Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Pure Blood ❯ Epilouge ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vision of Escaflowne or Gundam Wing. They are owned by Sunrise and Bandi and their own respective creators.

Pure Blood Part Seven: Sacrifices and Decisions

By: Elf

And the battle's just begun

There's many lost, but tell me who has won

The trench is dug within our hearts

And mothers, children, brothers, sisters

Torn apart

Taken From U2's "Sunday, Bloody Sunday"

The three young men standing side by side would have been enough to get any young woman's heart pounding. They were so different, but they complemented each other so well. There was the elfin boy dressed in an elaborate black costume, his chestnut braid swaying like a banner in the breeze, his violet eyes wide and ready for anything. The warrior prince stood proudly, his slender shoulders squared, his raven hair falling haphazardly in his sherry colored eyes, the sword of his kingdom held proudly in his hand. Then there was the last one, the fallen angel, his gossamer wings spread and floating in the gentle breeze, his dark hair falling into his dark blue eyes.

"Zaibach will fall," Van said with a sudden smile as they looked up at the Earth and moon as they rose.

Duo smirked and replied, "Dillandeu's gonna get his ass kicked."

Heero simply smiled for a moment as he looked ahead. He was still wondering how to tell Relena that he was staying here. If he survived, that is.

The three warriors just stood there, each knowing their own role and awaiting the battle.

******

"Relena," Heero said quietly as he looked at the young diplomat. Her long, dark blond hair was unbound, floating around her face and shoulders. Her turquoise eyes were wide and waiting for him. He walked over to her.

She asked, "Heero, what is it?"

He knelt beside her and wondered how he was going to put this. He would miss her. He cared for her and she made him felt human. Somehow, she and Duo both had crashed down his carefully placed defenses. He took her hand and she gasped.

"I'm staying," he told her flat out.

"What?" she asked in shock, looking at him. She stood up and he stood with her. She looked hurt and confused, like she couldn't believe what he was saying.

He swallowed and replied, "I'm staying here. If I survive, I'm staying."

"Why, Heero?" she asked, her eyes misting.

He sighed and answered, "I don't belong there Relena. You know that. You can feel it too."

She spun away, choking on a sob. He placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them slowly. She spun to face him with a tear streaked face. He enfolded her in his arms and allowed her to cry on him as he held her. After all, he owed her that much.

******

"Why do the girls from the Mystic Moon always start crying whenever something bad remotely happens?" Merle asked, licking her hand.

Van looked over at the slender cat girl, his child hood campion and best friend. She looked up at him with her huge blue eyes. Van asked, "What do you mean?"

"Relena started crying for some strange reason. Heero went to go see her and she just started to sob like a baby. I'd expect that out of Hitome, but not out of that bitch," Merle answered as she ran her fingers through her close-cropped hair.

Van looked up when he heard Duo walk into the room. Van asked, "Why would Relena be crying?"

"Relena, crying?" Duo asked, his eyes wide with shock and surprise.

Van nodded and Merle added, "Yeah, I heard her crying after Heero told her something."

"What the fuck did he tell her?" Duo demanded.

Merle shrugged and licked her hand once more. She answered, "I don't know. I don't go worrying about girls from the Mystic Moon." Then she turned to Van and asked, "Why are you jealous of Heero?"

Van blushed slightly and looked down at his hands. Duo was grinning slightly. Van snipped, "What are you smiling about?"

"You don't wanna be jealous of Heero Yuy, trust me," Duo answered as he sat down. The grin was still on his face as he watched Merle and the young king.

Van leaned against the wall. He asked, "Why not?"

"Because, trust me, you don't," Duo answered as he stood up.

He asked, "Are you jealous of him?"

"Well, that he's physically perfect, yeah, but other than that no. I mean, I'm better looking, a better pilot, and I am smarter than he is," Duo replied with a grin.

Van replied, "You're awful confident."

"You would be too if you were good as me," Duo smiled.

Van smirked and replied, "Then why did you run from Dillandeu?"

"I didn't run from that freak! My suit was damaged and he had the advantage. Not even Heero could have saved his ass from that one," Duo answered in a huff. He crossed his arms and glared. He said, "But, when we have our little rematch, he's getting his ass kicked."

