There and Back again
GA1: laughs sheepishly School sucks monkeys!!
SD: Riiiiiiight, that sooo does not get you out of being in trouble glares you've had this chapter for months!
GA1: Hides behind chair Oppsy?
SD: Oppsy my foot… remind me to tell all our mad readers where you sleep at night…… continues to glare
GA1: He he?
Disclaimer: Ya, we sooooo do not own anything other then our teeth, at least I think we own our teeth……Bandi and all those mean old fat business men own Escaflowne. We do however own our respective characters:
Spirit Dancer: Aiko, Shiva
Glass Angel1: Ayane, Fira, Merlin, all 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
Special Disclaimer: We do not own My December or By myself. Linkin Park owns them.
Chpt. 30 Only Fools
Fools rush into battles blindly. Fools take the chance to gain glory where wise men know when to turn away. Glory is only as solid as water held in an open hand. The sword is a tool to be used only in the hands of a wise man not in the hands of a blind-eyed fool. Never rush into battle unless it's the only thing that can be done. These are the unwritten rules Dilandau lived and breathed his years in training. He knew the rights and wrongs in any course of action needed to be taken. But the moment he had ordered his men out of the Vione, Dilandau had done it without a second thought to the consequences that would follow. Not the promise he had broken to a fragile woman; or the orders of a man he had looked up as an older brother. No, the orders had been blindly made just like the blind fool who rushed into his last battle. But here on this rocky battle field, were no life seemed able to grown under the scorching sun, Dilandau stared down upon the object that all of his anger and frustration was created from. It hadn't taken that long to find them, no, not long at all. Now, here they were all nineteen soldiers who swore their undying loyalty to him. Today was the day little boy wonder met his end. For this was the day Dornkirk would have his damn dragon finally captured. Dilandau gripped down on his controls as he looked over the large circle that surrounded the white Isponal guymelef that had launched itself out of what looked to be an Asturian merchant ship. He didn't care if his actions had been rash, no, because now his blood boiled so much in hatred that none of it mattered. If that damn THING wanted a dragon placed in her hands to play with then so be it. Moving his left hand off the control, the red-eyed general flicked on the com system that had been kept silent for the past four hours.
"Refina, take him down……"
xVxVxVx
"Yes sir!" Her voice left her throat in a raspy sound; short locks of brown hair fell over her eyes as she looked through her scope at the white dragon before her. For over twelve hours she had been trapped inside the metal core of this giant unit. Tired, and on the brig of collapsing against her controls, she gripped hard down on them. This was it, no matter how tired she was, there was a job to do. Licking her lips, Refina refocused her scope. "Bravo, move out!"
"Yes, Ma'am!" Her subordinates chorused in answer. Even if she couldn't be a real Dragonslayer, it didn't mean much to her lord. Dilandau-sama had made it an effort for her all the way. She had been with the first six slayers from the very beginning. That's why she had such an honor of having command in situations like this. The green melefs moved forward to break away from the blue ones that hovered behind them. They were spread out more thinly then the green ones. Water trickled down the back of her neck as her melef moved slightly. She watched the first two units start the battle with the white dragon. The dragon stood still until they were almost on top of it when it moved, slicing the units in half. That's all it took to start the chaos. Before the battles had been different. The Dragon had never seemed so assured about itself before. It always seemed to second-guess its action before making them, but now, now it just did them.
"Spread out! Don't attack in groups!" Refina yelled, but her words seemed to be lost as she watched one by one the boys who followed her orders fall under the demonic sword of the Dragon. They were all frozen to the spots they stood in, it was either that or the Dragon was moving so fast Refina was watching this battle in extreme slow motion while someone held the fast forward button on that damn dragon.
Huna.
Solinu.
Mirn.
Names she couldn't even grasp enough to say out loud as she watched the demonic dragon rip through the metal melefs. It's amazing how the one-second that changes your life can happen so fast. Or the people you've known for years can be taken away from you. Her fingers were stiff against the controls, unwilling to move. Breathing was another matter that seem to come just twice as hard as trying to remember what was happening. It wasn't until she was staring at the sharp end of the Isponal's long white sword did she head his voice shout of against the com. It wasn't until that did Refina come back to the reality of what was happening.
