I know it's been too long --- way too long… Gomen ne.  I bought the limited edition Escaflowne DVD boxed set and the Escaflowne Movie ultimate DVD set (woohoo!) so I just finished watching and re-watching them. Hehe, pathetic huh? Anyways, it's a good thing since my knowledge of the Escaflowne world was close to becoming rustic. I just hope it has a positive effect on this fic ^_^

Of Blood and Destiny's Wings
by Neesah

Chapter 4: Declaration of Destiny

It was dark. Everywhere he looked, there was darkness, and only darkness. It was as if the void had swallowed him whole. Though that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was that he didn't really care. He didn't fight back. He didn't try to free himself from this prison, as he once would have done. He just kept on floating, or flying, or existing, whichever one it was, within the endless sea of darkness that devoured every fiber of his being.

Was it always like this? He didn't know. He couldn't remember anything but the void. It was endless, infinite. Eternal. Yet he didn't care. Suddenly, amidst the emptiness, something glowed, catching his eye. It was green, and brown, warm and very familiar. It reached out for him, reaching out to the far recesses of his mind and soul. Feeling its caress, a word formed in his mind, unbidden. Hitomi…

He then heard a voice. Her voice. It was very faint, barely audible but it somehow managed to pierce through the void. Van!

Awareness slowly seeped through him though it still wasn't enough. He began to struggle with all his might. Hitomi, I…

Again, he heard her voice, which was now becoming a little bit clearer as he continued to struggle out of his stupor, struggled to hear. Van! Where are you?

But he couldn't answer her, simply because he didn't know. And the worst part of it was that he was fighting a losing battle, the darkness almost at the verge of devouring him once more. So he told her the one sure thing that he could say, the one thing he knew he had to say before all awareness flee him, the one thing he felt strongly about. Hitomi, I love you…

He could sense her surprise and the warmth that emanated from her. I love you too, Van, he heard her say. He smiled. He could almost see her, almost touch her. I love you… he heard her tell him again when all of a sudden he felt something struck him down hard. He screamed in pain, and somehow he also heard Hitomi scream as he felt his body being consumed in flames. He tried to fight it, tried to keep his awareness, but to no avail.  Something snapped. Then, there was only darkness.

"That was a close one," Shahrei told Aastor as he opened his eyes. He lifted his hand from Van's chest and watched Shahrei tuck Van's hair away from his sleeping face. Her other hand was still holding on to Van's hand.  "I'm sorry if the wall I made wasn't strong enough…"

"You built a strong wall. It was them which is stronger," Aastor replied, standing up from the bed.

"I'll stay with him," she offered, her gaze leaving the King for a moment to glance at Aastor.

He nodded. "The wall I built would be strong enough but be wary, Shahrei. Don't underestimate them. It would be better if the link is completely cut off ---"

"But that's the problem. We tried and failed. We can't cut it off," she said, a little bitterly.

Aastor grimly shook his head as if to keep that memory of their failure away. "Nevertheless, blocking it would suffice. We don't have that long to wait. " With that, he left the room.

Shahrei let go of Van's hand and lied down beside him. Facing him, she touched his cheek, her finger traveling through the curve of his jaw.  "You called out for her. Why? Even when you're in the void, where everything is nothing, you can still see her? With all the power I used to block your link, how can you still reach for her? Is that the power of your love? Do you love her that much, Van?" she asked, her voice hurt and sad. "But you belong with me. Your future is with me. Your destiny is with me. Can you love me like you love her?"

As an answer, Van turned to his side, turning his back against her. Her eyes brimmed with tears and before they fell, she buried her face onto Van's nape, wrapping her arms around him. "I waited so long for this, for you, that's why I wouldn't give up. I love you, Van," she whispered. "And I'll do anything to make you love me, too, My Lord, My King."       

***********************

Hitomi opened her eyes and instantly shot up in a sitting position. She hugged herself as her body violently shook. Pain. All that she remembered was the pain --- hers and Van's. Her fingers reached up to her neck, clutching her pendant tightly. Clearing her mind, she tried focusing on him, tried to call on him once more. Van!

