There and Back again

GA1: Right...Onward, with some luck we'll get this story pretty far before the evilness known as school starts…

SD: Evilness? You mean the pure torture...

GA1: That too…

SD: On with the story, please review for this, I wish to keep my poor little head...

Disclaimer: We, in no way what so ever, own Escaflowne. It is owned by the respected people who wrote it, and thus, paid for its production. Suing us won't get you much. Maybe the cloths off our backs, and that piece of pocky...but you have to fight the bog for it. We do how even own out respective characters, and changes in the plot line.

Spirit Dancer: Aiko, Shiva

Glass Angel1: Ayane, Fira, Merlin, the Providence Chuldren, and any other character that I must creature for the production of this story.

Summary:
Not just an ordinary retelling of Escaflowne. Two girl's wish away their lives of family abuse, only to find their wish answered. Destiny plays its hands hard as these two friends find themselves caught up in a war of a world they barely know, only to be torn apart along the way. Will they be able to overcome their trouble pasts, and save this new world for its own destruction? Or will their pasts become its means of destruction?

Category: Action/Adventure/Romance

xVxVxVxV; Same place different point of view

xXxXxXxX; Scene change

Italic; vision

Chpt. 3 Fate's Roll

Aiko watched the ceremony with boredom, but used all the self control she could muster to make it look like she was having the time of her life. She stood close to the front where she could get a full view of what was going on. As Balgus and other high ranking officials went through their long speeches, about how Van came to be at the ceremony today, she let her mind wonder for a while. Lucky Ayane...I bet she's up there sleeping right now. She thought, not paying attention to anything around her. I have to admit though...she does deserve it...I mean, at least she didn't make me wear a frilly dress like she wears all the time... She shivered mentally. Snapping out of her thoughts long enough she heard something about drag energists before she went into her own world again. Man...I wish I could do something to pass the time...I mean I wish I at least could have brought a book... She thought this way until the roar of the crowd snapping her out of her thoughts again. She looked up to see Van for the first time in robes that were a bit too big for him, and a crown on his head. The corners of her mouth rose a little, which on a normal person would have been a grimace. Well, at least it's over...

Aiko walked with the crowd to the banquet hall. As soon as she entered the room, she made her way to the nearest chair and sat down. Damn my feet hurt... She thought as she looked down at the 2" heeled shoes she was wearing. For a moment she thought about taking them off, but again, she didn't want to appear rude. Leaning back in the chair, and she watched as couples got up to dance to the slow song that the band had started to play.

"I hope Ayane's not too bored..." She said out loud without thinking. But then again, she's probably passed out on the bed... Aiko's eyes danced with amusement at the thought as a couple passed her on the dance floor.

xVxVxVxV

"Dilandau-sama..." a voice called over the com, as he sat neck deep in cold water enclosed by metal. "Gatty and Shesta have returned to the Vione..." He smiled to himself as his hands moved to the controls of the melef.

"Remember..." a different voice say over the com, this one more cool and collective "You're only after the dragon."

"Ya, ya..." He growled, shifting his red eyes to look at the small radar to his left. "Move out! If anything gets in your way..." Smiling he turned out the long distance com. "Burn it..."

xVxVxVxV

Aiko closed her eyes begging sleep to take over her, and give her a temporary refuge. Just as she was about to doze off, screams from the outside shook her from her would be slumber. Raising slowly, trying not to inflect any more pain on her already throbbing feet, she walked towards a window. She was instantly awake when she saw what was happening. Pushing open the doors to the balcony, she walked out to get a better view. What the hell...? She heard something huge...well, more like a couple of things that weighed at least a ton, sending earthquakes every time they took a step. How can that be? There's nothing there. She thought as she scanned the area a few times. Then, out of nowhere, a fire beam flew towards Green metal monsters, consuming them quickly. Aiko stood still, trying to figure out how a fire that was so neat would come out of no where. More and more metal monsters began to appear from farther down the castle walls, and were soon struck down by god knows what. Stepping back inside from fear and confusion, Aiko shut the doors to close it all out. Thoughts raced through her head, but only one really stood out above all others. Ayane...where's Ayane!

She ran as fast as her skirts would allow her to the room that she and Ayane were sharing. When she got to the room, she was surprised to see the door open. I could have sworn I closed it...maybe Ayane left... She thought as she burst into the room, and looked around as best she could with the sun quickly setting. Aiko looked around, but couldn't Ayane anywhere. No note, no message…not a thing. The light was fading fast, and so was her vision.

