*Is eating ice cream and notices readers* What? Are you still here? Shouldn't you people be surfing for pr0n, or something? Ah, well. I might as well entertain you moochers.
Disclaimer: I don't own "Escaflowne". I do own the character of Ryoji Takashi, and the Guymelef Agamemnon. Anybody who thinks otherwise shall be placed into a room with a MOOSE!!
Dedicated to Charmin. Those self-appreciating bastards, who think that they can get away with anything they want just because they're "Squeezabley soft"!! They'll get what's coming to them sooner or later. Oh yes… they will….
****
Reunion
Chapter 3:
Takashi had to close his eyes to block out the glaring light. He would have much rather kept them open, but he wanted to see Atlantis when he got there. Unfortunately, he was not to reach his goal this day, as fate had other plans in mind. A shockwave that had exploded from within the armor shot him off of it, dazed. Shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears, he looked up and gasped.
Right in front of the ancient machine was a pillar of blue light. The light created by the suit of armor paled in comparison to this. It stayed for a second or more, as those gathered watched it in wonder. Then it faded, and revealed a young man of eighteen or nineteen floating gently to the ground to touch down. He opened his eyes, obviously relaxed. His eyes opened slowly, and apparently didn't like what they saw, because he automatically shifted his position, hand on the sword at his hip, and standing on the balls of his feet. Grasping the sword firmly, he looked around and said some gibberish in an unknown language.
The researchers could only stare open mouthed. They had never seen anything like this occur before. To see that light show and be greeted with an encore performance complete with a performer was too much for them to comprehend in such short order. Takashi, on the other hand, was enthralled. While it wasn't as good as being taken to Atlantis, having someone show up like this must have been a good portent. Without hesitation, he quickly leapt to his feet, and called for security. He wasn't going to let something like this get away so easily.
Van wasn't quite sure what had gone wrong. He had sailed on the wings of pillar of light, expecting to be taken to Hitomi. Instead, he found himself in some unknown building, surrounded by people he didn't know. He had tried to find out where he was by demanding to know his location, but it didn't do any good. "Damn," he thought to himself. "I forgot that only Hitomi can understand me!!"
While he didn't know where he was, or why he was here, he knew that he had to leave, fast. A man with white hair had said something that didn't sound particularly friendly, and suddenly red colored lights started flashing while some hideous noise began blaring. Looking around for an exit, Van's eyes came to rest on what was directly behind him. His eyes widened in surprise.
Standing directly behind him was his Guymelef, Escaflowne!! No, wait, something was different about this one. It was a different color and the shoulder-pads and helm were shaped differently. Still, it was his only way out of here, and he decided to take it, being given no other alternative he could see. He made up his mind when he heard what sounded like a group of people running in his direction. Leaping up to the entrance key, he clicked it and jumped inside.
Grabbing hold of the arm controls, he tried to manipulate it. No response. Furiously, he pumped the leg and arm joints, trying to get it to move. The machine refused to obey. The men had gathered around the melef, holding weapons Van had never seen before. Realizing that he was getting no where, Van suddenly noticed there was no energist inside the melef's power gem. Cursing, he reopened the cockpit, and locked his eyes on the door where the soldiers ("They have weapons," he thought. "What else could they be?") had come from. Short distance, so he should easily be able to make it if he flew. Just as the soldiers lowered their weapons at him, his feathers burst from his back, and he took flight.
Everyone's breath caught as the intruder suddenly sprouted wings from his back. Hopping off the suit, he flew straight towards the only exit. Takashi beat one the guards over the head and shouted "Don't just stand there, you idiots!! Fire at him! He's getting away!" This seemed to snap the others back into reality, as they aimed for the boy. They quickly opened fire, grazing him around the arms. The boy faltered, but continued for the exit. "Don't kill him! Aim for his wings! Any man who kills him will have to answer to me!!" Takashi bellowed.
