AN: Here it is, the FINAL CHAPTER! sniff I never dreamed this day would come…I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for a long time, and now that it's here, I can't believe it!!! THIS IS THE END!!!! WAHHAHAHAHAHA….KYO HIT ME!!!!!...blink wait a minute…wrong cartoon…
This chapter would have come out sooner, but I went on a camping trip to a B-E-A-UTIFULIsland for this past week with my church group (LDS). It was sooo cool!!! You could actually swim in the water, and there were really big sharks, and I got to go Kayaking in the ocean and ride right over the sharks, and we got to go hiking, and see the fish, and do some hiking, and play at the beach, and a bit more hiking, and we had some ice-cream, and some more hiking…IT WAS GREAT!!! But as soon as I came back, I went strait to this story (after getting some sleep of course. FYI: Sleeping on a bunch of rocks is NOT good for your back) and now, IT'S DONE!!! The rest of my spiel will wait until after the chapter…
Reviewers:
lil-saturn-goddess: I'm sorry, I was just joking around. grin Final chapter coming right up!!! And thank you for reading and being patient with my lack of updating…
Talum: Yeah, I know I'm mean to everyone. And I especially am mean to Van…why? Because I'm a sadistic…LOL. Thanks for reading and I hope you like this FINAL chapter!!! Bye!!!
Meyojojo: It's okay to cry, I've actually gotten a lot of that, so, it's okay to cry. Maybe another chapter will make you feel better…OH WAIT, THERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER RIGHT HERE!!! HA HA!!! grin Hope this makes you happier!!!
Kazezero: Sorry, Hitomi actually DID die. And there's no surviving the fall cause she was already dead by the time Van let her go. aren't I mean? And she didn't die when she got shot, she just passed out. And just a small hint, Van does not save the day. Sorry, but I still hope you like what I'm about to do. Thanks for reading all the way through. LOL, I'm glad it's "mad good".!!! Heh, I like that saying…I hope two weeks was a quick enough update!!! Enjoy!!!!
Tramie: How is Van going to cope with it, well, here's a hint…he doesn't…gin But you'll just have to read to see what I mean!!! HA HA!!! Thank you for reading and I hope you like it!!!
Brushtail-wolfie: munches thanks for the Lembas bread…yummm…Well, you've already read the first half of the chapter, and now, FOR THE FINAL SECOND HALF!!! MUAHAHAHAHA…Enjoy!!! Love Always, Prongs
The Spiked Dragon: How could I kill Hitomi? BECAUSE IT WAS FUN!!!! MUAHAHAHAHA…And you get a hint, Calypso will not die of a slow and excruciating death. Sooooooorrrry!!! But still, I think you'll like what I do…grin's evilly enjoy!!!
Macky: Don't worry, Merle is still alive…for now… hee hee hee…just read to find out!!! :P
Inda: flinches NO DON'T BLOW ME UP!!! I still have to be in one piece to write Flying High!!! But I think this will be a good ending, but, you'll have to tell me. Thank you for sticking with my story. If I'm recalling correctly, you've been here since the beginning, so, AND EXTRA LARGE AND PAINFULL THANK YOU TO YOU!!! squeezes Inda till she turns purple again… Okay, now read!!! And Enjoy!!!!
Gtkvan: Yup, he is right, I am evil…MUAHAHAHAHA…Oh, I have a question, what does your name mean? I've been trying to guess and the best I can come up with is "Got To Kill Van" but something tells me I'm wrong…what does your name mean? Just curious. Thanks for reading!!!!
blonde-hitomi: Aww…I made you cry?...for some reason, that makes me happy…is that wrong of me? Yeah, I agree I think that was my longest chapter. This one is pretty long too, but, I'll let you be the judge. I hope you like it and that it ends well. Thank you for sticking with me!!! Enjoy!!!
Hawaiikel: LOL, sorry, but Van isn't going to bring Hitomi back, neither is the Atlantis Machine. Although that did sound like a good idea, I didn't want my story to be as predictable as most Esca fics, so, I'm adding LOTS of plot twists. Still, I hope you like how this all ends. I struggled a lot with the ending, like "where do I cut this off…" kind of thing, but, I think I found an okay spot. I hope you enjoy!!! Thanks for reviewing!!!
Disclaimer: For the last time, I DID NOT ORDER A GIANT TRAMALINE!!! …wait, wrong movie…clears throat…I do NOT own Escaflowne despite the many times where I call this story "my story"…And I still don't have forty dollars…I only have six sigh…which makes no difference since the store is no longer selling the series!!! frustrated scream
Chapter Eighteen: Tying Up Loose Ends
It didn't take long for Celina to realize that she had lost control, again. Dilandau was now in full control of her body. She could have re-taken possession at any time, but she was curious. She wanted to see what Dilandau would do and how he would react. At the first sign of trouble, she promised herself, she would push him away and take control once again.
By the looks of things, they should be close to wherever the Phoenix landed. But the combination of their high altitude and the failing light made it almost impossible to separate the shadows of the rocks from a human, or a ship, or even the infamous Atlantis Machine.
"We need to get lower." Celina stated.
"Already on it."
Dilandau flexed his heels and the engine shut down. Immediately, the guimelif shot down towards the center of the canyon. The wind whipped his hair around wildly and whistled through the slits in the visor. They fell forever. They were level with the earth for an instant and then continued to fall.
"Dilandau, stop!"
"Alright, alright, don't be a nag."
Taking as much time as possible, he slowly pointed his toes down. The engine came on and slowed their descent, yet they fell for almost a half a mile before finally rising back up into the air again. When they came level with the canyon ridge, Dilandau stopped the ascent and began to fly forward once again, following the rim of the East wall.
Minutes passed when Celina saw something through Dilandau's eyes. As they approached, she saw it was a small figure running towards them.
"It's Merle! Dilandau, stop right now!"
"No, I don't think so. Take a closer look at your friend, she's pointing back the way she came. She wants us to go there." Suddenly, Dilandau's smile grew wide. "And there's the Phoenix!"
Celina could also see it. The large ship was looming out over a layer of fog that obscured any sign of people beneath it.
"This is perfect! Those witches won't even know we're there. They can't see anything through this fog."
"Neither can we, Dilandau. It's a disadvantage to both parties."
"Not for long. I'll just burn everything!!!"
"No, we still don't know where Van and Hitomi are. We have to make sure they're safe."
"They'll just have to stay out of my way then." said Dilandau, devoid of any emotion.
Celina sighed mentally. "Fine, then I'll just have to take it from here then…"
Dilandau screamed in fury when he felt her tearing him away and sending him back into the recesses of their shared mind. He fought with everything he had, but he was no match for Celina. Within seconds, she would be back in control and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"Alright! You win! We'll do it your way!"
