Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character of "Escaflowne", not even Dilandau. Wish I did, but I don't. I don't own anything from "The Slayers." I don't own the Hammerfall song "Unchained" either. Partial songfic alert!! I do own Alessa, Myrna, and Hiero, whatever his last name becomes, and I own everything associated with his first life on the Planet Terrian. Ask my permission if you want to use him.

Special thanks to Zibbelcoot for telling me how the guymelef-gods work and all. Thank you Zibbelcoot- . Read her excellent fic," The Hunt."

Chapter 25

The Magician*

Masters of Fate

~ Floating Castle Eden ~

"SORAAAAAA!!!!" Folken shouted in his rage, seconds before the wild cyclone swallowed him up, and then it all vanished.

The air was quiet a moment, the Zaibach soldiers too afraid to keep their hold on the prisoners after what had taken place. They ran back through the secret passage, dropping their blades and tripping over each other in the process.

"Hiero-kun…." Val said gently, staring to where the cyclone has vanished. Alessa was beside him, tears filling her eyes. "Hiero….oh Hiero." She whispered.

The Dragons Slayers came to the spot where the cyclone had been, slow and steady, staring at it with shock in their eyes. "Lord Dilandau…." They said together, quiet and mournful.

The castle shook suddenly, then again, and kept shaking as if it were about to explode. "Now what? What more can happen?" Migel swore loudly.

Alessa shivered, looking frightened in every direction. Chesta was doing the same while Gatti and Val listened. "Something's coming…." Gatti said softly, turning about a little, searching.

Seconds later, the left wall was sucked out, revealing the midnight sky to everyone, Sora strangely swaying as she stood a ways behind them. All of them saw three large and brilliant pillars of light, two a mile or so apart from the other. The pair of lights were red and white, shadowed silhouettes within them high above the Dragon's Valley.

The other was black, no silhouettes to be seen, but they all heard Sora chuckle lightly, making them back away from her as that smile erupted on her once placid lips. "Welcome, Velnias. Let the battle begin." She said smoothly, and vanished.

"If this is the final battle she wanted, we best get out of here to help stop this Velnias." Val said quickly, spreading his aqua wings. Gatti and Chesta nodded, doing the same, followed by an angry Migel and confused Alessa.

"Son, you can't. I won't let you risk your life for these inhuman monsters." Allen protested. Val sighed and looked back at his father, shaking his head. "Don't you get it father. I'm not human, I never was. And if it abolishes me from the family, that's your stupid cross the bear. I for one am, sick of your coddling and overprotective crap. Hiero-kun is the only one I follow, not you. I never wanted to be a knight same as Hiero-kun never wanted to be a prince, but those were cards we were dealt. You deal with it, it's not my problem anymore." Val seethed, his golden eyes glowing, the skin on his body rippling a bit.

Allen took a step forward, angry, but curious. "What do you mean you're not human. Of course you're human, Millerna and I are you parents!" Allen stuttered.

"Don't try too hard to understand this. You'll just make it harder on yourself, old man. I don't have time for this, Hiero-kun and Lord Dilandau need us," he said, looking to Viole," You and Dalet stay here with the crew until the Crusade comes for you. This is the battle of the angels for Gaia. No Dragon Slayers are to die tonight, not after what happened to Guimel. Keep them safe, please."

Undying nightfall, a king with no crown,
Dethroned, imprisoned in chains.
Duel the black horse, the Swordsmen must kneel,
condemned to serve within the shadows
….

Viole nodded fervently, but Dalet seemed a bit irked by being ordered by Val, so Viole elbowed him. "We do this for Lord Dilandau, since he has told us he will be the one to kill your father. The last thing we need is for Lord Dilandau to be angry at us for not trying to protect his interests." Viole answered in a serious military fashion.

Val just nodded and took a nosedive off the edge of the wall hole. "VAL!!" Allen shouted, running to the edge to see his son's fate. He made a strangled sound as Val transformed before his eyes into a giant emerald dragon, the sound of the great gleaming wings nearly deafening him.

"I told you so, father." The Val dragon roared and flew off towards the light, Gatti, Migel, Chesta and Alessa following in suit.

~

Allen just watched them soar off into the midnight sky, the Mystic Moon and it colorless twin hanging high in the dark sky, glowing dangerously bright. "Val….what have you become?"

"Commander, we have to get out of here before the guards return. Those kids won't last long against the Zaibach army unless we get in our guymelefs and keep them away." Gaddes said, his voice sounding so far away with how stunned and hurt Allen felt.

'Millerna wouldn't forgive me if I forsook our son. She'd leave with our new child….Val is my son, yes, so I owe to him for judging him to protect his back. For his mother's sake….for the baby.' He thought, finally getting to his feet. "Fine, set off the flare powder. If those pillars of light didn't bring the ship back, we better pray to the gods that something will. For the sake of the children." He said, his voice full of sadness.

~ Dragon's Valley ~

Val landed a good mile away from the pillars of light, watching the light start to crumbling down on itself in each pillar. He felt something land on his head and craned a eye up to see what it was. It looked like Dragon Slayer armor, with silver blonde hair. "Gatti, where are the others?" Val said as low as he could, not wanting to blast the Slayer's ear drums out. Gatti pointed behind himself. "On you back. Do you feel well? You're going to change back suddenly, are you, Sir Val?" he asked calmly.

"No….actually, I don't. This probably what Hiero meant by achieving the prophecy. Our powers don't hurt anymore….hopefully for good. I can't see anything by dark shapes in the pillars though. Migel? Get on my head tell me if you see anything" Val said, and felt a new set of boots atop his spiky skull.

Val waited a moment and Migel didn't say anything for a few minutes, then his foot shifted and breath strained a bit. The words he uttered startled Val, as if he were being joked with. "Escaflowne….is encased in white….and….Alseides! I see Alseides in the red, but they look different."

'The Ispano guymelefs that vanished on the same day? Here? Then, they must be the gods of War and Death….incredible! But the black pillar, that should be the Velnias Sora mentioned.' He thought, and grumbled.

