Chapter 11
The Moon*
Fear Conquers All….
~ Asgard ~
Hiero held Alessa close as they walked through the snowy field, with Dilandau on his opposite side. He hated the cold, it was always uncomfortable. He had been glad the Dynast Grausherra never sent him anywhere cold. The Mazuko Lord's fortress was never cold, it only looked that way. Still, the thought of snow made him sick to his stomach. If people had been meant to turn blue and be cold, they'd be fish.
Things were actually going well, it was just the sudden snowstorm that was the burden. They were nearly to the base of the mountains, the endless expanse of white snowy ground all else they could see. He had forbidden Chesta and Gatti from shoving off their wings, saying the time wasn't right until he said so. He'd said it while Alessa wasn't around, the last thing he needed was to be gawked at by a Mystic Moon girl. There was no telling how she'd react to his wings or theirs, but he was more concerned about his own. He was a true Draconian, the cursed winged people, and truly the last. He didn't consider his murderous uncle one, not anymore.
His thoughts were jarred as Alessa started to collapse, and he quickly grabbed her up and steadied her. "Can't we stop. I'm freezing here, we all are. Please Hiero…." She shouted, for the whistling wind had picked up heavily in the past hour. Breathing was extra difficult to hear, and words came out like whispers, ready to be lost in the wind. He squeezed her hand for reassurance.
"We must keep on going. It's not that much further to the footholds of the mountains. We have to keep going. We're really not far. Soon we'll be warming up at the Temple of Light, the Migel can get all angelic." Hiero shouted, not just to her but everyone.
"Are you sure Migel is the next angel? How can you be sure?" Dilandau spat. Hiero nodded, shaking his head free of the snow sticking to it, then pointed straight ahead. "Yes, I am sure. My visions have been right so far, so why would they let me down now? The Temple of Light is just over these mountains. Then we can start to head for the coast, so we can get back to our continent and go for Freid." Hiero replied loudly, the high pitched wailing of the wind drowning out a few of his words.
"Why Freid? What's so damn important about Freid?" Dilandau asked equally as loud.
"You'll just have to wait for now. The last of the temples are near there, I'm sure of it. After the Angel of Light awakens, then comes the Angel of Death, which is you, Dilandau. After that, that makes four angels awakened and then we head to Freid." Hiero replied, and suddenly the snowstorm about them got worse.
"Ugh, I hate this. Get your hands off of me, Hiero." Alessa yelped suddenly, wriggling away from him. He stood stunned for a moment as she plodded off quickly into the ever increasing snowfall. She looked back, her face turning blue and pink. "We're moving too slow if you keep trying to protect me. I can take care of myself, you're moving too slowly with me held so damn close. I'll be fine." She shouted back, her emotion of current held hidden in her loud words.
"But Alessa….its not that far. We shouldn't go that way….its….Ugh…." Hiero shouted back, then his eyes widened and his hands shot to his head as he fell to his knees. Dilandau actually stopped and ran back at this cry of pain and started to shake him, but Hiero was beyond helping for the moment.
His mind was filled with a dark expanse, then a scene flooded through it swiftly, every color melded across his thoughts like an oil painting. He knew what was in it, the sky was as black as pitch and snowy expanse like quicksilver, but the figure amidst it all gave itself away with its braided lavender hair. "Alessa?" he muttered, seeing her walking along the snow covered ground with great determination, as she had before his powers kicked in. She was making good time, and he saw the others plooding a good distance behind her, then he heard a sickening crack. In seconds flat, the snow beneath Alessa's feet fell out under her and dragged her into it. They were walking on a frozen lake, and Alessa drowned and froze to death in one of the weak parts. "ALESSA!!" he shouted, then felt a sharp pain go across his scarred cheek.
His vision cleared, and he saw the same snowy field they had been in before, but Dilandau was in front of him, Alessa still walking away and still in his sights.
"ALESSA!" he shouted, running for her, accidentally knocking a startled Dilandau over. He heard the general running after him, but he didn't care if Dilandau was angry. Alessa would die if he didn't hurry. She was still a good ways off, but he had hope in his speed. He turned his head back, seeing the Dragon Slayers in hot pursuit. "Gatti! Chesta! Now's the right time, grab two and head for spot where the Temple of Truth was. NOW!" he shouted, not bothering to keep looking at them to see if they understood him.
Then came the cracking noise, and Alessa's high-pitched scream. He saw it all happening again, the snow caving in, her arms flailing wildly as she tried to regain her footing, that luscious lavender braid of her swirling around like an angry whip, all ready to fall into the icy depths below her.
"NO!" he screamed, and made a hard jump for her, and summoned his wings, not caring what she'd think. He wasn't about to let her die, he wouldn't, even at the cost of his secret. His wings gave him the extra push he needed and he slammed into Alessa's tight side as her knees almost went under the frozen water. He quickly made his wings swoop them upwards and went back down towards Dilandau.
Dilandau was perfectly still, staring at the growing cracks and snow that was caving in a few feet away from his body. Alessa was cowering against Hiero now bare chest, not even looking at him. 'No one dies because of me, no one.' He thought, and flew near Dilandau. "Grab onto my waist, please Dilandau." He said loudly, the wind still making it hard to speak normally. Dilandau looked one last moment at the cracking ground, the frozen, darkened waters thrashing about a foot away, then wrapped his arms around Hiero's torso and one arm got around Alessa.
As Hiero lifted away from the breaking ground, he felt both of Dilandau legs grapple about his and part of Alessa, his head pressed tight against Hiero back. 'Least his skin is warm. Gods, if I ever grew chest hair, its be frozen off by now. I should have worn my armor to my coronation after all. Dammit….but, at least they are alive.' He thought, looking about himself for the others.
He looked towards the mountains last when he found the ground was devoid of snow where the Dragon Slayers had been standing, and smiled a little. He saw the hints of gold and stormy blue wings, carrying figure decked in dark blue, one of which was struggling. The top of that one had a spec of brown, so he was about to guess it was either Migel or Dalet, but the stormy blue winged shape was carrying two brunettes, all being too far away to see how long their hair was. Guimel and Ryuon had to be held by Chesta, as Guimel was lighter than both Dalet and Migel, and Ryuon was tall and slim, probably a lot easier to carry for someone like Chesta.
"Am I dead?" he heard Alessa say against his chest, her lips tickling his skin. She was warm too, but she was just too damned close to some very sensitive areas. Her fingers were digging into the back of his neck, her legs were tightly wrapped about one of his a bit high on his left thigh. He suppressed a blush and shook his head, careful not to let either of his friends drop. "No, you're just fine, Alessa." He said, taking them higher towards the mountains.
He felt Alessa shift, and his heart started to beat out of control. She was going to see his wings whether he liked it or not, but he was still nervous. Dilandau, Gatti and Chesta had all seen his Draconian wings and liked them, being very in awe, Dilandau being the best about it, he thought so anyway. Alessa was a different matter, she was from the Mystic Moon, and winged people would be harder to accept on a whole. He was raised up in a world that hated the race, which had come from the Mystic Moon. He didn't know much about that world, but he doubted there were people there with wings.
He waited a moment and looked down at her as bravely as possibly. He met with two stunned icy eyes. She wasn't staring at his face, but his wings, looking them up and down ever so slowly. He felt like he was being dissected, but kept quiet, forgetting how cold he was to make his blue lips become a thing, gentle line. He waited, then grimaced as she opened her mouth to say something, then faint dead away in his arms.
He gave her a shake, but when she didn't rouse, he just sighed and flew over the mountains. "I guess she took it well." Dilandau commented.
Hiero snickered, as if mocking the general. "What makes you think she saw anything?"
"I'm not stupid. I know how a person feels when they faint. So weak….but enticing. Knowing how people work isn't such a bad occupation. I had plenty of time to know how to tell the difference between a sleeper, a fainter, and a corpse when I was being trained the first time." Dilandau said knowingly, pride filling his words.
"At least she didn't scream….yes, I guess fainting is better than something else," he replied, then looked down as they passed over the mountains," Best we land a moment so we can all get in a better position. Gatti and Chesta might be a bit choppy on flying, but we had no choice. I'll have to give them some pointers down there. There's a cave near it, it should suffice until the storm lifts. That and my chest is about fall off from frostbite."
"Lousy jinx, its all her fault. I told you we should have left her behind. She nearly got us all killed with her lone wolf crap." Dilandau grumbled.
