Since then, Van and Dilandau had the arguement that scared Dilandua into a panic, running away from the group and getting himself captured by the madoushi. Allen and Van hear his cries and track him down to save him just in time from yet another fate-alteration experiment. They kill the madoushi, and find the files for Serena. But another madoushi who'd lived snatches some of the files, and in a chain of reactions some of the paperwork, including Serena's folder, go up in flames with the rest of the lab. Allen, Dilandau, and Van flee the Zaibach capital and make it onto the Asturian transport into time to get safely home.

Now. On with the story.

TO MEND THE ROSE: The Mending by Feye Morgan

The merchant sailors truly knew what there were doing, as Dilandau didn't even stir when the ship docked to port at Palas the next morning. Allen shook him awake. "Dilandau, we're here."

The boy cracked a groggy and reluctant eye. "Rmph."

"Up, Dilandau. We're back in Palas."

With a metal sigh, the former soldier propped himself to a sitting position. His muscles were still sore from the abuse they had endured last night. His fine silvery hair was strewn haphazardly about his head, and he brushed it impatiently with his hand in a futile effort to contain it. "You still have the files?" he asked.

Allen raised an eyebrow. "Of course I do."

Dilandau kicked himself mentally. Of course the knight still did. It was Dilandau's brain that had been misplaced. Oh how he hated feeling disoriented! He blinked several times to clear his vision and, hopefully, his thinking.

Van was already up, his disguise still in place, although it was less convincing due to carelessness and the chaos of the night before. Allen's costume was similarly bedraggled, although less so. Dilandau did not care to ponder how -he- must look himself. All he wanted right now was a nice hot bath and a quiet place where he could sleep and be left -alone- for an indefinite period of time.

Instead, he stood up, stretched his arms as much as his muscles allowed, and huffed impatiently towards the doors. Allen grabbed him by the arm. "Not yet, Dilandau! We need to exit amidst all the others. Just because we're back in Palas doesn't mean we can be conspicuous again. No one must recognize us when we leave this ship."

Dilandau considered glaring at Allen, but decided it wasn't worth the energy. Instead, he waited passively and dull-eyed for the other merchants and workers to begin de-boarding.

He couldn't get the pictures out of his head. That smooth, sterile lab table with the small dish sitting nearby, holding syringes, tongs, chloroform, scalpels...

The smell of the fire as it had consumed the chemicals and papers, licked the steel clean of the blood shed there for so many years haunted him. He could still see those folders strewn out of reach too close to the spreading blaze. One of those had been -hers-: Tenshi's. If only he'd been able to save hers! But he knew there hadn't been a chance.

And now all memory of her was lost. No one would ever remember her name or what she looked like, save Dilandau. She lived on only in him. Like the Dragonslayers. Many remembered them now, but not as who they truly had been. And with the passing of the war, and the cool, inexorable march of time, people would forget even what they did remember, because it was easier. No one would want to remember those boys who lived only to kill...

Only Dilandau would be left to counter the lie told by the victors of this war. The Dragonslayers had been victims too, but no one else was left who knew that.

And no one else was left who would remember with sadness the children whose innocence had been stripped brutally away by the Zaibach madoushi. Certainly, the Council would sympathize, and probably take action, but they would never truly understand what it had been like. They would never understand because they hadn't been there. More likely than not, the War Council would only react because the files and records gave them more excuses to drag more payment out of the defeated empire.

At least I achieved something good: no more children will ever suffer the same fate again. Not by those monsters.

But a small part in him wondered if, truly, this would be the end of it, or if, perhaps, there was a small branch elsewhere that no one knew about. How many Tenshis were there in the world still, that no one knew about?

Allen's hand on his shoulder jerked him out of his thoughts into reluctant awareness. Merchants and servants were milling in and out of the ship. It was time for the three of them to depart as well. Moleman had probably already slipped out to inform Dryden of their successful return.

Dilandau slipped unseen out of the ship with his companions, not really seeing or hearing the bustle around them. It didn't matter. He'd done his duty. Everyone else could go on living without caring.

He was given a small room close to Allen's and Van's, out of the way yet convenient should they wish to check up on him. A servant had come in minutes before and left a steaming bath. Allen and Van left Dilandau alone, and bustled off to tie the loose ends in their mission.

Thank Jychia for small comforts, the youth thought. He peeled the costume away and slipped into the bath, holding back a wince as the water burned through the numerous cuts on his body. He relaxed, and leaned his silver head on the porcelain edge of the tup. He closed his eyes.

Tenshi. What have I accomplished? I killed them, but I didn't save you.