Van grit his teeth. The mad boy was his. Dillandeu was responsible for destroying his kingdom and everything else he loved. Merle placed her hand on his arm and said, "Lord Van, I want you to be careful when you fight."

Van shut his eyes and remembered the last time he had crossed paths with Dillandeu. The Land of the Dead was a place he did not want to visit again. It was a cold, icy hell that no living should have to see. He still had nightmares about it and often wondered why he still could pilot Escaflowne so easily.

Hitome entered the chamber. She was breathing hard and her green eyes were wide and anxious. She gasped, "We're here."

******

"Folken." Folken looked up to see Duo Maxwell kneeling before him, his long bangs obscuring his violet eyes. He had altered his costume slightly, changing the collar to a strange, tight white collar with a black band that indented in the middle. He moved to sit up and gasped at the sharp pain in his wings that radiated from his body.

Duo shook his head and said, "Don't man. I just wanted to talk to you before the shit hits the fan."

Folken smiled at him and stated, "I thought Van would be the first to see me."

"Van's making preparations with Allen, Heero, and Hitome. Merle's clamped onto his arm like a parasite," Duo replied with a grin.

Folken smiled and remembered the young cat girl. He remembered a time where Merle had dared Van to fly just so she could see his wings. Van had always been the more adventurous of the two, often flying when their mother had told them many times that they should not. That they could be harmed because of their wings.

Duo sat down and said, "I've got questions."

"I thought you were smarter than you acted," Folken said with a chuckle.

Duo smirked and said, "Well, I can surprise you. Anyway, this fate alteration shit, what's up with that?"

"Changing fate at will, shaping things to fit what you want," Folken answered, "Dornkirk's got a machine that can do that. Heero's blood was what helped him charge it."

Duo snapped his fingers and cursed, "Fuck, then that's why the mobile suits were so fucking fast. He willed them that way. Ohh . . . I'm gonna kick his ass too."

Folken laughed. Duo looked at him with wide eyes. Folken shook his head, not able to say what he was feeling at the moment. He held out his hand and Duo took it. Duo said, "I thought you three were angels after I saw the wings."

"My wings are black, but Heero and Van's wings are white. What does that make me?" Folken asked with a sad smile.

Duo looked thoughtful for a moment. He scratched his head and answered, "An angel that lost his way, I would think. I mean, there is no black and white, just shades of grey."

"You are wiser than you appear," Folken told him, glad that there was someone who could understand him. Duo simply grinned and squeezed his hand. Folken said, "After this is all over, I want to talk to you, Duo Maxwell."

"Hey, I always got something to say. I'd be happy to, Folken," Duo said with a grin. Then he stood up. He said, "Well, I've gotta become the God of Death once again." He turned away and began to walk out of the room. He said, "Catch ya later, buddy."

******

"I'm ready," Duo said eagerly. He was ready for this fight. He licked his lips in anticipation. Hell, he was almost giddy. He chuckled and looked over at the Escaflowne. He asked, "When?"

Van caused the dragon-esque machine to jump, taking flight. He said, "Now!"

"Sweet," Duo chirped as he placed the cloak around his guymelef and hovered out. Allen jumped out behind him, already making a path for Hitome and Heero.

Duo looked over to see Heero and Hitome take off. They followed Allen closely as he broke a path for them.

He looked away and shouted, "Watch out yall! The God of Death is back from Hell!" He charged into the suits, giving them no time to react, slashing into them with the quicksilver metal, which he probably figured was metallic hydrogen. He chuckled as he formed the scythe-like blade and began to tear them apart.

He landed and put the suit in cloak mode. He shot the liquid metal at one of the suits, causing it to crumble in a hot rush. He chuckled, "One down and a hell of a lot more to go."

Van was doing well himself. The sword practically sang in the suit's hands as he swiped through suits as well. Duo shouted, "Die! Whoever messes with me has a date with his maker! Die!" He chuckled as he slashed through another suit.

He looked around and grinned. He and Van were clearing a path of destruction. Hell, they were even winning.

******

Heero flew, dodging shards of shrapnel as they crashed with each blow from Allen's sword. Hitome asked, "What are we doing?"

Heero licked his lips and looked around. He spun gracefully out of the way, his wings wrapping around the two, as the head of a guymelef came crashing down at him. He flapped his wings to gain altitude again, his natural piloting ability coming in handy right now.

