Escaflowne:   Mirrors

Episode 17:  Resoluteness

            "Hitomi!?!  Hitomi!?!"  Van stood over she and Yosu.  His double held her tightly, staring down into her empty, gaping eyes.  He'd caught her when she'd collapsed and never let go.  Van shook her shoulders violently.  "HITOMI!?!"

            "Its not like Yukari!"  Amano cried.  "She's dead!"

            "Shutup!"  Van swiped at him blindly and returned to her body, his fingers digging into her arms.  "HITOMI!"

            "Lord Van!"  Merle fretted.  "She's died before and came back!  Keep trying!  Save her again!"

            Van's eyes reddened at the edges, fear frustration and anger stabbing them with tears.  How could he not have been here when she fell?  She couldn't die like this, not when she was so young and they had forever left to be together.  Yukari fell to her knees by Hitomi's head, the green eyes murky like standing water, not moving.  Van grabbed her face and screamed directly into her face.  "HITOMI!  Don't leave me like this!"

            Yukari felt woozy but focused on her best friend's face.  A tear fell down onto her cheek.  The Lunar looked up and saw that it came from Van.  Hitomi's eyes began to water.  "You're doing it Van!  Keep trying!  It's working!"

            "Hitomi!?!"  Van fell down to his knees as well, pulling her up out of Yosu's arms and across his chest.  "HITOMI!"

            Koneko stared into her face where it rested on his trembling shoulder.  "She's crying!"

            Van tightened his hold, not allowing the life in her to escape.  Yukari pressed her ear to Hitomi's back, listening hard.  She tired to pick out a heartbeat or breath among the sounds of her own pounding heart and Van's anxiety.  Hitomi was cold, but not frozen.  Yukari thought she could feel movement below her skin. "I hear her heart!  She's alive!"

            Merle looked into the girl's face.  "Hitomi!?"

            The girl was unresponsive, tears glistening on the edges of her eyelashes.  Van loosened his grip and let her slip down into a cradled position along his arm.  She was alive, but she wasn't there.  Her eyes were still shallow and cloudy.  As he watched, they slowly closed, squishing the tears out over her face in trickles.  His body was suffering from the rush of excitement and the deep sorrow and relief he felt now.  His breath quick and uncontrolled, threatening to sob, he closed his eyes and pressed his face into her hair.  The rest of the room bowed their heads, feeling the pain of a strong young man brought to the edge.  Merle sat down next to them, her ears pressed flat and her blue eyes pooling. 

            Yukari was feeling lightheaded, more so now that Hitomi wasn't dead.  She staggered up and into Amano, who watched the lovers on the floor, aching inside. The air was thick with sorrow.  It seemed like despair was all the Merchant ship had gained as they retreated over the mountains.  The rain was now falling hard, but it did not dilute the misery.  Millerna and Dryden sat on a window seat, the sound of the rainfall behind them.  She pressed her face into his chest, crying silently, her eyes closed.  She wanted it all to be a dream, she would never open them again if she could help it.  She did not want to see what had become of them, and Dryden was warm.  It made her pain a little easier bear with him there. 

            He was melancholy as well.  Even with Millerna pressed tightly to him and refusing to let go, he held a remnant of his old doubts and self-pities.  He blamed himself for everything, it was he who pushed to pull off the mission, and even though he knew how dangerous it was he let Millerna go straight into the heart of untold danger.  He was supposed to take care of her, her and everyone.  They didn't have to have gone to Zaibach.  They could have gone north to Deidlas – or to Egzardia, or to Fried, or the moon or the ocean or anywhere but the den of the lions.  What a worthless leader he was. This proved that he could, indeed, do nothing right.  His arm loosened around her with a sigh, but she clung tighter.  She wanted him there.  'I don't deserve the privilege,' he thought, but he strengthened his grip anyway.

            Yosu stood, useless now to Hitomi, but broken for it.  While he was afraid for the girl he'd come to love, he was bitterly envious of Van.  It made him guilty as well.  He felt selfish and resigned to a corner, his stomach knotting.  Daiji had previously been in Yosu's new corner, feeling uncomfortable and gaudy in the circle of the boy's mind.  He looked to his double and got the same impression, then noticed Jiai back on the window seat gnawing a finger and staring at a point across the room where the floor met the wall.  He felt his heart hurt.  Maybe it was because she was Millerna, but maybe it was because she looked helpless, but he felt the need to go to her.  He sat on the seat next to her.  "Are you okay?"  She did not speak but laced her arms around him, her eyes not straying from their focal point.  He tightened his lips and stared down at her head, then put his arm around her shoulders and sighed.

            Dilandau was pacing along the back wall, rubbing his temples, the world seeming to fuzz in and out as the sound of Van's emotion reached his ears.  The very atmosphere was making him throb.  Suru and Hakai said against the wall watching him pass back and forth before them.  He could feel the girl's eyes on him as if they were attached to him by magnets.  She was attentive to him alone and any glance he gave her made his red eyes twinge violet.  Hakai got up and attempted to mimic his step, he couldn't quite keep up because of the length of his double's legs.

            Allen came into the room with Gadess, he'd been flying about the ship since he returned from the fight.  Now he paused holding the door handle as he looked over the room, the people coupled off and dreary.  "What's wrong?"

            A couple people looked up to him but no more than that.  Koneko answered him.  "Hitomi's in a coma, and everyone else is sad."

            "Hitomi?"

            Van buried her in his embrace, as if protecting her from the news of her own condition.  Allen narrowed his eyes on him, his heart beating faster with the memory of the feelings he held for her.  When his eyes hit Millerna so deeply sunk into Dryden he felt his hidden temper flare.  He threw the door from his hand as he stormed inside, it slamming against the wall and making the rest of them jump.  Gadess grabbed it quickly as it bounced back, looking up to the faces as if to apologize for the sudden noise in the tomblike room.  Llave poked his head around Gadess like a curious child or a park squirrel.  He bit his lip as he watched the Knight march over to his master.  Allen's voice seemed brash and ugly against the sound of the rain.  "Dryden."  The merchant paused a second, his eyes flat and isolated just as they were when they had met him a day ago.  "The ship needs repairs.  I'm taking it to Fried."

            Dryden looked at him out of the corner of his eye.  Llave stepped up to implore him.  "Sir, we are in need of repairs.  There's rain getting in the hull from the holes those soldiers made.  Fried is closest."

            Dryden blinked, closed his eyes and nodded.  Allen put his hands on his hips.  "Is that a consent?  YOU are in charge on this ship.  Give me an order."

            "Do as you deem fit, Schezar."  He said, dispassionately.  "Who am I to dissent?"

            Allen narrowed his blue eyes and stormed out with a swish of his hair.  Llave cocked his head to study the merchant as he put his head on Millerna's and closed his eyes.  She pressed her face into his clothes.  Gadess jumped out of his boss's way, still holding the door, and whispered to Llave when Allen had gone.  "Kid, come on."  The dusty blond followed the sergeant out and returned with them to the bridge a couple steps behind Allen.  When they arrived, he mustered enough courage to speak to the Knight's back.  "Sir Allen?"  The question was not acknowledged and Llave's brown eyes drifted down.  "Do you think that the young lady with the green eyes will be all right."