Celina smiled and released her hold on him.
"We'll sneak up on them from below the canyon. Do you have a problem with that?"
She was irritating him and she knew it, but this was the only way she could teach him that this was her body and she was in control, not the other way around.
"I said do you have a problem with that?"
"No." he said bitterly.
Immediately they flew lower into the canyon, at least a three quarters of a mile down, hugging the cliff walls as they went. They were forced to slow down because the fog prevented them from seeing anything beyond a few dozen feet. They glided their way onward, careful to avoid rocks that jutted out of the wall. After traveling for some time, Celina began to wonder, how would they know when they reached the leviship? How would she find out where they were without being spotted or heard? What could she…
CLANK
"What the heck!" Dilandau yelped. He stared wide eyed at his visor, the source of the unexpected sound. Celina also looked through Dilandau's eyes to see what had happened, and gasped at what she saw.
A long dagger had embedded itself in one of the holes in the guimelif's visor. Celina recognized it as the very same dagger she had given to Hitomi, for protection.
"Where did it come from?"
"I don't know. I think it fell from the top of the ridge. That thing almost gouged my eye out!"
"Shut up, we need to go back. That might have been Hitomi, trying to get our attention."
"How could she see us through this thick of a fog?"
"I don't know and I don't care, just turn around."
"But how…"
"Do I need to force you away again?!"
"No."
"Then do as I say!"
With a frustrated cry, Dilandau turned the guimelif around and flew back the way he came. Less than a minute later, he stopped suddenly and hovered.
"Somewhere around here. This is where it came down."
He looked up to where the surface should have been, but only saw a dark blanket of fog cascading down the canyon wall. The sun would set any second. There was hardly any light to see by anymore. Yet they waited, staring above them, looking for…something.
Then, out of the shadows, a shape began to take form. It wasn't a weapon, no, too large to be a weapon. Whatever it was, it was falling fast, and heading strait for the guimelif.
"Oh no you don't."
Dilandau moved the guimelif backwards by a few feet, just in time, as the unknown object pierced through the fog and fell right passed them.
"That's Hitomi!"
Dilandau flexed his heals and the guimelif plummeted towards the earth. He looked down and searched for the falling girl.
"I can't see her, stupid fog."
"Go faster!"
"I can't!"
Instead, Dilandau pointed his arms towards the darkness and fired his crema claws, each one spreading in the air and taking the form of a net.
"If you miss, you'll kill her!"
"If I don't do something, the ground will! Now shut up for a second!"
The crema claws constricted and Dilandau reeled in whatever he might have caught. A second later, they saw the dark form of Hitomi's body slowly come into view. Dilandau pointed his toes back down and they stopped falling. They merely hovered for the moment. He looked at the girl who was wrapped in the silver metal, and frowned.
"I take back what I said earlier, Celina. She's already dead."
"No…"
But Celina could clearly see that Dilandau was right. Even in the darkness, she could see that Hitomi wasn't breathing and her skin had turned pale. Her arms, legs, and head hung limply.
Dilandau was just about to ask if it were okay for him to burn everything down, but he already knew the answer to that question. Instead, he turned the guimelif south and flew off as fast as he could, back to where he had spotted Merle. Before Celina had time to ask him what he was doing, Dilandau explained himself.
"She's already dead and you can't get Van without her. So, we'll leave her body with Merle and go back and kill them all. Sound good?"
Celina didn't answer. She didn't even care anymore. Hitomi was dead. The woman she had grown to be close friends with in the past few days was gone. The woman she had always admired from the stories she heard from Allen and Merle was dead. It all felt like a dream…
When they were a good distance away, Dilandau broke through the fog barrier and scanned the ground for any sign of movement. He was surprisingly close to where Merle stood, jumping up and down, waving her arms to get their attention. Dilandau carefully flexed his heals once again, preparing to land. Sand and dust whirled around the guimelif as he settled down. Merle dashed over to them, eagerness mirrored in her eyes. Once the guimelif was settled, Dilandau released Hitomi and withdrew the liquid metal.
Her body fell and hit the ground face down with a soft thud. Merle watched and gasped, ready to yell at Celina for dropping Hitomi, geared up to chastise her for hurting their friend, but none of her thoughts escaped her lips when she saw that Hitomi never got back up again. Merle changed direction and ran to Hitomi's side.
Dilandau opened the cockpit and calmly jumped to the ground. He stepped over to where Merle was turning Hitomi onto her back, to get a better look at her face. As soon as Merle saw her pale features, she leapt backward, frightened.
When Hitomi had failed to get up, Merle had just assumed that Hitomi had been unconscious or sleeping. But she didn't expect her to be…
"…dead?"
"I'm afraid so." Dilandau mocked, not showing any real sympathy.
Merle glared up at him, tears brimmed around her eyes. "Where's Celina?"
"She's letting me take control for now."
"Fine, what happened?!" she demanded.
Dilandau shrugged. "I don't know. We saw her falling of the cliff, so, we caught her and brought her back here. Do you know how she died?"
Merle looked at Hitomi up and down, carefully examining anything that looked out of place. During the Gaean war, Milerna had taught her a lot about medical aid. Doctors had been in short supply, so, Merle served as her personal assistant to the wounded after the final battle. Immediately, she spotted Hitomi's wrist, bent at an angle suggesting it was broken. It was swollen, meaning it had happened while she was still alive. She checked Hitomi's head: no visible damage. She pressed gently against the bottom of her ribcage: intact. Then, she noticed markings on Hitomi's neck.
"What is that?" she asked out loud.
Dilandau kneeled down and looked at where Merle had been pointing. He examined the markings for a while until he recognized them.
"It's a hand."
Merle looked up at him, confused. Dilandau then reached down with his right hand and clasped a hold of her neck. The markings fit almost perfectly.
"She was strangled." Dilandau announced before standing up again.
Merle bent down and cried despairingly into Hitomi's stomach. In her mind, she imagined herself running away, exactly what Hitomi had told her to do, while the Sirens restrained her. She imagined Calypso coming forward and squeezing the life out of her…while Merle had been running away, leaving her behind to die…
Then, a memory returned to her. The first time Hitomi had come to Gaea, she had died. Merle was there when Van managed to bring her back. Merle remembered how frightened she was. Merle had held Hitomi's hand the entire time. She recalled how cold it was…
…but Hitomi wasn't as cold as she was last time…and she wasn't stiff…which means…
Merle leapt back up, putting her hands where she remembered Van had, and began to compress. Dilandau turned around when Merle suddenly stopped wailing and looked at the girl in newfound confusion.