Hitome asked, "What are we doing?"

"Your pendent, your grandmother's been here before," Heero informed her as he flew strait up and angled away from another suit.

Hitome's green eyes looked up into his. She looked a little dumbfounded as she looked down at the garnet hued gem. She said, "It all fits. All of it then."

"I'm taking you to the fate alteration machine and you're going to use this against it," Heero calmly stated as he flew past some more shrapnel. It seemed a little strange having some other girl than Relena in his arms, but he was getting use to it. He lifted up, catching a drift of heated air from a guymelef.

Hitome stated, "If everything goes well, then this world will be safe." Then he heard her whisper, with feeling, "Good luck, Van."

******

"Brother, help me," the female voice cried out in Allen's mind.

The young knight looked around. He swept his sword up to catch the blade of another guymelef's. He asked, "Celena? Is that you?"

"He's coming to get me," the girl whispered, sounding terrified.

Allen shouted, "Where are you? Who's going to get you!?"

"The young king. He's going to kill me," Celena cried out, her voice ringing through Allen's mind.

The young girl was trapped within the guymelef. Her pale hair fell into her aristocratic features and huge blue eyes. She clutched the controls awkwardly, not knowing where to pilot the guymelef.

She saw Escaflowne charge at her, with her sword drawn. She screamed and threw up her hands to defend herself when she began to change. Her soft features became harder, more angular, her hair turned to a stark white, and her beautiful sapphire eyes glowed an intense garnet, almost the color of blood.

Dillandeu threw back his head and shouted, "Burn!"

Allen let go of the controls. He stood in the guymelef, breathing hard. Van was going to kill his sister, who was trapped in Dillandeu's body. He shouted wordlessly and gracefully spun the Scherazade around and turned to go help his sister.

Hitome cried out to him, "Allen! Where are you going?"

Allen shouted back, "To save my sister from Van!"

He saw a flash of white wings, another cursed Draconian, as Hitome flew past in the Draconian's arms. He saw Hitome look back at him with wide green eyes, her fawn colored hair falling into them. He marked the image in his memory, because, if he killed Van, it may be one he would never see again.

******

Van took a deep breath. His body was drenched with sweat from the heat of the control chamber. He felt fine though, just a slight pain in his arm when he had miscalculated a block. The other suit had been diminished to nothing when Duo had seized that moment and used his flame throwers on it.

He opened the face plate momentarily to look around. Most of the suits were retreating. Somehow, they had won. Van smirked proudly to himself. He had a feeling that Hitome had a hand in their victory, and for that he loved her even more.

Then, he saw it.

The crimson guymelef emerged from the shadows, its flame thrower already out and pointed directly at Duo. Van shouted, "Duo, watch out, its Dillandeu!"

Duo spun around just in time to make a shield to deflect the flames. Van took a deep breath as he watched the guymelef move. Duo shouted, "Fuck, I can't see him! Where the hell is he!" He sounded very irate.

Van silently charged at the red guymelef. He could see the red pendent swinging in his mind, alerting him to the demon boy's movements. "Lets finish this, Van," Dillandeu sang out, his voice phycoticaly happy.

"Oh, hell no, you're mine, Pickle," Duo sneered as he crashed almost suicidally into the suit. It knocked them both off kilter and skidding to the ground. The black guymelef managed to stand before the crimson one. The liquid metal tendrils formed into a long, curved blade, very much like a scythe's, he realized.

Dillandeu turned to face him and said, "Well, Duo, you can't fight what you can't see." Van watched as he vanished once again, but he was still able to see him. The black guymelef spun around, searching frantically. Duo's face plate flew open as Dillandeu crept behind him. Van could hear Dillandeu sneer, "Let me give you a one way ticket to Hell, pretty boy."

"No! You will not kill anyone else, damn you!" Van shouted as he charged at him. Escaflowne's blade caught with the outer layer of armor of the suit and sliced through the arm. Van watched in a sort of fascinated horror as the arm regenerated.

Heero's blood charged the machine, then that means that Dillandeu will be indestructible, Van thought grimly as he took a stance. He shouted, "Face me, demon!"

"I'll be happy to, Van. BURN!" Dillandeu shouted as he rushed at Van.