"Ayane? Ayane where are you?" She yelled as she tripped over her duffle bag. She cursed at the dress mentally, but then froze when she noticed that Ayane's duffle bag was missing. Where would she run off to? She thought frantically. She started to feel her way around the room trying to find a light switch or something. Damn...don't tell me that these people don't have electricity... Aiko was really starting to get worried. Scenarios began to play themselves through her head as to what might have happened, each worse then the last. Ayane wouldn't run off without telling me would she? Especially not at a time like this. Maybe she got her duffle bag, and went down to see what the commotion was... Knowing her, she wouldn't want to leave her make-up behind. She stumbled around the room to her duffle bag, slung it over her shoulder, and ran out of the room, slower then she would like to. Running out the main doors, she could see huge foot prints in the dirt, but again, could not see anything. Damn it Ayane...you sure did pick a perfect time to pull a disappearing act...

Something grabbed her from behind pulling her inside the building seconds before rubble slammed down where she had been standing. Aiko had barely less then a second to stare in amassment that she had yet again missed a perfect death end before that same hand began to pull her down along the side of the building towards the forest like gardens. She could hear the sounds of metal crashing against metal, the screams of the injured and dying as she continued to look as she was dragged running backwards. Tripping over debris, she fell roughly on to the ground, this time the hand held a face as Van pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, we can't stay here! We have to go to the shrine!"

"Well, I'm trying but running in a ball gown isn't as easy as it looks!" Aiko retorted as she almost tripped again. Van dragged her towards the shrine. She was now at facing forwards, and jumping over most of the debris that lay in her path.

"Hey you! King boy! Slow your ass down!" Van seemed to ignore her as they kept on running until they finally got to a huge old style building. Once they got into the huge shelter, Van finally let go of her arm, and ran towards the middle of the room. Aiko was panting so hard, her sides hurt, and she could barely keep from collapsing. "Ok...that will be my exercise for the year..."

xVxVxVxV

"Burn! Burn! Burn! BURN!" Dilandau cried out with glee as he torched the surrounding building. He could see the citizens running for the cliff sides, but he didn't care. So what if they lived, there will be nothing left standing for them to live IN. He watched closely as another one of the Fanelia guymelef's were torn down tactically by his men. Smiling, he laughed chaotically as he used a crima claw to wipe down two that stood next to each other.

"Dilandau-sama..." A voice called over the intercom. Annoyed Dilandau glared up at him for a second before returning to his fiery fun. "Dilandau-sama..." The voice came again.

"What is it Guimel! Can't you see I'm busy at the moment having fun!" He growled, turning his guymelef to look at the non existent unit to his right.

"Our target is the dragon sir... Shouldn't we see to that first?"

"Of course, we're here for the dragon..." Dilandau mocked annoyingly, before turning his attention on another crowd of soldiers. "Fan out! Look for it!"

xVxVxVxV

Aiko stood in shock as she watched a huge white monster come down from a shell that attached to the ceiling.

"What...the...hell..." She asked more to herself then Van as she watched it descend form the ceiling. Van hopped onto it, and jumped into its middle section. Near the face, a slide door opened up, and Van's face appeared.

"You might want to stay in here. It could get pretty nasty out there." He said, and the door closed again. Aiko stared at the machine monster in both wonder and fear as it walked towards the door and disappeared into the night. Aiko ran up to the door, and gasped at what she saw, since she didn't see it before when Van was pulling her towards the shrine. Just looking at the sight in front of her made her want to get sick, so she backed up into the shadows of the shrine, and sat down, trying to calm her stomach.

What if Ayane's out there? Aiko closed her eyes, and tried to calm her beating heart.

Why would she be? She would be smart enough to seek shelter...

