Gaddes woke up from the sweetest of dreams, filled with perfumed flesh, soft kisses and delicious bodies pressed against him, only to find his dream a reality. Blearily, he felt a weight pressed against him, long legs entangled intimately with his own, a slender arm thrown across his chest and a head resting in the crook of his neck.
Now THIS was how a man was supposed to wake up! Grinning, he shifted his arm, pulling his slumbering lover closer, enjoying the feel of her body shifting to accommodate the new position. Lips found his, warm, sweet and as soft as rose petals. They were a delight to kiss and that wonderful mouth opened up to his questing tongue, allowing him to leisurely explore its depths and eagerly reciprocate, welcoming him with electric strokes, making sparks dance down his spine.
Moaning softly, he shifted again so that his lover straddled his body, letting her feel his growing arousal as their kisses grew deeper and hungrier. Her hips rocked against him, stroking his length through the thin sleeping pants he wore, every movement awakening the nerves inside his body until it practically hummed in pleasure.
Something was different and in his sleep fogged mind, it took a few seconds to actually focus on what it was. Whoever the woman was, she was much more muscular than he was used to. Though her skin was soft and smooth as silk, the muscles beneath were like corded steel. Mmm a warrior woman! He thought in delight, remembering several dreams along that theme he'd had recently. Only… this one didn't seem to have breasts… he checked once again, sliding his hands across the smooth flat muscles of her chest and hearing a soft moan of pleasure as he did so.
Ok… no breasts… that was odd, but he could live without that, especially with how amazing a kisser she was, not to mention that incredible way she was rocking her hips against him, stroking his now engorged length with her own… WOAH wait a minute!
Dark eyes finally opened wide, focussing on the figure he held in his arms. Bright crimson eyes, shining with amusement and passion looked into his own, teasing him. Pulling away slightly, Dilandau smirked down at Gaddes before leaning forward once again and kissing him gently, tracing slack lips with the tip of his tongue.
"Well," The teenager purred softly, sounding far older and worldlier than his age would imply. "What an interesting way to wake up."
"I… I…" Stunned beyond coherency, Gaddes could do nothing but lay there, his brain struggling to figure out just how to deal with the mess he'd suddenly found himself in. It certainly didn't help that the albino was still rocking gently against him, making it damnably hard to think.
"I must admit, I hadn't expected you of all people to find their way to my bed. Perhaps you were enjoying watching me wash far more than you were implying?" Allen was going to kill him… hell, he wasn't sure why Dilandau hadn't killed him. At this moment, he might even consider it an act of mercy. Waking up rutting against Gaea's most bloodthirsty warlord really was the sort of thing that should make your balls shrivel up and run screaming. The only problem was, his seemed to be fit to burst and the damn kid wasn't helping!
The smirk grew as Dilandau playfully bit at the traumatized man's lower lip as his hand snaked between their rolling groins, stroking Gaddes' manhood, intending to add to his torment. When he felt the girth of the flesh pressing against his palm, he drew back slightly and glanced down, silvery brows rising despite himself.
"Holy shit, you're a monster!" He gasped delightedly, making Gaddes wish even more fervently for death. This wasn't happening… but it was, and why the hell wasn't he pushing the damn kid away?
Another stroking squeeze, another near blinding jolt of pleasure and it was all Gaddes could do to keep from crying out loudly.
"You know, you shouldn't keep something this lovely locked away like that. Should we take him out to play a little?" The youth's voice positively radiated eagerness and he grinned the way a child would at the prospect of free access to a candy shop.
Before Gaddes could even muster up the words necessary to deny his interest, the Dragon Slayer captain was sliding his way down the older man's body, his fingers expertly hooking the waistband of those far too flimsy trousers. They offered no resistance and rather than pushing the eager youth away, Gaddes found his fingers tangling in those silken silver locks as hot breath blew teasingly over his now bared and aching flesh.
"Tell me you want this Fanelian." Dilandau murmured, tracing a smooth cheek across the swollen head of his member, those shining eyes never leaving his. The tip of that infernal tongue, so pink against his pale flesh flicked out, tasting a pearly bead of liquid which had formed at the tip of his shaft, sending a powerful jolt through his body. It was a struggle not to thrust his hips up and drive himself into that teasing mouth. He wanted to see those swollen lips surround him, to feel that clever tongue taste every inch of his aching flesh. "Mmmm the things I could make you feel…" Dilandau purred, his lips brushing their way down his length and savouring his taste before letting a soft breath ghost over sensitive flesh. All the while, slender fingers reached down to squeeze his aching balls, thrilling at their weight. "Do you think you can handle me?"
The challenge was there and Gaddes surprised himself by the surge of hunger which blazed through him. His fingers tightened in that hair, pulling just enough to make the youth moan in pleasure, silvery eyelashes fluttering shut as that searing tongue began to stroke him relentlessly. It moved in impossible patterns, drawing out sensations he'd never thought possible until his entire body was shuddering and his hips straining as he struggled to hold them still. Already, he could feel the pressure building inside him, that molten glow, the heavy tightness and the building ache which filled his loins until it was just this side of the pleasurable part of pain.