Hiero snickered. "You're one to talk, Mr. I Burned Part of Asturia Alone." Hiero replied, delighting in the groan Dilandau made. He knew, as did Dilandau, that if he tried to slap Hiero, he'd fall. 'He'll get it on me once we land, like I care. Pain is my constant companion, and Death is a saucy flirt.' He thought almost giddily, then swooped down towards the ravine, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the Dragon Slayers, winged and not.
~ Cave ~
Dilandau wasted no time in slapping Hiero a few times once the king had assured him there was a cave and that his Slayers were in one piece. Hiero shrugged it off, smiling sadistically at Dilandau own sleazy smirk, but neither of them changed their expressions. Dilandau seemed to like someone having the balls to stand up t him and take his licks like a man. It was probably why Gatti was Dilandau second in command, the guy could really take a slap good.
Hiero sighed as he carried the slumbering Alessa into the dark cavern. There was still enough light to see the outline of the cave's empty inner sanctum. He yawned involuntarily as he got all the way in and carried his sweet bundle to a far corner, one that felt most warm. He sat down and watched with sleepy eyes as the others piled in, Chesta rubbing his eyes in the most adorable manner and Gatti let out a yawn. Dilandau and Migel looked equally tired, but Migel wasn't staggering as much as the others. 'Their wings, that must be it, and the rush of flying I put Dilandau through. That's probably it. Flying does take a bit out of you, and we've been walking most of the day. Least this place is snug and warm….yes, so warm.' He mused lucidly, leaning his head back a bit as he adjusted Alessa's position against his body.
Hiero let her curled up legs slide between his open ones, keeping her rear planted comfortably on his lap and her torso to her head lined up with his bare chest, her head resting peacefully under his chin. He'd explain nothing happened, just in case she really, really didn't trust him anymore after seeing his wings.
He yawned again, his eyes growing heavy as he watched the Dragon Slayers build a fire and then warm up the supplies on sticks over the roaring fire.
~
Guimel roasted a quartet of fine bird meat on the stick Ryuon had given him. Lord Dilandau would always eat first, knew it as a rule, and whoever got their food the warmest first had to give it up for him. Guimel kept his stick a ways from the fire, but close enough to make it appear like it was in there. He respected his patron, but he respected his stomach a little more.
"Hey, Lord Dilandau….are you all right? Lord Dilandau?" Ryuon was asking a ways behind him. Guimel looked back to see his patron was lying on his side, eyes shut, with an almost peaceful expression on his face. After all this effort, Lord Dilandau was asleep. He had been full of fiery energy before they got in the cave, but the moment they'd walked in, he seemed tired. Guimel hadn't thought much of it till now, Lord Dilandau wouldn't sleep without eating, it was unhealthy.
What made him feel more uneasy was the fact that Ryuon was really shaking him hard, and Lord Dilandau wasn't waking up. A loud thud made him yelp, nearly dropping his meat in the flames. He looked to it and saw it was Gatti, who was lying on his back with his meat burnt and flaming on his stick, Guimel yanked it away and stamped it out, then check on Gatti. He was asleep too. Guimel set his food down and started to shake Gatti, but it was as if Gatti couldn't feel a thing. He tried slapping him, knowing that was a sure-fire way to get Gatti to wake up no matter what, and frowned when it failed.
Another thud came, and Guimel didn't need to turn around to see who it was. "Chesta?!" Dalet cried, his boot heels clicking against the pavement loudly as he rushed to the fallen blonde.
Guimel looked about him, only he, Ryuon, and Dalet seemed to be fully awake. His expression fell when he saw Hiero asleep and slumped up against the corner he'd retreated to, and it fell further when he saw a very sluggish Migel staggering towards the young king and his friend.
"You….this is your fault….this cave is….ugnh….cursed. I'll kill you….baka. Ohhhhh…."Migel was slurring out, then promptly fell forward, right against Hiero's chest in a very awkward position. Guimel didn't no whether to help or laugh. Migel just looked terribly with his right cheek slapped against Hiero bare chest, his hand flopped in the king's lap and the rest of his body strewn between his legs. His other hand was on Lady Alessa's chest, the back of it anyway, but still, one would get wrong idea if they saw the trio without seeing how it happened.
Dalet and Ryuon made no move towards them, smirking and stifling laughter best they could, so Guimel wasn't about to become a part of the private joke. "Now what do we do?" he asked plainly, picking his food stick up.
The two Dragon Slayers looked at him, then at the sleeping ones, then to the fire. "I guess, we wait, and eat. We don't know what's wrong other than the fact they all fell asleep. And according to Hiero, they are all angels, so, maybe that's why we are all still awake. We're not angels." Dalet surmised. Ryuon smirked in an annoyed manner and slapped the back of Dalet's head. "I think we pretty much guessed that, genius. Let's just pray they aren't dying from this strange spell." The dark-haired young Slayer rasped out, shaking his head.
Guimel just looked towards their patron, the rare peaceful look across his features putting him slightly at ease, but a slight pinch of fear was picking at his brain. 'He won't be so happy when he wakes up and finds out we ate before he did, so I guess we should enjoy his slumber while it lasts. Hopefully, he won't be asleep too long.' He thought, sticking his meat over the fire.
~ The Astral Plane ~
-Dilandau's Mind -
"Dilandau Thani Albatou….wake up already. You have a lock to break, child." A familiar and elegant voice announced, making Dilandau head throb. He sat up from the dark ground he was lying on. He looked around and found nothing but darkness. He knew that voice, but couldn't put a name to it, not until he saw the face.
He looked towards it, then growled. He swiftly shot up and reached for his blade, only to find in disgust it wasn't there. The blonde figure wearing blues and whites just stared back at him with charming, patient blue eyes, as if he were looking at an actual child. "What are you doing here, Allen Schezar?! And for that matter, where are the others? Talk or I'll strangle you where you stand." Dilandau spat, raising an angry fist all through his harsh speech.
Allen did the worst thing imaginable, he smiled pleasantly and didn't answer Dilandau. The young general hissed at the Asturian knight and ran at him, his gloved hands reaching for his neck. Just as he reached the still knight, he passed right through him and fell flat on his face. Dilandau got up, stunned, but still angry, grinding his teeth together like an enraged animal. Allen just turned around slowly, still smiling. "I'm not really Allen, Dilandau, I am the guardian of your fears. There are seven locks, one lock for each angel, three have been unlocked, only four remain. You are one key, to unlock your way to the next temple, and out of the Astral Plane, you must face your fears. Including this facade." The false Allen said evenly.
Dilandau just sniffed haughtily at him, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. "A challenge is it, whatever you are? Fine then….but I am appalled to hear you say such lies. Why the hell would I be afraid of my playboy….gag….uncle?" Dilandau spouted.
Allen went on smiling. "You fear becoming me, your arrogance is proof of that. Never letting anyone in, your cruelty, all so you won't react as Allen does. You hated him for what he did to your mother, vowing never to become him, but certain things happened this time that changed your mind, aside from dear Hiero. Ryna perhaps?" Allen put to him, and Dilandau froze a moment, but kept his haughty manner going.
"What about her? She's dead, what can possibly have scared me about her?" he spat, knowing full well he was lying to this thing. The false Allen laughed, and with a flick of his wrist, the darkness rippled like water, and a scene surrounded them. It was his bedroom in Castle Eden, the one he'd been given once he reached thirteen. He saw himself, nearly as tall as he was now, stabbing at the headboard.
He smiled a little, wanting to stab something, to burn anything very badly. His younger self was staring at his fireplace at the same time, sitting cross-legged on his bed, giggling. "Folken, Folken, Folken. Oooooo, how I want to carve you to the bone. For what you did to my men, to Chesta and Gatti especially. I'm the only one who gets to torture people, not you, you freak! Ah, ahahahhahahahaaaa!" his younger self was laughing. Currently this Dilandau wasn't in his armor, he was wearing his white vest and black leather pants, but that was it. His golden headband was on the nightstand beside him bed and his armor was hung over a nearby chair.
He just went on stabbing the wood and pretending it was Folken's face. Then there was a door creaking. The present Dilandau and past both looked towards the sound, only the present one keeping his eyes on the form that came through. It was a very pretty young woman, maybe a few years older than he was then. Her hair was dark with a sort of a ruby sheen to the tips, almost as if it were dipped very delicately in blood. Her eyes were a gentle lavender. She was a slave, that much was evident from her raggedy brown clothing. She had a black eye, but didn't seem to mind it. It wasn't taking anything away from her good looks. She wasn't as pretty as he was, but she was nice to look at.