"REFINA!" His voice came again as the white sword slide through the cockpit of her melefs just to the left of her. She could feel the sharp edge against her side, in her mind she knew once he swiped it across she was done for. But from what she could see, a blue melef was already launching three crima claws at the white dragon. Refina could feel the sword slide the other direction away from her. Her melef crumpled to its knees without the weight of the Escaflowne keeping her up, she couldn't find the strength to keep standing. Through the scope she could see him. Guimel was doing his best, dancing his dangerous dance with the evil dragon. The water around her was getting hotter; there was a faint smell of the liquid metal that was leaking into the cockpit. The joints for the release on the cockpit groaned and wouldn't open. She was trapped inside a metal cage. Ironic. Refina started to laugh but it only ended with her choking as something pushed its way up from her throat. The iron taste was all she needed to known what it was.
"O God…." Her head hung limply against the controls as the smell became strong, the water hotter. "F-forgive……Guimel……"
xVxVxVx
"REFINA!" Guimel's voice cracked the silence that had been going on since the battle had started with the woman's commands. Even when they were not ordered to advance, Guimel took from his position breaking the circle that had been around the Dragon. It didn't matter much anyways. In the manner of seconds they had gone from twenty to seven. No matter how hard he fought, from here Shesta could see the damage on the woman's unit, the fire of the exposed liquid metal dancing around the outside of the cockpit. Sheep head was the only one who seemed to snap out of this trance before the others. Shesta gripped down on his controls as he looked over at the red unit to his right. Dilandau had not said a word since he ordered the start.
"Dilandau-sama?" There was no response.
Fuck… Shesta turned his attention to the poor soldier fighting a losing battle. The Melef he had been trying to protect covered in blue flames. If their red-eyed general wasn't going to give orders, it looked like it was up to him. The slayer gripped hard on his controls.
"Slayers! Move out! Don't stand there lik-"
"Return to the Vione!" A female voice shouted in desperation over the long range com. It was then when the radar around him picked up a unit moving too quickly towards them. It was just seconds before three crima claws stuck around the white dragon knocking them off a badly beat blue melef. In seconds afterwards, a new blue unit came crashing down onto the rocky plain close to the white dragon. It was drawling its attention away from the damaged units. "Take Dilandau and return to the Vione please!" The new unit launched another claw that the Escaflowne just knocked aside as it advanced. It took Shesta a moment to place the female voice.
O by the gods, Ayane!
"W-What are yo-? Is Miguel with you?" The only thinkable thing was that. Miguel had come out her with her in his unit. The freaking idiot. Or maybe the Vione had come chasing after them? O gods, let it be that one.
"Now is not the time to argue with me! Trust me…" There was a growl as the new unit blocked an attack with slight ease. "Shesta, I've already watched you all die in a vision, I don't want to stand here and watch it for real! Please! I'll be fine, go!"
O Gods, she was piloting.
"Shesta!"
xVxVxVxVx
"Shesta!" Her rasp voice shouted over the come as she gripped down on the controls. The shock shook through the unit as she blocked another attack. With the free arm she shot of a crima claw just inches from the unit she knew the blond was in. It was a failed attempt to get him to move. Her breathe was leaving her lips in harsh gasps as she blocked another act. Tears ran down the sides of her face. Why won't he listen to her?
I can make them. Do you want me to? A tiny voice in her head asked, the little girl seemed to be smiling in amusement while she spoke. Jumping the unit out of the Escaflowne's reach she turned off the com.
What do I do to ignore them behind me?
Do I follow my instincts blindly?
Do I hide my pride from these bad dreams?
And give in to sad thoughts that are maddening?
"Yes! If you can, then just do it!" The pendent around her neck shimmered slightly. A moment later, two blue units moved forward to grab up the broken blue unit of the ground behind the white dragon. The units close to the red on moved as well to gather him. Within seconds they were in the air, flying back the way she had just come. A breath of relief left her.
Hey now…. It's not over just yet… There was a shaking rattle in the melef unit as she crashed swords again with the white dragon. Behind her now, from a view with in the turned scope she could see them all retreating away from this place. Not over yet? For her this could be the end. But the vision was still playing; it was still changing in the back of her mind's eye. They were far from safety yet; this battle was not yet won.
Do I trust some and get fooled by phoniness,
Or do I trust nobody and live in loneliness?
Because I can't hold on when I'm stretched so thin
I make the right moves but I'm lost within
I put on my daily facade but then
I just end up getting hurt again
"I know……." The water around her splashed up and hit her face. The cold water felt out of place on her hot skin. With a hard thrust forward with her left hand, Ayane missed the block and the white sword came down on the units left arm slicing it off. With a harsh ram into the chest the Escaflowne knocked her down out of the way. She screamed in pain.
He'll chase after them…… Get back up.