"What about Velnias, the one in the black pillar of light? What does it look like?" Val asked calmly. Migel didn't answer for a few minutes again, but when he did, he sounded scared. "The devil…." He said fearfully.

Val's scales prickled a bit. It was description enough to stay put and wait for the light to fall away. He waited, his keen golden eyes watching patiently as the pillars fell fully on themselves, the silhouettes lowering to the ground. Val took a step back, as quietly as his giant form could manage, and understood all too well why Migel had said they were different.

Put 'em next to their King.

He had seen Escaflowne a few times when he and Hiero were still stuck as children, playing near the great guymelef with games of hide and seek. It had looked more like a suit of metal armor then, a long flowing cape and huge metal sword to boot, but it wasn't that anymore. It looked more organic, like the armor was living bone and muscle. Where the metal joints once and behind the large blue ovals that were locked upon the shoulders were pulsing red muscle tissue. Any hint it had been made of metal was lost in one look.

The only thing that hadn't change was the long flowing cape of navy blue, the inside of a reddish magenta billowing in the night air. It stood there, shifting a bit in a groggy manner, and the faceplate swiveled to either side of itself. The head had wavy designs of black or blue on it, but the faceplate hid whoever was inside from Val's eyes. Migel wasn't saying much and probably wouldn't unless asked.

It made cracking noises as it moved its arm, like it was testing itself, the sound bones moving after long disuse.

The other guymelef was Alseides, and looked to be the farthest from the factory models as anything. It was like giant hulking, deformed gladiator with shoulders too big for its body, as if someone had taken an ogre's body and dipped it in blood, making its shoulders like eyes for a wolf. The arms were a lot longer than he was used in an Alseides model, with pincers for hands as black as coal.

'As Death….Dilandau must be in there and Hiero's in Escaflowne….the gods of War and Death were trapped inside those guymelefs all this time.' he thought, a little jealous. Commanding the gods was an appealing thought after all the hell he and Hiero went through due to them. It seemed typical Hiero would be favored for all the wrong done to him by Moriun and Delphine, and Dilandau as well, for the rotten fate of being yanked into his mother's body for sick fanatics to use. Where had Gaia been for him when his mother was turned into her own son? 'Washing her hair I bet….women. But now what? They are just standing there and the dark pillar is still there.' He thought mildly, watching Alseides flex its arms a bit, its small faceplate of a head moving around a bit.

"Sir Val, look!" Migel shouted, his hand suddenly in front of Val's right eye, pointing at the dark pillar. Val swore to himself in taking too much time on the other guymelef gods to notice the dark pillar was gone, leaving something horrible in is place, and nearly as large as he was.

The thing was silvery-black and about the height of Alseides and Escaflowne if they stood on each other's shoulders. It looked like a giant demon, long silver horns on its demonic looking head, the faceplate with jagged slits that resembles loads of fangs. It was simply that, no symbols or designs, it was simply the shape of large demon, lithe from the waist down and a mass of blackened-bone armor and silver strands of muscle up top. The hands were like the claws of any demons, five long fingers sharpened to perfection, gleaming dangerously in the moonlight. It was like a living nightmare, and it was looking at Alseides and Escaflowne, steam hissing out of its faceplate.

"Power, of the shadow master, father of lies and darkness, take my blood into your armored womb…." It growled," And Gaia will be mine!"

"That's Folken! Sora pushed him in so that thing would gain him as a pilot! Damn, and she looked so feeble. Who'd a thought she'd stab her own creation in the back." Migel yelped, stamping his foot down, regretfully on Val's eyelid

"She stabbed all of us in the back, you moron. Watch where you stomp, I happen to be a living thing." Val sneered.

Migel muttered some profanities, ruffling his wings. "What now, Sir Val?" Gatti asked.

Val thought a moment, licking his lips with his large pink and forked tongue. "We wait….for the first move to be made. Gaia's fate is in our hands now." Val said quietly, watching as Escaflowne and Alseides got side by side, looking at each other.

~ Earlier ~

Hiero felt numb a moment once he passed through the cyclone, then he felt quite warm, but confined, like he had been stuffed into a sauna with no candle. He lolled his head to the side, grumbling. He heard a heart pumping, but it wasn't just his own. It was as if he had two heartbeats, the other much louder. Hiero opened his eyes gently, then slammed them shut as he felt something stab into both sides of his neck, then into his collarbone. He yelped in surprise more than pain, then new noises filled his head. They reminded him of sloppy vampires that made as much noise as possible while shredding a kill to death.

The sucking noises were extremely loud, then he became aware of some pressure on his chest. He managed to open them again to see two drill-like needles in his neck, connected to oddly red colored tubes. There was an organic chest plate on his front and on his shoulders, where the strange drills had sprouted from like living weeds. The pain lingered, and he felt deathly tired, the focus of his vision darkening and brightening every so often.

As he stared a moment longer, he saw a clear space between the red colored tubes, a dot of red remaining for few seconds before the red took over again. 'My blood….it's feeding on my blood, but why? Where am I?' he thought, his vision fading in and out with the blood loss.

"Hiero Scorchava de Fanel, 10th Angel of Power, host of Escaflowne, speak the words to bind yourselves in combat forever. Pronounce your blood to the God of War's armored form." A hazy voice said. It sounded a lot like his father, then his mother, then like Sora. 'Either listen or not, I'll bleed to death for a long time if I don't do something. I don't have….much blood left inside me.' he thought, his tongue feeling heavy and thick as he tried opening his mouth. Something clamped down on his arms and legs, more organics snaking out for his blood, draining him hungrily.

The voice came back, answering the mental question before he could process it. "Pronounce for destiny,' Escaflowne, God of War! Take my blood and be my chariot of fate!' Say the words or die with your friend!" Sora beckoned, almost taunting him, or trying to.

'Dilandau….she means Dilandau! NO!' his mind raging, and he forced his mouth open and yelled," ESCAFLOWNE, GOD OF WAR! TAKE MY BLOOD AND BE MY CHARIOT OF FATE!! ARGH!"

