AN: Well, I got this out as fast as I could. I would have had it out yesterday but, I was sick so I couldn't do it. Didn't feel like moving much. Hope you enjoy it. I tried to make it half decent.



Chapter 6



The people in the room turned to see what was happening. Van was on his knees on the floor with Hitomi practically yelling in his ear. The thing that worried them the most, besides Van's pain, was the fact that he wouldn't let Hitomi touch him.

"Stay there!"

"Van, please!"

"No Hitomi, just stay away! Please!" He begged. The pain was too much and he didn't want her to feel it. He knew that if she touched him, she would feel it too and he didn't want her to suffer. It was worse then when Zaibach had captured them and tried to dismantle Escaflowne. He didn't think it was possible to feel pain stronger than that.

Allen was the first to reach his side, already knowing what was going on. There was no way to comfort the suffering king until they stopped whoever it was that had Escaflowne. The knight felt almost useless as he watched the scene.

"A-allen! Get Hitomi out of here!" Van yelled. Somewhere deep in his mind, he knew why Van had requested such a thing. They were connected somehow and Allen himself didn't want Hitomi to feel that.

"What's he talking about? What's going on?" Paige asked.

"We have to keep them apart!" Allen yelled grabbing Hitomi.

"Allen! No! Let me go! Van!" Hitomi cried as she tried to pull away.

"Kai, show Allen where my room is. We can lock her in there for now but, I want explanations." Paige said.

"Wait! I can help! Let me go Allen, you know I can help him! Put me down! Damn you! Van! Please!" Hitomi begged as she kicked and screamed. They placed her in Paige's room and locked the door.

"Man she's got lungs." Kai mutter.

"Ok, what is going on?" Paige asked. Her and Sonya had placed themselves at Van's side trying to find out what was making him yell out in such an awful way.

"We've got to find Escaflowne fast! They're connected. Whatever happens to Escaflowne happens to Van. Whatever they're doing to Escaflowne is going to kill him if we don't stop it!" Allen yelled.

"You're not serious! Please tell me you're not serious!" Paige demanded.

"Dead serious." Allen muttered.

"There's a spare room down the hall. Get him in there now and hold him down. I'm going to email Px and find out what they are doing to Escaflowne. Sonya, go keep Hitomi company. She's probably beyond freaking out right now." Paige instructed.

"On my way." Sonya said. Kai and Allen hauled Van off the floor and took him to the spare room Paige had told them about.

"He's got a lot of strength for a string bean." Kai said.

"Health hasn't been on Van's side lately." Allen replied. Van's thrashing had grown a lot more frequent and they practically had to throw themselves on him to keep him still.

"This is insane! Paige hurry up and tell us what's going!" Kai yelled.

Paige cringed as she listened to Van's growing screams. Tears had began to pour freely down her face as she typed as fast as her fingers would allow her.

*I won't let them hurt anyone else. I swear, I'll do whatever it takes. They won't hurt another innocent person.* She thought to herself.

"Paige!"

Kai's calling brought her out of her thoughts and she quickly ran to the room. The scene startled her and only made her more angry at the people that had done this.

"I sent the email but, I don't know how long it will be before he response. Do you think he can hold out?" She asked.

"I really don't know. Whatever he's feeling though, must feel like hell because I've never seen anybody freak out so bad in my life!" Kai commented. Paige paced the room, looking at them ever so often.

"I can't let him suffer that long." She said at last.

"What do you suggest we do?" Allen asked.

"Well, I might have a plan. It involves Hitomi though." She said.

"What might that plan be?" Kai asked.

"I need Hitomi to see what they are doing. With that out of the way, I might be able to help Van." Paige explained.

"No, Van doesn't want that. He doesn't want her to feel it. I have to respect his wishes." Allen said.

"It'll only be for a minute Allen. Once she sees it, you pull her away. She won't feel it much. There's no other way!" She said. Allen looked at her then to Van. If he had been able to comprehend what they were saying right now, he would kill them all for even thinking it. Paige was right though, there was no other way and he wouldn't survive much more of this.

"Go get her." He muttered. Paige ran out of the room and opened the door to her room to find Hitomi sitting on the bed crying, Sonya had been hugging her.

"Hitomi, we need you to find out what's going on but, you can't stay in there. It will only upset Van and make you even more hysterical then you already are. Do I have your word? Once the procedure is done, I'll let you in to see him ok?" Paige asked. Hitomi nodded and stood to follow Paige.

When she saw how much pain Van was in, she almost broke down again. Words that she had said to him had sprung back in her head and she felt so guilty for saying them now.

Van had surprisingly opened his eyes amongst the pain he felt and spotted her standing off to the side. He could see the guilt in her eyes and wished to make it go away. He couldn't make out what they were saying but, when she walked over to him, he could only guess what they were going to do.

