Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character of "Escaflowne", not even Dilandau. Wish I did, but I don't. I don't own anything from "The Slayers" either. I do own Alessa, Myrna, and Hiero, whatever his last name becomes, and I own everything associated with his first life on the Planet Terrian. Ask my permission if you want to use him.
Content Warning-This is a disturbing chapter, nudity, gory torture, lewd actions, and heavy blood. You have been warned.
Chapter 21
The Fool*
Fallen Angels
- 1 Day later -
~ Floating Fortress Midgar ~
Folken looked at the young man with benign interest, despite the fact the shallow and ragged breaths were beginning to annoy him. Sora was still inspecting the youth's body, his shirt and pants well torn off thanks to the clumsy oaf that had somehow managed to kidnap him.
The man had been congratulated for all of ten seconds and then Sora sang him into a liquid red death for damaging Hiero so much. His nephew was still alive, only clad in torn boxers, so part of his right thigh was exposed, but other than that, he was covered in the respect that counted. It wasn't as if he or Sora would mind it, Folken knew how he had looked at Hiero's age with nothing on and Sora just frankly didn't care. Nothing much shocked her, but lately, she had been edgy, almost paranoid enough to think the forces of darkness would attack her at any moment.
She was even more skittish now examining the bruised and cut up young king, his breaths gaining some strength, but he wasn't waking up. 'I will take great pleasure in torturing the hell out of this little upstart, the one who has been ever constantly ruining our finely scheduled plans. My girls will show him that he has a new master now, me. Van had to go because he was so stubborn, let's hope you'll be more….understanding of my vision.' He thought, a smile briefly perking on his lips.
Hiero was beautiful, too beautiful for a male to be, the sharp, but presently filthy, sapphire locks shimmered slightly in the dull blue torchlight within the throne room. His skin was deathly pale right now, almost white as bone, and he was sweating terribly, like he had a fever.
Sora wasn't showing much of anything but fear, and he didn't know if it was because she feared Hiero or feared he was dying. The anticipation was killing him, and Sora's tedious touching of the youth was pissing him off. "SORA!"
She looked up as if he'd spoken in his normal voice, her eyes as sad and bland as ever. "Will he live?" he asked tersely.
"Yes, he is merely sleeping and his wounds are healing slowly. Whatever he did before he was taken here, it must have been very draining to his soul. He is very weak currently, but within a few more hours he will regain his strength. He will be well enough for….taming, as your women call it." She said, her airy voice not giving up any emotion.
"Fine then, no need to take a million moons to figure that out. Contact some of the….less clumsy soldiers to take him to the dungeons, one of the cells farther back. Have him shackled as all prisoners of war are, blindfold him as well. I don't want him to see it coming, I want my girls to enjoy him utterly. They do so love surprises." Folken sighed gently, then stooped over the youth's body. Sora nodded when his red eyes met her glazed blues, then got up slowly and left them.
Folken stared at Hiero for a moment, then picked up one of his thick frontal bangs. It was soft like silk, and fell coolly along his fingers like water. "I guess people like us skip a generation. Terrible shame your father was such a scruffy rat….maybe I should thank your mother for your looks, you certainly look nothing like Van did. Hmm, you physique is close to Dilandau's….though that complexion you have currently does nothing for you." he commented to the unconscious figure, running his fingers over the pale chest, then the youth's stomach. Hiero's made a face in his sleep, one of pained disgust.
Folken touched Hiero's thigh, then froze, hearing a feral growl rumble through his nephew's body. "Touchy, aren't we? Compared to my girls, this is like shaking hands, boy." Folken said lightly, smirking almost indifferently. The smirk disappeared when he noticed Hiero wasn't as deathly pale as before, and some of the jagged wounds that had been on his body had shrunk. Folken wondered about it, then assumed it was the angelic powers. It was the only logical explanation.
He slapped the unconscious young man and then grabbed him by his hair, lifting his lolling head up close to his. Sora returned as Folken spit in Hiero's face, a look of utter indifference betrayed.
"I'll go get the girls prepped for their work. The moment he's coherent enough….summon then, Sora." Folken said, not showing he was sorry in the least. His saliva dribbled down Hiero's pale face before his body was dropped to the ground.
Sora simply nodded again and motioned for the guards to pick Hiero up. They did so quietly, and left, Folken finally grinning, knowing what pleasures his girls would experience with this boy, one who would soon be begging to be on his side.
- Hours Later -
- 30 Miles East of Egzardia -
Alessa forgot to cringe when Dilandau started yelling for her to pick up the pace again. Migel could still see Midgar several miles away, as he had only hours ago when they caught up with it, but Dilandau was still angry about Chid kissing her and hurting Hiero. The fact that Chid was still around in his golden guymelef Chafariz wasn't helping Dilandau eternally rotten disposition. The cloud above them rumbled dangerously, threatening to split the land apart if it got any louder. It had been like this since Hiero was taken away, but the rain hadn't come yet. The weather just simply matched the mood of the group, Dilandau's more than anyone else.
It had been nearly over a day since the Alseides unit gassed them into an hour-long sleep, Dilandau being the last one to wake up since he had fought the effects tooth and nail to try and save Hiero. Hiero was gone now, stolen when he vulnerable from using his hidden power to try and save Freid. He had succeeded in saving all of them, even Chid, but no one else. Freid was still smoldering when they left the area. Migel had passed out numerous times looking for Midgar, and when he finally found it, everyone spread their wings and took off after it.
'Wish I had wings, then I wouldn't have to be near Chid all this time. I still feel terrible about Hiero, it's all my fault he got captured. He never would have run off it wasn't for me.' she thought, looking up at the towering gold guymelef that was thundering slowly behind her.
Chid had explained it during their mad dash after Midgar, carrying Alessa and Myrna in his guymelef's hands. He had gotten out of Freid, seeing the strange person singing Midgar away, and wanted to see what was up. No sooner had he crossed half the distance to the plateau, Freid was in flames. He couldn't go back and risk the others would be killed, so he went to the plateau, holding back the sorrow of losing Freid again.