"Now what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to save her, just like Van did the last time this happened."
Dilandau's eyes narrowed. "Merle, that only works if the person recently died. She could have died an hour ago."
"She's only been gone a couple minutes. We can still save her!"
"How could you know that?"
"I just do!" she screamed.
Dilandau rolled his eyes at the little girl, desperately pushing against the dead woman's stomach. He turned around, not really caring about the outcome, but then Celina came back into his mind.
"You know how to save her!"
"I never said that."
"But I can sense it from you. If you can save her then I suggest you do it, now!"
Dilandau growled in anger before whirling back around. He grabbed the cat-girl by the shoulder and pushed her away, taking her place.
"You're doing it all wrong!" he complained.
He turned Hitomi's head back, opened her mouth so her chin pointed up, overlapped his hands, placing the heal of his hand at the bottom of her sternum, and compressed several inches. He released and pushed again, and again, counting to himself as he did so. Merle had taken her place on Hitomi's other side, holding her hand, just as she had done last time.
Dilandau stopped and leaned forward. He clamped her nose shut, holding her chin in his other hand, and blew into her mouth. Merle was about to protest. She didn't remember this happening last time, but then she saw Hitomi's chest rise. Dilandau broke away, took another breath, and blew again. This time, Merle noted the hollow sound of the air entering Hitomi's empty lungs. He retreated back and began compressing again, this time, counting softly out loud.
"…one-one thousand…two-one thousand…three-one thousand…"
Merle held Hitomi's hand to her furry face. It was still cold, but not as cold as last time, she told herself. There was still a chance…
Dilandau breathed air into Hitomi's lungs again, causing them to rise, only to be compressed once more.
"Come on Hitomi…come back…" Merle chanted.
"She can't hear you."
"Shut up and keep breathing!" she snapped.
For the next two agonizing minutes, Dilandau continued the pattern of compressing the woman's lower sternum and breathing into her lungs. He was growing weary from the effort. His breath was now coming in short gasps and his face and arms were glistening in perspiration.
"This…isn't…going…to…work…" he gasped in between compressions.
"Yes it will, keep going!" Merle whined.
"Oh yeah, how about you do this, and I'll sit around and do nothing!" he yelled. "If she doesn't breathe after this, I'm done. This was a stupid idea in the first place."
Merle's stomach muscles constricted. 'Come on, Hitomi, open your eyes! Please, you're running out of time!'
For the last time, Dilandau plugged Hitomi's nose shut and blew into her mouth. Merle watched Hitomi's chest, waiting for it to rise again, but it didn't. There was no hollow sound of traveling air either. She had gone stiff. Dilandau pulled away suddenly when her body gave a violent jerk.
Her eyes snapped open in fear as she took one long, rattling breath.
"Finally!" Dilandau declared before falling on his back, resting his tired arms.
Hitomi curled to her side, coughing deeply, and gasping for air. Merle was overjoyed. She grabbed Hitomi and held her close, rocking back and fourth, soothing her friend as much as herself.
"Second time's the charm!" she cried.
"Let's not…go for three…" Hitomi choked.
Merle laughed as tears of joy fell from her eyes. Minutes passed and Hitomi managed to gain her bearings, enough to sit up on her own. She winced when she accidentally put weight on her right hand. She carefully cradled it in her other arm.
"What happened?" Hitomi croaked.
By this time, Dilandau was standing up, his arms crossed, looking indifferent. "We found you flying down the canyon. We brought you back here where Merle thought she could play doctor."
"Shut up!" Merle screamed angrily. "I was trying to save her life."
"But in the end, you couldn't do it."
"You didn't even let me try."
"If I hadn't been here, she would still be six feet under."
Merle leapt to her feet, shaking her fist in anger. "Why you…"
"Its okay, Merle." Hitomi said, soothingly. She looked back at Dilandau. "Thank you."
He turned around, walking back to his guimelif, "Whatever."
He only managed to take a few steps before he whirled around and ran towards Hitomi. The red eyes had disappeared, replaced by shimmering blue ones. Celina scooped Hitomi into her arms and held her tight, sobbing.
"I thought you were gone for good."
Hitomi returned the embrace using her good arm. "I almost was."
Celina pulled away, tears evident but determination was dominating. "I swear, Calypso will pay!"
Hitomi looked down, avoiding Celina and Merle's eyes. "It wasn't Calypso." The two exchanged confused looks. "It was Van. She made him do it."
"What?!" they cried in unison.
Instantly, all the anger and hatred that Merle had been hiding came bursting out. "I don't care what Phoebe says, I'm going to rip that woman's face off." She turned towards the Phoenix. "DO YOU HEAR ME CALYPSO?! I'M GOING TO RIP OUT YOUR THROAT!!!"
"Why does she do this?" Celina asked, unable to believe a human being capable of such an act.
Hitomi scooped sand into her left hand and squeezed, vending her frustrations. "She's insane! She likes seeing others suffer. She doesn't care who gets hurt, as long as she gets what she wants, and what she wants is Van!" she violently tossed the sand into the air, watching it fall to the ground and the dust blow away in the wind. "I'm going to get him back, no matter what."
After she made her declaration, she suddenly felt her fatigue catch up with her. Two days strait of almost no sleep, and then dieing completely, had taken its toll. She needed rest and she knew better than to argue with her own body.
"Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving again, and I'm not coming back without Van."
"Not without me your not." Merle stated matter-of-factly.
Celina nodded. "Me too! But, won't they be looking for us now?"
Merle laughed. "Calypso thinks we're dead! If anything, her guard will be completely down. Tomorrow is the best time to take revenge."
"Thanks guys." Hitomi smiled.
With the help of Merle and Celina, they were able to make a splint out of some small branches of a dead tree and some torn fabric from the end of Merle's cloak. Celina set her hand back in position, earning a pain filled yelp from Hitomi, and applied the splint. That night, the three of them made a makeshift shelter under the cloak of Celina's guimelif. They huddled close, keeping warm in the desert's cold night air. They slept well with the promise of tomorrow.
It was a wonderful day for Calypso Siren. Everything was moving ahead of schedule. The trip to Dragon's Canyon had taken slightly longer than expected, but finding the Machine…
She hadn't expected to find until after several days of thorough searching, but they had spotted the cave entrance while still in the air. They landed on the opposite side of the Canyon so she could get a good look at the outside of the cave. It was too late in the day to explore the contents of the cavern, so, she settled for a distant look at it. It was beautiful. In less than twenty four hours, she would be in possession of the last Atlantis Machine on both Gaea and the Mystic Moon. It was a perfect day. Even without her encounter with two of her biggest headaches, the day could not be spoiled. The seeress was dead, the cat-girl would die in a few hours, either from the cold or the hot sun, and Van's spirit had finally been broken.