It felt like forever to accomplish, but the pain in his neck numbed, like the needles were a part of him. His clothes were gone, he noticed finally, all torn off except for his boxers. He was starting to get used to being like this, not feeling any pain right now, and watched through strained eyes as a mess of organics and strange needles attached themselves to his bare skin.

He felt pain again, but not his own. He let his telepathy search for it, finding another dark place, with another boxer clad body, as pale as his own, but the voice was not his own. 'Dilandau? What's wrong?' he telepathed. The answer wasn't immediate, and neither was the pain in lasting long.

'Needles in body….taking my blood. Where did my armor go? Where am I?' Dilandau thoughts asked, sounding as if he were right beside him. Hiero mentally scanned the space Dilandau was in again, and saw nearly the same organic tubes and needles on his body. He was sorely reminded of a memory of his mother, only a lot worse, when she was back on her home world of the Mystic Moon. She'd gotten appendicitis, and they had to keep her under observation to prevent her from kicking the bucket, but there were so many tubes sticking out of her body, he thought she had tentacles for a few seconds of being inside the memory.

Dilandau was naturally pale, but the tubes were not pumping nice, clear liquid into his body, but his blood out, a strange looking organic plate on his arm with more of those blood sucking tubes in them. He could feel Dilandau pain quite strongly, which meant Dilandau was close by. The pain was mostly in his neck, the needles he mentioned the definite and annoying source. He could also feel Dilandau getting weaker, which worried him.

'Same place my clothes went. I have drills in my body. We achieved the awakening of the Gods, so I guess that limitation on our power is gone. This doesn't hurt anymore….I can probably have control over my forms now. About time, but its painful, Where are you? I can't see real well. Can you?' he asked mentally.

Dilandau moaned in response, his pain growing, his mind drifting from Hiero's reach. "SORA! Tell me how to help Dilandau now! Tell me, you damned bitch!" Hiero shouted, Escaflowne moving along with his rage.

"His are as simple as he is. You are both sons of dragons, and the purity will always be within your blood. Alseides is the God of Death. He must say 'I offer the blood of the Red Dragon! Awaken the ancient armor of Death!' Hurry, he will bleed out soon." Sora chuckled. Hiero sneered, wanting to hurt her so much, but Dilandau's life was at stake.

'Dilandau, say 'I offer the blood of the Red Dragon! Awaken the ancient armor of Death!' Say it now! Hurry, please!" Hiero mentally screamed at Dilandau.

Dilandau practically roared the words out, most probably scaring everything inhuman for about a million miles. "I OFFER THE BLOOD OF THE RED DRAGON! AWAKEN THE ANCIENT ARMOR OF DEATH!! AHHHH!!"

Silence ensued for a long time, and Hiero worried Dilandau had been too late for a moment. 'No, this is Dilandau. He's not fit for dying. It's insulting to him….he's alive, I know it. He has always said he's not weak, and I know he'd never let it touch him. never' Hiero thought, believing the thought stronger every second.

Dilandau responded at last with a mental growl, then a slight chuckle. 'And don't you forget it. Ah, I'm in my Alseides, the true Alseides, it must be.' Dilandau thought, wild excitement filling his words.

'They are the gods that were defeated all those centuries ago. I have to guess here….I've never ridden in it. These must be where the gods were hidden all this time. Either that or Sora's playing with our minds, but she ain't that smart. We're smarter than that witch,' Hiero telepathed, his vision improving after a few more moments, the slits of the faceplate coming into focus,' I think I see you, the great red guymelef….its different from the ones that attacked me when I was younger. It's a little bigger.'

Out of the fire and into the night,
A handful of brave men appeared!
Crimson thunder running through their veins,
a bond that will last forever.

'Yours looks different too, like it is made of bone and muscle. These must be as true to their natural forms as they can get being trapped in our guymelefs. Mmm, it feels, much better than my old unit. I can feel the power of Death flowing in my veins, the power of the gods at my command.…' Dilandau thought, then Alseides moved a bit, its head turning,' That's Val over there. My men are with him….and your….Alessa.'

Hiero couldn't hear what Val was saying, or rather the roar of the dark pillar of light a ways off was blocking all other sounds off beyond them. It held only darkness and strange lightening, but Hiero felt the hate and evil from it, far worse than the thousands of years of insanity he had and even the insanity Dilandau had. It didn't care, the only emotion was hate, silent voices crying from the depths of it for power and control, for destruction. It was collapsing on itself, but gradually.

Hiero moved his arm a bit, and it felt like it required no effort. He felt pretty good, stronger than ever, well insulated within the God of War. The God of Death tested its pincers a moment, then turned its head.

Hiero walked over to it when he felt the ground rumble, looking to Val. The dragon-boy had moved back a bit, staring at the fading dark pillar with annoyance and fear. The pillar was soon gone and a giant silvery-black demon, its armor much like their own, stood in its place. In the left chest plat, there was a dark purple energist heart, pumping madly with each breath Hiero could take. He watched it with fascination, but was guarded.

'The anti-god, the devil, God of Darkness and Hate. He was the one who destroyed the Gods' true bodies and made Gaia force herself to become this world, but I guess this means he died too. He looks nothing like my vision did. They died cause they fought as one, right in the path of Darkness. Best we make him work for this, whoever the pilot is, Sora or Folken….I don't care. I want them dead, not out of hate, because they want to destroy us all for their greed. Maybe I'm greedy, but I won't destroy a planet to gain what I want.' He thought.

'My thoughts exactly. We'll play a little game of tag with the big bad wimp, fighting him at the same time, but separate, so he is distracted well enough.' Dilandau's thoughts agreed, startling Hiero.

Hiero couldn't help but smile a few seconds later. 'Great minds think alike, all be it we're insane. You're getting too used to telepathy, but so long as it keeps that asshole in the dark, what do I care. Time to avenge our world.' Hiero telepathed back.