            The query only hardened Allen more.  Gadess turned back and answered for him.  "We don't know what will happen to Hitomi, but don't worry, we'll try all we can.  Maybe there's someone in Fried who can cure her, or maybe she just needs to fix herself.  She's pulled through stuff like this before."

            Llave felt assured until Allen finally spoke.  "There is no one in Fried that can help her.  This condition is new to her.  It's a result of the Lunar doubles I am sure of it.  It is just like Marlene and Yukari – " He paused abruptly and swallowed.  "something has happened to her copy.  I think she died."

            The rest of the crew felt strangely, their leader so troubled, but soon fell into their new routines.  Kio was feeling very comfortable at the helm, the broken glass and rubble cleared out of the space and the new glass salvaged from below loyally keeping the rain out of their equipment.  The instruments and adornments were much finer here than on the Crusade.  Those used to a common skiff felt like kings at their stations.  Llave and the other three original crewmembers held the more obscure points of necessity on the bridge.  Allen stood at the center of it all as Gadess relayed orders.  "We're headed to Fried for repairs.  Set us on a bearing for Godasim, but don't heat the stones too much.  I don't feel comfortable in this territory."

            "Yes Sir!"  Kio said, importantly.  "Coming about!"

            Allen stared as the mountains circled them out the window.  So many countries had fallen in so short a time… he wondered… was Chid safe?

                             Escaflowne                                 

            Night had fallen in Zaibach but no one could tell.  The rain fell from the dark hazy.  The green light lit up the clouds in patches making them look like inverted waves of dying landscape.  The rain caught soot, dirt and pollution as it fell, gathering into filthy, sticky pools.  Seguir wandered this wasteland, the ground darker than the sky, his wings dragging through the muck as he roamed, aimlessly, lost in the place and rejecting every square inch of it.  He wanted to leave; to leave and never return, but his wings wilted, heavy with soil and water.  He was a grounded bird.  A wounded Angel.  And he kept hearing Ayen's voice calling for him, sometimes the soft sound of her sweetness in the rain, sometimes a shout from behind, sometimes the spine-shattering sound of fear itself shrieking 'DADDY' like an arrow through the air.  That frozen look on her face as they reached, her eyes begging him to save her.  Save me.  But he'd failed.  At these times in the sound of sticky footsteps or sliding mud he could hear Trapan's snakelike voice hissing… "Hero…"

            He was miserable.  Miserable beyond misery.  What had he left to live for?  He was alone in the world.  The Master had demanded everything of him and Trapan had taken it with pleasure.  When did things go wrong?  When did an innocent life turn into such a disaster?  Why did he share his secret with the world?  It was Haman's fault he knew, the slime ball was so anxious to pry his wings out of him.  Someone like Haman would turn him into the faction in an instant.  It seemed like he was doomed from the start.  Why couldn't the world work out for good instead of evil?  It seemed that Gaea was plagued with greed and death.  Trapan was expecting him to rejoin the Faction!  That was proof enough that the planet was accustomed to the deaths of loved ones and the pull of selfish intent… how could any feeling human being return to the place that ripped his whole life from him?  Could they really expect a beating heart to offer allegiance and obedience after suffering this much betrayal and torture?            Not from him!  He refused, swearing it on his own grave if that's what it came to.  If it wasn't for the Faction he would still have his wife and daughter, he would still have a peaceful country to live in and a sense of innocence that seemed blissful as he looked back on it.  "I'll rip my own wings off."  He muttered.  "I'll rip off my own wings before I go back."  She stopped and stared into a wide puddle, too dark to see his own reflection in.  "It wouldn't mean anything… to rip off my own wings… the world would still come to an end."  For all the loved ones who ever existed for anyone else anywhere else in Gaea, for all the children yet to be born to parents and all the men and women left to fall in love, for the future of Gaea as it was a new day would never come if the Master succeeded.  What he needed was to defeather him… shred the Master's wings and make him fall.  He wandered into the shell of a broken building, sparks flying randomly from a frayed wire held on a wooden post.  He noticed it briefly but paid it no mind.  Dornkirk used his knowledge of science to advance the Zaibach culture technologically but failed to save it from being the scourge of the planet.  All of Gaea would be in ruins soon.  Now that the Master had the Power of Atlantis what could possibly be beyond his capabilities?  The rest of the countries of the world could fall in a day.  If he wished it they could fall in a second.  How powerful was he?  Where would he go now that he had his treasure?  Perhaps he would head for Atlantis itself, up north lost in the sea and buried in snow.  Or maybe he would forge a new Atlantis, or give rebirth to the old one, or return to the moon, or create a new one.  It was impossible to tell.  He felt himself despairing again.  "How powerful is he?"  He asked himself.  "Can Atlantis do those things under its own power or did the Draconians use some other magic to accomplish what they did?  Even as a Draconian, how can I stop an army that's growing by the minute?"

            Just then his foot hit something on the ground.  It did not feel like a rock or part of the building.  It clattered at his collision and glinted gold in the struggling green city light.  He stopped and stooped.  It was a sword.  The handle and scabbard were richly made, dirty but undamaged, the handle emblazoned with the Fanelian crest.  "This is the King's sword."  He cried.  "Ayen brought it.  But how – "  He was in the middle of their old hiding place, but the detail passed quickly as he arrived at an important conclusion.  "Van!  The Eyes!  They have been fighting the Master this whole time!  I should find them and tell them what I know… perhaps with my help- if we work together we can overcome him!"  He took the sword tightly up in his hand and drew the blade a little to check its condition.  Strong, silver, unblemished, still sharp.  He'd made his decision.  Snapping it back into its sheath, he strapped it to his belt and headed back for the Pravada standing lonely where he'd left it gaping open.  The ship he'd seen before… it was headed east.  He'd find them before this awful night was out!

                             Escaflowne                                 

            Lyse, kind of Zaibach, sat on the floor with the empty body of his wife and queen across his lap.  He shut her still blue eyes and combed her blonde hair away from her paling face, her skin already growing cold.  He bit his lip to stop its trembling and tried to keep his eyes from tearing.  The young king was in shock, reliving the moment his world had collapsed; his own guards had been holding spears to him and his perfect bride, his strength, his support, his match was stricken down.  He felt crippled with no crutch to hold him up.  The world was upside down.  The prospect of going on… of gathering himself and ruling a kingdom without her…it was inconceivable.  He ran his fingers of Eries's pallid cheek.  Why didn't he realize that he needed her this much when she was alive?  That he loved her this much?  Maybe he hadn't known until now.

            A shadow grew up and over him as the guardsmen backed away.  Lyse could feel a draft of cold air and laid eyes on the edge of a jet-black robe.  He followed it up to a sneering, serpentine face.  Trapan stared down on him with coal black eyes.  Lyse sensed the blood in his veins begin to chill, but it was not until Areolar's face appeared beside him that he felt true terror.  The King could never forget the face of the man who killed his wife.  Trapan spoke.  "I see you are in pain, am I right your majesty?"  Lyse's contracted eyes shot up to him with a tremble.  "It is the lady Zaibach, correct?  She has caused your pain."  The king got a lump in his throat and tightened his arms around Eries's body.  Trapan sniggered.  "Yes.  Well, my name is Trapan, a prince among gods, and I don't… delight… in pain."  He snapped his fingers.  "In fact, it is the desire of my heart to remove your pain from you."  Lyse noticed the guards approaching in answer to their leader's call.  They all grabbed a hold of the corpse.