If I
Turn my back I'm defenseless
And to go blindly seems senseless
If I hide my pride and let it all go on then they'll
Take from me 'till everything is gone
No, they can't get away! Van slammed his sword down hard onto the new comer. They were getting away and this person was in the way. He couldn't go after them, every time the young king tried to this unit would come out of nowhere. The really annoying thing about it was the fact who ever was piloting seemed to so very sure about their movements. Van could see it; the way the unit never wavered, no matter what the thing blocked his every move. Now, as he slammed his sword again against the unit's weapon, Van looked out to the setting sun where THEY had taken off to. Nothing more then black dots against the burning sun. No, he couldn't let them get away! Not after all they have done. He was so close, so close and yet!
Why couldn't this person just move!
The unit made a fumble of a move, and Van sliced off its arms. Finally! He slammed the Escaflowne hard into the unit's chest to knock it over. If he just moved quickly enough, if he could get the Escaflowne to move faster then it normally did he could catch them!
If I let them go I'll be outdone
But if I try to catch them I'll be outrun
If I'm killed by the questions like a cancer
Then I'll be buried in the silence of the answer
Van moved the Escaflowne away from the unit that lay on the ground. He could get there; he could get this revenge for Fanelia, for Balgus. Silver claws shot past him, blocking his field a movement again. Turning hard to his right his dark reddish brown eyes glared at the unit that was back on its feet, snapping the claws back into a sword. Out of its lost left arm liquid poured out rather quickly. Van turned his head again to the setting sun to see that the others were far-gone. Far from his reach now.
Damn it.
Damn it!
It was all this person's fault! With an angered cry, Van slammed his sword against the newly created sword of his enemy. So close, so close and yet so far just because of this person's interference. He tore at unit, knocking around the one sword, using the unbalance set of the unit to force it back. The unit continued to block him.
All his fault!
Van knocked the one sword to the side, and sliced his down through the right shoulder. All because this person had to interfere. He moved his sword all the way down and cut away the last arm. Blind with rage, he rammed his sword down through the connecting joints of the waist and moved his sword upwards diagonally gracing the right side of the pilot chamber. All his fault! As the unit began to crumple to its knees he smacked the unit's body with the flat of his sword. If only he hadn't interfered! The unit was now crumpled down on the ground, laying out flat with its front looking upwards to the moons. Standing over it, Van held up his sword to plunge it. With a angered cry he started to slam it downwards.
All His Fault!
Stop this…. At the tone of that come female voice everything seemed to stop. The color of the setting world was disorder sort of black and dark mist. His heart throbbed, sending pain coursing through his body at ever beat which felt like ice begin shoved into his veins. His body was frozen in the position it was in standing over the blue battered unit.
"W-who?" Van's hands wavered on the controls as he looked up away from the unit to a see-through image of a dark haired woman that floated there. Her long black hair mixed in with the world around her, the black robe made it hard to make out her body. It was only because of the steel gray eyes and pale skin of her face was he barely able to make her out.
Is the death of a defenseless that important? You have already won this battle…
All His fault! Van's mind screamed even though he slowly backed the Escaflowne away from this woman as a pale hand was lifted up, slim fingers pointed at him.
So all you can hear now is the thirst of your living armor? So be it, Draconian. Walk among the deaths you have caused… The woman wrenched her hand back to her chest. At that moment the painfully throbbing of his heart stopped. In fact, the beating of his heart stopped all together.
xXxXxXxXx
Stupid Baka! Aiko ran through the Crusade trying to get off, trying to reach the Escaflowne. Stupid Baka! She knew that he would hurt himself! She flat out told him that he would do so. But did he listen?! NO! Of course not! What had gone wrong? Van was fighting so well. His best in fact. The best that she had ever seen him fight. He was defeating them. He was doing so well…Then the blue Guymelefs decided to pack up and leave. It was understandable. They saw that they couldn't win, so they decided to run. Perfectly understandable. Hadn't she herself done that exact thing back at home dozens of times? But they had left one blue Guymelef behind. As if they left him to die. She could tell that Van wanted to go after those who fled. The one lone guymelef was no match for Van. But that was when things got weird. The blue guymelef refused to let Van go after them. That was also understandable. But after Van had knocked him over, and was about to render him useless, the Escaflowne froze, backed up, turned black, and fell over.
Stupid Baka! Merle was the first to leave, then Allen and the crew. For some reason, Aiko was frozen to the spot, trying to understand what had just happened. Then, finally, her feet obeyed her commands, and followed the others. They were now outside, the strong smell of something burning hung in the air as the blue fires continued to burn where the fallen green Guymelefs had landed. Aiko ran towards the Escaflowne, with Merle not too far in front of her. The Crusaders were now behind her, following her and talking among themselves about what had taken place.
