Author's note: Thanks for reading Please review. Anyway I kind of crossed-over the movie with the TV series and added a lot of my own. *grins* more importantly, people who are dead aren't and events that are supposed to happen (according to movie and series) ain't gonna. Also, Esca time is where it should be, but time on Earth is farther ahead.... Oh yeah Hitomi is on Gaea and she doesn't realize how the fast the Mystic Moon's time has gone by.
Sorry Folken fans! I love Folken I really I do it's just that the mean son of a bitch in the movie fits this story so much better! Once again I'm sorry…there is some serious Folken bashing in this fic!
All original Escaflowne characters, ideas, and settings belong to who they belong to *not me.... wails* Hunter, Blade, and Silver are mine! As well as any other characters who aren't of Esca origin. Unless of course I borrowed them from somewhere else…that is possible you know. I could've read about something somewhere, and just happened to use them…and I'm rambling again…gotta go!
Thanks for reviewing! It really brightens my day! This chapter is dedicated to those people that got mad at me for the wait.
Sorry about the wait! It's just that my Internet service went nuts and I couldn't get online until a few days ago. Oh and I had it going pretty well until I reread it and I found I didn't like where it was going so…I deleted the whole thing and started all over…oh and I'm trying a new format cause…I don't know…do ya like it better or worse?
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Part Nine: Mistakes equal Major Problems
Back and forth, back and forth. Though Silver's back was to Hunter, and she made no sound, she knew that Hunter was pacing. She did that once in a while, and it unnerved Silver, made her nervous, paranoid even. Silver drew a card from the deck of cards that Blade had 'found.' She suspected that Blade had stolen it from some noble. That tendency just happened to stick to Blade. Realizing she drew the queen of hearts, and that she had no need of it, Silver discarded it. Blade snatched it from the discard pile immediately, giving Silver a slight clue to her hand. Hunter continued to pace. When she had returned from her meeting with Folken, she had been raging, almost out of control. She filled them in on their new 'position,' and the two of them just shrugged it off. 'It wasn't a big deal that they had been ordered to do something, Hunter would get them out of it. She always did,' Blade had replied before lying down her cards and beating Silver at Gin Rummy for the ninth time in a row. Silver started to grumble and they both dismissed Hunter's worries from their shoulders, starting a new game. Often times this dismissed Hunter of her worries herself, but unfortunately it didn't help now. Hunter started to mutter to herself, trying to think of some way to get out of the tangled mess she and her sisters had involuntarily gotten into.
"Hunter don't worry! What's the worst that can happen? We die? Big deal. Everyone dies sometime. And stop pacing. You know I hate that!" Silver said aggravatingly while sorting her cards, revealing she only needed two more threes to get a gin. Maybe I'll win this time… Drawing a card she got another queen. She was about to discard it, but stopped realizing that Blade was after queens. So instead she threw the two of diamonds in the pile. It didn't help much because Blade snatched that one, two. She smirked and laid her hand down, cockily saying, "Gin." Silver threw her hand down and studied Blade's hand. She balled her hands into fists and started to swear under her breath. Blade looked shocked, and Hunter stopped pacing, trying to contain her sudden bout of laughter.
"BLADE! I wish you would stop CHEATING on cards against your own sister! And against ME! I may not be Hunter, and able to kick your ass, but I will hurt you!" Silver nearly yelled angrily. If it was even possible, Blade looked even more shocked than before. Hunter gained control over her laughter, and sat on the floor next to Silver. She picked up Silver's hand of cards and studied it.
"Silver…you have gin…" Hunter said sorting the cards so the left over queen matched her fourth jack and her king of spades. Silver stared at the cards before a surprised 'oh' escaped her lips. "Blade never cheats on anything against a sister…" Hunter continued, "It's against her morals. Besides, she always wins because she never properly taught you how to play Gin Rummy. Or me for that fact, it's easier for her because she thinks like a card player." Silver shrugged her shoulders and muttered Oops. Blade held her head up and had a smirk of triumph that was mixed with slight guilt. Hunter rolled her eyes; while Silver collected the cards and started to set up to play Speed with Hunter. Blade looked stunned. They were playing cards…without her! Overcoming her shock, she shrugged her shoulders and watched.
"So…when do we train? Ya know with the slayers?" She asked hopefully. Hunter leveled her gaze at Blade realizing what she meant. In doing so, however Silver went through her cards and won. "Is he all you are thinking about lately?" Hunter asked. Silver smiled smugly at Blade, her look telling that it is possible for her to win a card game. Hunter grinned back at her youngest sister.
