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To all who reviewed: THANK YOU! Christmas break is on! (I went to Venezula! w00t!)

Chapter Fifteen

Someone left the window open…Through some subconscious thought, Van stirred in his sleep when a breeze filled the room. He moaned unhappily as he realized that he was awake…he knew that once he wakes up, he couldn't fall asleep again.

After all, today's the big day. Oh…shit……I'm not getting out of this bed until they drag me out here! Forcing himself to open his eyes, he stared at the ceiling. He rubbed his eyes and then yawned. The sun had barely risen yet so the room was coloured orange and red. Van looked in his peripheral vision to see that Hitomi was still sleeping soundly. Ah, Hitomi…He turned on his side and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Van…" Hitomi's voice did not sound tired at all. It barely registered to him.

"Yes, Hitomi?" Van mumbled back, getting comfortable in his new sleeping position. He put his head on her shoulder and made it his new pillow.

She suddenly shifted, breaking Van's position, and turned towards him. Her eyes—
What colour are they?
—had a mixture of fear and seriousness, distorting the usual bright blue colour. Trails of dried tears were on her cheeks and although Van was not totally awake, he sure was now. "Hitomi?" He sat up, still on his side, with his arms.

"…vision…" She mumbled and she curled up in a ball again. Hitomi hiccupped.

Van gulped and shifted over so that he could sit her up. "Come on Hitomi, we need to be strong…What did you see?"

There was a long pause. She turned away, as if she was ashamed. Her dirty blonde hair hid her face from him. "Hitomi…Come on…" Van tried to think of what could be bothering her. Maybe she saw a vision of her death…or of mine…

As Hitomi turned to face him, Van's heart stopped. His eyes opened wide and his adrenaline started pumping. Every muscle twitched and he began to shake. Oh gods…my Hitomi…Your—Your face…

Staring at him was the monster that Hitomi drew last night—including the twisted smile, blue eyes, dead hair and a crooked face. Its voice cracked and sounded like Hitomi's…but it wasn't. "Let's talk later…"

"Wake up, Van! Wake up!" He shouted to himself as he continued to move away from the monster—
The creature
—that was coming towards him. Van kept his eye on the monster as he continued to try to wake himself up. Wake up! Stop this! Wake up! He even had the time to pinch himself…Wake up! Wake up!

But it seemed that he couldn't.

Van started to freak. His breathing got faster, his palms sweatier and his heart was pumping louder. Come on, Van! WAKE UP! His frenzied movements got him tangled up in his bed-sheets. No! No! WAKE UP!

That's when he realized that he had reached the edge of the bed. "No place to go…" The creature smiled. And that smile froze him. He could not move. No…Please, gods, no…

Van struggled as much as he could. His body strained against its invisible bonds to no avail. Every muscle pulled and pushed, every vein stuck up from him skin…while the creature with Hitomi's body got closer. Van began to twist harder, pulling until he could no longer feel his body. The creature was only an inch away from him.

Van cried out in fear when he noticed that now only his face was mobile. Everything else was paralyzed. He twitched and rotated his neck, still trying to get free. "No place to go…" The creature repeated, crawling closer. Suddenly, only his eyes were able to move. He kept them fixated on the creature. I will not let it win…

It sat in front of him casually and brought its hand to his face. Van followed the skinny finger and the long nail with shaky eyes as it trailed a line down his cheek.

Suddenly, he was very cold.

The finger went down past his neck, over his shoulder and back again to freeze everything else. "You will not get away from me this time…"

He titled his head up, trying to move away from the finger. Van did not want her freezing his face again. It was the only thing he could move—minus one cheek—and he had to use this to his advantage. "W—Why?" He croaked out in a voice that sounded too weak to be threatening.

The creature ignored him and continued to trail its finger down his other arm and finally down his chest. The cold Van felt started to hurt and he breathed through his gritted teeth. "Why, dammit! Tell me!" His voice finally had the anger he wanted.

Its finger stopped and the creature looked up at him. Its face got closer and closer to his no matter how far Van stretched his neck to get away. Once his nose almost touched what he thought was the creature's nose, it stopped moving.

With his face titled so far, Van's eyes strained to keep an eye on it. "Tell. Me." He repeated, glaring.

After a moment of silence, the creature's lips turned upwards in another smile. "Because I can…" Before Van could register what it said, a scaly hand wrapped around the back of his neck and crushed him into a kiss. His eyes rolled back into his skull and his entire body felt numb.

So very cold.

"VAN!"

Darkness consumed him and the scene with the creature disappeared from view. All invisible bonds were broken and he felt as if he was floating. His sleeping clothes rustled against his skin as his hair ruffled from unknown winds in a soothing manner. It was almost calming to his nerves.