            Lyse did not let her go.  He pulled her closer. "No! Stop!"  Despite his zeal he was overpowered and she was wrenched from his arms, removed swiftly from sight by way of the front door. 

Trapan heard the portal close and smiled more broadly as Lyse turned his embrace on himself, his shoulders shaking under his thick royal cape.  "Do not worry young King.  We will make a quick end of her.  She will pain you no longer."  Lyse turned his head from Trapan's shadow, his shape that of a terrified child covering his eyes from a monster he'd seen in a nightmare.  The shadow bent to level his eyes with his trembling form.  "My young liege, I believe, if you value your life, that your best alternative is to surrender all powers and authorities to myself and my entourage.  Do you agree?"

            "I – no – I – uh"  Lyse was crumbling, the spears of his captor guards lowered on him.  One pricked him in the back and he jumped out of his ball straight into the sharp burning points of Trapan's eyes.  His train of thought was obliterated and he stared paralyzed into those pupils. 

            Trapan loomed closer.  "What was that?  I asked you if you prized your life.  Or were you thinking you would rather join your Queen wandering the mists of the lost?"

            Lyse sniveled and cowered, every limb shaking and his muscles rubbery in complete weakness.  He knew for an instant he was supposed to stand firm.  But broken so easily, he managed only one sentence from his trembling lips.  "Don't- Don't kill me -  Please."  Trapan took it as a 'yes'.

            Torsion was recovering well.  Since the rest of the army was stationed inside the castle grounds, she had the privilege of being treated for her injuries in royal accommodations.  She was much less than honored.  No fancy technique or executive physician could heal her bleeding broken heart.  She sat at the edge of her bed, her face and shoulder bandaged in layers of gauze and cloth, and her left arm cradled close to her body.  The wound Resultant inflicted to lure Virial had severed all of the major ligaments and nerves in the shoulder, rendering the limb useless, immobile and living only in the sense that her blood circulated to nourish its cells.  It was dead weight, most of the feeling in it gone, strapped tightly across her stomach with a fitted sling.  She wished her heart would go numb as well.  Her commander was dead.  She had been the bait for a trap.  She understood that.  He had told her he loved her and she knew deep down that she loved him back, but she had never really told him how much.  Their conversation on the plain of Egzardia was an awakening for her, she realized that her hard, controlling superior was a front.  He was a completely different person than he appeared on the outside, and he only showed himself to people he cared very much for.  She'd decided to spend the rest of her life with him, but then her brother interfered.  Areolar was the one who drove the sword into him.  Murdered.  Torsion grew hard, her brown eyes burning at the thought.  Areolar murdered Glaucus.  He was aiming for Virial but killed Glaucus.  It wasn't fair.  It wasn't fair to her and it wasn't fair to the one who was lost.  All she could think of was the outrage, the anger… Areolar.

            Prestress and Vector appeared in the door.  The beast man stepped inside, his head bowed a little and his long sharp ears pulled back.  "Torsion?"  She looked up, her eyes still flaming.  He reacted slightly, the impala ears coming up part-ways and his eyes setting temperately.  "Trapan has acquired control of the country.  We are leaving Zaibach tomorrow, most likely for the Master's Safehouse in Fried."

            "We?"  She asked bitterly.

            "Your brother has been assigned the Commander's old position at our head."  Vector told her, not sounding happy.  "He will use Trapan's Melef to lead the Maginot and be esteemed in the new Draconian Kingdom."

            "Rewarded!?"  Torsion shouted sharply.  "He's been PROMOTED!?  For killing Glaucus!?  He's a Commander!?"  She was breathing hard, her eyes wide and blood coming through the patch on her face in a ribbon.  "He will be honored in the new order for killing an innocent man in cold blood!?"  She bolted to her feet, her right arm held across her left, grabbing a hold of the elbow tightly.

            "It does not seem to be in balance."  Prestress admitted.  "The crime of mutiny and the honor he's been granted do not equalize.  Even on an absolute value scale, the weights are unbalanced – the good far outweighs the bad.  Your family name will praised eternally, secure in Draconian history, while the name of Virial will be wiped from memory forever."

            "Not while I live."  She said.  "What are titles and family when all truth and righteousness are forgotten?"

            "Trapan is not a logical man."  Vector reported.  "I have learned that he has killed many since we left his court in Fanelia.  I sense he operates independently from the master when he feels it necessary, or when he pleases."

            "And he's the one who's going to reclaim Atlantis for us?"  Torsion asked, her face becoming resolute.  "This isn't the way we were supposed to ascend.  Our ancestors created Gaea to be a world without blood and death.  Trapan isn't fit to lead us if those are the methods he chooses."

            "I admit that I agree."  Prestress said.  "But what are you proposing?"

            Torsion turned to them at attention, throwing her head up commandingly.  "Gentlemen, we're deserting."

            "We?"  Vector asked. "On what authority?"

            "Mine."  She announced, growing in strength.  "I am assuming leadership of our party.  We're going to Asgard to raise Atlantis before Trapan does."

            "Are you convinced that this is the best move?"  Prestress asked.

            "We're doing it with sound minds and knowledge of the true destiny of Draconians."  She answered.  "The gods of the past and present all desire the same as we do… a Gaea at peace where we can be accepted.  If we find the Mystic City and appeal to Fate with honesty we should be able to bring about the revolution of the world without Trapan's twisted heart involved."  She looked the two of them in the eye, infusing them with confidence.  "Are you with me?"

            "I find no imbalance in your plan."  Prestress nodded.  "I will do as you say."

            Vector pressed his lips.  "I am concerned about Resultant and Areolar."  The names made Torsion look angry.  "They lack you fervor, and truthfully, seem content with Trapan's new orders."

            "They won't be coming with us."  Torsion said with a snarl.  "I've ceased to associate myself with either of them.  The three of us will forge ahead on our own.  Perhaps others will follow.  Can the Maginot be configured to operate one handed?"

            "Yours is receiving such a treatment."  Prestress announced.

            Vector had a peculiar gleam in his eye.  "I saw to it."

            "Then we strike out as soon as it is ready!"  She decided.  She was ready to leave now.  With her brother and this terrible faction behind her she would be free to find new hope in the future.  "We will fly out and never look back.  The future we're facing right now forsakes us.  We owe it to the rest of our race across the planet to overcome it."

            Prestress's golden eyes closed.  "And I am even."

                             Escaflowne                                 

            Hitomi was stable and had been moved to her own room.  She lay comatose – not alive but not dead – with Van sitting beside her holding her hand.  Not long after the others decided to leave and trickled out to various parts of the ship.  Merle and Koneko had tried to start a game but it had failed.  Now they sat on top of a bookshelf swinging their legs.  Koneko sighed.  "Do ya think Hitomi'll be okay?"

            "I dunno."  Merle replied.  "She doesn't look okay now."

            "That's the truth."  Koneko huffed, slouching.  "Can we do anything to help d'ya think?"

