Chapter 20
Strength*
Capital Punishment
~ The Well's Court ~
Chid felt very good as he kissed the maiden Alessa. Not only had he captured a cherry beauty once more, perhaps permanently, he'd put one over on that disgustingly foul mouthed and violent king of Fanelia, Hiero. He wished he could have seen the king's expression when he entered the little court. It was nice enough to know Hiero took off running instead of confronting them. 'All talk and no balls. He's the coward….not like he deserves her as much as a civilized and handsome young man as myself does.' He thought, smiling deeply.
He finally pulled away, his blue eyes dancing across Alessa's face, her eyes shit, mouth closed and cheeks flushed. He didn't wait for her to open her eye and lifted her to her feet and steadied her, taking a few steps back to admire her swaying and lovely form. Her icy eyes opened slowly, enchanting him further.
He never saw her move, her expression was the same, bewildered, breathless, but he never expected to get punched in the face, first the eye, then hard in the ear as he toppled. He never could take hits very well. He was better in his guymelef, but with face to face fights when taught by monks in how to do battle, headshots were hard to gain control of.
The next thing he knew was that he was sitting up, holding the struck areas, his one untouched eye looking up at Alessa as she rubbed the back of her hand over her mouth, fuming.
"How dare you….you…..you creep! Who the hell gave you the right to kiss me? Huh? Cause you're a damned duke? I don't think so! Hiero was right, you do force yourself on women. You're nothing but a grabby little playboy. I mean how could you? I thought we would make good friends, but NOOOOO!! You thought I'd be turned on and melt because of a stolen kiss!? I barely know you!" she raged, wiping her hand on her dress.
"But…." He started, standing up, and she cut him off. "But nothing! Don't you try anything like that again!" she yelled in his face. He took a step forward, determination on his face to get her to see he meant no harm, but it was cut off violently by a light flashing in his eyes.
He had all but a few seconds to duck hard and roll away while Alessa leap backwards, tripping on her dress as the sword slashed past their heads, meant to sever their heads from their necks.
"Damn, missed. I won't next time, jinx. But, sluts first." Dilandau said childishly, his garnet eyes fastened on Chid's head. He looked too happy about this, as if he were playing a game. Chid got to his feet quickly as Dilandau took a step, then pulled out his own blade, blocking Dilandau lightening fast attack.
"How dare you attack me! I am the Duke of Freid. Kill me and you'll never live a day without looking over your shoulder!" Chid warned, but Dilandau went on smiling arrogantly and pushed on the blade hard. Chid faltered a bit, but blocked the next swift attack, and the next, his fingers throbbing in pain from how much strength and hate were put into each attack. Dilandau looked thoughtful a moment, smiling broadly
"Everybody bleeds, how will you bleed when you die? Slow? Fast? A little of both? Will you bathe me in your crimson sheen or just my boots? Oh, questions, questions, too many questions. LET'S FIGHT INSTEAD! AHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!" Dilandau said smoothly, letting out a wild cackle.
"Over what?" Chid shouted back, fighting for his life hard with each thrust.
Dilandau's smile vanished and became a sneer, his next attack so strong it knocked the blade from Chid's bruised hands. Dilandau didn't strike him down, maybe because he wanted Chid to suffer, but it was probably the odd look Chid had on his face.
"Because you kissed her! Moron!" Dilandau hissed, ready to strike.
Chid was stunned at these words. 'Her? Is he in love with her too? Do something or you'll have no head to speak of!' Chid thought, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "You have a thing for the maiden as well?"
Dilandau tripped and missed Chid's neck, succeeding only in chopping off on of his lapels. "Thing? A thing for that….that tart of a jinx!? How dare you say such filth to me! You hurt Hiero! Both of you, I saw everything, and so did he! And you knew it! I saw….I saw it all….so don't you dare accuse me having anything but contempt for that bitch!" Dilandau growled, raising his blade again.
"Hiero saw?" Alessa gasped. Dilandau stopped again, still angry, but looked back at her. It gave Chid to scuttle away and grab up his blade, and Dilandau was walking towards Alessa. The girl looked very pale, and hurt. Dilandau kept coming, his sword raised.
"He should have listened to me about you. You're nothing but trouble. You didn't even fight off that playboy until Hiero ran off. His face shattered, he looked like my mother did when those bastard sorcerers ripped her soul apart. Alone, betrayed, and hurt, all because of you. I knew you'd hurt him for good eventually. I knew it! We don't need you, you only bring bad luck to the group….and pain to everything else." He sneered.
Alessa got angry then and walked right up to Dilandau. She tried slapping him, but he caught her by the wrist and twisted it painfully. "Ah, how dare you! I did not want that kiss. I never meant to hurt Hiero, you seem to be the only one doing that. If Hiero were here, he'd understand what happened, if I explained it. I didn't want that pervert's lips on me! Chid forced himself on me. You're a blind, arrogant fool not to believe me! I didn't fucking want it!"
Dilandau kept his grip tight, the blade now upon Alessa's throat. She defied him with her eyes. Chid crept up behind him slowly, hoping to surprise him so Alessa could run, but no sooner was he within a few feet of Dilandau, his plan fell apart. Dilandau spun about, releasing Alessa for a second and slammed his foot into Chid's face, sending him flying.