But you don't know that for sure... The voice inside her argued. Aiko sighed, and stood up. She looked out of the door again, and took deep breaths. She took one more deep breath before walking out of the shrine and started to look for Ayane.

xVxVxVxV

Van was stunned at what he had seen. Holding the Escaflowne's controls so tight that his knuckles started to run white, he could barely control his emotions. He heard thunderous steps coming from very direction, but he saw nothing. How can I protect my country if I can't see its attacker? Periodically growling at his frustration, Van turned the Escaflowne about looking about the massive chaos around him. It was all burning, his home, his country, the only thing he had left to cling to. His world was breaking apart before him, and he could do nothing! Van could hear the out cries of the Fanelian guards as they fought this losing battle. This couldn't be happening, where were they! Had they no honor to fight face to face?! The thunderous sets came again as something large moved not too far off from him. Whirling around he desperately tried to find what was moving around, it was then that something blue caught his attention. Standing out among the ruins of stones that where once a building was the woman form the Mystic Moon, hands cupped around her mouth scream out the name of her companion. The damn girl was going to get herself killed!

"Aiko!" He yelled at her, turning the Escaflowne so that its back was to the direction that the thunderous sound had come from. "Get back into the shrine before you get yourself hurt!" Aiko looked at him with an annoyed look on her face.

"Does it look like I care? I'm jus trying to... to find..." She stopped and seemed to stare past him. Her eyes grew huge in an instant before she was running towards him. "Van! Look out behind you!" She screamed as she ran towards him, dodging the piles of debris that was dancing with fire.

"Wha-" Van started to say as he whirled around again, just it time to block an attack of an unseen enemy. His sword screamed under the weight of the odd metal sword that pushed down on his. He couldn't see who was attacking though, there was nothing at the end of the sword, it just seemed to faint into thin air. "What the hell?" He deflected the blade off his, and took a chance by swapping at the air. Nothing, his mind screamed half way through the swing and then... The after shock vibrated through the sword and up the arm of the Escaflowne, he had hit the enemy! Van could hear it as it stumbled backwards, in front of him not even a few yards the area seemed to become disordered and a knelt guymelef appeared as it shoved back a large cloak that had surrounded its body.

"A guymelef that's able to become invisible?" Van whispered as he watched it rise, the blue color shimmered in the fire light. A large amount of liquid metal left its left arm, creating the same wicked looking blade that Van had deflected only moments before. Impossible, was the only word that went though his mind as the guymelef raised it's blade at him. But, this is one of the things that is presently destroying your world, his mind cried, and he would have vengeance! Without a second thought he charged forward at the enemy before him. It moved quicker then Van had thought, and blocked him. Forcing him backwards, the blue guymelef took an opening it had found on his right shoulder. Adjusting himself quickly, Van blocked the attack and pushed the guymelef off of him. Van took a glimpse at the world beyond him for a second; Fanelia was nothing more then blazes of fire, and smoke. Then he turned back to the enemy before him, unable to control his anger.

"You will DIE!" He yelled as he brought his sword down on the guymelef's right arm, tearing it off. Aiko watched the match feeling really helpless. Her eyes suddenly went from shocked to scared as she fell to her knees, placed her hands in front of her to steady herself, and the tears tried to force themselves down her cheeks. However not one fell.

"No...not again..." She muttered as she tried to get up, but couldn't. Stop...please... stop it... She looked up and gasped. She watched Van in horror. "Van! Behind you! Look out!" Shouting as loud as she could above the loud noises of the guymelef's fighting, she hoped that she wasn't too late to warn him. Van pushed against the guymelef's sword so that it fell to the ground and looked to his left, but again saw nothing. He put his sword up just in time to block another attack. Damn...how is she seeing these things? He asked himself as he fought against the invisible giant. Aiko watched in both awe and horror as the other Guymelef struggled to get to its feet.

xVxVxVxV

"Shit!" The brownish redheaded pilot growled as the white guymelef's sword deflected his attack. He barely had the chance to move aside when he shook off the shock. "How the hell?"

"I don't know about you, Miguel..." his partner's voice came over the com. "But I think this little maggot can see us!"

"Na, Viole, you think?" He struggled under the force of the white guymelef's attack as it uncovered him. "Shit, Viole get off your lazy ass and help me!"

"I'm trying, I am trying! The stupid moron hit my left leg, it's responding too slow!"

"Screw that, just shoot him!" The melef behind the white giant stopped trying to stand up, and brought up its left arm. Deflecting another blow he watched as the small crima claw slipped out of the top junction, prepared to launch. "Shoot him!"

"Van! Get the first one before you turn your full attention to the other one! It's going to shoot you!" A female's voice echoed, muffled, through the enterer of his melef. The white Guymelef turned around sharply slicing Viole's left arm off.

