There and Back again

SD: Growls why won't Riku die!

GA1: ……what's with you and that game anyways?

SD: I need to play this one to understand Kingdom hearts 2…

GA1: ……baka…

SD: growls while playing game

GA1: Well sorry for the hiatus… again………It's all her fault!

SD: looks up from game. Lair! It was you AGAIN!

GA1: hides

Disclaimer: Between the two morons writing this story we do not own enough money to own ANYTHING. So yeah, Escaflowne defiantly doesn't belong to us……unfortunately. We do, however, have enough money to own our own characters:

Spirit Dancer: Aiko, Shiva

Glass Angel1: Ayane, Fira, Merlin, the Province Children, Caim, and any other character that I must create for the production of this story.

All rights reserved

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

xXxXxXxXx ;scene change

italic; vision

XoX ; Flashback

Chpt. 27 True Sinners

She held onto his arm tightly as they walked slowly down the dark corridor. The tears fell down in face in silence now. How long had it been since he found her out on the balcony on her knees grabbing onto the railing for support? Had he not told her to wonder to far from him? Well Ayane hadn't really wondered off that far, she had been with Zahur. He had only left her for a little while. The man didn't know what happened; he had left her out on the balcony any from everything. During the dance, Dilandau had seen her leg give out. Instead of trying to get her to seat down, the dark skinned man had taken her out for fresh air. It had been what the dark haired princess had asked for. But what had caused this mess? All the slayers had returned with him except for Shesta and Gatty. The two relentlessly were forced to stay by his orders. Dilandau stopped in front of her door; the motion didn't seem to faze her as she now held her eyes closed. He looked down at her, something in his chest felt wrenched. Even with the calm look on her face, the tears showed the small crack on her porcelain mask. Once before he had seen what was behind it… that was why his heart wrenched out in pain. What had happened? Was there a vision of some sorts to send her into this? Dilandau reached out with his free hand to unlock the door to her room. It slid opened slowly, revealing the slightly lit room. The girl left the lights on somewhat so she could find her way around. Her arms dropped from around his as she slowly stepped away from him to walk into her room.

Was it really alright to leave her like this?

"Ayane……" She was beyond the doorway when he called her name. The dark haired woman stopped, arms rested at her side. For moment she was still. Raising her head slight, she kept her back to him before turning back around. The calm look at shattered then when her eyes fell upon his face. He could see the mask drop revealing the frightened interior. Automatically, as if possessed by something, Dilandau moved forward. The young girl's hands rose to cover her face, to try and regain the mask. The attempt failed miserably. He barely got to her when her knees bucked and she fall forward into his arms.

"Don't leave me alone…"

xXxXxXxX

Where in the world did that damn girl go? Van wondered the Freid royal ship looking for the one thing that he was certainly mad at. Did that girl not have ANY manners at all? Even after all this time, she should have gotten the part about not yelling at people who could have her head chopped off in a moments notice; or at least he thought she had. Why was it now he was wishing he was stuck with the other girl, the one that was a little on the creepy side? Well Ayane... the late Ayane wasn't that creepy, she was just a little weird at times especially when she was around nobility. Even the time was short being with both of them, if there was anything Van got out of the two was that Ayane was the brains and Aiko the brawns. Without the head the body couldn't seem to decide for itself about what it should do in any given situation. It wasn't that he didn't agree with what she had said to the duke, the man was being a bit harsh on a boy who was only five. Or was it four? URG! He really needed to stop thinking about that kid. All that did was lead him off into something else which he really didn't need to think about right now, or even EVER. Though it didn't help that the blond baka was acting a little on the weird side and that princess was even being weirder. No, right now he should just go find Aiko before she did something dramatic. Even if the other girl was no longer living, that didn't mean Van had the right to break his promise. The girl would probably make it a point to come back and haunt him. The last thing Van wanted was to get hit on the head again, even by the unseen.

Walking down the dark corridor, he turned into a large room where the Escaflowne had been put. He had already looked in her room but only found a sleeping Merle. Merle... She wasn't talking very much with him anymore. If fact she hadn't clung to him since the day before yesterday, she was defiantly angry. The cat girl was probably planning some demise for him. That's just what he need right now. An angry cat and a suicide girl, along with a raging war that no one really had a freaking clue what was going on. A war to end all wars... exactly what was that Strategoes smoking? Well, well at least he wasn't to be stuck in his trail of thought anymore; his target had finally decided to reveal herself. Sitting up on the steps to the Escaflowne Aiko sat with her knees up to her chest, her arms lying across, and her chin resting on them staring at absolutely nothing. Actually that was a lie, he wished she wasn't staring at anything; Aiko was staring pretty damn hard at the doors to the hanger. Probably wishing they were open so she could just jump out. Damn girl. Walking over to the steps, Van stopped at the bottom and crossed his arms before looking up at her.