A moment later, the blade and hand were back in place on Alessa, Dilandau expression cold and merciless. "Fool am I, I'm not the one who tore his heart out. After all he's done for your miserable life….you can't even manage to take care of your weak self for more than a minute. You disgust me!" Dilandau hissed, throwing her onto the ground, his blade raised.
"The angels do not need you. With you dead, there won't be any more setbacks. Never again, bye-bye, bitch!" Dilandau giggled, lifting his blade high to the moonlight.
"LORD DILANDAU!" It was a Dragon Slayer, actually all of them running out of an alley, the silvery blonde-haired one in the lead. He had shouted, a frantic look on his face, his stormy eyes toiling with panic. The very child-like looking one, Chesta he thought, was behind him, holding that strangely colored bag. Behind the Slayers came Val and that loud and leggy cat-girl. They all looked nervous, and a bit confused. Dilandau halted again, turning around sharply to slap the silvery blonde in the face. "I am busy, Gatti!" Dilandau growled.
Gatti gave him a dirty look, but then clutched his head. "Argh, but, its important….Something is wrong, something is here and it is hiding. It's out to get us." Gatti gagged, falling to his knees in pain.
Dilandau's expression remained hard with one hand on his hip and the other holding his sword. "What's out to get us? Folken? Sora? What, spit it out!"
Gatti looked up at the sky, his eyes rolling back in his head as the stormy blue color of his pupils took them over. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out or rather nothing anyone imagined could erupt from a human's lips. A light as stormy blue as the Slayer's eyes thrust out of his eyes and mouth to the moonlit sky, like a weapon striking violently at evil. It stopped high in the sky, a ripple effect to be seen.
Chid nearly swallowed his tongue as the ripple grew in size, not noticing that Gatti had keeled over, the Slayers rushing to his aid, even Alessa rushing to help. He heard a ripping sound, frantic voices, but his blue orbs were focus on the sky. The ripple soon became wild and erratic, and a familiar, foreboding shape appeared high in the sky, one of those accursed floating fortresses.
"Its Midgar!" Dilandau shouted, his voice almost happy and annoyed at the same time.
"What's Midgar?" Chid asked.
Dilandau didn't look at him, and pointed at the floating mass of dark machinery. "That is Midgar, moron, what a stupid question. It's a military fortress of Zaibach, one of their main attack units. That means….they intend to invade. Excellent, I have been craving some action for a while now. I got my wish….and when its over, I'll get my second and third wishes, killing you and the jinx." Dilandau chuckled.
Chid steeled at the words, processing them. His eyes lit up with fear. 'My country is in danger again. This is not a time to debate with a lunatic, I have to get my army and Chafariz ready immediately.' Chid thought, and sprinted out of the court. He expected Dilandau to oppose him, but it never came. All he heard was the insane general's cackling licking at his heels.
~
Alessa wasn't thinking too clearly, so much had happened. What hurt the most was that Hiero wasn't around, that he'd assumed the worst about her before she could explain. She stepped away from Gatti as he came to, stepped to where she'd noticed a shiny blue object in the grass. It was probably where Hiero had stood before he ran off, before Chid forced him away. The kiss wasn't so bad, and Chid had been a gentleman all this time, but he'd taken advantage of her tripping.
She'd have a long talk with Hiero about it. Of course it meant nothing, didn't it? 'It was my first kiss, no man has ever taken any interest in me so greatly since I arrived on Gaia. Back on Earth, they avoided me like the plague, it was either I wasn't pretty enough or my hair was weird or boring, or stupid to them, but now, I have two guys after me. One's an eccentric immortal….a guy who's been with more women than he can count because he was forced to, and he's royalty. The other is a normal duke who is said to have had many women because he's a flirt, and wants to spoil me. He's not friends with the psycho….but Hiero's got something Chid doesn't….I can't put my finger on it, I saw it when he told his story, and the legend of the Dragon Bride, that childish sorrow, the pain. He's holding something back for my benefit, he trusts me, he isn't flaunting me….God, I don't know what to think right now. Zaibach is here. Think about love later.' She thought, casting a slight glance upward at the hulking mass of dark metal, the hanger door opening slowly.
Suddenly she felt cold looking at it and not because of what she'd done to her dress. She'd torn most of the dress off so she could run easier, and felt like a pixie in a school play for some reason. The dress looked like a ragged baby blue skirt above her knees, swaying in the warm night air.
Alessa wrenched her eyes away and to what was at her feet, then her heart broke. She'd barely noticed Chid running past her as she knelt down on the cool ground, her eyes watering at what lay glittering in the emerald sea of grass. It was a crystal, one that was big enough to fit perfectly in her soft palm, the shape of a heart with angel wings on its back.
Alessa felt the tears flow as she picked the cool parcel off the ground, her transparent tears sliding like liquid diamond across the surface. She held it close to her chest as she reached for the other object in the grass, Hiero's Tarot cards. A small leather strap banded the cards together with a little silver buckle on it in the shape of the Fanelian dragon symbol. A tear was stuck to the leather, the flipped off like a crystal. She held it to her with the heart, her own heart tearing down the middle painfully.
