Picking up right where we left off last time, Merle is in the storage room pleading with an unresponsive Van
Merle:  "Lord Van, please answer me!  Lord Van!"
Everyone else comes running in
Allen:  "Blood from the control chamber..."
Hitomi:  "Van!  Van, hang on!  Can you hear me?  Van, wake up!"
We see some twitching going on inside.  He's alive, at least...
Hitomi:  "Van!"
Van's eyebrow twitches, and his face is smeared with blood.  Escaflowne's Energist glows, and Escaflowne spits Van out of its control chamber into a heap on the floor.  Hitomi and Merle run over to him
Hitomi:  "Van..."
Merle:  "Lord Van..."
Hitomi:  "Allen..."
Allen:  "Call Princess Millerna."
Allen examines Escaflowne
Allen:  "Only the armor was damaged.  How was he injured so severely?"
Hitomi:  "Van, don't move!"
Van sluggishly gets up, blood dripping from his face.  He looks out the back of the ship at the receding kingdom of Freid
Van:  "I...  I can still fight....  I...."
At this point, Van begins to strain, and the back of his shirt begins to bulge
Hitomi:  "Van..."
Merle:  "Don't!"
The please fall on deaf ears as Van's wings once again make their appearance, ripping yet another good shirt to shreds.  The Crusade crew stares in amazement
Millerna:  "W...wings..."
Allen:  "The Draconians..."
The camera pans down Van's outstretched wings, and when it finally gets to his body, he teeters and collapses, his wings disappearing
Hitomi:  "Van!"

Van has been bandaged up, but is laying on a table, still obviously in great pain
Crew Member:  "I can't believe the King is a Draconian..."
Allen:  "The power of Atlantis and the Draconians...  Why do so many things that make me remember him keep happening?"
Millerna:  "His pulse is unstable.  At this rate, he'll die."
Hitomi:  "No!"
Merle:  "You're a doctor, aren't you?!  Do something!"
Millerna:  "Don't say such nonsense!  His injuries are unusual.  From inside... it seems as though these wounds are cut from inside his body.  There's no way to heal these wounds.  The control chamber of Escaflowne is intact, isn't it?"
Hitomi:  "Escaflowne?"
Hitomi has a sudden thought and runs out of the room
Millerna:  "Hitomi!"
Hitomi runs into the hold and examines Escaflowne.  Each piece of damage on Escaflowne corresponds to an injury on Van
Hitomi:  "Same damage as Van..."
She has a sudden flash to the previous episode of Van communing with Escaflowne
Allen:  "Hitomi... What's wrong?"
Hitomi:  "Van's feeling it.  Allen, Van's become a part of Escaflowne!  So, unless we repair Escaflowne, at this rate, Van will... Van'll die!"
Allen:  "That can't be..."
Gaddess:  "Boss..."
Allen:  "What is it?"
Gaddess:  "An Asturian trade fleet is approaching."

Sure enough, a large fleet of floating ships is headed their way.  Inside one of these ships is a rather unkempt-looking man with wavy brown hair playing kissy face with a mermaid.  He is Dryden Fassa, of Asturia
Dryden:  "Your native sea is near.  It's time for goodbye, Silfiel."
The mermaid mouths something through the tank and looks sad
Dryden:  "What a face you're making.  The ocean is where mermaids belong, and they should be smiling."
This makes the mermaid manage a weak smile
Dryden:  "Don't get captured again.  If you're captured, tell them you're acquainted with Dryden of Asturia."
Attendant:  "Young master, you paid so much for that mermaid, but you're just going to free her into the ocean.  I'll be scolded by the old master."
Dryden:  "Don't be so stingy.  Beautiful things belong in nature."
At this point, Dryden has put on his trademark John Lennon glasses (is he a hippie, or what? :P).  He spots another floating ship out the window
Dryden:  "That's Crusade, isn't it?"
Attendant:  "They're asking to meet with you."
Too late, they're already here
Millerna:  "You're Dryden, aren't you?"
Dryden:  "Who are you?"
Attendant:  "She's the third princess of Asturia, Millerna."

Now that the introductions have been settled, just who is Dryden?
Hitomi:  "Millerna's fiancé...?  Could he be...?"
Allen:  "Yes, he's the son of Meiden, who tried to kidnap you."
Hitomi:  "Can we trust him?"
Allen:  "No.  But his knowledge might be able to save Van."

