Escaflowne © Akane Kazuki and Sunrise

I had a sudden urge for Escaflowne. Back a while ago, I had an idea for an OC – now I've perfected her. Enjoy! Even though it's just a oneshot.

Red and Purple

The two men looked at each other square in the eyes – one had pale skin, snow white hair, a slender body, and a superior stature and arrogance. The other had pale light, soft blue hair with a greenish tint in a 'mullet' fashion, a more muscular build, and a gentle, yet terrifying, demeanor.

"NANI?!" Dilandau's white eyebrow raised in a perfect arch above his shining red eyes, "Second Commander? Am I being replaced, Folken-sama?" Dilandau swallowed, covering his fear of being thrown out with hate and bitterness. If he was replaced, where would he go? He was made to fight, kept alive to fight. Fighting was his only existence to live – he enjoyed it and the higher ups expected him to do it. If he was kicked to the street, what would they do to him? Turn him into a lab dog and abuse him every day and night with various substances that could kill him? No, that would not happen.

Dilandau was snapped out of his fearful trance as Folken softly replied, "Iie, Dilandau. Just think of it as… assistance."

Dilandau's jaw clenched as he smashed the glass that he held in his hand. The contents fell to a pool to the floor and he stared at it, biting his lip. "Assistance? ASSISTANCE?!" He let out a shrieking laugh that masked his uncertainty, his eerie grin a façade so none could see that he was indeed afraid of being let go. "Why would I need help, Folken-sama?" He then shouted, demanding, "TELL ME!"

Folken was intrigued, looking into Dilandau's eyes, thinking that he saw sadness and regret. He blinked – they were gone, replaced with madness and insanity. He closed his eyes, smoothly stating, "To create balance." He turned on his left foot and gracefully walked away, whispering, "I know there's more to you than meets the eye."

Dilandau was left standing there, shivering with fury and fear.

He decided to take out his troubles on his men. He would always do that during times like these. He needed to feel superior. He never wanted to let his men know that he was almost as abused as they were.

It was like a domino effect – whenever he was ridiculed, abused, or heckled for defiling orders, he would take it out on his men. It was soothing. It calmed him in a sick, sadistic way that he couldn't understand. It was as if the act of hurting another human being took away the troubles of his own. Truthfully, Dilandau couldn't see himself without his fellow underlings to take out all of his sorrows on. He knew that it was one of his faults.

But the one thing that he couldn't understand was that his soldiers still respected him. Even though he almost beat them to bleeding pulps, they still answered his orders with the same pride and respect as the day before – Dilandau just couldn't understand it. His gaze then turned to the man he had been punching, frowning as the pathetic being winced on the floor – how could they do it? If he was in their position, he wouldn't even be able to do it. Heck, if he asked them to go to the ends of the earth and back and even cut out their own hearts, they would do it. How?

Dilandau took the man by the collar, squashing the man's throat. He seethed out, "Doshite?"

"N-na-ni, D-Dilan-dau-s-sama?"

He clenched his teeth, "How can you all still follow me even when I beat you all to bleeding pieces of flesh?"

The man gave him a sad, genuine smile, "Because we respect you, Dilandau-sama, and we always will."

Dilandau let him go, causing the man to drop to the floor and wheeze and gasp, his lungs desperately trying to suck in air. Dilandau simply walked away, shaking his head, "Baka."

His 'helper' would be coming today. Dilandau was not looking forward to it. He did not want him. He did not need him. He looked at the black carriage pull up in front of him and his men and winced with disgust as the person stepped out.

"A-a girl?" His left eye twitched. It was bad enough that he was getting assistance, but it was even worse that it was a woman. He felt that this was a blow to his pride and skill. Was he so weak that even a girl could do a better job than he could? No. He would show this girl that he was the only one. There could not be two commanders, it was simply unheard of. He sneered at her, taking in every aspect of her, his body aching to see it lying dead on the floor.

She had dark blue-black hair in a ponytail, a small strand of hair bound by golden thread at her left ear. She had piercing purple eyes with purple markings painted on them, her lips painted as well. She had on a headpiece of gold on her head, a purple diamond at the center. As she walked towards him, he noticed that she had on the same outfit as him, except purple – same navy blue-black underlining with golden designs, purple armor with sharp points at the shoulders.

He demanded her name, "Dare ka, omai wa?"

She gave him a small smile, "Watashi wa… Stachen Zange da, yoroshiku." As she bowed to him, Dilandau noticed that the outsides of her earlobes were covered with golden caps. They also had purple diamonds.

Dilandau smirked, "Yoroshiku, Zange-san."