"LOVELY!" Dilandau shouted, and charged forth, Hiero running beside him. The demon guymelef stood there a moment, then leapt in the blink of an eye out of the way, landing hard on the ground. A spray of dirt and grass erupted on impact, but Alseides and Escaflowne turned to it and came again, but slowly.

"I see you haven't changed a bit in your tactic, little Dilandau. Amusing that you'd rush at an enemy you know nothing about still and expect results, especially Velnias. You want a matching scar on your other cheek?" a familiar, throaty voice said.

"Folken….I should have known. That devil's bitch Sora spawned you back to life anyway. Seems fitting you're in there. Now we can tear you to pieces without wondering which bastard we're splattering." Hiero smirked, reaching back for Escaflowne's sword. The sounds of bones cracking and flesh being torn erupted in his ears, the sword of metal now one of bone. It didn't hurt, but it felt strange. He held his sword out as Alseides brought its claws forth, a liquid metal sword forming in one and a three-pronged claw in the other.

"Don't be too sure. I have the powers of darkness on my side. Death and War died at his hands long ago. Velnias will once again wreak havoc on Gaia's fertile bosom and lay waste to her tresses. And I will be there to pick up the pieces and rule it all! Ah hahahahahahahahahahaaaa!!" Folken said, his voice becoming quite mad.

"As if. Let's dance, Folken. Time to pay the reapers." Dilandau hissed and rushed forth. Hiero followed quickly. 'We have to split up as soon as possible, have to keep his attention in the wrong places so he doesn't go after the others. This is our battles, no one else can interfere or they'll die.' Hiero telepathed. Dilandau grudgingly let out his agreement, not wanting his target to be killed by another. Hiero let his power drift, to locate Allen and the others. They were on the Crusade, waiting just behind Val.

'Val-chan! Destroy Eden, Dilandau and I have to battle Folken alone. Protect the Crusade and destroy Eden. The others are back aboard the Crusade….Destroy Eden now before the troops can get to their guymelefs!' he telepathed as loud as he could.

The thundering in the ground came again, fading out of reach after a moment or two. Hiero eyes went back to Velnias, raising his blade to strike. His eyes widened as the demon guymelef puts its hands together and formed a ball of dark purple energy between them and sent it right at them. 'Now! Split now!' Hiero's mind yelled.

Hiero dove off to his left, rolling a short distance in the God of War, the righted himself. The energy smacked into the empty space they'd once occupied and blew it out, making a melted, steaming cater replace it. Rotting maggots about as big as Escaflowne's hand swirled about the hole, swimming through the molten contents as if it were water.

Hiero wrinkled his nose with distaste as they crawled out, still growing and now squirting out dark green blood and rotted flesh. They were heading for him. 'I hate worms too….I can't let them get any bigger, that and I'm going to puke if they leak anymore green shitty blood out.' He thought, mashing a few apart with his sword and stomping on the rest with his fists and feet.

How typical of you, you fake Folken. I would suspect you'd hang around your kind a lot. What's next, rabid rats? Giant slugs? No, let me guess, little, insignificant ants like yourself! Rah!" Dilandau laughed, slicing Velnias from behind, then swiftly jumping back, like he was playing with his prey. Hiero was glad Dilandau had been listening and kept to his side, directly across from the Alseides. Velnias was sandwiched in by them, only several feet separating them from being blasted or clawed.

Nothing's stronger than.…

Brothers in arms are fighting tonight,
The Forces of steel meet again!
Born in the fire, they look to the sky
Power of metal unchained.

'He doesn't need the extra feet, but all I want him to be is dead. He did this, he killed Daisuke, my family, most of my country. I never said I wanted to be a prince or a king, or to have the responsibility, but the one thing I can't stand is the slaughter of those I hold dear. Folken wants a fight, I'll give him one with Escaflowne!' his mind screamed, and he shot his bone sword forth, the muscles and bone of Escaflowne's arm cracking and humming with his anger.

Velnias forced it away with a large backhanding, and the blade struck Escaflowne's arm. Hiero wondered why he felt nothing. Part of the blood pact was that he'd feel the pain of his guymelef, as his father had felt before him. "But this is its true form, the God of War. It's protecting me…., so I have to protect it along with the others." He told himself, and tried the same attack again.

As predicted, Velnias tried the same attack. 'Dilandau! Strike him now!" Hiero's mind called, forcing Escaflowne to reverse the attack. Velnias fell short of hitting the blade, then bucked forth when Alseides rammed and slashed up its back.

It turned to attack Alseides, but Hiero just smiled as he and Escaflowne went full circle in their swing and rammed the sword into Velnias' side, green gore sliming out of the silver muscles and charred bone armor. Hiero pulled his blade away and leapt back as the claws came again in retaliation, dragging them across Escaflowne's chest. It bled out crimson, Hiero's blood that Escaflowne had taken and Hiero at last felt pain in his chest, a warm wetness streaming down his body. Hiero ignored it, this was a short-lived pain. He'd had worse. He couldn't back down from Folken or Velnias now.

With a grunt, he rushed forward and went low as the claws built up their energy. He ducked the guymelef low as the claws unleashed it, the burning power nicking the back of Escaflowne and speeding away to another patch of grass, melting it terribly. The maggots came out again, growing as fat as Escaflowne's leg as they wriggled their slimy little bodies towards him. Hiero kept the attack going and rammed Velnias in the stomach, knocking it over.

Escaflowne leapt over it as the first maggot bit down into the god's armored foot, smashing it into a green stain in Velnias' faceplate. It was a move that cost them their chance to avoid the rest. Velnias took a chance to grab at Escaflowne's bitten leg and yanked hard, sending it and Hiero sprawling into the carnivores and waiting pile of writhing giant worms. Hiero felt the first few merciless fangs of the things bit into his back and arms, those that weren't crushed by Escaflowne's weight already, then gasped as two seemed to find interest in gnawing at the faceplate, drooling all down Hiero's face as their tried.