She hadn't been able to do it alone, of course. Calypso had grown overconfident in her abilities as a Siren, and because of that, Van was able to weaken her severely. She didn't ask for help because she didn't want to be viewed as weak in front of her charges. But in the end, they proved their loyalty. They channeled their strength into her, allowing her to command one last order to her man: kill the woman he loved.
Calypso smiled at the memory. She was now free of him, locked away where he couldn't escape, no longer possessing any will to fight. He wanted to die, she had sensed before relinquishing her hold on him. But she would not kill him. She would make him live with his misery.
After all, she thought, what better torture could she come up with?
Yes, it was a wonderful day!
Van sat on the cold floor, his back against the wall, staring empty eyed at the air in front of him. He was living in a nightmare he hoped he wouldn't survive. He had lost everything! His kingdom was no longer under his control. Merle was alone, wandering the desert, either dead or dieing. Hitomi was dead. It was entirely his fault. They had come to rescue him, but now, they were gone.
He was the one to blame. If it weren't for him, none of this would have happened. Merle had cared for him too much to leave him alone. She would have done anything to try and help him, and that's what caused her demise. Hitomi had trusted him. She believed in him, and he let her down. She thought he would fight off the spell, but he didn't.
'I should have fought harder. I should have fought till I died! At least she would be safe right now…
…I let her down…I killed her…
…it's my fault…'
Van looked down at his hands. He wished he had his sword with him. He wanted to cut them off as punishment for what they had done. He began to focus his frustrations on his hands.
'How could you do that to her?! Why didn't you listen to me?! YOU KILLED HER!!!'
He saw the cut that Hitomi had caused him, cursed to himself that she should have cut deeper.
He remembered the dagger she had produced. He wished he hadn't caught it. He wished she had plunged the blade deep into his now shattered heart. But he had caught her wrist before she could do anything. His entire hand circled her thin wrist and he had shattered it so easily!
'How could you do such a thing?!'
For a moment, he had even held the blade in his hands. He could have stabbed himself then, but his hands refused.
'Why didn't you listen to me?! WHY?!'
He threw his hands into the air and raged them down onto the metal ground. Needle sharp pain shot through his hands and up his arms. He didn't even wince.
'Not enough…nowhere near enough…'
Van took a deep breath and searched within him for any magic left to him. He searched and searched until he found remote traces of it, stored away. But would it be enough?
He summoned it anyway, all that remained to him. It was a dangerous move, without his magic, he ran the risk of killing himself…but that was the whole point. He felt it gather at the surface, willing it to tear his limbs apart. With any luck, the blow wouldn't kill him immediately. With any luck, he'd bleed to death in agony first.
He released the remainder of his magic set it loose within himself, feeling the fiery chains pull and tear at him, flames ripping at his flesh.
Despite himself, he cried out into the night before collapsing and going still…
The sun rose brightly in the morning, pouring light into every crevice in Dragon's Canyon. Only seconds passed before the heat came with it. Hitomi now knew why Dragon's Canyon was deserted. It was too hot! She longed for the brief time the night before where she had been cold and sought after warmth, but now, she ached for last night's blanket of fog. But she did her best not to let the sweltering heat bother her.
They had a problem. When Hitomi, Merle, and Celina had awoken that morning, the Phoenix was already in the air and flying away. It moved to the opposite side of the canyon. When Celina wondered aloud why the Siren's were moving the ship, Hitomi and Merle could only offer speculation.
"When I first saw Calypso, she was looking in that direction. Maybe she thinks that's a good place to start looking for the Atlantis Machine." Hitomi offered.
Merle nodded in agreement. "I agree. I didn't get a chance to hear anything, but Calypso did seem eager when she looked over there yesterday."
Celina scowled. "Still, we're going to have to fly over there, but it's risky to do it in broad daylight. It's too easy to spot a guimelif flying across a canyon. It would be safer to do it at night."
"No, we have to get Van out today. Couldn't we fly back down south, circle around when we're far enough, and then come back?"
Celina nodded. "It'll take longer, but yes, that could work."
"Then that's what we'll do."
They set out immediately in Celina's guimelif. Hitomi and Merle rode on the melif's shoulders as they traveled their three hour trek down, around, and back up the canyon. They kept close to the canyon wall as the approached the Phoenix, taking cover under the ridge line. When they were about a half a mile away, Celina set the guimelif down on the ground and quickly activated the stealth cloak, making the three of them invisible. Then, they waited. Celina occasionally took a step forward, careful to wait for any sign that one of the Siren's heard the giant mecha's footstep. They managed to sneak a third of a mile towards the leviship before Celina deemed the approach too risky to continue. The three women stayed hidden beneath the cloak for a few extra minutes, going over their plan.
Hitomi and Merle were going to sneak aboard the Phoenix once they were sure most of the Siren's were not aboard. They would find Van, knock him unconscious if he was still under Calypso's spell, and bring him back to the guimelif. If they ran into any Siren's along the way, they'd kill them. Celina would stay with her guimelif, hidden under the stealth cloak, where she would wait to pick them up again for a quick escape. They had decided that someone would have to remain behind with the guimelif to remove the cloak; otherwise, they wouldn't know where to run back to.
When they were all agreed, the three women wished each other luck before Hitomi and Merle dashed out from under the cloak, keeping close to the ground, and ran towards the Phoenix. Merle led the way, her ears and eyes being sharper than Hitomi's, and able to get them to a less noticeable area. They occasionally hid behind large rocks to catch their breath before starting off again.
They reached the Phoenix, picking a small boulder and dead shrubbery to hide behind, about twenty meters away from the only entrance. They watched through the dead twigs as several Siren's came and left the ship, some disappearing into the canyon where they had apparently found a safe path down, and some returning to the leviship. They waited several minutes after the last Siren had disappeared before Hitomi decided to try to board, but just as she was about to stand up, another woman came out of the ship, followed soon after by two more.
It was decided that Merle would sneak onto the ship first and when the coast was clear, she'd signal Hitomi to run aboard. Merle ran from the safety of the bush, so silently that Hitomi almost didn't know she had left, and hid under the ramp which was used to enter and exit the ship. While they both waited, Hitomi self-consciously checked to see that her cloak was securely wrapped about her. She almost laughed when she saw Merle make a gesture to suggest she had done the same. And then she was gone. In the blink of an eye, Merle dashed silently up the ramp and disappeared into the ship. As soon as her furry tail had hidden from view, two Siren's appeared out of the canyon and boarded the ship. Hitomi waited several minutes as Siren's entered or left the ship, transporting small boxes, papers, or messages to whoever was in the canyon below. She waited a long time, and while doing so, noticed that more Siren's seemed to be leaving the ship than entering it. Neither Calypso, Van, nor Phoebe had made an appearance.