Van used the sword to block the blunt of the blow before he managed to spin gracefully away. He went to swing the sword once again when a familiar sword caught his own blade. He blinked in surprise as he saw Scheherazade locking swords with him.

"Allen? What are you doing?" Van demanded.

Allen grimly answered, "I'm sorry, Van, but my sister's in there."

******

Heero landed gracefully in the large, open ceiling room. He looked around at the giant globe that had large rings of gold and silver spinning around it. It felt familiar to him. He felt that he could reach out and touch it, then he would be master of everything.

Hitome whispered, "That's it." She held her pendent out in front of her and it began to spin erratically. She gasped as she watched it spin in time with the spinning gold rings. "It's powerful," she gasped as she looked at it.

Heero ignored her and walked up and touched one of the spinning rings. He felt the power wash over him and he sighed. "You, I didn't know you would survive," a wise voice echoed around him.

Heero spun around to see a wizened old man, dressed in robes and his long grey beard intertwined with white ribbons. He squinted and recognized the face from history books. He said, "You're Sir Isaac Newton."

"Yes, you're right, young Heero," Dornkirk said as he walked closer.

"Heero! The machine!" Hitome cried out. He took a backward glance at it, it was spinning radically, shifting off course and glowing outside. Heero turned back to the old man.

Heero calmly asked, "What are you doing?"

"Altering fate to make sure of everyone's happiness. Wars, battles, strife, you know them all too well, as does your friends Duo and Van. I plan to eliminate that, no matter what the cost. Your ancestors were brilliant, Heero, you know. They left me with enough to do this," Dornkirk said with a pleasant smile.

"You're insane," Heero murmured as he pulled out his sword.

Dornkirk pointed to a viewer on the wall. He said, "Look there."

"Van! Allen!" Hitome screamed at the screen. Heero turned around to see Escaflowne and Allen's melef locked in deadly combat. Both were damaged. Heero figured that Van was in severe pain right now, but he kept fighting. She asked, "Why, what did you do to them?"

Dornkirk said, "Your Van has a very warlike nature, my dear girl. He's enjoying this, at least a part of him is. He wishes Dillandeu dead, but Allen does not."

"I would have killed Dillandeu a long time ago," Heero calmly stated. He remembered some of the fever dreams he had. He remembered a blond girl turning into Dillandeu. "But Dillandeu is someone totally different, isn't she?" Heero calmly asked, crossing his arms so the sword's blade tilted upwards.

Dornkirk nodded with a smile. He answered, "Yes, she is truly Allen's sister."

"No, how can that be?" Hitome shouted at him, her hands balled up into fists.

Heero stated, "He wanted to see if he could change a person's fate on every level, but its' slipping."

"What do you mean?" Hitome asked as she watched Allen and Van battle.

Heero flew up to the machine and placed his hand on the glowing blue orb. He closed his eyes and let the energy course through him. "Because I say so. Mission accepted," Heero stated as fate started to unwind once more.

******

Folken awoke with a start. He could feel something off. He shot up from the bed and Relena's hand was automatically on his chest, pushing him down. "No," she snapped, her turquoise eyes displaying fire and anger, "You're in no condition to leave, your highness."

Folken removed her delicate hand and stood up. He winched when he moved his injured wing, but he decided he could fly on it. He knew it had started, the battle, and he had to help them. Van and Duo were in trouble. He wondered why he had developed a strong bond with that braided child in such a short time.

"Van and the others are in danger," Folken told her as he took up his sword. He flapped his wings again, loosening the tight muscles in his back.

Relena snapped, "They're in battle. Heero is always in danger. It is something that I have learned to accept, and I suggest you do as well!"

"Why worry princess, when I can do something about it?" Folken asked her as he took one last look at her. Her eyes were slightly pink, as if she had been crying recently, and her clothing was severely rumpled. He tilted his head and looked at her curiously. He had a feeling of what had happened.

He asked, "Did Heero tell you that he was staying?"

Her silence and defiant glare was answer enough to him. She placed her hands sternly at her hips and demanded, "I order you to get into that bed at once." To emphise her point, she stamped her foot and pointed at it.

"I doubt that you could make me, Lady Relena," he told her as he walked calmly out of the room. He locked the door and walked down the hall. He heard Merle yelling at him, as well as Millerna. With extreme pain, he opened up his wings and flew out into the night.