He felt the organics thrash, drawing out more blood and pushing some in, but not his own blood. 'It's still saving me….Dammit, I should not be losing to worms!' Hiero mentally growled, and start to grab for the annoying pair. He squished them in seconds, getting their fowl smelling blood all over his body and hair. He sputtered a bit, striking down the bothersome remainders of the slimy brigade, when he heard someone laughing. It wasn't the lovely laugh he'd grown to like in Dilandau, but a throaty one, grating on his ears like nails on a chalkboard.

"Just like your father, going to die on your back, weak and alone! I'll take good care of your friends….and that little girl you are so fond of. They'll meet you in the walk of the dead eventually, but you first! HAHHH!!" Folken cackled, the power-hungry madness nearly suffocating Hiero as he tried to get up, only to be kicked down as Velnias bore down upon him, slamming its hideous clawed foot on his energist heart.

Hiero screeched out in pain, his own heart feeling like it would explode. "Good night, sweet prince. Ah hahahahaaa!" Folken roared, and prepared another ball of energy.

'Ah, shit, this is going to hurt to heal from….if I can. I'm bonded to Escaflowne….if it dies….will I?' he thought, staring up as the dark energy increased, the pain too paralyzing the Hiero's system to move.

The world went red and auburn and then Folken and dark light were cast aside with it. Hiero was dazed a moment, the pain drifting away. The intense heat was still there, but it didn't bother him. Then there was Alseides, reaching its odd hand out to him. "Are you going to help me save the stinking world or are you on leave or something, you highness?" Dilandau let out sarcastically from the God of death. Hiero smiled, even if Dilandau couldn't see, and grabbed his hand.

Alseides got Escaflowne back on its feet, the injuries it has sustained gone. All he had now were maggot stains and those of ash. "Heh, that thing has a flame-thrower mechanism like the factory models. I like it." Hiero grinned.

Dilandau just let out a frightening chuckle. "They were based off this wonderful machine. Now….let's play with Daddy, shall we?"

"Let's….huh? Hey, where'd he go?" Hiero yelped, looking all around for the dark guymelef. Alseides did the same, Dilandau growling from within when he had no luck.

"Where'd that coward go!? FOLKEN! DON'T YOU MAKE ME WAIT TO KILL YOU!! SHOW YOURSELF!!" Dilandau screamed, slamming his liquid-metal sword upon the ruined ground.

Hiero listened and looked everywhere, but Folken wasn't around. There was no way simply a stream of flames would destroy him. If that had been the case, this prophecy never would have happened.

"IEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" a female screamed erupted suddenly, making them both face the floating castle Eden. Val was still there in dragon form, but he wasn't firing at the castle, but at the ground. Hiero saw a streak of purple on the ground, being shucked from side to side from each blast Val made. Hiero couldn't see anything.

"What the hell are they doing? The ground isn't the target…." Dilandau seethed.

"No….it isn't, and that's what worries me." Hiero said nervously. He reached out with his mind, to Migel, the one who could most definitely see everything.

'Migel….it's Hiero. What is Val doing? What's going on?' he tried.

At first, Migel didn't answer, fearful of voices in his head, then it came, more fear in it than before. "Velnias took Alessa. He's trying to crush her and he cut up Val's leg. Get over here!!' Migel damn near mentally screamed, shocking Hiero's brain.

He registered two things. Val and Alessa were in trouble. It was all he needed to know. Escaflowne took off with Alseides following, not asking what was wrong. Dilandau trusted Hiero in a strange way, so Hiero's word was nearly as good as his own.

~

Val fought frantically, trying more to disable Velnias with his claws and tail rather than his dragon breath. It had all happened so fast. One moment he was blowing off the upper tier of Eden, the next Alessa was screaming and the Dragon Slayers were pounding on his head and back to look down. Alessa was bleeding from where the claws punctured her creamy skin. It wasn't virgin skin, but what did that matter. He'd found out about her and Hiero's escapade from what Pyle had told him when they had traveled for the outpost. He clocked the fat Crusader for saying Alessa got around fast with royalty, saying Hiero and Alessa loved each other and that it wasn't like what his father did with his Aunt Marlene.

He felt terrible he hadn't been able to stop the thing from taking Alessa, but he had been distracted in trying to destroy Eden and ignore the frantic shouts from the nearby Crusade. He could hear his mother screaming for Val to get away 'and let us adults handle this." His father joined in, which surprised him. He thought his father would have fully shunned him by now for not being a human. He grumbled with every word that left their mouths, highly insulted he'd be considered a child. He was more of an adult than any of them were.

Val had always been a bit rough around the edges, like Uncle Gaddes. That guy was his second favorite person, second to Hiero. Gaddes taught him lots of neat tricks about the forest and the Crusade, the guy knew a lot and he had a good personality too. Val just disliked the fact he followed his father so adamantly. His father was a bigot and jerk to Hiero and about his horn, and had an illegitimate child with his aunt. Maybe she wasn't his aunt at the time, but it still hurt him and mother to imagine the thought. He knew his father probably had other illegitimate children, ones he didn't want to ask about.

Hiero and Dilandau knew all about them, it had been mentioned enough. Dilandau was a better source though, he'd been listening to his father's excuses of merry thrist after thrist with who knew how many women, within his Aunt Celena.

Alessa was not a bad person or some slut, she was going to die if Val didn't find a way to get her lose. The angel Dragon Slayers had almost leapt off of his body to try and save her, but Velnias was a very large guymelef-god, too big for even general tactics of disabling guymelefs to work. They'd be feathery stains in no time. he'd told them to hold back, until there was an opening for attack or rescue. It didn't seem likely, Velnias had a death grip on the woman's torso, blood still leaking from the wounds. She'd die if he took any longer, but Velnias wasn't as big as he was, and it was far quicker than his head or claws could move.

He yowled in pain as Velnias jerked out of reach again and slashed at his other leg. The wounds would heal slowly in this form, but it was better than trying to heal in his human state. That would be inviting death to his door.

