There and Back again

SD: Did I ever tell you how much I hate work?

GA1: Ya…I think this is the 453rd time…

SD: I mean seriously! The new girl gets fewer hours then I do…and she's NEW! What's up with that?

GA1: Sighs while SD goes on about unfair bosses

Disclaimer: ……………beep …… please leave your own disclaimer at the sound of the beep………beep… We do however own our respective plot changes and characters.

Spirit Dancer: Aiko, Shiva

Glass Angel 1: Ayane, Fira, Merlin, the Providence Children, Caim and any other random character I deem appropriate for this story…

All rights reserved

Song Disclaimer: The song in this chapter is called "Given onto me" and belongs to Evanescence, not us. So please don't sue us!

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

xVxVxVxVx; same place different point of view

xXxXxXx; scene change

italic; vision

XoX; Flashback

Chpt. 24 Lucky

No…It can't be true… Van ran quickly down the halls, oblivious to everything around him. The words the Merle had stuttered and that Prince Shid had confirmed echoed as he made his way passed the soldiers that moved in the corridors. Aiko could not be dead, she couldn't be. He had promised her that he wouldn't let anything happen to that girl and he wasn't going to start breaking his promises. Walls blurred passed him, the sound of his feet running over the wood floors seemed to pound in his ears. Aiko was not going to die. There had to be a way to keep that from happening.

I've been watching you from a distance

The distance sees through your disguise

All I want from you is your hurting

I want to heal you

I want to save you from the dark

The sound of his breath became the most dominate thing to his ears as he made his way around the corner. They all came into sight now, Merle's bouncing figure before him had been leading him here. There was no way he was going to let this happen. Fate could kiss his ass for all he cared, Aiko would not die! The blinds had been pulled up so one could see all that was happening in the room. There were a few soldiers running about in this hall, calling for a healer, but none came. When he entered the room, he froze at the sight. Aiko was staring lifelessly at the ceiling, while Millerna was pumping down on her chest. Her eyes were an unusual faded jade color.

"Come, Aiko… snap out of it!"

Give unto me your troubles

I'll endure your suffering

Place onto me your burden

I'll drink your deadly poison

Van's body moved towards Aiko slowly. It couldn't be true, this was just…a bad dream. His body felt numb as he knelt by Millerna, staring into Aiko's lifeless eyes…wishing them to come back to life. Millerna leaned back and wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

"There's nothing I can do…her heart just won't start…It's like she doesn't want to live anymore…"

Why should I care if they hurt you?

Somehow it matters more to me

Than if I were hurting myself

Save you (save you)

I'll save you

Van placed his hands the same way he saw Millerna doing seconds earlier.

"Like this?" Millerna's head snapped up at the sound of his voice.

"Yes Van…In time with your own heart beat…" Van nodded, and started pumping…one…two…three… Merle was crying as she called out for Aiko to wake up, kneeling down by the girl's head.

Fear not the flame of my love's candle

Let it be the sun in your world of darkness

Give unto me all that frightens you

I'll have your nightmares for you

If you sleep soundly

Seconds stretched into minutes and the time was fading fast as Van tried to get Aiko's heart to start. Come On, Aiko…Don't die on me…Please don't die…

"Aiko snap out of it!" Merle yelled as the seconds ticked by. The possibility of Aiko waking up was becoming slimmer and slimmer as the seconds sped by. Millerna placed her hands on Van's shoulders and tried to pull him off.

"Van, its over…her heart won't start…and it's been over three minutes. By now her organs would begin to stop functioning and die…" Van continued as if he didn't hear her. "Van, you're only doing more harm if you continue! I know you don't want her to die…I don't want her to die either, but if it won't start now it never will… you are only damaging the body more if you continue…" Van shook her hands off and continued.

"I…have a promise…to keep…And by the gods…I'm not going to…break…it…" Millerna stared at him in shock.

"Aiko!" Tears made their way down Merle's furry cheeks as she continued to yell her name…as if it would help bring her back.