Hitomi thought it was possible that all the Sirens were moving to the bottom of the canyon and that eventually, the ship would be empty. If Van wasn't on the ship, her plan was doomed. It would be impossible to follow the Siren's into the canyon without being spotted, let alone getting the chance to find Van and rescue him. She didn't want to wait another day and leave him under Calypso's control. Maybe they could ambush the Siren's at night…
Merle's hand appeared at the entrance, waving for Hitomi to hurry inside. As quickly as she was able, Hitomi ran from her refuge, up the ramp, and down the corridor, following closely behind Merle. The cat-girl opened a random door and motioned Hitomi inside. Once the door was shut, they both sat with their backs to the wall, gasping for air.
"Merle, I was thinking," Hitomi whispered, "What if Van isn't on the ship. He might be down in the canyon."
"Don't worry. I did a little eavesdropping while I waited. Lord Van is on this ship. I just don't know where."
Relief swept over Hitomi At least she didn't have to wait another day. So far, everything was going as planned.
"As far as I know," Merle continued quietly, "there are only a couple Siren's left on the ship. The rest are in a cave along the canyon wall. Hitomi, I think they've already found where the Atlantis Machine is."
Hitomi's eyes grew wide. "We're running out of time. Phoebe's probably already down there, getting ready to blow that thing. It could go off right now while we're still looking for Van."
"Well then, let's hurry up and get him out of here."
They stood back up and crept out of the door. Hitomi followed closely behind Merle, careful to remain as quite as possible. She watched as Merle's ears pricked every now and then, sensitive to every noise in the large vessel. Occasionally, she'd stop completely or put her head close to a door, listening for the sound of breathing or footsteps. They searched the entire floor with no luck until they decided to move one floor up.
This time, they only ran into one Siren, whom they avoided easily. They kept at it for a long while, but they couldn't find anyone. Floor by floor, they made their way up the ship until they were just below the bridge. Hitomi and Merle began to despair. They had looked everywhere they could think of but there was no sign of Van and they were running out of places to continue searching.
"I don't think he's up there." Merle whispered. "We're stuck."
Hitomi sighed. "Maybe we missed a turn. I'm so turned around in this ship, we might have left out a section."
"Maybe." She said doubtfully. "But I suppose it's worth another try. I'm sure he's here…somewhere."
Merle looked up as her ears detected a new sound. Hitomi also looked up, but couldn't sense anything.
"Something just happened up there."
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure, but whatever it is, someone's leaving the bridge…" she paused a moment and her ears gave another twitch. "…someone's coming!"
The two of them dashed into a nearby room and shut the door quietly behind them. Not even a moment later, Hitomi heard footsteps from a stairwell as someone left the bridge. They walked right past their door, and Hitomi held her breath when she saw the shadow move across the crack of light from under the door. Then the shadow stopped. Whoever was out there was standing just outside the door Hitomi and Merle happened to be propped up against. Hitomi's heart leapt when she saw the door handle turn with a squeak. She impulsively reached down to her boot to grab her dagger, only to find that it wasn't there. Instead, Merle grabbed hers and held it protectively in front of her. The door opened and Merle leapt forward, the sharp edge of the blade aimed for the Siren's chest, but the woman caught the blow easily as Merle squealed in surprise.
"Phoebe!" The Siren smiled and released the cat-girl's wrist. "I could have killed you!"
"Not likely." Phoebe looked down at Hitomi in mild surprise. "Come back from the dead, Hitomi?"
"Hopefully for the last time." She answered. Phoebe offered a hand and helped Hitomi off the floor. "Where's Van."
"Still searching for him, are you?"
"No more games, Phoebe." Merle yelled. "Where's Lord Van?" Hitomi put her hand over Merle's mouth and told her to shush.
"Don't worry," Phoebe reassured. "There are only two Siren's left on the ship, including myself. The other one is downstairs, keeping an eye on Van."
Merle's eyes narrowed. "What about the one upstairs? I heard two people up there a moment ago. One was you…"
"I took care of it." She snapped before turning back to Hitomi. "Didn't I tell you not to come? I can't look after you. The both of you should leave now, before I start…"
"I'm not leaving without Van." Hitomi said stubbornly.
"He thinks you're dead. Do you really think he'll trust himself to go with you?"
She hesitated, thinking vaguely that if she were in Van's position, she wouldn't trust herself either. "I don't know, but I have to try. I'm not leaving here without him."
"He might try and kill you again, thinking you're one of Calypso's tricks."
"I don't care."
Both pairs of eyes bore into each other. They challenged each with battling determination until Phoebe relented.
"Alright, I'll take you to him."
She motioned for them to follow her and they obeyed. A minute later, Merle sniffed the air and caught Hitomi's eye.
"Blood." She whispered.
Phoebe turned her head back slightly without slowing down. "I told you already, I took care of it."
Hitomi's eyes shined in surprise at the realization of Phoebe's words.
Merle and Hitomi followed Phoebe down the ship. Floor by floor, they descended until they were back where they had started. They continued walking down a hallway, and then they turned right, then right again, left, strait, and stopped at a wall. Phoebe pushed hard against the wall until they heard a click. A square section of the wall came forward about an inch before Phoebe easily slid it away. Beyond the door was a spiral staircase that went down into a hidden floor of the ship.
"Wait here." Phoebe said before descending the metal stairs, her desert cloak flowing neatly behind her.
They listened carefully to the sounds of her footsteps until she reached the bottom. They heard the echo of voices from below as words were exchanged between two people, and then, one of them went silent with a soft thud. Hitomi took one guess as to what had happened below. No more Siren's on this ship, Merle mused.
Phoebe reappeared from the depths and beckoned Hitomi and Merle to follow. They eagerly went down the steps, no longer afraid of making too much noise. When they were at the bottom, they were in a small rectangular room with another door at the opposite end. On the door was a single barred window, revealing another room where light flooded in from the outside. Hitomi looked around and saw another Siren slumped against her chair, a steady drip of blood pooling onto the floor. Hitomi avoided looking at the woman and instead looked at Phoebe who held a large ring with a single silver key hanging from it.
"He's in there." She pointed to the opposite door and tossed Merle the key. "Before you go in there, you should know, he tried to kill himself last night."