******

"Allen, what the fuck are you doing?" Duo shouted at him as he attacked Van. He rushed at them to pry them apart and give Allen a good beating, but the red guymelef flew in front of him. Duo turned to face it and hissed, "So, Pickle, you want a rematch?"

"Do you think you could beat me, you insignificant little worm?" Dillandeu taunted.

Duo gave a harsh battle cry as he charged the other guymelef. He ripped into the other arm. He said, "I'm the God of Death, the Shinigami, I'll do what the damn hell I please."

"Stop!" a female voice shouted from the guymelef. "I didn't do anything to you!" she shouted again.

"Dillandeu, I always knew that you were a chick," Duo hissed at him as he raised his arm for another blow.

The frightened female voice shouted, "I don't know what you're talking about! My name is Celena!"

"The fuck?" Duo shouted at her. Celena.

"Allen! Help me!" Celena shouted as the guymelef awkwardly looked around. Then, suddenly, the machine took another stance. The arm stitched itself back on and Dillandeu laughed manically.

******

Hitome screamed as Heero was thrown from the machine. He was lying on the ground, his wings spread like some sort of fallen angel. She ran over to him and cradled his head to her lap. She whispered, "Heero, get up, come on, Van's counting on you."

Dornkirk approached and raised his hand up to the machine. She had noticed that it was spinning strangely, but it started spinning the way that it had. He said, "His sheer will was what almost stopped me. Well, I'm sorry, my dear, but your friend is about to die."

He picked up Heero's dropped sword and advanced. Hitome tried to stand up and pull Heero up with her. She shouted, "You can't kill him!"

"And he won't!" a familiar voice shouted to her. Hitome looked up to see Folken flying in on broken, black wings. He painfully landed, his sword drawn.

Hitome gently laid Heero down. She ran closer to Folken, close enough to look into his sherry colored eyes. Just like Van's, she realized as she looked at him. She shouted, "Folken, get out of here!"

"No, he needs to be stopped, then you need to stop this machine, Hitome," Folken told her, his sword steady. She took a deep breath and watched as Folken charged. Dornkirk looked surprised at the blade of the sword pierced his heart. He coughed, a bubble of blood forming at his lips.

Folken smiled and was about to say something when his face contorted to an expression of pain. Blood formed at his nude chest, dripping down from a gasping hole, like the stab wound. "Folken!" she cried as she rushed to him.

She caught him and gently laid him to the ground. Folken gasped, "One last act of defiance. He changed fate one last time."

"Don't talk, that will just make it worse," Hitome whispered to him, placing her hand over his bleeding wounds. "You'll be fine. I'm sure of it. Van'll win, its Van," she told him, looking around. She shouted, "Help! Van, help!"

******

"Help, Van, help!" Hitome's voice cried in his mind. He could see a dying Folken cradled in her arms, a fallen Heero, and a dead Dornkirk. Van blinked and crashed his sword into Allen's recently repaired energist.

"No! I won't allow you to hurt her!" Allen shouted as he struggled out of the suit. Van ignored him as he ejected from Escaflowne. He stripped of his shirt and screamed when his wings emerged. He took off on the wind, getting to Hitome as fast as he could.

He flew like a bat out of Hell, reaching the machine room in a mater of moments. He landed next to Hitome. Folken reached up to him and Van took his bloody hand.

"I'm sorry, Van, that we didn't get a chance to talk. There was so much to explain," Folken began.

Van squeezed his hand, feeling the tears welling in his eyes. He looked over at Folken's mechanical arm and touched it with his free hand. "Was it worth it?" he whispered, searching his older brother's eyes, much like his own.

"Seeing you as king, it was worth it," Folken said softly, the light in his eyes beginning to dim. Van croaked back a sob as Folken's eyes closed and his body went still. He started to sob the moment later, the crying shaking his young body. He heard Hitome cry as well and he lifted his hand to her.

They held each other for that brief moment and sobbed. Through his grief, he realized how truly good she felt against him. He sighed and stood up, pulling her with him. They looked up at the throbbing machine.

They took hands and Van lifted her slender body up. Hitome's green eyes, filled with glossy tears, were wide and hopeful. He flew up to the machine where they both took a hold of her pendent. He closed his eyes and held her close as the energy enveloped them both.