"You know, if you stare at them look enough, you might burn a hole in them..."

"That's what I'm hoping..." Her vice was unusually quiet, as her right arm disappeared behind her legs. She continued to stare at the doors, her hair covering up most of her face. "Has the Duke issued my death sentence yet...?" Sighing Van walked slowly up the stairs ascending the Escaflowne. He stopped at the set down from her, and loomed above her for a moment before kneeling down so that he was level with her.

"Alright... give it here..." He held out his hand in front of him. The brown gloves looked almost black in this poorly lit room. Her eyes narrowed at him as she fingered the pointy end of her compass.

"Why? I'm not gonna use it..." Her finger ran over the tip over and over causing a red line to form across her finger. His hand remained where it was, waiting for her to give the little toy to him. Sighing, she moved her arm and handed him the compass. "You happy now?"

"I'd be happier if I believe you wouldn't use it..." He looked at her for a moment before sitting down next to her looking at the strange object he now held in his hand. Good thing he guessed right about her having something sharp and pointy on her, now if only he could figure out what the hell it was supposed to be. Aiko rested her head back down one her arms and continued to stare out at the hanger doors. Well now they were back to the silence. Closing his hand around the weird object, Van placed his hands behind him to lean back against as he looked up at the ceiling. There were a lot of things he should be thinking about right now, a lot of things he should be trying to sort out but here he was doing absolutely nothing. Finding Aiko was just an excuse so that he wouldn't have to think about any of it. And yet, here was this girl wishing for it all just to end. She freaked out ever time there was a battle, worried he'd go get himself killed (even though afterward she tend to seem like she didn't care), and yet would ponder her own death. "Hey, Aiko... If there was anywhere else you could be, with anyone, where would it be?" Aiko didn't answer right away. She continued to stare at the doors, willing them to open by themselves.

"In a garden...on top of her apartment building...with her lecturing me about one thing or another...carefully pruning her flowers and plants..." Aiko didn't look at him, but drew her legs closer to her. He nodded his head after a moment to understand whom she was talking about before he looked at the doors in front of him.

"Back home in Fanelia, after the first fall of snow graces the grounds of the city. Out in the gardens of the bundled up castle with my mother trying to build a snowman out of the first snow of the season that is always too wet to make anything out of... Throwing snowballs at Folken who always sat on a bench near us as he read some history book and not helping us. Getting yelled at for taking off my shoes to run bare foot in the snow and dragging in mud on the castle floors by the maid. Folken trying to get me to sit still at the dining hall, even though the snowball I made not ten minutes before has started to melt before I can get a chance to get father with it..." Aiko turned her head to look at him for a moment and eyebrow arched slightly. "What? I didn't give you a limit did I? So don't look at me like I'm crazy..." Aiko shook her head, before she went back to "staring a hole into the door" as he had put it.

"I have almost forgotten what it was like before she died... Father was always laughing... Mom and I would always be making something for him to have as soon as he came home from work. He'd come home, smiling like everything was perfect..." Her lips rose slightly, in a semi-half smile at the memory. "He'd give me a hug, and asked me what I had done that day, before going over to mother and giving her a hug. When Christmas time came, we'd always go out in the backyard and start a snowball fight...It would always be me and him against Mom..." The smirk died as she continued. "Then mom got sick-"

"Aa!" Van suddenly; stopping her as he held up a hand then looked at her with a slight smile. "The idea of this was to remember the good things, not the bad. No matter how far any someone is, or if they had passed on to the next life we always have the good memories to remember them by. Don't you think that your mother is worried about you right now, even though she can no longer be here for you? Or that Ayane is lecturing right now, even though you can't hear her? I'm pretty sure you can think of exactly what she would be saying to you, can't you?" Aiko's eyes narrowed as she continued to stare ahead.

