Vae Victis
Disclaimer: Again, Escaflowne and Mulan are in the category of things I DO NOT own.
NOTE: A very long delayed update. One year, six months, and ten days since the last chapter. I got too caught up with other stories, not to mention a very, very hectic school life.
Sorry to those who have been waiting for this to be updated. I understand if you've already lost interest. But I want to finish this story one way or another so here's my attempt at doing that.
There's a bit at the end which comes from the last few episodes of Escaflowne. You don't really have to watch it. But you'd understand that last part better if you knew everything about Dilandau.
Just a warning: I fail at writing fight scenes probably part of the reason why I put off writing this chapter for so long. I simply cannot put what I imagine into words. So I'm going to beg your indulgence and hope you can imagine the scenes that shall be poorly described. Enjoy.
This is also to "celebrate" 09-09-09. One day. 9 posts (new stories or updates).
--
It was not for nothing that Li Shang was the top of his class.
All the inhabitants of the Wu Zhong camp kept their distance from the two fighters, creating a sort of fighting arena in the middle of all the tents and poles.
Everyone held his (and her) breath in anticipation, not entirely sure of what the results would be. They were aware that the two captains were extremely capable fighters as well as determined to save face.
They all stood to one side, both curious and terrified of what was about to transpire before them.
Chi Fu kept his distance but never stopped scribbling on his clipboard, viciously anticipating the General's reaction to his report. Some of the soldiers glared at him, Ping especially.
They all knew how much the Emperor's counselor disliked them and their captain and none of them were eager to be seen in a poor light by their superiors. But for the moment, they would leave the conniving weasel to his devices. But secretly, some of them already plotted his ruin, or at least, embarrassment.
Meanwhile, all eyes were on the two captains who were preparing for their duel. It had been decided that no weapons would be used and that both would rely on hand to hand combat.
Although no one could be sure that this would cause less damage.
Ping wrung her hands anxiously, not knowing what to expect but hoping for the best for Captain Shang.
From inside Ping's shirt, the little red dragon peeked at the fight and gave a low whistle.
"Whatever the outcome," Mushu whispered in his protege's ear, "I can tell you right now. It ain't going to be pretty."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Ping muttered back.
On one side of the camp, Captain Argos leaned against a pole nonchalantly, not the least bit concerned about her colleague. Like Dilandau, Diana was confident in his abilities and had no reason to believe he would lose this duel.
But she dreaded the embarrassment and boredom that would follow Shang's defeat.
Some of the other men looked uneasily at the crimson-eyed warrior, others having unfortunately been at the receiving end of his blows recently.
Whispers and mutterings among the soldiers were exchanged and there was a buzz of discussion. Some of the others had begun placing their bets on the winner of the duel.
Many unfortunately believed that Dilandau would have the edge in the coming battle and while they admired their captain's skills, some of them had experienced firsthand the damage the silver-haired foreigner could wreak.
"I'm still sore from the beating he gave us the other day," Yao complained, "even with all his muscles and fancy moves, our captain might not be able to get by."
"That man is a monster," Ling whispered with a shudder, taking care not to be heard this time, not that Dilandau would have minded.
"I'm worried for our captain, actually," Chien Po added, and the others nodded in sad agreement.
Ping found herself enraged by their lack of faith. She frowned at the dejected men, the gleeful Chi Fu, and the smug pair of foreign soldiers.
She then turned her glance to Shang, who was pensively and carefully preparing himself for the fight. She closed her eyes for a moment and wished him a silent good luck.
Ping also added a small prayer to her ancestors to protect her captain. She felt that he would need it.
"You guys need to have a little more faith in Captain Li," Ping asserted, surprising the other men with his audacity, "he's brave, strong, and capable. He can easily beat Captain Dilandau in any fight."
No one bothered to taunt Ping for this assertion but no one said they agreed with it either.
The others just didn't seem convinced and this frustrated Ping greatly.
"Just let it go," Mushu whispered, "we'll have to wait for the duel to end before anyone is convinced of anything."
Ping sighed.
She looked towards Shang again, and was relieved to see that he did not look nervous about the coming fight.
He turned to glance around him and caught Ping staring at him.
The young soldier instantly checked himself and looked away awkwardly. But Ping also tried to give an encouraging smile to his captain.
Shang raised an eyebrow at the awkward gesture but nodded in acknowledgment. He was grateful that there was at least one man in that camp who believed in him.
The captain was not oblivious to all the whisperings of the camp, and of the reputation the foreign soldiers had made in the short time that they were there.
But he was not going to let them embarrass him any longer. And he would fight for his honor, and to show the foreigners how much they had underestimated him and his men.
He also hoped that the example he would set would inspire the others to work harder at their training instead of quivering in fear like they had done after Dilandau had made his little "demonstration."