His hips rocked up and he felt those deadly lips part against his flesh as he was drawn into a vast well of wet heat, tightening, stroking… drinking him down deeply until he felt that there was nothing in this universe beyond that terrific point of unity. The pressure built inside him, tearing him at the seams as his body struggled to contain it and he threw back his head with a yell, his hips rocking up violently as he buried himself to the hilt in that delectable mouth. Muscles tightened around him, stroking him with silken strength as his vision went white and his body exploded into sensation.
Blinking his eyes, Gaddes lay there panting, his chest heaving and his trousers clinging to him rather unpleasantly as the blazing light which had filled him faded away, leaving his limbs tingling with the aftershocks.
He lay on Dilandau's cot, half tangled in the blankets with the youth sprawled intimately across him, murmuring softly in his sleep, the faintest frown marring his brow as he began to awaken.
Torn between being mortified or simply shocked at the imagery and power of his dream, Gaddes felt the room almost spin around him. He'd dreamed that he'd… with Dilandau… and he'd loved it? No, no it was simply his brain screwing with him because he'd been spending so much time with the brat. It wasn't as if the kid was hard on the eyes, quite the opposite really, especially when he was sleeping peacefully, or sharing companionable insults with him and the crew. But it's not as if he was attracted to the boy. He was far too young, too insanely vicious, too much his best friends little brother… oh Jeture's scaly balls, Allen was going to kill him!
The wetness at the crotch of his pants was quickly growing unpleasantly sticky and cold. Worse, Dilandau was waking up and from the way their limbs were entangled, he could feel the firm flesh of a morning arousal pressed against his thigh.
No, this was NOT the way he wanted the kid to wake up. He was messed up enough as it was, and there was no way he was giving the little sadist that sort of dirt on him! Worse was the fact that he was the adult dammit, how was he the one waking up with sticky pants while the damn teenager was showing more physical control?
Moving carefully, he lifted up the arm which was casually draped across his chest, doing his best not to notice how the kid was in exactly the same position as in his dream. Nope, he wasn't going to think about that, not drawing any parallels… He was going to get up, have a shower, put on some fresh clothes and then head into the village to find a lovely woman to help kiss away his dreams. Then, he would forget that this had ever happened. No one ever had to know.
"Fanelian?" Dilandau's sleepy murmur drew his attention as he slipped off the bed, sparing a moment to ensure that the kid had enough covers to stay warm.
"Go back to sleep, the sun isn't up yet." He whispered gently, a smile gracing his lips despite himself at the sight of the fearsome albino warrior nodding his head and burrowing deeper into the blankets. Dammit, no! Showers. He needed to hit the showers!
Grabbing a fresh set of clothes with more ferocity than needed, he all but raced out of the room, pausing only to quietly close the door. The last thing he needed was to wake up the rest of the crew and have to answer embarrassing questions.
His shower was about the only successful part of his grand plan that morning. It was still too early for anyone to be up, let alone a beautiful and willing woman. The inn wasn't even open yet, meaning that he'd have to take his breakfast with the crew… sitting across from the boss and the brat, doing his best to not think about how those lips had tasted like fire and how his body had felt pressed against his own.
Forced to return to the Crusade, he predictably found the kid working out like a maniac in the hangar, swinging his sword around in a dance which was every bit as intricate as it was lethal. Lithe muscles bunched and flexed as the blade became little more than a silvery blur of motion.
Judging by the fine sheen of sweat glistening on that alabaster flesh, the kid had likely gotten up shortly after he'd left the room, meaning that he'd been at this for well over an hour. If he ever needed further proof that the brat was insane, this was it. No one ever should willingly get up before the sun. It was inhuman and fundamentally wrong. Still, Gaddes found himself watching the vicious moves, picturing the attacks Dilandau was fending off and the enemies he was ruthlessly dispatching.
How the hell had this kid lost to Van? Sure, in Escaflowne, the young king was Death personified, but outside of it, armed with only his longsword, the scrawny youth wasn't nearly as impressive. Still, the Fanelian king had scarred the albino youth, somehow succeeding where countless others had failed. Sure, he'd heard Van's version, the crew had demanded the retelling over and over again, especially whenever they'd just gotten their asses handed to them by the Dragon Slayers. It had always been a lovely balm to their wounds knowing that one of their friends had basically carved his name into the beautiful warlords face.
At least now he understood why Allen had never been overly fond of those tales and had often left the room. Hearing about the mutilation of one's ex was never fun, no matter how bad the breakup.
Did Dilandau and his Slayers ever sit around in their barracks talking about how glorious it had been to burn Fanelia to the ground or how badly they'd hurt the crew of the Crusade? Yeah, he didn't doubt that for a moment. The brat loved to gloat. It sort of made him feel better about laughing over Van's stories.