"'Stupid girl...You never know what your future holds... So why in the world are you going to kill yourself? Do you know that resolves absolutely nothing? No matter how hard you think everything is now, I'll make it ten times as bad if you even THINK about using that thing. Everything has a different side to it, just like this flower has two different colors to it, pink on the outside red on the inside. Don't look at everything so flatly; death is not an end you can take so quickly when you have yet to finish the beginning of your story!' Or something like that... she's always uses an example from what ever she was doing... Normally that lecture was something I got when she was playing with her plants..." The corners of her mouth rose to the slightest degree. "She was always obsessing over those stupid plants...the top of the apartment building were almost completely covered with them..." The small smirk faded as she continued to stare ahead. Tears had begun to prick her eyes long ago, but she refused to let them lose. She wasn't going to lose it in front of him again. His arm wrapped around her shoulders suddenly, and pulled her against him. It forced her to put her legs out on to the step in front of her so that she could keep her balance, and not fall flat on her face.

"And another thing... there's a reason for crying..." Aiko's eyes glared at the hanger doors once more before they closed, allowing the tears to brake of their hold and flow down her cheeks.

xXxXxXxXx

Aiko stared out at the mass of orange in front of her as the Duke of Freid continued his extremely long speech. She had stopped listening to him a long time ago...not finding his speech too interesting. Who in their right mind would send monks to battle the soldiers that the soldiers back at the palace couldn't beat? Was the guy that desperate? What could a bunch of bald guys dressed in orange do the job that hardened soldiers at the palace couldn't? It didn't make any sense. Aiko held back a yawn and the urge to sit down as she glanced around the room. The room was a little on the big side, and it was filled with bald monks that were all dressed in bright orange. The room was made out of stone...like everything else, and had pillars every now and then to hold everything up. Besides the banners that decorated the room and the big emblem thing that was behind everyone, the room was pretty much boring...just like the ever lasting speech. How much can you tell a group of monks? The Duke took a break, and turned over to the Prince, and began talking of "the duty of the Duke". Aiko swore if the Duke had blond hair, he'd be directly related to Millerna...Speaking of blond hair... Aiko looked over at Shid. The kid looked nothing like the Duke...you'd think that if his parents were blond and dark-haired, that the boy would get light brown at least...but he has blond hair and blue eyes. If anything he looks exactly like Allen. Now there was a possibility... Aiko glared at the Duke. Why was he talking to them now? She saw a nice cliff somewhere on the way here...couldn't she just go there? Hell, she'd rather listen to one of Ayane's stupid lectures instead of stand here. The duke's lecture makes Ayane's seem like five minutes long instead of their usual thirty... The duke now turned back to Shid. Goodness...the kid's only fiv-wait...no...four and the Duke's treating him like he's an adult. Aiko sighed as the Duke turned back to the monks and began to talk some more about what they had to do. Someone just shoot her now and put her out of her misery.

Van crossed his arms as he stood in the far back of the group, resisting the urge to sleep. It wasn't that this was tiring him; no, it was from the lack of sleep. The woman had fallen asleep in his arms out on the hanger. Though it didn't seem to bather her with the position she had set herself in it was just, it was uncomfortable for him. So he had spent most of his night awake and thinking. She kept saying that her friend, Lady Ayane, was dead. But how could that make any since? Last time he checked, the woman was being held prisoner aboard the Zaibach ship by that crazy pyromaniac kid and his brother. Even in war, killing women prisoners was a BIG no-no. It was an unwritten rule in the rule of things not to do in War. Now it didn't mean that they were left unharmed, but women were held to their status. From what he had little seen between the man that was once his brother and Ayane back on that bridge in Asturia she has held as having some sort of status of the lady. So why in the world did she keep saying she was dead? Maybe it was from their separation? With out the crutch the child must learn to stand on its own. Ayane had been Aiko's way of standing, of taking the pain she had. Without her, she had to find a way on her own.

He looked over at the black haired girl. The crossed look of having to stand here stood out as she looked over at the small prince. Maybe by saying that her friend was dead, she was forcing herself to find a way to stand on her own? That sounded very weird, but the girl was weird herself so that didn't really matter much. Feline eyes met his from a moment before looking sharply away. And then there was that problem, Merle had been avoiding him for sometime now. She was very, very angry with him, and why? Van was completely clueless. There was really a need for him to understand the opposite sex; so far he was doing horribly. The dark haired king knew what was wrong; really he did understand why she was mad at him. Well, at least he hoped that was it. Something pulled him out of his thought as the Duke of Freid began to stand up. Guess he missed all that long talk about making war against Zaibach here in a temple out in the middle of nowhere.

