold of the stone she would die for him. The thoughts within his mind
slowed as he felt the strength left in him being sucked out of his body. He
decided he could do only one thing....

"I ask this of you...." he whispered as his voice began to fade, "Respect
my dying wish and do not try to save my life......"

Hitomi shook her head violently causing her dusty locks of silk to swirl.
Her voice was full of pain, but it was strong as she said, "No, Van! I
won't--"

His other tan hand went to her face and both of his palms took hold of her
cheeks stopping the motion of her head. With a deep voice he shouted
loudly, "Promise me!"

Looking in those sharp eyes of burning flames that she loved so much she
felt her world crumble. She wanted to shun him for what he was asking. He
was commanding her not to save himself and let him slip into death..... But
how could she?!...... He was her love...... her friend.... her spirit....
her air..... her LIFE!!!....... What he was asking of her was
impossible!.....

Tears welled into her eyes as she tried a final time to tear away the red
stone from his firm clutched, but in vain. His fingers had a deadly hold
over the ancient red teardrop. His eyes that were beginning to dull pleaded
to her to give up the futile attempts. Looking into his eyes she broke down
and fell onto his chest shoving her face into his bloody shirt.

His arms weakly wound around her as she sobbed into his tan flesh. Ruby
eyes slid close as he whispered lovingly into her ruffled hair, "When you
sing the song I sung to you...... the night I ask you to marry me.....
remember me..... I will always remember you....."

A peace formed in the angel king's eyes as he looked into his lover's
emeralds, "I'll always be with you, my love......"

The girl brought her cheek up to his trying to always remember the feel of
his warmth. Silently the angel sobbed as her only love began to drift into
death. With his last moment of life he brought her face to his and kissed
her for his last time. Hitomi wounded her arms around his neck as their
eyes closed letting the kiss deepen..... but the affectionate touch held no
joy for it was the last time they would have this chance of bliss..... The
seeress felt her love break the kiss..... far too soon...... and upon
opening her eyes she saw his rubies had closed forever..... The man's soul
had left the world around him and now he laid in the realm of the dead....

Off in the distance of the docking bay laid the white legend. At the moment
of his master's death the red energist gave a soft glow before its light
estinguished forever. Along with the Dragon King the legendary dragon
plunged into death......

Tears spilled from the seeress's eyes as she laid her cheek against his
chest in blind hope to hear a heartbeat. No sound was heard except deadly
silently. Her hands stroked his body in search of warmth, but his tan skin
was already growing cold. She lifted her head of silky locks from his chest
and stroked his face with her hands in a finally attempt in search of
hidden life. With overwhelming sadness the seeress pulled her pale hands
away from his already battered face as fresh tears washed down her face.
His bloody hand that had clutched so firmly on his only chance of life had
fallen limp to the ground revealing the red drop of blood. Grief filled the
last of her soul as her pale fingers slowly took the pendant. She bowed her
head as she squeezed the jewel in her fingers as her soul gave out into
anguish.

Turning her emeralds of sparkling woe towards her lover's dead face she
almost felt anger for him. If he had only let her have the pendant perhaps
she would have been able to save him...... regardless of the fact that she
would have sacrifice her own life for his..... It was too late now though
for the damage was done and she could not heal wounds like these......
Death was a disease she could not even hope to cure.....

As the terrible emotion raked her body she flung her face towards the sky
and shouted a single word, "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"












~Sorry, I killed Van. Please don't flame me! Just please keep reading!~
~Did any of you expect that? If you are already guessing what's going to
happen next let me just say you'll enjoy it much more if you just read and
find out, b/c whatever you're thinking is not going to be what you expect!~
~Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please R&R!~
~I have the next chapter already done since the site has been down, but I
refuse to put it up unless I get more reviews! Sorry~