Nothing Gold Can Stay

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Notes: The last chapter is dedicated to all the readers of Fateful Decisions. I'm sorry it took so long to put out! Last update was about 2.4 years ago. Heh. sweat drop Gomen!

Strawberryz: Yay!

Tsubome: It's been 2 years, ne? Gomen!

Shinoa Yuuki: Heh. ;

Kyria: --;

One-Winged-Angel: You're too kind…

"Hitomi!"

Time seemed to crawl to a standstill for Van as he saw the Melef fire on Hitomi. As he leapt from his chair, knocking over several people who were standing between him and the love of his life, Van could already see that he would be too late to save her. The Laws of Physics simply did not work in his favor.

"Ahhh!" Hitomi screamed, as the net settled around her. She struggled, to no avail, to free herself. Allen's shocked face was the last thing she saw, before she was pulled back into the Guymelef.

There was a moment's hesitation on the Guymelef's part, as guests began running around screaming, panicked by what they thought was a full frontal assault by Zaibach. The pilot had spotted Serena, who was also sitting beside the Knight Caeli. Obviously, he was torn, unsure whether or not the girl he had captured was indeed the Seer from the Mystic Moon. General Adelphos had only said that the girl he was to nab was young, with short, fair hair.

Torn between the desire of leaving as quickly as possible, and not being yelled at by Adelphos for bringing in the wrong girl, the anonymous pilot did the only thing he could. He aimed another gatling net and grabbed Serena too.

Thus, doubly secure of having grabbed the right Seer, the unknown pilot and his Guymelef took off into the night, leaving behind the general confusion of broken glass and overturned chairs.

Allen, having seen the two most important women in his life snatched away by a devious Zaibach Guymelef from right under his nose, turned an ugly shade of puce. His fist trembled at his side, knocking against his sword. Van could already see the words forming in Allen's brain before the Knight even spoke.

"Gaddes, prep the Crusade!" Allen ordered, running out of the dining hall at full speed, with Van running close behind him.

"Allen, I'm coming with you!" Van called.

"You'll only slow me down!" Allen said angrily, without breaking his stride.

"Don't be so stubborn" Van shot back, now having caught up. "You'll need all the help you can get, if you want to rescue the both of them."

Allen gritted his teeth. He'd rather die by his own sword than ever admit he needed help from Van Fanel. But then again, Hitomi and Serena were his life, and it meant nothing if both girls came to harm. Checking the urge to scream in frustration, Allen simply nodded curtly. "Get Escaflowne. We ride."

Hitomi awoke with a severe bump on her head. Next to her was Serena, but the girl was still out cold. Dazed and disorientated, Hitomi found herself looking up to a vast piece of machinery that spanned the entire chamber. Wires snaked along the ceilings, connected to metal tubes on the ground, which were tied to an endless array of control panels. At the center was an old man hooked up to a contraption that seemed to be running the entire operation. There could only be one such man in all of Gaea.

"Emperor Dornkirk?"

"Seer, I welcome you," the Emperor replied gravely, his attention still focused to the Holoscreen in front of him, which showed the present battle being waged in Pallas. His expression away nothing as to the current situation, but he seemed pleased. Almost too pleased. "Your presence here ensures me that everything is going as planned. It is as I wish."

"Why have you brought us here?" Hitomi demanded. "What do you want with us? Why are you doing this?"

"Surely you can fathom the reason you have been brought before me, Seer from the Mystic Moon," Dornkirk said. "It is time to fully activate the Fate Redirector. With this, I can control the fate of Gaea."

"That's crazy," Hitomi yelled. "You can't control the fate of everyone on Gaea!"

"Can't I?" Dornkirk said simply. "Look upon the screen." Hitomi did so reluctantly and was shocked to see Van in Escaflowne, in the midst of battle with another Guymelef.

"Demon, I curse you!" the soldier yelled, bringing his sword down to slice Van in half. Escaflowne smoothly dodged the attack and countered with a blow of his own, which shattered the helm. The Melef stopped in its tracks, falling to its knees.

Hitomi could sense Van's conflicted emotions as he took out Melef after Melef, in an effort to reach her. The battles never seemed to end, and blood ran like a river. "Van," Hitomi moaned, clutching her head.

"Do you see now?" Dornkirk said. "Those from the Mystic Moon are harbingers of destruction. Death follows in your wake, Seer. Not even the ones you love will be exempt. Your presence on Gaea has shifted a delicate balance that will throw the world into chaos."

"No," Hitomi cried.