"Size doesn't matter, so let's cut you down a bit so I can splatter you quicker in the girl's blood!" Folken laughed, squeezing Alessa again and rushing forth anew.

Val braced for the pain, but it never came. Instead there were ear shattering noises, bones and muscles snapping and cracking with Alessa's new screams.

He looked to it, seeing Velnias' lying in a scatter-shot circle of ash, a few flames nestled about the bone armor and the charred ground. There was a gash in the arm and the faceplate looked dirty, not as shiny as before. It looked stunned, but at least Alessa was not longer in his grip, only blood.

"Val-chan! Over here! I got her!" Val looked to his right and saw Escaflowne holding up a very shell-shocked Alessa. Her wounds weren't bleeding as much, but she still looked to be in pain. The voice coming from it was Hiero, which made the dragon give off a toothy grin all the way.

"About time….I was running out of ideas, Hiero-kun!" Val rumbled and then started to build up his dragon breath within his throat.

"Then how about a new idea! DEATH!" Folken's voice roared, making Val's scales prickled. He turned his massive head about in time to see Velnias a few feet away in the air, wings of utter darkness cracking out of his back with sickening crunches. Then he saw the dark energy ball forming, the one that had created the giant maggot at his feet during Velnias previous attack. It was aimed for his chest. There was no way Val would get out of the way in time, not with so much body to aim at.

As the energy leapt from Velnias claws, so deathly close to those horrible dark things Val wonder why it wouldn't harm them. "Crap…." Was all he could manage as he reared back as fast as his body could manage, his golden eyes widening.

"VAL, NO!" Allen shouted, Scherazade, leaping from over his hulking emerald shoulder. It was holding out its rapier, to take the attack down and save Val. Val felt his heart wretch as the energy went through the blade, melting it in a second and crashed into the guymelef's upper left thigh. The entire leg melted, Allen screaming from within. Scherazade fell a little lopsided at Velnias. The dark guymelef grabbed him swiftly by the chest and threw him into the distance.

"FATHER!! You bastard! I'll kill you!!" Val roared, sending a spray of dragon plasma breath into Velnias side. He smiled to himself as Folken screamed out his in pain from inside. He was ready to hit him again when he heard Hiero's voice in his head. "Get the Crusade out of range, Velnias will kill the others if you don't! Only War and Death are allowed to fight the anti-god. Get those not involved in this away. We'll guard Allen….Please Val, if you care anything for myself and your father, do it! Don't let Velnias hurt anyone else!' Hiero's voice stabbed into his brain.

"But Hiero-kun…." Val tried, only to be mentally screamed at. 'You do it or I'll never speak to you again!!' Hiero's voice came again, nearly crippling Val's mind. He shrugged it off and nodded, opening his giant mouth towards the Crusade. He easily held it in his mouth, holding it so the open hangar was angle up and he wouldn't accidentally swallow his mother and the crew. He saw her out of the corner of his golden eye hanging onto one of guymelef holds, looking up at him, almost proudly. It made him feel a little better.

Val started trotting off as fast as his legs could carry him, the angels taking to the air to keep from being lost.

~

Escaflowne and Alseides stood about Velnias, Allen's Scherazade, blood and oil leaking out of the destroyed leg a ways behind where they stood. Hiero felt that Allen was still alive, but in a considerable amount of pain and anguish. 'What a lousy time to play the hero, Allen. Now suddenly you care about Val after you've hurt him so much. You're just lucky that didn't kill you, for Val and Lady Millerna's sake. Someone must have finally wanted to give you a damn break….not like you ever deserved it.' He thought, growling at Velnias as it tried to stand. It had no injuries from Val's attack, but it had hit the ground pretty hard. 'Like I play fair!' Hiero thought wildly, and rush past Velnias, slashing it across the stomach.

Folken didn't get a chance to react as Alseides came charging past, its flame-thrower assaulting its dark bone-armor once more, practically drowning it in flame. Seconds later, its liquid-metal sword sliced off the hands, and then melted onto the stubs. Alseides lifted the monstrosity up in a breath and slammed it around, dragging it across the landscape.

"I hate you so much, I'll see you burn in hell forever for the terrible things you did to us! Come out and play, Daddy! Hahahaha! Nyahahahahahaaaa!!" Dilandau cackled.

Dilandau tried prying the chest open, but the thing seemed to regain its senses and brought up its wings, slashing them across Alseides' shoulders. Dilandau growled instead of screamed, even as the wings pushed further into the massive shoulders.

Dilandau yelped briefly as Velnias lifted Alseides off the ground, ramming its caked over stubs into his jade energist heart. "No thanks, I don't play with bad little boys. Time to take your medicine….son. To meet Death for real!" Folken glowered, and reared back his stubs to freedom, revealing the jagged edges Dilandau's attacks had created.

"Time to go where you belong, in hell, little boy. Where weak little boys like you always should be!" Folken laughed, and readied his right arm to ram through Dilandau's energist heart.

Hiero's eyes widened as he came for them. "NO! Leave Dilandau alone! You've taken too many people away! I will protect him!! I will protect them all like I promised! I WON'T LOSE ANYONE ELSE!!!!" Hiero raged, leaping from Velnias.

He felt a sudden jerk in the armor, the cool night air rushing about him. The organics had left his form, and he no longer saw threw the faceplate, he could see Velnias ready to kill Alseides and Dilandau as clear as day. "NO!" Hiero yelled, the God of War changing into a white dragon all around him, his hands on some sort of glider reins, like he was riding a living dragon. he grinned and willed it forward, the pearly claws digging into Velnias' wings and tearing them off. Velnias fell backward by the force, tossing Dilandau onto Scherazade.

Time has come, break out of these chains,
FIGHT! proud for your kingdom.
Behind the defenders the king marches on,
By divine intervention.

The God of Death righted itself and looked to the sky where Hiero and the white dragon circled in the moonlight, one claw reaching up almost curiously. "You've finally turned it back into the white dragon. Excellent! Now let's give him some real quality time." Dilandau laughed.

