Princess Millerna rushed into the palace of Asturia, panic and determination clear on her face.
"Zaibach is planning an attack. We must hurry if we wish to survive. Rally all of our troops – our ships, our melefs, our soldiers – and get into attack position."
"Princess Millerna…?"
"There is no time! Make contact with all of our allies, anyone who opposes the Zaibach Empire. If we are not united then we will fall. We may be able to achieve enough numbers to hold them off, but we must move quickly. …Now!" Millerna commanded, displaying a steel-iron will that no one had seen from her before.
The court of Asturia moved swiftly into action.
Allen was impressed. He was certain now that they were in good hands. Millerna was no tactician, but she would be able to mobilize what forces they had. And with her bluntness, he was certain she would have no trouble convincing their allies that this war was one they all needed to be a part of.
And so did he. Allen had heard the Basram Senate, had heard the ultimatum in their words. They only had two choices: fight or die. Either way, he was a Knight Caeli and injured or not, he had to take a stand.
He would not allow Zaibach to take any more from him.
"Prep the Sherazade."
"Once Zaibach has earned its victory, you will take me to the Mystic Moon. The Genesis Method had always been a mere legend – it is impossible to move between worlds – but you have proven it to be true, Scully." The Cigarette Smoking Man watched Scully's confusion with amusement. "The legends are true. You are the key and now that I have you I will be the only being able to see the splendour of the Mystic Moon."
"What would you want from the Earth?" Scully asked warily.
"The things that I could learn…" He let the thought slide. "That is of no concern to you. Simply wait and watch."
That was the last thing Scully wanted to do, but she was at a loss. She had these powers and these visions, but she had no control. How could she stop what she did not even understand?
"Samantha." The Cigarette Smoking Man called. "It is time."
The Fate Alteration Machine erupted to life, dark light filling the room once more.
"Focus your thoughts on the might of Zaibach. Bring our enemies to the brink of destruction and use your mind to fan the fires of their passion. The passion for war."
Her thoughts! Somehow Samantha's thoughts were powering the Fate Alteration Machine. And the Cigarette Smoking Man was controlling Samantha.
"No. No…it can't be."
The dark light flared up.
"Samantha, no!" Scully screamed.
"There is no use." The Cigarette Smoking Man advised. "Once it has begun, it cannot be stopped."
That was what Scully was afraid of.
The battle had already begun. Allen watched the Zaibach forces fall heavily upon Asturian warriors. Their strength and resolve was unrivaled; Allen had never seen such strong will on the battlefield.
But Asturia was no less. They would not let a lack of spirit determine their fate.
"Push onward, men! Today is the day Asturia stands strong against the oppressive empire of Zaibach. Gaea shall be free from tyranny once more!" Allen surged ahead in Sherazade, compelling the Asturian army with his courage.
They would fight. They would win. They would kill or die trying. Basram, Zaibach, it did not matter, they would quell every foe. This was the warrior's spirit, the passion of war.
And there was no stopping it.
"What's happening?" Scully asked fearfully. She could see it in her mind's eye, the battles raging all across Gaea. There was no end in sight.
"They won't stop! The killing, the murder...they're relentless!" She warned. "You have to stop her; Samantha is too powerful. Not only are the soldiers of Zaibach possessed by the war, but the others..."
The Cigarette Smoking Man looked on in silence.
Van allowed Escaflowne to lead him. He transformed it into its dragon form, riding on its back as he held tightly on to the reins. The drag energist pulsed uncharacteristically and he could feel it like the beat of his own heart. His blood coursed through Escaflowne and Van knew...his blood, just the same as his brother's.
Van knew where to find Folken.
"I never imagined it would be this devastating." Folken said. The view of Fanelia's rubble was clear from where they stood, at their mother and father's graves.
"Brother...this was our home. We spent many happy days here, together." Van struggled to understand. "Why did you do this?"
Folken turned, finally facing his younger brother, looking him straight in the eye. It was time for him to confess his sins.
"When I went in search of the dragon, to kill it and take my place as Fanelia's next king, I failed, brother. I was not strong enough to kill it and I was much too ashamed to return defeated. I traveled the forest for days, weakened. I fell unconscious and woke up in a laboratory."
Van gasped. Now he was beginning to understand. His brother metallic arm, the black feathers...
"The Emperor of Zaibach saved my life, gave me back my arm, but there was a price. My Draconian blood was useful and so they tested on me, experimented with the legacy our mother passed down to us from Atlantis. I owed Zaibach my life, but the suffering they put me through...I could not allow the same fate to befall you, brother."
"Folken..." Van whispered in shock, his eyes widening in realization.
"I am dying, Van."
"No! Brother, please..."
"I let them raze Fanelia but I would never let them have you. Not the way that they had me. I know what I have done is unforgivable, that I have brought dishonour to our dear parents, but I would have paid any price to protect you."
"Come with me, brother. I have friends in other kingdoms; we could find you a doctor, a mystic, anyone that we can. We can cure you before it is too late."