But instead of his presence, what she felt was a big, solid wall of flames. Instinctively, she knew he was at the other side so she continued on calling out to him, hoping he would hear. Van!

Nothing.

Without thinking, she reached out to the wall, trying hard to penetrate it. But just like earlier, she felt the flame consuming her so she withdrew. She raised her knees to her chin, hugging herself.

He was gone again. Out of her reach. She almost succeeded in establishing their link, in getting through whatever or whoever it was that was blocking them, keeping them apart. But she failed. And now, a stronger wall was built to block her off --- a wall of fire.

"Hitomi! You're awake!" Chid exclaimed as the whole group entered her room.

"How are you feeling? Are you ok?" Celena asked.

"There, now, don't strain yourself," Millerna told her. "Lie down and rest."

Dryden looked at her with concern. "What happened, back there, Hitomi?"

"Is it a vision? You were talking with Van one moment, then screaming and fainting the next," Allen added.

"Are you hurt? Is Lord Van hurt? Tell us, Hitomi, please," Merle begged, pushing her way towards Hitomi and shaking her when she remained unresponsive.   

"A wall of fire… It's blocking me off. I can't reach him anymore," she answered. "I lost him…" Her voice cracked as sobs rocked her entire body. She had lost him. And this time, she might have even lost him for good.

Her pendant started to glow. Believe in him, she heard her grandmother say.

I do believe in him, Hitomi answered. I always did. But that's not the problem. I lost him and I don't know how to find him.

Then, believe in yourself, Hitomi. Believe in the love that encompasses two worlds, the love that transcends both time and space, the love that could alter the future. That is the love that you share. That is your link.

Hitomi tried to swallow back her tears. But our link was severed, Grandma. How will I able to reach him now?

Do you believe it to be severed, Hitomi? Varie asked as her image replaced that of Hitomi's Grandmother. Is your love that weak that it could be taken from you both that easily?  Hitomi stared at Van's mother, her eyes wide. Does a wall of fire all it takes for you to give up?

NO! she replied, a little harshly in fact. And she didn't need to say it thrice --- it was her answer to the three questions.  

Varie smiled. Then it's not. It was then that Hitomi understood. Their link was blocked, true, but it was just blocked, not severed. Nobody could severe their link, only she or Van could accomplish that. But she knew that whoever they were, they tried to totally cut their link, she felt it, and being unable to do that, they just opt to block one from the other instead. Still, there was the problem of how they would be able to find Van with their link being of no use.

If there's a will, there's a way. And you always have the will, Hitomi, Folken told her gently as he stood where his mother once was. There are many ways of searching for someone. Or have you forgotten that you were once an adept in that?

Hitomi saw her pendant swing. She gasped. All of a sudden, she stood up and ran out of the room. Surprised, Allen and the others followed her. They found her inside Van's room, standing by the window.

Seeing the black feathers mingled with Van's white ones on the floor, she knelt down. Her eyes took on a glazed look the moment her fingers grazed one of the black feathers.

She found herself in a beautiful, bright city. She looked up and saw people with wings flying around, going on their usual day. I know this place, she thought. I've been here before. Then it clicked. It was the place she saw in her vision when Van almost died! And it was the same place she saw when they went to the Mystic Valley. Atlantis!  

Unlike her previous visions of Atlantis, this time she felt a surge of power and inadvertently being drawn to its source. She then found herself in front of a tall, white, spiral tower. She looked up and saw that at its summit was a pink, glowing object, which in her opinion, very much resembled the jewel in Escaflowne's chest. She raised her hand, shielding herself from the sun's glare bouncing off the jewel. Averting her eyes, she looked down at the tower's base and a startled cry escaped her lips. She could see through it! And inside was a huge, green, cone-shaped machine.

Is that…She shook her head. No, it's not. Though it looks so much like Dornkirk's Fate Alteration Engine. It felt the same yet there's a profound difference, as if the one built by Dornkik was but a shadow, a copy… Realization then hit her. Oh my God! It's the Atlantaen Machine! The Machine that can transform human thoughts into energy! The one that destroyed Atlantis!