Hiero smiled down at him and dove at Velnias as it righted itself, the dragon's head rearing back and spitting up lightening. Hiero gasped, not expecting that. 'The God of War would have to have some sort of power….I guess this is it. But what do I care, I can't use my hands right now….but I wish I had my dang clothes on. This is embarrassing.' Hiero thought, the lightening blasting Velnias right next to an anxious Dilandau.

"Long time no see. Let's play!" Dilandau cackled, slashing his newly formed liquid metal sword across Velnias' ruined chest. It jumped back at the pain, then came forth again, lowering its head to gore Alseides with its horns.

"Ah!" Dilandau yelped, leaping backward repeatedly, but the dark guymelef kept coming. "Dammit, I need to get some jumping room. Stop being a child, Folken! Fight like a man! Dammit, I need to jump!" Dilandau yelled.

Hiero got to Velnias before he could touch Alseides, but the red guymelef of death jerked upwards as two giant leathery, red wings thrust out of its back, plucking Dilandau out of the way.

Brothers in arms are fighting tonight,
The Forces of Steel live again!
Born in the fire, they look to the sky,
The power of metal unchained!

"Ah, so you have wings too, Alseides. Very interesting. Now the real fun begins," Dilandau uttered menacingly, getting Alseides to fly next to Escaflowne," Hiero, I demand our promise be kept now."

Hiero grinned at him and nodded, looking at the frantic dark guymelef that could not follow them into the sky. 'I hope it hurt, you prick.' Hiero thought pleasantly.

'Aim for the energist heart. God or not, these bodies are of guymelef design and the energist hearts are key to their existence. Destroy that, and we destroy Folken in his blood bond. Blood bonds severed like that will kill the bonded….so let's break his heart!' Hiero telepathed.

'No problem….time to end this game.' Dilandau thought back, and Hiero shivered delightfully with Dilandau's bloodlust.

Alseides dove to the side and Escaflowne went right for Velnias. It leapt up with its jagged stub extended, but Hiero pulled on the reins and Escaflowne roared and swerved out of reach. Escaflowne came down again, Alseides on the opposite side. Velnias moved out of their way, but Escaflowne reared up and slammed its bone tail against the energist heart. Folken howled, and then louder as Alseides came by swiftly and rammed it's shoulder into the heart, slashing the left arm off with his quivering blade.

"You did such bad things to us, Folken. Too bad to even look past and laugh off. You raped my mother, you mentally raped the lot of us, all for your power. Well, the only ones who deserve to exist on Gaia are we angels, not some pathetic freak like you and that bitch Sora." Dilandau hissed, going back up in the night sky, turning swiftly to sprayed Velnias and most everything around him with flames.

"We learned about the battle of the gods thanks to my mind. We won't repeat War and Death's mistakes, not with this world and our lives at stake. Sort of….I don't need to worry….but you should, you poor imitation. My uncle was a good man, he saved my mother and father in the end. All he ever tried to do was protect my father, and you come here and stain it. I won't allow my family and friends to be hurt ever again by your type. You're the one going to hell so my true uncle can rest!" Hiero raged, coming back again, through the flames. Escaflowne roared again, with Hiero's will, summoning force another streak of lightening into to energist heart. Folken screamed, the heart cracked and leaking, but not destroyed. Hiero willed Escaflowne to become a guymelef again. In a second, his body aching from the burns and the organics back in his skin, he grabbed at Velnias from behind and pinned his arms to his side and back to Escaflowne's front.

"Dilandau!! Now! Shoot him!" Hiero yelled, fighting back Velnias as it struggled.

Dilandau hesitated, the flames stopping as the God of Death hovered in the moonlit sky. "But your energist heart is behind his! I might hit you!" Dilandau shouted. Hiero was touched Dilandau didn't want to hurt him, currently, but Hiero couldn't hold this damned anti-god forever.

"Trust me! DO IT NOW, ALBATOU! FOR LADY CELENA! FOR GUIMEL! DAMMIT, FOR YOURSELF!!" Hiero shouted, nearly losing his hold. Alseides did nothing for a few moments, the raised its sword arm and turning it into three claws. Steam rushed out of the arm as the claws rushed out, spiraling for the dark energist heart at incredible speed.

Hiero lifted the guymelef-god a bit, back up slightly before thrusting it forward into the claws, two ramming right through the dark heart and out the thing's back, the other hitting it's midsection, and came out stained with blood.

Hiero jumped back, his own energist heart mere inches from being punctured. Then the liquid metal spikes became snake-like, slithered away to return to Alseides. Folken was rasping, black and purple smoke erupting from his left side. He turned a bit as Alseides landed, the wing pulling in. Velnias was hobbling a bit, its left side slumping rather weakly to the side, blood of red leaking from the chest and a sickly color mixed with purple leaking from the shattered energist heart.

"I….lost….to children? No, Sora, you have forsaken me….why?" Folken asked, his voice weak and strained.

Hiero stared at the pathetic creature and shook his head. "You forsook yourself, Folken. You couldn't have won after all the hatred you spurred in us. So big-headed, you never stopped to think that maybe we weren't afraid of you, but hated you more with every action you took, every life you ruined. You're pathetic. Go to hell!" Hiero seethed, and raised his sword, chopping the other arm off. Folken made no sound from within, but Hiero didn't stop and went on slashing Velnias to pieces. Dilandau joined in seconds later, tearing off the head and clawing the chest open to play with the soft filling he wanted to split like overripe fruit.

"Dammit! Where is he!!??" Dilandau suddenly growled.

Hiero looked inside to see what Dilandau was talking about, and saw the cockpit was empty, save for a lot of blood and severed organics slithering back into hiding. He reached his mind out, not willing to let Folken escape. His eyes widened as he saw Folken was back on Eden, back in the throne room with Sora. He was strangling her, dying and trying to kill the woman at the same time. His entire body was wracked with terrible wounds, all leaking out buckets of blood and gore every passing moment.

Past many nights they fought on,
And by the moonlight the battle was won,
But still the black horse is running,
Knowing were the power will lead.

