InuYasha Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ A Sequel! More things you didn't know and didn't need to know about Escaflowne and Inu-Yasha! ❯ Chapter Thirty ( Chapter 30 )

(Okee dokee then…moving on…Duo is still in the zero system simulation, but he is beginning to get ahold of himself, realizing that what he was experiencing was a synthesized simulation.)

Duo: No…these mind games…I'm sick of people playing with my mind…just STOP!

(He breaks the bindings tying him to the chair and smashes the screen in front of him. Now he can see that he is only in a dark storeroom all alone, but he can hear the cries of another close by…. He exits and goes one door down.)

The Elusive Person from Behind the Door: No…no…it's not my fault, I didn't do anything….

Duo: *opening the unlocked door with a shaking hand* Hmm? *Hitomi falls forward out of the room, trembling and muttering to herself, barely realizing that she was now lying on the floor* Anno…Hitomi?

Hitomi: It's not my fault…I didn't mean to…

Duo: *kneeling and picking her up* Did you get captured, too?

Hitomi: …eh?

Duo: Well, we should probably find the others….

(Duo walks off down the hallway carrying Hitomi baby-style and soon runs into Kagome, Kohaku, and Celena-not to say that they actually rammed into each other, they just found each other and said "howdy, I know you…" or something.)

Kagome: Oh! Duo! There you are. Where have you been? And what's wrong with Hitomi?

Hitomi: *still muttering, but seeming to be slightly more in reality than she was* But I didn't mean to…it's not my fault…but it is…

Celena: *grasping Hitomi's hand* It's not your fault. So…what happened?

Hitomi: But it is…

Celena: No, it's not…. What happened? Were you captured?

Duo: *to Kagome and Kohaku* So…what's going on?

(Meanwhile (don't you just get sick of that word after a while…?), back in the room with the screen…(I wonder how many times we've used this phrase…) there are mechanical vines covering the interior. They look all weirded-out and gray and creepish and just…well, they're synthesized vines? What else can you say about them? They're weird. Okay, I'm not Merle. Ignore that-apparently my fellow authoress (that would be Celena-chan) thinks that this little segment here sounds like Merle. I just don't see it…but yeah, back to plot…so, these vine thingees are part of Naraku's special "Illusion Death" ability, if that's what you'd call it. For all of you who don't know what that is, the Illusion Death is where these vines catch you and you start hallucinating that your greatest fear is coming true, and then the vines kill you slowly and you die. Duh, I know, but sometimes you just need to clarify these things for the more innocent-minded-why anyone who was innocent-minded would be reading this, I don't know…. Okay, so those who have been sent by trolley to the room with el screen wake up, already wrapped in the vines-though they don't know this, bwahahahaha-and they're awaking into their fantasies…)

Allen Schezar opened his eyes to see a battlefield, littered with corpses and blazing with fire. He is in his guymelef facing Dilandau's Alseides, locked in combat. As the Alseides charged forward, Allen instinctively brought around his sword and impaled the guymelef, but as it fell to the ground it melted away to show Celena, dead. He reached for her in desperation, but there were other guymelefs surrounding him, belonging to Dilandau's Dragon Slayers, who struck at him with their extending claws. Allen fell forward, giving in to the pain in his heart and body….

Zechs Merquise is in the Gundam Epyon, watching the Battleship Libra aim its cannon at the Earth below. Somehow, he knew that this was wrong, but the Epyon was telling him that it was right-so very right. He needed to search out for death, death to end more death. He darted forward, slicing through mobile suits, through the soldiers…but they were not his target. Before him was the Wing Zero-Heero, he was his enemy. They both rushed forward and clashed their beam sabres together. The force was causing the arms to strain, and he could feel his own arms aching…but it did not matter. The Libra finally fired, hitting Earth with full force, and in a moment it was no more. But wasn't there some one down there? Some one he needed to protect? Relena…Noin…were they gone? How could he ever know…?

Gatti felt so small, so very small in the shadow of his mother looming over him, her hand raised to strike him across the face again. The hand hit, and it was more painful than any other hurt-why couldn't she see? He was helping Zaibach, he was a part of an elite group, something that was helping their country. So why was she uttering those words? Why did she call him worthless? Tell him that he should never have been born? Why would she say these things unless they were true? Was he worthless? Perhaps…perhaps his whole life was a lie, perhaps he would be better off dead…maybe he should just die.

Jajuka was clinging to Celena, the poor frightened girl crying in his arms, for they were trying to take her away, trying to make her into a monster…. Those people who call themselves sorcerers, who justify their actions in the name of science and for a better future. But what about this poor little girl? They tore her from his grasp and beat him for his insubordination, beat him again and again until he could see his blood forming a pool on the ground below him, a hazy pool…his vision was blurring…but what about Celena?

Viole was lying in bed, the love of his life next to him, but he was not satisfied. What was wrong? So many times he had fantasized about this moment, when finally their flame of passion would be ignited-so what was so wrong? Could it be that his Dilandau-sama was not the man he thought he was? He turned to look on his love and found a woman in Dilandau's place. With a shriek, Viole leapt from the bed and stared down at Celena with horror. Dilandau-sama…where is Dilandau-sama?

Karen Hansen was powerless-what could she do? Dov was threatening to kill himself; he wanted to end the pain at long last. His brother had died, his parents too, and now she, Karen, she was also gone. She could only watch from afar as Dov, his face streaked with tears, cradled a gun in his hand. He gripped the handle and pressed the barrel to his head-she had to stop him…she called out to him, screamed with all her might, but he could not hear her. She leapt forward, but she passed through him, and when she turned to look at him, he was lying dead on the floor. She had failed….

It was dark, and Shesta looked around frantically, confused and feeling empty somehow. Suddenly, he saw a shadowed image before him, someone glowing…his brother? But he had died so long ago…hadn't he? What was he saying now? But Shesta was brave…he was willing to die for his cause, willing to die for his country…why wouldn't he ever be good enough? Why? Why couldn't his brother understand? The world seemed to swirl around him, his head spun, and it felt as if needles were passing through him. It was so cold, and he was all alone, lost…was he dead? No, he was condemned…why? Because he was not brave enough…not good enough…his brother was right.

Relena Dorlain Peacecraft opened her eyes-she was standing in the middle of a dark room. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw that there were corpses on the floor and draped over various machines. She stepped forward in her horror, but she found that the floor was covered in blood. Her head swam-who had done this? She looked down at her hand…why did her hand feel so cold? A gun? Why was there a gun in her hand? She trembled…was it her? Did she do this? But how? She looked at the gun, her hand shaking and her eyes growing wide…no…no…she couldn't have…could she?

Erinah held Sarinan in her arms as she walked down another street, searching for food…but she had no money. She had nothing to give to Sarinan, who had grown so weak she could no longer cry. But she had to keep moving, keep searching…she couldn't give up. She looked down on her child, limply lying in her arms. She was in so much pain, and Sarinan's pain was Erinah's pain, and there was nothing she could do. Her heart was torn…her legs felt weak…how could she save her baby now? How could she live…?

Van Slanzar de Fanel was on the battlefield again…why did he always end up fighting? He was kneeling, his head bent, his sword down before him…he could hear the voice of Balgus, telling him he must pick up his sword and fight, there was more that he had to do. But Van didn't want to fight any more. He didn't want the blood, the carnage…no more. He looked up and saw Dilandau across from him, deathly white. Van had to fight…but…. He reached for his sword, almost there…but there was someone else there. The Dragon Slayers? Why were they here? Why were they surrounding him…torturing him….