Too calm.

Van forced his eyes open to stare at the relaxing darkness. Where am I? He tried to locate the voice, but he could see nothing. As his eyes started to adjust to the darkness, he began to notice swirls of dark pink and purple mixing with the blackness. He looked up to see that everything above him was darker. Around his body, things were more colourful and below his bare feet was a bright pink light.

The pendant—
Glowed
—shined underneath him, lighting the walls.

His mind snapped to attention and he started to move in the 'air.' Taking a swimming stance, Van propelled himself towards the light that he recognized. It has to be the pendant…

The closer he got, the more bright and clear his surroundings got…and the more tired he became. Van's body was exhausted but he continued to push himself. He kept his eyes straight ahead and focused on the single pink light.

There was a slight pounding in his ears as he reached the pendant's level. Although it was laying on the ground, Van could not find any place to put his feet. Shit…what am I supposed to do here? He stayed floating but did not take his eyes off the pendant.

Van's breathing slowed down again, a sleepy feeling starting to overtake him. No! Don't sleep now! He kept himself awake by keeping his mind busy with memorizing each detail in the void around the pendant. His surroundings pushed him to fall asleep, but he fought it.

The darkness that was so comforting before suddenly became eerie.

And that's when the pendant pulsed.

Like a heartbeat.
Lub-Dub
Lub-Dub
This is Hitomi's vision! Van's mind screamed. He was now even more focused to stay awake. It's the one where…uh…Oh! It's the one where she falls…She has to be here! Using the light of the pendant, Van kept an eye out for Hitomi's form. Come on…Come on…

The pendant's light illuminated a piece of clothing. Actually, pieces of orange and aqua clothing. HITOMI! Van tried to call out to her, but his voice never carried.

The heartbeat got faster.

Hitomi's body came closer into view. Her hand was outstretched and her face was focused. Come on! Come on!

Faster and faster.

Van started to move again; this time towards her. His body moved slower as it was too tired to function properly. Even though his mind was sharp, his arms and legs could not keep up. Hitomi was still moving in the same pace as before.

Faster and faster.

She was so close to it. With his last amount of strength, Van stretched out his own hand and for the briefest of moments, their hands touched. Hitomi's features changed to confusion as she finally realized that Van was there all that time.

It felt so real, even though Van knew it was a dream…a vision.

Then…

It stopped.

The hands that touched were ripped away from one another as the ground cracked underneath Hitomi's feet. NO! HITOMI! Van's face contorted into anguish and determination as he tried to reach out to her again.

But he couldn't propel himself.

All he could do was watch her fall.

"VAN!" She screamed, hand reaching towards his immobile body as she fell. "VAN!"

"HITOMI!" Van forced the muscles in his back to flex outward to bring out his last resort. There was some resistance in this that was never there before. No! I need to! He pushed, with everything he had left, and finally, Van's back arched out and two wings—
Millions of soft, white feathers
—broke the surface of his skin forcibly.

This motion pushed him forward enough to get closer to her. Van reached out to her, but she was falling faster than he was moving. "No! HITOMI!" His heart pounded in his ears. I will not let you fall…His hand stretched to meet hers. Every muscle was pushing to get a grip on Hitomi's wrist.

But it seemed that he couldn't.

Hitomi's face got smaller and dimmer as she fell into the darkness. Van's wings tried to fly but they stayed motionless. Hitomi's hand was getting farther and farther away from his…

…and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"NO!" Van felt his vocal cords strain as he screamed, but no sound came out. "NO! HITOMI!"

Suddenly, there was nothing. Hitomi had disappeared into the darkness. The pendant's light was gone and now he was left alone in the dark, screaming voiceless at the top of his lungs…his hand still outstretched in hopes of grabbing on to her.

There was nothing.

Except for millions of soft, red feathers.

"VAN!" He shot out of bed quickly, breathing loudly and heavily. Van's eyes scanned the room. I'm in my bedroom…I'm okay…Everything in his room was fine. Nothing was out of place. Okay…Stay…Calm…The room had a pleasant glow to it as the sun had just risen. His heart still pounded as he realized that Shina was in his dreams. Those eyes…She was the creature that Hitomi talked about. What was she doing to me? What was she planning?

He turned to see Hitomi's worried face. "What?" He asked. She was also sitting up in bed with the sheets pooled around her.

"You were…kicking and talking…your hands were moving around a lot… I was worried." She breathed as she realized that he was okay. "I was calling your name for you to wake up…I guess you were really into that dream…" His hair a bit tousled and his skin a bit sweaty but he was okay. "What were you dreaming about?"