            "Not likely."  The cat answered.  "When have we been able to help before this?"

            "Good point."  Her double agreed.  "So what do we do?"

            "Stay out of the way."  Merle said simply.  "Find something to do.  Lord Van is absorbed with her," she sounded sarcastic and jealous, "so I can't hang out with HIM."

            "I thought you'd given him up."  Koneko recalled.

            "He's still mine."  She said.  "He was mine first.  I don't like him spending ALL his time with her.  I feel ignored."

            "Well, we'll have fun somehow."  Koneko resolved.  They heard voices coming up the hall and stopped to listen.  Suru was speaking.

            "Where are you going?"  She and Dilandau passed by the door.  Merle and Koneko exchanged glances and clambered down form the shelf to join them.  They found a small crisis going on.  Suru strode ahead, sideways beside the 16-year-old.  "You're not leaving!?"

            "Yeah I am!"  Dilandau responded, rubbing his eyes.  "I ain't sticking around here with all this sap!"

            "Dil's leaving?"  Koneko asked.

            "He says he's leaving!"  Suru confirmed.  "I don't want him to!  He can't leave can he?"

            :I'm not a part of your little family, here."  Dilandau snarled.  "I don't care about that moon girl or this ship or the country or anything. I'm looking out for me!  I don't want to be here so I'm gone!  Understood?"

            "But I want you to be here!"  Suru pleaded.  "I don't want you to leave."

            "Yeah!"  Merle cried.  "What about Celena?"

            "Ow!"  Dilandau grabbed his head.  "Who!?  I don't' know anybody named Celena – OW!"

            "You're taking her hostage!"  Koneko said. "You can't go while you and she are the same person!"

            "No they're NOT!"  Hakai ran up from behind and shoved through the cat doubles.

            They all stopped.  Dilandau and Suru turned to face him as he stood at the center of their group.  Merle bared one fang. "What do you mean 'no they're not'!?  You SAW her change!  Duh they're the same person!"

            "They share the same body!"  He shoved her.  "Not the same person!"

            She shoved back.  "Don't push me!"

            "What do you know!?"  Koneko accused.  "You're like ten years old!"

            "I'm  TWELVE!"  Hakai shouted.  "And I know more than you!  I'M his double!  You don't know anything about it!"

            "I don't want him to go away."  Suru restated.  "Don't leave, Dilandau!  Stay here!  You're our friend!"

            "Shuttup, kid!"  He snapped, his hands on his ears.  "Your voice gives me a headache."

            "Come on, Dil."  Hakai grabbed his arm.  "You and me'll go find something to do."

            "Yeah, Suru, who needs them."  Koneko said, the two of them sweeping her off with them as they went the opposite direction.  "They can do what they want.  We can find our own fun."

                             Escaflowne                                 

            The Pravada was unhindered by the rain as it took off through the city, its cape flowing still and the boosters firing.  Seguir put his misery behind him as he traveled and once the first mountain was between him and Zaibach, the burden seemed less difficult.  He focused on finding King Van and the Eyes.  This range of mountains was tall and imposing, little green showing on them except in the valley where water runoff would gather.  The shower was racing currents down the hard stone faces, making them shine like ruddy metal.  'At least the lightning has stopped' he thought.  'Ayen never liked lightning'.  He wove around the outside of one of the slick giants, watching his flanks for tailing melefs.  If he was being hunted that was one thing, but it he was leading someone to the Eyes and her party, then that would be bad.  Ayen's double would be in danger…  The group on that ship might be the only ones that could stop this disaster before Gaea suffered.

            Content for a little that he was alone, he focused on what he was doing. "They were headed for Fried, probably Godasim considering royalty is at home with royalty.  Queen Millerna's nephew is the Duke afterall."  He saw the clouds overhead beginning to break up. "I should hurry, when the sky clears, Trapan will be headed this way too for sure.  The Master probably wants him to join him at his Safehouse.  I can't let them fly straight into the Master's hand."

            Kicking it into gear, the Pravada sped up and flew quickly between the mountains in search for the heroes.

                                                   Escaflowne                             

            "Van?"  Jiai stood in the doorway to Hitomi's bedroom.  The king was sitting by her head holding her hand, just as he'd been an hour ago when she'd left.  Jiai's blue-green eyes drifted to the ground, rocking on her heels and feeling awkward she addressed his back again.  "Are you alright?"

            "I'm staying here."  He said.  He chafed her hand.  "Hitomi needs me."

            "But are you okay?"  Jiai repeated, watching his thumb move across the cold hand.

            "I'm staying."

            Jiai bowed her head, receiving her answer.  "Okay."  She tarried a little in the doorway, giving the doting lover a concerned expression.  The thought of what would happen if Hitomi never woke up….  She stepped away from the scene finding images of her friend's death too fearful to consider. 

She had already passed Yosu when he startled her.  "She hasn't changed has she?"

            Jiai took a deep breath.  "Yosu you scared me!"  He was leaning against the wall beside the door.  He must have appeared there while she was talking.  Now the eyes that she couldn't see on Van stared at her through orange bangs.  Jiai hung her head a little.  "No, but she's quiet now."

            "He's staying with her right?"  Yosu said with disdain.  "I heard."  He frowned and crossed his arms across his school uniform.  "If he's in there I can't be."

            "You can go in."  Jiai told him quietly.

            "No."  He closed his eyes and frowned deeper.  "I'm already in there."  Jiai started to say more but stopped.  Nothing she could add would make any difference.  Instead of reminding him about his uniqueness she moved on, leaving him there to soak in whatever multifaceted broth he was brewing in his head. 

            She left the lodging deck and headed down the rich wood staircase to a carpeted hallway.  Depending on the mood, this ship could take many different forms.  To the lighthearted, it seemed open, inviting, colorful and intricate.  To the salt worn and troubled it was remarkably cavernous, cluttered and unfeeling.  She did not have any place in particular that she wanted to go in it.  She saw up ahead as Merle, Koneko and Suru passed into a study.  The two girls plopped Suru down.  "Okay, what do you want to do for fun?"

            Suru bowed her head.  "I don't know."

            "We could play marbles again."  Merle suggested.  "You remember, we taught that marble game to you and Celena."

            "I miss Celena."  Suru said, smally.

            "Hmm."  Koneko sighed.

            Merle swished her striped tail.  Suddenly she received a blast of inspiration. "Hey!  I know what we should do!"

            Koneko became hopeful.  "Whatcha got, Merle?"

            Merle held her fists purposely before her.  "We should get Celena back!"

            "You mean turn Dilandau inside out again?"  Koneko asked.

            Merle nodded.  "Right, you did it before, didn't you Suru?"

            Suru looked afraid.  "But wouldn't that hurt Dilandau?  I don't want  him to be hurt!  I like him too!"

            Koneko's amber eyes bugged.  "You what!?"

            "You like him?"  Merle cried.  "How can you like HIM!?!  He's like, pure evil!  And you're Celena's double too!"

            Koneko nodded fervently.  "You should hate every bit of him!"

            "But I like him."  Suru peeped.  "Hakai is Dilandau's double.  I like my brother.  I should like Dilandau too."