Give unto me your troubles

I'll endure your suffering

Place onto me your burden

I'll drink your deadly poison

Van stared into her faded jade eyes as he continued. Please, Aiko…If you die…I'd… Millerna grabbed his shoulders only to be shaken off again, more violently this time. Pushing down harder and harder onto her chest, a feeling of loss swept through him in waves. Why won't it start? Aiko's skin continued to lose any color it might have had left as she stared blankly at the ceiling. Millerna was yelling something, but Van didn't hear it. What if what the Princess kept telling him was true? What if he's just causing her more pain? His arms ached from pumping so long, screaming at him to stop the constant movements. Again Millerna's hands placed themselves on his shoulders, trying to pull him off. Should he stop? No, there was no possible way he was going to break his promise to Ayane. He promised to keep on eye on her, to keep Aiko from trouble, to keep her safe. If he let this happen, if he just quit at the end and let her slip away…

"Van, as doctor I'm telling you. You need to stop... she's dead! She's never going to coming ba-" Aiko's lifeless eyes suddenly gained back their color as she took a huge breath and started coughing violently. Van fell back in shock and Millerna helped her sit up as Merle licked her face, smiling through her tears. The young black haired girl was shaking noticeably as she held onto Millerna, fear etched into her eyes. Millerna's eyes reviled her shock as she helped the poor girl get her breath back. This had indeed been the strangest of days.

"A-Aiko?" Van said slowly, as he sat up, leaning closer to her. He rested his hand on her forehead to push the strands of loose hair off her face. Fearful jade eyes left their focus on the princess's arm to him.

"To defy….No…" The words were stuttered, and run together as she shook violently. "Aya…please…stop…"

xXxXxXxXx

How in Gaea did this happen? One minute she was fine standing by the books. Cleaning them off, smiling, and singing, then the next minute she wasn't breathing. Or well, first she had gone into some sort of coughing fit, and then after whispering two simple words stopped breathing all together. That was five minutes ago, for the past three, Folken had found himself doing rescue breaths in attempt to get Ayane to breath again. The young woman was laying flat on her back at the moment, with her head tilted back. Locks of black and blue hair fell around her, now loose from their braid. Five minutes ago she had stopped breathing, and now he was going on a total of two minutes since her heart had stopped. The black jacket of her uniform had been ripped open to reveal the white dress top that was underneath by his clawed hand. Unbuttoning the thing had become too much of a hassle for him to do quickly. Not that it mattered; he had pretty much ruined Dilandau's uniform set, after Folken had to rip a good part of the white dress to get down to the corset that had been restricting Ayane's lungs to begin with. Time was flying by to quickly and he was running short on time.

Breathing into her mouth again, Folken continued to count the seconds quickly, one more minute before the functions of her body started to shut down. He would only have a short time after that to revive her with minimum brain damage after that time; it was fate's hand that would seal Ayane's destiny. Pushing down on her chest again, Folken found himself wondering were in the world the medics were. He had called for them five minutes ago. Had he been miss counting the time? Had only a few seconds only passed where, to him, it felt like hours? A quick glance at the clock though told him other wise. Somewhere behind him, papers fluttered about as a breeze blew thought the room. The strands of her bangs moved over her empty gray eyes as they looked at nothing particular. What had happened to cause this!

"Come on, Ayane. Breath for me, you're too young to have a heart attack. Come on now!" How long had he been repeating that over and over again? Since her heart stopped probably. Dilandau was going to kill him if this woman did not start to breathe again sometime soon. Where the hell were the damn medics? Each time he pushed down now, seemed to get weaker as his mind became to register the time, it was going to be six minutes soon. The time flew by faster then he thought it had, her body was most likely beginning to shut down now. About the time he started to lift his hands up, to admit his defeat, the young woman's eyes blinked slowly before she pushed herself to the side as she started to cough. "Ayane!"

Folken pulled her up into a still position, holding her up as she slowly started to breath again. The braid that held her short locks of hair had fallen out, letting her hair fall over her face. There was commotion outside the door now, letting him know the medics, that were too late by far, had finally arrived. Ayane, now breathing more regularly, leaned back against his metal arm.