Just to prove that this guy really is quite the scholar, Millerna is hanging around in Dryden's study, which is crammed full of books
Dryden:  "Do you like my study?  Here you go."
Millerna:  "Thank you."
Dryden:  "My heart's pounding, isn't it?  Honestly speaking, I thought you were a shrew just five years ago, but you've become such a beautiful princess.  I'm so excited."
Rather forward, isn't he?  Millerna is slightly taken aback, but attempts to be polite
Millerna:  "You've become a wonderful man, also."
Dryden:  "Do you really think so?"
Millerna:  "I'm not lying."
Dryden:  "Then, let's go home and hold our wedding ceremony right away."
At this point, a rather silly rendition of "Ask the Owl" starts playing.  I wish this version was on the soundtracks... :P
Millerna:  "What're you saying so suddenly?"
Dryden:  "'So suddenly...'?  You're my fiancee!  Look at me."
Image of Dryden sitting on a pile of gold ala Scrooge McDuck
Dryden:  "My business is growing and I'm super rich."
Image of him reading a humungous book
Dryden:  "I have knowledge that surpasses any scholar."
Er, and this one's to the right ^_^*
Dryden:  "I hate to say this, but I'm good-looking, right?  Is there any problem?"
Millerna:  "D... Dryden...  I..."
Dryden:  "Sorry, sorry.  You have to prepare yourself, right?"
Millerna:  "Dryden."
Dryden:  "Well, they say 'haste makes waste'.  You didn't come to talk about such things, did you?  Let's get down to business."
Millerna:  "O... okay."

Back in Freid, Folken is examining a large stone suspended by ropes
Folken:  "All we have to do is remove the seal."
A soldier walks up behind him and whispers something
Folken:  "How selfish, Dilandau."

Yup, pyro-boy's at it again.  He's laughing maniacally as usual, leading his Dragonslayers through the air
Dilandau:  "Now that the power spot is in our hands, let me do as I like."

And now that Dryden has been filled in, he's romping around Crusade
Dryden:  "So that's an Ispano Guymelef!"
He flits around all over it, examining every nook and cranny
Dryden:  "It's got so much damage on it!  Those knights are such...  Let me see..."
Attendant:  "Young master, be careful!"
Hitomi:  "Is that Dryden?"
Allen:  "Yeah."
Hitomi looks over at Millerna and ponders
Dryden:  "It seems that the legend is true."
Allen:  "What do you mean, Mr. Dryden?"
Dryden:  "No 'mister', please.  Call me Dryden."
Allen:  "Stop being irritating."
Dryden:  "And ancient book said that an Ispano Guymelef assimilates its master unto death."
Allen: "'Master'?"
Hitomi:  "'Assimilate unto death...'?"
Millerna:  "What do you mean?"
Dryden:  "Ispano is a clan whose knowledge was learned from the people of Atlantis.  The Guymelefs built by them choose their master through a contract of blood.  Until the master dies, it keeps fighting.  Sometimes it does it by itself.  When the Guymelef gets damaged and falls, the master dies also."
Hitomi takes this in and remembers again what Van was trying to do with Escaflowne
~Van~:  "Instead of just using Escaflowne, I decided to visualize it.  Hitomi, I'll no longer..."
Hitomi:  "This is my fault.  I drew Van into..."
Allen:  "Hitomi?"
Dryden:  "Just repair the Guymelef, and he'll be okay."
Allen:  "We can't do such major work."
Dryden:  "Well, Ispano's Guymelef has a..."
What does it have.  Well, to put it bluntly, a page button.  Yup, Dryden turns a switch, and Escaflowne starts emitting a green light
Allen:  "What did you do?"
Dryden:  "I called."
Allen:  "Who?"
Dryden:  "The Ispano Clan who made Escaflowne."
The sky opens up above them and a gigantic ship comes down out of nowhere.
Allen:  "It's huge!"
Dryden:  "So, that's the legendary factory ship of Ispano."

After a while, the Ispano groupies gather on Crusade and start chanting at Escaflowne.  There are only two words that can really be discerned from the chant, those being "Fanelia" and "Escaflowne"
Hitomi:  "Are they alright?"
Dryden:  "They confirmed the authenticity of Escaflowne."
One of the little Jawa dude glides over to Allen and holds out his hand
Ispano:  "Fifty million."
Allen:  "F... fifty million...?!"
Ispano:  "The repair cost of Escaflowne."
Pyle:  "Our salaries..."
Gaddess:  "...two thousand years worth!"
Hitomi:  "That much money...?!"
Ispano:  "If you can't pay, we'll leave."
Hitomi:  "Allen..."
Dryden:  "I'll pay."
Attendant:  "Young master!"
Dryden:  "You can have my whole fleet.  How's that?"
Attendant:  "Young master, it took five years to collect these!"
However, Dryden has already put his seal on a contract
Attendant:  "It should be worth no less than eighty million as a whole!"
Millerna:  "Dryden, we can't pay back that much money."
Dryden:  "A member of a royal family shouldn't say such a pathetic thing.  I like that king."

