Hey! What is this? Number 23? Well, welcome back! Bozena tosses and
turns while sleeping. "So close...almost at...the end... Also, B and K, like
promised. You gave me back my disc, I write you another chapter. (Wow, is
that some kind of twisted blackmail or what?) Bozena says "hi" to
Cloudygirl and Kyaa77!
No poems. No disclaimers. Let's get to the good stuff. .......................................................................................
Suddenly, the crashes, yells, and curses that shook the battlefield silenced. The silence rang in the warrior's ears; they were unused to the absence of the harsh noises. The blonde knight fighting the black-haired angel with green eyes barely kept his balance when the ground trembled violently. Serena, along side Riven, had already tumbled to the ground at the first quake. Abruptly, a white-blue pillar of light pierced through the sky and a massive shadow crashed to the ground. When the dizzying blotches in Allen's sight faded, he gasped. An ancient guymelef loomed over him. The beating energist inside of its heart gave a defiant, joyful flash.
"Escaflowne..." Allen swore to himself, fight completely forgotten. A huge shadow passed along the ground, above the ancient protector god and the Fanelia-dragon over head bellowed a roar that resounded through the battle field in a keening cry. Slowly, the Escaflowne stood and in an awkward movement, and pulled a great sword from its back.
Van didn't remember ever climbing into the Escaflowne's cockpit. The blue light had come and he had found himself inside the once dormant guymelef's now living form. He was ready. He could feel the incredible power of the Escaflowne pulsing around him. Van knew what he had to do. He was going to fight for Hitomi. He was going to fight for peace, fight for Fanelia, fight for Gaea. Van was even fighting for the draconians.
The Young King didn't want to kill again. But...he couldn't ignore his power, just like he couldn't deny his heritage or his responsibility. A passionate fire burned in his heart and gave him hope. It would be alright. Everything would turn out okay in the end. Till then, he would do everything he could to protect the gates of his country.
..........
At once, the tide of the battle was turned. The giant guymelef sliced through the enemy ranks of mechas like paper. The people, encouraged by the strength of their great god and their king rushed forward. Gaddes shouted and the Crusade's men charged, yelling and catcalling each other. "All you can drink to whoever takes down the first one!"
.....................
"Ahhh!" Van shouted ah a thrust forward with the huge sword, feeling it hum with energy. Everything the sword touched burned. Beams of bright green light shot from the energist embedded into the Escaflowne's mighty armor and incinerated anything unlucky enough to be caught in their path. "Yes. Yes! C'mon Escaflowne. We can do this!" Van shouted exuberantly. It had been so long. He forgot the amazing feeling that the power of the Escaflowne fused into his blood. The dragon in his mind had been reawakened by Hitomi. It exalted in its new life, roared triumphantly in all its power, but... the dark joy in each drop of blood the dragon took was gone. The dragon's fury, the Escaflowne's power...was empty. The angel of peace was now bound into the Escaflowne and the dragon's blood and soul and had taken that fierce dark power away. Somehow... because part of it was gone, the dragon's call was empty. Van slowly began to realize, with rising dismay, that the Escaflowne was bound, captured...held back. After the first rush of power, Van instinctively sensed a limit deep within the Escaflowne that he had never felt before. Van was slowly losing the tide of the battle. No! everything depended on this war! Everything depended on this fight! "Escaflowne! What's wrong?" Van shouted in frustration. He dodged a crimi- claw, but the speed of the ancient guymelef's movements were decreasing. It was like the powerful suit had already climaxed and its performance was rapidly falling. Van was a soldier. He knew that if he could find out what was wrong with the Escaflowne....he was dead. He was too big of a target to slow now. In the frantic chaos of the battle, Van shoved all of his warrior instincts to the back of his mind and committed the greatest sin he could imagine in the middle of a battle. He closed his eyes. Van felt the pendant burning over his chest. The pendant swung. What's wrong? It swung back. Escaflowne's never had a limit before. What's holding us back? Another swing. And then he sensed her. She had one hand on the dragon's neck, calming his fury, holding him back. The angel. Hitomi. Why?! He cried out in his mind. Why are you holding me back from protecting you? I am peace. Ultimate true peace. You can't have both the Escaflowne's power and peace. This is what you wanted for so long, isn't it? Peace? Hitomi died so we could have peace. She...she's not dead. She's you. Your Hitomi! The angel shook her head, sending her gold, silken hair to caress moonlight skin and hide her endless, ageless eyes. No. I am part of Hitomi. In the Fate Alteration machine, Hitomi's destiny was split. Part of her is me. Peace. Part of her lives only in you. The part of Hitomi that grew up on the Mystic Moon drained into you, to keep the dragon's despair from consuming himself. That is the limit you search so hard for. In true, complete peace...Escaflowne does not exist. It's slowly fading away. It's in this that the Fate Alteration Machine enters a paradox. No. No. If Hitomi was dead, I would know. I would feel it. Hitomi! Don't you remember? HITOMI!