"It is time Shid; I showed you what the true task of the duke of Freid is. What has been left on our shoulders..." Lifting up a strange looking sword that was given to him by one of the monks, the tall duke turned and looked at them as well. "I would like you show you as well, what it is Zaibach seeks..."

Zaibach was seeking something?

Wasn't his brother just managing a war for some crazed idea or was there actually a point behind it besides 'a war to end all wars'?

Well there went the whole point of thinking his brother was a lunatic for thinking up crap like that. There was something he was seeking for whatever lord he now chose to serve, and give up his own blood right for.

Aiko looked at the Duke, confusion written all over her face. Zaibach wanted something more then world domination? What could be better then world domination? And when was the Duke gonna realize that his son is only five-wait...no...four and start taking responsibility himself? What was with this place and giving so much responsibility to such young people? And why the hell were they counting on bald monks in orange towels to fight Zaibach? She would give those monk ten minutes before each and every one of them is dead, and their small group would be running, once again, for their lives.

With the large sword in his hands, the Duke of Freid turned away from them and began to descend from the platform that they had all been standing on. The monks around them stood up as well, but not to follow their lord. There was a battle to get ready for, a battle that would take place before the sunrise of the new day. Now, as the night sun rose clear in the deepening darkness, the group moved away from the cold empty stone hall to follow the dignified man and his young son. It wasn't far from where they had been before they stopped in front of a grand door. It was made of some sort of metal that had tarnished into a golden bronze and it loomed high above their heads. It was as if the door had been made for a guymelef to walk through. Craved into this grand door was a mystical scene that seemed to be calling for some tranquil peace. A large tree, full of leaves loomed into the front of this scene set from looking off of a hill. Behind it a flourishing city blossomed in the summer light. Beyond it the waters of the ocean seemed frozen in time. With barely a push on the doors, the Duke opened them to allow them all into the room that was beyond. The group was met with darkness, with only the light from the doors behind them to allow them to see where they were going.

The walkway went a little ways before stopping in front of a bowing draconian. What was weird about the Draconian, however, was that it had six wings: the top being the biggest, middle being average sized, and the bottom wings were the smallest. The wings seemed wanting to enclose their master in a feathery cocoon. The draconian looked like a girl, and had her hands were held out above her head as if waiting for someone to give her something. Her straight hair fell over her shoulders, some of it disappearing behind her right leg that was brought up to her chin. Her calm expression greeted them as they came closer. Aiko was one of the last people to enter the dark room, and stopped by the railing to look down, however, there was nothing to see save for more darkness. Not wishing to go any father, Aiko leaned against the railing, and watched the Duke from the back of the room. Van and Merle weren't that far away, and Allen was in the middle of the walkway. Millerna stood across the walkway, hidden by the shadows. Shid and the Duke had gone up farther. Shid now stood in front on a metal box that had risen from the floor when they had entered the room.

The Duke was standing next to the box, and carefully slid the sword into the angel's inviting hands. There was a sound of rock against rock and the hands shifted downwards, stopping when they hit the girl's eye level. The room was suddenly filled with light, and it was only then that the group could see the big rock that was held up by numerous ropes. Aiko looked down to try and see where the light was coming from. Down below the walkway was an octagonal picture of the tree that was on the door. However, half of the tree was dead, and the city behind the dead half was burning. In front of the tree at the base was a forming pillar of white light, and in the light, was a black figure. Aiko squinted to try and make out what the figure was, but she wasn't able to.

"We all know the curse Draconians distorted the city of Atlantis..." Aiko turned her head at hearing the voice of the old duke. Her eyes fell on Van who stood before her the heavy burden of the man's words seemed to push down on the young king. "What Gaea does not know, is that here in this temple, the power of Atlantis was put to rest. Here-"

"Forgive me young monk, for the burden I now rest on your shoulders..." The Duke's harsh words were lost to Aiko's ears, she could still see him speaking, but she could no longer hear his voice. All the sounds in the room were lost to her as she looked into the face of the six-winged statue. The only thing she did hear was the voice of another, the voice of a woman, tired and sad. The empty eyes of the statue seemed to burn into hers as the voice came again. "I give upon you, your people, this horrid task. Here is where I shall rest in my unforgiving sleep for the sin that I have committed. May that child find it its heart to help you, for the horrid burden I bring for you is none other..." There was a burst of color that shot out along the gray stone of the statue. Color seemed to come upon the statue, but no one seemed to notice. Black hair fell over the porcelain face; gray eyes that seemed so familiar stared into hers as the woman closed her hands around the sword. She brought it to her chest as she stood up, the black robe that incased her body moved back over her bare leg as she stood. The wings stretched out, but while half were white like Van's, pure and heavenly, while the others were as black as death itself.