            Koneko scratched her head.  "I guess that makes sense.  But then again I can't understand how you can like having Hakai around either."

            "So are we going to get Celena back or what?"  Merle asked

            "I think we should try it."  Her double said.  "Its something to do anyway.  And it'll keep Dil from running away.  Let's  plot!"

            Yukari was standing on one of the balconies with Amano.  "Do you think Hitomi is going to be alright?"

            "You keep asking that."  Amano noted.  "Stop worrying.  I'm sure Hitomi will be fine."

            "What do you think happened?"  Yukari asked.  She tightened her grip on his arm.  "Do you… do you think her double died."  Amano looked down to her, himself growing concerned.  His girlfriend stuck to her thought.  "I mean, I wasn't connected exactly when Marlene died.   Perhaps the shock of having a connected person suddenly disappear did this to her."

            "Perhaps."  Amano agreed reluctantly.  He didn't want to think about the possibility.  Doubles and Death and Attacks were all very sensitive to him.

            Yukari read his hesitation in his tone.  "What's wrong?"

            "I don't like any of this."  He admitted.  "I mean, if fate and people have been copied then how can we fix all these problems we've been having?  Can we do anything at all with these connections now that we know we have them or do we have to live for the rest of our lives with people passing out and nearly dying spontaneously?  Even after we get back home?  That is if we ever do."

            Yukari bowed her head.  "I never thought of that.  I don't know what to say."

            Just then Millerna walked passed.  Yukari saw her from the corner of her eye and welcomed an excuse to change the subject.  "Millerna!  How are you doing?"

            The Queen turned a weary expression and a forced smile to them.  "Better.  I could cry for days, but I know that we don't have time for that.  Right now I'm just dealing with my emotions and trying to sort out some things.  I'll be alright."

            Yukari softened her brown eyes on her.  "Are you sure?"

            "I'm fine."  Millerna answered.  She looked at Amano who was glancing back at her over his shoulder, his chin length brown hair partially obscuring his face.  She trained on his blue eyes and paused.  "You look so much like Allen."

            Amano seemed disgruntled at this and broke eye contact, glancing back every minute or so to see if she was still staring at him.  She noticed that he was growing angrier the more he thought about her words.  Yukari noticed none of this and moved on with the conversation as seamlessly as if Millerna had said nothing at all.  "I thought for sure you'd be with Dryden.  You two were inseparable a little while ago."

            Millerna was suddenly struck with a look of panic, as if she'd been caught doing something wrong, but recovered quickly so that only Yukari noticed.  "I - I was, but I thought he needed some alone time."

            "Oh," Yukari sounded doubtful.  "Okay."

            Millerna heard her skepticism and looked into her eyes.  She could see Marlene in them, memories of a time when she and her sisters lived together in Palas peacefully floating into her head.  There was a trust in those memories and she appealed to Yukari with a confiding tone.  "Can I talk to you for a bit?  About – you know – private things?"

            "Oh, sure, Millerna."  She agreed.  "Right now?"  Millerna nodded.  Yukari looked up to her boyfriend.  "You don't mind?"

            "No, no," He replied.  "I guess I'll go check on Allen or something."

            "Okay."  Yukari approved.  "I'll find you later."  They broke company, Millerna leading Yukari down the hall one direction and Amano taking off for the bridge the other.

            While Dryden was in one of his studies feeling particularly depressed and not at all like being alone.  The mountains floated by slowly, dry and lifeless against a blue sky that seemed out of place.  Despite the pit of worthlessness he felt he was falling into, traveling always made him a little better.  Before all of these new people came he would spend hours staring out the window trying to forget his troubles.  Now it seemed not to be working, his head swimming with all the ways he'd failed in the last 48 hours. 

Daiji recognized this miserable feeling and came looking for him.  The 21-year-old came up and stood beside him at the rail.  "Hey."

            Dryden turned his head, his ponytail sweeping over one shoulder.  Daiji leaned down on the banister to match his counterpart's position, taking a moment to examine the sharply sloping crags as they disappeared into misted valleys below them.  "Its nice."

            "Yeah."  Dryden agreed after a pause.  "I don't know why but, I don't seem to enjoy it as much as I used to, you know, before the war and all."

            "Hmn."  Daiji straightened again, giving him a look.  He had something to share, but didn't really know how to go about voicing it.  He finally decided to just let it out.  "Listen, I know how you feel."  Dryden's green eyes cast over Daiji's and locked with them as he stood.  "No, seriously, I know EXACTLY how you feel."  He knocked on his own chest.  "Right in here.  And I just want to say, whatever you've got going on, I'm here for you.  I'm worried about you."

            Dryden exhaled heavily and leaned back against the railing.  "I'm sorry about that."  He looked quickly to his friend.  "That you feel the same, not hat you're concerned.  The fact that you care makes me feel better, actually.  Although I don't really see why you would."

            "What's that supposed to mean?"  Daiji pried, "I could start spitting out reasons why I should care, but I'd rather get down to business.  What's eating you?  Maybe I can help."

            "I don't know."  Dryden said, staring into the library blankly.  "I'd hate for you to get too involved and catch it too."  Daiji wasn't backing down, so Dryden hung his head and confessed.  "The truth is, there really isn't a reason why I still feel like this.  I felt lonely before.  Lonely and useless… inadequate, weak, troublesome, incapable of doing just about anything right." He suddenly caught Daiji's eyes again and continued.  "Because of how I behaved.  I was king you know?  But I was terrible at it.  I panicked when things went wrong and made stupid decisions out of ignorance that may have made the situation worse.  Millerna was married to me, but she didn't love me and she didn't make any attempt at it either, and with my father and Haman breathing down my neck the whole time I  - …"  He frowned, looking at nothing again, or perhaps looking inward.  "The generals and advisors were all shouting orders and tactics at me.  Allen and Van were glaring at me the whole time and thinking – I could tell by their eyes – thinking how… bad… I was at the whole thing.  And I was, I was awful.  But instead of trying I took the cowards way out and ran away."  He stopped his ran and took a deep breath.  Daiji sensed that it was good for him to get all of this out.  Dryden's voice was tainted with disgust when he spoke again.  "I've always regretted it.  It's been plaguing me.  I feel gross.  I told myself when I left that I'd come back when I was better fitted for the job, but that hasn't happened.  I don't think it ever will."

            Daiji put a hand on his arm to get his attention back, trying to sound reassuring.  "Hey, all of that wasn't entirely your fault.  You can't blame yourself for everything.  How ere you supposed to know what would happen in Zaibach?  And even with the kingship thing, how many rulers take control in a war?  It's crazy to think that you'd come in from being a merchant of all things and know exactly how to handle a job like that.  And it's only human to make mistakes."

            Dryden shut his eyes again.  "That's what Millerna said, and I want to believe her, but I was king…and a king shouldn't do stuff like that.  I can't seem to let it go, even if I try."

            "You know what you sound like…" Daiji said, putting a hand to his chin in a very Dryden-esque fashion.  His double raised his eyebrows to him. Daiji nodded, certain of his evaluation.  "You sound like you're depressed."

            "I know that."  He said.