"Gomen, Onii-san." The words left her lips quietly as she past out unconscious on his shoulder. Her soft breathes grazing his neck.

xXxXxXxXx

Darkness…Aiko slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to find a dark room. The only source of light was the silver light of the moons that fell through the open window and onto the floor. Aiko looked next to her to find Merle sound asleep, holding her right hand against her chest. Surprisingly, it was wrapped in bandages. Silently asking her what happened, Aiko got out of the bed without waking the cat girl up. Stretching her muscles, she looked out the window at the city below. The edge of the horizon was a dark pink, signaling that the sun had just set. Walking out of the room, she found the halls deserted, and eerily quiet. As she walked, she tried to remember what had happened, but nothing came up. Turning a corner she let her mind wonder, not caring where her feet took her. All she could remember was the weird dream that she had. For that matter she didn't remember ever falling asleep.

The last thing she remembered was helping the human eye sore get to another room, because the building was shaking. Did that mean that Zaibach had already attacked the city? She walked up to a window, and looked out. The city seemed relatively peaceful except for the dozens of guymelefs walking around. OK, so maybe they hadn't attacked yet…That would probably explain where Van was. Turning her mind back to the dream, she played the whole thing over in her head. As the words came back, fear gripped her. So did that mean that Ayane was…? She didn't let herself finish the sentence. Aya couldn't be…that…and Miguel… Even though she hadn't known him for that long, she still liked him. To defy, are you willing to pay the price…? Aiko had heard the whole speech before…Ayane had given it to her a long time ago. Stupid Ayane…She better not have done what Aiko thought she did…If she did… then…Fresh air and running water snapped Aiko out of her thoughts as the sounds of a fountain floated over the breeze. As Aiko looked at her surroundings, she realized that she was at the same place where Merle had found her earlier. She walked towards the fountain; the young prince of Freid caught her eye. Walking up to him, she sat down next to him, making him jump.

"Whoa…calm down, I'm not going to hurt you…" She said softly as she brought her knees up to her chest, and rested her head on top of them. Looking over at the young blond prince, she watched him sit back down next to her. He looked to have so much on that little mind of his. The boy was what… only four……maybe five years old and he acted a lot like Van. Actually, since she had been here, she never really saw the kid play like someone his age should be. Prince Shid's blue eyes were looking down at his hands. Boy, this kid really needed to relax a bit. It was like the weight of the world was on the kid's little shoulders the way he looked to be thinking.

"You were right…" He suddenly said, as he looked away from his small hands to the water in front of them. Aiko sat her head up off of her knees as she looked at the boy, ignoring the unconformable position she was in sitting on the steps that lead down to the fountain's water.

"Right about what?"

"Zaibach had used a doppelganger disguised as Plactu to trick us. They found its body in the city…And the really Plactu's outside the temple walls." Aiko frowned as the boy spoke; he was obviously ignoring what she had just said. But it wasn't hard for her to piece together. Something she had said, did that mean something more happened between what she remembered to now? There was a space of memory that had been left empty. "It's my fault Freid is destined to burn now…"

Destiny…What a funny thing that seemed to mentioned a lot.

"Destiny……" Aiko found herself sighing. Prince Shid looked away from the water to her again. The words left her as she said them mindlessly. "Someone once told me that no matter what we think, there is always more then one destiny. Fate has many paths that we can walk, but what path we choose determines our ultimate destiny. Though, we can change that destiny by choosing a new path. But for us to do that, we must pay fate a price equal to that of the destiny we should have had from the path that we are currently walking. If you wanted to stop someone's death for example, you must pay a price equal to that in order to reclaim that person path into another." Aiko studied the glittering water as it caught the light from the torches that had been lit. "Nothing is absolutely certain until you come to the end of Fate's path. Freid isn't burning yet is it?"