'His mother's cards, his memory of her. Oh, God, what have I done? He was….bringing me a present….a heart for me. Oh….Hiero….I'm so sorry.' She thought, weeping freely. What Hiero saw must have ripped his own heart in two, after all he felt for her, and went to buy her a present even though they were on the run. She'd never been given a present since the day her parents died, never. It was adorable, and so sweet, and she'd spoiled the thought by what Chid and her did.
'I didn't want it to be that way….oh Hiero, come back. Come back so I can explain.' She cried silently, her mind a blur. Then it came, that song, the one the strange woman sang in Fanelia that murdered so many. It came strong and clear, as did the moans of Viole, Dalet, Myrna and Guimel.
Win dain a lotica
En vai tu ri
Si lo ta
Fin dein a loluca
En dragu a sei lain
Vi fa-ru les shutai am
En riga-lint….
"NO! SHUT UP!" Dilandau shouted, slashing his sword at the air above him. She got up quickly, tucking the heart and cards down the front of her dress's top and stood near Val, who had just socked Myrna. It was the only way to stop the song's deadly effects, being unconscious. She thought she saw him smile, but couldn't be sure. After what Myrna had done to him, she couldn't blame him. She wondered if Hiero would blow up in her face later if she tried to talk with him. He'd been pretty scary then, she never wanted to get him angry, not for the life of her.
"Dilandau, you have to knock them out! It's the only way they can survive the spell. They aren't angels, they'll die if they listen to the entire chant." Val yelled to the angered general. He didn't hesitate in agreeing and moved to sock Dalet then Guimel in their faces.
Win chent a lotica
En vai tu ri
Si lo ta
Fin dein a loluca
Si katigura neuver
Floreria….
The singing stopped there, Alessa had a lame hope in her mind Sora had lost her voice or forgotten the next words. She looked at the Dragon Slayers Dilandau had been about to hit, but they were still up and awake, and no longer in pain.
They had the most entranced grins on their faces, like they were in love with the air in front of their faces. Guimel looked almost drunk slumped blissfully against Viole shoulder, while Viole himself had his eyes closed and face turned to the sky, his face full of love for whatever was affecting him. She looked at Gatti as Chesta helped him to his feet, their eyes going up to look at the floating monstrosity, curious and wary. They didn't seem affected, but neither did Dilandau. Dalet looked entranced as well, licking his lips in a rather hungry manner.
Then her eyes went to Migel, and he looked like he was listening to something. "Beautiful….." he whispered, reaching into his armor. He didn't look entranced, just a bit eager, much like he'd looked when he flirted with her. She heard a click, then his blue wings pushed out. He stood, still listening to the faint noise, whatever it was.
He teetered a bit, then right himself, and soon Alessa heard the song on the wind, a voice singing Sora's song at a great distance. It was so far away that she had to strain to hear it. The others seemed to hear it now too, all leaning in Migel's direction.
La la la la la la la la la.…
Fontina blu cent
De cravi esca letisimo
La la la la la la la la la….
De quantian
La finde reve….
It wasn't Sora's voice, even if it was a woman's, it was just so much more beautiful than Sora's. It was not meant to kill, to halt. Alessa could feel it. It was of love, a lament of the heart, trying its hardest to stop Sora from singing Freid to its death.
Win dain a lotica
En vai tu ri
Si lo ta
Fin dein a loluca
En dragu a sei lain
Vi fa-ru les shutai am
En riga-lint.
"Migel, who's doing that?" Dilandau asked, taking a step towards the brunette Slayer to hear better. Migel flew up a bit in answer, the song ending, and new one beginning, much more prominent than Sora's deadly lament
Blind love, this eternal night,
I see beyond the darkness twined,
I feel your heart reaching me,
My beloved, my light….
You are my angel of night,
My all, my only,
Nightmares are you,
But, I will help you fight….
You were the only one in my heart,
No never to be apart….
I am here for you, angel
In sapphire dreams,
I am yours,
I give love true.**
Then came the screaming from the fortress, a high pitched wail that sounded as if some woman were dying. Alessa knew who it was, and grinned.
"Now that's Sora's voice." Alessa stated, happy that Sora was suffering instead of them.
"IEEE!! LORD FOLKEN! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! IT'S KILLING ME!! IEEE!!!!" the Mystic woman's voice wailed over the wind, drowning out the singing of the other unseen female.
"Activate the Stealth Engine, fools! Get us out of here! We can't lose Sora, not now! We're too close! CLOAK US NOW!" it was that man's voice from Fanelia, Folken was what Hiero had called him, his supposed to be dead uncle. She shuddered at the cold rasp of his voice, backing into Val fearfully as Midgar vanished.
"It's moving away….they are leaving." Gatti announced, rubbing his head gingerly.
"There's a relief, but how long will they stay away. We need guymelefs to combat with him. We're useless against their units without our own." Dalet huffed, kicking the ground.
Dilandau knocked Dalet to the ground with a loud slap, glaring at them all hatefully. "Shut up already. Migel! Who's doing all that damned singing?!"
Migel, she'd forgotten about him. Alessa looked up to watch the brunette Dragon Slayer scanning the distance, clutching his head every so often to keep from falling like last time.
"I see….a woman, with long brown hair….green eyes….so beautiful….Oh no!" Migel started out, as if in a trance, but his smile betrayed it.
"What's wrong?" Dilandau shouted, reaching into his won armor to let his wings free.