They quickly re-adjusted their aim, setting their sights on the pair of down trailing from the boy's shoulder blades. This time, he was a bit more careful about getting hit, however. He ducked and swerved, performing aerial stunts that only skilled pilots could manage. However, in such a small space, with so many bullets flying, it wasn't long before several hit their mark. Blood trailed from the tattered wing, as it beat feebly at the air, trying to aid its fellow. It ended up, though, being a futile attempt, as the boy went down in a flurry of crimson and white.
"Quickly! Secure him!" Takashi barked. Several guards had flanked to the boy's side, hoisting him upward. Takashi slowly joined them, circling around front to see the mysterious young man who God had so graciously delivered. He grabbed the boy's chin and yanked it to the left, making sure that there were no head wounds. It was then that he noticed his ring pulsing with a faint light again. Curious, his eyes trailed down to the boy's chest, where a pendant hung, with the same red stone. Takashi grabbed it, causing the boy to tense angrily. Takashi yanked it off of the boy and held it close to his ring. Both of the gems pulsed rhythmically with the same dull glimmer. He smiled to himself, until the boy said something that had caught his ear. Turning, he saw the child struggling to get away from his captors. Breaking them off him, he drew his sword and lunged at Takashi.
Finding a sword pointed directly at his throat, Takashi's eyes trailed along the length of its blade and to the young man's face, which was contorted in fury. Looking straight at him, the boy said something more in that strange language of his, punctuating it by driving the sword so close that it pricked Takashi's skin. Takashi raised the pendant up, and shifted his eyes to the pendant and back to the boy's face. "You want this, correct?" he questioned ever so slightly, so as not to drive the blade into his Adams apple accidentally. The boy nodded. "Too bad," Takashi smirked. "I'm afraid it's mine, now."
The boy's face darkened further, as he prepared to shove the blade through Takashi's neck. He never got the chance, though, as one of the guards had managed to sneak up behind him and drove the back of his rifle into the boy's head. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he keeled over, the sword clattering uselessly to the floor. Takashi tossed the pendant to one of the researchers, who had all been staring dumbfounded by the flurry of events that had just taken place. He caught it numbly, and Takashi said "That contains the power source for the suit of armor. Study it and replicate it. And make it quick." The researcher nodded, and they left, running as quickly as possible to complete their task. With that, he turned to the unconscious body that lay on the floor. "Take him to one of the holding cells. I want to have him studied." With that he turned towards the elevator, heading back up to deal with the peons who managed his business.
****
Hitomi sat at her desk, reading a book. It was one of her favorites, and was currently in the middle of it, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw a pure white feather sitting on her desk. She smiled warmly. "Van…" she thought to herself. "He must have sent this here." She stretched out a tentative hand, seeing as how the last time she saw one of his feathers here, it burst and disintegrated into a million points of light when she touched it.
Setting her hand on the feather, she waited. Nothing happened. Cautiously, she picked it up. It felt solid; maybe it was really here. Stroking it lightly, she held it closer to her, and smelled it, relishing in Van's smell. Closing her eyes, she became intoxicated with it. It was then she felt something warm and moist on her hand. Puzzled, she looked down to see what it was. And almost dropped the feather in shock. No longer was it a pure white feather, but a tattered mockery of one that was covered in blood. Horrified, she stared waveringly at it, feeling it grow hot suddenly. It was then that the tip of the feather burst into flame, traveling down its length. Hitomi gave a cry as she dropped it, feeling the heat burn her fingers. Looking down, she saw the last of the feather burn as it turned into ash, and scattered on the wind, with a sound similar to that of someone screaming in pain, far away.
Hitomi gazed at the spot where the feather had been, fear welling up inside her. Was this a vision? "No, it had felt too real," she thought as she rubbed her fingers where the flame had burned them. Besides, she hadn't had one of those since her time on Gaea. But that was definitely not normal, and she knew that it had been one of Van's feathers. No bird's feather was so white and smelled like he did. "Has something happened to Van? She wondered aloud.