The angel smiled gently at Van. I love you. True peace exists on perfect love.
Van separate now from the great battle he stood in the middle of, looked down at the fight through the eyes of the ultimate draconian, through "Peace." He watched the souls of the dead, some weeping, some in fury, some still living in the fight. He watched the fallen men slowly dying. Van watched the soldiers killing in a consuming battle fury. If you are truly Peace, Van said, his voice choked with emotion. Then you can carry the sorrow of the dead! Back on the field, the Escaflowne suddenly transformed into a towering white dragon. Van rose slowly from the cockpit. His wings, only recently broken and bloody, had been healed by peace. They rose proudly from his shoulders and softly glowed against the tears drenching his face. Van didn't say anything. No words could have expressed all of the emotions, hope, despair, denial, longing, sadness...calm, the squeezed the air out of his lungs. Instead, he looked up. Above Van, floated the angel. Her wings gracefully sent ripple through the air, as she hovered in front of this boy who was now truly a king. The din below them slowly faded as one by one every eye on the field was trained the ethereal light. "None of this really matters, does it?" Van spoke softly to the angel, never taking his eyes off her but gesturing down towards to fighting below. "There will always be wars. There will always be sadness. But...there will always be happiness, won't there? The sun will set over water and someone will be at peace while they watch it. You may never be able to touch a sunset, but----you never really appreciate it until you can't have it." Van smiled slightly, the understanding in his amber eyes was deep. Van took a deep breath, the hard muscles on his chest rising and falling in a sigh. "I don't think that peace can exist without conflict. You can never really appreciate peace unless there has been war. It's sad, but...life needs to have good parts...and bad parts. I want to build my country one step at a time, growing from every defeat and every victory." Thank you, Folken, Van thought. For teaching me. Van bravely stared into the angel's beautiful, terrible gaze. "Please." He whispered. "Give Hitomi back to me. I love her. She's my sunrise. All of this is worthless without her." The angel stared at the young king, watching the tears flowing down his cheeks, the depth of his understanding, the depth of his love. The unearthly silk wrapped around her slender form danced gracefully in the wind. Slowly, a tear pooled, then ran down her cheek. Suddenly a small cry was rent from the angel's perfect lips as an arrow pierced through her shoulder, inches above her chest. Red blood stained dark against the bright white silk of the angel's dress. In slow motion, the goddess' wings stopped and she fell forward, tumbling into Van's frozen arms. Below on the harsh mud of the battle field, Riven, the twin with draconian blood, stared down at the bow in his hands like it belonged to someone else. He stared from his hands to cockpit of the Escaflowne, where all he could see was a graceful arm draped over the side with blood marring the translucent white skin. Riven turned quickly when he heard footsteps behind him. Before his throat even tightened into a scream, Allen sliced his blade through Riven's neck. Allen stared down at Riven's fallen carcass, a mixture of horror, disbelief and disgust on his face. "Riven!" Serene screamed. She lunged towards Allen. The blonde knight brought his sword up before he realized it and jerked in horror when he saw the sword slide through the girl's chest with sickening ease.