"You're up surprisingly early." To his credit, he didn't jump as Allen spoke up from less than a foot away behind him. Gaddes had no idea how long he'd been standing there watching the little battle taking place in the hangar. Damned if the man wasn't as quiet as a cat when he wanted to be.
"The kid wakes up at stupid o'clock." He replied, deciding to not turn around and look the knight in the eye. He just knew that "I dreamt your little brother gave me mind blowing head" would be written all over his face.
Behind him, Allen chuckled at the comment and Gaddes could hear the soft rustle of starched silk as the man shifted his weight.
"He always did. Apparently the Dragon Slayers were expected to begin their training before dawn. Something about always being ready no matter the hour."
"Hmph, no wonder they were always so pissy." The second in command grumbled then risked a glance over his shoulder at the knight. "I was wondering… do you know how the hell scrawny little Van managed to cut him? I mean, the brat's comparable to you with a blade, there's no way His Highness should have been able to get close."
He could almost hear Allen smirk slightly at the somewhat backhanded compliment, still secure in the knowledge that while the silver youth was brilliant with his blade, Allen was still the superior swordsman. The Zaibach captain was simply too impulsive, relying more on instinct than long term strategy. Oh he could set up cunning attacks against his enemies and could likely outlast Allen in endurance, but the older knight had the patience to lay his traps and wait for the perfect moment in which to strike.
"You should likely ask him, though I can understand why you wouldn't. He's still rather sensitive about that isn't he?" It really wasn't a question so Gaddes didn't bother to answer. "I can't say that I blame you. As for myself, I found out when I read some of the files Zaibach handed over. I was hoping to find anything in them that would explain what had happened to Celena while they had her. I… I wanted to understand what happened to her… and to him." Allen sighed, running his gloved fingers through his hair, his eyes never leaving the elegantly timed attacks of his sibling, seeking any tiny flaw or weakness in his form out of habit.
"It turns out that we got lucky the day we attacked the Vionne. Insanely lucky. The report said that he'd been examining Escaflowne prior to our arrival and set off some sort of trap. Folken didn't go heavily into details regarding that particular feature of the armour save to say that it should have been perfectly safe. Of course, this is Dilandau we're talking about. Only he could make a powered down guymelef explode.
"He took out half the hangar in the blast and well, you saw the extent of the damage when we approached in the Crusade. From the follow up medical reports, he was badly concussed, had three broken ribs and several torn ligaments, not to mention bruising to most of his internal organs. The Vionne doctors figured that he'd been thrown from the catwalk and halfway across the hangar. It's a miracle he wasn't killed outright by the explosion. Honestly, the cut to his face was by far the most minor of his injuries."
Gaddes couldn't quite resist a low whistle. How in Jeture's name had the kid even gotten back to his feet let alone decided to attack Van.
"Strategos Folken confined him to the ship to recover but there's several follow up medical reports stressing that he wasn't following orders to rest and recuperate. Sadly, I can't say that I'm at all surprised."
"Well, at least no one can accuse him of being lazy." Gaddes attempted some humour to lighten the mood, but realized he'd failed when he saw Allen's dour look.
"No, instead, he's obsessively driven to the point that I don't think he even understands how to slow down. I'm worried about him. How much sleep does he even actually get?" Those blue eyes fixed on him and Gaddes could feel his cheeks heat up despite his attempts to think of anything but hungry kisses and teasing touches.
"Er… what with the nightmares…maybe two hours of decent sleep a night?"
"That's what I thought. It might be part of the reason for his temperament. I wonder if he'd be calmer if we could get him to relax and rest." Now it was Gaddes' turn for his smile to fade and he shook his head, finally turning to face his friend fully. There was no need for Allen to specify that he was referring to drugging the teenager just as Kio had suggested and it made Gaddes' stomach churn.
"I think that would be a really bad idea Boss." He replied softly, not sure he wanted to risk having the kid overhear them even though he looked pretty absorbed in killing invisible opponents. "He talked in his sleep last night… during the nightmares." Blonde eyebrows rose in interest and Allen leaned forward slightly, hungry for any information that might shed light on their problem.
"And? What did he say?"
"He… he said it was the Madoushi that were after him. That they wanted him back and that there were more people coming." For a moment, Allen looked like he was ready to run someone through out of sheer fury, but he quickly regained his composure, taking a deep bracing breath before speaking again.
"The Madoushi are all either dead or disbanded and their researched destroyed." He wasn't entirely sure who he was trying to convince with that statement. Did he honestly believe that Zaibach would roll over onto their backs so completely? Would the most notoriously secretive organization on Gaea be defeated so easily? Would the allied governments be so gullible as to believe them? Or would they instead be harboring some of the vile sorcerers, hoping to use their foul magic for themselves?