Hitomi gasped and ran to the door, using her good hand to pull her face up to the small rectangular window. She saw a small empty cot against the wall, above which was a long window, metal bars crisscrossed all along the rim. She looked down and saw a pair of legs sticking out.
"Van, is that you?"
No response.
"Van, answer me!"
His boot twitched slightly and went still again. Merle tapped Hitomi on the arm.
"Do you want to open it?"
"Not yet." She whispered. She didn't want to let Van out until he knew she was real. "Van, listen to my voice. Who am I?"
His legs moved again, however slowly. He finally stood up and faced the door where Hitomi could see that Van's eyes were closed. He seemed to be sleepwalking. Hitomi looked back at Phoebe.
"What's wrong with him? Why won't he answer?"
"It's a rare side-affect of the Siren's song which only occurs to people who've been in a traumatizing situation, like he has. Basically, he's living in a dreamlike state where he doesn't know what's real anymore," she explained. "Or he doesn't want to know." Phoebe added as though that were her professional opinion.
"How do I get him out of it?"
"You'll have to bring him back to reality. Make him see what's real."
Hitomi looked back through the window and gazed hard at the man in front of her. She knew what he was going through and it was too painful to bear. She knew she had to bring him back, but how was she to do that without hurting him? He would never believe that she was Hitomi. He wouldn't allow himself to fall for another trick. There was only one way…
"Van, listen to me! You have to wake up, right now. Don't just stand there and do nothing. Fight whatever it is that's going on inside you. Are you just going to let Calypso win? The Van I know would never back down."
"…I couldn't do it…" he mumbled.
"You can do it!"
"…I couldn't save her…"
Hitomi frowned in confusion. "Who couldn't you save?"
Van fell to his knees and grabbed at his head in anguish. "Hitomi…I couldn't save her…"
"Van, I'm right here!"
"NO!" he roared.
"Let me try," Merle mumbled before pushing Hitomi out of the way. "Lord Van, listen to me right now! You killed Hitomi!"
"Merle!" Hitomi hissed, but the cat-girl ignored her.
"You killed her, okay? You broke her wrist, strangled her, and threw her over a cliff! Understand?!"
These words seemed to reach Van. He was frozen solid, and although they couldn't see his face, he seemed to be hanging onto every word.
"I know you didn't want to and you fought as hard as you could, but guess what? You're not responsible. So, stop beating yourself up, Lord Van and look! Hitomi is right here. She's okay, but you have to look at her!"
Before Hitomi could protest, Merle unlocked the door and swung it open. By the time it was open, Van was back on his feet, eyes wide open and alert. His eyes met Hitomi's and they immediately filled with fear.
"Hitomi…"
She took two steps forward, wanting to reassure him that everything was okay, but he stepped away from her.
"Don't come near me." He barked. "I'll hurt you again."
He wasn't threatening her. He was afraid of what he might unintentionally do.
"Van, you're free…"
"You don't know that!"
She ignored his last outburst and ran to him, holding him tightly. He almost tried to push her away, but without even thinking about it, he returned the embrace. She started trembling as tears formed around her eyes.
"Van, please don't leave me…"
So great was his astonishment that she was alive and he was holding her that Van was unable to speak. He shifted his arms to hold her more securely. As he did so, he winced as an intense pain shot up each arm. He failed to hide it from Hitomi and she pulled away to see what was wrong. Her breath caught in her chest when she saw twin jagged stripes running the length of Van's arms, dried blood forming around the edges, some of which were leaking because his movement had re-opened them.
Hitomi gingerly held one of Van's arms, inspecting the flesh wound. She immediately thought they came from some sort of punishment by the Sirens, until she noticed that the wounds seemed to originate from his hands. Silently, she examined his hand and saw that the majority of it was black and blue. She looked down at the ground and to the right where she saw the remains of blood stained on the floor. She knew then that his wounds were self-inflicted. This was how he had tried to kill himself, she realized.
She took one shuddering breath before whispering, "You didn't have to do this."
"I deserved it for what I did." He said coldly.
"You didn't do anything."
Van reached down and carefully picked up Hitomi's right hand, fingering the splint wrapped around it. She saw his eyes wander for a moment to her neck where he saw dark patches where his hand had been.
"I did." His voice broke and Hitomi held onto him once again.
Van saw behind Hitomi where Merle was standing in the doorway, tears of joy saturating her eyes. Behind her, he noticed a familiar face. Phoebe stood just behind Merle, a soft smile on her face. He locked eyes with her.
"She must pay for what she's done."
A nod of understanding passed between them. "I'll make sure of it." Then she vanished into the shadows.
Hitomi pulled away, remembering that she had precious little time left.
"Van, we have to get out of here, right now, before the Atlantis Machine blows."
The two of them silently decided to swallow all their questions and concentrate on staying alive. But before they could make it out the door, a flying ball of fur collided into Van's chest, sending him down into his cot.
"Lord Van, I was so worried! I'm so glad you're okay!"
Van smiled weakly and looked up at Hitomi before petting the small girl on the head. He pulled Merle up to her feet and followed Hitomi out of his cell and through the catacombs of the ship.
Phoebe left the reunited couple alone and exited the Phoenix. She walked alone down the path of Dragon's Canyon to where she knew the Atlantis Machine had already been found.
'Time to fulfill my destiny…'
She had been waiting for this moment for years, and now that it was finally here, she felt the comings of nervousness and apprehension grasp at her. Thoughts such as "What if this doesn't work" and "Maybe there's another way" plagued her mind, but she never faltered. She marched down the rocky path with the air of someone important who had someplace to be.
'I do have a place to be' she mused. 'I have a double date with revenge and destiny.'
Phoebe knew that she would be dead within the next few minutes, so, she prepared her mind and body for what she was about to do. She recalled the final words of her best friend as she lay suffering, dieing at the hand of Calypso.
"…Please…don't let it happen…"
Phoebe vowed it wouldn't. The second Atlantis Machine would never be used again after this day. Never again will Gaea or the Mystic Moon be threatened by this infamous machine.
"…pr…ect the jewel…"
She reached up and padded the pendant that lay concealed beneath her desert garb. Yes, she had found the jewel and she protected it. Now, she was going to use it against Calypso. The one thing Calypso had dedicated her life to will be her undoing.
"The Queen has betrayed us!"
Yes, she had. And once all of the Siren's are dead, including her daughter, the Queen will have to give up her country. Every powerful Siren in Circe was here in Dragon's Canyon, and in a few minutes, they would all be dead. The Queen would never be able to launch an attack or sway any country to her aid with only a few meager beginner Sirens. Yes, this would mark the end of the reign of the Siren's. This would be the end of Circe.