Zange did not want to be here. She never even wanted to be a fighter in the first place. She had been forced to be one, like so many other things in her life. The only reason that she had accepted to come here was that she thought she would have at least some free will. But that was not the case when she looked at the faces of Dilandau's men. They looked lost, hopeless, fearful, but yet were strangely loyal at the same time. She had even noticed that their commander, even though his face was cold like a white mask, had doubts floating in his eyes. She wondered that he had thought the same with her.

'Our eyes look the same,' she thought sadly. She looked around her room – it was not the best room, but it was not the worst. She was at least given a bed, a carpet, a vanity-like thing, and a chair, but other than that, that was it. The walls were empty and depressing, the whole room giving off a dark, gloomy appearance. She swallowed uncomfortably; it felt like a prison.

She decided to go for a walk. A walk would help her. She strolled around the castle-like fortress and sighed, everything was depressing and painted with death. It was as if this whole floating cathedral was the thing that she wanted to escape from the most.

There was a piercing call, "Zange."

She turned around and saw the boy from before. She looked at him, noting that he was around the same age as she was. He had a rather eerie glow to him that she couldn't describe, yet was charming at the same time. She finally felt her voice come back to her, "Nanda, Dilandau-sama?"

He swallowed, "Why are you here?"

She blinked, repeating, "Doshite ka?"

He nodded, "I don't need your help; I can do my job just fine." His eyes shone with a flaming fury that made her take a small step back, "I also don't want you replacing me."

"I'm not replacing you," she looked down, her eyes downcast, "I don't even want to be here."

He blinked, "Nani?"

She shook her head, "B-betsu ni, nothing."

Dilandau took a step towards her, "Iie. You're hiding something." He looked her in the eyes, "Tell me."

Zange bit her lip, "Promise not to tell. It's… painful to say."

He chuckled, "Is it now?"

"I… was forced to come here. My okaasan and otoosan were massacred by an army from Zaibach when I was young. They took me and raised me like a killing machine. I… was sent on my first mission when I was six. They praised me, adored me. Then… I started developing 'feelings', as they called it. I was turning into myself, becoming a person. They didn't want that. They tried to give me pills to make me a thoughtless killing monster, but it didn't work. Thus, the scientists who had put so much labor into me threw me away and sent me to various other places. I then found myself here." She sighed.

Dilandau blinked, what this girl had gone through was what he feared the most. He closed his eyes, "So ka." He then turned on his foot and walked away.

Zange watched him disappear, a red dot in the vast blackness and muttered to herself, "I believe there is a story about you, too, Dilandau-sama."

Zange tossed and turned in her bed, riddled with haunting dreams of the past she wished to forget.

(Dream Sequence)

It was a peaceful time where she lived. Not one of war, nor chaos, nor famine – just peace.

Zange ran up to her parents, clad in a cute navy blue dress with matching hair bows in her pigtails that hung at her ears. She was embraced in her mother's loving arms. Zange smiled as she smelled the wonderful scents of lavender and mist and looked up at her. Her mother had long, beautiful white-blonde hair that she wished she had, beautiful lilac eyes, full magenta lips, and pink cheeks. Her father then came into the room and raised her up in his arms, Zange laughing with glee as her father grinned up at her. Her father had caring green eyes and messy black hair pulled into a low ponytail on his right ear and a smaller one at his left.

Then, there was a terrible shaking and then, explosions. Fire was everywhere. Her father yelled at her mother to take her to safety. In the smoke-filled shadows, he cried, "Fanaila, go!" And when her mother hesitated, he screamed at her, his voice shaking, drenched with pain, "GO!"

Her mother ran as fast as she could. Zange curled up in her mother's arms, trying not to breath in the rich, ghastly air that surrounded the place. When they reached the hills, they thought they were safe.

"We have some survivors up here," a soldier near her mother grinned at her. "Hey boys, she's pretty looking." Her mother gasped in horror and screamed when she was separated from her daughter, "Zange! Zange! Run!"

Zange closed her eyes, turned, and ran as fast as she could, not daring to look back. She wanted with all her might to look back, but she willed herself not to. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her mother screamed in pain – she still willed herself not to look.

Zange had hid in a nearby forest. It was nighttime and she assumed that it would be safe. She made her way out of the green and gasped, staring down at the destruction and chaos below her from her view on the hill. She then gazed down and let out a small shriek – her parents had been thrown in a pile of dead bodies, their faces scrunched up in pain. Her heart felt like it was about to burst from her chest.

"OMAI WA!"

Zange bit her lip, turning around, face to face with the soldier she had seen before. He sneered down at her, "Should I kill you, or not?" He made her way to her. Zange took a step back, but noticed she was at the edge of the hill. She swallowed – she was going to die.

"Yameru."

Zange was shocked to hear the voice and looked for it, her eyes rapidly searching for someone, something.

"I think she'll make a fine soldier… either that, or she dies."

