Sorry for the wait... but ever since I last updated, my days have been hell. My weekends were booked, I got a huge Spanish project last Thursday that's due next week, and to make things worse, my grandma died. So after missing school, going to the funeral, and doing a project, I haven't had any time to write. So sorry but I hope you all understand.

(To make it up to you... Allen gets whopped!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or any of the characters... well except for the ones I made.

While the other Dragonslayers were fighting off a now recovered Van, Dilandau took the chance to fly back to the Vione and get Hitomi inside. He landed his guymelef in the open door, glanced at Hitomi again, and set her down on the metal floor. He turned around and flew out and back into battle. All the while Hitomi stood there and prayed for his and the Dragonslayers safe return.

Chapter 14: Gotta Hurt

The battle ensued in the air with three Dragonslayer armors battling Van. As Dilandau got closer, he could see levi-ships coming towards them. Without warning, one of them shot an onboard cannon straight towards his Dragonslayers. He watched with alarm as the shot just skimmed the arm of a guymelef.

Dilandau yelled through the intercom, "Shesta! Miguel! Gatty! Get back to the Vione! I'll take care of Van..."

With the order given, Dilandau's red guymelef flew straight towards Van who was trying to go after the Dragonslayers.

"Where is Hitomi!" Van yelled.

"Last time I checked, she was falling towards the ground." Dilandau coolly replied.

Anger rose within the young king. "I saw you take her! Now where is she?!"

"I'm not going to tell you. It's her choice of where she wants to be."

"You didn't give her a choice! You took her!"

Their battle continued on and the levi-ships went by them, not even doing a thing to stop their fighting.

~Hitomi~

Hitomi watched as the ships grew closer and as Van and Dilandau went at each other's throats. As she stared off into the distance, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking behind her, Folken stood with an expressionless face. After looking out for a moment, he turned his gaze to Hitomi and gave her a slight smile.

"Thank you." Folken stated to her simply.

"For what?" Hitomi looked at him curiously.

She turned her attention back to the sky where the attack was coming from. Something dawned upon her. Looking around her inside the Vione, many soldiers stood ready to fight... she had brought this attack upon them. It was her fault she found where the Vione was positioned. 'It's all my fault... it's all my... fault...' she kept telling herself.

Folken answered her previous question. "You warned us ahead of time that an attack was coming."

"But I was the one who told them where you were! I brought the attack on... and you're thanking me?" Hitomi stated in disbelief.

Folken shook his head. "You don't understand. It's much better that we are prepared for this... if by some other chance we were attacked without warning, we would be at a disadvantage in this war. But now we have a chance to get ahead and beat Austuria's army down. Thanks to you, we had time to get ready and counter with full force."

"Oh... I hope you don't look at me as a traitor or..." she was cut off my Folken.

"No... we don't see you as a traitor or spy or anything of that sort. Van took you with him against your own will." He paused for a second, "The ships are drawing nearer. Follow me."

Hitomi went with Folken away from the docking area. They didn't go to far until Folken stopped in front of a doorway and told Hitomi to wait where she was. When he walked back out a minute later, he carried a long stick... but when the light shone upon it, Hitomi recognized it as her training weapon.

Her eyes shinned as she gazed upon her weapon, but gave Folken a queer look. He handed the glaive, which still only had a dull metal blade, to Hitomi's waiting hands.

"Will you assist us in our fight?" he asked her.

"I... I really don't... think I can do it..."

"Hitomi... I believe you can do it. You have worked very hard in practicing and you have already knocked a full grown man unconscious. I think you could disable some of the soldiers we are fighting against... but only if you wish to."

Hitomi let out a sigh. 'Can I really do this? Can I fight in a real battle?'

If Folken had enough confidence in her, then Hitomi would too. She nodded her head in agreement and followed Folken out the way they came.

All soldiers stood ready to fight and were waiting till the opposing forces charged out of their ships. Austuria's ships slowed down and let the wide doors fly open, making a giant bridge between their ships and the Vione. Soldiers ran out instantly and steel clashed against steel.

Screams could be heard coming from those who had just been stabbed and now lay dying. The docking area became so cluttered that it was hard to tell if the person you bumped into was an ally or foe. Some of the Zaibachian soldiers ran from the main battle to drag some of the opposing fighters away. Neither side was letting down and it seemed both sides were evenly matched.

Outside, Van and Dilandau continued to duke it out. They had actually flown quite a distance away from the Vione, but either noticed. Both flew as high as the clouds and tried to sneak up on each other, but with Van being able to sense the attacks that were coming, he was able to move out of the way fast enough. Dilandau shot his crima-claw into the clouds to try and fish Van out. It worked many times and once it nearly knocked Van off Escaflowne. Their battle continued on just the same as the Vione's.