It was all his fault, really. A long time ago, he'd tried to place some of the blame on Folken in his mind. After all, Folken had promised to protect the both of them. He, too, had failed.

But the lost boy had given up on that a long time ago. It hadn't really been Folken's fault. The man had tried as best he could to keep his promise. It hadn't been him in the adjacent room when they'd killed her. It hadn't been him who'd listened to her screams as she'd died.

It hadn't been him who'd been the traitor.

Besides, Folken was dead now anyway. He'd heard the stories about how it had happened. Each time, he felt a twinge of pride thinking about it. Yes, that was his commander. He'd died with his boots on, just as Dilandau had always known he would.

He wished he'd been that brave.

Dilandau shivered in the steaming water. He opened his eyes, and stared down at his nut-brown skin. It didn't feel right.

He took up a slab of grainy soap and began to scrub the stains away, not caring if he rubbed his skin raw and bleeding in the process. The water had turned a faint rose colour by the time he'd finished. The soap fell from his tired, spidery fingers. Wet, tangled locks of hair clung to his cheeks and eyelashes. He contemplated just taking a knife to the silvery stuff and be done with it. He was sick of it all. Just plain sick of it.

He supposed Allen and Van were speaking with Dryden about what they'd found. He pictured the merchant's eyes: excited and gleaming at the discovery and its importance. Soon, they would visit the Queen, and she would set the official orders into motion.

One long bureaucratic chain handled by people so very distant from the heart of the matter itself. Handled by people who didn't care or understand.

Dilandau was sick of it.

He finished his bath and pulled on cool, plain cotton clothing. He didn't answer when a knock came at his door; instead he thanked whatever god still liked him that his room was at ground level, and climbed out the open window.

- - - - - - - - -

Allen Schezar sighed and gave into the temptation to massage his aching temples, even though he knew it would do no good.

Queen Millerna raised a delicate eyebrow.

Blue eyes glanced up, immediately chagrined. "Sorry."

"What's troubling you? You saw something there, didn't you?" the Queen said, leaning forward and placing her chin on her hands. They were in her study, so they could afford to be informal.

He closed his eyes. "I found Serena's folder."

Millerna's eyes widened slightly, and she waited.

"It...it burned...before I could..." Allen clenched his teeth together and bowed his head, overwhelmed. His fists tightened, harshly crinkling the leather of his gloves

Millerna's eyes softened. She reached out a comforting hand to his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Oh Allen, I truly am."

He looked up at her, a terrible ache in his eyes. He didn't trust himself to speak and still sound strong like he needed to be.

They remained in silence for a full minute.

Finally:

"If what Dilandau says...is true...and I know it is...then they...then Serena...GOD. They did such horrible things. What must her last moments have been like? And I wasn't there. I couldn't save her! I couldn't!"

"It's not your fault--"

"Yes it is!" Allen said fiercely. "It is my fault. I wasn't watching her, I wasn't there--"

"Allen. Do you know how many children go missing every year in Asturia alone?" she asked.

Numbly, the knight shook his head.

"Over three hundred. And these are just the recorded ones. Some make it back, some don't."

Allen opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Why Serena? I'll bet you Dornkirk targeted her for a reason. We've both heard Dryden's reading from your father's diary. Yes," she added, seeing the surprised look on his face, "Dryden told me as well. Did you expect anything less?"

Allen shook his head.

"Dornkirk knew your father. Your father tricked him, and I'm guessing he wanted revenge. What better revenge than stealing his daughter from him?"

Allen looked pained. "But my father was dead by then..."

Millerna sighed sadly. "Allen, you know that that doesn't make a difference with some people. Sometimes that makes the desire even stronger. It's sad, but that's what happens."

Another moment of silence.

"That doesn't change what they did to her."

"What are you going to do?" she asked quietly.

Allen shook his head slowly. "There's nothing I can do. Nothing, to atone for my failure."

"There's something."

Allen looked up sharply, confusion and surprise playing on his features. He frowned in question.

Millerna smiled crookedly. "Some children still live," was all she said. "That's all I can tell you."

Allen blinked. "What--"

And then a look of understanding lightened his features. He sighed, his shoulders slumping more at the shock of the revelation than the weight of the task now before him.

"I see."

The Queen smiled warmly. "I thought you would." She stood and looked back at her desk. "I'm going to compile the information you and Van have given me, and I'll present it before the council tomorrow."

Allen nodded absently, still somewhat lost in his thoughts. "I'll see you then."

- - - - - - - -

A raven-haired king was walking in the gardens near the entrance to the palace when he heard footsteps approaching from behind. He turned, expecting to see Allen, or perhaps even Dilandau.

He blinked in surprise, and his eyes widened.