(End Sequence)

Zange woke up, her breath coming in fearful, ragged pants. Her neck coated with sweat.

"Seems to me like you had a bad dream, ne, Zange-san?" Came a soft voice.

"Dilandau-sama? Nani ka?" She turned to him, confused. "Why are you here?"

Dilandau shrugged, "You were screaming like a madman, so I came to check on you." He closed his eyes, sighing, "That's why girls don't make good soldiers."

"Why is that?" she retorted back to him, her voice cold as venom.

He smirked at her, her icy tone not affecting him, "They have too many emotions bottled up in their chest." He got up from the chair and waved, "Oyasumi, Zange-sama. Try to get some rest, ne?" He then added darkly before he disappeared out the door, "You'll need it."

The next few months were a blur. They were rarely put into combat. They were lucky if they could torch a town (which Dilandau maniacally enjoyed, laughing with glee when he saw the striking, yet deadly, beauty that was flame), capture prisoners, or even do menial tasks. Zange was just happy if she could get out of the rotten place.

Then, they were given their first real assignment in a long time – to capture Escaflowne.

It was a task that none of them expected to be as long, tiring, and draining as it was. It would also cut their numbers to zero… overtime of course.

Dilandau hissed in pain as Zange put the bandage on his face. He swore, "Chikusho, teme! I'll kill Van! Kill him for what he did to my beautiful face!"

Zange sighed, "Hold still, kisama." She kissed it softly and said, "Don't try to touch it, ne?"

Dilandau pouted, not listening to her, and continued to run his finger down the bandage while he spewed out his hate and utter loathing of Van, "Koruse, koruse, koruse! KORUSU DA, VAN!" He winced, closing an eye, "Itai!"

Zange sighed, "You're only making your cut worse, Dilandau-sama, mataku."

As the days went on, Van and his entourage cut down more and more of their numbers. Zange bit her lip as Dilandau became more and more emotionally unstable, so much that he would crack under the tiniest thing.

One day it became so great that he burst into her room, his eyes wide, pupils dilated, his chest rising and falling, sweat running down his neck, "ZANGE!"

She looked up at him, greatly alarmed, "N-nani, Dilandau-sama? Daijobu ka?"

He sat down on her bed, his head in his hands, "I-I keep getting images of th-this b-blonde girl in my head. WHY IS SHE THERE? WHAT DOES SHE WANT WITH ME?" He ran his fingers down his eyes; carrying his eye lids down, giving him an eerie, mad look, "That and that Van. I NEED TO KILL HIM! HE NEEDS TO DIE! What he did to my face, what he did to my men, WHAT HE'S DOING TO ME!" He let out either a cry or a laugh, Zange couldn't tell which one, "KUSO!"

Zange looked at him, her body couldn't help but shake. She placed a finger on his shoulder, "Dilandau-sama?"

He yelled at her, "WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?!" He winced as she recoiled back, shrinking into the bed. He sighed, "I'm going mad and it's all that stupid Van's fault. Once I kill him, my troubles will be over."

Zange doubted that they would, yet held her tongue. She kissed him gently on the cheek, "Ee, Dilandau-sama. It will soon be over."

He grinned and passionately kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her, "Ee."

Sadly, Zange was right. Their numbers began to drop less and less and Dilandau and Zange came back with more and more serious injures.

Zange was secretly beginning to dread the appearance from the girl from Maboroshi no tsuki. If that girl wasn't there, their stealth cloaks would still work. If that girl wasn't there, most of the men that she had begun to bond with would still be alive. If that girl wasn't there, Dilandau wouldn't be screaming in his sleep every night, his dreams plagued by the same blonde haired girl, haunting him, confusing him.

Zange muttered darkly to herself, "I'll kill her when I get the chance." She winced when she looked at her hand; she had been clutching it so tight that it had begun to bleed. She sighed, shaking her head, "Stupid girl."

Dilandau was not showing any mental improvement. Zange felt compelled to help him in some way – any way. She hated seeing him scream out like this. She would lie awake at night listening to his tormented screams and cries of the mysterious girl who haunted his dreams. She finally walked in and kissed up and down his body. Dilandau smirked and smiled, "Zange-san. Finally…" He half-pounced half-pushed her over onto her back and soon Zange found herself without her dress.

A while later, Gatti entered the room, "Dilandau-sama I have –" He blushed scarlet at the two of them in bed together. He swallowed and closed the door hastily behind him, running away, "G-gomen nasai, Dilandau-sama, Zange-sama. I d-didn't know…"

The two sat at opposite ends of the table drinking their wine and eating. They had been bathing in complete silence until Zange opened her mouth, "Think we'll ever get Escaflowne, Dilandau-sama?"

Dilandau grinned, "I have a feeling that we'll get lucky soon." He pressed the glass to his lips, his eyes matching the color of the blood-red fluid, "Just wait and see, Zange-san."