Phoebe reached the cave entrance where three Siren's stood outside. Each one of them acknowledged Phoebe with a nod, which she returned. But for some reason, in Phoebe's mind, she went over their names, memorizing them, engraving their faces into her memory.
'Isabelle, Jenn, Monica…'
She wondered why she felt she needed to remember these people. They had been responsible for ruining so many lives, forcing nearby countries to give up land, recourses, anything Circe needed. So why should Phoebe care about them? Perhaps, she pondered, she felt urged to remember them because she would be responsible for killing them. She was going to take many lives this day, and perhaps many more if the repercussions are severe enough.
Phoebe passed through the entrance and followed the line of torches that lit the cave. Its snakelike walls were enormous; large enough for a fleet of guimelifs to travel comfortably through. Indeed, it probably took many guimelifs to build the Machine in the first place.
As she continued to travel deeper into the cave, she passed more of her fellow Sirens, and just as before, she memorized their faces and names. The more she did so, the heavier she felt her body become. With each name and face, she could feel the physical weight of responsibility fall on her because she knew she was going to take away that person's life. In her mind, she felt they deserved it and by killing them, she is saving this world from more suffering. But a life was a life, and she was going to take away them all. She passed by one girl, no more than thirteen years old, yet skilled in the art of the Siren's song. Her life would be taken too, although Phoebe knew her to be a sweet, kindhearted girl, she knew the girl, Nita, was too devoted to Calypso to ever leave her side.
Phoebe burned the memory of Nita into her mind.
Minutes passed as Phoebe traversed inside the catacombs of the cave, seeming to last for hours, until she finally reached her destination. A large circular disk lay engraved against the wall; pictures of Draconians flying around a grand, prosperous city made what lay beyond the door seem like a gift rather than a curse. At the bottom was a separate rectangular engraving where an old wooden door kept the room locked away from the outside world. Standing outside this door was a single woman.
"Hello Jane, I need to speak with Princess Calypso." Phoebe said calmly as she walked towards the woman.
Jane took a single step forward, "Phoebe, you know Calypso doesn't want…"
A flash of metal whirled out of Phoebe's cloak and embedded itself in Jane's stomach. Her eyes were wide as the panic of incoming death began to claim her. Her knees began to collapse on her but Phoebe's blade held her upright. She opened her mouth to speak as a stream of blood escaped the corners of her mouth.
"…You're…the…traitor…"
Unflinching, Phoebe removed her blade as Jane's body fell. She was dead before she hit the floor. Phoebe stepped over her body, pulled hard against the metal bolt until she herd the clank of the door unlock, and pushed. When she was inside, she quickly shut the door again and locked it from the inside. No one else would ever enter this room.
"Jane, I told you I didn't want to be disturbed."
Phoebe silently turned around. She was inside a giant dome. The Machine towered above her, almost reaching the ceiling. Tentacles extended from the Machine and drew power from pink stones that lined the walls. Energists. Dragon's Canyon was full of them. It was the perfect power source. Calypso stood next to the Machine, her back to the door, prepping the Machine and checking on its power levels. Hitomi's pendant was hanging from a lever on the Machine, just to the right of Calypso.
"When I need you I'll call for you, Jane." Calypso yelled, annoyed.
Phoebe looked down at her blade, still dripping with Jane's blood. As a rush of determination swept over her, she tossed the blade into the air, caught it at the hilt, and hurled it at the small pink jewel. The blade pierced through the pendant, shattering it instantly, mixing stone and blood together, as it imbedded itself into the Machine's metallic hull. Calypso flinched away as a few bloodied shards hit her face. She whirled around angrily and looked surprised at Phoebe.
"That was for Cassandra."
Calypso narrowed her eyes for a moment. "I should have known you were the traitor."
"And you should have known that I wouldn't let you get away with what you did."
Calypso grinned. "So you've come to take revenge for my killing her."
"That's right."
She let out a hollow laugh. "You forget, Phoebe. As your superior, not only do have power over men but I hold power over you as well."
Calypso thrust her arms forward as Phoebe felt an invisible force ram into her with the strength of a raging bull. She slid across the floor on her back until she collided with the roughly cut wall.
"How dare you think that you can mess up my plans?"
The same invisible force picked Phoebe up at the throat, leaving her kicking wildly in the air, grasping at a hand that wasn't there. She gagged and choked, fighting to stay conscious.
"Did you really think I would let you get away with it?"
The hand vanished and Phoebe fell several feet till her legs collapsed under her weight. Fire erupted from no where and consumed her legs, slowly traveling up to her torso, arms, and face. The flames existed only in her mind, but the pain was real and she could hear the roaring. It wasn't until the fire was extinguished that she realized the roaring of the fire was her own tortured screams. Phoebe curled into a ball, feeling the dampness of blood all over her. Even pain inside the mind has effects on the body. She felt her strength leave her as her own blood escaped her body. She had to hurry.
Phoebe rested her head against the cold stone floor and stared at Calypso who was several yards away, utter loathing and anger written all over her face. The jewel was gone, her plans ruined. She'd make Phoebe pay for what she had done.
"Now I'm going to destroy you just as I did to your pathetic little friend. You'll be joining Cassandra soon enough."
Just as Calypso raised her arms for one final attack, Phoebe reached inside her shirt and pulled out the pendant, its fierce pink light shining brightly. Calypso recognized it immediately and looked on in fear.
"You'll be joining us as well." Phoebe spat.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Calypso ran towards the fallen woman, screaming in rage, furry, and panic.
Phoebe closed her eyes and saw Cassandra's smiling face, cheering her on, beckoning for her to come…
"I wish…"
When the explosion went off, Merle, Hitomi, and Van clasped their hands over their ears in an effort to muffle its intensity. Celina, who was flying the guimelif as fast as she could, could only wince and grit her teeth at the noise. By that time, they were several miles from the Phoenix, but the explosion was unlike anything they had ever seen. A dome of fire raged over the horizon behind them, reaching out in all directions, throwing rocks, boulders, and bones careening in all directions. Merle, Hitomi, and Van gazed in awe as the dome sped in their direction.
"Faster, Celina! Faster!" Merle screamed.
"I can't! This is as fast as I can go!"
The dome gained on them and was already less than a mile away, throwing debris in all directions. When several pieces collided with the guimelif, Merle hugged closer to the guimelif's chest while Van pulled Hitomi down from the Armor's shoulders and shielded her against the flying rubble.
"What's going on? I'm losing power!" Celina screamed above the roar of the explosion.
"Just keep flying!" Van answered.