........ Van knew it was too late. The arrow had tilted when it entered her shoulder. It had nicked a lung and her heart. Van's hands shook as he slowly touched the angel's cheek. She coughed once and a tiny drop of blood rose on her pale lips. She coughed once more. Her last expression made Van clench his teeth. The angel's face never changed once from a look of tranquility and peace. The tear still clung to her skin. Reluctantly, it fell away from the angel, seemed to crystallize and hit the floor of the Escaflowne's cockpit with a ping. The moment the celestial light faded from the angel's eye, Hitomi's eyes, the heavens above them suddenly split apart. There was no sound, but all the same a deafening whirlwind of noise crashed down onto Gaea. There was light everywhere and suddenly there were draconians filling the skies. The death of the perfect angel had ripped open the two dimensions. One soldier suddenly collapsed backwards onto the ground and another covered his head with his arms. A howl of pain and rage rose above the silent chaos. "NO!" Van slammed his fist into the solid metal of the Escaflowne. He carefully scooped up the fallen angel into his arms and gently closed her open, staring eyes. Don't leave me. Take me with you! I never want to be without you again. Van barely noticed someone suddenly beside him. He turned to see Aronic in an exotic gown of beautiful gems and chains. Her wings gently brushed his shoulders. "Leave. Don't come near her." He forced out in a hard voice. For a second you could see the fear on Aronic's face, but resolve flashed in her eyes when she gazed down at the angel, at the perfect draconian, at Hitomi. She parted a length of silk draped over her shoulders and revealed the small dragon boy that Merle had found so long ago. "Go, little one," she whispered to it. It wasn't a command, it was a prayer. She gently set the Halfling down. The small boy stood shakily on his feet, the new wings protruding awkwardly from his back throwing his balance. Reptilian eyes followed Van as Keman took shaky steps forward. Van drew back instinctively with a feral look in his burning eyes. He wasn't going to let anyone close to the body of the angel who wore the face of the dearest person in the world to him. A small mewing sound of distress came from Keman. He tottered forward with his hands out, reaching for Van. That tiniest sound reached Van, down to his very core, the part that was in too much anguish to touch. In a sharp movement, he fell to his knees. He kept his head down, his eyes hidden by his black unruly hair as the boy approached. "Please leave," Van whispered brokenly to the dragon child. Keman slowly reached forward with his small hand and placed one finger on the angel's lips, and looked unhappy when he realized that no air was coming from behind those lips. The child glanced back at Aronic once and she nodded. Keman held one hand out towards Van. In his palm, a spark started to grow and soon a miniature energist lay in the dragon boy's palm. The gem floated down to rest onto the angel's blood-soaked chest. In a flash of light, it was absorbed into her skin and the small boy was gone. Van dropped the angel and cried out as if she had burned him. The angel was slowly changing. Her hair became shorter and darkened into a comfortable tawny color. Her skin gained a rosy, healthy hue. Van felt...drained. Emotions, feelings, breath, even the very blood in his veins seemed to be leeching out of him. Van felt his heart contract painfully and felt...a corresponding beat. In sync with his. And last...a bridge a connection was slowly shaping itself inside his head with a rush of memories. Laughter. A warm smile. An exasperated sigh. The first rush of skin against skin. Lips touching. Air rushing by. Loneliness, hunger, the small tugging of the back of his shirt. Everything that was her. Hitomi. Van stood, not really aware of anything, but strangely aware of the warn sunshine, falling lightly on his face. He couldn't even bring himself to move, to touch her. Slowly, her eyes opened, dancing green eyes filled with light and shadows, now filled with confusion. White wings still arched from Hitomi's shoulders. Her trembling body was still covered in an unearthly white silk, stained with blood. A beautiful white feather still hung around Hitomi's neck, but at the very base of the feather, a small crystal teardrop was embedded in the stem. Above the two lovers, the draconians soared through the sky, a breath- taking sight that the soldiers looking up from the ground would never forget. ............................................................................... Aoki woke up gradually in a strange bed. He wasn't an early morning person. In fact, he had probably been lightly dozing for hours. It might even be passed noon. He sighed, gaining consciousness more quickly than he would have liked. This bed was really warm... "Wake up! You've been asleep forever!" Somebody poked him. "Go 'way," he muttered and turned over. "C'mon! It's past lunch time! Wake up!" Suddenly, who ever was bothering him was jumping on top of him. "Leave me alone!" Aoki sat up, angrily. He stopped. He was staring into pretty blue eyes...his gazed moved upwards to the girl---he gulped---cat ears?! The strange cat-girl purred and licked his face. "My name's Merle," she said casually, blushing a little. "It's time to get up lazy. Don't you want to eat? Don't you want to see