"No……"

"See…" Aiko turned her head to look at the little prince. "Then it's not certain that its where this path will end just yet. If you try, you maybe able to prevent that destiny from happening…" Aiko shook her head, the corners of her mouth rose to the slightest degree. On a normal person, it would have looked like a grimace more then a smile. "Wow…I'm starting to sound like Ayane…" The corners dropped back down, and formed a frown. Tears pricked her eyes as what she had said sunk in. Placing her head on her knees again, her vision began to blur with unshed tears. Ayane must be dead…She wanted to save Miguel so badly…She didn't care if she died or not… Aiko's eyes widened as she realized the situation. This was how Ayane felt every time that she had attempted suicide. The fear that her best friend might have actually tried killing herself and succeeded, instead of her parents finding out just in time. One tear managed to break free from the rest as it rolled down her cheek. Images flew her head so fast that she only saw glimpses…Ayane yelling at her for taking her life, and not waiting it out. Ayane telling her that her parents might change at the last minute, so she should wait. Aiko would always blow it off, thinking that Ayane was just saying that because she didn't understand. But she had understood…It had been Aiko who didn't understand. Every time that Aiko attempted suicide, Aya felt the pain that Aiko herself was feeling now. The pain of the loss of a close friend. Another tear escaped and followed the first as Aiko glanced out over the water, forgetting that the young prince was still sitting next to her.

"Aiko?" Aiko looked over at him, and stared at him as more tears made their way down her cheeks. "Aiko what's wrong?" Aiko's eyes widened as she stood up suddenly and scrubbed her face to erase the trails that the tears had made, only to be replaced by more. Once she had allowed them to flow, there was no way to stop them…

"I-I've got to go…" Her voice cracked as she tried to wipe the tears off of her face, and keep more from coming. She couldn't let the Prince see her cry…her state of weakness…She bowed quickly before running off. No one had seen her cry except Aya and Van… She kept running, her braided hair flowing out of its braid and down her back. The tears only increased as she ran…the same thought running through her head. Ayane was gone….and she wasn't coming back. There wasn't anyone to comfort her when her parents got a little more violent then usual…there was no one to scare away the kids at school, and protect her from their taunts, and hurtful words…no one that she could turn to when she wanted to get away from her parents for a few days…no one to try and talk her out of killing herself, and trying to get her to wait because it could always get better…The tears were dripping onto the floor as she ran…they wouldn't stop…they just kept on coming. She cried for everything that she couldn't before. She cried for being separated from Ayane when Fanelia burned to the ground. Cried for Ayane when Aiko had found her on the floor of the floating rock… Cried for when Van was being beaten because she hadn't been paying attention and got caught by the pink haired bastard with the damn snake. Cried when she was sleepwalking, and had beaten Ayane to a bloody pulp. Cried for herself when she would get beaten, and felt as if there was nothing left to live for. But there had been…there always had been…she was just too blind to see it. The tears wouldn't stop… no matter how hard she tried, they would just keep flowing. The dark walls were blurs as she continued to run from her troubles. That was all she ever did…when ever she had a problem she'd run to Ayane to help her fix it. She was such a fucking weakling.

The burs suddenly stopped when she ran into something, knocking it over. When she looked up, she saw Van sitting on the floor rubbing his head. The moonlight from the window eliminated his face as Aiko scooted away from him so that she was in the shadows; in the darkness where no one could see her. Her arms were shaking as they supported her. It was only then that she felt the pain of running too far too fast, her leg muscles pounding from their abuse, her lungs burning from the lack of air. A sob escaped from her lips as she continued to cry. The tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the floor creating a puddle of tears.

"Aiko?" Her name sounded weird coming from him, for her mind was still racing, as if she was still trying to run away. Why was the world around her starting to seem as if it was collapsing on itself? At this moment, for the first time having arrived on this strange world Aiko found she wanted to be back on Earth. Not back home though, but back at Ayane's little apartment that sat atop that huge building complex. Back out on that garden that flourished up there. Without a care with what had been happening through the day, just the solemn silence that came with being out there on that little white bench. With Ayane pruning something like she always was when they went out there. There was always the odd question if she even just sat back and admired her garden. Ayane always had the green thumb for growing plants. The sob left her lips again as she tried to control her crying. She brought her hands up to her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears, but no matter they just kept coming. That damn woman, how could she do this? The tears leaked though her fingers. Would it bring her back if she took all those things back? Aiko didn't really care that Ayane always started her school days out with a cup of straight coffee and a half glass of some random alcohol. Hell, Aiko would even be glad to sit through a whole year full of lectures if it would do any good. Anything… just don't let this be the reality. Something touched her shoulder, but when she lifted her fingers off one of her eyes all she saw was a dark red. The ruff fabric of his red shirt rubbed against her hands as he pulled her into his hold. Van, she had forgotten that he was there. His hand's moved up and down her back as he said something over and over again. But her mind was so lost, that the words faded away before she could understand them. Her hands left her face and onto his shirt, grabbing the ruff fabric. Why couldn't she stop crying, why wouldn't these tears stop?