            "No, I mean like clinically depressed."  He could tell Dryden had no idea what he was talking about so proceeded to explain.  "It happens to a lot of people.  It's a condition in which the brain does not produce the seratonin normal brains do. It's a chemical imbalance that's beyond your control.  Earth…well, its pursued medicine more thoroughly, or at least differently from Gaea.  Doctors on Earth can treat depression with medication."

            "Really?"  Dryden asked.  "So your doctors can give me some kind of remedy that would make all this go away?"

            "That's right."  Daiji said with confidence.  "When this is all over, don't worry, I'll see you get fixed up."

            It was as if a burden had been lifted and Dryden smiled for the first time that day.  He looked up at his double again.  "I'm glad I met you, Daiji.  I think I've always wanted someone like you, I feel like I've met a brother."

            "I can see myself in you too."  He said with a smug smile.  They both were amused.

            Jiai had finally given up on trying to find contentment.  It seemed to her that she was getting a taste of Millerna's sorrow.  While she was sick of being sad, she understood why.  In the end, she hadn't gotten to meet her "sister" after all.  She just hoped that Millerna could find some sort of solace and give her a break.

            Tucked into a closed parlor just off the balcony row, the queen was doing just that… trying to find a little peace for her tortured mind.  Yukari followed her into the room, sunlight pouring in with her from the open air outside.  She'd never seen this place before, probably because the door had been closed, and it smelled old.  The dust in here was different from the dust of the rest of the ship, which could be categorized as book dust.  Book dust felt aged, and lighter from being moved from book to book.  The dust in here just felt dated and heavy as if it was holding the air down and cementing anything it sat on into place.  A portrait of Dryden's father Meiden Fassa hung over the mantle on the far wall.  Millerna walked over and a sat on one of the antique couches, meaning for Yukari to do the same.  The 16 year old didn't like it much in here, and couldn't help but stare at how ugly the portrait was ahead of her.  Finally she sat down across from Millerna and tried to put on her best councilor's face.  "So, Millerna, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

            "Well, I'm – I'm confused."  She admitted.

            Yukari finally managed to devote her full attention to her friend.  "About what?"

            "About…"  Millerna seemed confused about being confused, or maybe it was shame that made her pause.  "Well, you see, I have this friend…"  Yukari crossed her arms and sat back, leveling her eyes a little.  Millerna continued timidly.  "And this friend, she likes this guy… and he loves her back, but he's not the same as he was when she fell in love with him.  And so… my friend… is afraid that of… or that is… she knows another guy who doesn't really love her, but has always been the same.  And she knows that this second guy will always be there for her, while the first guy …"

            "Wait wait wait."  Yukari interrupted.  "I'm sorry, Millerna, I can see through the "friend" thing.  I think you'd feel better if you just came straight out and told me.  This is about you and Dryden right?"

            Millerna took a minute then nodded, looking defeated.

            "Did you have a fight?"

            "No."  She said quietly.  "We didn't fight."

            "Then what is it?"  Yukari felt herself growing more and more concerned.  "You do love him right?"

            "I –"  She clenched her fists.  "I don't know."

            The other's gut twisted, as if she knew that Millerna's doubts were wrong.  "You don't know!?  Are you saying that you don't love him!?"

            "No."  Millerna said quickly, more quickly than she was expecting.  It gave her a little reassurance, knowing that her subconscious was sure about something.  "No I do love him.  I don't think it's my love that I'm unsure about, I can feel that in my heart, its just… it's just that he's changed."

            "Changed in what way?  Changed for the worse?"

            "I don't know… I don't know what to do about it."  Millerna fretted.  "He's hurting so much.  Before he was so self-confident and now he's full of doubt and afraid.  I feel like… like I want to help him.  But I still feel somewhat responsible.  I'm sure the change is because of the war and why he left, and I cant help but think that if I had just tried to help him back then he wouldn't be hurting so much now.  He left because he was disappointing me.  Is it right for me to be so fickle and come back to him when this is all my fault?  If I did what my heart tells me and stayed with him, well, I'd have to learn everything over again.  I don't know how much of the man I knew is still there.  And at the same time, I started thinking of Allen…"  She rubbed her arms as if she'd gotten a sudden shill.  "I know Allen's love for me was a lie, but at least I knew it would always be there.  It never changed.  I don't know what to choose; to follow true love that has risk or a false love that has security."

            "You can't go back to Allen!"  Yukari cried. "How could you live knowing the truth about his feelings for you!?"  She could tell that her words had a sting and tried to calm herself down before continuing.  "Millerna, Dryden loves you.  You'll only hurt him more if you leave again…"

            They were startled by a sound at the door and turned quickly, afraid someone might have overheard.  They found Llave in the middle of shutting it.  He looked up quickly when he realized there were people in the room.  "Oh!  I'm sorry!  I didn't realize you were in here."

            "Its okay," Yukari assured him.  "We were afraid you were someone else."

            "You were one of the spies weren't you?"  Millerna asked.  "One of the original crew members?"

            "That's right, miss."  He bowed.  "Please call me Llave.  And I apologize again for interrupting, it's just that this door is always closed…"

            "Did you hear anything?"  Yukari asked, sounding suspicious.

            Llave bowed again.  "Yes, I'm sorry, I heard some." 

            Millerna panicked.  "You won't tell your master will you!?"

            "No, Miss, I won't tell him what you said."  He promised.  "I've only been a spy once.  But, if you permit me, your highness, I would like to say one thing."  He looked into Millerna's blue eyes and she nodded to him.  He cleared his throat.  "It may not be my position to say, but, Your Highness, I have been with Mr. Fassa for a while now.  All of us who worked under him cared a lot about him, because he was such a kind employer, and I can say with authority that… He's happier than he's been for a long time now that you are here.  I beg you not to take that away from him again.  It was so dark around here before you came."  He gulped and bowed quickly.  "I'm sorry, I've said to much!  I didn't mean to…!"  He backed quickly out of the room.  "I will leave you to your conversation!  I apologize!  Only please, close this door when you've finished… otherwise the furniture will fade in the sun!  Thank you!  Excuse me!"  He hurried off, leaving the two girls staring after him through the open door.

            Hakai and Dilandau were in the hangar walking down the lines of antique Guymelefs.  One, colored red and black with gold overlay, which was seated holding a great spear, intrigued the albino.  He examined it from the floor.  "Sweet!  This thing rocks!"

            "I like the colors."  Hakai agreed.  

            "No it's more than that!" The sixteen year old replied.  He climbed up the stairs leading to the cockpit.  "This thing has to be at least a hundred years old!  Maybe two or there!  And it looks like it was made yesterday.!"  Hakai tried to climb up its leg as Dilandau made for a closer inspection.  "I bet that weirdo merchant guy got it from a collector or something.  It's probably Fanelian because of the red, but it's not that style.  The spear makes it seem Friedian but Fried was never a big country for melefs other than those archer ones.  Plus they don't really go for black very much except in their crest.  Everything else they own seems like its sand colored.  Maybe its from Deidlas."

            "You like this kinda stuff don't you?"  Hakai asked, coming to stand beside him.

            "You can do major damage in this kinda thing."  Dilandau told him.  "Blow stuff up – smash things – set stuff on fire.  I love watching things burn!"

            "Me too!"  Hakai cried. 