your friends? Hitomi's been really worried about you." "Hitomi?" Aoki exclaimed. "Wait a minuet! Where the heck am I?" Merle rolled her eyes. "You're the last one to get up. We already explained this a hundred times to the other foreigners. Just come on!" Merle tugged the seriously confused boy out of bed and into a sun filled ante-chamber. "Aoki!" His best friend, Hajime Kanzaki, bowled him over. "I thought you were going to sleep till you died of starvation!" Aoki looked past Hajime's shoulder and saw the strangest gathering of people he had ever witnessed. He saw The Kanzaki's, Hitomi's friends Yukari and Amano, Hitomi dressed in really weird clothing, and a blonde man arguing in a corner with a dark man in sunglasses. Beside Hitomi was a pretty blonde with short hair talking animatedly and gesturing wildly, an elegant woman with long blond hair checking Hitomi's pulse and an intense boy with dark hair that seemed way too familiar pacing in front of an empty fire pace... Aoki looked outside for the first time through a window right to his left. "Oh my god! Is that the Earth?" he yelled. Everyone's attention in the room immediately fixed on him. "Oh god, another one," the blonde man in the corner groaned. Hitomi tried to stand up, but six pairs of hands pushed her back into her seat. Eventually, everything was explained to Aoki. He joined Hitomi's friend Amano however, in his reluctance to believe what he was hearing, even if the truth was in front of his very eyes. "Hitomi-san...does that mean that you're staying here?" Aoki asked slowly. Hitomi quickly glanced at her mother and Yukari looked away. Hitomi turned to Aoki and nodded. "Why...why are you staying here if all of us," Aoki motioned towards Hitomi's family and friends. "Are going home? Earth is your home too, isn't it?" Hitomi shook her head, unable to meet the eyes of anyone in the room. "No, Aoki-Chan. My home...is here. I need to be here, in Gaea. I---I don't want to say good-bye, but..." She broke off, unable to continue. The hair on the back of Aoki's neck stood up on end when he received a scalding glance from the man with unruly dark hair and exotic red amber eyes. He could read that clearly. It meant "Back off or I'll hurt you. Bad." Tension increased in the room. The dark-haired man in the corner suddenly spoke up, "Well, I can't stand around here all day with you foreigners. I'm still an important ambassador with a lot of important things to do," Dryden said cockily. Allen snorted.
Selena grinned and piped up, "I'll come with you!" And with mock seriousness, offered her arm to Dryden to escort her out of the room. Allen opened his mouth in protest and step forward angrily to follow his sister's retreating back. Millerna caught his arm. "Allen, why don't you come with me instead? I need some help in the hospital." Allen looked like he still wanted to make sure his sister had more than 10 feet of breathing room, but one pleading look from Millerna broke down all of his resistance. As they walked out the door, Millerna smiled apologetically at Allen. "I'm sorry, but Hitomi hasn't seen her family in a really long time. It would be nice if we could give them some time together." Allen nodded. "So...how are your patients doing at the hospital?" he asked. Millerna sighed, "I don't know what they'll do when I have to leave. Too many people are still injured from the battle, but Sister and I have been away from Asturia longer than we should have." "What will you do when you get back to Asturia, Princess?" Millerna frowned at the title. "I really don't know." She looked away. Allen clenched his fist, then suddenly grabbed Millerna's wrist. Her exclamation was suddenly cut off when he brought his mouth down on hers. "Millerna...I..." Allen couldn't seem to find the right words. "...Your eyes are beautiful. They're so blue," he said as if in afterthought. "You're the most independent woman I know, but... why can't you..." Allen growled in frustration. "No! I said that wrong! I didn't mean that the way it sounded. ---I cared about Marlene. I care about Hitomi. But, I just can't seem to be the same without you. I've missed you so much since the Great War. And I..." Allen looked away, his frustration and discomfort evident is his sky blue gaze. "I just want you to rely on me, because---because I love you." When, Millerna didn't say anything, Allen gave a small sigh and a pathetic little smile. "My apologies, Princess. It was unchivalorous for me to bring up such an indelicate matter..." Allen was cut off when Millerna reached up to touch his cheek. "I've been waiting for you to say that for a very long time. It was very rude of you to keep me waiting." Allen's gaze snapped to hers in disbelief. Then, slowly a blinding smile made his expression exuberant. "My most sincere apologies, Princess."
...................................................... Yukari couldn't seem to stop the tears. So much had happened to Hitomi that she had had no idea about. And...she really didn't want to leave Hitomi now that she knew. It all seemed too radical to believe. Hitomi swore that Yukari had witnessed her being taken the first time into Gaea, but all Yukari drew was a blank. Hitomi also said that they had met that boy, who was supposedly a king before. She had said he had even been inside their house! Aoki was the only one who even had foggy memories of Hitomi's young king, and it didn't seem like they were good memories.