"The kid doesn't think so. He was pretty convinced that they were out there, and really… it might explain why they were after Celena."
"So would using her as a hostage."
"Against you yes. But really, what would be more dangerous? You held in check because of your sister, or unleashing Dilandau on the world again?" Allen didn't bother replying. Both were viable depending on what their enemies were after, and neither was a pleasant scenario. "There's more…" Gaddes hedged in that tone of voice which always seemed to herald news the knight would rather not hear. Thought he inwardly dreaded what was to come, he knew that he couldn't very well refuse to listen. After all, he'd told Gaddes to learn what he could about what Dilandau was hiding. He could hardly turn away simply because it was unpleasant.
"Tell me."
"He said that he's the last one. I'm not sure what he means exactly but he has mentioned before that he used to train with other kids when he was younger, but they were all killed until he was the only one left." Gaddes saw the blonde wince slightly. "He also said the word or name Eidolon… not sure who or what that is… maybe the name of a Madoushi or a friend from Zaibach? He does tend to scream out names a lot in his nightmares…" The second in command knew that he was grasping at straws but really, what else did they have?
Allen pondered the unfamiliar name, sensing that it was important. It wasn't the name of any of his Dragon Slayers, he knew that for sure and none of the Madoushi who'd been executed had been called that. He'd have to look at the files again, or perhaps some of the sorcerer's records tucked away in a locked section of the Astorian Archives. Except, to do that, he'd have to go to Palas and obtain permission to access them.
True, he could always explain that he required the information to prevent further attacks on Celena, but there was always the risk that someone would want to see her, examine her after her attack. There was no way that Allen could refuse medical aid or support for his sister, not after Palas knew of what had happened… and likely the damage done as well.
His only other options were to approach the leader of one of the other countries. Van and Cid were his most likely candidates, but both had serious grudges against Dilandau and if he was found in either country, a swift execution would be the kindest fate awaiting him. There was also the fact that it would then be drawing a third party into this mess and the more people involved, the worse this could all get. Both Fanelia and Fried had been decimated by the war and he couldn't place further burdens on his friend and his son.
They were going to have to go to Palas…
"Gaddes, is that messenger still in the village?" Allen asked softly, hating himself for having to make this decision but refusing to let it show on his face.
"Yeah, the kid's poison worked perfectly. Just a few hours after dinner and he was locked in the garderobe. One of the maids said that there was the worst smell coming out of his room." This time Gaddes couldn't resist grinning. "Trust the brat to find a terrifying use for a bouquet of flowers. And using the Death cap mushrooms? Seriously, I never would have thought of collecting the damn things and using the methane inside them to make an explosion. What the hell do they teach kids in Zaibach? That's just not normal."
"I leaned about them from Bengazi. He was a beast man from a wolf tribe on our southeastern border." Dilandau stated, walking over to them unnoticed and inviting him into the conversation. This time Gaddes did jump and earned himself a knowing smirk from the brat. "He was my survival instructor. I had to live with his tribe for a few colours when I was ten."
"Those poor beast-men." Gaddes couldn't help but murmur. "Did the survival instructor survive the ordeal?" The question earned him an even wider smirk from the brat and a soft chuckle of amusement.
"Of course, I would have hated the irony killing him would have caused."
"As long as you had a good reason."
Allen watched the easy banter between the two, torn between being proud that his brother finally seemed to get along with members of the crew, and horrified as to their chosen topic of conversation. Was this how they always spoke to each other? If it was, he was going to have a rather long talk with Gaddes regarding proper topics of conversation.
"I have a question for you Dilandau." The knight interrupted the two before they could further destroy the concept of civilized conversation. Two sets of eyes turned to him expectantly, making Allen wish that he'd had a better way to open this new topic. "Does Eidolon mean anything to you?" Perhaps simply blindsiding the youth would reveal more than explaining his reasoning. Rather than be greeted with suspicion or evasiveness, there was nothing but open curiosity on Dilandau's face as he pondered the strange sounding word.
"Hmmm, no it doesn't sound familiar. Who is it?" His forefinger tapped the butt of his sword idly and he gave his head a little shake, flicking sweaty hair out of his eyes. With a flash of mild distaste at the lack of manners, knowing full well that it was intentional, Allen took a step back to avoid any stray droplets.
"We were hoping you might know."
"We?" The youth glanced over at Gaddes and raised a silver eyebrow in question. Shrugging in defeat, Gaddes raised his hands, ready to ward off an attack if the kid became aggressive.
"You, you sort of talk in your sleep." Those smoldering eyes narrowed in warning. "You sort of yelled it out. It sounded important."
"Ahhh and you're curious as to the names I yell out in my dreams…" The smirk became sultry, making Gaddes more than a little uncomfortable. "Are you jealous?" Thankfully he seemed to be aiming the look at Allen far more than him, allowing the darker man to give silent thanks to any gods who happened to be listening.