:I have to end this before he's hurt. I have to end the fighting.:

The pendant began to glow and there was a hum as the machines began to glow too, the pulse of light expanding and contracting. Hitomi realized that it was in tune with the beat of her heart. "Yes," Dornkirk said satisfied. "Now, watch as I implement the Absolute Fortune Zone. I shall grant everyone's wishes and create perfect happiness. This will, in turn, create the perfect world."

"There's too many of them," Van yelled. "We can't keep this up much longer!"

On their way to rescue Hitomi and Selena, the Zaibach troops that had been waiting around the perimeter sprung into action. They came from all sides, like a swarm of locusts, and it was all Van and Allen could do to beat them back from the castle.

"We must!" Allen yelled, as he brought Sherazade's sword around to impale another Guymelef. "Pallas is depending on us."

"We need to get to Hitomi," Van said, parrying another Guymelef. "The King has already ordered more troops to deal with Zaibach's forces. Let's just leave!"

"Not until we've secured the perimeter," Allen barked, sounding strained, as he met another Melef. "As long as I am Knight Caeli, my duty is to Pallas first. Nothing, not even Hitomi or Serena is above that."

"Damn you, and your duty," Van said savagely. He understood Allen's sense of duty better than he would like. As long as Zaibach's forces threatened the city, Allen would be compelled to stay and defend it to the death. The Crusade had also been redirected to protect the city's West side from being breached. Despite that, Zaibach's Melefs were still doing considerable damage to Pallas, burning houses and killing indiscriminately. There would be no quick end to this, and Hitomi was still in the clutches of a madman.

"Van!"

Another Guymelef flew up to the two, shooting a shaft of pure metal through the two Zaibach Melefs that had been creeping up behind Escaflowne. Van turned quickly, settling in fighting stance and saw that it was Folken piloting the red Guymelef.

"You go get Hitomi and Serena!" Folken shouted to Van, unsheathing his sword. It gleamed brightly in the moonlight. "Allen and I will finish this."

"Right," Van nodded, lowering his own sword. "I'll be back as soon as I can!"

With that, Escaflowne transformed into a dragon and took off towards the capital of the Zaibach Empire.

:Hang on, Hitomi: Van thought desperately, flying headlong into the night at break-neck speed :Please be alright. I'm coming. Be alright. Be alright:

Escaflowne's energist began to glow faintly with each thought, and a pillar of light came down and swallowed them both.

"What's happening?" Dornkirk said suddenly, as the glow emanating from the Fate Redirector slowly began to fade. Hitomi looked around fearfully, and saw to her relief that for some reason, the machine was beginning to power down. Her pendant, however, was still glowing as brightly as ever.

A shift in movement caught Hitomi's eye and she saw Serena finally waking. Running to the girl's side, Hitomi knelt beside her and brushed back the hair obscuring Serena's face. "Are you alright?"

Serena's eyes widened as she nodded slowly. With Hitomi's help, she levered herself up into a sitting position and looked around the room with a sense of utter fascination.

"So he's finally awake?" Dornkirk said as more of a fact than a question.

"He?" Hitomi said turning sharply to face the old man. "What do you mean?"

"Do you mean to tell me that your powers have failed you, Seer?" Dornkirk said with something akin to surprise. His amusement frightened Hitomi, who already had suspicions of Serena being a Zaibach spy. She hadn't wanted to believe her cards, but they never lied to her. Ever.

"She's a spy, isn't she?" Hitomi said with a quivering voice, looking fearfully from Serena to Dornkirk, unsure of whom to keep her eye on.

"Something much worse, I fear," the Emperor said, chuckling. "Isn't that right, Dilandau?"

At the sound of her alternate name, Serena stiffened, her eyes rolling back into her head. Hitomi cried out shaking Serena to revive her. To Hitomi's horror, Allen's sister began to shift, her hair shortening, while also lightning to a sheer platinum color. Her nose became more refined and the planes of her face were sharpened, along with her teeth, which were bared in a silent cry.

Hitomi gasped in horror, backing away as quickly as she could. "W-What's happening?"

:This can't be: she thought, panicked. :It's the Captain of Zaibach's Special Forces:

"Beautiful, is he not?" Emperor Dornkirk rasped. "One of my earlier efforts to refine the Fate Redirection machine. Unfortunately, there were still telltale side effects; violent tendencies, manic episodes, and a blood thirst that could not be slaked."