"She's collapsed! And…I see Alseides models about the city! They are rising…." Migel uttered, his wing flapping erratically as he tore his eyes from the sight.
"Alseides? How many, Migel?" Dilandau, his tone amused. "Lunatic….you want to take them on? I saw how big Migel's guymelef was….we are not fighting those hand to hand, you whacko!" Alessa seethed, but Dilandau ignored her.
Migel held up one hand, five fingers showing. "Five isn't so bad. I can take five with my sword," Dilandau cackled, letting his six wings thrust out, then eyed Alessa viciously," We'll continue the debate later, and don't tell me what to do, jinx. The energist is simple enough to smash with the blade and once destroyed, the unit can't function and falls like a sack of rotting meat."
Dilandau lifted himself off the ground, hovering by Migel. "Dragon Slayers, spread your wings and let's go have some fun! Dalet, Gatti, Viole, pick an angel and watch their backs. Anyone holds another back, I'll kill you myself." He added, and flew off in the direction Migel had been looking in.
"Nutcase." Alessa breathed, then felt an arm snaked around her waist. "Val smiled at her startled eyes. I'll carry you if you hold onto Myrna. I think those guys can handle their own, but they're soldiers. No offense, but you have no weapon to help them."
"You're knight, why don't you help?" She asked, taking the unconscious Myrna in her arms.
"Best we help whoever Migel saw first after they take out those guymelefs. We don't need those monsters breathing up our asses the whole time. I'll let them handle it right now. 'Sides, there is no one left to carry you two. Hiero'd never forgive me if I let his baby sister and close friend stranded in Freid." He grinned, showing off a fang.
She looked to where the others were supposed to be, and frowned in discovering they were gone, already taken to the sky with their comrades. Gatti was pulling the rear, holding both Guimel and Dalet up. Migel wasn't holding anyone while Chesta had Viole clinging to his legs.
"Oh fine….remind me to beat Migel up. He's probably thinking of how to sweet talk that woman out there too much to remember he should have taken Dalet instead of Gatti being burdened with two Slayers. Creep!" she mumbled, gasping as Val grinned tightly and his aqua wings shot out of his back, dark streaks of black embedded in each glittering feather.
"Forget about it, he's not worth the time." Val smiled, and lifted off the ground swiftly.
~
Dilandau smiled as he approached the first guymelef, a sickly olive color. None of them were dark purple as he was used to. This pasty green was such a ghastly color, it reminded him of the pea gruel he'd eaten during his rookie days, as short lived as those were. It always reminded him of the smell of backwash in the refuse tunnels beneath Zaibach. He hated it, so bland, so sickly, such a weak color.
'It offends me so, time to rectify that problem.' He grinned, and made his wings thrust him forward, his sword screaming silver in the moonlight. The guymelef stood hovering before him, and Dilandau could hear the laughter echoing inside. He growled, readying his blade. "Laugh at this, fool!" Dilandau yelled, darting for the energist heart. The guymelef pilot went on laugh and moved up a bit, but to his surprise Dilandau dove under him.
Dilandau spiral up behind him as the guymelef slowly turned in its sluggish flight mode. If Dilandau knew anything, it was how the Alseides unit worked. Flying forward and to the side was simple, backward was simple too, but turning around took time. 'Rookie….' He mused and went right back in front of the guymelef as it had made its turn halfway. Dilandau raised his blade as the unit's back was too him and swooped over its massive shoulder, his boots clicking down only second before he rammed his blade through the energist heart.
"BAKA!!" the pilot screamed, his guymelef falling like dead duck to the distant and rocky ground. Dilandau smiled and thrust himself off its shoulder, flying through the legs of another one. It tried flying backwards, to ram into Dilandau's back, and obviously wasn't paying attention to what was in front of it. Migel came up quickly and quietly, ramming his blade into the energist heart and ricocheting off the chest of the machine seconds later to escape the claws. It made contact slightly with his boot heel, but nothing more, and fell.
Dilandau smirked at the excellent kill, then a frown touched his lips when he saw Gatti and Val hanging back near Freid. True enough, he was holding more than Chesta was, but he was a Dragon Slayer. Weakness was not an option, even for caution. He had ordered his men to fight, not lollygag and stare. 'No matter, I'll punish Gatti later. Leaves more fun for us.' He thought, a smirk dancing on his lips as he went for the remaining guymelefs.
Another fell, from several shots from Viole's crossbow and Chesta damaging the surface of the heart. A joint effort, but rather slow. Dilandau found it dull and funny to watch, Chesta darting about the guymelef like a scared sparrow, a golden sparrow really, and Viole the claws getting in extra scratches.
'At least they are getting the job done, three down, two to blow.' He giggled mentally. "Migel, listen up! You and Chesta take out the one nearest to the plateaus…."
"That's where the woman is! Yes, sir!" Migel let out quickly and flew off to grab Chesta. Dilandau growled at Migel being eager to be with a woman instead of battle. 'He'll be punished too for thinking with his other head. He can have all the fucking whores he wants, but not on my time, dammit!' he thought angrily, and went off after the other guymelef, which also was filled with amused laughter and not moving. It had watched the attacks, and probably thought Dilandau wouldn't change tactics.