When the shockwave was less than a half a mile away, it began to dissipate. The flying matter fell to the ground and the large wind of dust and sand cleared up and returned to the desert it once came. Rocks fell from the sky, some the size of small carriages, but none seemed to endanger the guimelif. When the majority of the dust was clear, Merle pointed to the sky and yelled.
"Look, there's a light!"
Van and Hitomi looked at it too. It was a small silver light, floating down from the sky, heading directly for the guimelif.
"Should we run from it?" Merle asked.
"Not a chance." Celina answered. "We're going to have to land while I make some repairs."
Celina made a decent to the ground as the other three kept their eyes on the light, as it continued to follow them. By the time they landed, the light was upon them and hovering directly above Hitomi. She reached up to touch it when the light was extinguished and a necklace fell into her outstretched arms. When she looked at it, she recognized it immediately. It was Phoebe's pendant. The pink stone had lost its color and become a brilliant white. All its magical properties had been drained away. Hitomi put it on and tucked it safely under her shirt.
'Thank you, Phoebe.'
They had landed along the border of Dragon's Canyon and the edge of the northern forests. Grass crept down a slope and reached out like fingers across the wasteland before turning brown and dieing altogether. Small trees lay scattered across the area where their mothers stood tall and protective in the distance. When Celina announced that repairs were going to take at least two hours, Merle made herself comfortable in the shade of the kneeling guimelif while Van and Hitomi walked off together to get some privacy, and sat at the base of a young sapling. She sat with his arms enfolded around her as she leaned against his chest.
They spoke for a long while, filling in the time gaps of the past week, discovering what had really happened to each other. Hitomi told him of the tree house they had stayed in while hiding from the Sirens, her encounters with Phoebe and why she turned traitor to Circe, and how he had managed to break free of Calypso's spell momentarily at the Market. She told him how she and Merle snuck aboard the Phoenix to try and rescue him, how after their encounter in Dragon's Canyon, Merle and Celina (also known as Dilandau) were able to bring her back, and how they had planned to go get him for the second time.
Van had a more difficult time telling his version of events, especially the parts that concerned him hurting Hitomi or when Calypso had kissed him. But Hitomi only reassured him that everything was fine, and he was able to stumble through his retelling. He was surprised to feel relieved after he had told her everything, even the reasons as to why he tried to kill himself. All he knew was that there were no secrets between them and that everything was okay again.
They were silent for a while, mostly because of exhaustion rather than lack of anything to say. Hitomi found herself glancing at the wounds on Van's arms and hands. She felt guilty that he had endured so much pain for her, but he had already told her that they didn't hurt anymore, which, of course, she didn't believe for a second. She'd just make sure he got the help he needed when they returned to Fanelia.
Van fingered the splint on Hitomi's arm. Through the cracks of the torn fabric which held the brace together, he saw the markings of bruising along her wrist. He held onto her hand, gently stroking it with his thumb as if by doing so, he could take away the pain. He too found himself glancing at Hitomi's neck where spots were more evident in the sunlight. He fought to look away and decided to follow her line of sight.
Van caught her gazing up at the Mystic Moon and he sighed sadly.
"I'll understand if you want to go back. You'll be safer there…"
"Van," she interrupted, "I left my home because I wanted to be with you." she put a hand on his cheek. "I'm staying right here."
Van smiled softly as a mixture of emotions flashed in his eyes. "I don't deserve you."
Hitomi reached her good arm around his neck and pulled him close. "Maybe I'm exactly what you deserve."
He closed the gap and kissed her softly on the lips.
They heard muffled giggles and broke away in time to see Merle dash behind the guimelif. Even Celina was suppressing a smile while avoiding their eyes.
Van smiled and looked down at the woman in his arms.
"You want to know the first thing I'm going to do once we get back to Fanelia?"
"What's that?" she smiled.
"Get a divorce."
…THE END…
AN: Well, I guess I didn't kill Hitomi off after all. But, come on, you all actually thought she was dead for a while, huh? grins happily I just couldn't resist. I didn't want to give you the impression that she would come back, so, I kind of just played along. sheepish laugh And THEN I made you think Van was dead too, huh? But, he's okay now. Yup yup!!!
But you all liked it, right? Now that it's over, was this story all that great? hides behind rock as barrage of tomatoes fly out of no where Yeah, I didn't think so…but I didn't think it was that bad, for my first fic I mean. When I started writing it, it was going to be a typical first Escaflowne fic, but as time went on, I kind of changed things around to try and make it more unique. Anywho, I hope you all liked it.
I actually spent hours trying to figure out how to end this thing, but just in case you don't like this ending, here's how it really ends:
The Queen of Circe kills herself after signing a document of surrender to Fanelia, Celina finally manages to deal with her alter ego and live a semi-peaceful life as an aunt to Allen and Saria's children, Merle and Titus (the man she was dating whom I've changed his name) decided later on to just be good friends(sorry Moony), and a few weeks later, after the whole Circe thing has blown over and everyone has healed from their injuries, Van and Hitomi get engaged, get married, and live happily ever after and have three kids (two boys and a girl) : Folken, Balgus, and Phoebe. Hurray, hurray, oh happy day!!!
But, now the story is over, and I can devote all my energy to Flying High!!! I'm sure that makes many of you VERY happy. But I'll need a while to re-read my own story and try to remember what I was leading up too.
Thank you all for reading this story and sticking too it! I'm so happy I've finished my first short story…on fanfiction. I actually wrote another one a long time ago, but, it needs work…I may decide to re-write that one and turn it to an Escaflowne fan fic…well, we'll just see what happens…
Now, please review and tell me what you've all thought of this story. Is the ending okay? I don't mind complaints. I'm actually planning on re-posting this story to correct all my spelling/grammar errors.
Thank you Everyone!!!! And good bye for now!!! Next stop, Flying High!!! And, coming soon, Cartoon Feud (Yu-Gi-Oh comedy).
Shout Outs:
Kawaiikel: Alright, now you're famous!!! HEY EVERYONE!!! THIS PERSON RIGHT HERE IS RE-WRITING A CHAPTER NAME!!! ALL HAIL KAWAIIKEL!!! laughs I'm just kidding. Thank you for all your help and thanks for sticking with this story. Jaa Mata!!!
My Son Harry: I'm sending the letter to "You-know-who" the same day I post this chapter. I hope this works! Love you!!!
Moony: HA HA!!! THE END!!! And you thought I was going to kill Merle and Celina laughs I SOOOOO GOT YOU!!!!! :P Well, I'll see you at the Volper's house at 5!!! DON'T FORGET A SNACK!!! SUGAR!!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA……
Tonks: I don't even know if you're still reading this. But if you are, what do you think?