As if she willed it, she suddenly heard loud explosions. Flames sprung forth and swallowed everything in its path. From above, she saw everything being destroyed. Almost the whole continent of Atlantis already sank under the great ocean and the neighboring islands in all 4 directions were being affected as well. But amidst all the destruction, a single patch of land still floated, as if only held afloat by sheer will, and a strong one at that. It was the capital of Atlantis. Hitomi then saw patches of light appear then disappear on the nearby islands before they all sank underwater, only seeing them to reappear again on the sole part of Atlantis still afloat. Wanting to know what was going on, she somehow found herself in the said island.

There, she saw a great assembly of people. The few remaining Atlanteans gathered around the white tower, their hands holding out their glowing pendants. Outside the circle were people of different nations, noticeable because of their lack of wings, enclosed and being held aloft by some kind of bubble made purely of light. They were all unconscious. Also outside the circle, though not floating nor unconscious, were small, hooded creatures with different number of camera eyes, their mother ship hovering above them. So that's what the patches of light were for--- It was for gathering all the survivors together. They tried to save all the people they could, even the ones in the other islands that were affected.   

Her eyes then traveled to the three figures that stood by the base of the tower. One was an elderly man with long white hair and beard, holding forth a pendant in his outstretched hand, facing the whole assembly. Another stood behind the Elder, their backs against each other. He was much younger than his companion, a golden crown placed on top of his short bluish-white hair. He was facing the tower, his gaze fixed on the glowing jewel at its summit. While the third figure was a woman, as young as the other man, a crown also placed on top of her golden hair in braids. She was carrying a bundle in her arms, her gaze also intent towards the jewel at the summit.

The pendants suddenly glowed brighter, then brighter, and brighter still, the one in the Elder's Hand the brightest of them all. It was as if they were channeling all their energy to that one gem. They glowed so bright, resonating with the jewel at the summit until every pendant shattered, even the one around the Elder's neck, and only the one in the Elder's hand remained. Both the pendant and the jewel continued to glow brighter until a blinding light appeared and shot up the heavens, creating a new world, Gaea.        

The effort took toll on the remaining Atlanteans, as Hitomi could see when she beheld their tired faces. But the King remained facing the jewel, clearly stating that it was far from over. Their mouths weren't moving but Hitomi knew that they were talking, even arguing. Her eyes suddenly widened when she saw a familiar face in the crowd.  But before she could utter his name, a large pillar of light appeared and swallowed the whole assembly. Hitomi covered her eyes and when she opened them again, she found herself in the ruins of the Mystic Valley.        

The vision then faded away. Getting a hold of herself, she stared at her friends. Her face didn't show any helplessness, as it did just moments earlier. Neither did it show any sign of self-pity or hopelessness, nor of giving up. Instead, it was determined, her eyes filled with hope.  "I know where Van is."  

************************

It was that distinct feeling of waking up, of slowly regaining one's senses and coming to one's awareness that one usually experiences all his life. But this time, it felt different. For it seemed like he had been in darkness for far too long, sinking further and further down below a deep, fathomless, dark ocean and just now did he finally reached the top, having his first chance to breathe in fresh air. From non-being, he just managed to exist in this world once again.

Still, he couldn't shrug off the feeling that something felt utterly out of place, that something was completely unfamiliar. The moment he opened his eyes he knew why this was so.

He was lying on a big, four poster bed inside a huge, luxurious and ornately decorated room. It had a huge, domed glass ceiling where one could see the night sky, the stars shining brightly. He looked to his left, feeling the warmth coming from the fireplace. He stood up and walked towards it, seeing that his sword was leaning by its side, the flames warming him and giving him strength.

Well, he would have reached his sword if he hadn't been distracted by the mosaic at the wall beside the fireplace. He paused at his step, his fingers fingering it lightly, touching one of the angel's wings. He felt some sort of dread. "Where am I?"

"You're finally where you're supposed to be," Shahrei told him from the door. She slowly walked towards him, her wings showing but not spread out, stopping only when she was in front of him. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to get you anything to eat?"

But Van ignored her question and instead, posed another question of his own. "What do you mean where I'm supposed to be?"