"Let me hold him, you be ready to grab her and get her out of here when we find out what's going on." Paige said. Allen moved out of the way and let Hitomi step in. That's when Van started yelling.

"No! You can't! Don't do it Hitomi!" He yelled.

"It's ok Van, calm down. There's no other way. It won't be long so she will barely feel it." Paige said. Hitomi placed her hands on his shoulders and concentrated on Escaflowne.

Allen waited silently until he heard her yelp as the pain began to consume her. He swiftly but, gently grabbed her and pulled her away from Van. She slumped against him as she tried to regain her senses.

"What did you see?" Paige asked. Hitomi looked up at her in confusion then, she remember what was going on.

"They have this giant machine hooked up to it with some kind of laser or something." Hitomi sputtered.

"Is it hooked to a main power source?" Paige asked.

"Um...yes! Yes it is! They're monitoring their process on a computer!" Hitomi replied.

"Good. Allen take her to rest then get back in here. I know what to do." Paige said.

"What are you going to do Paige?" Kai asked.

"Short their power supply to buy us time." She replied.

"Are you sure that's safe?" He asked.

"Just don't touch me for a few hours."

"Ok, what now?" Allen asked. Paige moved and let Allen hold Van down in her place.

"Is this going to work?" Kai asked.

"Well, if Van can feel Escaflowne's pain it should go the other way around and since Escaflowne doesn't seem to be grounded or rubber..."

"I'm getting it. Just be careful. We don't need to fry him."

"What are you going to do?" Allen asked.

"I'm going to give Van a little jump start. Don't worry, with all the pain he's feeling right now, he probably won't even feel it." Paige said. Hitomi placed her hands on his shoulders and concentrated on Escaflowne.

Allen waited silently until he heard her yelp as the pain began to consume her. He swiftly but, gently grabbed her and pulled her away from Van. She slumped against him as she tried to regain her senses.

"What did you see?" Paige asked. Hitomi looked up at her in confusion then, she remember what was going on.

"They have this giant machine hooked up to it with some kind of laser or something." Hitomi sputtered.

"Is it hooked to a main power source?" Paige asked.

"Um...yes! Yes it is! They're monitoring their process on a computer!" Hitomi replied.

"Good. Allen take her to rest then get back in here. I know what to do." Paige said.

"What are you going to do Paige?" Kai asked.

"Short their power supply to by us time." She replied.

"Are you sure that's safe?" He asked.

"Just don't touch me for a few hours."

"Ok, what now?" Allen asked. Paige moved and let Allen hold Van down in her place.

"Is this going to work?" Kai asked.

"Well, if Van can feel Escaflowne's pain it should go the other way around and since Escaflowne doesn't seem to be grounded or rubber..."

"I'm getting it. Just be careful. We don't need to fry him."

"What are you going to do?" Allen asked.

"I'm going to give Van a little jump start. Don't worry, with all the pain he's feeling right now, he probably won't even feel it." Paige said.

"Allen, hold him as tight as you can and don't touch Paige. Trust me." Kai said. They tightened their grip and waited. Paige place her hands on Van's chest and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, a bluish white light shot from her hands. The blast jolted Van's body upward as little beams of electricity shot through him.

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"What the hell is going on?"

"The computers are going crazy!"

"Josha! What is going on?"

"I'm not sure. Possibly a power serge. We have to shut the system down before it blows. If we don't we could lose everything." Josha said.

"Fine, do it!"

"The generator's blown sir! Whatever that thing just did, it blew the whole thing to hell!"

"Damn, could anything else go wrong? You should be watching for these things! You pathetic ingrates! Fix it now!"

"Yes sir, right away."

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Paige dropped to her knees after she was sure it had been enough. Using such power always took a lot out of her no matter what she was using it for. Kai was by her side in an instant asking if she was ok.

"Never mind me, is Van ok?" She asked.

"His pulse is a little erratic but, I think he'll be ok." Kai replied.

"Did it work?" She asked.

"Like a charm. Almost as soon as you did it, he calmed down. Job well done." Kai said. she smiled but, continued to sit on the floor.

"What was that?" Allen asked.

"It's a really long story. I'll explain later." Paige replied.

"Do you need help?" Kai asked.

"No, don't touch me yet. I'll be ok in a minute. Go let Hitomi out." Paige said. Kai nodded and left the room.



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TBC...



AN: It probably wasn't as long as it could have been but, I'm going out tonight. Yay! The first night I've been out of the prison in 2 weeks! Yay! Thank you for the reviews. Every one counts! Please keep reviewing! I like seeing them! TTFN! ^__^