"Van-dono!" Merle's voice rang out across the field. She was met with silence, just like before. Aiko growled as she caught up with the cat girl. The Young king was going to get it if the situation was like before. Aiko would make sure that he never set foot inside the Escaflowne again. "Van-dono, answer me!" It was strange. Never had the Escaflowne turned black. The last time, it had just been beaten up really bad. But now….Aiko touched the armor. The shocking cold made her gasp. The armor had changed from a pearly white to a pitch black. And that was defiantly not good. No to mention that it should be hot from it being in use….not cold. Growling, she climbed up onto the guymelef. If placing her hand on the pink chamber had gotten him out before, then it should work again. The Crusaders were yelling something at her, but she didn't hear it. Her mind was too busy at the moment to comprehend anything. Well for starters, the Escaflowne felt like ice, and the pink chamber wasn't pink. It was gray, a very ugly gray. What the hell? Aiko looked up to the visor of the Escaflowne about to yell at the baka king went she froze. There sitting just below it was the woman of the statue. No one else must have been able to see her; in fact Aiko could see the setting sun on the other side of her. Her black hair fell carelessly around her, black robe fluttered about slightly her slim legs. Steel gray eyes were looking down at the by king through the visor.
"Why are you……?" Aiko breathed in a whisper as the gray eyes looked slowly at her.
A soul lost to the lust of a living armor, must walk… She held up on hand and pointed it at her. A chilling sense shook down her spine. Among the dead.
The color seemed to fade, and she was suddenly standing in the middle of a crowd. The people were very close together and moving very slowly. One could tell that they were all from different countries and cultures by the way that they were dressed. Up in front of her, Aiko saw Van walking among them.
"Van!" Aiko tried to push through the people, however, there were many, and it didn't work as well as she would have wanted. "Damn it, People! Move!" However, the men and women continued to walk slowly as if they didn't hear her. This was seriously starting to piss her off. She was forced to pushing people aside, Not caring whom she hurt or knocked over. All that mattered was getting to Van before…
Before what? She wasn't sure; all she knew was that she had to get to him as soon as possible. Keeping her eyes on the king ahead of her, she never saw the woman who was walking in front of her until she ran into the girl, sending Aiko backwards. As soon as she got her footing back, she sent a glare at the girl who stopped walk. Her head turned slightly to look at Aiko. The lady was a Dragonslayer by the looks of her uniform her short hair seemed ruffled, displaced from what it probably should be. Pain, there was pain written across the what should be blank face like the others Aiko had passed. Part of the girl's face looked like it had been burned by fire. Now that Aiko had the chance to look around, there were others as well. About thirteen of them, some that were close had stopped walking others kept moving. Aiko shyly and a little nervously, moved around the girl, whose head followed her. While walking past her, Aiko's hand accidentally brushed against hers.
'Guimel, I so sorry.' The words shot through Aiko's mind as pain, fear, sorrow, all of what the girl must have been feeling when she died shot through her. The Dragonslayer stated to walk again, and moved passed her with the rest of the crowd as Aiko stood frozen to the spot. The emotions, feelings, still throbbing in her head. When the shock and pain wore off, she turned around, to look for them but couldn't find them. They had disappeared. And, much to Aiko's fury, so had Van.
"Damn it!" She started to run forwards once again, but the color had come back, and the people vanished. The bright sunlight made her eyes hurt as she stood on an island over looking a city made of what looked like white marble. In front of her, stood the tree…the same tree that she had seen on the glass in Freid. Half of the tree was dead, and the city behind it was dark, dreary and burning. The other half of the tree was alive, and the city that was behind it was calm, happy, and prosperous. Though she could see the dancing flames, and the life in the living part of the city, Aiko could hear nothing but silence. Leaning against the base of the tree, huddled in a little ball, was Ayane.
What the hell was she doing here?
Aiko walked up to Ayane, not completely sure if what she was seeing was real. The smaller girl wasn't looking at much of anything except for her silver lighter that was in her hand. The little flame stood still. As Aiko got closer, Ayane slowly stood up. The clothes she wore were weird, foreign. Something Ayane would defiantly never wear. A tattered cloak covered her body; the hood fell down her back, allowing Aiko to see her face.
"Aya……?"
"Pain, sorrow, guilt, anger, greed, lust. These things once brought a city of greatness to its knees." She sounded funny, as if someone else was talking through her, as if the words were not her own. Ayane's hands moved to pull the hood back over her head. The lighter fallen on the ground forgotten. Aiko stepped back in horror as she watched her friend's hands. They were nothing more then bones. With the hood pulled back on, Ayane's head looked up again at Aiko as the bone hands fell down with in the cloak. Horror was the only thing Aiko felt as she stared into the face of a skull.