She was holding a tray of food and walked in, setting it down Upon Dilandau's nightstand, but also got in his line of sight of the roaring fire. He instantly stopped stabbing the wood and shot the knife right through the table, starting her terribly. The food was already safe, but she wasn't.
He grabbed her and held her at arms length, rage fully overtaking his face. Then he stopped, the girl wasn't crying, she wasn't shivering, she wasn't afraid anymore, just staring at him blankly, as if she had nothing to lose. His former self stared a while, his face still angry, yet scrutinizing. He searched her face, the eyes, a few stray locks of hair swiveling across them, the tanned color in her cheeks, very unlike most slaves. Most never saw the light of day, so he gathered she had been new or one of Folken's personal slaves, the ones that got all the 'fun' abuse.
The present Dilandau looked down when he saw his former self kiss the girl, for a minute or so, then his former self thrust her violently away. Dilandau cringed when he saw his expression of fear compared to the girl's. She looked as impassive as ever, but he looked ready to scream, and did so, practically throwing the girl out of the room and locking his door. The present Dilandau grit his teeth, hating and loving this memory at the same time. It had been his first kiss, ever, and it had scared him. He was a soldier, he wasn't supposed to feel love at all.
The fight was all that mattered. The battle was his bride, the sword his child that he would gladly feed to hear it scream with delight at tasting fresh blood. But love, he had never considered it fairly important, he still didn't, but that one moment made him just want to try it, just for the hell of it. That wasn't what bothered him, it was the fact that he liked it that scared him, he felt soft, weak, and warm because of that, the way his mother felt whenever she thought about the men she wanted to be with, not the men Allen wanted her to be with.
That was why he threw her out, he didn't want to feel that way, it would ruin his objective, his revenge would be harder to attain if he had a single weakness. The scene faded as his regret rose, making him sick to his stomach. "What became of her, Dilandau? Did you rectify the problem or not? You were too afraid to give up that addictive feeling to do anything." Allen said with pride.
Dilandau met it with a death glare. "She is dead, but not by my hand. It would have been a waste of my time….Folken killed her in front of me to make a damned example. She had told him what I did and he had her executed for disturbing my present state to do something so foolish. He did it to bother me….hmmph." Dilandau grumbled.
"And it worked, and that scared you. Do you admit that, or are you going to be a stubborn child as you were then, the same stubborn child that let this happen." Allen spouted, and Dilandau stared at him incredulously, barely taking note their surroundings were changing again.
When he heard familiar screams ripping through the darkened flaming terrain, he had no choice but to look to it, seeing that battle, where he'd lost his dear Dragon Slayers to Van Fanel and Escaflowne. He saw the remake red Alseides he had piloted back them, frozen in place as Escaflowne tore through Guimel's guymelef first, the high pitched wailing and screaming of the young Slayer stabbing at his ears. He tried to blot it out, with his mind, then by ramming his hands against his ears, anything to make ti go away.
He collapsed to his knees, holding his ears shut, but his eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the horrible scene, each of his men's guymelef turning into molten red piles of blood and metal. He then saw Dalet's guymelef get crushed, blood shooting out from the cockpit as his screams were painfully silenced. Then went Gatti, his hoarse yells cut off as the top of his guymelef was sliced off, showing Dilandau a perfect view of the severed and twitching torso within. The liquid mercury within that was normally inside it pooled around him as the guymelef became nothing but mush.
Chesta and Viole screamed next, then the rest of the Dragon Slayers were torn apart, murdered by Escaflowne, and all he had done then was stand there, looking about himself when it was all over for survivors. "DAMN YOU VAN! YOU TOOK MY ONLY FAMILY AWAY FROM ME I HATE YOU!" Dilandau screamed over his past versions frightened pleas.
"STAY AWAY!!" his former self screamed, his guymelef hazardously stumbling away from the approaching Escaflowne. The present Dilandau just watched, frozen in fear as was his past self, the sword racing for Dilandau's throat. "STOP IT! IT'S DAMNED OVER! THEY'RE DEAD! VAN, YOU BASTARD!" Dilandau shouted, even as Escaflowne stopped, and started to swat at empty air. He saw the Alseides flee, but he knew what he had been doing, he'd been crying, full of fear at his near death experience, but he knew it every night he went to sleep after that.
That gnawing fear, it made him so weak that day, too weak to move and defend his men. Naturally, he was never expected to do it, but they were all he had known then. He had no idea he was really Celena at the time, he had been told by the sorcerers and later by Folken that his parents had abandoned him, and that his men had abandoned him, not the other way around. 'But I did abandon them….dammit, I was the coward, Shit, I hate it when I'm wrong. I hate it! Stupid playboy bastard….ghost.' he thought, beating his hands uselessly against the false terrain as the scene shifted.
"NO! I didn't do anything! Stop it, leave me alone!" a little girl's voice screamed. Dilandau kept his garnet eyes aimed at the floor, which was now dark and metallic. 'No, not again, leave us alone! I KILLED YOU!' his mind screamed, wrenching his eyes up to the familiar nightmare he and his mother had endured for years after the war.
There was little Celena Schezar, screaming and writhing about on the silvery operating table, watching fluids and needles and other such terrible devices the sorcerers used on them both, to make them the perfect little murderous pet. He'd been insulted and sick to discover he was not who he thought he was then, and that those dirty old men had abused his mother's body so greatly.
He was happy that he'd been allowed to take over, but still, once Celena awoke and took control again, he was subjected to the fate he had to her, being all alone and trapped in his own body, no hope to be pulled out. Hiero had ended his solitude, the torment of being left in the dark without the power to speak for himself. He owed Hiero so much, but it wasn't as if he'd say it in front of everyone, that was a private matter, not meant to be spread or heads would roll. He wasn't happy that he'd been resurrected through Folken raping his mother, and these four sorcerer bastards were mentally raping her now.
He looked away swiftly, hating this terrible reminder of his births. He hated it so much he could scream, but he wasn't about to give that bastard Allen facsimile the pleasure of seeing him in pain. The scene shifted around him again, and the scene was in front of him, when he and Hiero were children, Dilandau within the invading guymelef's hand. He had known where he was going, back to Folken to be used for this prophecy crap, but little Hiero leapt out the caved in wall, revealing his wings and tried to save him, but Dilandau had let go, to save Hiero from being cut apart.
As soon as this scene had started, it faded and Dilandau whipped his body up to face the chuckling false Allen. "You're not scaring me here, that was all in the past. It will not happen again. I won't let myself be left behind again. I'd sooner slit the person's throat than let anyone ever mess with my men or me ever again!" Dilandau spat angrily.
Allen raised a blonde eyebrow, smiling a bit, as if considering this. "Do you admit you were afraid then, even if it doesn't scare you as much now, so you say." Allen dripped out with a chuckle. Dilandau dove at him, only to fly right through him all over again and land hard on his front. He whirled his angry face about to meet with Allen's delicate blue eyes. "Argh, you're a pain, but fine. There is no denying it, you won't let me out of this pit of hell until I suck up my pride and spit it out, as if anyone else is hearing this. I was afraid, I hated every minute the I went through those memories of the sorcerers, of Ryna's death, of losing my Slayers. But that is over, I won't let it happen again. The fear will go to the world of the dead with my mother, where she no longer fears. I will never fear again. I'm not afraid of Allen, not Van, not those moments, or even death itself, never again. Do you hear me, you blonde freaking bastard?!" he screamed.
Allen just smirked. "Would you kill not to see them die again?" he asked. Dilandau gave him an odd look. 'First we're talking about fear, then about killing. What an idiot, but this beats fear any day, unless I'm the cause. Hmm, very sweet.' He thought with a smile.
"Are you trying to order me around, ghost? Or is this out of pure curiosity?" he asked haughtily, putting his hand to his scarred cheek. Thinking about killing someone, or better yet, setting them on fire, filled him with excitement, his blood boiling from the adrenaline rush. Allen's expression never changed as he repeated," Would you kill not to see them die again?"
Dilandau sighed. "You're no fun. Oh course I would, but what does that have to do with fear? You are truly wasting my time, ghost. Now you let me out of here so I can attend to Hiero and my men." Dilandau spat.