"Well, captain," the aforementioned foreigner announced, "are you ready to face your doom?"
Dilandau gave a loud and bone-chilling cackle after having said this, sending shivers up some spines.
Shang sighed and ignored this arrogant presumption.
"I am ready to face you in an honorable fight," the Chinese commander replied, getting into an initial stance.
Dilandau smirked smugly and got into position as well.
And everyone held their breath, seeing that the duel had officially begun.
"Honor is a grossly overrated virtue in this society of yours," the pale foreigner taunted further, taking a few steps forward, his crimson eyes gleaming, "I doubt all your chivalry would do you any good in a real battlefield."
Dilandau made a move to attack, and Shang raised his hands to block it only to find that it had been a feint. Shang narrowed his eyes as he heard Dilandau laugh loudly.
"And from what I hear," the pale captain continued to taunt, "you have no real experience in that area."
Diana suppressed a small laugh and Ping frowned at such an insult. The other men were likewise shocked at Dilandau's audacity.
Shang frowned and narrowed his eyes, almost tempted to retaliate somehow. But he stopped himself at the last moment.
He would not allow Dilandau to provoke him.
He would not fall for such a lowbrow trap.
For all his arrogance, the foreign captain was truly a capable fighter. His threats weren't empty and his strength was not to be trifled with. Shang was determined to tread his ground very carefully.
An exchange of blows followed, easy strikes, all effectively blocked by either opponent. The exchange was so swift that sometimes the spectators barely saw the fighter's hands move only to see that another attack had been blocked.
At various times, Shang tried to break Dilandau's stance but the pale man was lithe and was easily able to dodge the kicks Shang aimed to break his balance.
Dilandau was also extremely fast and it took all of Shang's concentration to be able to turn in the right direction to block the lightning fast attacks of the other.
His opponent's speed was also making it difficult for Shang to anticipate his movements because he was too busy building a strong defense.
Nevertheless, the fight was an impressive display of various styles of fighting, from Shang's traditional martial arts training to Dilandau's more arbitrary, instinctive style of combat.
While they engaged in battle, Shang hoped that his recruits were paying careful attention. This was better than any demonstration he could ever give them.
He hoped that they were learning a few skills, even if it was at his expense.
Luckily, Ping had been paying attention. And when the young soldier wasn't worrying about her captain (something which unnerved her to a certain extent, why did she care so much, anyway?), she was observing the movements and strategies being employed by both fighters. She was committing all this information to her memory and she was already secretly planning to practice some moves on her own some time after the duel.
The fight continued, and the attacks from either side became more and more elaborate. But the duelers were evenly matched. Whatever one lacked in one aspect, he compensated with greater skill at another.
Dilandau was lighter on his feet than Shang and could move faster while Shang dealt heavier blows.
Both had extremely good physical coordination, and at times the fight looked like an elaborate dance, albeit a deadly one.
They barely landed blows on each other, except for the slight bruise here and there. But the fight was taxing and only men with great endurance and stamina such as theirs would have been able to sustain enough energy for such a long and arduous fight.
Shang still fought with a hint of hesitation in his movements, because a part of him was unwilling to severely injure his opponent.
But Dilandau, having more experience in the battlefield, was more ruthless and swift, no longer inhibited by the naiveté of a neophyte.
With such an outlook, he was able to act faster, taking advantage of the moments of Shang's doubt.
Fortunately, Dilandau had continued to cackle sinisterly all throughout the fight and Shang was able to predict the former's next position by listening to the echo of laughter.
From the sidelines, Diana rolled her eyes. This was just so typical of Dilandau, being overly confident again.
But as the fight wore on, longer than either she or Dilandau had anticipated, Diana grew slightly concerned.
While Dilandau continued to show his edge over the relatively inexperienced captain, there was something about him that seemed to slacken. The Asturian captain could not put her finger to it but something was off about Dilandau somehow, although it was not apparent to those who did not know him well.
And she grew worried, not that Shang would defeat Dilandau. That would not do more damage than simply wounding the latter's pride.
No, she feared something worse, although she did not know quite what it was. But her intuition told her to watch her companion more carefully.
"Tired yet, captain?" Dilandau provoked, a diabolical expression on his face, "because I'm just getting warmed up."
"Do you really talk this much in a real fight?" Shang retorted, unable to suppress the urge to answer.
Dilandau laughed again, while easily evading the attack Shang had given, thinking that Dilandau would be put off his guard.
"Isn't it more fun this way?" the crimson-eyed warrior answered as he appeared behind Shang and dealt a sharp blow to the latter's back.
Shang stumbled forward but was able to regain his footing fast enough to block another blow from Dilandau, who was grinning mischievously.
"Where do they store all that energy?" Ling commented to his companions.
"I'm exhausted just watching them," Yao added, "and they aren't even breaking a sweat."