Shahrei couldn't help but flinch with the harshness of his tone. "This is the King's Chambers inside the Royal Palace, situated in the place you call the Mystic Valley. They said that nobody had occupied these rooms ever since Gaea's creation, for only the one true King of all Draconians could claim this for his own." A sweet yet proud smile appeared on her lips. "Your destiny had always been to become a King, Lord Van."

"I'm already a King," he told her off.

"Not just of Fanelia, but of all Gaea," Aastor explained as he entered the room. "Being a descendant of the Atlantean Royal Line, the last one in fact, you'll lead the few remaining Draconians and revive the Dragon Tribe, restoring them to their former glory as the true Rulers of this world, thereby ushering Gaea into a new age. That is your destiny."

Van's lips pressed into a grim line. "What are you talking about?"

"It's just as Shahrei and I said, Van. We promised you that if you come with us, we'll tell you your destiny. And we just did."

"I don't remember agreeing to come with you. As I remember it, I flatly refused. You took me here against my will! You abducted me!"

"It is for your own good. The end justifies the means. We've brought you here so you'll hear about your destiny and duty, away from all distractions. That's the only important thing," Aastor told him.

"So you consider Hitomi as a mere distraction, huh?" Speaking her name, he remembered that they were separated by those tornadoes and that he saw Hitomi plummet to the ground. He immediately reached inside himself, trying to establish a link to her, wishing with all his might that she was safe. Hitomi! Are you alright?

But instead of her presence, what he felt was that of a huge fire, burning through his soul.

Recovering from the shock and pain, he tried again. Hitomi! Where are you? Answer me! Tell me your safe, please…

The roaring flames licked into the very core of his being, threatening to overpower him. He closed his eyes shut, gathering his bearings.

"There's no use trying to contact the Seeress now. She wouldn't be able to hear you," Shahrei said in barely a whisper, her voice a little triumphant.

Van's eyes snapped open, cold anger blazing in their very depths. He grabbed Shahrei by the shoulders, shaking her. "What did you do? What's this trick? What happened to Hitomi? You're the one who took her away from me, aren't you? Give her back! Give her back!"

Aastor grabbed his hands away from Shahrei. "Stop it, Van! Can't you see you're hurting her? And not just physically…" Van stared at Shahrei, noticing that his fingers left marks on her bare shoulder, her eyes wide and hurt, tears streaking her face.

Van almost felt sorry for the girl but thinking of Hitomi hardened his heart. "I don't care. All I care about is knowing that Hitomi is safe. Did you hurt her?" The very idea enraged him further. He grabbed her by the shoulders again and if possible, gripped and shook her even harder. "Did you? If ever you laid even one finger on her, I swear to God, I'm really going to kill---"

"Van!" Aastor's voice rang inside the room as he stilled the young King of Fanelia's hands once again. "There's no need to hurt her. Hitomi is safe. It's not our intention to hurt the Seeress. Under the present circumstance, it's just advisable that we block your link, that's all."

Hearing this, Van let go of Shahrei. Memories of Hitomi calling him from the void came flooding back to his mind. They almost succeeded in recovering their link when he felt that pain. And they were cut off again. He couldn't believe it. She was gone. He felt afraid. He might have lost her for good this time. But his eyes never showed his fear, just anger and coldness. "Why? What for? What is it that you want from me?"

Aastor unconsciously flexed his black wings once before answering. "I thought you were smarter than that. We already told you. You were born to lead us and rule Gaea. This is our world --- we created it. It's just fitting that we become its rulers, not just its caretakers. It's high time we stop atoning for our sins." He looked up the ceiling, peering at the stars. When he spoke again, his tone got harder. "Since the very beginning, we've done nothing but atone for our sins. We stayed in the background, letting those humans shape the future of Gaea, for fear that we might make the same mistake twice. But that in itself was a big mistake. Gaea is better off with us as the rulers. Look what they've done. Look what they've almost succeeded in doing if not for you."

"And Hitomi," Van added

Aastor jerked his head to look at him. A wry smile formed on his lips before nodding. "Yes. And Hitomi."

Van's eyes constricted, thinking that Aastor was just humoring him, pacifying him. "You don't believe me? I'm telling you the truth when I say that I couldn't have done it without her."