"Than Atlantis itself..." There was a burst of light that engulfed Aiko, her vision nothing but a blinding light. She held up her hands to her face in a desperate attempt to see. Sound slowly returned to her, the calling of seagulls was the first thing to come to her ears followed by the sound of the sea. As the blinding light faded away, Aiko dropped her arms away from her face and blinked a few times to see again. She stood next to some decorative stone railing that over looked a beautiful ancient city. There were people below her busing themselves in their day-to-day life. She was standing above what looked to be a port with boats lining the dock. The faint smell of fish tickled her nose.

"What...where?" The words left her mouth as her hand touched the solid railing in front of her. She could feel the rough surface; it was not like the smooth railing like the one she had touched before. Where had everyone gone? The wind blew her long hair about. This couldn't be real, it couldn't be.

"If things keep going like it is, Gwendolyn... Our talks might not happen as often." That voice! Aiko wheeled around at the sound of the statue's voice, only to be taken back. She was standing in a park or something like that. There were small trees, and cut grass with flowerbeds. Stone paths cut through it as they headed into the large city. It looked so much like the one on the metal door, and in the picture in light in that room the Duke had taken them all to. In the middle of the city was a large tree, the looked to be as big as a five-floor office building. There was something behind it that rose higher though, some sort of spiraling tower that held a large red stone on top. The stone shimmered brightly in the light. Two women stood on the walkway in front of her. The taller of the two wore a thin ivory robe; her short black hair fell down to her shoulders, crystal blue eyes looked calm. Aiko's eyes narrowed…the woman looked similar to a person who she hadn't seen in a long, long time. She was not, however, the woman that had spoken. Long hair that passed down beyond her knees, same black robe that encased her body, the woman of the statue leaned up against a tree. Her steel gray eyes looked out to the tower beyond the giant tree.

"I don't understand any of this..." The taller woman said.

"Don't you? Really Gwendolyn?" The shorter woman's words seemed harsh; the other lowered her head slightly. "They accuse the high priests of wanting to become as Gods! If the riots continue to happen, if the drifting between the Draconians and the Scarabs is allowed to continue, the peace of Atlantis will fade away..."

"Then why do the Arch not involve themselves? It is your duty-"

"Don't mock our duty, Draconian, priest to keys of power..." The shorter one shook her head from her own harsh words to her friend. "I apologize..."

"It's alright... I know..." Gwendolyn touched the other's shoulder. "I just pray that this will not turn to a horrible ending..."

"Yes pray... But not to Atlantis... Pray to the Gods themselves, Gwendolyn, to forgive the horrid acts of the High Priest..." They seemed to disappear, the city, everything. Suddenly Aiko was ripped from that plain of time only to find herself in some sort of hall. It reminded her so much of the temples in Greece from the books she had seen about them. High banners of solid dark blue silk fell from the stone ceiling. She was standing though in the middle of the walk way, looking out to an open balcony were a man stood, dressed in a fancy robe like the Greek men were thought to have dressed. Unevenly cut brown hair fell about his face as he looked out onto the peaceful, or well what had been the peaceful city. Smoke grew up high into the sky beyond that giant tree. The spiraling tower no longer loomed above it. His hands seemed to clench down onto the stone railing as if to fight back tears. Aiko turned her head away from him though when she heard footsteps coming down towards her; however, she was taken back by whom she saw.

"D-dad?" It couldn't be him, no, no way. Absolutely no fucking way! And yet, where ever she was didn't seem to agree with her way of thinking. The man that looked unmistakably like her father and unfortunately had a voice exactly the same.

"Lord Caim! The fights are spreading through out the city. The keys of power are out of control! There must be something we can do! At this rate the Draconians and the Scarabs will destroy Atlantis with their rage!" The man out on the balcony did not turn around. "Lord!"

"Stop badgering him!" The voice from the woman of the statue came again. Aiko looked away from the man that looked too much like her father to the woman who stood not to far from her. In her hands a small child no older then seven held tightly around her neck. The child had bared its face in the woman's long black hair. The steel gray eyes burned again through Aiko. "It is too much for him to handle! Lord Asnyar has died!"

"Watch your tongue, feeble witch! This is a manner that we are bred for!"