She had to be sure. Closing her eyes, she felt her way to Van's mind. When she reached there, she was met with… Emptiness. Probing for some stray thought, she found nothing. His mind had completely ceased functioning. That wasn't a good sign. It could only mean two things. That Van was unconscious, or that he was… "NO!! Don't you dare think that Hitomi Kanzaki!" she told herself. Van was alive. He had to be! She needed him to be… Worriedly, she sat with her hands clasped before her and her forehead resting against them. It was then that the doorbell rang.
"Hey, Hitomi!! Hitomi!!!" someone yelled from the front door. Hitomi, broken from her thoughts, looked out the window. Yukari was shouting for Hitomi to get her butt out of the house. "It's Tuesday!! Our weekly mall trip's today, remember?" Hitomi's memory suddenly came back to her. She had promised Yukari that she would go to the mall today with her. But she couldn't get her mind off of Van. "What if something's happened to him?" she thought. Tossing her predicament back and forth, she finally decided to go with Yukari, and try to contact Van every hour. "It's definitely better than sitting here worried to death," her mind reasoned with her. Leaning out the window, she called "Okay, Yukari! I'll be right down!" she said, changing into something more appropriate for the mall. "I just hope I can talk to Van…" she told herself quietly.
****
Shaking his head groggily, Van looked around at his surroundings. The room he was in was unlike any he had seen before. The walls were pure white, and so was the bed he was sitting on. Everything seemed to meld right in with each other. He could find no sign of a door or window anywhere. He reached down to see if his sword were still there. There wasn't any sign of it, of course. He didn't expect there to be, but it would have been nice if there were. However, he soon forgot about his sword when he reached up to grab Hitomi's pendant.
Not there.
Of course. It all came back to him now. He was on the Mystic Moon, in a place that wasn't anywhere he should have been. The last thing he remembered was that man with white hair, holding up Hitomi's pendant and saying something. Van couldn't understand him, of course, but he could tell that the man had asked him something about the pendant. Van had assumed the stranger was asking if he wanted it back. When he wouldn't return it, Van was about to kill him, when suddenly everything went black, and he woke up here.
But just where was "here"? Van knew that since he wasn't dead, the man had something else for him in mind. But what? Van came from Gaea, so there was nothing he had that would be any interest to him. And even if there were, Van couldn't understand him, nor could the man understand Van. So what was the reason for this? He sat there pondering this, when he heard a noise behind him, and then the sound of someone entering the room.
"Ah, I see we're awake now. Did we have a good sleep?" Takashi asked politely. The boy didn't respond, but instead climbed off the bed warily. Of course, the fact that this boy couldn't speak a word of Japanese didn't really help. Takashi grinned warmly. "Well, you better hurry. We have a busy day today. Wouldn't want to get off to a bad start, now, would we?" The boy remained silent. Takashi noticed that he had managed to get a response of sorts out of him, though. He stood there clenching and unclenching a hand in anger. "Is something wrong?" he asked mildly. "I couldn't help but notice that you seem a bit upset." Although he knew the boy couldn't understand a word being said, he must've struck a cord, because the boy leapt at Takashi with a furious yell. Sidestepping nimbly, he pulled a hypo-spray out of his pocket and grabbed the boy's arm, quickly inserting it. The boy's muscles went limp, and he fell over, once again unconscious. He signaled for the guards to take the boy and follow him. It was time to see if this boy really was an Atlantian.
Van woke up to find himself strapped to a table. "Dammit," he thought. "That's twice now!" Trying to escape his bonds, he quickly found that it wasn't much use. Growling in frustration, he sat and waited for something to happen. Nothing. It went on like that for a few minutes, until finally the door opened and a man wearing white clothes stepped in. The white mask he wore reminded him of Millerna when she had treated patients. Taking a piece of cotton, he began to swab Van's arm with it. He didn't like where this was going. The doctor pulled a needle from a drawer, and filled it up with a strange looking liquid. Turning to Van, he walked over and positioned himself above the place he had just swabbed with cotton. Inserting the needle, Van grunted in pain as something shot through his arm. After a moment, he couldn't feel anything, then all of a sudden, his muscles began to relax. So relaxed, that he couldn't move them. Van couldn't understand what the point of this was.