"Moron….you'll die very beautifully." He giggled, and stopped several feet away from the laughing guymelef. This wasn't terribly different from piloting a guymelef, just more room to move freely. The hunt of current was like hunting dragons, the big lumber creatures were just a little faster than these lumbering idiots. A shot in the heart was all it took to disorient a dragon, the soft, flesh part of its chests so easy to cut once you got close enough.
He knew his men would handle the other guymelef with ease, Dilandau didn't even think he needed anyone for this. Perhaps his powers would useful now, but he wanted to save them for Folken. That Draconian freak of a father of his couldn't have fled very far. It was truly impossible, floating fortresses could move gradually at best, going from kingdom to kingdom in a day. He had all hope he'd catch up, and then the real fun would begin.
He smiled and hovered close to the guymelef, his garnet eyes dancing as the arm of it lifted a bit, the Crima Claws appearing. 'Scared huh? Good….that makes you sloppy.' He thought, and waited. Hiero had taught him enough about controlling his wings to know how to handle them, more than even a basic guymelef pilot could comprehend about his own unit.
Dilandau waited, just for an excuse to act. He was given one as the Crima Claw fired, and Dilandau pulled his wings in and dropped. The pilot made a startled gasp as Dilandau plummeted, a smile still apparent on his pale face. The guymelef dove after him, probably only guided by the moonlight reflecting off Dilandau's silver hair. It reached out with a new claw to grab at him, but Dilandau went on smiling.
Seconds before his feet would crash through the ground, his summoned his wings again and slipped under the hulking mass of metal, taking a swipe at the units heart. He didn't manage to shatter it, but it was leaking. What pleased him even more was that the guymelef hit the ground extra hard, unable to stop it's decent and skidded across the rocky ground. He heard a beautiful melody of grinding metal and sparks erupting as he took to the skies, higher and higher.
Dilandau went on smiling even when the guymelef managed to right itself, but with a little less of itself than before. The chest section had been damaged heavily and was hanging of by torn hinges. The left arm was crushed to a metal pulp, liquid metal leaking from the mutilated limb. It flew after him, a horrible scream of rage emitting from the exposed cockpit. Dilandau could see the pilot now, a middle-aged man, one he wasn't familiar with. 'And ugly….pathetic. Folken still has bad taste.' He thought, holding his sword before him in wild anticipation. Dilandau went at guymelef is a suicide dive, and threw his sword at the exposed pilot.
The pilot, as Dilandau had figured, moved to the side, so Dilandau went the other way and grabbed up his sword, whipping around to grab at the back of the passing machine. The machine bucked a bit, but with only one arm functioning, and slightly, that was all it was capable of. Dilandau climbed up the guymelef until he got over top of it, showing his head in front of the startled pilot. Dilandau wasted no words on him as he yanked the man with such force from the cockpit he could swear he heard a few of the imperfect man's bones break.
The guymelef fell and exploded in a lovely fiery blaze for Dilandau's eyes, his soul dancing at the beauty brought to his eyes. Then he looked with a smirk at the struggling and bleeding pilot. "Not bad for someone so hideous. Not bad at all, now, if you want me to spare your life, tell me what Folken's plans are for us! Talk or else!" Dilandau asked plainly, shaking a the man hard by his bloodied collar.
The man coughed blood up, soaking Dilandau's hand but that didn't bother him. The smell was euphoric, so he shook the man again. "He's going to go where the world began….in the valley of Dragon's near Fanelia. He wants to awaken the last angel himself so he can rule the world! That's all I know, now let me go!" the man blubbered.
Dilandau nodded, satisfied, then let go of the man's collar. He watched with an appreciative smile as the man plummeted, screaming to his death with a trail of crimson rain trailing behind him. "You asked, I delivered," he said wistfully, grinning widely as the ground erupted with red, the screaming silenced," Shame really, Folken has been training weak-spined losers."
He took a deep breath taking in the moist air that was laced with the metallic sweetness of blood and seared metal, then let his eyes scan the terrain. He frowned to see Migel, Viole, and Chesta were already on the plateau with the strange woman, who was still lying on her side and out cold. He shrugged and looked back at Freid, silent, boring Freid, where Gatti was still struggling to fly Dalet and Guimel to the plateau, and Val was making better time with the two useless women.
Dilandau turned away and flew towards them, not willing to be held back for this crap. He grabbed Dalet off of Gatti's person and hit Gatti with his free hand. "Stop wasting our time. The battle is over for now, stop slowing us down." He seethed. Gatti looked ready to frown, but held it in, knowing what a dirty look would earn him.
Dilandau flew off with a growl, catching up to his aqua haired cousin. "It's a terrible thing you didn't join us." Dilandau said snidely. Val cast him a smug glance. "What, and piss you off by taking your fun away? Wouldn't dream of it. I value life a little more than you, maybe not for chivalry. It's a terrible thing in my opinion you can't appreciate women more just cause of a few mishaps with Alessa."
"Hey! I didn't ask for that kiss from Duke Grab's-A-Lot!" Alessa said a little too defensively. "I don't really care. You're the reason Hiero ran off. We need him for this prophecy, jinx. Some angel you are, you're more trouble than you're worth, Mystic Moon bitch." Dilandau huffed, and flew on ahead.