No poems. No disclaimers. Let's get to the good stuff. .......................................................................................
Suddenly, the crashes, yells, and curses that shook the battlefield silenced. The silence rang in the warrior's ears; they were unused to the absence of the harsh noises. The blonde knight fighting the black-haired angel with green eyes barely kept his balance when the ground trembled violently. Serena, along side Riven, had already tumbled to the ground at the first quake. Abruptly, a white-blue pillar of light pierced through the sky and a massive shadow crashed to the ground. When the dizzying blotches in Allen's sight faded, he gasped. An ancient guymelef loomed over him. The beating energist inside of its heart gave a defiant, joyful flash.
"Escaflowne..." Allen swore to himself, fight completely forgotten. A huge shadow passed along the ground, above the ancient protector god and the Fanelia-dragon over head bellowed a roar that resounded through the battle field in a keening cry. Slowly, the Escaflowne stood and in an awkward movement, and pulled a great sword from its back.
Van didn't remember ever climbing into the Escaflowne's cockpit. The blue light had come and he had found himself inside the once dormant guymelef's now living form. He was ready. He could feel the incredible power of the Escaflowne pulsing around him. Van knew what he had to do. He was going to fight for Hitomi. He was going to fight for peace, fight for Fanelia, fight for Gaea. Van was even fighting for the draconians.
The Young King didn't want to kill again. But...he couldn't ignore his power, just like he couldn't deny his heritage or his responsibility. A passionate fire burned in his heart and gave him hope. It would be alright. Everything would turn out okay in the end. Till then, he would do everything he could to protect the gates of his country.
..........
At once, the tide of the battle was turned. The giant guymelef sliced through the enemy ranks of mechas like paper. The people, encouraged by the strength of their great god and their king rushed forward. Gaddes shouted and the Crusade's men charged, yelling and catcalling each other. "All you can drink to whoever takes down the first one!"
.....................
"Ahhh!" Van shouted ah a thrust forward with the huge sword, feeling it hum with energy. Everything the sword touched burned. Beams of bright green light shot from the energist embedded into the Escaflowne's mighty armor and incinerated anything unlucky enough to be caught in their path. "Yes. Yes! C'mon Escaflowne. We can do this!" Van shouted exuberantly. It had been so long. He forgot the amazing feeling that the power of the Escaflowne fused into his blood. The dragon in his mind had been reawakened by Hitomi. It exalted in its new life, roared triumphantly in all its power, but... the dark joy in each drop of blood the dragon took was gone. The dragon's fury, the Escaflowne's power...was empty. The angel of peace was now bound into the Escaflowne and the dragon's blood and soul and had taken that fierce dark power away. Somehow... because part of it was gone, the dragon's call was empty. Van slowly began to realize, with rising dismay, that the Escaflowne was bound, captured...held back. After the first rush of power, Van instinctively sensed a limit deep within the Escaflowne that he had never felt before. Van was slowly losing the tide of the battle. No! everything depended on this war! Everything depended on this fight! "Escaflowne! What's wrong?" Van shouted in frustration. He dodged a crimi- claw, but the speed of the ancient guymelef's movements were decreasing. It was like the powerful suit had already climaxed and its performance was rapidly falling. Van was a soldier. He knew that if he could find out what was wrong with the Escaflowne....he was dead. He was too big of a target to slow now. In the frantic chaos of the battle, Van shoved all of his warrior instincts to the back of his mind and committed the greatest sin he could imagine in the middle of a battle. He closed his eyes. Van felt the pendant burning over his chest. The pendant swung. What's wrong? It swung back. Escaflowne's never had a limit before. What's holding us back? Another swing. And then he sensed her. She had one hand on the dragon's neck, calming his fury, holding him back. The angel. Hitomi. Why?! He cried out in his mind. Why are you holding me back from protecting you? I am peace. Ultimate true peace. You can't have both the Escaflowne's power and peace. This is what you wanted for so long, isn't it? Peace? Hitomi died so we could have peace. She...she's not dead. She's you. Your Hitomi! The angel shook her head, sending her gold, silken hair to caress moonlight skin and hide her endless, ageless eyes. No. I am part of Hitomi. In the Fate Alteration machine, Hitomi's destiny was split. Part of her is me. Peace. Part of her lives only in you. The part of Hitomi that grew up on the Mystic Moon drained into you, to keep the dragon's despair from consuming himself. That is the limit you search so hard for. In true, complete peace...Escaflowne does not exist. It's slowly fading away. It's in this that the Fate Alteration Machine enters a paradox. No. No. If Hitomi was dead, I would know. I would feel it. Hitomi! Don't you remember? HITOMI!