"Hardly. You're my brother. That's enough of a relationship." He might as well have slapped the kid in the face judging by the way those blood red eyes darkened and how the sneer pulled at his lips. The air of playfulness faded instantly as slender fingers tightened on the handle of his sword.
"You spoke of the Madoushi coming for you." Allen continued ruthlessly, hating himself for pushing the boy even further away, but knowing that if he didn't, Dilandau would continue to hoard his secrets.
"I want my own room." He growled, favouring Gaddes with a dark glare for betraying him. Gaddes in turn glared at Allen for souring the comradery between them.
"There isn't enough room for you to have your own. You'll stay bunked where you are." Allen's voice brooked no argument, at least it wouldn't with the rest of his crew but Dilandau was made of sterner stuff and he stepped forward into Allen's personal space, all but snarling.
"No! It's bad enough that I'm locked in this damn ship and don't get a single moment of privacy. I will not have my own thoughts when I'm sleeping gossiped about and brought against me!"
"It's for your own good Dilandau. Now tell me. Did any of the Madoushi survive the war with their power intact?" How Allen could remain so calm with the albino menace bristling in front of him, hand clenching on his sword and ready to draw was beyond Gaddes but he prepared to knock it aside if the kid dared to attack the knight.
"How am I supposed to know? I didn't exist after the war!"
"You spoke to the prisoner."
"I cut the prisoner up into little pieces. There wasn't much talking involved aside from him begging for his life." Their reactions were opposite sides of the same coin. One sibling was bristling and frothing in his fury while the other was the perfect picture of calmness though Gaddes knew that both were ready to draw their blades and fight.
"Tell me about the experiments Dilandau." The Zaibach captain drew back sharply with a soft exclamation, his eyes widening and already pale skin loosing what little colour it had, giving it an almost greyish tinge. Neither of them had expected Allen to leap onto this tangent and it flipped Dilandau from fight to flight in a heartbeat. Gaddes watched as the teenager took a small step back, then another. "Anything you remember might help us figure out why they want you back. Tell me about the other children, tell me what they were trying to accomplish."
Rather than speaking, Dilandau shook his head and Gaddes could see that he was visibly trembling as a fresh layer of sweat broke out on his body.
"We need to know Dilandau." Allen pressed, stepping forward and again the kid retreated. Gaddes hadn't even known that the brat knew how to retreat and honestly, it was rather unnerving to witness.
"No… no you don't." Another step back, the boy's eyes darted left and right, seeking an escape from the conversation. "Don't make me remember them… I can't." His voice trembled badly, threatening to crack and both of the older men knew that his fragile mind wasn't going to hold up under the pressure for much longer.
Gaddes wasn't sure who to watch nervously. Dilandau could very well attack simply to stop the interrogation despite the fact that he looked ready to run. He looked terrified at the very idea Allen was proposing and it made guilt churn uneasily in his guts.
"Then we'll fail. We'll fail our mission and you'll go back to them. Is that what you want Dilandau? To belong to the Madoushi again?" That was going too far and both men knew it even as Gaddes reached out a hand to pull Allen back, wanting to give the kid space.
The line was reached, crossed… broken. Dilandau shrieked in wild fury, the sound echoed by the clash of blades as he drew his sword and swung it at Allen in one smooth and lethal motion. The knight barely had time to block, his own blade still in its sheath. The weapon was stopped so close to his throat that it lightly kissed his skin, drawing a single tiny bead of blood.
Fueled by madness and unfazed by the failure of his initial attack, Dilandau continued his onslaught with a wild flurry of blows, the sheer berserker fury behind them was the only thing which spared Allen in those first few moments. They were vicious, uncoordinated but faster and stronger than anything he'd expected and the knight grunted with each parry. It was all Allen could do to keep the lethal edge away from his fragile flesh and several of the blows came all too close to achieving their goal.
While he wasn't passive in the fight, his attacks were aimed at disarming his opponent, a task easier said than accomplished. The young captain moved like lightning, full of reckless daring and not seeming to care at all if he was injured in the pursuit of his enemy, so long as victory was achieved. It made him impossible to predict and all the more dangerous. Had Allen the time to reflect on his actions, he likely would have given himself a swift kick for pushing the boy when he wasn't ready. An idiot could have seen how this was going to end, and yet he'd plowed on like a fool, heedless of the danger. Now he'd be lucky if Dilandau even spoke to him after this… that was, if the knight even survived.
Gaddes had wisely scrambled back the instant the blades began to fly. While he wanted to protect his friend, he knew that they were both battling well beyond his level of skill and that he'd not only be in the way, he'd likely get gravely injured on top of everything.
Instead, he chose to help by keeping the rest of the crew away. Several of them had been drawn by the sound of battle and come running, weapons drawn and faces grim. It only took one look at the scene before them to set their minds as to what had happened.