"Uhh…well…yeah basically," Blade replied wringing her hands. Hunter thought for a moment before she answered, "Aside from the fact that you think he's cute, what else is there to like about him?" Blade replied with a horrified look. Silver started to shuffle the deck of cards, a grin fixed on her face.
"I don't think he's cute…I know he's hot! And he's nice…and he's hot, and he's a Dragonslayer…and he's more hot…and he's…" Blade started to ramble. Hunter raised one of her eyebrows as she heard hot for about the thirtieth time. Silver shook her still grinning head, and did the bridge shuffle with the cards.
"Enough, we know he's hot already!" Hunter said stopping Blade short. Her eyes widened and she was about to retort when Hunter continued, "And yes you can have him, I don't want him thank you very much." She started to crack her fingers, another thing that annoyed Silver to the extreme. One look towards the guilty party silenced the annoying sound.
"I can't believe you don't want him! Only a weirdo like you could turn down a double-dipped marshmallow fudge brownie," Blade replied haughtily. Cards went flying everywhere as Silver lost control over her shuffling because of her laughter. Hunter placed a hand over her mouth to keep her own laughter in for the moment. She succeeded. Blade was known for her extravagance. She liked to picture people as flavors. Anyone who was a vegetable or certain other foods was not high on her favorite list. All the others, the ones she like to eat were people she got along with quite well, especially if it was chocolate or vanilla or any other kind of ice cream. Being her sisters, Hunter and Silver got off well. Silver was Turtle Tracks, while Hunter was Rocky Road. Dalet being double-dipped marshmallow fudge brownie meant that Blade held him in very high regard. Hunter and Silver usually picked on Blade by calling her the veggies she hated.
"Yeah…I like being a weirdo. Although I'm not going to let either of you two become Dragonslayers, let's go train, Turtle Tracks and…Radish," Hunter said while standing up. She helped Silver up who was still laughing, and Blade followed protesting mildly.
"They are straying, my Lord…" a cloaked figure murmured to the bareheaded man next to him. They both stared into the small pool of a now twisting purplish-black color
"Yes…I figured they would…they are beginning to break free. We cannot have that. It is vital to our plan that they stay loyal to the cause. They cannot know the truth." The man's servant agreed, though he didn't voice it. His master knew that he agreed. That is why you are the only one left surviving.
"They are forming interests I said they would not have. Moons ago, I heard the youngest wish to learn about fighting. That is not her place. She must stay within her logic and quick mind. The others must stay in the sector I had decided for them at their birth. Otherwise the plan will fail," the Master continued without pause, "See to it that the oldest is brought here. Not her body, mind you, it will die in these conditions, just her soul. She is to be warned against broadening her and her sisters' horizons. Do as you see fit. And gain better control of the other. We cannot lose him either." Then he turned and left, leaving his hunchbacked servant to do his dirty work. Not that it was minded; the servant was bent by a twisted and tormented childhood into a nasty little spite. The master chose him to live, and the rest to die. His face twisted into an awful grin as he searched for the spell he needed. A potion, dangerous and vile, needing use of ingredients rare. It was to his master's advantage that they kept ingredients of every rarity in storage. He had not mixed up a potion in quite a while, so he was having a bit of fun.
"…Unicorn hair…stir in one drop of undine's blood…a powdered kelpie's finger…" he muttered the ingredients to himself, never noticing the extra portions he was putting in.
Tears ran down Hitomi Kanzaki's pale face. Her large green eyes where slightly bloodshot from the crying she had been doing lately. Nothing could comfort her now. It used to be that she was able to look into the night sky to see the Earth and that would comfort her. It had once appeared to promise she was going to get home, but ever since that girl was captured, and she told Hitomi about the Earth's present condition, it never helped anymore. Even though Allen and the others had assured her that the girl had been lying, it did little for her. Hitomi knew that girl hadn't been lying. Her clothes, her attitude, the look in her eyes, betrayed she too was from Earth. If it was really 2035, if she ever got back home, nothing would be the same. Fresh tears welled in her eyes. They blinded her keeping her from seeing Merle's face poke through the door.
"…Hitomi? Are…are you going to be okay?" the young cat-girl asked. Hitomi wiped away her tears, allowing for her to see Merle.