            Dilandau elbowed him.  "We could have great fun in a couple of these."  He got his hands on the chest piece.  "I wonder if it still goes."  He felt around for some kind of handle or lever.  "Hey, is there a door to this thing?"  He clawed at the edges, then banged on the chest.  "How do I get this piece of crap open!?"

            "Don't break that!"  Suru cried from the ground.  "Its not yours!"

            "Does it look like I care!?"  Dilandau shouted down to her and the Merle doubles.

            "Yeah!"  Hakai agreed.  "We can do what we want!"'

            Koneko and Merle weren't there for chat.  They were there for action.  "Get 'em!"  Racing up the melef, they made for the attack.  The boys' eyes widened in sheer terror for an instant then took off.  Koneko leapt down the stairs and pinned Hakai to the ground.  Merle pursued Dilandau and through the use of her mighty catlike powers she brought him down.  It was a struggle, the 16-year-old was bigger and stronger and she had to stand all fours on his wrists and ankles to keep him from breaking free.  He did not subdue quietly, struggling and swearing while spitting like a caged rat.  She gritted her teeth and called over her shoulder to the 12-year-old blond standing still.  "Su!  Su hurry up and do it!  I can't hold him here for long!"  She dug her claws into Dilandau's arms and he screamed in even greater rage.

            Suru stood with Leptelepitos held in front of her in both hands.  She looked down at the singed hair and thought about the night three days before when this half-dead visage brought Celena back from inside the independent youth who was fighting so valiantly for his freedom before her.  Hakai tried to shove Koneko off of him by her face.  "Suru!  Don't!  He doesn't deserve to be locked up anymore!  Don't send him back!"

            "Locked up?"  Merle shouted.  "If that's what you want to call it, then Dilandau deserves it more than Celena!  Celena hasn't killed anybody, and Dilandau's killed tons of people!"  She set her blue eyes like a laser on Suru.  "Send him back, Suru!  He belongs in the dark!"

            "But-!"  Suru seemed torn.

            "Don't do it, Su!"  Hakai cried.

            "Do it Su!"  Koneko shouted over him, her voice a little muffled with Hakai pulling her cheek.

            "What are you trying to do to me!?"  Dilandau shouted.  "Get off of me!  You frickin' cat!  I'll eat you!!!  What the crap!?!"

            Tears welled up in Suru's big blue eyes.  The girls stared in disbelief as the blonde experience a full emotional breakdown.  Clutching Leppy to her heart, she ran from the scene sobbing loudly.  Koneko was witless.  "S-Suru!  Come back!"

            Hakai slapped her across the face.  "Get off me!" 

            "Ow!"  She flew off with a swipe of his arm and he attacked Merle.  Dilandau was released and scrambled up only to attack her as well. 

The cat girl saw two demons bearing down on her and put all four limbs into motion to get out of the way.  She took off like a lightning charged fur ball the same way Suru had gone with her own survival on her mind.  "Neko!  Run for your Life!"

            "YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"  Koneko followed suit with Dilandau and Hakai a little close for comfort.  The group of them tore like mad through the ship.

            Amano arrived on the bridge where Allen was overseeing progress.  Nothing much had changed in the elapsed hours.  Llave was gone, on his way back from talking with Millerna and Yukari, but things seemed fine without him.  Allen was lost in thought behind a mask of untiring vigilance.  The last time he was in Fried was the first time he'd seen his son in the flesh.  Now he was going back.  Marlene was so strong in the now.  While he figured out long ago that Yukari was her double – he saw it the first time they'd been together and felt it when she suffered her first attack as if she was screaming that answer at his face – he was distraught.  Marlene's existence again on Gaea made him feel more confused than perhaps he'd ever been.  He'd finally found the courage within himself to admit to himself, and to Millerna, that he was still in love with her sister.  He still loved Marlene and he could no longer entertain their affair.  Letting Millerna go took real bravery on his part.  Millerna was his consolation when he was feeling lonely and heartsick; she looked so much like Marlene, and shared a similar set of eyes and a similar voice with her.  It was very hard to let go of that.  For an instant he had found new hope for his heart…a new life with Yukari, but that died quickly when he realized that she was already taken… by him.  That bitterness stuck.  Even on another world he and Marlene had found each other.  They must have been more than fated to be… they must have been a design of the gods themselves…and Gaea stripped her from him.  How could he possibly live with that sense of injustice.  To help fuel his new burst of anger, Amano walked up beside him.  "How are we doing?"

            "We'll get there."  Allen announced in irritation.  "You don't have to watch."
            Amano creased his face.  "Fine.  You do obviously, I'll get out of your way!"  He turned for the door but met Llave on his way in.

            "Oh!  Hello Double of Sir Allen, it's a surprise to see you up here."

            "My name is Amano."  The 17-year-old snapped.  "Amano Susumu!"

            "Oh," Llave piped, a little hurt, "alright.  I didn't mean to offend, I only assumed that, since you are the same person, there'd be no hard feelings – "

            Amano glanced back to his double's blond head.  "You assumed wrong."

            "Sir!!!"  The shout came down form Reeden on periscope.  "We've got a Melef approaching!"

            Allen snapped into leadership mode.  "A Melef!?"

            Amano whirled around.  "Maginot!?" 

            "Nah boss –" Reeden answered.  "It's the green one!  From before!"

            Allen and Gadess exchanged glances.  Gadess blinked.  "We're under attack?  By one melef?"

            "It doesn't matter if it's one or one hundred."  Allen said.  He turned to Amano. "Go get Van and tell him to suit up Escaflowne.  We'll meet him man-to-man."

            Amano nodded and shot out of the door.  He ran into Merle as she streaked down the hall on all fours.  Their legs were tied up and they crashed to the floor in a knot.  Koneko tripped and flew over them both.  Dilandau jumped for her, but Amano grabbed his ankle and plucked him out of the sky.  The Albino landed on his nose and turned, snarling, to the Earther.  "What the crap!?!  I'll murder you!"

            "Amano!"  Hakai roared from above. "What'd you do!?!  You ruined it!"

            Amano had no time to banter.  "Shut up!"  He narrowed his brown eyes at Hakai.  "Go get Van and tell him to get Escaflowne!  There's a melef outside!"

            Hakai's eyes brightened.  "There's gonna be a fight!?  Awesome!"

            Amano snarled at him.  "Go!"

            Yosu was still waiting outside the door, desiring a chance to sit with Hitomi.  Just for a moment he wanted to be the one holding her hand, keeping her steady, bringing her back to life, and loving her.   But Van was steadfast.  The orange-haired double eased into the doorway and stared at him.  'Why did she find HIM?  I was the one she was meant for not him.  He's from the wrong world.'  He found himself whispering these thoughts under his breath.  "I'm the one Fate was supposed to lead her to."

            Van didn't hear, he clutched her cold hand tighter and stared into her motionless face.  "Come on Hitomi, don't give up.  Come back."  He took a breath.  "I need you here."

            Yosu scowled at the longing look in his eye.  Van looked like he wished he could stare into her soul as his brown eyes fixed on her sleeping eyelids.  Through clenched teeth the Earther hissed again.  "I'm her destiny!"

            Van noticed him and his watering eye turned steely as he looked back over his shoulder.  "Why are you here?"

