AN: Well, long time no update n__n;; This chapter is a TAD shorter then the others, but that's because it's sort of a transition chapter... Next chapter SHOULD have a battle... Please review! And fluff will come! I swear it!

The mountains below the leviship were swathed in bitter rain, ebony clouds tumbling past, mother nature throwing her fury on the world. A blonde figure padded down the quiet hallways, the cool of the ground bringing down the temperature of her body. Worry had been gnawing at her for too long to allow sleep to settle her for the night, and rubbing her violet eyes slightly, Millerna gently opened the door to Hitomi's room. As her pupils changed to adjust to the darkness, a pool of golden light leaked into the room, and Millerna shrieked loudly as her eyes met a disturbing sight.

Immediately a young warrior was at her side, and bowing, Jade questioned the princess after standing up curtly. Her gaze did not explore the room, rather tried to catch Millerna's as the princess' mouth was dropped open.

No reply was granted to Jade, however, as Millerna quickly grabbed her wits and bolted into the room, followed by Jade. The king and seeress were holding on to each other, writhing and screaming their hearts out, pain screwing their features into tight, horrified expressions. Suddenly Hitomi lurched back, Millerna swearing that her spinal cord would snap should the angle be any more drastic, her left shoulder twisted, as if someone was controlling her. Van was pushed off Hitomi's body, off his chair, against the back wall, with a blood curdling yell by some force. Unsheathing her sword, Jade held out the flat side of her sword and gently sliced it through the air surrounding Hitomi, using the blade as a guide to check for rippling air.

"Hitomi, Hitomi!" Millerna yelled as she snapped her fingers sharply over Hitomi's face, "Hitomi!!" she continued, gently shaking the girl by the shoulders.

"There's no invisible force physically here," Jade concluded, sheathing her sword with a sharp slice, "Even invisible creatures cause the air to ripple around them." Striding across the room and lifting Van up, Jade's eyes flickered as the king lurched back slightly, before slumping down again.

***

"SORA!" Garnaut demanded, whipping the now empty small bottle that had contained Hitomi's blood across the room straight into a guard's eye. As the youth went crumpling to the ground, a piece of blood coated glass wedged into the softness of his eyeball, the Emperor turned his back and waved for him to be tossed off the cliff near the palace. A few guards nodded briskly, and as half of them dealt with disposing the cracked glass and blood the others dragged their once comrade to be also disposed.

"Yes, Emperor?" the woman replied, her ethereal eyelashes barely fluttering as Garnaut whirled around to meet her head on.

"Why can't I duplicate the Hybrids?" he yelled, the veins on his head accentuating the black design printed on his face. His hands were shaking from fury, and the stem of his wine glass snapped cleanly as clenched his jaw.

"You did not meet the requirements," she replied simply, blinking innocently, much to the man's aggravation.

"I met them all," Garnaut replied sharply, and laughing, Sora span, her form fraying away into a peridot colored cloud, then clearing into nothing. Panning his gaze sharply around the room, Garnaut cursed loudly as she was no where to be found. Seating himself on his throne, he ordered for another glass of wine with a careless wave of his hand.

"The mystic died before the blood touched your lips," came an impish laugh in his ear, "However she's alive again," Sora added, her voice muffled with a bubbly laugh of insane delight threaded with malice. The sound of bells were faintly audible as the green cloud could be seen disappearing again, leaving the scent of damp earth and lily of the valley.

"Curse that woman!" Garnaut bellowed as he strode over to the suits of armor lining the walls of the room, sending them crashing down as if they were a pyramid of wine glasses.

"Emperor Garnaut," came the clipped voice of one of his generals as he strode in, "We've lost our element of surprise--"

"I'M QUITE AWARE," Garnaut shrieked, sending a wine glass flying, the general ducking wisely. "I AM QUITE. AWARE. THAT MY ELEMENT OF SURPRISE IS GONE!!!" he screamed, hurling a breast plate at the man.

"What do you wish for our next step of action to be?" the general asked calmly, side stepping the armor efficiently. As the Emperor's shoulders shook madly, panting for air, his face flushed from anger, he sat down resolutely after calming himself. As he drummed his fingers to a mad beat on the arm of his throne, he allowed his thoughts to sink and lull through his head, his brow creasing with each passing second.