Zange shrugged, "Hai."

Dilandau smirked as he and his men (plus one girl) surrounded Van in his Escaflowne. He proudly announced, "Omai-tachi, the dragon hunt ends today!"

Zange looked at the pilot hesitantly. She swallowed, something was different about him. She called to Dilandau, "Dilandau-sama! Van doesn't seem like himself! Yameru kudasai!"

A bolt of lightening flashed. Dilandau looked at the girl seated in her purple guymelef and whisked the idea away, "Don't be stupid, Zange-san." He then ordered his men, "ATTACK!"

The blue guymelefs attacked Van from all sides. However, as if some strange physical force had come over him, he whisked them all away like they were flies.

Dilandau pushed this all away, calling his remaining soldiers to use their stealth cloaks.

Zange frowned, 'Stealth cloaks won't work on him anymore now that that girl has gotten to him, kisama-no-baka!'

Van was able to slash them, somehow being able to see. Dilandau was in shock.

Zange swallowed her fears and charged at him, Dilandau shouting at her, "Zange-san, DON'T!" He looked at the scene in horror, 'Wh-what is he?' He took a step back, praying, 'Please don't kill Zange-san, kudasai!'

Zange and Van clashed and clanged together; Zange almost gaining the upper hand a few times. Van then let out a huge yell.

Zange blinked – everything was going in slow motion. She eyed the 'eject' lever by her foot and hit it. At the exact same time her guymelef had been stabbed with Van's sword. As she flew into the sky and out of sight, she cried out in pain, blood spewing from her gaping wound.

Dilandau looked at Van in pure terror and horror, "Z-ZANGE-SAN! GATTI! SHESTA! DALLET!" He swallowed, his eyes shaking with fear looking at Van. He took another step back, "What is he…?" He then backed up even further, yelling, "STAY BACK!" He let out some of his metal bullets, aiming poorly, only one being able to scratch his cheek.

Then a strange thing happened – Escaflowne was turning black? Dilandau was oblivious that his men were protecting him, their love for him causing Van to stop. He took this as a chance to save his hide. Then, while he was running, he heard a faint call of pain, "Di-lan-dau-sama!"

He gasped, "Zange-san!" He picked her up hastily in his guymelef's hand and ran off, 'Van… is a monster!'

Dilandau bit his lip – the doctors were doing as much as they could to save Zange, but it was no use. She was going to die. She had lost too much blood from her wound and it was only a matter of time – belly wounds were one of the most painful ways to die.

Dilandau burst into the room, demanding that they stand aside, his head down so they could not see the tears streaming down from his eyes. He then went by her side and squeezed her hand tight, tears shining from his pale face, "Zange-san! Zange-san!" He called to her, as if pleading, "Don't leave me alone, kudasai!"

Zange coughed weakly, her purple eyes staring up into his red ones. She smiled, "Dilandau-sama… boku wa…"

Dilandau swallowed, "Zange-san!"

She began to cough weakly, sweat streaming down her brow, "It… won't be long now."

He squeezed harder, "Iie, Zange-san! Don't leave me! I don't want to be alone!" He pressed her hand to his lips, "Zange-san!"

Zange smiled, "It was a pleasure to have worked with you, Dilandau-sama." She blinked, tears building in her eyes, "We are the same, ne? Our eyes showing our scars inside, giving away our weaknesses." She blinked the tears back, "Dilandau-sama… aishiteru."

Dilandau kissed her lips, "Wakateru, Zange-sama." He gave her a sad smile, "You're the only one who fully understood me, arigato."

Zange winced, painfully smiling at him, "Sa-yo-na-ra…" She gasped for her last breath. Her eyes then closed, her neck falling to her side, her hand limp in Dilandau's hands.

Dilandau's eyes widened with shock. Then, a loud painful screech echoed throughout the room, "ZANGE-SAN!!!"

Dilandau had not gotten over it. He hated Van for killing her. He hated Van for killing the only person who knew that there was more to him. He loved her. He respected her. Jajuka could not fill the gap in his heart, no one could. He spent sleepless nights tossing and turning, calling out her name in the dark, waking up, hoping to find her next to him and sooth him back to sleep. But she was not there. She was dead. He would cry out in pain, alerting Jajuka who would ask what was wrong.

This time was no different as Jajuka burst into the room, quite alarmed that this routine was going on night after night, "Daijobu ka, Dilandau-sama?"

His gentle tone did not sooth Dilandau; he missed Zange's sweet, loving voice that floated into his ears ever-so-slightly. Dilandau frowned with disgust and bitterly retorted, closing his eyes, "You wouldn't understand. You don't have eyes like we do." He then fell back on his back, biting his lip, "You'll never understand."