He had prevented the Alseides unit from snatching Dilandau and the rest of them, but wasn't fast enough to free Hiero. The Fanelian king was gone from reach and sight as soon as Chid had blocked Dilandau off.
Now here they were, running madly after a floating fortress that held their comrade, one who had been terribly weak and ill a day before. She hoped he was all right, he had to be. He was immortal, incapable of aging and dying. If you killed him, he'd be healed and moving about again in a short while. He had to be all right, she had to tell him what had happened.
'What honestly did happen? Chid kissed me, it surprised me and Hiero saw it….he must be so hurt. Why didn't he scold me or ask me why? Why did he run? He can't have that little trust in me, can he?' she thought.
Her thoughts were snapped off when leather struck her cheek, sending her to the ground. She clutched her cheek, feeling it swell slightly. Alessa looked up in shock at the source of the attack, Dilandau Albatou staring down at her with a cruelly knit smirk.
"Stupid woman, I told you to stop moving just now. How dare you ignore me!" Dilandau hissed. Alessa frowned at him, looking past him a few moments later to see all the others, angels and not, staring on with blank expressions. 'Perfect soldiers, trained not to react unless the attack is directed at them, and the reaction is to beg forgiveness.' She thought blandly, rubbing her sore cheek again.
"I was thinking! I thought you told me to pick up the pace." She said dryly. He frowned then, looking ready to strike her again, but thought better of it. It probably wasn't her benefit, only Hiero's. Dilandau was too willing to put her safety in accordance to what Hiero said, as if disobeying Hiero was as bad as one of his Slayers disobeying him.
'Weirdo….freak pyromaniac psychotic.' She thought, her frown deepening. "You should have done that earlier. Currently Midgar is only a mile away and several miles upwards. Just wanted to be….cough….civil, and let you and the playboy know we are preparing to invade Midgar. I'll also leave Val behind as well, in case Chid will most probably screw up." He said slyly, almost teasing her.
"Why tell us after you tell your men? Not good enough for you to tell everyone to save some time?" she hissed. Val rolled his eyes a ways off, shaking his head.
Dilandau smirked, amusement dancing in his garnet eyes, then he reached up and stroked his scar affectionately. Alessa supposed he was thinking very deeply when he did this, he always seemed to announce something afterwards, a plan of attack or what he was going to do. It also meant he was considering doing something nasty to someone, and it was probably her.
Dilandau spread his wings out as suddenly as the fifty stroke worked its ways smoothly down the scar, his finger ripping off of it almost violently as a terrible grin pursed on his lips. "You are worthless in battle, jinx, more worthless than a newborn baby. You will only slow us down and Chid….hmmph, he'll be too busy trying to get his hand under your…..ahem, suddenly very short skirt. That and his inferior guymelef will alert Folken to our presence. You two weaklings will stay on the ground while we soldiers rescue our comrade. I'm only leaving Val behind because I have no confidence in yours or Chid's defense or offensive skills. I have plenty in his, so he should protect you weaklings well enough." He said in an acid laced tone.
"I want to help, dammit! You can't make me stay down here!" she said with sudden ferocity that it made him blink, but that was it. He was still grinning quite madly. "Oh, the Mystic Moon bitch has fire in her belly. Too damn bad, you're not a fighter, and fighting without experience is foolish. You stay down here or else." He said easily, quite calm.
She forgot who she was talking to, a young man that could tear her head off with his bare hands if he chose to, and slapped him. That stunned him, his eyes shrinking so small they looked like blood drops. His reaction was delayed a bit. He merely stared at her, his lips a thin, expressionless line. The silence was deafening, his Slayers with their hands over their mouths and were all backing away considerably fast. All of their wings were shivering, in fear of Dilandau's reaction. Val's eyes looked ready to fall out of his head, another hand on his blade's hilt.
When Dilandau blinked, his eyes were the large pools of blood she was used to, his mouth becoming a sneer and teeth bared like a feral dog. His eyes looked like they were on fire. In seconds flat, he had his hands around her throat and had slammed her against the golden guymelef's metal leg.
"You dare to touch me again, bitch, and you'll pull back a stump! Let Hiero rage about that, let him punish me! I can take what I earn with pride, can you?" he hissed, squeezing so hard the veins in her face spiraled up her face like living spider webs. She couldn't breath, only hoping someone, even Chid, would come out and stop Dilandau, but no one did. She couldn't hear anything, her vision was fading in and out while her frightened icy eyes stared at Dilandau enraged face.
"I don't care one bit for you, whore, I can call you whatever I want, I can do as I please! Watch yourself, carefully, my blade still owes you a kiss. Test my patience one more time, and it will be a kiss you both won't soon forget!!" he yelled in her face, then threw her on the ground. No sooner had she hit, his face became pleased, as if nothing had happened, and turned on his heels and walked towards his men. His wings spread out proudly, like a dark angel of death approaching the battlefield for souls.
Alessa didn't care just now. She was too busy coughing and clutching her bruised throat. "Damn you…." she said in throaty whisper, hacking again to clear her lungs. He didn't seem to hear her, taking off towards the dark clouds above.
The others followed in suit, Gatti with Guimel, Migel with Viole, but Chesta and Dalet had not yet taken off. Dalet looked very impatient, but Chesta's innocent eyes were undaunted. He came over to her as Chid was finally emerging from his guymelef, and put his leather-gloved fingers on the sides of her hurt throat.
"I am sorry, Lady Alessa, please don't challenge him again, not until you can fight. Not even we would attack him like that, as Dragon Slayers either, it just isn't done. He's an eternal fighting machine, you can't hope to see anything more in him in so little time. Trust me, lady Alessa, stay here for yours and Hiero's sake. Lord Dilandau was actually thinking of your safety." He said in his soft voice, trying to smile.
She gave him a wry smile, and said sarcastically," he has a funny was of showing it."