"Bastard." She shouted at his back. He was tempted to turn around, but fought it back. He didn't have the time for her, Hiero was what mattered. Perhaps this woman had seen him, that was something to consider, an old lover of Hiero's, a friend or ally. That was being too presumptuous, perhaps she was a Mystic like Sora, against the prophecy, or against how Sora was handling it. He would have to question her heavily when she woke up.
~
Dilandau landed, letting Dalet go roughly and sending the Dragon Slayer rolling into Chesta's legs. Chesta managed to stay up and Dalet got to his feet, dusting his body off. Migel was holding the unconscious woman up, and it was the first time Dilandau got a good look at her. She was rather pretty, not perfect or anything, but still pretty. She had mousy brown hair, lighter in shade than Migel's, down to her ankles and a sort of sleeveless gown of mint green. Her face was untouched by blemished or injury, but she had a few beauty marks below her right eye.
Migel was practically drooling all over her, unaware Dilandau was staring a flaming hole into his back. He was ready to start yelling when the woman twitched and her eyes fluttered open. The eyes were glazed over green color, like she had something wrong with them. She blinked a bit and tried moving her arms, but Migel already had them pinned in the amorous embrace. He was stroking her hair, his elbows pinning hers to her sides. She seemed to respond to the touch, but was looking around as if she couldn't see Migel.
As it dawned on him, Dilandau felt childish, his face softening for a second. "She's blind." He said, more to himself than anyone else. Migel heard him, but was too enraptured by the woman's almost child-like movements in searching for the origin of the voice and who was holding her up.
"You're very beautiful, my lady. Thank you ever so much for distracting Zaibach for us. I should reward you with our company." Migel said, and the woman started to panic, struggling against Migel, but she barely managed to move his arms apart. She was too drained from what she had done, the fatigue was evident on her innocent face. She pass for Chesta's twin sister if she tried, the eyes were practically as wistful and innocent as his were.
She opened her mouth to say something, then shut it as Migel's neared her face, his warm breath probably warning her skin of the approach. Dilandau had never seen a blind person, but from what he gathered from his schooling days, the blind had heightened senses in those that did work. Smell, taste, touch, and even hearing, they were enhanced to compensate for the lost sense of sight.
"Shy huh? I like that in beautiful women." Migel teased, and Dilandau shook his head. 'Ass, there's an Allen invasion every damn minute. I forgot what a flirt Migel was. He hasn't been with a woman since he was thirteen. At least he sticks with one and only one, but still, how can he spout such crap? Hiero doesn't even let out that vomit towards the jinx.' He thought, his stomach uneasy.
Dalet got behind Migel and the woman as she struggled more, but her strength wasn't coming back very quickly. Dilandau felt poorly inside for some strange reason, almost sick, when he saw Dalet had a sly grin on his face. Dalet gave a flip of his brown hair and punched the woman's rear. She cried out, leaning backwards a bit to locate the pincher, but she should have turned instead. Migel took the action as an opportunity and kissed the woman fully on her open mouth.
Dilandau heard her screaming in Migel's mouth, frantically clawing at his arms to pry him off. Dalet looked terribly amused, and Migel was having a good time, smiling a bit as he kissed the woman. The woman was the only person who wasn't in a happy mood. Dilandau didn't move, despite how sick he felt. He held his stomach a bit, then the feeling seemed to fade. He heard boots touch down behind him, Gatti and Val probably with their bundles.
"What's going o….Migel, stop that!" Val's voice uttered angrily.
"Migel, I don't think you should be doing that." Gatti let out, sounding a bit nervous, almost afraid. Dilandau looked back at them, and frowned deeply. Gatti looked horrified, Guimel looking at him strangely. Val was behind Alessa, looking equally horrified, and almost afraid. Alessa was simply holding the unconscious cat-girl up, looking back at Val. She looked confused.
Suddenly, Dilandau felt angry. Migel was wasting valuable time playing tonsil hockey with this mysterious woman while Folken was getting away. He turned around angrily and started towards Migel, intent on beating him senseless. The woman beat him to it, cracking Migel hard and square in the groin. Migel's eyes bulged, then his mouth fell from the weakened woman, and soon his body crumpled to the ground as he grabbed at his afflicted area.
The woman looked very disoriented, almost sick. Being blind, she couldn't lash out, but managed to raised her eyes a bit, the glazed greens full of tears. "Oh, forgive me, Hiero, forgive me. I'm so tired. I couldn't stop him. Forgive me." She was babbling, her silver bell and child-like voice making Dilandau take a step back.
"Where is Hiero?" Alessa asked. The woman looked towards the voice, giving off a wistful, tear stained smile. "Forgive him, he….can't control the power anymore. Something is all wrong….forgive him, he didn't want this. He didn't…forgive him," she let out, weeping steadily, then brought her arms out at either side," Phase Avaris^^, Leave Me!"
Dilandau shielded his eyes as the woman was enveloped in a white light, her weeping lost in the ethereal glow. Then, as the light vanished, he heard gasps, Migel was stuttering, then someone was retching.
He looked to where the woman had stood and nearly had a heart attack. There, throwing up heavily on hands and knees with Migel only a few feet away, was Hiero Fanel.
Hiero threw up for at least five minutes before lifting a sweating and sickened face up, his double colored eyes flashing dangerously at Migel. Hiero sneered, but weakly, having to crawl to Migel to sock him in the jaw, over and over again.