Apparently, though, they hadn't finished. Rolling in some kind of machine, they removed his restrains and took off Van's shirt and pants, leaving him clad only in his small-clothes. After this, they removed some items off of the machine, and began to apply them to Van's skin. After placing them on various points of Van's body, including his legs, arms and chest, they turned back to the machine and flipped a switch on it. Hearing a low humming sound, Van wondered what has happening, when all of a sudden something began to tingle lightly. It jolted Van's systems and continued to electrocute him without letting up. Van grit his teeth to try and block out the pain, but the medicine he was shot with before prevented him from doing that. Then suddenly, the machine stopped, leaving him panting. The doctors wrote down something while watching him out of the corner of their eyes. Van could only wonder why they were doing this to him.
Having finished their writing, they turned back to the machine, and flipped the switch again. Once more, the machine gave a low hum, before sending a shock through his body. This time, though, the pain was intensified. He began to convulse with the magnitude of it. His body was on fire, and it was slowly consuming him. He couldn't stand it. But he refused to scream with the pain. His body cried out for him to, but his pride wouldn't let him break before these men. Gods, the pain was excruciating!! He could hardly bear it! But still he kept his mouth shut. There was no way he would scream for mercy to them. Then, thankfully, the pain stopped. He breathed slowly, taking in as much air as his body could. He twitched slightly, still feeling some of the pain coursing through him. Why were they doing this to him?
****
"What about this one, Hitmoi?" Yukari asked, holding up another skirt to Hitomi.
"What?" the other girl asked. "Oh, that looks great Yukari!" It fits you perfectly." She replied automatically. Yukari lowered the dress and gave her friend a dirty look. She had said the same thing about every dress Yukari had showed her. The girl just wasn't paying any attention.
"Hitomi, how many dresses have we looked at today?" she asked. Hitomi just nodded. "Y'know, I don't think you should have worn that, it makes your ass look big." She prompted. That always sent her into a uproar. This time Hitomi just said thank you. Getting very frustrated with her friend's space-out, Yukari said "Hitomi, your hair's on fire." She just brushed a stray lock from her forehead. Putting the dress back on the rack, she stormed over, grabbed the other girl by the shoulders and shook her fiercely screaming "HITOMI!!!!"
That got her attention. Hitomi cried out and said "Geez, Yukari!! What's wrong!?" Yukari let her go and stood back, hands on her hips.
"What's wrong is that you've been totally out of it since we got here! Just what's wrong with you today?" she demanded. At this Hitomi shrank back. She lowered her head and looked at the floor.
"I'm sorry, Yukari," she replied, not lifting her head. I just had my mind on something else, that's all. I haven't really been focusing on dresses." She said sheepishly. Yukari sighed with exasperation. Hitomi must've been thinking about that guy she told her about the other day. What was his name? Van, she recalled. She folded her arms across her chest and heaved another sigh.
"It's okay Hitomi. You're thinking about that guy again, aren't you?" Hitomi nodded. Looks like she was right. "Look, why don't we get something to eat, and you can tell me what going on?" At this, though, Hitomi shook her head.
"No, Yukari. I'm okay, really! But, if the offer still stands, I'll take you up on it," she said, grinning hopefully. Yukari just laughed.
"Well, I was going to pay for your meal, seeing as how you were acting so weird, but now I think you can pay for your own," she said. "In fact," she stated, eyeing Hitomi's purse, "I think you still owe me for the last time I bought you a mercy lunch!" And with that she swiped Hitmoi's purse, laughing.
"Hey!! You come back here right now with my purse Yukari!" she yelled, running after her friend. "I mean it! You bring it back here or I'll take it from you!" she said.
At this Yukari turned her head around and stuck her tongue out. "You'll have to catch me, Ms. Marathon!" she shouted back.
Hitomi just smirked determinedly. "Oh, that's it! Now you're going to get it!" She said, pumping her legs to catch up to the purse culprit. And so they chased each other around the mall until they finally ran out breath, deciding to get some water instead.