Chesta merely pecked her on the cheek gently, patting her shoulder in a brotherly manner. "He didn't kill you and he told you to stay here so Hiero wouldn't be hurt further. The gods only know what horrible things Folken is doing to him. It would be best you stay down here so Folken can't capture you too and use you to get to Hiero and us. You are the final angel, and you need to be kept safe. Duke Chid's guymelef will see to that, and this will give you some time to think. Please, Lady Alessa, for Hiero. He needs us all to cooperate. Promise me you'll stay safe for all of us?" he asked, his childish and polite voice soothing the pain a bit.
She gave off a nod, and got another pat on the shoulder as Chesta's golden wings spread. "Good, take care, Lady Alessa. Protect her, Duke Chid, Gaia's future depends on her surviving too. Try and keep up with Midgar as well as you can, all right?" Chesta announced, running over to Dalet after Chid smiled in answer.
"Chesta has a valid point. Next time, leave him alone, Alessa. He'll never listen to anyone but himself….and maybe Hiero. Don't press your luck with Dilandau again, for your own sake." Val said quietly, his blade out. Alessa nodded dumbly, still rubbing her sore neck.
Soon Chesta and Dalet were gone, and Alessa was alone with Chid and Val. Chid had a sultry look on his face, and it made Alessa a little creepy. 'Maybe I would have been better off defying Dilandau again.' She mused, leaning back against the guymelef's leg as the thunder rolled across the sky again, lighting flashing in the distance as Chesta and Dalet hit the clouds of darkness.
~ Floating Fortress Midgar ~
- Dungeons -
Drip….Drip….Drip….Drip….
"Five more minutes, Mama." Hiero's voice cracked as if it hadn't been used in centuries, water leaking through his hair. As he groggily tried to shift in his bed, he found he wasn't in one. He was standing and shivering, his wrists held in shackles. His eyes looked up, his vision all dark, and he became aware he was blindfolded. He felt that there were wounds on his arms still healing, he rather felt them pulling themselves together, and it felt like being stabbed and cut.
He took a breath, then started to rub the blindfold against the metal wall he was face. The door was probably behind him, but not open. His senses were still very dulled, so if anyone was in the room, he wouldn't know for a while. After a bit of rubbing and bruising his head, he managed to work the blindfold up a bit on the right side. He had to tilt his head upwards and look down to see anything, but it was better than nothing, better than being blind was. He'd hated that curse in Val's world, to be born blind for so blindly living his life on Terrian. Tragic irony, or a sick joke of Delphine's in his opinion.
He hated being helpless, and that's how he felt despite his powers. He could become whomever he had absorbed on Terrian and Val's planet, but right now, doing so could prove deadly to his soul's health. He'd felt himself growing weaker and weaker every second Avaris was in control. He was glad he hadn't summoned a personality that hated his guts or he may never have been able to return.
It was bad enough he felt as weak as a kitten then, but the fact Migel had kissed him, and shoved his tongue down his throat, made Hiero sick to no end. He had wanted to tear Migel's tongue out for doing that, the humiliating and degrading feelings he felt inside when he had been violated like that. He'd beat Migel to pulp when he got free, beat him for days. Then he'd start on Dalet. He was the reason Migel's tongue got inside Hiero's mouth in the first place.
"They are dead meat." He growled. Then the pain ripped through his back, like dozens of white-hot pokers being dragged across his tender flesh at the same. He felt warmth trickle down his back, the pain still there.
Drip….Drip….Drip….Drip….
He dared not cry out, so he bit his lip instead. "No, you're fresh meat, pretty one." Two lovely voices said slyly together. He turned a bit, catching a glimpse of golden hair and tan fur, the flicking of tails as long as his arm. 'Cat-people….had to be….ich…. damned cat- people!' he though painfully, the blood soaking his only article of clothing, his torn boxer shorts.
He drew a ragged breath as he felt teeth sink into his bare shoulder. He growled at the source and thrashed, his strength returning with each flash of pain. "Who are you!?" he yelled, kicking back at his attacker. He felt contact, and a loud hissing shriek before something skidded along the ground.
"Ooo, it has spirit. I love that in man, don't you Sonya?" one voice said, purring as it got closer, licking at Hiero's bleeding back.
"To death, Ainya, my dear sister. He'll be fun to break. And delicious….Rowr!" the other, almost identical voice replied, underneath him, and a pain shot through his thigh.
'Rough….sex, they think this is damn rough sex….I hate bastards like this! Hate!' Hiero mind fumed, then he screamed as the thigh biter, Sonya, tore a chunk out of it.
His breaths were shaky, but he managed to stay standing, the blood loss making him dizzy. "What the fuck do you whores want?" he growled, his best dragon trills vibrating throughout his body.
"He's a nasty one, Lord Folken said he would be a challenge," Sonya, he guessed, said smoothly, licking the open wound she'd made, the clawed and his legs while Ainya kicked him square in the spine. His spine throbbed, but it didn't break. 'They don't know my secret, so goodie for me. They can't make this too painful. Hell, I hate pain regardless. I'll make them very sorry….I am not in the mood to be used as a plaything!!" his mind raged.
Drip….Drip….Drip….Drip….
"ANSWER ME, YOU FILTHY FREAKS!" he shouted, kneeing Sonya in the face. Her teeth sunk in his knee, making him groaned, but he merely jammed his foot in her face, moments before kicking her in the jaw.
"To give in to Lord Folken like you should have, and to have a little fun. We are Lord Folken's top interrogators, little boy." Ainya hissed, and shoved her fingers through the flesh of his arms. He wailed out the pain, then grit his teeth to hold it in. he caught sight of his hands then, his thumbs getting caught on the rims as his wrists bled. 'If I could bend my thumbs in enough, I could pull free….or….not, not that desperate yet.' He thought, gritting his teeth as he swiveled his head about to find his tormenters.
He could see them, just barely under the blindfold, he could see their slim hips, daggers on each one, or rather just the hilts. The daggers were in their slim hands now, twirling with anticipation, yearning for his flesh.
'I will not be stabbed by the likes of them. There's only so much I can stand from….losers like that. IEEEEE!!' he thought, his last though becoming audible as a chunk of his shoulder was sliced off, blood pouring from the wound.