Death, it was death itself.
"These things……" The voice was different, it wasn't Ayane's anymore. Hell the voice was male. Two different colored eyes within the skull looked at her. One red as blood, the other brown as earth. The figure of Death suddenly shot forward. Aiko screamed as she covered her face. The figure passed right through her. "…will destroy him." Her breath came out in dangerously short pants, as tears stung her eyes. Crying… it was the first sound that had hit her ears since Death spoke. What the hell was going on?
Where the hell was Van?
Aiko heard the crying coming from above, but couldn't see anything in the branches. Frantic to get out of the place, she ran around the tree, trying to see if she could find the person who was crying. When she came around to the front again, Van was sitting in the same spot and position as Ayane had been only moments before.
"Van…" His name came out in one of her short pants. "We need… to get… out of…here…" Still, Van didn't move. It was as if he couldn't even hear her. The tears had almost broken through, and would if she stayed her any longer with the image of Ayane in her head. "Van!" she knelt down and shook him. "We have to get out of here!" Now that she was closer, she could feel Van shaking, his teeth chattering against each other.
"Van-dono!" Aiko looked up from Van to the braches of the trees. What that Merle? "Aiko, you'd better bring him back or else..!" Yup…that was defiantly Merle. A light green pillar surrounded her and Van right as the island started to fall apart. The once calm side of the city now joined the other as it burned to the ground. The pillar grew brighter, as the land from underneath them collapsed and sent them falling. Aiko clung to Van, who was still lifeless. Colors blurred past them as they continued to fall. When the ground would appear, she wasn't sure, but it would be soon.
"Van! Snap out of it and fly!" Nothing happened. The tears now broke through her closed eyes, and poured down her cheeks. "VAN! WAKE UP DAMN IT!" There was a ripping sound, and she felt as if she were floating. She slowly opened her eyes, and found that the colors had stopped being blurs, and were now in focus. They were still in the green pillar, and slowly rising. She looked up at Van, but he wasn't looking at her. He also was looking above him, his wings fully extended.
The fiery scene returned just as it had been before. Aiko slowly opened her eyes, and, instead of standing on the Escaflowne, she was hanging off to the side, her hands clutching to the visor of the Escaflowne. The sun was still bright, making her eyes shut almost as soon as she had opened them. She heard someone standing next to her head; and that's when the pain came to her…the pain in her hands from clutching too hard for too long, and the pain in her cheek as if she had been slapped. Moving her hands was harder then she had thought, and when she released the visor, it was then that she realized that she didn't have any ground beneath her feet. She groaned as she hit the ground hard. Merle, who had been hanging on to her, was now laying next to her. Aiko's hand went up to hold her cheek. It didn't hurt as much as when he had hit it, but it still hurt.
The noise of the cockpit opening turned all of their heads as they saw Van get out of the cockpit and stand up. Cheers went up as he looked up towards the sky. It was then that she realized the tears were still falling down her cheeks. Ignoring the pain in her cheek, she wiped their trails from her face, and took deep breaths to calm her nerves. She never wanted to go through that ever again. Now that Van was ok, Allen and crusaders went over to the other guymelef that was laying across from the Escaflowne. Millerna was checking on Van, to make sure he didn't have any injuries. Everything got quiet when Allen called Van over to the other Guymelef. The crusaders had gotten strangely quiet, and all had a forlorn look on their faces. Allen's face didn't look very good either. Van ran over, his back to her and Merle was he climbed up onto the Guymelef, and neared the cockpit that they had forced open. Aiko stood up and dusted off her pants. Something wasn't right…Van had froze when he reached the cockpit. Allen's blue eyes met her jade ones for a moment before something Van said made him jerk back and help him take out whoever was in the cockpit.
It was then that time stopped. Allen and Van were hauling up the pilot out of the machine, however Aiko had been wrong. It hadn't been a male piloting the guymelef………It had been Ayane. Her mind went numb as they hauled her lifeless body out of the machine, the crusaders helping when they could to make sure her already damaged body didn't take on any more. A scream made its way up her throat, and this time, Aiko didn't have the will to stop it. It echoed off of the two Guymelefs, and across the field. Her hands rushed up to her face as the tears raced down her cheeks, and her breathing suddenly became difficult. Vaguely her mind told her to take deeper breaths, but she ignored it, and continued to hyperventilate. Someone said something, but the thoughts that were racing through her head kept her from understand them. Her eyes were glued to Ayane's broken body. Ayane had been dead. Aiko was sure of it. She was positive. The scream died as the field and everything in it went black.
xXxXxXxXx
The first thing she noticed was that hurt really badly was her head. Aiko lay out flat on her back looking up at the wooden ceiling on a very familiar room. The Crusader, she was back in her room on the Crusader. The blanket felt heavy over her body, which felt so racked in pain that it didn't want to move. Her head pounded as well, every time she breathed it felt like her throat might catch on fire. It felt so dry and soar, like she hadn't had anything to drank in years. Something moved to her right, and the pink hair of a certain catgirl came into view before her worried blue eyes did. Her small hands moved the wet cloth that had been resting on Aiko's head. When she moved it, Aiko finally realized that it had been sitting on her head.