"One of your visions…"

She gulped. Hitomi asked the question that she knew the answer to...unless he had another one on top of that."Which one?" She had a vision that Van had told her about….Where she runs towards the pendant but then she falls into the darkness…She saw him there. He was there, really there, in her mind even though he was sleeping beside her. Hitomi knew it was a vision—
But why did it feel so real?
—because Van had told her about it. However, there was something unsettling about how they were in each other's dreams…and the red feathers…

Van turned to look at the bed sheets. The same ones that were tangled around his legs in the first part of his 'vision'. "That one…where you're falling…"
But no angel was there to save her

Before anything else could be said, there was a loud and frenzied knocking on the door. "Your majesty! Awaken! Please hurry!"

Van snapped his head back to Hitomi and they both stared at each other in fear. If any one were to barge in on them, they'd get an extremely wrong idea. "Hitomi, hide!" Van whispered quickly. They jumped out of the bed and over each other, trying not to make too much noise. As Van dashed towards the door to his room, Hitomi ran underneath the bed.

He opened the door quickly to find the general of his army, General Kin, out of breath and leaning on the side of the entrance. "Your majesty! The—The Yoshidarians are attacking Austuria and they are coming our way!"

"What?" Van asked incredulously. "How is that—? I mean…what is going on here!"

"No one knows, sir. We're setting up arms, preparing for an attack. Our troops are sending reinforcements to King Allen…But it doesn't look good."

Van continued to stare, speechless. "I'm—I'm supposed to…You're telling me that the wedding that was supposed to bring peace…" He trailed off his sentence. Van didn't know what to do. Why are they doing this? "There should not be a war. My marriage to Shina was an alliance! Why are they attacking? They could of gotten their land…Why now?"

A loud bang sounding from the outside overshadowed the last part of his question. Pieces of rock, wood and dust fell around them. "Kin! What was that!"

"They've arrived! Quick, Lord Van! Run to safety!" General Kin shouted over the noise of a thousand soldiers running towards the enemy. The castle began to shake and Van held on to the doorframe. "Grab whatever you need! Run, my king!"

Once the rumbling stopped, Van looked at Kin. There was fierceness in his eyes as he glared at him. With his hands clutched to the doorframe, his voice came out in a low tone. "I never run away."

Screams echoed around them. "Use whatever tactics you have! This is war…and we will not give up Fanelia without a fight! Tell our soldiers that they are fighting for their home…their families…The Yoshidarians made a terrible mistake going back on their promises. Let's make sure that they pay for it! Go!"

General Kin nodded and ran off back onto the battlefield that was IN the castle. Van watched Kin run back with fire in his eyes. He growled. "Shina will pay for this…" He turned from the door and stormed into his room. Picking up his sword, he checked in before he placed it back in the sheath. "Get up, Hitomi…"

She was crying as she came out of the bed. The bloodshed has started…Death, all around…the visions… "Van! What is happening?" Hitomi knew that if her visions were talking about anything, it would be this. "Why is she doing this? Why now?"

Van did not look at her. "Because she can…" A cold feeling lingered on his body as he grabbed another sword and tossed it to her. "Use this…" He looked down as he paused, "…I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Van…" Hitomi hiccupped. This can't be happening! I don't want to be a part of this! No matter what she said in her head, she knew the opposite. Things were going to happen…and they were going to happen now. "…what are we going to do?" She whispered as the sounds of war got louder.

Van stared directly at her, with fire in his eyes. "We teach Shina and her minions who's boss, that's what we do."

Hitomi gulped. Merle had known all a long…Shina is behind this…But why? Is she really after Escaflowne? She was about to ask another question, but Van stopped her.

"Don't say another word, Hitomi…We don't have time to work anything out anymore. This is it. That's all there is too it. We were too late to prevent this…But its not too late to stop it. Come on!" Grabbing on to her wrist, he pulled her out the door. If I get my hands on Shina…she will give me the explanation that I'm waiting for…

They both ran out the door, with Van pulling Hitomi along. Coming to a junction in the hallway, they paused only for a minute. They went into the hallway were there was less noise. I don't want to watch you get hurt…As they turned the corner, Hitomi screamed.

Fire was burning all around them and there were masses of headless bodies and bloodied soldiers lying on the ground. The smell of their flesh made Hitomi's stomach curl and her shaking hands moved to her mouth to stop any more of the fumes to get into her nose. Van stared at the scene in front of him and Hitomi watched as the muscles in his face frowned. "No wonder it was quieter here…" He mumbled.

He kept his face without emotion as he noticed the face of his servant, Hiroshi, laying too far from his neck. He struggled to keep all his emotions down. We need to keep moving... Other people that he knew were also there with their skin black and their eyes missing.