"Bitches! I'll skin you alive!!" he growled, thrashing about to force his hands free, but it only created more pain and more blood leaked from his raw wrists. The blood started to mingle with the cold water droplets that were soaking his sapphire locks.
"Skin us? Oh, Sonya, such a hot little tongue, maybe we should tame him a little harder." Ainya cooed, nibbling on Hiero's ear hard enough to tear it a little. Blood started to leak from that spot and soon from where he was biting his own lip to hold back his screams.
Torment was not something he dealt with well, more or less he reacted most violently to the threat of being anywhere near the word. He could take whippings well, beating, and slapping, but being slashed up deliberately and slow pissed him off. He couldn't die, but they didn't know that, and being hurt mildly stung like hell. His bones were being scraped, muscles torn, normally that was ok in a battle, but he was chained and near helpless right now. He was being taken advantage of for empty threats he would never bend. Never would he bow to Folken's demands for his own safety, he'd rather die.
'And regretfully, I just might. Dammit, this is going to….urk….hurt. Shit, they're going for my groin now, hell! I'd rather hurt anywhere but there.' He thought, his double colored eye going wild with fright when Sonya started pulling down his boxers, her teeth bared, or was it Ainya. 'Who gives a shit about whose who! She's going to bite it off or something! That hurts worse than any resurrection to grow back!!' he thought, pushing up with both legs to get them atop the cat-woman's golden head. He quickly opened his mouth and bit down on the indent between his thumb and pointer finger, his boxers getting a new tear but remaining secure on his body.
He heard the women gasp as he dug his own teeth on that spot, gnawing with loud moans and pained, muffled yells as he slowly tore his thumb off. He shrieked as the skin tore, ragged and blood, and the bone cracked like a twig. He hadn't yelled merely out of pain, but to shock the cat-women's ears. It worked, making them stiffen in place. Hiero felt his feet slip from the one woman's head to the cold floor, and he gave his mutilated hand a harsh yank, the exposed stub of where his thumb once was screaming with pain as it squeeze past the rust metal. His hand slipped through after a few moments of pain shooting through every exposed and bleeding nerve.
He hung there a moment, tearing the blindfold off his head, blood leaking across his porcelain features. One of them was only a foot away, holding her dagger numbly in her tan-furred hands, sleek as silk. His blood was spattered in a few patches of her sleek fur, even her face. He grinned cruelly at her, licking his lips before snatching her dagger away.
"Folken can kiss my ass, you whores! I'd rather die than ever give him anything more than a sword up his ass. See you in hell!" he choked, swiftly getting to his feet and raising the dagger up high. In seconds he slammed it down on his still shackled wrist, severing the hand clean from it. Blood vomiting forth from the stump, like a ghastly fountain.
Hiero's mind blacked out as his body hit the ground, face first, warmth overtaking him as he went in to shock.
~
Sonya watched the boy for the longest time. She'd merely wanted to have a little fun with the Fanelian king. Getting a little love out of the young man wouldn't hurt much, the torture would be so much more fulfilling if she gained more than mouthfuls of torn and dead flesh. Lord Folken wouldn't touch them, he never had. Not their mother either, Naria. Their mother was dead now, she had undergone an experiment to become a Luck soldier and it backfired, but she and their aunt Eriya had loved him then, very much.
Though, their mother could only satisfy herself for so long without desiring physical contact, even if there was no love. It was better than being treated like a child and mere soldier. Dilandau had gotten all the special attention in Folken's life, making the boy a monster and keeping him in line. Their mother slept with one of her own kind a year before her death. 'At least she didn't die a virgin like Aunt Eriya. At least we know to take our fun when it presents itself, this one is young and strong. He might think we'll let him go if he sleeps with us. Let him think that….he is royalty, what does he care for orphans.' She'd thought earlier.
Sonya and Ainya had been left to Adelfos, the highest Demon Army General, to train up. The man had done well, good enough to deserve a quick death when Lord Folken came back for them. Folken hadn't been happy that Adelfos had not struck back sooner, so the older man was killed swift stabbing through the throat. They were glad Lord Folken was resurrected, but Sora ruined their chances of being closer to him than mere soldiers. Folken liked Sora mostly because she never fought back, she never moved. It was sick in Sonya's mind, but Ainya was still wildly in love with him.
Now the young king was lying on his front in a pool of his own blood, which was spreading rapidly. His severed hand was still in the shackle, twitching as if electrified, the thumb missing from her sights. He'd landed to close to her, spoken to her with such hate it was like being scolded by the devil.
His eyes had been so alive with hate, blood leaking all over his body, then rivers spilled down him after he'd chopped his own hand off. He didn't even cry out, just let his eyes fly open in shock, as if he had just realized what he'd done. His body then twisted about, that stunned expression stuck on his face, then landed wetly onto the metal floor, his arms folded beneath him. The blood spread after that and was now licking at her silver boots.
Her sister, only a few feet away, looked downright scared to death. "No, he will punish us if Hiero dies! Why did you have to try and ,….ugh, you and your damned hyper libido!! I'll try and find one of the healers. He's not dead yet, we can get the bleeding to stop…we can, we've seen worse….just watch him, make sure he doesn't die or you shall wish you were dead, little sister!!" Ainya yelled in a panicked manner.
"He won't die….he can't….get out of here and get that heal…." Sonya began, but a sudden explosion rocked the fortress ended her words, sending her face to slam into the blood lake.
She sputtered madly, wiping the stick fluid off her face. "What was that, sister?" Sonya yelped, frowning upon seeing her silver leotard was stained and a little torn.
"That I don't know, sister, but it is not our concern yet. We save the little bastard's life first. Guard him, anyone comes in, rip them apart!" Ainya hissed, picking herself up before running out of the room. She left the door open, but it was probably so Ainya and the healer could get back into the cell a lot easier, not because she forgot. Ainya wasn't as stupid with orders as she was with love.