****
Van lay on his bed, having been escorted (more like dragged) back to his room by the white-haired man. It had been the same all day. They had used that machine to send nerve-wracking pain through him all day. Only stopping to jot down notes or to feed him, they'd start up again when he had recovered enough. He couldn't resist or fight back, because his body wouldn't respond to his brain thanks to that stuff they had given him. Thankfully, they hadn't gone any higher than what they had coursed through him the second time. Still, each session had been progressively longer, until it had gotten to the point where he had passed out from the pain. When they had brought him back here, he didn't move a muscle, just resting and recovering his strength. He hadn't been sitting on the bed long, though, before he heard the door open again. He looked over to see who it was. The white-haired man had come back, and was standing in the doorway. "Just go away, I can't take any more," he thought. However, he sat bolt upright when hearing the man say something to him. He ran through it in his mind again to make sure he had heard it right. He had.
The white-haired man had clearly said, "Sce tarvon ne Atlantis?" which translated into "Where did you come from, Atlantian?"
This was impossible. The man wasn't speaking Gaen, of course. He was speaking Draconian. But how? The only way he could know that language was if he had studied it, or if… "No, that's not possible," Van thought. "There aren't any left here on the Mystic Moon."
Takashi's smirk spread into a smile upon seeing the boy's face. He had understood what Takashi said. Excellent. Perhaps he was an Atlantian. He decided to repeat himself. "Where have you come from, Atlantian? I know you can understand me, so there's no use in pretending you can't." he said. The boy stood up, but apparently hadn't recovered yet, because he almost immediately fell back down. It was almost comical to see him try so hard. But Takashi wasn't in much mood for laughing. He wanted answers and this boy could give them to him.
Supporting himself using the bed post, the boy glared at him. It was remarkable how even after going through the electric shock therapy, he still managed that prideful look. He could be someone to admire, if he weren't so stubborn. "What does such a question matter to you?" the boy shot back. This was going to take some time. At least they had managed to speak to each other. So he was making some progress. A small, infinitesimal amount of progress. "How do know you my language? Only Draconians can speak it." Draconian? Takashi had never heard this word before. Still, the boy doubted. Perhaps if he were to see some proof…
"Hmmm. You don't seem to understand, boy. You have something I want. The information on how to pilot that suit of armor you saw when you came here," Takashi said, taking off his suit coat and undoing his tie. "I don't know what the thing runs on, or how it's operated, but you do," he said, now having removed his shirt. "And perhaps seeing this will persuade you to help me," he finished, locking eyes with the boy. With a scattering of feathers, wings sprouted from his back.
"He's a Draconian, too," Van thought to himself. "But that's impossible! I thought there were none on the Mystic Moon! So then, why is he here?" Van could only stare in shock at the fact that he was looking at another Draconian. It was just too mind -boggling. The other man didn't think so, though. He still had his eyes concentrated on Van, waiting for him to say something. Van turned his head away and said "You stole my possessions, imprisoned me, tortured me, and now you expect me to help you?" The man said nothing. "I'm finished speaking with you. Leave me." The man said nothing, gathered up his garments and went to the door. Before heading out, he stopped.
Turning his head back to face Van, he said "It really doesn't matter in the long run. Sooner or later you'll see things my way. I had hoped you would cooperate now, so that we could avoid anything unpleasant." With that, he left. Van, wondering what the man meant, let go of the bedpost and sank back onto the bed. He drifted off to dreamless sleep, to exhausted to stand anymore.
****
Hitomi lay in her room, her stomach knotted in fear. She had tried to connect to Van several times while at the mall, and had only succeeded once. What she had found caused her to exit almost immediately. Van was screaming in pain, feeling his body suffering and burning, but unwilling to scream verbally, and having to resort to doing it mentally. The sound of his pained yells echoing across his mind was too much for Hitomi to bear. She left almost immediately. "Van…" she said. "Where are you? Who's doing this to you?" Unable to receive any answers, she turned over and went to sleep.