"Aiko? Are you feeling better?" Merle's voice seemed filled with worry, but the catgirl seemed to be very careful at the same time. Everything seemed too hard. She could barely think straight, let alone answer the catgirl's question.
"Y-yeah…" She tried to sit up, and gasped when the pain flooded through her body. Merle gasped and tried to push her back into the laying position.
"You shouldn't be up and moving yet. You've been unconscious for three hours…" Aiko weakly threw off Merle's hands, making the catgirl stop talking. Aiko gave her a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Thank you…but I've got to find Ayane…" Merle's eyes dropped as she leaned back, and allowed Aiko sit put her feet over the side of the bed.
"She's still alive…Millerna just finished tending to her wounds…she has a few…" Aiko's eyes widened, and she stood up. The room instantly started to spin, and Merle stood up and took a hold of Aiko's arm to steady her. When the room came to a stop, Aiko smiled at Merle again, and left the room. It was amazing…how when Aiko hadn't been hit in any way, shape or form, that a little injury like this could hurt so much. Ayane's room wasn't too hard to find. As she reached the room, Millerna walked out, wiping her hands on her apron.
"O…Aiko…are you feeling better?" Leave it to the Pink princess to ask a dumb question. Aiko nodded, not trusting her voice. Millerna looked over her once, and then sighed. "Your friend is alive, though she's having trouble breathing… I'm thinking it's because her body went into shock. I've tended to her other injuries, so she should be fine in a couple to days." Aiko nodded again, keeping her face emotionless with great difficulty. Millerna moved so that Aiko could enter the room. She walked inside the room, and time seemed to slow down. The room smelled too much like a hospital for her taste. Jade eyes were glued to the bed that Ayane was laying on. Her head was wrapped, and the wraps went downward to cover her right eye and both arms were wrapped. The rest disappeared under the blanket. The room was silent save for the small wheezes that the girl made whenever she took a breath. Aiko bit her bottom lip as the tears swarmed behind her eyes. She wouldn't cry. Ayane wouldn't want her to cry over a thing like this. On the table, there were clothes that had been folded, the white cloth of something looked to be torn and burned slightly. The disinfectants were giving her the shivers, so she turned and started to walk out. She stopped however at the edge of the bed where Ayane's shoes were sitting. Bending down, Aiko picked up the item she knew that was there, clasped it in her hands, and left the room. The room was empty except for the lone girl on the bed when she walked out of the room. Had Aiko turned back around she probably would have seen them both as they appeared. A small blond child in a white tunic stood by the bed of the injured girl, blond locks fell down in curls over her eyes. A black haired woman sat on the end of the bed, hand resting on the injured girls arm. Both silent until the door closed behind the retreating Aiko. The woman on the left moved her hand to touch the bandages on girl's forehead.
Keeper, can you heal her? The little girl tilted her head to the side as she set closer to the bed. Through them, one could see what was on the other side.
I can heal most of it…But I cannot give her back what he took. A blue light emanated from the pendent around Ayane's neck. Had Millerna walked back into the room at that moment, she probably would have seen the young woman's body be lifted slightly off the bed. The woman did not move her hand from Ayane's forehead. The little girl shuffled her feet against the floor a bit as if she was thinking while the older woman worked.
The reaper… had eyes, Keeper… The little blond girl came closer to the older woman who hadn't taken her eyes off the girl floating slightly off the bed as the light continued to glow. She moved her free hand to place it against the girls shoulder.
Yes, and like me, Caim has been woken from his sinful sleep, Atlantis. As the reaper gains back its life, I can watch his wakening. For the reaper and Caim are the same. Ayane's body fell slowly back onto the bed as the light disappeared. After a moment, the two images began to fade away as Ayane's eyes slowly opened. A, look now, she too wakes.
xXxXxXxXx
Aiko sat on the hanger of Dryden's ship, with the top portion of the doors open so that one could see the night sky and the two moons. Tears made their way down her cheeks in a silent steady flow as she stared at the pocketknife that she had been holding for the past half hour.