"Chikan!! How dare you violate Avaris….AND ME like that! You bastard! I'm going to spoil those good….cough…..cough….good looks! I hate you! I hate you!" he screamed, but it came out like a hoarse shout.
He was paler than normal, a hint blue and green in his pallor. He looked like he was dying, as many soldiers looked moment before they bled to death. Dilandau stayed where he was, not looking at anyone but Hiero as he beat the crap out of Migel.
"Why didn't you warn me!?" Migel shot back, only to get punched in the gut, seconds before Hiero fell on his side, almost dragging himself away from Migel's bruised body. Hiero tried sitting up, but it wasn't working, he kept going limp and falling on his face.
What startled him was that Val went over to him and picked him up, propping the sickly looking king against his shoulder. Hiero went on wobbling, having to ram his head onto Val's shoulder to look at everyone. "I wasn't….in control….something….is wrong with my power….ugh. Yuck, I need something to get the Migel taste out of my mouth. I'll have ….ungh….nightmares about this until I'm a thousand again….gag…." Hiero sputtered, drooling on Val's shoulder when his mouth lost control of its muscles.
Val didn't seem to mind, he looked more concerned than annoyed. "Hey, I tried to warn you to stop it, Migel. If you weren't so hormonally repressed, this wouldn't have happened!" Gatti challenged.
Migel spat out some blood and sneered at Gatti. The silvery blond looked back with dignified authority, daring Migel to say something. Migel kept quiet, shoving Dalet away when the Dragon Slayer tried to help him up. He got up on his own.
"Why didn't you tell us?" It was Alessa who spoke, her icy eyes quivering with fear and shock. Hiero looked at her, breathing hard. There was a deep pain in his eyes then, tears slipping from his eyes and to the ground. "I didn't want you….to hate me for….being a freak. Worse of a freak….than you already think I am." He said softly, then looked at the ground. Alessa just stood still, wringing her hands together nervous.
"I'm sorry," He added sadly, startling her," I'm sorry I'm so messed up. I'm sorry I'm not human….like you are."
"Hiero….I…."she began, taking a tentative step forward. Hiero reached for her, almost as child would for its mother, but Migel's angry voice interrupted them.
"You're a shape-shifter! A filthy doppelganger, not the king of Fanelia. You're not the real Hiero!" Migel accused as he steadied himself. Hiero didn't even wince, pulling himself away from Val as he almost drunkenly tried to stay standing. He managed it, and looked at Migel angrily. "I am not….this….is my true form. I would be able to die….if it were that simple. I wouldn't have to command the other forms away….if I was one. I am not one of those filthy creatures. I am Hiero Scorchava de Fanel, I have been for….cough….nineteen years. I just….didn't….want to….ohhhh…." Hiero began, then fell over, fatigue taking him down again. He pushed himself up on all fours, and crawled past Migel and Dalet, crawled away to the opposite end of the plateau, and vomited.
"Did you know about this?" Dilandau asked finally, looking to Val. Val smiled sheepishly, the looked off at Hiero with a worried expression. "Yes, for over 5,000 years. It's a side effect of being a magic-absorber, where did you think all those bodies and souls went after he absorbed them? Did you think that they just were digested into him? No way! There are thousands of forms trapped inside him, all of magical elements," Val said quietly, then pointed at Hiero," I have seen that female form he used before, Avaris, a blind priestess from his home world that fell in love with him, but she had been cursed all her life. She met Hiero when he was sent to kill her, not absorb her. He couldn't do it, so Moriun influenced some villagers to fill her full of arrows, but Hiero absorbed her before she died. He can only do it when the magical creature is close to death or weak. It is the only way."
Dilandau nodded faintly stepping up beside his cousin. "He gets more interesting everyday I know him. Now why would he keep this a secret. Explaining it wouldn't have let confusion set in for long. It annoys me that he trusts people so weakly with his secrets. It only hinders us." Dilandau spouted. Val shook his head with a grunt of disgust. "What do you feel you feel towards shape-shifters? Those doppelganger people?" Hmm?" Val asked curtly.
Dilandau sniffed at him, looking away. "I hate them. They are a filthy race, smelly, uncivilized, and disgusting murderers. One killed Migel by Folken's orders, so I killed him to teach him not to mess with us." Then Dilandau blinked, realizing what he just said, understanding hitting him hard.
"See why he didn't want to say anything? He was worried people would hate him more. He's never been much for changing form often. Even on my world, it was rare. He only did it as a last resort. Sometimes bits and pieces of the personalities would seep out, but never like this. He's right, something is definitely wrong. I have never seen a form fully take over. He's just lucky Avaris respects him or she might not have let him come back. Still, that's not all that bothers me."
"There's more that bothers you? What could possibly be more frustrating than Folken getting away from us!? Hiero will be fine, he's strong, he'll get past this just like the rest of us." Dilandau challenged.
Val held up his hands in defense. "Hold on there, I want to nail Folken too, but I'm concerned about us right now. Hiero is so tired and sick right now, this has never happened. Changing form never weakened him, and neither did my transformation into an ancient dragon. For some reason, it does now," Val explained," When I changed into my dragon form, I was fine, but I felt weaker every moment I was like that, and utterly tired and hungry when I changed into my human form. I was never drained by the transformation no my world, but now it brings pain and fatigue."