"To slaughter our own kin? We are to protect Atlantis! To protect the Scarabs and the Draconians! Not to kill them! We can not side with either one ye damn fool!" Her harsh words seemed to startle and frighten the child in her arms. "This is only happening because the Scarabs are trying to control the keys of power! By destroying the tower, it is now loose about this world! If you don't do-"

"SILENCE!" Both of the two stopped and turned their heads to the man out on the balcony. He still held his back to them. "You both are going to kill me with your damn words! I can't think with you two yelling..."

"I am sorry liege..." Aiko's father look a like said quickly however the woman did not speak. He turned sharply to her again. "Have you no respect for your lord, witch?!"

"My lord is dead, Julius. I serve no one now; my visions show me nothing more then the end of this time. Atlantis is falling; I am no use to anyone until the keys of power are resealed." Caim walked out from the balcony now, looking at both of them. Aiko now stood in the middle of all three, but closest to Caim. She could see the hardness in his dark brown eyes as he looked to the woman of the statue. The woman set the child down on the ground now, Aiko could finally see that it was a little girl, blond hair falling down to her chin.

"Come to me child of Eve..." He held his hand out to the little girl.

"Please Caim, I do know what it is you are trying to do, but in a human?"

"Silence, witch!" Julius barked again, Caim only held his hand to him so he would not speak again.

"Great one, hear me. If we were made to serve them, then we cannot control the keys of power directly. But if I seal them once again, in something that could be manipulated easily. Then We the Arch, the guardians of this city, can restore peace once again. And with us controlling it, the Scarabs can no longer accuse the Draconians of wanting to become as Gods."

"No but they can accuse us..." Her words were cold, but he did not seem to be listening to her as he picked up the small child. "Tell me, Caim, what happens if the child chooses not to listen to you?"

"Then I am afraid Atlantis..." They all faded away then, and Aiko felt burning fire's heat across her arms. She was standing before the giant tree, the city, the sky, all of it was burning. Smoke rose high to the heavens, she could hear the screams, out cries of pain. Before her at the base of the tree was the little girl, crying.

"Will be destroyed..." A beam of white light shot up from the little girl up into the sky. It cleared away the smoke and fire, enough to see the night sky. The light grew bigger there creating a large circle, large enough to be a planet.

"Sweet child..." Aiko turned her head down from the sky to the woman that was standing next to her. She was looking at the crying girl engulfed in the light. "For those who tried to control the will of all, they shall now be cursed by this human. Cast to the corners of this now cursed Eden to forever remember their sin. But for those of us who tried to play God, what will you curse us with? Do you wish to send us to the new world that you are creating, to remind those souls of what true sin is? What the thirst for true power can cause? Then... Young child, allow me one wish. Let me bare the warning, let my line bare the curse here on this world, but let my soul go to yours. Let me tell them, seal away what Caim tried to posses." She untied her robe slightly as she walked towards the child allowing it to fall down slightly off her back. Six great wings burst from her spine and stretched out. For a moment, they were all white, pure and heavenly, but as she stepped into the light three of her wings turned black.

"Let the load be light on the rest, curse those who wanted to be come as Gods... For we are the true sinners, who have destroyed the Eden of the Gods..."

"Aiko?" She blinked slightly, eyes still focus upon the statue, but when her eyes opened again, she realized that she was staring into the big chocolate color eyes of Van, whose face was not so very face from hers. Actually, it was so close to hers, Aiko could feel his breath on her lips, his hands rested on her shoulders. It took a while for her brain to register what was going on.

"AH!" Aiko jumped back, and almost fell over the railing that she had been leaning on. After regaining her footing, she pushed Van away. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Blush made its way across her face, and she was thankful for the darkness of the room. He just blinked at her for a moment and then pointed to the door.

"Um... Everyone else has left, and... Well..." He scratched his head slightly. "You weren't moving... And actually you haven't moved at all for a long time. I was just getting little worried when you didn't answer me." Aiko looked over at the statue, confusion written all over her face. The angel had her hands back up to where they were before. Aiko made her way past Van and walked over to the angel. There was something different about it though...there were two shiny lines on the calm face. Aiko reached up and touched one of the lines, breaking the line into two parts. Water... Aiko looked back up at the statue, to see that the water was coming from her eyes.

How can a stone statue be crying?

GA1: More foreshadowing!

SD: confused isn't that backward shadowing? Cause all that stuff was past not future….

GA1: frowns shut up.

Edited: 7/29/07