******

Damn it all to hell. I can't kill Dillandeu because there's actually a chick in there who's Allen's something or another. Well, that fucking sucks, Duo thought as he blocked another blow. Allen was shouting curses at him, calling him a bastard, damning him to Hell, the basics, during the whole battle.

Duo snapped, "Listen, I'm trying my best not to hurt the bitch."

"Die, demon!" Dillandeu chuckled. Duo grit his teeth and thought, The hell with it. I've killed hundreds of innocents before. One more isn't going to hurt me that much. Besides, its Dillandeu. He charged at the machine. He felt both machines give away, and there wasn't any repairs being done.

He felt an influx of energy and gasped. He jerked away as the crimson suit crumbled to the ground. He sliced open the control chamber before his suit fell as well. He climbed out and ran over to it.

He climbed up on it, ready to beat Dillandeu into a pulp, and gasped. Nestled in the harness was a delicately beautiful young woman, dressed in Dillandeu's armor. Her huge blue eyes were watching them, the fear in them evident. Her light blond hair curled around her head and the golden head band that Dillandeu wore.

"I won't hurt you," Duo told her gently as he began to pull her out. He lifted her slight body out of the suit and studied her. Her features were basically a softer verson's of Dillandeu's, but prettier, and she looked damn good in that armor. He smiled and said, "Hi, my name's Duo, what's yours?"

"Celena," she stated in a confused voice. Then she spotted Allen. She shouted, "Brother!" Then she pushed Duo out of the way to hug her brother.

Duo scratched his head and said, "Just my dumb luck. I meet a pretty girl in this world who's unattached and she was originally a guy and a skitzo none the less."

******

"So you're staying here?" Duo asked Heero. Heero nodded, his body sore from last night. Duo smirked and said, "I think I may join you." The friends looked out at the twin moons.

Heero smirked and asked, "Are you sure you can handle being without technology that long?"

"Yeah, besides, I'm gonna be an engineer. Van said that he needed a good one. Besides, he also said that my skills as both a pilot and a repair man couldn't be replaced," Duo said, puffing up with pride.

Heero stated, "I fear for Fanala, then."

"Bite me," Duo snapped, flipping him the Bird.

Heero chuckled softly then laughed harder at Duo's expression of horror. "Fuck, don't do that!" Duo shouted at him.

"What?" Heero asked, laughing, enjoying Duo's reaction.

"That. The only time I've heard you laugh is that phycoitic laugh when you're destroying mobile suits," Duo responded, pointing at him.

"Get ready. I know you have some loose ends to tie up before you come back," Heero calmly stated as he spotted Relena. Duo smirked and left, chuckling lightly. Heero was glad to have his best friend with him, but he had a feeling that the God of Death was going to turn Gaea on her head.

He walked over to Relena, who looked at the earth and moon. She said, "I can't blame you for staying. It's really beautiful."

"Its home," Heero simply stated to her as he moved closer to her.

Relena nodded, tears forming in her eyes. He wiped them away and stated, "You're a strong person. You'll survive and move on."

"But I don't want to move on," she whispered.

He tilted her head up and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. He couldn't think of anything else to do, and it did seem right. Relena's hands caught in the back of his hair as she pushed him closer. The kiss intensified, as if this was Relena giving him reasons that he should go back to Earth and the colonies.

He gently pushed her away as she looked up at him with tear stained eyes. He said, "I'm sorry Relena." He turned away and started to walk away. He stated, "It wouldn't have worked out anyway."

He heard her leave and watched. He heard Duo shout, "See you again, Heero!"

He smiled softly as a giant beam of light formed in the sky. He watched as Hitome, Duo, and Relena drifted up into it. Duo was waving joyfully at him, shouting how Gaea had better get ready for the God of Death. Heero shook his head and laughed slightly. He felt something warm and wet slide down his cheek and wiped it away.

"Hitome's coming back," Van stated, his expression dark. His eyes were shinny as well. He looked up and said, "But I expect that Relena isn't."

"No, she has her own work to do," Heero stated as he turned away. He felt at home, safe and sound, but it felt as if a part of him had just died. He whispered, "Good bye, Relena."

The End!













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