Sere--no—Dilandau, was now bent over, tremors wracking through his lithe frame. Scarlet eyes widened in pain as his lips parted. "Jajuka! Jajuka! Jajuka! Jajuka!"

Hitomi winced as she covered her ears to shield out Dilandau's cry. Whoever Jajuka was, he was not coming and as this realization dawned on Dilandau, he became more desperate.

Rising unsteadily to his feet, Dilandau made his way to Dornkirk, still clutching his head in pain. "E-Emperor D-Dorn-Kirk, I-."

"An utter failure," Dornkirk grimaced. "He is of no use to me any longer."

Dilandau's eyes dilated, as his lips curled to reveal his sharp, pointy teeth. "Dornkirk!" He leapt on the nearest machine, driving his leg through the frame, revealing crackling wires. Hitomi raised a protective arm to shield herself from the sudden flash.

Running swiftly on the control panels Dilandau gave a running jump and began clawing himself up Dornkirk's pedestal, disconnecting several vital chords in the process. Emperor Dornkirk sat calmly on his mechanical throne, unperturbed.

Hitomi watched in fascinated horror as the captain wrenched a metal pipe from the contraption and raised it above Dornkirk's head. With a cry, Dilandau brought it down upon his master and creator.

"Nooo!" Hitomi screamed.

An explosion rocked the entire building, causing both Hitomi and Dilandau to fall, as the ceiling fell through to reveal a pillar of light. Stunned, Hitomi could see the figure of Escaflowne descend, with Van reaching out to her.

"Hitomi!"

"V-Van!" Hitomi cried back. She saw as he leapt from Escaflowne, his wings unfurling to catch him in midair. He glided down with his arms outstretched. Crying with relief, Hitomi raised her arms and gasped as Van wrapped his arms around her, lifting her as if she weighed no more than a feather. The pendant around her neck began to glow, along with Escaflowne's energist.

Both Van and Hitomi looked around them to see that the Fate Redirector had rebooted, powered by the combined energies of both stones. The glow revealed Dilandau knocked unconscious again, on the floor. Dornkirk, however, looked positively ecstatic as his machine whirred to life. "Yes, yes! This is what I wish!" The mainframe began shaking, the pressure rising to extreme heights and steam began rising as vital fluids began to bubble furiously.

"Van!" Hitomi said, tugging urgently, trying to point out Dilandau's still form. "We have to save him."

Van followed Hitomi's gaze and looked at her with an expression of shock and disgust. "Him! Why?"

"It's Serena," Hitomi said, looking at Van with pleading eyes. "I don't have time to explain, but that's Allen's sister."

Van still looked skeptical but nodded. Depositing Hitomi on the back of Escaflowne, Van swooped back down to grab Dilandau too.

There was a sound, like a sharp, shrill blast, before the Fate Redirector stopped whistling. Hitomi was struck by an awful feeling of apprehension, knowing that the final explosion would kill them all. "Vaaan!" she cried, with her arms outstretched.

Then, the building exploded in a ball of flames and Hitomi knew no more.

"I can't believe she's still alive."

"Fortune favors her. Everyone knows that those from the Mystic Moon are doubly blessed with luck, a deep voice said. "It certainly was luck that we found her in time. Had Allen not went ahead, she would've been lost for good."

"Shhh," a female voice scolded. "Can't you see that she's about to wake up?"

Hitomi opened her eyes slowly, blinking owlishly at the light. "Where am I?" she croaked.

"I suppose it's good that she's not asking who she is," Dryden's voice said ruefully.

"Hitomi." Millerna's face appeared in front of Hitomi, her eyes wet with unshed tears of happiness. "You're alright. You're back with us."

Hitomi gasped as the events of her capture came back in a rush. The Fate Redirector glowing, the machines whistling shrilly as the pressure of power became too much, Van's face as he rescued her… "Van!"

Hitomi winced as she tried to pull herself up into a sitting position, looking around in an agitated manner. "Where is he! Where is Van?"

"Ho, there, little lady," Dryden said, putting a restraining hand on Hitomi's shoulder. The bandage around her head and hands had just been replaced, and further movement would cause the wounds underneath to break again. "Relax a bit, won't you? The King is fine. A bit banged up, but nothing Millerna couldn't fix. He's actually sleeping in the next room."

Hitomi relaxed, calming down enough to accept a cup of herb water from Millerna. "And Serena? How is she?"

Millerna and Dryden looked at each other, debating something between them. Dryden sighed, pushing back his unruly hair. "She's dead."

"No," Hitomi said, feeling sick. "Van must've gotten her."