Then Allen really smiled, from ear to ear. "Interesting." He said quietly, but the way he said it made Dilandau's skin crawl. It was just said too close to what the word was, like he was too interested in his words. "What the hell is so interesting, baka?" Dilandau demanded.
"You said Hiero's name before your men. Now why would you do a thing like that?" Allen smirked, angering Dilandau, but then his emotions halted. Why had he said his name first and not put him after his men. His blank looked seemed to be amusing Allen. "Heh, how very interesting. You like him….because he's just like you and he likes you right back. How the mighty have fallen."
Dilandau growled again, then stopped, and made a feral grin. "I know what you are up to, you think I'll screw everything up by acting afraid to say it. Well, I'm not afraid of a damned ghost. You can't hurt me. Yes, I like him, and who cares if he does or doesn't like me. I'm not afraid of becoming you anymore, I could never be you and I am pretty thankful at that. Who would want to be a blonde airhead who's had his dick in more women in one lifetime than all the men in Gaia have? I wouldn't, not me, I'm not a perverted chauvinistic creep like you, hiding behind his mother's death and sister's disappearance to make excuses for why he sleeps around. Oh, I'm lonely, I'm all alone, my father doesn't love us, he doesn't care, well go to hell, Allen Schezar. I didn't have anyone but Jajuka and the Dragon Slayers, I didn't have a past to remember, but I didn't hide behind my lack of loving parents. I admit I did everything for me, do you hear, ME! I will always delight in burning places to the ground, slaughtering Folken for all its worth, and to fight and fight until there's nothing left to fight! I am stronger than ever now, and it won't change. I will kill for my men as they would for me. For Hiero too, because I choose to, not some petty emotions. I will never fall!" Dilandau ranted, grinning widely as the ghost finally showed some fear in its eyes, backing away from him.
Allen fell to his knees, clutching his head, then started to laugh maniacally. Dilandau remained where he was, ready to strike out at whatever this thing was planning. Then the eyes of Allen Schezar looked at him sharply, grinning wickedly. "Unlocked, Angel of Death. So I gather that you won't mind killing one of them to save the rest, now will you?"
Dilandau had to frown. Killing was one thing, but killing one of his own was another. They'd really have to make him angry enough to force such a rage upon them. "Who?" he asked tentatively.
Allen smirked, his form fading. "I have others to attend to, and you shall see. You must take life and try to save it at the cost of your own, then grip life with all you have to awaken, Angel of Death. The guardian of death will come, and you will fight to the death, or die trying. Try not to die too quickly….Ahahahahahaaaa!" he laughed, fully fading away as Dilandau reached him.
"Let me out, you bastard! Let me out!! Tell me who?!! RIGHT NOW!" Dilandau screamed, raising his enraged and insane garnet eyes to the blackened and endless sky above, thrashing his fists wildly at his unseen adversary.
- Alessa's Mind -
"Alessa Lee Demitrius. Oh honey, wake up. You're late for school." She heard her father say, but as she opened her pristine blue eyes, she found she wasn't in her bedroom, or in any room for that matter. She jerked up into a sitting position and found herself in total blackness, only herself and a man who looked strikingly like her father had, when she was little.
He had the same short lavender and swishy hair, that carefree boyish smile, no sign of stubble, wearing a business suit, the one he'd worn the last night she had seen him alive. "Daddy?" she asked, but he shook his head, smiling.
"No, I am your fear, rather I represent your fear of abandonment. Most of you angels seem to share this, but dear Hiero seems to be most fearful of that word, and rejection. You namely fear being left behind by those you grew to care for and love, that getting close to anyone and anything will result in heartache, as did this man and your mother's deaths made you feel when you discovered the truth." The man said.
Alessa was still puzzled, but she understood this apparition wasn't her real father. She had to be dreaming, but it wasn't like any dream she'd ever experienced. It was more like those freaky visions that Hiero showed her in Fanelia. 'The day he whistled the "Dragon Bride" to me, that sad and pretty song. Oh….Hiero….I remember.' she thought her eyes widening suddenly as she recalled what had happened this day. Hiero, and those angel wings, Hiero had grown wings to save her from a watery grave. 'And you were a lame idiot and fainted. You don't even flinch at horror movies and you faint like some frail airhead at the sight of a boy with wings, a boy that kills dragons and has wings and hangs out with a psycho pyro albino. Oh, I'm so confused. It was so much easier to worry about good grades and to check my sheets for spiders and frogs from those stuck up boys from the first floor.'
"If you're through mentally whining like a pathetic creampuff, may we get on with this? The longer you take, the closer your mind slips towards death." The man chuckled, pushing a lavender lock out of his eyes. She looked at him coldly, wrinkling her nose in disgust at him. 'He's not my father for sure. My father was never that arrogant or cruel. He'd never speak to even his worst enemies like that. This thing is an insult to my father's good name.' She thought harshly.
"Let's do it, creep. The sooner I do whatever it is you want, the sooner you get out of my face. I don't intend on dying after all the crazy shit I've been through already. If I can survive a dragon, and some killer singer, I sure as hell can survive a….ghost like you. What do you want from me?" she hissed out, standing her ground.
The false father smirked slightly, then waved his hanged in a sweeping motion, the darkness rippling with sudden colors. "You only fear that one thing, loved ones leaving you, so you might survive, then again, its so deeply rooted, you keep pushing so many away. Like with this little moment….look at his face, he's heartbroken." The man laughed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, pointing at the scene that had happened only moments ago, or was it hours. She didn't know how long it had been since she fainted. All she knew was that she saw Hiero's wings, then passed out, but now she was seeing him trying to shield her, and her shoving him off and walking away. Alessa's heart nearly broke in two at the sight of Hiero's tragic face, watching her walk off sadly, then reaching out.
She had done it because of how close he was, and the familiar way he was holding her. It reminded her of her parents, her parents held her in that protective way when she was hurt or sad, it had always made her feel loved and warm, but now, it hurt because it was just a reminder of those wonderful days. She hadn't wanted to feel that way towards him, he was a king after all, he'd go for a princess, not her. He couldn't love a commoner, a Mystic Moon citizen as the help called her, his country most definitely wouldn't allow it, as Myrna had gleefully pointed out each time she tried to ransack her room.
Alessa knew Myrna was just jealous of her because Hiero liked. Myrna had more hope of getting with the King of Fanelia than she did. She had just wanted to spare herself and Hiero the painful feelings of heartache. If either of them got attached romantically, even if she liked the idea of that happening, they'd be split apart because of the rules of his world and kingdom.
"Do you admit you were afraid of loving him? Do you honestly think he could never truly love you back?" the man asked suddenly, sweeping the image off of Hiero's saddened face. "So what if I did it for that? Loving people just leads to hurt…." She uttered quietly.
"You didn't answer my question fully. Do you think he couldn't love you back?" the man asked tightly.
Alessa felt a little pain in her chest, but took a hard breath,, and felt slightly better. "I think he's capable, but….he's a king, I'm not a princess or a queen or even a, well, whatever he is. Why would he wanted someone so….normal and bland and depressing when he could have some perky and gorgeous lady in waiting?"
"But, but, but, you know the more you say that, the more you act like one. What an ass, really." The man chuckled, stifling greater laughs deep within his throat. He looked about ready to burst. Alessa just sneered. She didn't get what was so funny, but then the pain returned and she didn't have the time to concentrate on his laughing. "And great asses deserve to die most painfully, until you start admitting some things, little girl. I meant what I said, you either play by the rules or you die. D-I-E, DIE! How would you like to see what's in his head….what he was thinking about when you nearly kissed each other, hmmm?" the man giggled, sounding terribly like Dilandau.
With a wave of his hands, they were in her bedroom in the castle of Fanelia, herself and Hiero sitting on the bed in each others' arms. With a slight cough from Hiero, memory flooded back, flashing every so often to different moments.
"I do want to say that I have to agree with Sora, as lousy as that is, that your ring was destined for another. You're like a messenger for him, the angel of death." He uttered quietly, and unlike the last time, since the room had been dark, she could see Hiero was blushing.
"Who's he? You said you knew who the angel of death was earlier? How will I know him?" her past self asked, breathing hard and short.
"Dilandau Albatou, a guy my age with silver hair and red eyes. I don't know where he is currently, but his Alseides guymelef might be what your ring is linked to for him. The energist fragment….your ring matches the energist heart on his Alseides," he replied," ….based off an ancient guymelef made by….Ispona race, the true blood red Alseides unearthed in Zaibach….. I've never seen the real model, only the guymelefs that got based off of it. That's all I know…."