She was running through the halls of a crumbled, ancient Fanelia. She wasn't sure what she was doing here, but it was she knew it was important. Twisting down first one moss-covered wall then another, she ran through the castle until she reached the throne room doors, slightly unhinged and rotting slowly. Trembling, (why was she trembling?) she slowly opened the door, and looked into the throne room. There was nothing there. The throne was rusted and decaying, and the walls and pillars eroded and crumbling. She didn't know why, but her heart ached to see this sight, and even more to see the throne empty. Even as she wondered why she felt this way, a voice from behind answered her. "It's because he isn't here, Hitomi."
Gasping, she whirled around, face to face with a man who was much older than she, with blue hair and tear tattooed under his left eye. As soon as she saw him, though, she lost her fear. "Folken…?" she asked. He nodded, saying nothing. "What are you doing here? Why does Fanelia look like this? Where is Van?" Folken didn't answer. He merely looked at her sadly. She couldn't understand why he wasn't answering her for. "Folken please! I need to know," she pleaded. He sighed.
Looking around him, he waited for a moment before replying to her questions. "In truth, Hitomi, neither of us are here. This is Fanelia in a future time. And Van is not here because…" he paused. Why was he acting like this? "Van," he continued, "is not here because he is dead, Hitomi." She gasped.
"No…" she said. No, it can't be… It can't!!" she cried. This was all some sort of mistake! Van couldn't be dead. He couldn't be!! This must have been some kind of nightmare! She just had to wake up, and Van would be alive. She turned and closed her eyes hard, trying to wake up. She started when she felt hands on her shoulders. If this were a dream, she wouldn't have felt them. She turned to face Folken. "Van's… dead?" she asked softly.
Folken nodded. He looked around the ruined hall. "When I died, Hitomi, I was able to see the past, present, or future at will. I saw this future, which troubled me. 'If the fighting were over,' I thought, 'Then why has nothing changed?' It was because something has happened that shouldn't have. Atlantis' power was released." He finished. Hitomi's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she had heard.
"B-but Dornkirk was…" she started. "Zabaich had been…" Folken said nothing. "Folken, Dorkirk's Fate Alteration Machine was destroyed by Van. Zabaich was defeated!" she said. She had been there! "Were there some survivors of Zabaich?" Folken shook his head. "It's not Zaibach?" she asked herself.
Apparently hearing her question, he anwered. "No. Zabaich did not cause this to happen to Gaea. It was done by something else. Something much more sinister than Zaibach." He looked towards the throne again. "It might have been avoided, if you and Van had been here to stop it." He said. Hitomi suddenly looked up at him.
"Folken, you said that Van died," she said. "Can you show me what happened to him? Can you take me to Van?" she asked. Folken hesitated. He searched her eyes, and then looked away.
"I don't think you want to see it, Hitomi," he replied. "It might be too much for you to bear."
Too much? She didn't care. If she wanted to save Van, she had to know where he was. She stepped back into his line of sight. "Please Folken," she pleaded. "I have to know! I have to know if there's a way to save Van!" Folken looked directly at her, and then sighed.
"You truly are a strong and determined girl, Hitomi," he thought to himself. "Very well, Hitomi. I'll show you what happened to Van." He gently took hold of her hand, and the ruined castle of Fanelia began to blur and fade, and they found themselves in a darkened room. Hitomi looked around for some way to tell where she was, but it was so dark, there was no way she could she anything. Looking ahead, though, she saw something that made her gasp.
There, kneeling and confined in a steel collar and chains, was Van. Standing before him was someone who she'd never seen before. Unconcerned with him, she turned back to Van, only to stifle a scream. Blood was running freely down his arms and legs, as large, iron blades were pierced straight through Van's elbows and knees. Gritting his teeth to bear the pain, he said something to the other man through clenched teeth. The first man sighed and responded, but Hitomi couldn't make out what it was.