Folken unfurled his black wings. The feathers scattered across the field, darkening the ground.
"There is no cure."
Allen's sword sliced through metal, dispelling melef after melef with ease. Zaibach was strong, but so was Asturia. He would see to it that they repented for their injustices. That they paid dearly for taking his sister.
"Impressive, I must admit."
Allen noticed a red Zaibach guymelef head towards him.
"Allen Schezar, we finally meet. I am Prince Dilandau of the Zaibach Empire and I assure you that my skills in battle are more than a match for your own."
Dilandau. The most treacherous villain to have ever descended upon Gaea. If Allen could kill him, there would be no sweeter victory.
"If I cannot have the blood of your friend Van Fanel on my hands this day, your blood should suffice." Dilandau mused.
"I look forward to wiping your despicable existence from this world." Allen swung Sherezade's sword high in the air, preparing for the impending battle. The end of Zaibach.
Dilandau cackled hungrily at the challenge. "Leave Allen Schezar be!" Dilandau ordered his forces. "He is mine and mine alone to kill."
"Stop her, you have to do something!"
"She cannot be stopped once she has started." The Cigarette Smoking Man repeated ruefully. This was not what he had planned.
"If things go any further there will be no end to this war, only bloodshed and catastrophe. No one will survive." Scully repeated fervently.
"The only way...is to destroy the machine..." He had worked so hard to rebuild it, the machine of Atlantis, from the legends. And now just like it had been for the Draconian people the Fate Alteration Machine would be the reason for their demise. There was one chance.
The Cigarette Smoking Man pushed Scully aside, moving quickly towards the core of the Fate Alteration Machine. He had to destroy his creation with his own hands before...
"Wait…!" Scully cried out as she watched him rush determinedly towards the Fate Alteration Machine.
The electrifying dark energy flowed through every last one of his nerves, so strong that he could feel the black light behind his eyes. Everywhere. She would not let it stop, not for anyone, not even him. Samantha no longer had control; pain was the only constant now.
The Cigarette Smoking Man's body was flung from the wreckage in a heap. And he spoke his final words to Scully.
"There is no end, only death."
Van considered the life his brother had led, afraid and alone. The atrocities Zaibach had performed on them were too much to bear.
"The deeds you have committed are not beyond forgiveness, Folken. Had I been in your place I would have acted no different." Van admitted.
"No." Folken shook his head indulgently. "You are a far greater man than I ever was, Van. You are and always will be Fanelia's true king."
Without replying, Van charged at Folken, pushing him forcefully to the ground. Overhead a missile soared, barely missing them both.
"This is a holy ground, how could the battle have been brought here?" Folken questioned. Even Zaibach would not dare to be so bold.
Van and Folken watched the Basram and Zaibach forces locked in battle on the hill above the gravesite.
"Basram and... Zaibach? But Basram had pledged its allegiance to us!" Folken scowled.
"This is not a war, this is madness, brother." Van's eyes scanned the battlefield surrounding them, unable to discern who was allied with whom. "There are no sides, no allegiances."
"The brothers of Fanelia." A voice called out, spotting them. "They would catch a lovely price."
"With the final fall of Fanelia, our power will be consolidated." A warrior from Asturia agreed.
"Lord Folken is a traitor and must be punished. His loyalty is to his brother, not the Empire!" A Zaibach soldier continued.
Van saw the murderous glints in their eyes and knew that it was time to fight.
"No, no, no, no more fighting!" Scully cried.
She was alone in this strange land with Mulder lying unconscious at her feet and a bloodthirsty war raging outside. She watched the dark light emanate from Samantha and felt the helplessness fill her soul.
{You cannot give up hope, Dana.}
"Who said that? Who's there?"
{Dana, it is me, Samantha.}
Scully looked at Samantha's body, suspended above the Fate Alteration Machine. There was no sign of awareness.
"But how can it be?" Scully pondered.
{I am speaking to you through our minds. Do not question it, for you know in your heart that it is true. You can do the same.}
Scully struggled to bite back the millions of questions floating around in her head. She shut her eyes close and concentrated.
{Hello?}
{I can hear you, Dana.}
Scully hesitated for only a moment. {Samantha, if this is really you then you have to stop it. Shut down the Fate Alteration Machine!}
Scully could sense Samantha's patient smile. {It is not that simple. Zaibach's mind control is strong; this is the only means I have. I cannot stop what I have started, but you can.}
{I don't know how.}
Samantha sighed and Scully's vision filled with new images.
{There are so many that you wish to fight for, whom you wish to save.}
Scully saw brief glimpses of Millerna, Van, Allen...
{But first you have to let go of your fear.}
Scully's mind sank into darkness.
{You have to believe in him. You have to believe in yourself.}
Scully could envision Mulder now, floating in the pitch black, His body was naked and she could see that he was clinging to the last breaths of life. The only thing she could hear him say was
"Scully…"
Her eyes widened.
{Fox needs you.}