"…I…I don't know Merle…I don't think I can go back…" Hitomi started to say, but stopped when her throat tightened. She drew her knees up to her chest and placed her chin on them. Merle stood in front of the door, obviously uncomfortable with being nice to Hitomi.
"I'll be honest with you Hitomi…I don't really know what to say. But if it'll help, you can stay with Allen, or Lord Van and me…" Merle replied awkwardly. Hitomi gave her a grateful smile, but her eyes remained sad, causing Merle to get a little angry at her and to continue, "Look here Hitomi! That girl…she wasn't from the Mystic Moon! Albatoa…General Albatoa described her perfectly! He said that…that she was…an assassin from Bern! She's got to be an expert with lying to be able to get out of tight situations!" Hitomi's sad gaze didn't change.
"Do you believe him? Can you trust him enough to believe him? I've…I've heard stories about him…" She whispered, trying to contain her tears. Merle didn't meet the wide green eyes. She knew exactly what stories Hitomi had heard…and that they where true. Dilandau Albatoa was the devil himself. Even though she had known he couldn't do anything to her, and that Lord Van and Allen would protect when he had come into Allen's fortress, she had been frightened. Anyone with at least a little sense would have been.
"I…I won't lie to you Hitomi…the stories…are true. But why would he lie about that? What use would it be to him?" Merle asked trying to convince Hitomi that girl had lied.
"I-I don't know…but why wouldn't he? What could possibly stop him from making something up about her?" Hitomi asked in return. Merle sat next to Hitomi, her expression reading confused. The two of them sat in silence for a while, both thinking. What would make Dilandau lie about that girl? Merle sighed in frustration.
"Who knows if he did or not? Of why for that matter?" If it's true you can always take my offer up…it'll…I'll need time to adjust and so will Lord Van, but I'm sure we'll work it out," Merle murmured, giving Hitomi a quick hug before leaving the room. For some reason the green-eyed girl felt better.
"Father! I'm a princess now! I want servants to do that kind of thing!" cried the eldest daughter of Jason Deberacut, the new emperor of Zaiboch. Cassandra was sixteen and used to getting her way. Having a father like hers wrapped around her little finger was very useful most of the time. Few times did it actually hinder her. Currently she did not want to saddle her own horse. She found it degrading and the blonde did not want to get sweaty or break a nail. She was the daughter of an Emperor now! How could anyone expect her to do work?
"You're right Cassandra, I'll find someone to saddle your horse for our afternoon ride," the Emperor replied, earning his daughter's sweet smile and approval from her ocean blue eyes. At that moment, the stable door opened and three girls entered. They were chattering about something, but stopped when they realized they weren't alone. Emperor Jason smiled and decided it must have been fate's doing.
"You there! Come saddle my daughter's horse! Immediately! We wish to get going," he commanded. All three of them looked shocked and one also looked very angry.
"Huh? …Just who the hell do you think you…ugh…" the blacked-haired girl asked angrily before getting elbowed in the stomach by the one with red hair who murmured, "I'm sorry for my sister's behavior, your Majesty, but she does not like it when people order her around. We are guests here." Cassandra looked disdainful at their behavior. The middle-aged emperor looked interested, and partially disbelieving.
"Just whose guests are you? I don't recall anyone mentioning guests in the palace," He replied, angry at the fact that he had been disobeyed. The third girl with light brown hair appeared to be impatient. She kept glancing around, and it seemed she was looking for a way out.
"I'm sorry your Majesty, but we haven't the time…Lord Dilandau is waiting and we are already late. Training started a while ago, and he gets angry when we are late…we…we got lost. We don't know our way around the castle yet, so…can you tell us how to get to the training area?" the red head asked.
"Lord Dilandau? You're Dragonslayers? That's not possible, only men are allowed to be Dragonslayers!" his Majesty protested. It was common knowledge that only men where allowed to be Dragonslayers, and only if they were the best.
"Look your Majesty, we didn't have a choice. It was Folken's orders, and we don't disobey orders so if you'll tell us how to get to the training area before Dilandau decides our tardiness is…well before he blows his top," the impatient girl said. Emperor Jason instructed them not sure he should delay them, much to his daughter's fury. Now she would have to saddle her horse if they wanted to get going. She watched as the three girls left. As the one with black hair passed, Cassandra caught the hint of a smirk on her lips. The princess resolved that those girls would pay this, even though they had done nothing.