Aastor smiled again. "Don't get me wrong. I do believe you. It always takes a strong gravitational force between two entities to perform a task as big and as of great magnitude as altering fate. And the strongest of all gravitational forces that could be produced between two people is that between a man and a woman. That's why in Ancient Atlantis, the King's will ruled all, but was tempered by his Queen's will. The Seeress' will is strong, true, and that was enough for her to have served her purpose then. But for a destiny as great as yours, you will need someone with a more powerful will, one that would match yours. That's why you need someone of your kind. And one was born specifically for you."  

Van's posture got rigid as he listened to Aastor. "And what do you mean by that?" he asked coldly, his fists clenched at his sides. He almost knew and at the same time dreaded the answer.

Aastor smiled. "If you're destined to become a King, Shahrei is destined to become a Queen. Your Queen."

Van remained silent for a moment, looking at Aastor first, then at Shahrei, then back at Aastor again. "I. Am. Sick. And. Tired. Of. Your. Destiny. Bullshit," he said in an even tone, though it was evident that his control was being stretched way too thin. And then finally, it snapped.  "Who said that this is my destiny? You? How am I to know that you're not just inventing all this? Huh? Tell me!"

Before Aastor could answer him, Shahrei spoke out. "Do you think that we'll lie to you? We who are of your own blood?"

Van stared coldly at her. "How should I know? You lured me to the lake, blocked me from Hitomi, abducted me when it was evident that I wouldn't come with you. Is that trustworthy? You've done nothing to make me think of the contrary."

"This is something too important for us to lie about," Aastor told him matter-of-factly. "We did what we did because we had to. I think you know that feeling."

Hearing his argument, Van tried to switch tactics. "If it's that important, why force someone who doesn't know anything about it, someone who doesn't want to have anything to do with it in the first place? I already have too many things to do, too many responsibilities to think about. Why not you lead the Draconians yourself and rule Gaea?"

The older man shook his head. "I can't. That is your destiny, not mine."

"There is that destiny nonsense again, " Van growled. "I make my own destiny. " He turned around to grab his sword by the fireplace, as was his original intent moments ago. "And Draconian or not, I don't trust you."

"But you see, Van," Aastor started saying, a grin playing on his lips, "technically speaking, I'm not a Draconian."

Van whirled around to face him again. He arched his eyebrow, disbelievingly. "So you're not a Draconian though you have wings. What are you then?"

"I'm an Atlantean."

"What?"

"Draconians are what they call those who are the descendants of Atlantis. They were born here, in Gaea. Like Shahrei. Whereas I, I was born in Atlantis which was situated in the Mystic Moon. I'm one of its few survivors."

Van was speechless for a moment. "You're lying. You can't be that old. Nobody could have lived that long."

"Atlanteans tend to live very long, Van. As do all pure-bloodied Draconians. But you're right in saying that nobody could have lived this long. Still, I want you to know that I'm not lying. I lived longer than known possible for any normal Atlantean through pure will alone." He unconsciously reached up to his neck, clutching something invisible. Realizing this, he dropped his hand again, smiling dryly at the young King.

"Atlanteans had always been strong-willed people, you know. And though we lost our pendants long ago, we didn't lose the power of our wills—that power that make wishes come true. For it's a part of us, it's in our blood. The pedants just served as a focal point, an amplifier. I've been tapping into that power for all these years, lengthening my life so I would be here now, with you, telling you what was and what should be. But as you well know, continuously altering fate has its consequences." He spread out his wings, causing a shower of black feathers to fall to the ground. He then folded them again.

"I don't have much longer to live. But it doesn't matter. I'm already at the end of my mission. I don't have much more to wait, either." He slowly approached Van, who instinctively backed away. "Come and know your history, Van. Reach inside yourself and remember the story of your people. Hear its song in your blood," he pleaded, offering his hand to Van. "I'll help you remember."

Van stared at the older man's pale hand, debating. Coming to a decision, he clasped it in his own. Aastor pulled him closer, his black wings enclosing them both. Van swooned, feeling some kind of power. Then everything went blank.   

Cliffhanger e?