"It's not the kids fault!" Gaddes blurted out before anyone could say something to make matters worse. "The Boss pushed him too far, the kid tried to get him to back off… it's not his fault…" No one seemed confused as to why Gaddes was defending their former enemy. They'd all become familiar with seeing the two together regularly but that didn't mean they were at ease with watching their leader come under attack.
"That won't matter if the little psycho kills the Boss!" Ort hissed, trying to push his way forward while drawing one of his throwing knives. "I can tag him in the leg. That should slow him down enough for the Boss to knock him out or something."
"Shit, you ever seen moves like that?" Reeden murmured with no small amount of awe in his voice. "The kid's a demon. I ain't never seen anyone push the Boss like that."
Indeed, the two warriors were travelling across the entire hangar, their movements quick, efficient and wasting little energy with fanciful flourishes. There was only the raw desire to destroy and defend. Their weapons were shining blurs, impossible to follow save for the clash of steel on steel and the shriek as blades were turned aside at the last moment. Both fighters allowed their opponents weapons to come terrifying close to contact before a simple twist caused death to pass by in a hairs breadth.
Neither opponent was tiring, that was the worst of it. Allen was too careful with his energy and Dilandau seemed to have a boundless reserve despite his earlier manic training session. Raw rage seemed to sustain him and Gaddes knew that if he didn't end it soon, someone was going to be maimed at the very least.
"Teo, get me a fire suppression canister." He snapped, knowing he'd damn well better be obeyed or heads would roll. Though he didn't dare take his eyes off of the fight, he heard the scrambling of several feet as the rest of the crew seemed to catch onto what he was wanting and got out of the way. Within a few seconds, the heavy canister was shoved into his hands and Gaddes strode purposefully forward towards the combatants.
"I'm really sorry about this Boss." He murmured, giving the top of the canister a sharp twist before aiming the spout at the two warriors. Almost instantly, the thing exploded, sending pressurized foam spraying out with blinding frothiness, coating everything in its path.
Neither warrior was expecting the strange attack, nor the way the metal floor suddenly became as slick as ice under their feet. Gaddes had caught Dilandau in mid lunge, sending him sprawling to the floor as his feet lost their grip. Amazingly, he still kept his grip on his sword as he was buried under a small mountain of foam.
Allen was knocked forward, slipping down to his knees before catching himself, though his legs did end up splayed out in a rather undignified fashion as he struggled to not land on his face. The soft white foam coated him in a thick layer, rendering the normally distinguished knight to a rather amusing caricature of a snowman.
"Ae we calm now?" Gaddes asked with perhaps a touch of nervousness to his voice. "Because we've got a whole locker full of this crap." Upon saying that, he stood a little taller and held the now empty canister aloft in a somewhat threatening manner.
"I hate you so much right now Gaddes." The foamy lump which was most likely Dilandau grumbled. Rather than be worried, Gaddes instead took heart in the fact that the youth sounded sane once again irritated but sane.
Allen on the other hand stayed silent, focussing instead on figuring out how to stand without making a fool of himself. No one had the heart to warn him that it was far too late for that. After several aborted attempts, he simply sat down in the foamy lather, making it seem as if that had been his intention the whole time.
"Gaddes."
"…yes Boss?"
"Thank you."
"Anytime Boss… I mean, not anytime, but… er… yeah." All that mattered was that he wasn't in trouble, at least not with the knight. As for the brat, well, he was going to have to be very careful not to let his food out of his sight for the next few weeks. Who knew what it might get spiked with?
"Reeden, if you would be so kind as to head to the inn and let our dear messenger know that I will expect him at the reeves office within the hour, that would be lovely." How the knight managed to conduct himself with such dignity while covered in foam was beyond Gaddes' understanding. It had to be part of that whole "being a noble" thing. They had some sort of supernatural ability to do that.
"Sure Boss… but… if you don't mind me saying, you likely won't be ready. That's going to take forever to wash off."
"I'm well aware of that thank you. He will not be in any shape to meet with me either, but the offer will be made and it will be on his head if he fails to meet me." The knight smiled slyly, the effect somewhat ruined as he tried to flick some of the foam from his fingers.
"What the hell is this crap? It had better not ruin my sword." The pile of foam off to the side snarled softly as Dilandau struggled to sit up on the slick floor. "Ugh, this is ridiculous! Who makes this crap? I'm going to kill them!" There was a gagging sound warning that the Dragon Slayer had likely swallowed some of the foul concoction. No one dared laugh.
Allowing himself a faint smile of amusement, Allen held out a hand to Gaddes, needing a little help to stand and not being too arrogant to acknowledge it. It was a peace offering and the second in command took it gladly, sliding slightly as he hauled his leader up, mindful of not stepping on the foam himself.
Once the knight was on his feet, he turned carefully to look at the writhing pile of foam which was his rather irate brother.
"Would you like help?" Bless the man. He somehow managed to keep any amusement from showing through in his voice. A foam covered hand reached up but rather than taking the offered help, it flipped an undoubtedly crude hand sign. Thankfully the foam covering it made it impossible to know for sure and everyone silently pretended to have not noticed.