"Stupid boy….I wasn't going to harm you just now. Moron….such a coward. I just wanted to….show you a good time, the last good time you'll ever have. Now you've gone and mutilated yourself, you fool." She hissed at the body. It twitched a bit, the arms shifting inwardly as he let out a soft moan. He was saying something, probably worthless ramblings, the blood loss going to his head.
She circled him cautiously, sniffing at him as she moved in a little closer to his right side. The smell of his blood was exciting her as she reached for his shoulder. She had to elevate his wounds to slow the bleeding.
"Very lovely though, it is a real shame Folken will kill you after you bring the god of war and death back. I would keep you all to myself, little chaotic blue boy." She purring, licking his cheek affectionately as she gave his right arm a tug. He moaned again, moving to her, accepting the affection, his pale blue lips gained slight normal color. She licked his mouth a little as she tugged his arm again getting it loose as she took his cool lips in hers. He didn't kiss back, but wasn't fighting her. He even gripped her hand, then ran his hand up her sleek arm, all five digits massaging and rubbing along her fur.
'Five?' she thought, her lips stiffening suddenly. She started to move back, but it was too late. His head shot up, that hateful glare in his eyes again as the blood dripped down his face like a second skin. Hiero's quickly got her in a headlock and snapped her neck with a deft push from one palm, the hand he had cut off. Sonya had no time to think as she faintly heard her spine crack, then nothing more came from her but blood across her lips.
~
Ainya swore as she rushed back to the dungeon cell, her gloved hands full of bandages and medicines for the suicidal king. The infirmary had been empty and smoke was within every hall. It was obvious Midgar was under attack, but Ainya only fought by her sister's side, and when Lord Folken ordered them to. For now, keeping Hiero alive was all they were to do until told otherwise.
She ran back for the cell to meet with a shocking side, enough to make her drop everything she had been clutching to her shapely, silver covered chest. Glass broke at her feet and bandages rolled away swiftly, but she just stood there with her jaw hanging open.
"You pervert! We share everything, but we have no claim on him! OOOOOOH!" Ainya hissed, disgusted by what her sister was doing.
Sonya and Hiero were under the shackles, sitting on the floor, Hiero with his unconscious body propped against the wall, his head leaning over Sonya's bare shoulders. The top of her leotard had been pushed down to her hips, noises like soft moans erupting from her. Sonya looked like she was lovingly feasting on his neck.
Sonya was ignoring her sister, and that pissed Ainya off further. Ainya strode over to them and tore her sister away from the young man, tossing her sister to the ground. She turned swiftly to yell at her, then stopped, a smell making her fur stand on end. It was the smell of death, Ainya had been too angry at Sonya's behavior to think about much else. Ainya kept her eyes on Hiero's blood soaked body a moment longer, the lingering smell not coming from him, then turned slowly to her sister. The scream died in her throat as her golden eyes widened with horror.
Her sister was there, but her head was turned all the way around, even though her front was in Ainya's view. Sonya's entire front had been skinned, the muscles handing out like shredded, bloody worms, blood leaking slowly from each exposed orifice. The smell was overpowering now, worse than Hiero's blood. The dead smell was all over the room now, no longer stifled by Hiero's embrace. 'He did this, the little monster!!' she screamed silently, whirling around to avenge her sister's death.
Hiero was gone, only the bloody stain he'd been sitting on left in his place. She sniffed the air, but the blood and death was too thick, she couldn't find him. "Come out, you coward. Face my blade….NOW!" she roared, reaching for her blade frantically as she bore her teeth. She face-faulted when her hand met with dead air, her eyes swerving violently to her sheath to find it empty, blood stained fingerprints on the edge.
"Here kitty, kitty…." a voice giggled, sounding like it was everywhere. Her fur stood up again as her wild and frightened golden eyes searched for the source. Hiero's laughter echoed all over, but she couldn't find him.
She started to back up, to get out of the cell as fast as she could to tell Lord Folken. He would fix things, he'd make the murderous little freak pay for her sister's murder. Ainya felt the cool air from outside the cell against her back, smiling at the fact she was almost out.
Then her back struck something solid, an arm snaking quickly about her neck and waist. "Curiosity killed the cat, but then again, so will I, little Ainya….or are you Sonya? Oh, does it matter, you're going to die anyway for annoying me." Hiero voice smoothed into her ear.
She was too stunned to move and before she knew it he slammed her head against the wall, splashing stars against her sight. Her mind was numbed from the pain, her senses dulling. The last thing she saw was the young king staring down at her with a sly smile, slicing open the flesh of her right arm slowly, splitting the skin as if he were filleting a fish.
"Did you know there is more than one way to skin a cat? There is, there are two way, alive….and dead. You can guess where you fit. Hee, hee…." He giggled madly, his voice growing deeper as the darkness took her.
- Meanwhile -
~ Halls of Midgar ~
Dalet swore madly as he moved blindly through the halls. The plan was falling apart. Lord Dilandau's were mostly spur the moment after a while, set fire to things after the battle went well, but currently things were not going so well. Everyone was separated from each other after the explosion. The Zaibach bastards' poor fighting skills had been too embarrassing for words, but it also turned the tide in the battle.
One Lord Dilandau had been fighting against stabbed one of the guymelefs in the hanger they had been caught in, all thanks to dear Viole's hair getting caught on one of the guymelef leg hinges, making him shout. Dilandau had no time to scold him since Zaibach soldiers swarmed in on them. The battle had been long and bloody, only one mislaid slice changing the stakes. Lord Dilandau's opponent had nearly cut his arm, in the action that got him stuck in the guymelef, the fuel leaking from the system.
What made things go even more horribly wrong was the spark that erupted from another attacked, his blade missing Lord Dilandau's body by merely inches and striking the metal leg, setting the fuel on fire.
Dalet only had a few seconds to pick a door to escape through, as the others had, before the flames reached the fuel tanks inside the unit. Dalet was more or less thrown through the doorway of choice when the tank blew, then started a chain reaction that leapt from each Alseides unit to the next, shaking the fortress like a mighty earthquake.