"Merle..."

The cat-girl stood with her arms crossed and hip cocked arrogantly. An ear flicked. She smiled toothily. "Van-sama! Did you miss me?"

Van blinked. This wasn't the childish, adorable Merle he remembered! This Merle looked and felt...older. "Merle?"

She smiled again, and then abruptly leapt forward into Van's startled arms, nearly bowling them both over.

"VAN-SAMAAAAAAA!" she squealed, once again back to her kittenish self.

Van laughed and hugged her. "What was that, back there?" he asked, curious as to her odd behaviour.

Merle's eyes twinkled. "That was the face I had to present over in Fanelia to the restoration workers. Even though you put me in charge of overseeing the reconstruction, and they knew it, they wouldn't take me seriously." She grinned. "Until I put on my tough face, that is."

Van laughed again, and ran a hand through his raven hair. "You unnerved me, that's for sure. But that's probably because I know you."

Merle put on a semblance of a pout. "They seemed pretty intimidated, and they didn't know me!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

Van was about to continue the banter when they both noticed a new figure pass through the garden entrance some distance away. It was Dilandau. He had washed away the dye on his skin, otherwise Van might not have recognized him. As it was, though, no one had quite the colouring he did.

Merle recognized him as well. Her ears pinned back, and her eyes narrowed into slits. She hissed threateningly. "What's he doing here?" she spat at the oblivious figure who was now fingering a white rose bush.

Van sighed, and gently took hold of her forearm. "Come on. I'll tell you someplace else."

Merle blinked. There was a story here, and she could sense it. Curious, she followed Van out of the garden, after sending the lone albino one last scathing look.

Dilandau was alone in the garden for several more minutes. His breathing was slow and steady, to calm his inner soul, or at least attempt to. He kept fingering one white rose, the only one in the particular bush that was in half bloom. He hoped to death that the rose lived long enough to make it to full bloom. The people he'd cared about hadn't. Tenshi and the Dragonslayers: they'd all died in half-bloom.

"Dilandau."

Dilandau turned his head at the voice he knew well. Allen Schezar was standing at the entrance to the gardens, gazing at him with a strange expression on his face. The former soldier found this faintly irritating; he'd no idea how long the knight had been there, watching him.

"What is it?" he asked, somewhat terse. He didn't really want to be bothered.

Allen hesitated, and sighed. "Maybe another time." He turned to walk away.

The youth would normally have let him go off, but now his interest was piqued, a fact that only made him more irritated. He wanted to be left alone, and what did the knight have to do but be intriguing?!

"Wait a moment! If you're going to bother me, you might as well say your piece. You've already disrupted my nice, quite moment alone."

Allen stopped. There was a second of delay before the knight turned around. Dilandau imagined that he must have been erasing his own irritation from his features.

Serves you right he thought.

"Dilandau..." Allen walked closer to him, and frowned in thought. He wasn't certain how to begin.

The boy in question raised a white eyebrow delicately.

"I just finished speaking with the Queen," he began unhelpfully.

"And?"

"She's going to bring up the information to the Council tomorrow. There will be action taken; she's certain of it."

Dilandau snorted, and looked away.

Allen frowned. "Isn't that what you wanted?" he asked, annoyance creeping into his voice.

Dilandau shook his head. "No!" He turned around, fire in his eyes. He was angry, and hurt, and tired, and he needed to vent at someone. "That's not what I wanted! Don't you get it? Destroying the madoushi won't do a lick of good for the children who were already ruined! It won't bring Tenshi back! It won't make her last moments any easier! Sure the Council will 'fix' it all, but they'll only be using it as an excuse to wring more reparations out of Zaibach! They don't care about the kids; they don't remember them! No one does! No one ever will! And no one will ever care for the right reason!"

Silence thickened the air, and hung deafeningly in the air between the knight and the youth in the seconds after his tirade of angry words ceased. Dilandau was shaking. Almost imperceptibly, but he was shaking. His ruby eyes glared into Allen's sapphire, and finally looked away, back at the half-blossomed rosebud.

"You do, Dilandau."

Startled, Dilandau whipped his head back around. His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" he snapped.

Allen was looking at him with that strange expression again. "You remember them. You care for the right reason."

"Ha," Dilandau snapped disdainfully. "As if that matters. I'm one of them. I'm one of the people they want to forget about. What I think and remember isn't important; my side lost."

"You'll be pardoned."

"So what? I have no allies here. Only few select people who owe me little debts. Big deal. I have no influence."

"You would if someone prominent became your guardian."

Dilandau laughed sarcastically and crossed his arms. "You've got to be kidding me. And who, pray tell, would do such a thing?"