Hitomi kept a distance away from the large group of fighters but when anyone was near her, or turned their back on her, Hitomi would lash out with her glaive. She would try to hit them in the head to possibly get them unconscious or sometimes go straight for their legs.

Hitomi saw a soldier that was about to stab another in the back. She was going to yell but thought better of it and ran up to him. She swung her stick straight into the enemy's face making him drop his sword and stagger back a few steps. Hitomi didn't waste any time in whacking the backside of the man's head, making him black out instantly.

Hitomi continued to do her best with the little training she had had, but she started to feel her muscles getting weary. The adrenaline was still pumping but her body begged for a rest.

Just as she started to back away, Hitomi bumped into something and whipped around to face whomever it was. The opposing person did the same, but instead of getting ready to fight, he let down his sword.

"Hitomi... what are you doing here? We have to get you out! Why didn't Van bring you back?"

Allen... the blond haired knight stood in front of Hitomi and looked at her weirdly.

"I'm not going back Allen. Didn't you see at all on the Crusade what happened?!" Hitomi yelled at him.

"No... I was making sure everything was prepared and ready. Van was supposed to bring you right back to the Crusade once the way was clear for all the levi-ships."

Hitomi laughed slightly to herself. "I had a slight change in plans. I'm on Zaibach's side Allen. Not yours. You will never be able to use me like a tool... ever again."

Allen looked at her in disbelief. "But Hitomi... we would never use you like a too..."

"Don't try and deny it! I heard you and Van speaking a few nights ago. I heard it all. And everything you have said about Zaibach being evil isn't true. You just say that to make others feel sympathy for you and help you win this stupid war! I'm not going to be pushed around by your words or requests any more! I am so tired of being a doll where everyone gets a turn to manipulate me! From now on I'll take care of myself and make my own decisions! So just back off!"

Allen looked seriously stunned by Hitomi's words but recovered quickly.

Then Allen said, "Don't make me take you by force Hitomi."

"Try me."

Hitomi's weariness all went down the drain and pure strength and the fighting spirit entered her blood. She grabbed her glaive firmly and lashed out at an unsuspecting Allen. He brought his sword up in just enough time to block the swing. Hitomi took a quick step back making Allen fall forward until he caught himself.

Allen regained his stance and glared at Hitomi. "Are you sure you don't want to change your mind about just coming with me?"

He was answered when Hitomi charged at him once again. Using the length of the pole, Hitomi pushed the end of the glaive straight toward his stomach. The unsharpened blade rammed right into Allen's gut. He flew back a few steps while one of his arms wrapped around his abdomen.

Hitomi smiled victoriously, but it looked as if Allen wasn't about to give up. Trying to show his strength and not look weak compared to Hitomi, Allen stood up straight and tried not to show his pain. This time Allen charged at Hitomi, but she was ready and parried his attack. He tried with a slash straight down, but almost instantly Hitomi held her glaive with both hands above her head to block. Trying to push down with his weight, Allen would have never seen what was coming.

One of Hitomi's hands let go of the stick making one side fall and along with it, Allen and his sword slid straight towards the ground. Allen didn't have time to react and fell on hands and knees to the ground. He used his sword to push himself up again, but he wouldn't stay up for long. Just as his knees left the ground, Hitomi swung the wood end of the stick underneath him. Using her left hand as a fulcrum, she pushed down on the opposite end of the glaive, like a lever, with her right hand causing the stick to strike right into Allen's crotch.

His eyes became as big as dinner plates and his mouth opened wide, silently screaming. Hitomi took a step back as he fell straight onto the floor. Hitomi smiled in success.

"Never underestimate me."

But all thoughts of Hitomi's victory were wiped away when another vision overcame her.

She was in the clouds and couldn't see anything around her. Then the clouds parted a little and the sun was directly in her eyes. She couldn't see anything but heard something rushing towards her. When Hitomi whipped around, she saw a red guymelef that was also facing the sun. When Hitomi looked forward again, she squinted her eyes against the harsh light and saw a reflection of pink.

'That's energist stone on Escaflowne!' Hitomi thought to herself. 'Escaflowne's charging straight for the red guymelef... red guymelef? That's... that's Dilandau's!'

Hitomi's vision snapped back to the battle on the Vione. She immediately played her vision over in her mind. 'If I was facing the sun... and Dilandau was too... then he won't be able to see Van coming! Shit! I need to do something!'

Nothing came to mind as Hitomi frantically searched in her mind for some way to warn Dilandau. She couldn't reach him by his mind... she could only do that in sleep...

She looked around her until something caught her eye. She never had used one before... but it was the only way. The only way she could get to Dilandau in time was to fly there. The fastest way to fly was by guymelef.

Cliffhanger I know! I'll update ASAP. Hope you like it! R&R!