The Ispano being their work on Escaflowne, grinding and sanding and replacing broken parts.  Meanwhile, in the next room, Van is suffering greatly.  Allen and the others try to hold him down
Allen:  "Van, hang in there!  Get rope!  Tie him down with some rope!"
Gaddess:  "King, hang in there!"
Pyle:  "I got the rope!"
Dryden:  "He's feeling Escaflowne's pain.  It's true after all."
Hitomi:  "Dryden...?"
Dryden:  "Don't worry.  Once Escaflowne is repaired, his wounds will disappear.  If he can survive the pain..."
Van is still screaming and writhing on the table, freaking everyone else out
Merle:  "Lord Van... Lord Van's dying!"
Hitomi:  "Merle, hang in there.  He won't... he won't die from something like this... He'll be alright... because it's Van... right, Merle?"

While this is going on, Chid is about to release the seal in Freid.  He places the sword on an altar, which sinks into the ground.  Other large rocks descend from the ceiling, causing a chain reaction which opens a pit in the floor
Folken:  "This is the power of Atlantis..."
A humungous green pillar of light erupts from the crater.  A similar light starts coming from the Zaibach capital, where Dornkirk is watching his machine eagerly
Dornkirk:  "My dream... It's the beginning of my ideal future..."

Morning comes, and Escaflowne is all fixed up, good as new.  Van's bandages are removed, and he doesn't have a scratch on him
Millerna:  "They're all healed!"
Gaddess:  "Not even a single wound is left."
Merle:  "Lord Van!  I'm glad!  I'm so glad!"
Van:  "Merle, I made you worry, didn't I?"
Dryden:  "I can't believe he's really recovered."
Hitomi gives him a weird look, and Dryden looks away, pretending he didn't say anything
Van:  "I owe all of you.  Thank you.  Allen, you saved me again."
Allen:  "If you want to thank someone, thank Dryden and Hitomi."
Dryden:  "It was all thanks to her."
Van:  "Hitomi..."
Hitomi:  "Van, be careful with Escaflowne.  No, I don't think you should pilot it again.  If Escaflowne gets damaged, the same thing will happen.  If Escaflowne is destroyed, you'll..."
Van:  "I won't damage Escaflowne."
Hitomi:  "Van..."
Ispano:  "Soldiers are coming.  Ispano doesn't want to get involved.  You should get out of here."
Allen:  "Zaibach?"
Gaddess:  "Damn, pursued already."
Van:  "Let's go, Allen."
The Ispano chief walks up to Van and examines him
Ispano:  "The contract with blood..."
The scene briefly flashes back to episode 2 when van makes a blood pact with Escaflowne
Ispano:  "Using Draconian blood, Ispano makes no guarantees."
Hitomi:  "Makes no guarantees...?"

Outside, Dilandau and crew are nearing the Asturian ships
Dilandau:  "What an obvious place they escaped to."
Yeah, an Ispano ship the size of a small village does kinda stand out... but it promptly leaves back into that hole in the sky from which it came
Allen:  "Don't you have any guymelefs?"
Dryden:  "Don't be silly.  This is only a trade ship.  I have some ornaments, though."
At this point, the Ispano ship leaves completely, and Van decides to go out and fight again
Hitomi:  "Don't, Van!  Let Allen and the others handle this battle!"
Van:  "Those melefs are no match for them!"
Merle:  "Listen to Hitomi!"
Hitomi:  "The people of Ispano said they couldn't make any guarantees!  You mustn't pilot Escaflowne!"
The two girls latch onto him to try and keep him from leaving, but he throws them aside
Van:  "I can handle Escaflowne."
With that, he runs up the ramp and gets in Escaflowne.  He walks it towards the hatch, ready to leave
Van:  "Open the hatch!"
Hitomi:  "Don't go!  Van!"
But Van doesn't listen, and leaps off the ship to his death.  Er, well, actually, he dragonizes Escaflowne and flies off ^_^*
Hitomi:  "Van..."
Too late.  Van has left the ship and is flying off to the battlefield