Dilandau watched his slayers fight their mock battles. He stood at the edge of the mats with his arms crossed over his chest, watching. He heard the door open and laughter. Dilandau cringed inwardly. He knew that laughter, and it ticked him off. He had absolutely no fear of the possibility of losing control and killing all three of them.
"I can't believe you said that!…We haven't the time…oomph…damn it! Why do you people always do that?" He heard Blade demand angrily.
"Because you always say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Plus it's one of the only ways to shut you up," Hunter replied haughtily. Blade made a sound that sounded a lot like 'screw you' in her throat. Hunter started to mimic Blade's tone of voice, "Huh? …Just who the hell do you think you are? Do you wish to get spliced by the evil radish? Because the evil radish will do so if you piss it off, the evil radish is totally pissed off. The evil radish will eat you for dinner…even though it has no teeth!" Silver broke into laughter, as Blade gasped angrily. Dilandau opened his eyes and forcefully unclenched his hands. He noticed with easily recognizable anger that his slayers stopped fighting. They noticed their commander's anger and realized they had stopped fighting also and quickly continued to fight. All of them did except Dalet and Chesta. Chesta looked slightly panicked, but Dalet didn't notice. His eyes where on his commander, asking him a silent question. Dilandau caught his question and shook his head no. Dalet then immediately engaged Chesta, who was confused, in combat. The General would take care of the girls. He turned on his heel and stopped short. Silver was sitting on the ground facing him, but she appeared too bored to notice the change in his position. Hunter and Blade where circling each other like hawks. Dilandau watched as Blade threw a punch that Hunter blocked easily, and placed her other hand on Blade's wrist. She fell backwards, dragging Blade with her. Once she was on the ground she kicked her legs up, catching her sister in the stomach and throwing Blade over her shoulder. Blade landed on her feet after doing a flip in mid-air. Hunter rolled easily to her feet, a move Dilandau had seen her do before. Blade did two more back flips and stopped where she was. She smirked at Hunter, who did nothing but watch Blade. Silver yawned audibly from were she was sitting.
"What?" She asked when Hunter and Blade leveled their gaze at her, "this is boring." Blade snorted in disdain before she and Hunter returned to their battle. It appeared neither of the two wanted to go on the offensive, until Hunter started to move forward. Silver groaned and stood up. She turned to leave, but stopped when she nearly collided with Folken. When she looked up he looked slightly displeased. She turned back to the fight and started to grumble. Dilandau continued to watch the fight, but the presence of the Strategoes did not go unnoticed.
"I suppose I should be gratified that you all followed my orders," Folken said from behind Silver. Dilandau fixed his eyes on Silver and saw her roll her eyes. He smirked, and returned his gaze to the Hunter and Blade, just as Blade delivered a round kick to Hunter who ducked.
"Who says we're following any orders? We're just here because Blade and Hunter where being loud and obnoxious. They needed to let off steam. The fights always end up the same way with Blade surrendering to Hunter. She's got the fancy moves down, but she isn't Dragonslayer material, only Hunter is. Physically that is, she'd never do it willingly. And me? Oh that's a laugh. I am not a fighter. I probably wouldn't be able to give anyone a bloody nose," Silver admitted sheepishly. Folken replied with his doubt, as Hunter must have taught her something. Silver shook her head.
"I've never been interested in it before," Silver snapped annoyed, "it wasn't for me." Hunter back flipped, meaning to kick Blade in the chin with her combat boots, but she dodged. Dilandau realized with little shock that it was just a dance. Silver had referred to other fights. It was a training, a mock battle, like his slayers where still fighting. They realized that Dilandau would tolerate nothing to do with the three girls, so to escape the wrath of their General, they kept fighting.
"Do you realize I'd be dead in five seconds if Hunter went postal on me?" Silver asked calmly, her eyes now grave. That quick? Dilandau tore his eyes away from Blade as she tried to land a high kick on Hunter who moved with the agility of liquid metal.
"No I don't realize. I think you are lying to me, Silver. People do not lie to me," Folken replied with a trace of anger in his voice though he kept his face passive. Dilandau noticed his hand was gripping the hilt of his sword, ready to unsheathe it. His hatred for Folken had not left him. It probably never would.
The hunchback stirred the almost ready potion that was bubbling in the huge black cauldron. He added a pinch of unpredictability to have a little fun, not realizing that unpredictability canceled out, and changed ingredients. It did not help that he had over dosed on many of the ingredients. He had made a whole new potion. One that his master did not have access to. He would not realize his folly until it was tested, which the time was drawing closer. The bright orange liquid in the cauldron continued to bubble and turn with the giant mixing spoon the hunchback had decided to use.