He stopped speaking after a few minutes, his arms held tightly around her as he leaned his head against hers for a moment. Why wouldn't he go away? No one needed to see her tears. Aiko didn't want any one's sympathy anymore. Earth and this world could just go to hell for all she carried. There was no point to it anymore. Ayane was gone, she hope that girl was pretty damn happy with herself.

xVxVxVxVx

This was kind of weird. Van held the shaking girl in his arms as she cried into his shirt. This wasn't like what happen back in the woods with the sky dragon. That had been when it was only a few tears, frustrated tears. Now it was like her world had come crashing to a halt and was falling into some black hole. What in the world had happened today anyways? She hadn't responded to a thing he had said, and now was holding on to him as if she was going to fall even though she was sitting on the floor. Lord, was he glad that it was late in the evening, and this hall was empty or this would be a little embarrassing for her. Speaking of which, Van sighed inwardly, he should probably carry her back to her room. Shifting slighting, he moved an arm under her legs and held the other around her torso. Hopefully he could get them off the ground in one try; this position was a little awkward. Her arms flew around his neck as he lifted her up off the ground, and held tightly on. Well, at least he got her off the floor. Van stumbled before regaining his footing and began to walk through the corridor. The sobs subsided after a few minutes, and the tight grip on his neck loosened. Looking down at her slightly to see if she had gone to sleep, Van found her still awake. Her head was rested against his shoulder, staring down at nothing particular. Her hair, now loose from what had been held it before, fell around her face slightly but it did not hide it from view. He could still see the tears make their way down her cheeks as she cried in silence. The jade eyes seemed to hold a look of helplessness as she looked at nothing. The poor girl probably wasn't even aware of much.

Moving the blinds aside, he stepped quietly into what was her room. Merle was curled up on the mat that was called a bed here. She seemed unaware of his presence as she remained in her deep sleep. Which was probably a good thing…last thing he need right now was to be groped by the feline and being asked more questions then he could answer at the moment. Crossing the room carefully he knelt down next to the somewhat large bed to lay Aiko down. Her eyes were closed now, leaving him to conclude she must have fallen asleep. But when his hands tried to remove hers, the tight grip returned so suddenly, she pulled him down on top of her.

"No…" It wasn't a request, it was an order. Face slightly half buried in the pillow, Van sighed. It looked like he wasn't going anywhere for a while.

xXxXxXxXx

"You……are one lucky bastard…" Shesta shook his head as the four of them stood around his bed. Miguel growled slightly as Guimel lifted his leg onto another pillow. It hurt like hell, and the damn mushroom head kept moving it. The trip back to the Vione had been a painful one. Gatty had done a quick job of wrapping up his leg before they took off, and the medic had spent an hour sewing it up. Thirty-six stitches, they might as well have amputated it. The thing was so stiff he couldn't even bend it slightly. The medic did though, unhappy inform him, if the cut run any deeper he would have bleed to death. Not that it sounded too bad after the rest of the news they had given him, right at this moment he wished he was dead. Dallet was sitting down in the only chair in this stupid room. If anything, the redhead hated the medic wing. At least it wasn't white like the hospital rooms back home. More like an eerie green. Gatty was leaning against the wall, tired looking and aggravated. He was pretty sure that Folken had chewed out both the slayers while the medic was tending to him. Shesta was sitting on one of the ends of the bed looking at him, happy with himself, while Guimel was 'trying' to make him more comfortable. Which was far from what he was doing.

"Ow, ow, ow! Guimel that hurts!" Miguel cursed as he thrashed in his bed. It was so uncomfortable here. The pillows that he sat up against were hard as rocks, the blanket made his bare legs itch like crazy. He so did not like the idea of not having any clothes on, except his boxers; at least the bloody medic let him keep those on.

"Sorry…Sheesh, just trying to help…" The slayer waved his hands in the air as he moved away from the bed and head to the door. "And to think I was planning on skipping out of Refina's piano session to make sure you were comfy."