After that, he'd been blindly working his way through the halls, trying to find a way to the dungeons, where King Hiero had to be. He'd never been in Midgar, only Lord Dilandau, Gatti, and Chesta had ever come, probably because they were Folken's chosen angels over the others. Folken didn't have time for the others, only to have them beaten and humiliated constantly to make the other cooperate.
That was far from his mind now. He wasn't a little kid anymore, he wasn't going to be hurt by Folken's brutes and losers anymore, he was going to kill whatever soldier got in his way, Folken and Sora too.
The smoke was thinner as he moved down flights of filthy stairs, his lavender eyes scanning the area keenly and cautiously. He would not be caught off guard ever.
Dalet sped through the dimly lit halls as a scream pierced the air, making his skin crawl. It sounded like a woman, she was begging for her life, but no voice responded to her. The screams soon grew bubbly, and after several minutes, they died out.
'Must be close, they are probably torturing a lot of people here, knowing Folken. He loves to see other people suffer even more than Lord Dilandau, just not by his own hands. How cowardly.' He thought, then stopped in mid-stride as the click of boots, slow and even, sounded in the hall.
Dalet wasted no time in getting inside the first door he saw and hid within it. It felt like a storage closet, full of dusty blankets, boxes and brooms. That didn't bother him, what bother him was that he hadn't managed to close the door all the way, a tiny sliver of dull light passing across him. He got on the floor, some of the brooms and dusty blankets pulled across all but one eye. He waited quietly, breathing softly and slowly as the steps got closer.
He nearly choked on his breath as the object of all their hatred came into view, the light blue hair, those indifferent red eyes, and the pale complexion that set him apart from his younger brother van. It was Folken Fanel, their tormenter, the man who brought them back only to hurt and berate them ever constantly so he could rule Gaia. Dalet felt a deep anger boil inside him, but didn't move. He was on the floor, and the gods only knew what was under Folken's cloak.
His heart thumped madly as Folken stopped a mere foot away from the door, then turned about. He looked at it for the longest time, those cold red eyes even more frightening than Lord Dilandau's. At least his anger could be seen in them constantly, but Folken never showed much of any emotion, his eyes never betraying what was in his heart and soul. That was a lot scarier than hate, the not knowing was so powerful as Lord Dilandau had said, not knowing when things will strike was the worst feeling of all.
His lavender eyes quivered as Folken reached for the door, Dalet bringing his hand deathly slow to his blade. 'Gods….be with me. This is for you Lord Dilandau, for you.' he thought as the knob jiggled in Folken's pale grip.
~
Viole coughed hard, a bit of phlegm slicking across his fingers as the acrid smoke about him burned at his senses. His eyes were watering and getting all puffy, his lungs felt like they were being scraped at from the inside from smoke inhalation. It all hurt so much. Then again, it was better than being neck deep in water, and then nose deep. That was terrible, drowning in liquid metal mixed with his own blood. He'd choked on it slowly before his Alseides unit disintegrated, leaving a few organs, a hand, and several blood slicked tufts of his ebony hair.
He fought the memory away, it wouldn't help him get out of here. It would only hinder him further. He had things worth living for, the Dragon Slayers, Lord Dilandau….Orla. He smiled a bit and trudged on, Orla was a very good reason. His first kiss since being reborn, a sweet bit of honey he'd thought impossible to attain. The fact she let him sleep in her bed with her snuggled up to him had been a sweet dream, but made him wonder if she was promiscuous. What had made him believe her sincerity in the matter was that she didn't have sex with him, she didn't ask for it, only his handsome and noble company.
Hiero had made it seem worse, him catching them in bed and all. Viole didn't know whether or not the immortal king thought they had done it, but doubted it. He'd said he could read minds, so he probably knew that. Hiero had not mentioned it to anyone either, which made him even more grateful.
He wanted his and Orla's relationship to be kept out of Lord Dilandau's general direction. The less Lord Dilandau knew about it, the longer Viole could go on breathing and die old and decrepit. He'd make sure to see Orla whenever he could, a Dragon's Slayer's duty was all to Dilandau unto the death, not the woman in their hearts. They'd just have to be sneaky about it, it was the only way to remain in the elite and alive. You didn't get into the Dragon Slayers force then suddenly decide to quit. Quitting meant forfeiting your life fully to Lord Dilandau, because it was an insult to abandon the position he gave you for anything other than death. He'd kill you anyway you wanted and in the slim chance the person escape, wherever they were stood to be attacked and burned to asked.
'I don't want that for Orla, I must be discreet for her sake, at least. I was born to die for Lord Dilandau, we all were and are proud of that oath. I won't leave him, not even for Orla, my honor and life are his.' He thought proudly, a twinge of guilt pulling on his heart. Orla would have to understand that the life of a Dragon Slayer was a sacred one to him, and that of the consequences for betraying his patron were more serious than she could imagine. She'd understand, if not, it wasn't meant to be.
"If that is the case, then why does it hurt to consider? Darn….why does life have to be so complicated? Hiero seems to get by fine as does that Alessa woman. Chesta is normally pleasant whenever it suits him, Gatti is sarcastic, Migel is a good soldier, Dalet is vain when our patron can't see it, Guimel is so carefree and child-like, and me….the quiet one. I've always been very quiet, probably why the others had better luck with women. Curse the Gods, why can't matters of the heart be easier." He muttered.
"Life is not easy, child. Everyone would be happy if it were." A melancholy voice said softly.
Viole whipped around perfectly, his ebony hair swirling past his shoulders while he pulled crossbow, his finger idling on the trigger. "SORA!" he shouted, but she didn't move, her eternal expression of glazed indifference plastered on her deathly pale face.
"Viole," She said back, then blinked and added," Second in line Angel of Wisdom."
"WHAT?! Speak what you mean, witch, or you'll die all the quicker" he growled, the crossbow's parcel aimed at her unfeeling heart. If she was afraid, it didn't show, as usual. She gave a faint smile, it looked like one anyway, but it was so quick Viole could register it.
"I must go. Lord Folken and I must gather Hiero before your friends reach him. We will not give up the monstrous Angel of Power yet, not until he submits to us."