"Shit!"

"What the hell? Viole, did you hear that?"

"Hear what you moron! Get him off me!" his partner's voice echoed over the com, the white Guymelef was beating down on him. Miguel turned his head to look off into the direction the voice came from. There, standing among the ruins and fires, stood a long black haired girl. Her torn blue dress ruffled in the wind, her eyes were looking in the direction of the white guymelef. "MIGUEL! STOP SIGHT SEEING... AND HELP ME!"

"Shit!" Miguel turned back around, just in time to see Viole lose his other arm completely. Cursing himself for his distraction, he aimed a crima claw at the back of the white giant. "Dilandau-sama is sooo going to be pissed off..."

"Na, ya think!" Viole retorted sighing Miguel's finger slipped over the ejected button, when suddenly something flashed a crossed his vision and his right arm was cut off.

"What the hel-"He was barely able to move aside as a sword slammed through his cockpit, nicking his left shoulder.

"Van-dono!"

"Van! Get the first one before you turn your full attention to the other one! It's going to shoot you!" Aiko yelled as the blue giant raised its arm to hit him. Van turned sharply enough that the silver streak of metal whizzed past him. What am I doing out here? The heat of the fires danced at her bare legs. She watched as Van began to dismantle the blue giant, oblivious to the other one. Turning her head slightly she caught a glimpse of silver.

"O no! Van, be-"She started to yell even though she knew Van wouldn't be able to move fast enough to stop the attack. But then something suddenly happened, the lifted arm of the blue giant fell off, and water spud out. A large figure embedded a long blade into the body of the melef it attacked.

"Van-dono!" A familiar voice yelled it took Aiko a second to realize who it was. Balgus, the head general of this small country, held on to a long sword that was now embedded on the other blue monster. "I told you to take Lady Aiko and escape from here!"

"I wouldn't run from my enemy!" Van yelled.

"Fanelia will still exist as long as she has her people and her king, Van-dono!" Balgus responded as the melef beneath him tried to shake him off. "Please, Van-dono, escape, and one day return here, to rebuild your country, and revenge its people. Please Van-dono!"

"Balgus..." Van whispered, sweat ran down the side of his face as he stared as his guardian that had been his only family since the death of most of his family. Cursing himself for running away, he turned to were the dark haired girl stood among the flames. Periodically stopping to disable the blue guymelef he had been fighting, he took the Escaflowne's right hand and carefully wrapped it around the frightened girl. "Hold on we're getting out of here!"

xVxVxVxV

"Burn, burn it all to the ground!" Dilandau laughed, as he flicked the switch for the Alseide's flame thrower. The soldiers of the small country were easily to defeat; the country's defenses were pathetic. Now the only thing left at hand, besides torching the rest of the place, was to find that blasted dragon Empire Dunkirk was worried about. "How could something come from this rat hole endanger the future of the Zaibach empire..." He half murmured to himself.

"Dilandau-sama!" A voice came over the intercom, distracting him from the joys of his flames.

"What!"

"The Dragon, it's been sighted, moving into the remains of the town center." Dilandau smirked; momentarily forgive the soldier who had intervened in his fun.

"Slayers move out and surround it!"

He couldn't help but smirk as the pilot in the white guymelef fell to his knees as he saw the massive destruction that had taken place in so little time. Whoever this pilot was, Dilandau could just picture his face; eyes filled with tears for the fallen. Pathetic. On the radar, he could see his entire slayers move about surrounding it, he himself moved forward so that his Alseides stood right in front of it.

"Stealth Cloaks off!" He shouted over the com, one by one, each of the blue Guymelefs became noticeable as they tossed aside their cloaks. With his grin still a crossed his face, Dilandau tossed his aside so that the red shell of his guymelef basked in the light of the fire. "Cry all you want, kid, its not going to save your people now!"

"No!" A female's voice shouted over the roar of the static on the com system.

"What the-" Was all someone was able to say over it as the white guymelef was incased by a darkish green light. This light suddenly shot up into the sky creating the small column of light, much like the one they had observed only the day before. When the light disappeared, it left an empty space where the giant white guymelef had once knelt.

SD: Mwahahahaha! A cliff hanger!

GA1: on phone Would you stop with the satanic laugh. That's my job.

SD: -.-'

Edited: 11/16/06