"Is that potion almost ready?" the hunchback's master called annoyed at the wait. He called out with an eager 'almost master.' He was excited, and couldn't wait to torture the oldest's soul into submission. It was a rare treat for his master to allow him to do this on his own. The hunchback reread the recipe, and at the bottom he noticed a note saying the liquid should be a cerulean color. Glancing into the cauldron, he realized with a shock that it was orange. Little time passed before he shrugged his shoulders and began to clean up the mess so he would have room to work with her soul. If it ever got there.
Blade watched Hunter's eyes, which where sparkling with laughter. Folken didn't realize that this was just a setup to get them out of the Dragonslayer ranks. Sadly the fish wasn't biting their bait. Silver hadn't given the signal that she caught anything. Perhaps it wasn't hungry? Dilandau had long since dismissed his slayers from their trainings. They had hit the showers, while he left to do whatever he did in his spare time. She didn't know and didn't really care either. Blade knew Dilandau had them figured out a while ago. Silver said something to Folken that Blade didn't quite catch, but by the expression on Hunter's face it was time to pack up. Hunter launched herself into backwards jump in which she curled into a ball and did a somersault in mid-air. Blade narrowed her eyes in jealousy. She had never been able to land that right, no matter how many times she tried. And it appeared that Hunter couldn't either, not today. She landed it, but she staggered and fell with a yelp of pain, almost immediately curling into a ball. Folken murmured something about Hunter losing this fight. Silver's eyes flickered surprised over Hunter's quaking body and to the horrified Blade who was staring wide-eyed at Hunter.
"This is final, you are officially Dragonslayers," Folken said smugly. It pissed Silver off. Something was wrong with Hunter and that…that bastard was still telling them what to do.
"You little bastard…"Silver whispered, before turning on him and slapping him hard across the face before continuing, "Something is screwing around with Hunter, and you stand there like the jackass you are, ordering us around! No Blade, I'm going to say this, so SHUT-UP!" Silver yelled at her sister when she said her name before continuing with her anger, "And if I was in anyway as good of a fighter as Hunter you would be filleted like a fish by now!" Silver yelled angrily. Blade called out her name more urgently then before.
"What?" Silver snarled angrily. This kind of thing never happened before. She rarely lost her temper, but at times where everything was just snapping into little pieces it happened.
"Since you know a lot more about logic and you're smarter then me, can you please tell me why Hunter's hair turned different colors?" Blade whispered frantically, for indeed it had. No longer was her hair its original dark blonde light brunette color, but instead it was many different shades of purple, blue, and green in chunked streaks. Silver stared at the colors that seemed to blend, mesmerizing her into a stare. She unconsciously hugged herself, shivering. Something was wrong…unnatural. She shook her head, muttering her confusion. Seeing nothing but Hunter's now colorful hair, feeling nothing but the coldness that racked her skin, hearing everything but unable to do anything, Silver tried to clear her head of frantic flying thoughts, and failed. She was unable to reach out to anyone to receive or give any help. Silver felt helpless, unworthy of being a Sister of Death. She wasn't a fighter; she couldn't survive without Blade of Hunter there to protect her. And now, she was losing herself to the coldness surrounding her, unable to…to do anything but stand there and stare. She didn't even get out of that trance when she was dragged away by Blade. Or when Blade slapped her trying to rouse her sister, but failing.
"Silver, I hope you forgive me for this…" Silver heard Blade's voice whisper before punching her square in the nose. Perhaps it was the feeling of warmth, or maybe the sting or the hit that woke her, but whatever it was it worked. Gingerly Silver brought her hand up to her nose. She pulled it away and saw with some shock, bright red blood clinging to her hand. She stared accusingly at Blade who shook her head and muttered, "It's not broken, and we have bigger things to worry about." Silver picked out the worry in her voice, along with the confusion and slight fear. Almost too afraid to, she leveled her gaze on the now standing Hunter. If it was even Hunter anymore. Her hair hadn't been the only thing to change. Her fingertips now sported three-inch long wickedly curved claws along with the outline of red-orange scales covering her skin. The once warm chestnut eyes now glowed green fringed with red.
