Immortality
by Catgirl 67

A/N: Well, I was looking through my mom's CDs trying to find some decent
music when I came upon her Celine Dion album. I though 'What the heck!'
and put it on. The first song was okay, but when I listened to the second
song, I nearly had a heart attack! This song just has Escaflowne written all
over it in my opinion. So I got out my trusty computer and fiddles around
with the lyrics and added some writing and poof! This little fic was born.
Please review and tell me if you can see where I'm coming from, or if you
think I've had a little too much left over New Years champagne. ^_^!

Disclaimer: Whooo!! I remembered for once. Escaflowne doesn't belong to
me, unfortunately. Neither does Celine Dion or this song.

Dedication: To all the people who told me that they actually liked Red is the
Color of Blood and hoped I would continue writing. That means so much to
me, you guys, you'll never know.


~So this is who I am,
And this is all I know,
And I must choose to live,
For all that I can give,
The spark that makes the power grow~

Hitomi raised her hand to shield her eyes from the dust that whirled
around her, stirred up by the giant feet of the guymelefs fighting before her.
Her chest was tight with fear as it always was during these ubiquitous
battles, fearing that one day, their side would lose, and Van and Allen would
not return. 'Please,' she prayed as she clutched her pendant tightly, 'please
don't let them die.'

Her heart lept to her throat as Allen's guymelef was nicked by a
stream of liquid metal. Millerna shrieked from her place next to Hitomi on
the Crusade. Hitomi swallowed a mouthful of saliva as Gaddes' melef was
nearly speared by yet another shot of metal. Millerna gasped, and ran off to
get her medical bag, knowing that there would be injuries after this battle,
and many of them. Merle whimpered from her place at Hitomi's feet, her
eyes never leaving the bright silver Escaflowne.

Hitomi gritted her teeth as the all too well known red Alseides slashed
mercilessly at Van, wanting his blood and nothing else. 'Why,' Hitomi
asked herself miserably, 'must it be like this every day? Could Zaibach not
leave them alone for one minute?' She couldn't provide battle assistance like
Van and Allen. She couldn't offer emotional support like Merle. She
couldn't give medical help like Millerna. Holding her pendant in one hand
and her Tarot cards in the other, Hitomi was helpless to do anything but
watch.

~And I will stand for my dream if I can,
Symbol of my faith and who I am,
But you are my only~

	Merle cried out from her seat on the floor as Van's guymelef was
almost hit once again. Why must they be thrown into this horrible war?
Could Zaibach not see the error of their ways? In one battle Van might die.
Van was her best friend, and the only one she had left in the world. He could
die, and Merle would be left alone again. No, she must not allow herself to
think of such things. What was it Hitomi always said? "If you will hard
enough for something to happen it will"? If Zaibach couldn't kill Van, Merle
was surely not going to will it to happen herself! No, she must remain
optimistic. Van couldn't die, and he wouldn't. Merle closed her eyes and
prayed.

~And I must follow on the road that lies ahead,
And I won't let my heart control my head,
But you are my only,
And we don't say goodbye,
And I know what I've got to be~

Millerna rushed to her room and grabbed her blue bag containing her
medical supplies. Why must there be so much fighting and conflict on Gaea?
It solved nothing, and people only ended up losing their loved ones. Millerna
couldn't imagine what she would do if she lost Allen; she couldn't begin to
comprehend the grief it would cause her. Dryden wasn't so bad... but oh,
how she loved Allen! She supposed she could learn to like Dryden enough to
be married to him, but she still refused to acknowledge that her father and
sister might be right. Love for Allen just came so naturally, why should she
have to force herself to love someone, when the person she loved was so
close, and yet so faraway?

Millerna finally understood the meaning of that expression. It was the
curse of royalty to be married out of political negotiations instead of love.
How many times had she wished she could just become a normal peasant
and live an ordinary life? But alas, it could not be. Millerna slipped over to a
window to watch the battle.