"That's nice….now…would you let go of me….please." she asked quietly, and Alesa could see herself blushing and shaking nervously, but he was off in a daze staring into her eyes, not doing as she had asked.
"Afraid of me? I'm not going to harm you." he said, leaning in a bit and Alessa grew warm all over when she saw him briefly brush his lips gently over her upper lip. She recalled how safe she had felt then, how alive and happy, that a king of all people would like a nobody like her, even try and kiss her.
"I'm not afraid of you, not of anyone….I…."she started, but she grew lost in his eyes, the present Alessa watching her start to give into her desire to touch him like that, to gain her first kiss. Sje recalled the warmth had grown terribly through her blood, fireworks erupting on her lips as he tried to kiss her. It was like being kissing by a rose petal, so whisper soft and delicate, it was barely felt, but one knew it was there.
"LORD HIERO! Are you in there?" Myrna's voice shouted through the door, her little fists banging on the door. Alessa didn't laugh when she saw Hiero jump a bit and kiss her nose, blushing madly like he was the biggest goof of Gaia. He heard him swear something under his breath, it was in that Japanese language, it sounded like what he called Migel, Gaki. Chesta said that meant brat, and it made Alessa smile, making the pain dissipate slightly. Regretfully, she had yanked herself away then too, cursing ni her mind at the interruption, but also praised Myrna for her timing. It made Alessa sad she thought that, if Hiero ever found out, what would he think of her? Would he think her a flirt and a tease, just stringing him along and never to return his feelings?
As the scene faded, it became a new one, of Hiero in his bedroom, he was only in his boxers, making Alessa blush, but only for a moment. He looked so sad, not crying, but his eyes looked so very gloomy, as if he'd lost something dear to him. She knew that look, it was what she saw in the mirror everyday of her life after she was told what became of her parents.
Hiero was staring at the ceiling with his arms behind his head, whistling Dragon Bride, and then something caught her eye. It wasn't the pink pendant around his neck, but something golden and round. It looked like the metal gold headband that Dilandau wore, but it was very different. It looked almost like what the Zaibach royalty had been wearing, Flora had been wearing one.
As suddenly as she had noticed it, Hiero sat up and picked the tiara up, inspecting it. "I'm so glad Val gave me this. I was lucky his Aunt Celena left this back at their place, it's all I have left of her. Poor woman….how your son must miss you now." He uttered.
'Celena….Lady Celena, he and Val mentioned her, but who was she? Why does he have her tiara? Were they….in love?' she thought frantically.
"She was with him, but he didn't know. He didn't feel that way about her, he loved her in a special way….why are you being so defensive. Afraid you'll lose him to a memory." Her false father chuckled. Alessa shook her head, and she meant it.
She watched Hiero put it on, his bangs supported perfectly above the beautiful piece of gold. He walked over to his window, sighing gently as he leaned on the sill and hung his head low. Slowly, he lifted his head to the sky, smiling as a tear drifted down his cheek. "Can I keep her? Can I really have love ever again, Lady Celena? Mother? Father? Or will I be left behind when they all die. I can't take burying anymore people I love….and I love her. She's….an angel. I don't care if my advisors want her kicked out, I won't let them hurt her. Please, tell me there's a chance I can be happy here, that I won't lose her. Maybe….she'd even accept, my secrets….maybe." he uttered, and then Alessa saw his back pulsate.
She nearly fell over as his beautiful solid white wings came out of his back, hiding most of his upper body from view, several dazzling feathers flurrying about him like a windstorm. "Could she accept a freak? A monster like me, if she knew what I really am, would she love me back?" he said quietly, but she heard every word. She stood silently, wanting so much to comfort him, to tell him she was sorry. Hiero folded his wings against his back, looking like a real angel, his sapphire blue hair glowing beautifully in the pale moonlight outside of her world and her moon. He was slumped over, breathing lightly, but she could almost make out tiny crystalline droplets gently pecking against the sill, watching the small sparkling spheres plummet from his scarred cheek.
Then everything was blackened away, she felt a great pain in her heart, more for Hiero. He did love her, but was too shy to express it. He had nearly done it, but they had been interrupted. The dance, the dance they had performed together had been a wonderful experience, but more than once she'd felt Hiero heart racing even when they were still. He was as afraid of getting close to her as she was, and it was breaking her heart to imagine how much she had hurt him with just one moment. Tears started to well up in her eyes, of how she had assumed Hiero would give her up without a fight, as she believed her parents gave her up. 'It wasn't true….they had no choice….but Hiero does….and he cares. Would he….fight for me that hard? Oh God, he thinks he's a monster because of his wings….I must have totally hurt his feeling when I fainted. Dammit, I'm sorry Hiero, I have to wake up now.' She thought wildly, whirling on the chuckling false father. He was on his knees now, fading away.
"I'm not afraid of him, I won't be afraid. I'll apologize….not after what he thinks of himself. He needs someone to tell him that. Just like I do…." She said, biting her lip.
"Unlocked, Angel of Love. Finally, you understand why you are here. Isn't that nice? Note you no longer feel any physical pain since you stopped lying about your feelings. That's a hint, really, lying to yourself about how you feel will prevent you from ascending." The false father chuckled. Alessa choked back her tears and glared at the fading man, wanting to punch him for being such a snide jerk.
"Such dirty little feelings, what would your father say? Well, who cares, four down, three to go. Enjoy your stay, girlie. I have a little brunette to play with now. Hee, hee, heeeee!" the false father snickered, vanishing from Alessa's icy stare, leaving her in darkness.
"You asshole! Let me the hell out! I can't do anything in the ass of hell, let me out! Oooo, every weirdo thing in this world is a pain in the ass! Hiero! Hiero, get me out of here! I'm sorry!! Hiero!" she shouted, raising her scared eyes to the blackness above.
- Migel's Mind -
"Migel Dima Lavariel…..GET THE HELL UP, SOLDIER!!" a voice cackled, making Migel sneer, even if his face was mushed against the warm floor. He got up slowly, only to receive a swift kick in the pants that sent him sprawling, the laughter growing.
He whirled on the youth, Hiero's cocky yet beautiful face still laughing loudly and mockingly at him. "What the hell do you want, pretty boy? What have you done to Lord Dilandau!? To us!? Answer me or its your life!" Migel ordered, reaching for his blade, cursing when he found it gone. Hiero wasn't armed either, but he wasn't one to be underestimated. He was tricky, sneaky, and violent, like a little prankster murderer. It gave Migel the creeps.
Hiero just smiled, giggling like a naughty child. "Try." Hiero dared. Migel growled and rushed him, landing a punch in Hiero's face, or rather through it. There was so much force behind the punch that Migel lost his footing and fell through the Fanelian King, falling flat on his face. Hiero was still giggling even as he turned around, mocking Migel with every movement. The Dragon Slayers rolled over, supporting himself by his elbows as Hiero bent over and put his face inches away from his own.
"You punch like a girl. Ah ahahahahaaaa! I'm not even the real Hiero, but believe me, he's one boy you don't want to try and kill. It'll just piss him off, Migel, dearest Angel of Light. I am the guardian of your fear, and you fear Hiero. Sweet, isn't it, Miggie." The fake Hiero teased, giving Migel a light slap on the cheek before stepping back, almost dancing away from him.
When the fake Hiero stopped moving, Migel had gotten up, then jumped back when Hiero looked back at him, piecing him with his strange eyes. "Me? Afraid of a little pretty boy king who was spawned from the loins of a freak and a Mystic Moon slut? Hah, don't make me laugh." Migel scoffed, hating this all together. It was uncomfortable being with even a fake Hiero, he was ten times more annoying and violent than the true king, but either way, looking at that condescending face made his skin chill.
The fact that their Lord Dilandau was actually acting friendly with him, they even talked about things, and were making plans for Zaibach's demise. In the past, Lord Dilandau had been third in line for the Zaibach throne, only kept in third by Folken, who was second in line. Lord Dilandau had been more than eager then to ascend the throne, letting his Slayers help Folken have a little accident of course. Things changed after they were all killed and Lord Dilandau became Celena Schezar.