This is my December
This is my snow-covered home
This is my December
This is me alone.
Her left leg was fully extended, and her right hugged her chest. Her right arm rested on the knee, and her head rested on her arm; while her left played with the steel-eyed girl's knife. It was surprising that Millerna hadn't taken it out of the girl's boot. It was also surprising that Aiko hadn't used it on herself yet. What was holding her back? It was a fact that Ayane was dying….and nothing could prevent her from doing so. Ayane dying…The wave of hurt and betrayal that Aiko had thought was long gone washed over her in waves. Why must she continuously live in pain?
And I
Just wish that I didn't feel
Like there was something I missed
And I
Take back all the things I said
To make you feel like that
Why didn't she just end it? That way she could be there when Ayane eventually died. Then they wouldn't be in pain anymore… The light of the two moons shone of the floor of the hanger, giving the room a haunted look. The glistening blade seemed to call to her, as the moonlight shone off of that as well. It would be so easy…The knife was sharper and would make a cleaner cut then her compass would. It would be so easy. Now was the perfect time. No one would look for her. No one would care to. It would be so easy…
Give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go to
Give it all away
To have someone to come home to
Aiko lay her right arm out straight as she raised the knife into the position. The silence was broken when the door of the hanger opened, and footsteps could be heard. Aiko turned her head to see who had entered the room. Standing in the doorway, with a look of pure horror on his face, was the young king…Van. Silence filled the hanger as the two stared at each other for a while. Then, without even looking away, Aiko brought the knife against her wrist and started to slice downwards.
Van's eyes grew wide. The look on her face was one that wouldn't leave him for a long, long time. The look of utter hopelessness that her eyes held as the tears flowed down her cheeks, and the fact that she didn't even flinch when the blood began to pour off her arm and onto the floor. Before he knew what he was doing, he rushed over to her, and tried to take the knife away from her, but only ended pushing her arm off of the line that she had been reopening. Her gasp was the only thing that let him know that his action had caused her pain. The blood was flowing rather quickly now, making a small puddle on the floor.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Van's voice echoed off of the walls, as the knife slid away from the green-eyed girl. The tears only picked up their pace as she bowed her head. Why did he have to come? Of all the people on the ship, why did Van have to come and see her at her weakest? She felt her arm being lifted up, and hard material being pressed to there the knife had made its mark. "Shit…" Aiko looked at her arm, and the brown leather gloves that were trying to stop the bleeding. Her jade eyes stared teary-eyed down at the ungloved hands that were holding the leather against her arm. Aiko couldn't ever recall having seen Van without those on. He had inverted them when he took them off; it was funny to see that the gloves were lined with fur still, even though it was really worn down. His grip on her arm was really hard, it hurt a little more then the cut did at the moment. He was saying something to her but her ears refused to hear it. Aiko was aware of the fact she was shaking and suddenly felt very cold. He let go of her arm with one hand and brought it up to the back of her neck. Before she could ever register what he was doing, she was burying her face into his shoulder.
xXxXxXxXx
"You know, you are the most fickle person I know sometimes." Van said suddenly breaking the silence they had been in for a while. Aiko didn't look at him; she was too busy looking down at her right arm, and the scabs that covered the cut. It wasn't as big as she thought it would be. It only bleed a lot because of were she started it but with Van knocking it away from her track it didn't do what she had wanted. Nope, she was still here with the Earth hanging in the sky above her. His gloves were sitting in her lap, ruined from her blood. He was sitting down next to her on the floor, the Escaflowne to their backs, both his hands behind him to hold him up. Aiko wasn't sure of when she stopped crying, or even when she stopped bleeding. But on thing was for sure it had to been a long time. The moons were a lot higher then they had been.
It was strange. At the time, Aiko hadn't wanted anyone to find her. But now that it was over, and she had time to reflect on exactly what had happened, the person that she had wanted to find her wasn't Aya, but Van. Looking down at her arm, the first part of the line was bright pink, and continued as it usually did, until it curved off to the right, creating a new scar. After that point, the line was still the pearly white it had always been. It looked more like a weird upside-down 'r' then just a straight line.
"You know, they say the knights are supposed to die to protect their country, but death hurts like hell…" Aiko turned her gaze from her right arm to Van, the sentence hanging in the air. And before she knew it, laughter fell out of her like a waterfall. Not that fake laughter that she used to make her look normal. Not the semi-real laughter that she used when Aya wanted her to look as if she were happy. No...As the pain in her stomach increased, and the tears made their weary down her cheeks, she laughed for the first time since her mother died. Since her eyes were shut, she didn't see the shocked look that had taken over Van's face. Her arms went around her stomach as the pain increased. Her breaths came out in pants, as the laugh slowly came to its end. Aiko wiped her eyes, and looked over at Van, the smile still playing at her lips.