"Hunter…" Silver whispered softly. 'Hunter' leveled her gaze at them and growled baring her teeth and revealing not only her pearly whites, but also her new fangs. Blade cursed violently at Silver's side. She felt exactly like Blade, they where in a load of shit. Hunter, whoever or whatever this was, didn't recognize them. From her attitude, she regarded them as enemies, and that was not good if you wished to survive. Hunter didn't have enemies, none that lived anyway. She surveyed her surroundings keeping her fangs and claws in perfectly clear view.
"Silver, she doesn't recognize us, and I'm pretty sure she's going to attack us…I want you to go back to the room and lock the door…I…I don't know how long I'll be able to hold her off…" Blade said quietly. Silver shook her head. She wasn't going anywhere, not without Blade or the real Hunter.
"Do as I say Silver. I will not allow you to get hurt," Blade said sharper than before but still as quiet. Silver didn't move.
"Are you gonna kill her?" Silver asked in almost a whisper as Blade started to move towards Hunter. She turned and stared at Silver her eyes wide with horror; "You'll have to, to stop her, Blade. You know Hunter. She'll never give up."
"That's…that's not Hunter, Silver…something else is in there" Blade protested in the same volume of voice that Silver used. Silver shook her head.
"She's still in there Blade, she may not be able to reach us but she's still in there…it is her body," Silver replied, horrified at what was going to happen. Blade was just as horrified. Kill…Hunter? How could she even think of that possibility? When Blade heard the low growl of hatred and bloodlust from Hunter, she came to a painful conclusion.
"…If I have to…" Blade whispered with her face full of pain and fear, before turning and facing the sister she might have to kill.
"What did you DO? Are you a COMPLETE idiot? Can you not mix together a SIMPLE potion? I should kill you for what you've done! I NEED them alive and united! Not killing each other!" the hunchback's master roared angry at what was happening among the sisters.
"I followed the instructions perfectly, master…I don't know what happened," the hunchback objected trying to defend himself. His master turned on him, his face livid with anger.
"Have you realized you have jeopardized my entire plan? At least you did nothing to the other pawns!" the master snarled before turning and starting to work on a way to reverse his idiotic servant's mishap, who at that moment was very ticked. He did everything for his master, and after one little mistake he was already back to being treated like dirt. So what if the eldest killed the middle child? Did it actually matter? He had no idea of what his master's grand plan was, but he was almost certain that it was not for his own good. He hated his master, but had no way of retaliating or escaping. He was trapped in this tower for the rest of his life for however long it happened to be. Because it often seemed the master could read the hunchback's thoughts, he no longer thought of the outside world where he was free to do what he pleased, however gruesome it happened to be. He never thought of revenge for he was severely punished for that. The hunchback stared into the pool watching the fight. The middle child appeared to have the upper hand for short periods of time, but lost it when the oldest attacked. Again and again, it was like a repeat of time, lost between the delicate balance of life. Behind the hunchback, his master muttered words. The words of magic that he would never be able to learn for his lineage was not magical. But before his master continued the natural order of things began to take control. He stared fascinated into the pool, as the oldest became separate of the creature he himself had created. As his creature attacked its former host who was still dazed from the transfer. It ripped something out of her chest, though there was neither blood nor a gaping hole. Amazingly its hand went right through her body to gain what it was after. His creation cried out and disappeared with a puff of green acid smoke. The body of the eldest staggered and fainted into black unconsciousness. The pool darkened hiding its contents from view.
"I will allow you to try again. This powder will send her back, but if you fail I will be sorely disappointed," his master said handing his hunchbacked servant a velvet bag containing blue powder. He turned and left muttering about the difficulty of finding good help. His servant smiled wickedly awaiting the soul of the eldest.
Blade stared at the body of her sister, which had fallen again. She saw no signs of life in her and was too afraid to check. She did not wish her last memory of Hunter to be of the fight that just happened. She looked to Silver with a helpless plea in her eyes. Silver squeezed her eyes shut for a brief moment before slowly approaching Hunter's body, her eyes holding the same fear Blade held. Silver crouched next to it and tentatively reached out her hand and placed her index and middle fingers on her neck searching for her pulse. Blade started to chew on her knuckle, not noticing she was making it bleed. She did not notice the coppery taste it left in her mouth or the fact that it hurt. All she cared about was if Hunter was alive or not. She watched as Silver pulled back, her eyes closed. When she opened them she sought out Blade and gave her a weak smile. Blade exhaled the air she did not realize she was holding in. Silver didn't act shocked, nor did she respond when Blade started to swear in a mixture of languages. Stress had overcome her and she was letting off steam Blade style. Silver's face felt hot although the rest of her was ice cold. She closed her eyes calming herself when Blade started to swear in a language she understood. This time she did respond by looking over concerned. Blade only swore in an understandable dialect when something was wrong. She had just run her hand over her right cheek, and to her dismay she found four cuts running horizontally across it. Blade examined the rest of her body and found similar scratches along her arms.