"Go back to what you were doing guys, the shows over." Gaddes murmured, pitching his voice low in the name of politeness. When no one moved, he motioned towards the now loudly swearing pile of foam which was slowly working its way to the edge of the mess. "Unless you want to wait for the kid to get back on his feet…" It was amazing how quickly grown men could move when properly motivated.
"I'll get you some towels Boss." He murmured, making his own exit before he could be exposed to the wrath of the brat. Allen nodded his head vaguely, his attention on his possible opponent, aware that their fight was likely far from over.
He waited until the teenager had hauled himself clear of the mess and sat there on the floor brushing off as much of the foam as he could with his hands, looking about as angry as a freshly dunked cat.
"I shouldn't have pushed you like that." Allen said after about a minute of silence. "I'm sorry." Apologies for him were rare things though he doubted that the youth cared at this moment.
Rather than replying, Dilandau gave his hands another irritated flick and then tried to scrape them against his thighs, hoping to knock the foam loose but only succeeded in smearing it around.
"This gunk had better come off and if it ruins my hair I'm going to make the Fanelian regret it."
"I'm sure he already does. Look Dilandau, we need to talk about this."
"No we don't Schezar so drop it." The reply was more hiss than words and an ill-tempered glare was shot in his direction. "I don't want to talk about them or anything they did. Get that through your head. I don't remember most of it and the bits I do…" He closing his eyes with a shudder and there was nothing melodramatic about the action. "The bits I do are what give me the nightmares. So stop making it worse for me."
Allen took a step towards the sitting youth but stopped when he saw how the boy's shoulders tensed in silent warning.
"I know they're alive. I can feel it in my guts the same way I could always find Van. It makes my skin crawl in the worst way to think that they're out there looking for me… for Celena. I don't suppose it matters which of us they want." Not even Allen could argue against that statement. He'd been witness all too often of how the Dragon Slayer could home in on the Fanelian king flawlessly. It was uncanny really and it sent a chill down the knight's spine to even think of how that was possible.
"The Zaibach government handed over the Madoushi leaders for execution, the ones involved in the Destiny Machine."
"Destiny Prognostication Engine." Dilandau corrected curtly with no small amount of ill-founded national pride. "If you don't even know what the damn device was called, how do you expect to know exactly who was behind it or what exactly it did? Half you barbarians likely thought that all it did was give the sky a look of minty freshness for that after battle funk." Unable to contain the sudden swelling of curiosity, Dilandau glanced over at Allen. "How did you manage to stop it anyway? It activated, we should have won. Emperor Dornkirk was never wrong in his predictions."
Moving cautiously, not wanting to slip, Allen sat down on the disgusting floor, figuring that his clothes were already ruined, he might as well simply accept it and make himself comfortable. This time Dilandau didn't pull away from his proximity and the knight took that as a good sign.
"It was a little confusing at that time. Everyone was consumed by their greatest desire and started to act on it. Zaibach left the field of battle as soon as the sky turned green, but everyone else seemed to go insane. Allies started fighting each other… do you remember that at all?"
Dilandau smiled faintly at the memory, his eyes distant.
"I remember fighting… it was so much fun cutting everyone down. I felt so strong, so free." His smile faded. "I remember seeing Van, feeling my joy turn to rage. Nothing mattered more than killing him, seeing his blood leaking out of that damn demon machine of his and hearing my flames lick at his bones." Crimson eyes blazed for a moment with bloodlust, but it faded almost instantly. "I… Things get strange after that. I remember hearing this terrible sound of tearing metal, hearing the screams of my Slayers… I saw… I saw Jajuka fall as Van cut him down…the blue flames ate him up… just like they did with the others…leaving me alone. Always alone…I couldn't hear anything through the screaming." He began to tremble again, though it wasn't with the same terror as with the Madoushi.
"I … I heard a voice, a girl. She told me she could take it all away, she could make the pain stop, make everything stop. She promised that I'd never be alone again… and I believed her. I wanted so desperately to believe her." He laughed softly at his own gullibility; the sound was broken and filled with pain. "I should have fought to the death, died like a warrior rather than running and hiding like… like a little girl." The sheer cosmic humour behind his ultimate dishonour wasn't lost on him though he refused to laugh.
"As for what happened in the Empire itself… that bomb fried my coms. I couldn't hear anything. I knew a retreat had been sounded but I didn't care. I figured that if I didn't hear it over the radio then I didn't have to obey and I wanted to have fun."
Allen gave a small shudder of his own as he remembered the utter devastation of Basram's energist bomb. It had obliterated Zaibach's forces as well as a large chunk of the battlefield, killing friend and foe alike. He'd never seen anything so utterly devastating in his life and honestly hoped to never see its like again.