They all knew what they had done to their mothers that rebirthed them, split them open like rip fruit, destroying their mothers' inside with their thrashing within their bodies. Lord Dilandau explained it, so they wouldn't expect loving mothers and fathers to save them. They were all crushed to hear that their new father's just wanted money and left the moment they raped their mothers. It was sickening, but more sickening that Hiero had changed their patron. Lord Dilandau would never show a bit of respect for anyone, royalty, Dragon Slayers, commoners, no one was worthy of his time, but Hiero had become just that. Dilandau treated that royal monster like an equal, as if he was worth the respect Lord Dilandau was.
Hiero was still staring at him, smirking and giggling. "What's so damned funny? Where am I, freak?" Migel spat. The false Hiero gestured around himself, then at Migel. "I said it before and I shall say it again for the hearing impaired, Migel. I represent your fears and will gladly display the worst of your worst fears to you, and if you're strong enough to admit it, you might live. If not, I get to play with your soul forever and ever and ever." Hiero tittered, flicking his fingers about like inchworms.
Migel stayed still, but kept his look firm and determined. "You don't scare me. Why the hell do you look like that Draconian hell spawn?" Migel spat, but the false Hiero laughed again, then vanished.
Migel waited, then whipped around to locate the strange creature, but failed. Then the darkness he was in began to contort and ripple, the colors of flame and ash filling his vision. He was standing in the middle of a street, a familiar one. "This…this is Freid. I know this place….I fought Van here….and….gulp…" he started, but lost his voice.
Several feet away he could see his old guymelef and Escaflowne battling, his guymelef losing and blowing up. He saw himself leap out, limping badly. His legs was cut, and he could see part of the bone sticking out, blood leaking all over his leather pants. He was sweating too, limping as fast as he could away from Van. He heard van protesting in the background, but he was too fixated on himself, heading for that dark alley to hide, to avoid the guards for the moment. "No….no, not again. Don't go in there. That's where that doppelganger is. No, that where he…..urk…." Migel shouted, running for his former self, but someone grabbed him from behind and wrapped their arm around his neck. He panicked and started to yell, only to hear a familiar voice tut-tutting him as the arm tightened, Migel finding himself staring at his former self panting in the dark alley, favoring his bloodied leg.
"This is where you died, you pathetic little boy. Now be a good boy and scream for me. You heard me, Migel, scream!" Hiero taunted, leaning his cold cheek against Migel's as the Dragon Slayer twitched madly and began to sweat watching himself just stand there with his back to the approaching Zongi within the shadows.
He grit his teeth in fear, gasping and struggling and trying to warn himself in vain to run, to turn around, anything, but it did no good. The memory kept playing out as it had occurred so long ago.
"I can't escape with this injury….," his past self muttered, holding his torn and bleeding leg as the guards ran by, then he lowered his head slightly," What should I do?"
Then it happened, Migel's frightened eyes mirroring the terror of his past form being grabbed by the neck from behind, gagging, and clawing at the horrid smelling creature crushing his throat, the sickening crack of his larynx and spine echoing in his ears like broken glass. His legs kicked up wildly as a few more guards rushed by, not even seeing him, not coming to help.
Then the doppelganger let Migel's dead form droop in his arms, hanging pathetically from the emotionless looking creature. "Sorry, but my presence cannot be disclosed." The thing said casually, then disappeared into the shadows, leaving Migel's body behind, the blood run cold.
Migel screamed, more out of rage than fear and violently shoved the false Hiero away. Hiero was pensive now, but smirking a few moments later. "Scared you, didn't I? Or didn't he? Do you admit this, or are you going to scream like a little maiden again?" Hiero snickered, lifting his hands up to flex them, as if choking an invisible enemy, the scene about them becoming dark once more. He looked at the place that held his dead form with listless eyes, then brought defiant ones at the fake Hiero, wanting so much to be able to hurt this freak as he was hurting him.
"Oh course I was, you moron. I was dying, I screwed up Lord Dilandau's plans trying to redeem myself. I was more afraid of Lord Dilandau's wrath for being captured than dying though, that's why this memory scares me. I was at my worst, and Dragon Slayers are supposed to be the damn best soldiers in all of Gaia and I wasn't then. I failed him, and I….was too afraid to go back empty handed and humiliated by being captured by that Schezar fellow. I had to try….and I failed." Migel let out, taking a deep breath before standing at full attention, not willing to show any weakness again.
Hiero smirked. "You're getting closer. One last thing though, what about Hiero? Why are you so jealous of him? Just because Dilandau likes him and Hiero hates you? Hmm? Be truthful, the truth may hurt, but not as much as I will hurt you if you lie, angel face." The false Hiero asked gently, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Migel sneered, but thought on the question, not willing to fail Lord Dilandau again. "I suppose so. He's not one of us, but Lord Dilandau treats him that way. He allows Hiero to do as he pleases, say what he wants, with exceptions, but he was never like that with us. I fear…." Migel began, then paused, noting the smug look on Hiero's face.
"You feared what? Spit it out." Hiero chuckled, making the choking gestures again. "I feared….that he will take our Lord Dilandau away from us….that he will get our patron killed. Hiero can't be trusted, I know there is more to him than meets the eye. I feel it." Migel spouted, his eyes widening as the false Hiero fell to his knees and started to fade away.
"Unlocked. Word to the wise Migel, this may help you when you fight to become the angel of light. One sense lost, the others remain, use common sense to let victory reign. Byeeeee….." the false Hiero giggled, fading away completely.
"What the hell….did that mean?" Migel uttered quietly, then looked around, feeling a bit of despair take him over when he realized he was trapped here, alone. He thrust his hands hard on his hips and sighed. "Perfect, even when Hiero isn't really Hiero, he still torments me. I'm going to sincerely beat him senseless when I get out of this hell." Migel swore, sneering at the blackness about him.
- Hiero's Mind -
"Wake up, pretty one. Wake up, my beautiful disciple, its time to play again." A singsong voice called out, making Hiero's ears twitched, his lips curving into a sneer. He got up quickly, facing the last thing he ever wanted to, Delphine, the god trapped inside his body, the source of his eternal cursed life.
"What do you want, blondie? You're supposed to be dormant inside me. You don't have your mother around to bully me into doing your dirty work anymore. She's dead, she and Satan killed each other and Terrian! Go away!" Hiero grated, getting in a defensive stance, almost like a wild animal ready to pounce.
Delphine just smiled. The young God was still the same as the day Hiero and him merged, short blonde hair with his bangs covering his eyes. Hiero recalled that they were blue, maybe, it had been a long time since he'd seen Delphine since the God went to sleep inside him, but his immortal curse went on. Destined to lived forever and to be trapped at the age of death with enough power in his body to destroy the universe if he wanted to. Delphine wore the same white priest robes he was absorbed in, his creamy hands going to his face as he went on smiling. "You're so cute when you murderous. You were at your best when you were killing people. Wouldn't Alessa love to hear about that, the races you wiped out, the villages you blew up, robbed, burned, ooo, I get chills. You were almost a god when you were doing my bidding. Or should I say, this form's bidding. He has quite a quirky personality for a God." Delphine spouted playfully.
Hiero didn't get it, so he reached out to Delphine's mind, he was capable enough with his natural telepathy from his true world, one of the few things he was able to do currently. The moment he touched its mind, he pulled out, frowning at the thing. "You're not Delphine. You're the servant of the Anti-God, he left you behind as Gaia left the guardians for her angels behind. You're here to destroy us….no, to try and destroy us, or see if we can….conquer our fears." Hiero said quietly, his eyes dilating at the thought.
The fake Delphine noticed and approached Hiero, and he was very vulnerable thinking about what was at stake here, so Hiero didn't move. He let Delphine drape one arm about his shoulder, standing there perfectly still. "Don't fret so much, she can't see your fears….currently. But I showed her a little bit….its up to you to trust her feelings on the matter. Don't start whining again, pretty boy." Delphine said languidly, pulling no Hiero to make him move.
Hiero finally snapped out of his trance and shoved Delphine away with a feral growl in his throat, just like the dragons had once taught him millennia ago. He bared his teeth, hissing through them, but Delphine seemed unbothered. "You keep your hands off of her or by heaven and hell I'll…."
"Or what? Let me let you in on a secret, I can hurt you, but you can't hurt me. You can't even touch, me, same as the others couldn't. The others all did there part, Gatti and Chesta were….difficult. Awakened angels are harder to put into the embrace of Fear and Despair than those that haven't. Pity….If you conquer your fear, I go back to sleep, all alone. Poor me, but if you don't, if you get all stubborn, then get to keep you in eternal world of nightmares, sucking on your soul forever, and I know it'll be forever. You can't die….just like the others did." It chuckled, but Hiero knew it was lying.