"I wonder when this fight will ever end," Chien-Po remarked, rubbing his huge belly which had begun to rumble, "I'm getting hungry. And I don't think we can eat while watching them. That would be too unfair."
"They really don't give up, do they?" Mushu whispered in Ping's ear, "they've been at it for years now!"
Ping said nothing. She was too busy trying to still her quickly beating heart. The longer the fight lasted, the more afraid she became for Captain Shang. While he had truly proven his mettle in the duel, she could see that he was growing weak, probably from all the concentration as well as for some of the blows Dilandau had managed to land on him.
The silver-haired captain was not unscathed, but he was still in a much better condition than his opponent.
And Ping worried that the fight might end in the nasty way that she had feared worst.
"They are both so stubborn," Ping muttered under her breath, "they will not end this until one of them surrenders completely, even if they are too exhausted and too hurt. Why are they so hard-headed?"
"Easy," Mushu answered from within the shirt, "they're men."
--
A collective gasp was heard as Dilandau had finally managed to throw Shang off balance and had now pinned the poor captain down, his pale arm around Shang's neck.
Ping instinctively stepped forward, but the others had stopped him.
"It's between them only," one of the soldiers said, "no one must interfere."
"But..." Ping protested, only to be stopped by an order from Shang himself.
"No one must interfere!" the fallen captain managed to say, in spite of the pressure on his neck.
Dilandau was likewise glaring at the others, daring them to interrupt his victory.
Ping's eyes grew wide, and he reluctantly stepped back, still looking worriedly at his captain.
But despite all this, Diana had grown increasingly worried and she stepped forward as well, keeping an eye on Dilandau. Her heart was beating fast and she could not be sure of how to react to this.
Why is this happening? she thought, Dilandau's winning. Why am I still scared?
"So I guess this fight is over now, isn't it?" the crimson-eyed captain said triumphantly with a sinister grin.
Shang glared at him but was unable to force the man to let him go. As much as it pained him, Shang realized he would have to surrender. There was nothing more he could do.
Shang closed his eyes before speaking, his eyes looking straight into Dilandau's.
"You have won this fight honorably, Captain Albatou, and you have proven to be the superior fighter," Shang conceded slowly but surely, "I would not wish to be left alone facing you on the battlefield."
But to Shang's surprise, his words had a more devastating effect on his opponent than he could ever have imagined.
Immediately, Dilandau loosened his grip on Shang's neck and stepped backward, his eyes wide and in a strange daze. He did not stand straight but instead in a strange, clumsy posture.
"Alone," he muttered, "alone."
"Snap out of it, Dilandau!" Diana cried, seeing that what she had feared had come true.
"What's going on?" was on everyone's lips as they tried to make sense of what had just happened.
Shang had gotten up and was now looking at his opponent in perplex ion.
"Are you all right?" he inquired.
Dilandau's eyes were still staring into space but when he heard the other captain's voice, he turned to Shang with an angry growl and lunged at him.
The fight had resumed, but this time the tables were turned.
Dilandau had lost all control somehow and his every move was obvious to Shang. The pale boy was more erratic in his attacks and his posture had significantly worsened.
Shang was shocked at this development but also did not let the opportunity slip past him. Dilandau was still conscious of the fight in some way so it could be continued.
And for the first time in the whole duel, the soldiers lost their initial fear of the foreign officer and began to loudly cheer their captain. Ping was disturbed by the change that had come over Dilandau but the young recruit was also glad that Shang had been given a chance to win honorably and prove his mettle.
Argos watched the fight with growing trepidation but could do nothing to interfere. She still did not know what exactly had triggered such strange and unstable behavior in Dilandau but she intended to find out soon.
The last stage of the duel didn't last too long. It ended as expected, with Dilandau on the ground, forced to surrender as Shang had the upper hand.
The moment their captain's victory was confirmed, a loud cheer erupted from all the recruits in camp and everyone stormed to Shang's side to offer their congratulations.
Even Chi Fu had to grudgingly admit that the young captain had proven himself and there was nothing disparaging he could write in his clipboard so he merely sulked.
Ping, in particular, felt relieved and proud of Shang. Mushu had nudged her about this but she had decided to ignore the red dragon for the time being.
Shang, for the first time since he had been appointed captain, now felt all the affirmation and admiration he had wanted to inspire in his men. He had re-established his credibility in front of them. They had seen proof enough of his abilities and they had gained faith in him.
That was the greatest victory of all.
But in the midst of all the merriment at camp, Mulan found a moment to check on the two foreign officials who had retreated silently to their tents.
As the young recruit approached, she heard low whispers from inside the tent.
She then figured that the two wanted to be left in peace for the time being so she turned to leave.
But she still managed to hear Dilandau whisper in an almost begging tone to his companion.
"Don't ever leave me alone."