"Piano session, my ass… more like your make-out session…" Dallet mumbled, making the creamy blond hair boy glare at him.

"That is not true…"

"I don't care if it's true or not. I'm in pain! Someone get me more pain killers!" Miguel growled over the two's conversation, but neither of them seemed to be listening. The two partners continued to bicker with each other as Guimel left the room, Dallet following behind him. Shesta laughed slightly, before turning his attention back to Miguel, who sat glaring angrily at the door way. Gatty just shook his head, but remained silent. It took Miguel a moment to realize he was now alone with the two commanders. O great, he was going to get a preview of the lecture from Dilandau. The younger general hadn't been able to stop in yet, but the redhead was sure he had already heard. It was most likely that he was getting yelled at by Folken; Gatty had informed him that they weren't supposed to come get him. Though the look on the two blonds' faces, it was like… No he couldn't think about it, Miguel didn't want their sympathy in this manner. The mistake was his… he'd live through it.

"Miguel……" No... His hands balled into fists as his name slipped passed Shesta's lips. The medics had already made it clear to him, no matter how well the wound heals. The injury would leave lasting damage; the cut ran clear down to the bone. He would never be able to pilot another guymelef again. It was likely he would spend the rest of his life relying on a cane to walk. Miguel didn't want to hear it from them, he didn't want their sympathy. It was his mistake.

"Where's Viole…… I haven't seen him since I got on the Vione. Doesn't he have the guts to even come visit me?" The words left him colder then he wanted them to be, but it was the only thing he could think to say that wouldn't end with him yelling. "I mean…He may hate this place but…"

"His unpacking all of your things, last time I checked…." Gatty finally said, his voice sounded a little too far away at the time.

"Unpacking my stuff? So the moron really did think I was going to not be coming back huh?" He shrugged it off as if it was nothing. "That little brat… putting his hands on my stuff… That room is going to be in such a disas-"

"Miguel we really need to talk to you..." Shesta cut him off, returning the conversation to what the redhead did not want to hear. "The likeability that you-"

"No!" Miguel held a hand in the air to keep the blond commander from continuing. "I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear it from either of you two!"

"Mige-"

"I said no!"

"Would you then rather hear it from me?" A new voice added to the room, making the three look to the open doorway. Dilandau stood there, leaning against the door frame studying them all with a solemn look on his face. He must have been there for a while, and none of them had noticed. Arms crossed over the red tank top that still looked to be slightly wet and silver hair loose from its tiara, the young general look displeased by something. Most likely Miguel, he knew that he would be mad at him. Not only for getting captured, but now for this as well. "Gatty, Shesta. The two of you are dismissed…"

"Yes sir…" The two said without looking at him, both turned and walked slowly out the room heads hung low. Dilandau caught Gatty's arm for a second, causing him to look up at him. There was a slight nod from their general before he let go of him, allowing him to leave the room. After that, the two of them spent a few moments in silence. Miguel did not look at him; he didn't feel he could keep the glaze into those ruby eyes. Shame, that was what washed over him, the shame of his failure. He was a disappointment and he knew it. Not only had he allowed himself to get captured, but he had distorted his guymelef and he was critically injured. All of this went against what he was trained for. This was a disgracing act to the superior skills that Dilandau possessed. None of this should have happened. Miguel's fingers tightened around the edge of the sheet Guimel had put over him. There was movement suddenly by the door, indicating that Dilandau had moved away from it. The redhead slayer could hear his boots clicking against the metal floor as he walked closer to the bed.

"I'd expect you think I'm hear to yell at you for your stupidity, don't you?" The young general started to say as he walked. Miguel did not look up to face him. "Not only did you allow yourself to be taken prisoner, but you also managed to get yourself critically injured when you were supposed to be escaping. You went against your training and tried to gain back some of the 'honor' you lost." Each word was like an arrow; with each word Dilandau raised his voice in anger. All Miguel could do was flitch and look to the side where the young general was walking to. "You endangered not only the security of the empire but as well as fellow soldiers. If I was anything like General Adelphos I'd throw you out of the army with a dishonor discharge!"