            "I've got a right."  Yosu replied.

            "Get out."  Van snarled.  "Get out and leave us alone."

            "Don't tell ME to get out!"  Yosu shouted at him.

            "She's not yours!"  Van returned in defense.  "You don't own her!"

            "We're the same person!"  Yosu roared.  "You get out!  She's from my world so she's MINE!  She loves you because she met you first, but it's ME she really loves!  I'M her fate not you!  So leave her alone!"

            Van sprang to his feet, his chair toppling over backwards.  "How DARE you!?  I'll kill you for that!  I love her!  I'll kill you if you try to touch her!"

            "Would that be suicide, Van!?"  Yosu cried.  "Just accept that she belongs with me on Earth!  You go find the Hitomi from your world – I'm sure you're soul mates!  You'll be happy together, but let me have Hitomi!"

            "Never!"  Van's heart was beating hard, memories of Hitomi's double and the deception associated with her flooding him.  What was worse, he remembered the good times they had and the warmth and happiness they shared together.  The possibility of what Yosu was saying being true hurt him deeper and harder than he could stand, and the doubt and fear only fell against the fire to fuel his rage.  "I won't let you take her from  me!  I need her!"

            "Hey Van!!!"  Hakai ran in at full sprint, shoving Yosu completely off his feet.  "Van, Amano says there's a dude out there."

            Yosu got up and looked like he was ready to tear his long-time enemy to ribbons.  "WHAT!?"

            "One of your robot things."  Hakai answered.  "You're supposed to get Escaflowne!  Now get out there and fight!  I wanna see some blood!"

            Van cursed through his teeth and clenched his fists tightly inside his gloves.  "They followed us.  They're coming for us even after all they've done to us."  He stomped out but pulled a quick 180 to level a shaking finger at his double.  "Don't you get anywhere near her!  I'll be back and if you're here I swear -!"  He was too infuriated to finish the statement and left for the hangar leaving Yosu to use his imagination.  Hakai followed on his heels, absolutely delighted with the idea of watching another Guymelef battle.  Yosu was left alone with Hitomi and without thinking twice, he stayed.

                             Escaflowne                                 

            "Your melef is ready."  Vector announced as Torsion arrived in the palace hangar wearing the sling and bandages over her wounds.  "The left arm will be controlled by levers on the right arm.  Your range of motion is still limited though, but it will fly and fight as well as it had before the damage."

            "Good."  Torsion nodded, approaching her machine.  Vector stood aside to let her pass.

            "It is still raining."  He said to the back of her blonde head.  "The rest of Trapan's army is leaving when it stops."

            "How soon will the two of you be ready?"  She asked them.

            "We can leave at any time."  Prestress told her.

            Torsion nodded again.  "Then we shall leave immediately."  Climbing the stairs to her control chamber, she switched the lever and watched as the Maginot opened. 

Vector called up to her.  "Do we leave without the Eye's pendant?  Or any of the other tools the Master plans to use to bend fate?"

            "We won't need them."  Torsion said sounding a little disgusted at the sound of the Master's name.  "We are Draconians, heirs to the kingdom of Gaea and the secrets of Atlantis.  If we arrive at the gate of the Mystic City with nothing but purity in our desires then it should let us in."

            "That sounds even."  Prestress reasoned.  "Then I will ascend my Guymelef." 

He and Vector clambered into their Maginot, their feet and hands strapping into the control sleeves.  Torsion's suit was modified little in that respect.  Her left arm sleeve was removed and replaced with an intricate network of riggings that crossed above, in front and behind her and attached to her right arm controls.  She took a moment to adjust to the new configuration then craned her suit up from its sitting position on the platform.  She moved out to the edge of the hangar where the dirty broken city lay wasted and wet before her.  Beyond this was the dry barren land of Zaibach, and beyond that to the north was Asturia, and lands and seas and finally an icy continent far to the north where the city of her ancestors was waiting.  Glaucus was coming with her, carried in her heart.  She'd learned from him how to fight for something, and studied that lesson well.  This was for the future of a forsaken race, and a world where his memory would not be abandoned.  She turned as her companions lumbered up behind her, one at her left shoulder one at her right.  "Are you prepared to leave this life behind?"

            "I am prepared to follow you, Captain to the ends of the planet."  Vector answered.

            "This life is nothing, leaving it is of no consequence."  Prestress added.  "But the future is uneven, and as a philosopher I am duty bound to see it equalized."

            "Then we will all, dragon gods and preheated souls, realign the true order of Gaea!"  She switched the flight lever with her last two fingers and the propulsion ring ejected seamlessly from her shoulders, lifting her from the ground. The other two followed suit with the right hand switch and hovered in formation behind her.  Torsion frowned at the waiting world.  "To Asgard!"  She cradled the steering lever in the palm of her hand and steered her party out of the palace and up over the city, the rainwater slicking off her armor like sheets of wind.  She felt empowered knowing that she was going to save the world.  She was going to change the fate of Gaea so that twisted selfish men like Trapan, Resultant, and Areolar could not taint the perfect world the Draconians were meant to see.

                             Escaflowne                                 

            News had spread quickly throughout the Merchant ship.  Hakai had joined his double, the cat twins, Amano, Gadess and crew in the cockpit to watch the Pravada's approach.  Yukari and Millerna ran to the balcony outside their meeting room, leaning around the ship and trying to get a better view.  Jiai had rushed to a window in the hall, her woes nearly forgotten with news of the strange melef.  She left her spot to try and find Millerna.  Dryden and Daiji saw the green melef, too from their balcony vantage point at the back of the ship.  They watched as Van rode Escaflowne out of the dock to meet it, his knuckles white on the reins of the dragon and his fury at Yosu and the enemy still burning inside him.  He caught the air and hovered in the Pravada's path, his eyes boring into the green armor of the melef.  "If you want Hitomi, you'll have to get through me first!"  The long sword appeared from the dragon's underside and rose up to challenge him.  "Fight me!"

            Seguir's stomach was churning.  This was the moment of truth, and the first time he'd faced the dragon head on.  Thoughts of the Faction and Ayen kept popping into his train of thought.  He swallowed hard and slowed to hover 100 feet from Van's line of defense.  He left his sword by his side, his arms unusable while his flight boosters were operating.  Instead he opened the grate of his helmet and called to the king.  "I come in peace!  I don't want to fight!"

            "I'll believe that when you prove it!"  Van shouted back.  "But as long as you are with the enemy you have no proof that I'll believe!  Fight me now or leave!"

            Seguir took a shaky breath inside his cockpit.  'This is it', the 35-year-old set his green eyes on the boy, knowing that he only had one choice if he wanted to get inside and warn the Eyes.  He cried to him again.  "If you will not accept me as a friend, then accept me as a prisoner!"  Van blinked in stunned silence.  Seguir locked the boosters and opened the hatch, the chest piece folding open like a platform.  He unstrapped and stepped out onto the plank, dressed in his dirtied Asturian green, wearing the scars of the previous night in his eyes.  His hands were raised and the wind of the mountains blew his hair about his head, rocking the Pravada in its hover.  He and Van locked eyes.  "I Surrender to you!  I am yours!"

To be continued