~Immortality,
I make my journey through eternity,
I keep the memory of you and me inside~

	Van grunted and ducked another blow from a Dragon Slayer.
Dilandau has mostly told the to stay away from Van since he wanted to
glory of killing Van all to himself. Van had recently become as ruthless in
battle as Dilandau was. He had finally allowed his hatred to overcome him.
This was the empire that had taken his country, his brother, and everything
else he held dear. There was nothing else they could take from him. Except
maybe his life.

	But then, he really didn't value his own life too highly at this point.
He would finally be rid of the blood, the hatred of war. Peace was all Van
Fanel wanted. And damn it, he was only fifteen. He should think he
deserved some degree of peace. Perhaps it was the curse of Escaflowne or
perhaps it was the curse of the Draconians.  Some evil force had to create
this Great War that had already taken so many lives and wouldn't quit until
it had taken every living soul upon Gaea. But now, all Van could do was try
to live for another day. All he could do was fight.

~Fulfill your destiny,
Is there within the child,
My storm will never end,
My fate is on the wind~

	Allen swung his sword, damaging another enemy guymelef. Damn,
Dilandau really did need to hire some better soldiers. Dilandau himself was
another matter. He was good, make no mistake. Those who made the fatal
mistake of underestimating him never lasted long. That was a lesson he had
learned from Balgus long ago, never underestimate your enemy. But Balgus
was gone now, and Allen was no sad. He had lived and dies a great warrior,
and was more of a father to him that his own birth father. War had
toughened Allen up, but he was determined to keep some of his own
humanity. He would not become obsessed with war like some warriors.
Some who ate, slept, and breathed war, who needed it to sustain them. War
was a drug, a powerful and dangerous one that could kill you or make you
go insane. Allen refused to end up like that. He would die honorably, to
bring some form of honor to his family's ruined name.

That was what his life had been about, bringing his family name some
reverence. But as he looked back on it, Allen couldn't help but wonder if he
had disguised his own selfishness with honor. He had slept with Princess
Marlene while she was married, producing Prince Chid. He had not claimed
responsibility for it and his hands were stained with the blood of countless
lives. These were not honorable or chivalrous things to do. But it was what
Allen had to do. He had to save Gaea from the disasters that Zaibach would
surely bring upon it if they were to win. Allen, swinging his sword once
more, forced another soldier back, winning another small victory.

~The king of hearts,
The joker's wild,
But we don't say goodbye,
I'll make them all remember me~

	Chaos. Destruction. Fire. It filled Dilandau's world, creating death.
The fools who opposed Zaibach continued to fight back, trying to win.
Could they not understand that what Zaibach was doing was for the best? To
reawaken the legendary power of Atlantis, to bring total happiness to
everyone. Dilandau wondered why they couldn't see what paradise that
would be. To be able to turn human will into energy...the mere idea of such
power made Dilandau's mouth water. Of course, he DID have to kill Van.
He didn't deserve total happiness after what he did to Dilandau. He deserved
to die, plain and simple.

	Of course, his little friends tried to protect him, for the loss of his life
would make them sad. Such foolish creatures they were, Dilandau thought.
Each individual person's life was like a grain of sand in an hourglass, totally
meaningless in the long run. Unless you made good use of your life by
ending other's, like Dilandau did, you might as well be dead anyway,
Dilandau figured. Humans were meant to live and die, but Dornkirk-sama
could change that. He could control destiny, and change the world. Why so
many could not understand how wonderful that would be was beyond
Dilandau. Until they figured it out, he would kill any who stood in his path.
For, we all have a capacity to kill. Why not make good use of it? And so
Dilandau would kill.
~Immortality,
There is a vision and a fire in me,
I keep the memory of you and me, inside,
And we don't' say goodbye,
We don't say goodbye,
With all my love for you,
And what else we may do,
We don't say goodbye~

~FIN~