"Dilandau-sama, I-" Miguel started to say, as his shoulders tightened as the shame of his action weighed down on him. But before he could even say anything, a hand slipped under his chin and pulled it up. Blue eyes looked into remorseful red ones.

"But, I'm nothing like them... I'm not too proud to admit it Miguel... None of this was your fault. The blame is mine..." Dilandau was sitting on the bed next to him, his other hand resting in his lap. "Miguel, I'm not going to cast you aside now, or ever. You are one of my best soldiers and you are part of my family. I'm not going to let you suffer anymore now then you have to because of my mistake." His hand moved from under Miguel's chin to his shoulder. A slight smile graced his lips, but it did not remove the remorse from his eyes. "I still need my tactics officer, no matter if he can't pilot anymore. You didn't loose that brain of yours did you?"

"No sir..." All that weight, the anger he felt for his failure, the shame seemed to melt away. The remorse in those ruby eyes seemed to fade off a bit as Dilandau chuckled, patting him of the shoulder. Life wasn't over yet, so what if one part of his life came to an end. The red-eyed pyromaniac was right; there was something else he could be useful for. Let Refina act in his rank, even if Zaibach will never recognize it. Miguel wasn't going to be cast aside and forgotten. "I'll take you on in Intrigue any day..."

"Good to see you back in your spirits Miguel..."

"General Albatou, please report to hanger four..."

"O great that time already..." Dilandau frowned as he looked away from Miguel for a moment to the door. "The other generals want to go over the plans for the invasion tomorrow...again for the third time..." Patting Miguel on the shoulder one more time he stood up and walked back across the room to the door. He stopped for a second and looked over at him, hand resting on the door frame. "Is good to have you back Miguel...Viole was starting to become a downer..."

"I've heard..." Dilandau nodded and continued out. Now the medic room lay empty except for him, Miguel leaned back against the pillows that Guimel had arranged for him to sleep on. Well, at least this whole thing would be over, everything would get back to normal somewhat. Maybe he could get Dallet to make him a cane seeming that he was going to need one to walk around now. The boy was always better at wood work then any of the others. Which was kind of odd, Dallet was never really creative in much. Tactic officers didn't get to see much action, so life was probably going to be a bit boring. Maybe the doctors were wrong, and his leg won't end up as stiff as they say it would. Moving his leg slightly, Miguel cursed at the pain that shot up from it. Or not.

"I see that you aren't dead yet..." Miguel stopped in his middle sentence of curses to look at the door again to see his new visitor. Ayane leaned against the door looking in at him. She was in a light blue medic uniform that was issued to patients. The blue skirt end about mid thigh and the skirt exposed her stomach. There was a crack somewhere on the Vione about the female versions of the uniform, but at the moment Miguel did not want to think about Viole's perverted jokes. Though, Ayane probably should not be walking around in that.

"Aya-" Blood rushed to his face, he could feel the heat in his cheeks. Viole was bragging a while back about seeing her in her unmentionables, and Shesta ended up banning him from ever waking the woman up again. And at this moment he felt the same way Shesta did when he first went to walk Ayane up, completely unconformable. Miguel wasn't like Viole, nobility had its rules, and one was that woman of rank should not A.) Dress like men and B.) Walk around in anything that has a skirt that does not pass their ankles. Ayane to them all held a rank even if she wasn't from their world, and she was breaking rule number two. Look away Miguel! The honorable part of him cried, but the perverted part that hanging out with Viole had created wouldn't let him.

"I really hate doctors... They wouldn't let me see you..." She growled as she stepped into the room, ignoring the fact she was barely dressed. One of the other slayers had said that she was here. That something had happened while they were out, and also about Folken having to perform CPR. But none of them knew what had happened, nor could any of the medics tell them. He had also been informed about a few 'other' things that might have happen between her and the general since he was gone. Walking over slowly to the side of the bed where his leg sat propped up on pillows.

"There's a reason why..." He coughed slightly, now finding his voice as she stopped by the side of his bed looking over his leg. Her hair was pulled back in a tight braid. Frowning she studied it as if something about him being injured was completely wrong and out of place. Miguel watched as she tilted her head to one said, curiosity written across her face, but...not in her eyes. The instant her hand moved to touch his leg, he grabbed it. "No Ayane!"