Van knew that the fires in here would have to wait…They had to keep moving. Going down this way could mean watching their bodies go up in flames. "Come on…"

They turned around and ran to the junction again. This time, they picked the opposite way. With one hand clutched around Hitomi's, Van relied on his training to get through the mass of people that greeted them. It was the Yoshidarians verses the Fanelians…

And as much as Van hated to admit it, the enemy was winning.

Hitomi's voice lost its sound and her stomach was getting even more upset. She watched as the black armoured Yoshidarian pushed his sword through the stomach of a Fanelian. As the man fell to the ground, clutching his stomach and withering in pain, the other man brought the sword down—
And he crashed it upon her head
—on the man's heart, effectively killing him. She noticed the blood that stained the blade and the splatter on the walls from the attack. The tiny fires lit the crowded stone hallway so Hitomi could see all the faces of the men who's helmets had been thrown off…

…and all the faces of the men who's lives had been taken away.

Oh God…She saw one man who still had the broken blade of someone's sword lodged in his eye that came out from the back of his skull. Hitomi could not see what side he was on since his armour was coated in red. Oh God…Oh God…

As they continued to move forward, a Yoshidarian noticed them and started to come up from behind them. With his sword placed over his shoulder, the man was ready to attack.
The pendant
Van's eyes snapped to attention. He let go of Hitomi's hand, to get a better grip on his sword. The change of her momentum caused her to stumble forward. Looking behind her to see what made Van let go, she saw the pendant—
Glowed
—point in the direction of the enemy. He was behind us the whole time! Before she could call out to warn him, Van turned swiftly around, holding out his sword in means of killing the man. Before the other man could react, Van's blade made a clean cut at his neck.

Hitomi screamed as she watched the man stand still for a moment before collapsing on his knees and then falling forward. All the while, even though Van's sword had sliced through, the man's head refused to slip off until he landed on the floor. Blood pooled at her feet on the floor…Oh God…Oh God… The man's head slid a few centimeters away from its body, features out of view.

But she could still imagine what they looked like.

Hitomi trembled and yet she could not move. Oh God…Oh God… Van stepped in front of her with a look in his eyes that she could not place. "We have to go!" She heard him say. "Come on!"

She choked on her words but followed him as he dragged her along. They dodged the other fighting soldiers as best as they could, but both of them were cut. Hitomi felt other people's blood splash around her; on her face, on her legs and arms…but she did not stop moving. Her mind was blank and due to their fast running, the walls blurred past her.

At one point, she felt her sword get knocked out of her hand, but nothing seemed to matter more than to keep running. Twice more Van had to use his sword against the Yoshidarians; the first time a stab in the heart and the second time he cut off the man's arm.

Hitomi could no longer scream or fill with fear. That's all there is to it…She just held onto his arm and let go when she knew he had to fight. This is it…That's all there is to it…

Van realized that Hitomi had stopped speaking and decided to run into his combat practice room. He saw the look on her face. Gods…she's traumatized… Her face kept the wide-eyed look, all colours were drained from it and she wasn't saying a word. He pulled her towards the one room he knew no one would go in, barged in there and shut the door behind them.

The room was dusty and since its windows faced the west, it was still dark. The sounds of the battle were still loud and Hitomi covered her ears. She slid down the wall and sat down. "Van! Make it stop!" She cried as she sobbed. When no response came, she looked up to see what was distracting him. The room was dark, but it didn't take much light to see who else was in there that caught Van's attention.

Standing by the body of Van's teacher was Shina. Although her back was to them, her hands were covered in blood. She…killed him…They stood out against her white skin so visibly. Her dress was also dirty with dust and more red stains. Hitomi's breath hitched in her throat. Oh God…Shina…Oh God…

She turned quietly towards them, as if she heard them in the silence of the room. Van's eyes grew wide as the creature stared back at them. Its eyes were glowing blue and around its neck…

…A black pendant…

"No…No…" Hitomi shook her head as she mumbled. How could she…? Why?

Van stepped away from her, aware of what she could do to him if she got too close. Even though his entire body shook, he made his face like stone. However, he chose to remain voiceless.

Shina—
The creature

—titled its head to the side. It was so easy for it to see through Van's strong exterior. They fear me…

And the creature smiled.

WAY-OH!

Sorry for the extremely long vision sequence there…and the outrageous cliffhanger…AND the lack of updates. I went to Venezuela for a week (beautiful) so I couldn't get on a computer…I hope to do the next chapter by this weekend though…

I hope my 'war scene' was good…Any suggestions?

The next chapter will have a LOT of explanations…) I hope you enjoyed this one, though!

Hope you all had a happy Christmas and a merry New Year:D

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