The angel smiled gently at Van. I love you. True peace exists on perfect love.
Van separate now from the great battle he stood in the middle of, looked down at the fight through the eyes of the ultimate draconian, through "Peace." He watched the souls of the dead, some weeping, some in fury, some still living in the fight. He watched the fallen men slowly dying. Van watched the soldiers killing in a consuming battle fury. If you are truly Peace, Van said, his voice choked with emotion. Then you can carry the sorrow of the dead! Back on the field, the Escaflowne suddenly transformed into a towering white dragon. Van rose slowly from the cockpit. His wings, only recently broken and bloody, had been healed by peace. They rose proudly from his shoulders and softly glowed against the tears drenching his face. Van didn't say anything. No words could have expressed all of the emotions, hope, despair, denial, longing, sadness...calm, the squeezed the air out of his lungs. Instead, he looked up. Above Van, floated the angel. Her wings gracefully sent ripple through the air, as she hovered in front of this boy who was now truly a king. The din below them slowly faded as one by one every eye on the field was trained the ethereal light. "None of this really matters, does it?" Van spoke softly to the angel, never taking his eyes off her but gesturing down towards to fighting below. "There will always be wars. There will always be sadness. But...there will always be happiness, won't there? The sun will set over water and someone will be at peace while they watch it. You may never be able to touch a sunset, but----you never really appreciate it until you can't have it." Van smiled slightly, the understanding in his amber eyes was deep. Van took a deep breath, the hard muscles on his chest rising and falling in a sigh. "I don't think that peace can exist without conflict. You can never really appreciate peace unless there has been war. It's sad, but...life needs to have good parts...and bad parts. I want to build my country one step at a time, growing from every defeat and every victory." Thank you, Folken, Van thought. For teaching me. Van bravely stared into the angel's beautiful, terrible gaze. "Please." He whispered. "Give Hitomi back to me. I love her. She's my sunrise. All of this is worthless without her." The angel stared at the young king, watching the tears flowing down his cheeks, the depth of his understanding, the depth of his love. The unearthly silk wrapped around her slender form danced gracefully in the wind. Slowly, a tear pooled, then ran down her cheek. Suddenly a small cry was rent from the angel's perfect lips as an arrow pierced through her shoulder, inches above her chest. Red blood stained dark against the bright white silk of the angel's dress. In slow motion, the goddess' wings stopped and she fell forward, tumbling into Van's frozen arms. Below on the harsh mud of the battle field, Riven, the twin with draconian blood, stared down at the bow in his hands like it belonged to someone else. He stared from his hands to cockpit of the Escaflowne, where all he could see was a graceful arm draped over the side with blood marring the translucent white skin. Riven turned quickly when he heard footsteps behind him. Before his throat even tightened into a scream, Allen sliced his blade through Riven's neck. Allen stared down at Riven's fallen carcass, a mixture of horror, disbelief and disgust on his face. "Riven!" Serene screamed. She lunged towards Allen. The blonde knight brought his sword up before he realized it and jerked in horror when he saw the sword slide through the girl's chest with sickening ease.