Millerna hesitated before responding. "It's complicated, Hitomi." At the young girl's confused look, she elaborated. "Serena is dead, but Dilandau is very much alive."

"Wha-?"

"We think that the Fate Redirector had a hand in changing Serena," Dryden sighed. "When Dornkirk's machine exploded, it sent out a pulse of pure fortune. It was how Zaibach's troops so suddenly fell at Pallas' borders. It was that same pulse that allowed Allen to transport himself to the Zaibach capital. There must have been an endless amount of things and people affected, but we cannot tell the extent of the damage as of yet. Unfortunately, even with Van's help, Serena was caught in that pulse. Before, Serena held both Dilandau's personality, along with hers within the same body, the explosion resulted in a shift. Now, Serena is entirely gone and only Dilandau remains."

"Oh, Allen," Hitomi said softly.

"He refuses to allow her—him to be brought up on charges against Pallas and it's Allies," Dryden said. "Allen's standing guard at Dilandau's door. He wouldn't allow anyone else to do it."

"I see," Hitomi said sadly. "May I see him?"

"Of course," Millerna said with sympathy. "I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that you've recovered."

"Hitomi?"

The door creaked open as Allen, Knight Caeli, walked into Hitomi's room. He looked tired, but still resplendent in his uniform, the one Hitomi would always remember him by from their first encounter.

"Allen," Hitomi said smiling softly, as he approached her bed. He dragged a chair next to her bed and held her hand gently. "I'm so sorry to hear about Serena."

A look of pain flashed through his eyes before he looked away. "As long as Dilandau is alive, there is always hope that Serena can return. I can't give up looking for a cure."

"I understand," Hitomi whispered, still smiling with tears in her eyes.

There was a moment of silence as Hitomi and Allen sat thinking. The sunlight filtered through the windows, as birds chirped cheerfully outside, belaying the events which had occurred just recently.

"You love him, don't you?"

Hitomi looked at him with eyes full of regret. It was enough for Allen, who lowered his head, his hair covering his face. "I knew before, when I first asked you to marry me," he said quietly. "I didn't want to acknowledge it, though. Sin of pride, I suppose."

"Allen," Hitomi said touching his cheek with a free hand. "Don't blame yourself. This is my fault. If I had been honest with you in the first place…" She trailed off, looking at the ring on her left hand. Gently releasing her hand from Allen's grip, she removed the ring, placing it on his outstretched hand. "I want you to take this back."

Van awoken to the smell of vanilla in his room. Heavily bandaged from head to foot, he found it difficult to move, but he was aware of another person in the room with him. "Hitomi?"

Hitomi's face suddenly appeared, looking pale and wane. Her forehead was bandaged along with her hands. "You knew I was there."

Van managed a strained smile. "I always know when you're there."

Hitomi returned the smile with one of her own. "Thank you, Van."

"For what?"

"For saving my life," Hitomi said.

"Call it repayment for all the times you've saved me."

"I-I have to tell you something," Hitomi said, blushing lightly. She groped for the words to explain her case. "I think—no—I know I love you, Van."

Van was stunned to hear the words he had been waiting for all this time. He couldn't seem to form a coherent thought, much less a coherent sentence to reply.

"I've told Allen," Hitomi continued softly. He held her left hand up for Van to inspect. His eyes widened as he realized that she was no longer wearing her wedding band. "Does this mean--" Van began.

"Yes, the wedding is off," Hitomi said smiling softly. "I think it's for the best, as I will be returning home very soon."

"Returning home?" Van choked on the words. "But…but… why?"

"Emperor Dornkirk said something to me before the explosion," Hitomi said. "My presence tips the balance of the world, and that is the reason why everyone fights. That's why Fanelia was burnt to the ground, why Freid was attacked, why so many people have died. And it's all my fault."

"You can't say that," Van said desperately. "Gaea has always been in turmoil. Destruction had always been inevitable."

Hitomi shook her head, brushing Van's raven locks away from his face. "As long as I am still here, outside forces will always threaten the lives of the people I love and I cannot live with that knowledge. I would rather return home, and be apart from you, knowing that you're safe."

"But I need you," Van said softly, leaning into her touch.

"You'll be fine," Hitomi said, trying to smile. "I've taught you all I know."

"Not everything," Van said, rising up carefully to kiss Hitomi for the final time.

Their tears mingled as they came together, a soft sigh in the midst of peace-beautiful, yet painful at the same time. Lost in the other's touch, their hearts beat as one.

-OWARI-