"I would."

For once, Dilandau was speechless. His arms uncrossed and fell limply to his sides. His eyes widened, and he stared at Schezar as if he'd never seen the knight before in his entire life. Perhaps, in a sense, this was true.

"You...?"

Allen nodded. "With your permission, I'd like to become your guardian. I believe it could be arranged fairly easily, and you'd have an ally here for you."

Dilandau stared at him, this news not yet having quite sunk in. The first question that came to mind was: "Why on Gaia would you do this?"

Allen looked away, over to the rose bush that Dilandau had been studying earlier. He seemed, strangely enough, to be looking at the same half-bloomed rose.

"Because I think you deserve a second chance. I want to give you that chance, to..."

Dilandau suddenly understood. His eyes softened a miniscule. "To make up for your sister?" he asked. He'd gathered the story behind Serena through bits and pieces of conversation he'd overheard.

Allen nodded slowly.

Dilandau looked back at the rose.

"You'd be able to tell their story, and I think people would listen. Just give them time to get over the shock of the war a little."

Dilandau nodded slowly. "I'll think about it."

Allen sighed, a great relief washing through him. He smiled at Dilandau, his first true smile in what seemed an eternity. "Thank you."

- - - - - - - -(The next day)

The Council was suitably horrified at the extent of the madoushi's atrocities when Queen Millerna of Asturia brought up the evidence the day after the records had been spirited mysteriously from Zaibach. Protestations over the atrocities easily drowned out the emperor's infuriated demands to know how the Queen had gotten her hands on such confidential information. In the end, Zaibach was duly punished (in the Council's eyes), and any remaining madoushi institutions were immediately and fiercely terminated.

Dilandau acquiesced to Allen's proposal, and papers were signed and legalized one month later, making the Caeli Knight the former Zaibach soldier's official guardian. Although Dilandau would never have admitted it, he felt much more at ease and secure afterwards.

The evening the papers for Allen's guardianship had been signed, while the rest of the world slowly continued recovering from the Destiny Wars, and while the War Reparations Council was in full, squabbling session inside the Palace, Dilandau ghosted silently out into the rose garden.

It was windy, and the sky was cloudless, save for the horizon. Dark clouds promised thundershowers in the distance for later on that night, and Dilandau looked forward to it. The sound of raindrops streaming down onto the warm earth reminded him of singing.

He reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a small wooden box. He opened it, and poured the contents into the palm of one hand. He gazed at them for a long moment, as if saying goodbye for the last time, and held out his hand.

The breeze caught the rose pieces and one by one scattered them high into the air, far, far away. He looked after them in silence, and smiled.

Red, 3rd Moon: This is the last entry. Long years have passed, and they have not been kind. But, at least, I have found some peace. Van and Allen are all right. I'm with them now. I have finally moved on. Dragonslayers, Folken, Tenshi, I will never forget you, But I have realized at last that the only way to mend the rose is to just let it go.

As I watch the wind blow the crimson pieces away, I smile. Because from now on, I'm going to be fine.

I just know it.

THE END.

A/N: So, there you have it. Finished at long, long last! I know, it's about time. ; I think I'll be doing one-shots from now on for a while, as I can't really trust myself to regularly update a multi-part fanfic anymore. There will be more multi-parts in the future, I promise, but not soon. Not unless I get fixated on a truly, impossibly-good idea. One never knows.

News for you folks, though: for those who liked Journey of Fire and Shadow, there will NOT be a sequel. There will NOT. I tried outlining a story with plot-thoughts in my mind. I know basically what would happen in the next story, but really, it wouldn't be as engaging as the last one. Dilandau reached his epiphany. He'll make it: trust me. His Dragonslayers will adjust to life more or less just fine. There'll be a few (largish) bumps along the way, but nothing that really intrigues me at the moment. To write more at this point woud be to ruin the story.

The same goes for the now completed To Mend the Rose. There's nothing after this, folks. Maybe the occassional one-shot, since I happen to really like this particular alternate reality, but no multi-shots.

Thank you so much to those who stayed with this story, and even to those who didn't, but who just gave it a try. I'm grateful to you all. This was a fun embarkment for my part (even if it took the better part of...what...a year and a half now?!). Hopefully I'll hear from the majority of you in the future! Happy Holiays, everyone!