"Hitomi and Folken used the remains of some machine Folken had to call up a pillar of light. It took them to the Emperor in the capital." That certainly got the teenagers attention as he realized how the Strategos turncoat had bypassed all of the security around Zaibach's precious Emperor and simply walked right into the throne room unchallenged.
"They talked with him if you can believe it, and he explained his vision of the perfect future where all wishes were made real. Folken attacked him, killing them both."
"Traitor!" The Dragon Slayer hissed in rage, his hands clenching his sword once again. It seemed that a lifetime of worshipping the idol which was the Zaibach Emperor wasn't wiped away as easily as the knight had hoped. Despite the cruelty he'd suffered at his leader's orders, the boy still venerated the man. It really shouldn't be that surprising Allen thought. The man had been a living hero to that country, a god made flesh.
"With their death, the machine was activated and everyones wishes were granted. He wanted to die Dilandau, he said that he'd foreseen it." Now it was Allen's turn to frown bitterly, remembering the rage which had burned inside him, the bloodlust which had caused him to turn his sword on Van in order to stop him from killing Dilandau as he lay trapped in his ruined guymelef. "It was the same machine which had destroyed Atlantis long ago, killing everyone in the blink of an eye. It would have done the same to us, driven us to tear our world apart with our own bare hands and self-righteous hearts."
"So what happened?"
"Hitomi happened."
"The mystic moon bitch… I should have killed her when I'd had the chance."
"If you had, we'd have all died." Allen shot back gently. "She called to Van, brought him to the Capitol and the heart of the machines power. Their love and desire for peace overpowered our desire for battle and it soothed the hatred in everyone's hearts."
For a moment Dilandau just looked at him incredulously, the look was rather comical what with all of the foam sticking to his hair.
"You're telling me that… love destroyed my Empires goal? The destiny we'd been struggling towards for over two centuries? Fucking love?!" Dilandau wasn't sure if he was more angry or disgusted with this revelation. How had the Emperor not seen this?
"Emperor Dornkirk wanted to create a utopia, a forced utopia. In a way, he achieved that goal."
It was impossible not to laugh at this statement and Dilandau was never one to fight against his various urges. Instead, he laughed loudly at the sheer ridiculousness of it, falling back into the foam with a soft "whumph" and not caring in the least.
"Fucking love… My beautiful army destroyed by bunnies and flowers and bad fucking poetry. No wonder I took myself out of existence. That's too humiliating to endure."
"It's a powerful force Dilandau. Denying it doesn't make it any less so."
"Sex is powerful Schezar, lust, rage, pleasure, pain. Those are powerful forces. Not love, that's just something bards made up to pay for their drinks at taverns. Besides, great job on that utopia. I'm having a fucking blast with it. How about you? Have all your dreams come true? Mine certainly haven't"
"Actually they have." The knight looked over at the foam covered Slayer with a level gaze, surprising the teenager.
"Huh? How? You have to deal with me giving you a constant headache. Your sister is gone and we have fucking Madoushi coming after us… well, me specifically." Again, curiosity filled those shining eyes along with an equal measure of confusion.
"Well, in my perfect world you'd be far less vulgar." Allen couldn't quite resist saying. "You're worse than anyone else on the crew and that's impressive in all of the worst ways."
"Raised in the military Schezar, believe me, I'm fucking high class compared to the grunts on the line. Still, how can you be happy? I'm here instead of your sister."
Allen looked at him for a long moment, remembering the first time they'd met until now, with all the times in between. Everything from the battles where they fought side by side, the passion, the arguments and the desperate fights against each other flowed through his mind. He thought back to his beloved sister and how she laughed and took delight in even the simplest of things. Her smile when she'd seen him after all those years away and her screams of agony as her body changed in front of him. For better or worse, all of those were precious to him.
"You're my brother Dilandau. You might drive me insane most of the time, but I love you just as I love Celena. Yes, I hate many of the things you've done and still do, but it's a part of you and so long as I know that you're doing your best to work with us, I … I find that I understand your motivations. I don't condone your actions mind you, but I understand them."
"But you still want her back don't you." Dilandau's voice was soft and strangely vulnerable sounding. "You would choose her over me in the end. She's your sister. I'm… I'm the parasite inside her." This time Allen did reach out his hand and gently squeezed his siblings shoulder, trying to project as much love in the touch as he could.
"You're a person Dilandau. You might have had a rather unique birth, but that doesn't make you any less of a man than the rest of us. I love you. Please don't think that I don't. I'm just not very good at this little brother thing. It's a bit of a surprise. I'm sorry that things have changed between us, but I can't be what I once was to you anymore than I could be that for Celena. It doesn't make me care any less, in fact, I would hope it makes me care more."
"You're such an Astorian Allen, a simple "I'm not going to fuck you but I'll still fight by your side" would have been good enough. Stupid fucking minty green love cloud of destiny screwing up everyone." Despite his snide words, there was a hint of a smile on Dilandau's face beneath the foam.