........ Van knew it was too late. The arrow had tilted when it entered her shoulder. It had nicked a lung and her heart. Van's hands shook as he slowly touched the angel's cheek. She coughed once and a tiny drop of blood rose on her pale lips. She coughed once more. Her last expression made Van clench his teeth. The angel's face never changed once from a look of tranquility and peace. The tear still clung to her skin. Reluctantly, it fell away from the angel, seemed to crystallize and hit the floor of the Escaflowne's cockpit with a ping. The moment the celestial light faded from the angel's eye, Hitomi's eyes, the heavens above them suddenly split apart. There was no sound, but all the same a deafening whirlwind of noise crashed down onto Gaea. There was light everywhere and suddenly there were draconians filling the skies. The death of the perfect angel had ripped open the two dimensions. One soldier suddenly collapsed backwards onto the ground and another covered his head with his arms. A howl of pain and rage rose above the silent chaos. "NO!" Van slammed his fist into the solid metal of the Escaflowne. He carefully scooped up the fallen angel into his arms and gently closed her open, staring eyes. Don't leave me. Take me with you! I never want to be without you again. Van barely noticed someone suddenly beside him. He turned to see Aronic in an exotic gown of beautiful gems and chains. Her wings gently brushed his shoulders. "Leave. Don't come near her." He forced out in a hard voice. For a second you could see the fear on Aronic's face, but resolve flashed in her eyes when she gazed down at the angel, at the perfect draconian, at Hitomi. She parted a length of silk draped over her shoulders and revealed the small dragon boy that Merle had found so long ago. "Go, little one," she whispered to it. It wasn't a command, it was a prayer. She gently set the Halfling down. The small boy stood shakily on his feet, the new wings protruding awkwardly from his back throwing his balance. Reptilian eyes followed Van as Keman took shaky steps forward. Van drew back instinctively with a feral look in his burning eyes. He wasn't going to let anyone close to the body of the angel who wore the face of the dearest person in the world to him. A small mewing sound of distress came from Keman. He tottered forward with his hands out, reaching for Van. That tiniest sound reached Van, down to his very core, the part that was in too much anguish to touch. In a sharp movement, he fell to his knees. He kept his head down, his eyes hidden by his black unruly hair as the boy approached. "Please leave," Van whispered brokenly to the dragon child. Keman slowly reached forward with his small hand and placed one finger on the angel's lips, and looked unhappy when he realized that no air was coming from behind those lips. The child glanced back at Aronic once and she nodded. Keman held one hand out towards Van. In his palm, a spark started to grow and soon a miniature energist lay in the dragon boy's palm. The gem floated down to rest onto the angel's blood-soaked chest. In a flash of light, it was absorbed into her skin and the small boy was gone. Van dropped the angel and cried out as if she had burned him. The angel was slowly changing. Her hair became shorter and darkened into a comfortable tawny color. Her skin gained a rosy, healthy hue. Van felt...drained. Emotions, feelings, breath, even the very blood in his veins seemed to be leeching out of him. Van felt his heart contract painfully and felt...a corresponding beat. In sync with his. And last...a bridge a connection was slowly shaping itself inside his head with a rush of memories. Laughter. A warm smile. An exasperated sigh. The first rush of skin against skin. Lips touching. Air rushing by. Loneliness, hunger, the small tugging of the back of his shirt. Everything that was her. Hitomi. Van stood, not really aware of anything, but strangely aware of the warn sunshine, falling lightly on his face. He couldn't even bring himself to move, to touch her. Slowly, her eyes opened, dancing green eyes filled with light and shadows, now filled with confusion. White wings still arched from Hitomi's shoulders. Her trembling body was still covered in an unearthly white silk, stained with blood. A beautiful white feather still hung around Hitomi's neck, but at the very base of the feather, a small crystal teardrop was embedded in the stem. Above the two lovers, the draconians soared through the sky, a breath- taking sight that the soldiers looking up from the ground would never forget. ............................................................................... Aoki woke up gradually in a strange bed. He wasn't an early morning person. In fact, he had probably been lightly dozing for hours. It might even be passed noon. He sighed, gaining consciousness more quickly than he would have liked. This bed was really warm... "Wake up! You've been asleep forever!" Somebody poked him. "Go 'way," he muttered and turned over. "C'mon! It's past lunch time! Wake up!" Suddenly, who ever was bothering him was jumping on top of him. "Leave me alone!" Aoki sat up, angrily. He stopped. He was staring into pretty blue eyes...his gazed moved upwards to the girl---he gulped---cat ears?! The strange cat-girl purred and licked his face. "My name's Merle," she said casually, blushing a little. "It's time to get up lazy. Don't you want to eat? Don't you want to see