"And you're a moron if you think I don't know when someone is a damned liar. I'm a damned telepath too, lying doesn't work on me. Try some other sap….Let's get on with this already. Alessa's still out cold." Hiero spat, trying to slap Delphine, but his hand went right through him.
"And I'm the moron, he says. Heh, you're just too much, no wonder Delphine loves to torture you so. Your suffering is so delicious. On with the show then." Delphine breathed, waving his perfect hands at the darkness around them, parting it like dark curtains to reveal a small dark room.
Hiero's sneer was gone, and his eyes shrunk back in his head as he gazed upon the little boy in mage robes peeking through the door of a study, peering at his mother talking to an old man in fancy clothes. He knew who it was, not by looking, but by the conversation he heard outside.
"Your freak son bit a whole out of my son's arm. The damned monster shouldn't be in proper society, he should be behind bars in a freak show. My son is going to lose his hand because of that brat of yours. He's not fit to be a mage with such a feral attitude, I mean really Narcissa, a three year old starting a fist fight over a small comment about his hair and taking a chunk out of my boy." The man was bellowing, the rather lovely woman with long blonde hair and pristine sapphire blue eyes. She was wearing an expensive dress, like she always did, the fluffier the better. Anything to hide what giving birth had done to her beautiful body.
"Duchess Narcissa Marianne Vendetta, I demand you do something about your little hell spawn. He is nothing but a stain on our beautiful society. What do you have to say about this?" the man grated out, struggling for control.
"Mama…." The little boy peeking uttered in unison with Hiero. It was his mother, the woman that bore him first, his real mother. She was vain, mirrors everywhere in their beautiful mansion, her being a duchess and him her only heir to become the duke of the family fortune. He had loved her more than life itself, but this moment was different, it changed everything he had believed in at just three years of age. The comment the old man had mentioned wasn't just a simple one, it wasn't only about his hair. The boy he'd bitten had called him a freak and a demon and kicked him, then had the gall to call his mother the devil's whore. That had been the breaking point for Hiero short temper.
He looked through the crack with tears filling his eyes, biting his lip in hopes it would dull the blow of this memory. "That little abomination rivals my beauty, Sir Evan, he ruined my body, he has ruined the proud name of the house of Vendetta with his freakish eyes and hair. I would love nothing more than to dump him on the side of the road come next harvest and hope wolves run away with him, just so I can start over again, to forget that thing ever came out of me, but I can't. You see the little moron adores me. I'm all he has, all he'll ever have. Who would want a freak like that?" she uttered, and both Hiero let tears flood from their eyes, then their mother turned about, probably looking at the mirror behind her to admire her face," Give it time, Sir Evan. He'll eventually be beaten to death. There is no way I will save him, he has ruined me enough already. Good night, sir."
With that, the three-year-old Hiero wept quietly until his mother went up the stairs and went to bed, then he started to wail, knowing no one would hear him. "No Mama, I'll be good. I will make it all up to you, I'm not bad. I will be the best son you'll ever have, don't leave me, Mama!"
"STOP THIS!" the present Hiero grated, slamming his hand against the wall, tears flooding from his eyes even as he wrenched them away from the pathetic sight. Delphine was snickering, patting Hiero's shoulder affectionately as the robed boy crying near them vanished.
"Awww, did I hit a nerve?" Delphine tittered, then Hiero pulled away. "Yeah, maybe you did, but that was thousands of years ago. She never loved me, not when she saw how badly that damned priest Ravi screwed up in giving her the perfect child. He gave her what she asked for, but she never said anything about what I'd look like. It was all her fault I walked the path to our….merging. If she had loved me like she pretended to, I'd have lived normally. I'd have died on Terrian like everyone else." Hiero spat.
"True, but then….Zelgadis, Lina, Filia, and even your beloved friend Val would all be dead because of Shabranigdo, Dilandau would be dead too, all of them would because of you, because you were afraid of yourself, of being rejected by an unloving parent. All because you were a coward, afraid of your power. You're so weak, you could rule this planet with only using your pinky, yet you don't. Why is that?" Delphine asked quietly.
Hiero sniffed at him, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm afraid of what might happen if I tried, that I'd destroy the people I loved again. I destroyed my parents because of my stupid mistake in trying to kill Delphine, my mother, my father, even the bullies that tried to beat me up every damn day of the six years I knew them. I have already destroyed two worlds, I don't want it to happen again. The first one died because Delphine got trapped within me, he wasn't there to support the powers of light as he was meant to….and Val's world, all because that bitch L-sama had to get a sicko crush on me, she decided if she couldn't have me, not even the world could. I don't want it to happen here….that why, I haven't tried out more spells…."
"That's a little better…but I'm not done with you yet. Look at this little bit of hell you walked through…" Delphine tittered, waving his hands again at the darkness, colors streaming like ribbons from his lithe fingers.
Hiero saw himself again, still on Terrian from looking at his older self, stuck in the body of a man in his 20's. He was wearing his old and horrible brown tunic and leggings, and only that brown mouth guard to hide his mouth, so his evil hair and slit eyes were in full view of the world.
He was leaning over a body of a woman, a dead and naked one. He was just staring at it, not touching or moving to bury it, he was just staring. The present Hiero cringed, his stomach twisting in terrible knots. He had watched a woman who had fallen for him get brutally beaten and slaughtered by her village for confessing to it. He had made no move to help, watching her from the shadows, trying not to feel anything as she cried out his true name, begging for help.
He had waited until they dumped her twisted carcass miles from town, so wild dogs could tear it apart, removing her 'unholy' stain from their sights. No wild dogs arrived, nothing came, not when Hiero walked up to the body. Nothing went near him, the Safaia Oni**, the cursed sapphire beauty of a male. No one wanted to mess with him, the destroyer of inhuman races, of mages, priests, young and old, dragons, monsters good and evil alike.
"But killing those that respected, even loved you was easier to attack than you. You'd have fried them the moment they thought about attacking you, but you didn't lift a finger to save the woman who offered to make love to you to repay you for saving her life, who fell in love with you when she saw you. You never made a move, she was all over you, and you were stone cold, just like when she confessed her love to a man that wanted her, a man who wasn't afraid of himself. You let her die because of your fear, losing people. Everyone around you dies, either by your hand, by others or from just plain and simple old age. You didn't want to see it ever again, to see those that loved you grow old while you were always perfectly young and handsome. You gave up. Hah…." The false Delphine laughed, slapping at Hiero's back, but to the specter's own shock, it went through Hiero.
Hiero wasn't shocked, not even letting a gasp utter from his lips as he stared hard and cold at his first self. He knew how he felt then, he had wanted to help, but the fake Delphine was right. He had not only feared watching another beauty die while his went on and on and on, but he fear Delphine's mother Moriun, who always killed those he loved in gruesome ways. He'd lost Veda, and the dragoness Electra, as well as his dragon bothers and sister. He'd left his only dragon sister on Terrian, Zazu, behind when the war of the dragons was over, taking the life of his only remaining brother, Bran. All his power and he couldn't save his brother's life. He defeated the enemy, but he'd lost them, he lost everyone he ever loved on Terrian time and time again. It never changed, even on Val's world he lost those he loved.
His parents of Val's world were dead and gone, his Mazuko Lord, all his loves had grown old and died before his eyes, as did his sons and daughters, all dead a buried, while he went on and never changed. It was his lot in life to always lose even when he won. 'But I have Val, I still have Val. I saved him….yes.' he thought, smiling wistfully before turning to face a nervous looking fraud.
"I was afraid of going through it again, watching people grow old and die around me. I know I will always be and never grow old, never die, but I accept that. That doesn't scare me. What I am becoming does. You're right, I could conquer and destroy this universe ten times over if I wanted to, but I won't because I am afraid of losing control again, like I did when I tried killing Delphine. But I am not afraid to use my powers to help my friends, I would do anything for those I care about, even die a million times. I will never fear that. Paste that up your ass and blow! You don't scare me, Delphine or not, you're under my control. I rule this body and this mind. You never will." Hiero said coolly, standing tall and defiant against the fraud.