The surprise was gone.

An advantage was gone.

…It was all that wench's fault.

Letting out a cry of frustration, he leaned over one of the arms on his throne, and grabbing one of the two guards standing by him, rammed his thumb into the left eye of his victim. A malicious smile graced Garnaut's features as the warm liquid trickled over his thumb, the poor guard shuddering wildly. As the guard's scream could be heard through out the fortress, Garnaut unsheathed the sword on the guard's waist and sliced the boy's gut open like a cat fish. The veins on Garnaut's face calmed down, his features relaxing, his eyes glazing over as if he had some sort of sick high.

"Better. Now find the mystic whore. And bring her here."

***

He saw her. Floating, her hair arranged around her as her green eyes hung open, lax. Her lips were parted, her head lolling around her neck as she sunk lower and lower, the water around her turning a midnight black.

"Hitomi," he tried to call, but all that came out of his mouth was round bubbles. Kicking frantically over to her, hand extended as she sunk lower, her hand seemed to float up, as if to reach his.

But the force at hand would not relent.

And then slowly... Her arm dropped, and her head bowed down.

This is the way it has to be.

***

"What's wrong?" Aurelia asked worriedly, as her blue eyes widened in horror at the sight before. Hitomi was writhing back and forth on the bed, her mouth opening as her features tensed as if she were screaming, but no sound emitted from her mouth. Van had both hands clasped around one of Hitomi's, his own maroon eyes off cast, and suddenly he rocked out of his chair and fell to the floor, the sound similar to the crash of a great tree in a forest.

"Van!" Aurelia exclaimed, and kneeling down she brought him up in her arms. His eyes flew open, his eyes rolling back in his head as a hiccupped sob escaped Aurelia's thick throat. "Please wake up," she whispered, "Don't leave me." Resting the angle of her face in the crook of his neck, her tears mixed with the thin layer of perspiration on his skin, his hand cold and clammy.

***

As the cracked vial lay in the garbage can, the last droplet of Hitomi's taken blood slid slowly along the smooth glass, then dripped off the end into the black space.

***

A sound that was a cross between a groan and a grunt escaped Hitomi's throat as her writhing settled down. Green eyes met the dim lighting of the room, and she took in a deep breath as the twisting in her head stopped. Dropping her head to the side, she saw Millerna nearly faint in relief, Jade expressionless, and Van slowly waking up in Aurelia's arms.

"It's going to be okay now," Aurelia smiled, not only at Van, but at everyone. "It'll be alright now."

Finding sanctuary in his fiancée's arms, Van breathed in and out, the indescribable pain leaving him, flowing out of him by his finger tips. Exhaustion and fatigue now bombed at him, and slowly getting on one knee, Aurelia placed one arm around her neck and helped him up. His legs slunk to the floor, and clenching her jaw from the effort, Jade flickered a glance at the two, then put Van's other arm around her neck and helped the princess escort the king to his room.

"It's like nothing happened at all," Millerna muttered, feeling Hitomi's forehead and checking her pupils.

"Sure doesn't feel that way," Hitomi smiled wryly, Millerna patting Hitomi's forehead with a damp cloth.

"Do you need someone to stay with you?" Millerna asked, and Hitomi shook her head vigorously.

"Just some peace and quiet and I'll be fine," she smiled optimistically, and Millerna smiled hesitantly back.

"I'll check on you every so often," Millerna nodded, looking at the door then Hitomi.

"Good night Millerna," Hitomi urged.

"Goodnight."

As the princess left, the door shutting with a soft click, Hitomi exhaled sharply. She couldn't deny the fact that her heart was killing her right now, that Aurelia and Jade pulling Van away from her was almost the final sign that it was meant to be that way.

Just need some sympathy
And then time
Is taking it's toll
I'm afraid I'll sink deeper and deeper
I'm sick of these tendencies and then

It was time to grow up; and hugging herself she shut her eyes allowing sleep to relieve her, the last image in her mind a younger version of Van smiling at her.

I know
I just can't make it good
But if I could show you the world
And the way I think that it should turn.