your friends? Hitomi's been really worried about you." "Hitomi?" Aoki exclaimed. "Wait a minuet! Where the heck am I?" Merle rolled her eyes. "You're the last one to get up. We already explained this a hundred times to the other foreigners. Just come on!" Merle tugged the seriously confused boy out of bed and into a sun filled ante-chamber. "Aoki!" His best friend, Hajime Kanzaki, bowled him over. "I thought you were going to sleep till you died of starvation!" Aoki looked past Hajime's shoulder and saw the strangest gathering of people he had ever witnessed. He saw The Kanzaki's, Hitomi's friends Yukari and Amano, Hitomi dressed in really weird clothing, and a blonde man arguing in a corner with a dark man in sunglasses. Beside Hitomi was a pretty blonde with short hair talking animatedly and gesturing wildly, an elegant woman with long blond hair checking Hitomi's pulse and an intense boy with dark hair that seemed way too familiar pacing in front of an empty fire pace... Aoki looked outside for the first time through a window right to his left. "Oh my god! Is that the Earth?" he yelled. Everyone's attention in the room immediately fixed on him. "Oh god, another one," the blonde man in the corner groaned. Hitomi tried to stand up, but six pairs of hands pushed her back into her seat. Eventually, everything was explained to Aoki. He joined Hitomi's friend Amano however, in his reluctance to believe what he was hearing, even if the truth was in front of his very eyes. "Hitomi-san...does that mean that you're staying here?" Aoki asked slowly. Hitomi quickly glanced at her mother and Yukari looked away. Hitomi turned to Aoki and nodded. "Why...why are you staying here if all of us," Aoki motioned towards Hitomi's family and friends. "Are going home? Earth is your home too, isn't it?" Hitomi shook her head, unable to meet the eyes of anyone in the room. "No, Aoki-Chan. My home...is here. I need to be here, in Gaea. I---I don't want to say good-bye, but..." She broke off, unable to continue. The hair on the back of Aoki's neck stood up on end when he received a scalding glance from the man with unruly dark hair and exotic red amber eyes. He could read that clearly. It meant "Back off or I'll hurt you. Bad." Tension increased in the room. The dark-haired man in the corner suddenly spoke up, "Well, I can't stand around here all day with you foreigners. I'm still an important ambassador with a lot of important things to do," Dryden said cockily. Allen snorted.
Selena grinned and piped up, "I'll come with you!" And with mock seriousness, offered her arm to Dryden to escort her out of the room. Allen opened his mouth in protest and step forward angrily to follow his sister's retreating back. Millerna caught his arm. "Allen, why don't you come with me instead? I need some help in the hospital." Allen looked like he still wanted to make sure his sister had more than 10 feet of breathing room, but one pleading look from Millerna broke down all of his resistance. As they walked out the door, Millerna smiled apologetically at Allen. "I'm sorry, but Hitomi hasn't seen her family in a really long time. It would be nice if we could give them some time together." Allen nodded. "So...how are your patients doing at the hospital?" he asked. Millerna sighed, "I don't know what they'll do when I have to leave. Too many people are still injured from the battle, but Sister and I have been away from Asturia longer than we should have." "What will you do when you get back to Asturia, Princess?" Millerna frowned at the title. "I really don't know." She looked away. Allen clenched his fist, then suddenly grabbed Millerna's wrist. Her exclamation was suddenly cut off when he brought his mouth down on hers. "Millerna...I..." Allen couldn't seem to find the right words. "...Your eyes are beautiful. They're so blue," he said as if in afterthought. "You're the most independent woman I know, but... why can't you..." Allen growled in frustration. "No! I said that wrong! I didn't mean that the way it sounded. ---I cared about Marlene. I care about Hitomi. But, I just can't seem to be the same without you. I've missed you so much since the Great War. And I..." Allen looked away, his frustration and discomfort evident is his sky blue gaze. "I just want you to rely on me, because---because I love you." When, Millerna didn't say anything, Allen gave a small sigh and a pathetic little smile. "My apologies, Princess. It was unchivalorous for me to bring up such an indelicate matter..." Allen was cut off when Millerna reached up to touch his cheek. "I've been waiting for you to say that for a very long time. It was very rude of you to keep me waiting." Allen's gaze snapped to hers in disbelief. Then, slowly a blinding smile made his expression exuberant. "My most sincere apologies, Princess."
...................................................... Yukari couldn't seem to stop the tears. So much had happened to Hitomi that she had had no idea about. And...she really didn't want to leave Hitomi now that she knew. It all seemed too radical to believe. Hitomi swore that Yukari had witnessed her being taken the first time into Gaea, but all Yukari drew was a blank. Hitomi also said that they had met that boy, who was supposedly a king before. She had said he had even been inside their house! Aoki was the only one who even had foggy memories of Hitomi's young king, and it didn't seem like they were good memories.