As it fell to its knees, Hiero felt dizzy and fell to his own knees, then sprawled himself across the dark floor, darkness taking over his surroundings again. He looked up at Delphine's copy, frowning as it smiled. "Unlocked….maybe Gaia wish will be granted after all. Hmmph, I hope my master enjoys the fight. He'll win it, you're just children. You'll never win." It said, and faded into the shadows of the dark oblivion, taking Hiero's senses with it.
~ Cave ~
Viole was securely holding the three sticks of meat they had cooked away from Guimel and Dalet, brandishing his sword to make them keep their distance. Guimel gave up at last. It had been a few hours since the other had passed out, moaning a little and rustling slightly in their sleep every so often, but it was still boring.
Dalet talked about his beauty, wondering how long it would last. Viole had commented that it probably wouldn't last long with Dalet fingering his face and worrying about it all the time. Dalet just raised his nose up at him as Viole snickered. Then Viole talked a little bit about recalling his death, how he had drowned in his own blood in the cockpit. He had no urge to swim, he'd said, after that. He always felt suffocated when he'd see a lake or the ocean. Ponds weren't so bad, even the Hot Springs wasn't so bad, but the others gave him chills.
Guimel felt bad for him, so bad that he stared to talk, eyeing Viole's meat stick. He talked about where he was from previously, Fanelia. Viole nearly dropped his food into the fire when Guimel said it, but then just stared with Dalet. He smiled at them and said he had only been born there, he was taken to Zaibach after his mother left his father, to marry his mistress. Guimel didn't like the idea, but the woman was nice to him. He was sad to say good-bye and sever ties with them when Dilandau chose him to be a Dragon Slayer. He didn't want to talk about his death, it was horrible to recall being impaled by a bloodthirsty monster like Van.
Now, Guimel went over to pick through Lady Alessa's bag, to the strange wrapped up food stuffs inside. Viole seemed interested, so did Dalet, but Guimel couldn't figure it out. The strange parcel has colored words on it that said "Apple Pie" and a few other little words that didn't make any sense to him. He poked at it, then tried to rip the stuff of, but only succeed in crushing whatever was within the strange papery wrapping.
He finally groaned in frustration and took out his sword. He dropped the parcel on the ground and sliced through it, getting sticky, but sweet smelling liquid on his blade He laid his sword down and picked up both halves, then looked inside one then the other. Both had yellow chunks of fruit in them stuck in the sticky caramel colored liquid. He gave them a sniff, then another, then his stomach grumbled. 'Mmm, what Lord Dilandau doesn't know, won't hurt me.' he thought, his hunger overpowering his loyalty in seconds. He felt weak for that, but he'd at least have something in his stomach. He licked the stuff, and smiled.
"It is apple pie…but really cold apples. What odd pies, so sugary….Hey!" Guimel was saying, then Dalet came at him and tried to grab one half away. Guimel bucked backwards and stuffed one half, with a bit of the strange wrapping into his mouth and started chewing, trying to keep the other half away from Dalet's prying hands.
He failed in saving the other half when he felt the need to swallow, mentally screaming when Dalet got the pie stuff away from him and shoved it in his mouth fast.
Viole was just staring at them, trying to keep in his laughter, but once both of them looked at him crossly, their mouth full of the pie things, he fell over laughing and clutching his sides.
"You look like a pair of squirrels! Ah ahaha hahaha ha haah!!" Viole hooted, still holding the meat sticks, but laughing so loud the echo of it was making them deaf. Both men swallow their treat, still looking crossly at Viole, but then Guimel started picking through the bag again. Once Dalet heard the rustling from the bag, he went to it and started to dig.
Viole laughed harder when they both yanked out another strangely wrapped package, one that held two yellow fat finger shapes in it. They didn't bother to read what it said, Guimel just wanted more of the strange pastries this Mystic Moon had.
It ripped open when they gave a final hard tug, the two confections going flying. They were ready to pounce on the next parcel, sure their last one was ruined, but a sudden yelp stopped them.
"What the hell is this cake doing on my face!?" a very angry voice screamed.
Viole stopped laughing and put himself behind the fire, out of the view of the screamer, leaving Dalet and Guimel to get side by side and on their knees to bow. "Forgive us, Lord Dilandau." They said together, and both got slapped across the cave.
Had he been anyone else, Guimel and Dalet would be laughing, but this was Lord Dilandau they were staring at. The cake had literally exploded its golden texture and some very white cream all over his face. He was positively seething, his eyes burning right into their souls.
"Go back to cooking, you idiots. I can't believe this, my men playing with their food. How petty, you'd think you were all five years old. You are Dragon Slayers, not children, act accordingly or else. Pfft! What is this thing?" Dilandau spouted, watching them scurry off to warm up more meat with Viole. He was trying to wipe the confection off his face only succeeding in smearing it worse and on his glove.
After a few moments of wiping, he started licking and sucking the stuff off his fingers, wiggling them once they were free of the white and gold confection, but still sticky.
"Ugh, it's called a damn Twinkie, Dilandau. And don't get crass with me. The other one landed in my hair. Ugh….and no water to wash it out in." came a feminine voice.
Guimel cast his trembling eyes towards her, grimacing when he saw the confection had exploded on her head, some of the golden crumbs and the white cream spattered across Hiero, cheek and chest and on Migel's hair. Hiero was starting to wake up too. Guimel cringed inwardly. 'Well, we'll see if he doesn't take this so bad.' He thought, watching the double colored eyes of the King of Fanelia fluttered open, Alessa realizing it and blushing at what a position she was in, right in his arms, and Migel's hand on her chest.
Hiero looked around, noting Dilandau almost drunkenly, then Guimel, Dalet and Viole, then he stopped and looked at Dilandau again, looking confused. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked.
Dilandau pointed at Guimel, then Viole, his lips upturned into a cold sneer. "They got into my ever popular life-shortening sugar snacks and started to fight over them. My head is….ahem….wearing the other one. Eh, heh, heh." She let out nervous, then blushed brighter as Migel groaned against Hiero and his fingers flicked against her chest.
Hiero looked stiff a moment, his eyes widening strangely when Migel started to wake. He looked down as Migel looked up groggily, Migel starting a bit when he saw who he was lying against. Hiero just lifted his head and rolled his eyes before grabbing Migel by the face and shoving him away as hard as he could.
"Oh I don't even want to know about this. Please, no more surprises." He exasperated, blushing when he saw how close Alessa was. He took her off his lap gently, dusting the crumbs best her could out of her hair. "Thanks…." She said, blushing lightly.
Guimel smirked, turning away from them to see Gatti and Chesta walking towards the fire, rubbing their heads. "I had the weirdest dream I was trapped in a box. I saw myself get crushed in my guymelef….Van of all people was taunting me." Gatti uttered, sitting down hard and shaking his silvery blonde bangs. Chesta looked up, a frightened expression in his eyes. "I dreamed I was being beaten to death by Folken and had to watch it. Folken was tormenting me and showing himself beating me when I was little. Did you have bad dreams, Lord Dilandau." Chesta asked. Dilandau looked at him harshly and slapped him hard, nearly sending him falling into the fire, but Dalet and Guimel steadied and set him down.
"It's none of your business about what I dream. Cook your damn food. I've lost my appetite." Dilandau snapped, walking away from them briskly to sit down loudly on Hiero left. Hiero looked a little sick too, almost sad. "Same here. Whatever locks we undid, I sure don't see the doorway, but temple was a little ways from where this ravine is. Guess we'll see when we get there." Hiero uttered, his tone very quiet.
Dilandau nodded, but as he did Migel swore under his breath, sitting between Dalet and himself. Migel as next, Hiero had said so. The Angel of Light, knowing Migel he wanted to do it on his own and plan it out perfectly. That and Migel didn't seem to like Hiero that much. He was always shooting the king dirty looks and sneering at him, but Hiero had made it a point to bother Migel for hassling Lady Alessa.
Guimel shrugged and went back to cooking his meat. It wasn't his business, it was between Hiero and Migel, nothing more or less. They'd deal with the Temple of Light tomorrow, right now, all that mattered was that they were all alive, and now they could eat.
*The Moon card represents the characters all feeling fear and releasing the inner demons from within their hearts and souls. Also these events are stimulating what they have been running from all their lives and have not wanted to face, until their lives depended on it.
** Safaia Oni means Sapphire Demon in Japanese.
Teaser: Alessa's apology and the Angel of Light must fight his way blindly through his temple to gain his wings. Migel's true jealousy may kill him….or kill his patron and Hiero if he gives into his hate.