I see….reminds me of when I used my powers, I felt light headed, a pain in the back of my mind that disoriented me. I couldn't support my wings or hold onto my consciousness very well. I felt like I had lost a lot of blood or something or caught a fever. It was annoying. Why do you ask?" Dilandau asked impatiently.
Val looked behind them in answer. "Chesta, Gatti, Migel, when you used your angelic powers, did you feel the same way, tired or sick?" Val asked.
"I was told I was found unconscious in Dryden's library, after reading every single book he owned. I felt a little dizzy for a while after I was woken up." Chesta replied softly.
"When I saw Midgar, well, you all saw what I did, I felt a little nauseous and dizzy. I don't think I passed out though, but I can't recall much about what happened before Midgar appeared." Gatti told them.
"I passed out in midair after my powers kicked in, and felt a bit dizzy when I saw….gag….Hiero." Migel said, turning a little green.
"It's official, our powers have drawbacks, now if only knew why. How do we get this prophecy done if we can't use our talents without risking our health. We'll be useless if they keep making us tired and sick." Dilandau hissed, kicking at the ground.
"Yes, it's distressing, but at least we all have skills that can be used to fight Folken without the use of our powers. Maybe Hiero can find out why this is happening….when he feels better. Gods, he's still puking. That's what he gets for cleaning out one of Freid's restaurants." Val said in dismay, starting off towards Hiero. Dilandau followed evenly.
He never took a step as screams as explosions ripped through his ears. He whipped his body around violently to see Freid was in flames, ones he had not caused, chaos that wasn't on his hands. 'How annoying, Gods! Midgar is still here! Dammit, Gatti was too weak to sense it this time, they never left!' his mind fumed.
"Freid is burning! Those poor people! We have to stop them!" Alessa shouted, teetering bit from what she was seeing and Myrna's body shifting a bit. The cat-girl was waking up, clutching at her bruised cheek. Her face soured to see Alessa was holding her up, but they her pink eyes saw Freid on fire, and the cat-girl cringed like a baby against the human female.
"They aren't our problem. Folken is, and he's on that ship. We have to get up there and kill him. Freid is now our concern!" Dilandau hissed, shoving her aside as he let his wings loose.
"You heartless bastard!" she yelled at him. "You can do better than that, bitch. That would barely phase Chesta, weakling." Dilandau snickered. Then she kicked him in she shin, injuring herself more than him as her shoe made contact with his boot armor. She Myrna on her tail as she lifted her throbbing foot up, and Dilandau found it almost amusing to watch such stupidity. The cat-girl yowled and scratched at her, then stopped, looking in the direction Hiero had last been in.
"SAFAIA-KIMI! BEHIND YOU!" she screeched. Dilandau turned to see what caused her such distress, seeing Hiero was on all fours again, but facing them. What made Dilandau pull out his blade was the hulking Alseides unit behind the young king.
Hiero couldn't have avoided the thing if he'd been at full strength. The unit snatch him up with a liquid metal hand, covering Hiero from his neck to his ankles in the silver mass. Hiero was out cold by now, his eyes closed and his face utterly drained of color.
Dilandau was ready to rush the unit, his Slayers pulling their swords out to aid him, but the Alseides unit lifted its free arm, popping a greenish cylinder out to smash in their midst. Dilandau gagged as the stuff entered his lungs, thrusting his arm over his mouth to keep more from getting in.
"Knock….out gas….fuck." Dalet cursed, dropping his sword and falling on his face. Chesta and Myrna went next, then Guimel and Viole. Alessa and Val were causing terribly before they fell into each other and slumped onto the ground into a forced sleep. Migel and Gatti teetered a little while longer before joining the others on the dirt ground, reaching out desperately to Dilandau, the last one standing.
Dilandau took another step, his senses getting numbed as his legs started to give, the laughter of the Alseides pilot angering him. "Nighty-night, little prince. I've taken the king in this game, you lose." The man within chuckled, reaching for Dilandau as the young general fell on his side. He was fighting to stay awake, holding his sword out to try and fight.
What happened next came in a blur. He saw a flash of gold, then a thundering quake went past him. He looked up through his blurry eyes and saw the gold shape was blocking his view of the enemy, of Hiero. Then he heard the familiar roar of an Alseides' units engine, then saw the cloak adorned guymelef take to the sky and fly for Midgar. Dilandau reached towards it, his vision fading as the gas took him down.
Hiero….
To be Continued….
*The Strength card represents Dilandau mostly and his daring and bold spirit in battle and willingness to put his stamina and power to good use. It also represents the group giving Hiero some well deserved space and respecting him strongly enough to give him time to himself, and the group controlling their emotions in this frustrating turn of events.
**This is Avaris' Chant, an original love song by me. I own it, so ask permission if you want to use it for anything. She is a priestess from Hiero's past, so I own the character too.
^^Avaris is a play on words. The word avarice means greed. It represents Avaris' parents who were so greedy, Moriun cursed their child to never see the fruits of her parents' labors and give them an 'imperfect' child. Her name is also ironic, for Avaris has not a greedy bone in her body.
Teaser: Operation rescue Hiero Fanel takes effect, and Hiero meets Folken's new cat-women, Sonya and Ainya. And the most horrible thing comes to pass....a Dragon Slayer will die, but which one?