"Why not..." The curiously was gone, replaced by the solemn look that had been in her eyes. Bangs did not cover her face, as they normally would when she tilted her head down like that. There was anger in her voice, not at him, but at herself as if this was her fault. This look though, the solemn-ness had something else hidden in it that he could barely see and would not have noticed it if he had not sensed it earlier. Remorse flicked in those steel gray eyes. "Even in defying one destiny, I lay you alone in another which path of fate maybe crueler..."

"Aya...?" She turned and looked at Miguel for a moment, the hand he held clenched slightly.

"I have the gift... why won't you let me use it?!"

"Because... You feel what you heal don't you..." Looking away from him to the door, she unclenched her hand. "And there's a lasting effect as well..."

"Yes..." Letting go of her hand, he watched it drop to her side. After a few seconds she jumped up on the bed to sit next to him, hands kept in her lap. "Well...since you won't let me... May I ask if you saw my friend in Freid?"

"You mean that nut case?" Miguel cracked lightly, still watching her hands. The look was still her in eyes. Even though she laughed at his joke the look remained there as if it would never fall away. Her laughter could not chase it way, even though it sounded full, it was an empty laugh.

"Nut case? That's the first... never call her that to her face though..."

"I already called her something else..."He mumbled under his breath, still not taking his eyes off of her. Ayane acted if she didn't notice it, as if what had happened only moments ago hadn't happened at all. She tilted her head at him, smiling.

"Let me guess, something that made her mad?"

"Mad enough to try and break copper bars with her fists..." He rolled his eyes.

"She's not a smart cookie sometimes..."

"That's what I said..." Ayane shook her head again, chuckling. She looked at him for a moment; even though she was smiling her steel eyes reflected something else. Sometimes he wished now, that there was someway that smile could reach those eyes. Ever since she had been with them all, that smile never once broke the sadness and despair that echoed deep in them. Maybe Dilandau could, where none of them seemed to be able to so far. Then again, that was if... "I guess I'll leave you to sleep... I'm pretty sure that one of those evil people are going to come looking in on me again... Sheesh... One little heart attach and everybody goes crazy..."

"Heart...attack!" Miguel blinked in surprise. Was that why she was here?

"Yup... but I don't want to go into it right now...'Kay?" She leaned over a bit, placing one had on his chest and kissed him on the cheek. This was something the redhead was coming into accustom to getting from her. He had asked once why she did it, and all he received in answer was that it was a greeting from her world. Closing his eyes he relaxed his guard that he had kept watching her movements. It wasn't until a few fingers glazed his left leg that he realized his mistake. The pain shot up his leg as her right hand held fast on his exposed thigh.

"Aya... No stop..." But that was all Miguel could say. He couldn't move, no matter how much he wanted to just to get her off, to let go… he couldn't move. The pain was so much worse then when he had originally got from the damn thing. Something wet moved down the side of his face, her head was rested closely on his ever since she had started. Had she planned to cure the whole thing? He couldn't let her do that, no he couldn't... The pain and the faint blue glow that he had not noticed until it was gone stopped suddenly. Well the intense pain stopped, but there still remained some. The wet thing moved down his cheek as Ayane sat up now, panting. Tears, they were tears, her tears. He could see some of the remains of them moving down the side of her face as she pulled away from him. The faint touch of her hand fainted away as if moved off his left leg. "Ayane..."

"Yell at me if you must..." the words came out of her mouth as she slipped down off the bed, no remorse for her action could be heard. "But I did what was needed... You may not think it, and he may never say it..." She walked slowly out of the room as she spoke, limping slightly. Her hand did not leave the edge of the bed for a while. Miguel looked away from her momentarily to look down at his leg. The cut was still there, it did not look away different then it had before. Confusion graced his mind at not understanding what she had done. Looking back at her, he saw her leaning against the door frame looking back at him. "Dilandau will need you all more then ever, now..."

SD: No! I have to work for six days straight!

GA1: Are you still going on about that?

SD: But you don't under stand! Six days straight!

GA1: sighs and shakes head sadly

Edited 2/7/07