To my reviewers, bless you,:

Mysterious Anonymous Esca looney: Oh, quite right you are! What keen eyes you have! ; Tenshi does in fact have golden hair and silver eyes. I don't think I made that mistake in this chapter. I did look it over, and didn't see it, but you never know. This chapter was also unbetad, so I might have missed something. Thanks for letting me know! This chapter should have answered your later question, but in case there's still doubts; no, Allen never finds out about Serena in the foreseeable future. And YAY! Thank you for the yummy tasty cookies! Woo! hugs I can't answer that about the wings and the shirt. Maybe he has an enormous closet full of the same red shirt. Hollywood complex. ; I would be freaked out if someone animated this fic. Freaked out in a good way, though.

Jhaylin: I will indeed write more! Have no worried about that, my dear! Thanks for the compliments!

Tomorrow Sounds Good: I'm wondering what you've thought of the chapters after nine. I hope you weren't disappointed in them. I'm glad you were surprised by Enmu. That's (obviously) the reaction I was hoping for. If youy have any constructive criticism, I'd love to hear it.

Evergladelord: Hey Evergladelord! Now, unless I slipped up, Enmu is never seen actually making tea. Notice that the tea is always ready when Dilandau walks inside, or otherwise Dilandau is asked to make the tea. Now, this was the intent. I might have actually slipped up and had Enmu make the tea, but that was certainly not what was supposed to happen! Also, Enmu did not stack any wood. That was the point. The madoushi stacked the wood, and fled when Dilandau came outside. Enmy never actually moved any wood that Dilandau could see. Thanks for pointing those out to me!

the original esca chick: Whee!! A review as you read! Happy happy! I love those. I'm glad you liked that chapter. I hope you liked this one as well. I've had a falling out wish the Escaflowne fandom for a while, but I hope to catch up to people now that I'm returning.

LonelySlayer: Aw! I'm...sorry? You know, I think the same thing when I read certain other peoples' stories. Like Xyn...and Kouri and Karasu...wah. I'm not that good, really. I need plenty of work. But thanks! I'll bet your story is up by now, hmm? I should take a look at it.

hawaiikel: If you review, you get an email notifying an update. I figure it's easier on you folks that way. Thanks so much for reading!

Rai Dorian: Hey Rai! Ye,s I've been out of touch. I've been out of touch with EVERYONE lately. I've been reading relatively very little fanfiction lately, as well. If you need anything concerning my fanfics, I can send stuff now. ; I'm on Christmas Break. If not, understandable. "How Snape Got His Mojo Back?" Oh dear. I have to look at that one!

Eboni: Yes, Van is a bit of an idiot. ;; I'm glad you think he's in character, though. If nothing else, I can get the characters of Esca more or less correct. I kept loosing Dilandau a bit towards the end of that chapter, though. Explains why you felt him to be a bit "clumsy". He was. ;; I couldn't help it. After taking such a long (unfortunately) hiatus from the story, that was bound to happen. By the way, I've been slowly catching up on everything I've missed on "Severed". I must have missed ten chapters by now! Ohhhh, but it's SO FREAKING GOOD!!!! My god...I love that fic of yours. I has to be the best Dilandau fanfiction ever done in the history of English-based fandom (English-based because I'm not fluent enough in any other language to expand the fact). Please keep that one up! I'll write a nice, juicy review once I finish catching up.

Sylvangirl Thanks! Glad you liked it! Yeah, Allen loosing the file was a bit of a bummer, but it had to happen. Poor Allen. It's so ironic that he doesn;t know he's got his sister back. He'd never guess. Well...okay...he might, if given some more hints. ; I will keep writing more, never fear!

InfamousLordDilandau: Done? Whoever said that was the last chapter? Silly. THIS is the last chapter. Thanks for dropping a line, LordDil! Still dunno if I can keep up with the RP, though. I might need that summary if I'm going to come back again. There's no way I can catch up now, if you're doing three pages a day. ;;;;

Risa-Chan: Nope, the papers didna survive the fire. Nope nope. The truth is gone forever! ; Although, you never know, Dryden might have some files stowed away in that library of his . Thanks so much for reading!

pippa-esca : Hey there! Wow! I'm glad you enjoyed this fanfic. Beware of my other work, though. The Esca one-shots are okay, but avoid the X/1999 fanfiction, and beware of OOC Van in Journey of Fire and Shadow. I'm not proud of that latter fic any longer.

Macky: hey Macky! I don't think anyone guessed that Moleman was the mysterious character. Hrmm...MueAloe might have, actually, but she has a wee bit of an edge on everyone else. ; She's my best friend, and is privy to the secret workings of my diabolical mind. Muahaha! And yes, Merle is in the story. But, as you have seen, very, very fleetingly. I couldn;t find a place for her, so doubtles syou are disappointed. Don't worry, she'll be more involved in the one-shot I have planned for this alt. reality. Hopefully (if I get it done on time), a New Year's fanfic.