"Wow….I never thought that you had it in you.…" A giggle escaped her lips as the thought came back to her. It seemed that once she had started, she couldn't stop. The pain was still there, from her arm, and her stomach, but that didn't seem to matter. And without the Jade-eyed girl realizing it, the walls that she had put up years before, the walls that always kept others at a distance, were finally starting to fall apart.
"I don't think we're thinking the same thing…"
"You mean you weren't cracking a joke about killing Allen?" He blinked his dark chocolate colored eyes at her for a moment before he too started laughing. Aiko started to laugh again, when he took up a hand to ruffle her hair a bit. There was a cool breeze now that floated its way though the open hanger as the two of them sat there laughing at a something that was only miss interpreted. The laughter died down after a moment and to two sat in silence. Aiko felt his hand brush her hair off her face, since all that commotion had caused it to fall there. His hands felt different without gloves, the tips of his fingers felt ruff, calloused from practicing with a sword. Aiko turn her head to look at him. Was it her or were they a lot closer? Like really closer?
"Van……"
FLASH.
SNAP.
Time seemed to have stopped. Aiko wasn't even sure if she had seen the flash or if it was just her tired imagination playing tricks on her. She looked over to where the flash and the snap had come from, and there, standing in the doorway, holding the little camera that she had always had with her, was Ayane. So many emotions flooded at her at the same time, that she didn't know what to feel first: Relief that Aya was standing…wait… leaning on the door dressed in a large white night gown. Confusion on what she was wearing, or anger….anger at the girl for being in the damn guymelef in the first place, Aiko glared at her. The bandages that had been wrapped around her face and arms were gone.
"……What the hell do you think you're doing?" It was amazing how quickly the tables turned as Aiko jumped down from the stairs and rushed over to the girl. "What are you doing out of bed? You know better then that!" Ayane just chuckled slightly to herself as she continued to yell at her. She was leaning against the doorframe still the camera down to her side. In her yelling fit, Aya catch hold of her injured hand.
"I thought you knew better then this….." The look on her steel gray eyes looked sad, worried, detached. For a moment something seemed different in those eyes, like mask dropped for so long. Ayane squeezed it slightly before glare up at Aiko, the mask replaced. "You know I won't go anyway where without a fight." Aiko nodded, and then took her arm back. The pain was still there, but not as present as it was before.
"I don't know….you looked pretty dead to me." The smirk grew on her lips; however it didn't reach her eyes. "The pink princess can't be called a doctor or anything even close to one, and there were half a dozen things that you needed that were absent…"
"You mean morphine? I'm not addicted to it like you are." Ayane looked away from her with slit eyes, a cunning manner of hers when she was poking fun at Aiko. The two of them had seen to have forgotten that there was another in the room.
"Ayane…" Aiko whirled around when she realized that he was there. It hadn't been that long ago, but these two had been tangled in the dance of death; one knowingly, the other completely clueless. At the setting of the sun, Van had nearly killed Aiko's best friend. Aiko opened her mouth to say something, it was alright she wasn't mad at him, but she could find the words when she looked at him. He was looking down away from both of them, the expression on his face heart wrenching.
"I knew what I was doing….." Ayane said Van looked up at her. Aiko stepped away in surprise at the tone of seriousness in the shorter woman's voice. Ayane was looking over at the young king with an empty expression. "I saw a future I did not like. It was in my ability to change it so I took that. I knew what would happen to me, but I was, and still am willing to pay that price to change that future." Aiko's eyes widened, trying to make sure she was hearing right.
"So…you have visions too?" It had never really occurred to her that Aya could also have visions. Even though Aiko herself had only gotten a couple, they were still a pain in the rear. But Ayane spoke as if having visions was a usual occurrence. Sighing, she looked over at the steel-eyed girl, and then she looked over at Van. She had never blamed Van for what had happened. She wouldn't have even if they hadn't found Ayane in time. It wasn't Van's fault, he was just trying to do what he thought was right.
"We are a strange pair you and I…" Ayane chuckled in her know it all manner as she looked back at Aiko. "A strange pair from a cursed moon."
SD: ………So…You're playing Millerna next right?
GA1: Why? She's your character! I'm doing everyone else as it is….glares
SD: But…but……I don't wanna play the stupid blonde! God knows you have more blonde in you then I do.
GA1: Hey! You were the one that was born with platinum hair not me!
SD: ………Shut up….glares
Edited: 08/04/07