Viole pulled the trigger at those words, not willing to allow Hiero to be snatched from them, but no sooner had the quarrel been released, Sora vanished in a swirl of glowing white feathers.
"Wh-What happened? Gods, Hiero!! I have to find him!!" he breathed, putting his crossbow away and pulled out his blade. He had to reach Hiero in time. They'd just walked into a damn trap.
~
Guimel wheezed a bit on the smoke he had left in his lungs, but it was brief. He was well out of range up the explosion-riddled decks. He had his sword out, he could see through the dim halls better now, but the smell of decay was bothering him. It reminded him of being locked up and beaten in Eden. Folken had never been kind to him, Viole, or Dalet, and it was a harsh reminder to come across familiar smells that scared him to death as a small boy.
The dead in general and killing people didn't bother him. Lord Dilandau had chosen him because he was good with a blade, not a guymelef. He tripped and his thoughts spiraled out of his mind the moment his face hit the floor. Guimel cursed himself for being a tad clumsy as he got up, then dusted his pants and arms off.
He kept going, the smell of decay getting unbearable, but it beat choking to death on harsh smoke fumes. Guimel took a deep breath, forcing himself to get used to the smell of rot and filth, and nearly choked on it as a woman's scream reached his sensitive ears.
"No….gurgle….STOP PLEASE!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" the woman was screaming, the sound becoming bubbly and full of unfathomable pain. Guimel could hear some ripping and tearing, her couldn't be far off from where the dungeons lay. Someone was obviously being tortured. 'But who? And why a woman? Folken is strange, what could some strange woman tell him that Hiero couldn't….unless he's using some innocent servant girl to make Hiero give in. Oh dear, I have to hurry or she'll die.' He thought, and picked up the pace of his steps
Guimel went through numerous halls, the screams never returning. He could still smell the decay, so he wasn't too far away. After ten minutes, he was sure he'd found the dungeon entrance, a large steel door with bars on it, just like the one the Vione had for spies and the like. He tugged at it, but it wouldn't open, then he started kicking it. He wasn't the lock-picking expert, Gatti and Chesta were for that crap, sometimes Migel. They were all closer to Lord Dilandau than he and Dalet were. Dalet was simply on Lord Dilandau's bad side because his vanity was worse than Lord Dilandau's was. Viole was too quiet and withdrawn around Lord Dilandau to be of his concern, and Guimel, was simply too childish and clumsy for Lord Dilandau to consider him a confidant.
He looked about, and frowned upon seeing there were no keys available, just an empty hook on the wall beside the door. He grunted in frustration and looked down at his blade. "Better than nothing I suppose….Hiero, I'm coming!" he said softly, then tried to stick his sword through the side of the door. .
Guimel would file the lock away if he had to. If the others were here, they could pick the lock, but Guimel was all alone, as were his comrades. They had all been separated because of those morons of Zaibach.
The door gave a bit after several more minutes passed Guimel by, sweating leaking from his brow. "Damn, this isn't working, I can't ever feel the blade moving down at all. Maybe I could pry it open with my blade." He wondered aloud, backing up a little to study the door again
"Keys work nicely, but you know that, don't you Guimel." A deep and familiar voice sounded behind him. Guimel wasted no time it clutching his blade defensively and turning around.
"F-F-Folken! Let me in there and return Hiero or I'll kill you!" Guimel announced, his voice wavering a bit. Guimel was scared to death, angry at himself for not hiding it well enough. Folken just stood there, that cold smile on his lips, and a sword in his right hand, tilted slightly as if he meant to lean on it. It wasn't the casual stance that bothered him, it was the blood dripping off the tip of the blade. Folken must have been in a battle not long ago, with one of the other Dragon Slayers.
His green eyes shivered as they became fixated tightly on the blood drops, and Folken noticed, letting out on of his dry chuckles. "I met with some interference along the way. Seems I will be kept from my appointments again by another worthless rat." Folken said in an amused tone, but he didn't look that way. Folken lifted his blade, getting into fighting stance rather slowly.
'He's trying to intimidate me….he's always doing that to scare us. I'm not scared, he….he killed one of my friends. No, not them! I will avenge whoever it was!' he thought wildly, and charged Folken full force. Sparks flew as their blades met, Folken's superior height and strength shoving Guimel's lithe body backwards and slamming him into the door.
Guimel ignored the stinging pain in his back and sliced at Folken again and again. Folken tried hitting Guimel with his blade and fist, nicking him only once in the side and damaging his armor with blood.
Guimel slashed out at Folken repeatedly before throwing his body weight at Folken again. Folken saw this, his red eyes flaring with annoyance, and charge back at the young Slayer. Guimel raised his blade, shouting at Folken, and took a nimble leap off the ground to come over Folken's blade. He was about to slice Folken's head off when the older man grabbed his ankle and yanked on it, then swung him away. Guimel skidded across the floor, away from the dungeon door.
"That the best Dilandau has to offer? Petty acrobatics….please." Folken sighed and put his back to Guimel. Guimel growled angrily, slamming his blade against the floor. He picked himself and charged with all his anger and fear backing him up.
Folken turned around, his hand still on his blade, but he was smiling. Guimel didn't think it mattered, then the pain came in his back, knocking him off balance. "The perfect fool, you always played the fool, Guimel." Folken said, but the pain was starting to twist in his back, his hands reaching back frantically, but pointlessly, for the source.
His eyes watered as Folken vanished into the dungeon area, not bothering to care that he was being dragging away by his feet, the fact his warm blood was filling his armor.
"Lord Dilandau….Lord Hiero….forgive me." he whimpered, and soon he could not see the door anymore.
~ Dungeons ~
Folken wiped the blood of both Dragon Slayers off his sword onto the bottom of his dark cloak before sheathing it. It was annoying how those insects kept popping up when they weren't wanted. He and Sora had to escape after all with his nephew. Sonya and Ainya hadn't reported any progress, but they hadn't had a lot of time in 'taming' the boy. He sniffed at the air as he approached the shut cell door, smiling as the metallic odor of blood and sinew blessed his mind.