The scene shifted. This time, Van hung from the ceiling in chains. The man from before was standing in front of Van again, and Hitomi watched, horrified, as several men inserted wire hooks into the areas right where Van's ribs were. When she took a closer look at Van this time, she noticed that something was wrong. Blood was dripping down the side of Van's cheek that was turned away from her. She moved to a spot where she could see him better and clasped her hands to her mouth. Where Van's right eye had been, there was now only an empty socket. She began to feel bile rise in the back of her throat. The man looked up at Van and asked him something. Van shook his head, weakly, and replied. The man nodded to those who held the hooks. Hitomi tried to turn away, but stood rooted to the spot, transfixed, and they pulled, stretching Van to the breaking point. His screams of agony tore into her heart like a knife. He coughed up blood, and she felt herself retch.
Once again, the scene altered. This time, Van was on his back, stretched across a mortar block. Hitomi cried silent tears when she saw that Van's other eye as well as one of his hands was gone, as well. Why was that man doing this? Why was he torturing Van? This time, she had heard some of the conversation between Van and the man. "….ease, make this easy on yourself. Help me. I really don't enjoy doing this to you." Van, with barely enough strength to lift his head, replied weakly "..can't…. won't let… you… have… Atlantis'…" Atlantis? What did this man want with Atlantis? "I suppose you think yourself honorable, don't you?" the man asked, with a tone of sincerity. He gestured, and a man carrying a hot iron poker came forward. He began to slowly draw it up and down Van's back. At first, he held on, but in a few moments he began screaming as burns were being raked across his body. Smoke began to rise from his back as his skin began to melt in some places, revealing the muscle and bone beneath. His screaming continued to the point where Hitomi clasped her hands over her ears in anguish and slid slowly to the floor, silent sobs hitting her. Oh, God!! Why wouldn't someone make it stop?
The scenes shifted continuously like that. Each was a different and more painful form of torture, and each time the man asked Van to help him. Each time Van refused, and was punished because of it. Hitomi was beyond trying to be strong anymore. Seeing Van in such pain caused her more anguish than she could bear. If Folken hadn't been there with her, she might've died watching this. Finally, Van had been reduced to nothing more than a misshapen heap. Hitomi sobbed as she realized she would never have recognized this mass of burns and cuts if she hadn't seen it happen to him piece by piece. His eyes, nose, hands and feet had all been removed. He had blood all over him from various cuts, and burns from where the poker had been applied. Parts of his body had been broken, and not allowed to reset properly. Hitomi couldn't stand to look at him. The man knelt down, and asked his question one final time. Crying, Van refused at first. But as he continued, he agreed to tell the man what he wanted to know, just so long as he be allowed to die afterward. The man agreed.
Hitomi could only put her face in her hands, as she wept over Van's pleading to have his life end. She couldn't bear it. Folken placed a hand on Hitomi's shoulder. She looked up, tears streaming down her face. "F-Folken…" she gasped between sobs. "Isn't there any-any way that w-we can help him-m?" she looked to his face, hoping, praying for some answer, some way… Folken just lowered his head, a single tear running down his cheek, as he replied.
"No Hitomi. If he was on Gaea, there would be a way, but he is on the Mystic Moon, of which I have no knowledge." She could only look back at the sight of Van, her Van, lying dead as a mangled heap of flesh. She totally gave herself over to her emotions. She couldn't take it. It wasn't fair!! He shouldn't have to die! Not like this! Folken said sadly, "I'm sorry" and with that, everything around her faded from existence, leaving her alone.
She woke up with a start. She suddenly remembered her dream, and the tears came to her again. She grabbed her pillow and held it close to her, as she thought about Van and what would happen to him. Van was going to die, and there was nothing she could do to help him. Nothing. She wept into her pillow, the weeping giving way to sobs, and sobs turning into howls of grief, the darkness of the night her only companion.
****
Whelp, that's it. Hitomi's miserable, Van's gonna die, and Fanelia and the rest of Gaea is screwed. It was a great Fanfic while it lasted, though, wasn't it? Well, bye now!!
*turns to leave and runs into a very large crowd of Van-lovers* Oh, hey ladies! Heh-heh, didn't see you there. So, how'd you like the fic? *They all whip out ropes and various unpleasant things* Oh triple-poopie.
*Runs away screaming from the VLs* Okay, okay!! I'll write another chapter!! It'll be up soon!! Just let me live!!!