The weather is ominous.  Little gophers scurry into their burrow.  Van lands Escaflowne in the middle of a rocky plain.  Shortly thereafter, Dilandau and all his Dragonslayers descend around him
Dilandau:  "Guys, let's finish the dragon hunt today."
Van is surrounded by about a dozen guymelefs.  His eyes take on an almost possessed look
Van:  "I'll settle this myself.  Escaflowne, give me your power."
He visualized the gears turn on their own.  At this point, the ominous bgm track "Epistle" makes its first appearance.
Dilandau:  "Get him!"
The Dragonslayers charge.  Van readies Escaflowne and screams like mad.  The liquid claws are shot at him, and he blocks them effortlessly.  Van makes him move and charges forward, slicing three of the guymelefs in half in one stroke.  He immediately goes after another one, smashing its head in (and the pilot as well).  He spins around and makes short work of another Dragonslayer, slicing the guymelef in half and bashing the pilot's head in.  The Dragonslayers' guymelefs melt into blue flame when they are destroyed, leaving no trace of them or their pilots.
Dilandau:  "He's fast, use the Stealth Cloaks!"
The remaining Dragonslayers obediently render themselves invisible.  Van spins around angrily and begins envisioning the pendant.  When its image swings across his view, he finds that he can see the invisible guymelefs
Van:  "I can see... I can see them!"
He yells like mad again and slices another guymelef in half.  One of the Dragonslayers yells in panic and makes its metal claws into a shield.  Escaflowne descends upon it and simply crushes it
Van:  "That's for Duke Freid!"
The guymelef falls and explodes
Van:  "This is for Balgus!"
Van deflects some more flying claws and slices apart three more invisible guymelefs.  Meanwhile, Dilandau is watching this, not sure of what to make of it
Dilandau:  "What's going on...?"
One of the Dragonslayers (I think Gatty) screams for help over the intercom
Dilandau:  "What happened to him?
Gatty's eyes go dark as he too falls under Van's onslaught.  He was the last Dragonslayer still alive.  Escaflowne gets up and turns menacingly towards Dilandau.
Dilandau:  "Gatty, Shesta...?  Darret...?!"
Dilandau is scared out of his wits since he is now alone with the rival psychopath who has just killed all his men in about two minutes.  Escaflowne makes a menacing spectacle silhouetted by the blue flame
Dilandau:  "What's with him?"
Dilandau begins to back away.  Back on the ship, Hitomi and Merle are watching
Merle:  "Lord Van's winning!"
Hitomi:  "No.  Something's wrong with Escaflowne."
Back on the battlefield, Dilandau is desperately looking for options.  Escaflowne takes a menacing step forward.
Dilandau:  "Stay away!"
In desperation, Dilandau shoots his claws.  They all miss, but one nicks the side of Escaflowne's head, creating a matching cut on Van's face, but he doesn't seem to notice
Van:  "For Fanelia..."
Van begins to charge Dilandau, intent on finishing this here and now
Van:  "Prepare yourself!"
Dilandau is huddled against a rock face in a defensive position, completely freaked out.  Van flies at him, and the screen takes on a red tint.  Suddenly, a ghostly image appears briefly in front of him.  It is one of the fallen Dragonslayers
Shesta:  "Stop."
Van pauses, surprised and confused
Van:  "What's that?"
Shesta:  "I won't let you kill Master Dilandau."
Van:  "What?"
Gatty:  "Why don't you come with us?"
Van:  "Who are you?"
Darret:  "We owe Master Dilandau."
Shesta:  "He entrusted us with honorable guymelefs."
Gatty:  "He gave me a guymelef."
The dead Dragonslayers continue their ominous speech
Van:  "You're... You're...  Stay away!"
Spirits have begin circling Van on all sides.  Now he's the one who's freaking out in fear.
Van:  "No!"
He screams in panic as the spirits envelop him.  Escaflowne has stopped in its tracks.  Tendrils of darkness creep around it until it turns completely black.  Once this happens, Escaflowne simply falls backwards to the ground.  Dilandau, who has retreated a ways, continues watching in fear, not sure what to expect next.
Back on the Asturian ship, everyone has gathered to watch
Merle:  "What happened to Lord Van?"
Hitomi:  "Van..."
The camera pans down as Escaflowne lies black and lifeless, the ship hovering above it.  The bgm ends on a loud chant, and the episode ends.

Thus creates the worst cliffhanger I've ever seen... ^_^*