"Oh yeah…that demon ass-bitch thingy is definitely going to get massacred," Blade muttered violently before joining Silver near Hunter's prone body. She continued to swear under her breath, but not as violently. Her sister rolled her eyes helplessly before checking Hunter's body for broken bones. Whatever that thing had been after, it must have gotten it because it had left…but what exactly had it been after? It puzzled Silver to no end. What had it wanted with her sister?
"Don't pick at them," Silver murmured quietly to Blade, who had been scratching the red lines on her arms. She was about to send Silver a dirty look when she noticed blood on Hunter's body. Blood that hadn't been there before, but now stained her shoulder. She gasped and pointed it out to Silver, who had noticed without Blade's assistance.
"Is…is it…hers?" Blade asked not really wanting to know. Silver didn't answer, but pointed out more blood on her neck.
"What the hell is going on…" Silver muttered. She looked up for answers not finding them, or Folken for that matter. He had left some time beforehand, "bastard…" Blade asked who was a bastard while wiping the blood that had just splattered onto Hunter's chin. She found no source, but only unscathed skin.
"Where's the source? All this blood…and no cuts…" Blade said confused. She ran her hands over her own cuts on a spur of the moment thought. None of them were bleeding. Silver had no open wounds; it couldn't have come from her. Glancing around, Blade found nothing that could have bled on Hunter.
"Folken's the bastard. And I don't know where this blood is coming from, and I don't know what's going on and…and…" Silver started to ramble on and on. Blade tuned her out trying to think, weighing the possibilities that she did not have, nor could she hope to. Blade started to feel paranoid. She stood, turned, and slammed her fist into the face of the person behind her. Who happened to be Dalet.
"Oh shit! I am so sorry…I didn't realize it was you…and I'm a little nerve-racked right now…and…" Blade tried to explain.
"Hey, hey it's okay! Clam down…what's wrong with Hunter? Why is she bleeding?" Dalet asked looking at Blade's sister's fallen body.
"Uhh…well she fainted and the blood…the blood is mine, I kinda got in a fight with a knife and all…but I'm okay…I think…" Blade replied, not entirely sure why she was lying to him. He however didn't look convinced.
"Why'd she faint?" he asked while Blade fumbled for an answer.
"Exhaustion. She hasn't slept in a while," Silver voluteered, helping out Blade, but not sure why she was lying to him either.
"Oh…you need some help getting her back to your quarters? I can help if you need me to," Dalet offered. Blade smiled and nodded feeling a little unsure of herself. What if Hunter woke up? She'd totally go postal on Dalet… She did not say anything to stop Dalet from helping them though. It had been nice of him, but Blade was not quite sure why she distrusted him all of a sudden.
"I see you met the oldest," Master said with a small smile on his face. His servant had just entered the room he was in, covered in his own blood. The hunchback nodded fearfully causing his master to continue, "She has quite the temper then? Poor, poor idiotic worthless servant…I almost feel I have no need to punish you for screwing up on that potion. I did say almost." His voice was sweet, but dripping with sardonic amusement. The oldest was what she was supposed to be, a ruthless fighter that did anything to survive.
"You do realize why I myself did not speak with her?" he asked receiving a nod from his hunchbacked servant, "She is playing her part perfectly, but the other two I am not so sure about. They will not be able to survive the few moments without their souls like she did. It's almost a shame. I wonder what they would do to you." The hunchback shuddered, revealing his fear. Even more so when his creation walked through the door and stood behind his master. He had created her, not him. She should be obeying him! But, alas she wasn't. She stood in all her wicked splendor, loyal to his master and not her creator. True she had been a mistake, but he had still made her. His master had named her Eris, and she was cruel to the hunchback. Cruel enough to make him hate her even more. She would now receive all the fun missions, for she unlike him, was able to leave this dreadful place whenever she wished.
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Once again I am so sorry for the wait. I'll try to have the next chapter up ASAP.
Did you like the new format? Or should I go back to the old one? You tell me.