"He's back on Eden….but he's trying to kill Sora. Stupid bitch must had teleported him back to her to gloat. Guess Folken's not the only big-headed moron in there. Perfect, now we can fully keep the promise we made." Hiero chuckled..

"What? But we did, didn't we? He's dying because of us." Dilandau stated crassly.

"He's dying because you broke the bond between him and Velnias. I didn't get to give him my revenge as much. The both of them. We never agreed to anything about Sora either….she's mine. She murdered Guimel….she's all mine, not Folken's. Got a problem with that?" Hiero piped, turning Escaflowne's head a bit with his. Alseides' small head shook slowly to say no, and that was all Hiero needed. He felt Val was safe with the others, Allen was behind them, and all there was in his was Eden, Sora's life nearly gone, her mind not even fighting it. Her job was done, she had nothing to lose, but Hiero wouldn't let her die by another's hand so easily, not after what she'd done.

Hiero willed Escaflowne back into a dragon, and it became so, taking him high into the sky, right across from Eden. Hiero too a breath and summoned his wings, letting them burst freely, raining feathers upon the land. He let go of the reins, letting Escaflowne fall soundlessly to the ground.

"Darkness from twilight, crimson from blood that flows, buried in the flow of time. In Thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness! Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess! DRAGU SLAVE!!" Hiero yelled, his wings spiraling him around as the orbs of gold filled the space between his bare hands.

As he faced Eden again, still feeling Folken killing Sora, he felt her start to give into to suffocation. The golden spheres grew into a giant ball of crimson energy, the blood red streaks of power chasing each other as the energy ball grew and grew. He threw the ball of death and destruction at Eden, feeling Folken, and even Sora's, surprise as they and Eden were blasted into oblivion.

Brothers in arms are fighting tonight,
the Forces of Steel live again!
Born in the fire, they look to the sky,
The power of metal unchained
.

Hiero's mind numbed, filled with whiteness, and he fell.

~ Astral Plane ~

Hiero's eyes opened, and he found he was back in his clothes with his wings spread out. He was standing up too, or floating, in space. It was like his vision back at the Hot Springs, only more desolate. He saw only stars, not planets or comets, just endless stars, no brighter than a candle. The he saw he wasn't alone. Dilandau was next to him, back in his armor, looking out numbly at the near blank expanse of darkness. He saw Gatti next, looking confused, but full of wonder, just like Chesta.

The shorter slayer was between Migel and Alessa. She looked fully healed, as if she'd never suffered a wound in her life. He had her top back on, and Hiero was slightly disappointed, that had been the only good part of the ceremony, but he knew she absolutely hated it. Hiero didn't like the fact they others got to look at her chest, but there wasn't any time then to voice it. Val was near Gatti, back in his knight garb, his sparkling golden eyes dazed and curious.

"What now? What is this?" Migel said quietly, looking t Hiero with wide eyes.

" Why do you keep asking me?" Hiero said sourly.

"You're the guy that rode the War Champion of Gaia? Why not?" Migel replied.

Dilandau hissed at him. "And I don't count, Migel!? You're going to get it for that." Dilandau glowered, and Migel cringed.

"I guess the fate of Gaia has been decided by Gaia's champions, Dilandau and myself. The War of Angels is over….but this, you got me. Maybe my Dragon Slave went too far….or….the prophecy killed us regardless. I dunno" Hiero uttered, shivering.

"No, dearest Angel of Power, Hiero Scorchava de Fanel, King of Fanelia. You have granted my wish at long last, despite the hardships placed upon all of your shoulders." An airy sort of voice coaxed. Hiero was about to reply as a brilliant and colorful light pieced in the center of their group, and a beautiful woman with long white hair, and a green and blue gown appeared before them, her child-like chestnut eyes sparkling.

"Gaia…the Mother Goddess." Hiero breathed, and she nodded.

"Now what, Mother Goddess? Why are we in this….limbo?" Dilandau interjected tightly.

She smiled at him anyway, and Dilandau gave off a growl of disgust. "Angel of Death, Dilandau Thani Albatou, you are here to be congratulated….and rewarded for granting my dying wish. I was too weak to destroy Velnias when he came to destroy me and my champions could not defeat him with their own state of mind. He came so suddenly, with such frightening power, all I could do was watch as his powers slaughtered them. The Atlantians' wish came at the same moment and I took my chance to agree to that selfish wish, to give my body up to protect my children from Velnias. All of you….I sent their essence into countless young humans in hopes that someday, Velnias would be destroyed forever and no longer plague Fate with his ill will. You have at last granted that wish, and put Escaflowne, the God of War, and Alseides, God of Death, into their proper places, as champions of Fate." She uttered gently.

"Thanks, but….how can we possibly be rewarded for all this when it took so much? Can you raise the dead?" Hiero replied.

"No…., I can not bring back what was lost on the world I have become, but your wishes have already been granted, the ones deep inside your hearts. The wish I granted to my children long ago, eternity." She said gently, reaching out to them, her hands aglow with a soft red light.

"What?" Hiero gasped, the light wrapping around each other them.

"You will see, my child. Though you were born twice before beyond my reach, I was waiting for you, Hiero Valan Vendetta. I was praying for you. You finally answered my prayers at great sacrifice to yourself, but you will be rewarded….with eternal love. Love that will reach beyond the veils of reality. You will never be alone again….never, my child. All of you, my children of destiny. Thank you." Gaia said softly, the red light lulling Hiero's body to sleep, his mouth curling into a smile at her words.

"Not alone….anymore…." he whispered as he collapsed into sleep.

To Be Continued….(Yeah, its not over yet!)

The Magician card represents Dilandau and Hiero finally doing what needed to be done, destroying Folken, and staying focussed in this goal. Also, for knowing what they are doing and why they must be done all the way.

Teaser: Epilogue, the aftermath of the wishes of Gaia….and the fate of nations. Damn me for cliffhangers….but the ending needs its own chapter. Also, a dedication.