'Maybe they did, they are two of the best interrogators in all of Zaibach. All be it they are hyper-sexual bitches I could care less about. They are mere cat-women, nothing more or less, soldiers in my empire. Sora is more interesting than those loud creatures.' He thought mildly, picking up the keys beside the door and unlocking it. The door opened easily, the stifling smell of freshly spilt blood thick in the once stale air.
That pleased him so much, he shut his eyes a little, stepping into the room with open arms to fully enjoy it. Hiero deserved to suffer for eluding him for so long, deserved to bleed. Sora could patch him up perfectly so he'd be ready for another session, yes, the longer it went on, the more fulfilling a revenge it would be against the boy and his parents.
Folken opened his red eyes slowly, wanting to see his obstinate nephew beaten and battered for all the troubles he'd cause, a smile plastered on his face.
His smiled screwed up when he saw there was nothing but a smear of blood on the wall, running from above like a slow red river. His smile faded away as his eyes trailed up the large red smear, barely twitching when a piece of muscle slimed its way through it.
Folken's eyes graced the bodies fastened by their waists in a most disgusting manner by their own daggers. Sonya and Ainya were there, skinned and dead, or at least one of them was dead while the other was dying. The body with it's skinned back to the wall was still struggling, weakly at best, a gag about her mouth. Her dead sister was fastened to her upside down, her clothed, but skinned, rear shoved in the other's neck, her legs dangling like those of a broken doll.
"I hate cats." A voice said, a ways behind him. Folken turned slowly, still feeling ill from what had been displayed before him. "You did this." Folken said bluntly.
"They annoyed me. It could have been worse, I could have cut their digits off one at a time, played with their intestines, then skinned them, but I was in a hurry. Sides, they hurt me. I don't like pain at all, especially from your sluts. Not enough balls in your pants to take me on yourself, Uncle!" Hiero said dryly, running a hand through his blood stained sapphire hair, those double colored eyes mocking him.
Hiero had his sword, playing with it as if it were a stick. He was soaked with blood, probably most of it Sonya and Ainya's. He had no wounds on his body, he was flawless save for the child-hood scar on his cheek and side of his nose. The young king was smiling too, fully displayed on his blood stained lips.
Folken smiled back coldly and took out his blade, a little bot of blood still there. Hiero's smiled disappeared, anger filling his face. "So what? I can always get new ones, interrogators come cheap when they have no real will power of their own. They lived for me and died, it's their own fault they got sloppy…sloppy enough to lose to a child." He smoothed out.
Folken took a breath of awe as Hiero's wings burst from his back, shock white angel wings of four about two dragon wings of sapphire blue. It was truly beautiful, the wings untouched by he blood that covered their owners body like a second skin.
The youth took a fighting stance, only one hand on his blade as compare to Folken holding his large sword with both. "You hurt someone, one of them! My friends were hurt for your dirty prophecy. We never asked to be a part of this, never, you made us suffer! You're going to pay for every life you've stained!" Hiero growled, a dragon-like trill vibrating in the boy's chest. Folken was unmoved by the display, and shrugged out of his cloak calmly.
He spread his dark wings out from his back, stunning the young king for a moment. "I guess Draconian blood overpowers in the body. They is no such thing as impure….Shame I have to spill it all over the floor with that nasty cat-women blood. Only a little shame. Let's dance, Uncle!" Hiero sneered, then took off to the darkened ceiling. Folken grumbled at the boy's audacity and followed in suit , only to get a neat cut on his cheek as Hiero came out of the darkness. The Fanelian blade screamed with Folken's blood and Hiero only added to the pain by laughing.
"That was for my mother!" Hiero hissed and swooped at Folken again. Folken blocked this time, and moved to return the favor, but Hiero dove out of reach and slashed his blade across Folken's left leg. Folken growled again to strike back and got kicked in the face, his body slamming into a nearby wall.
"That was for my father, who died by your traitorous actions and the broken heart you gave him! Murderer! You're far worse than I am, I never had a choice, you did, and you wasted a second chance on this shit!" Hiero yelled, diving for Folken on the ground.
Folken lifted off in time and managed to cut Hiero along his stomach, sending the young king skittering across the floor.
Folken landed again and readied the hilt of his blade to knock Hiero out. He couldn't kill the boy, not when the prophecy was nearly complete. He never saw Hiero move, never saw the hatred in his eyes until it was too late to stop. "Fireball!"
The white hot ball of flames smashed into Folken's chest like an Alseides' arm, with enough power to send him flying into the river of blood flowing from his now fully dead interrogators. "That was for Celena, for her rape and murder! It's all your fault! I hate you!" Hiero screamed, rushing at Folken, the cut on his stomach gone.
Folken lifted his blade to block the hate filled strikes, not daring to strike back lest he miss and lose his life. A kick came suddenly, knocking Folken over, but he got up quickly to block another attack. "Stop this, you fool! Are you insane!?" Folken hissed, finally taking a slice at Hiero, a patch of skin from the youth's left arm falling wetly to the floor.
He felt pleased he'd hurt the boy, but by the look in Hiero's eyes, he didn't feel that way for long. Hiero caught him with a sharp kick to the groin then the face, then cut the other side of his face, jagged and deep.
"That's for Dilandau and the hell you put him and the other through!! You bastard!" Hiero shouted in the pained man's face, taking another slice at him, but it was blocked. Folken was barely holding onto the blade since his other hand was holding his throbbing groin.
~
Hiero hissed in frustration and grabbed at his uncle. He had promised Dilandau he wouldn't kill Folken without him, and Hiero kept his promises. He was too sore and angry to keep himself from hurting Folken, but he wouldn't kill him. Not yet anyway.
Hiero was so angry he forgot his gloves were gone and grabbed Folken's sword hand, and the world around him dulled.
- Vision -
Flashed appeared before his eyes, of Dalet and Guimel, blood. He saw a closet door open, Folken with his sword and Dalet on the floor, then splashes of blood.
The vision was so swift, it hurt Hiero's head, then it started to clear. He saw a door with bars on the window, much like his cell door. Folken had his back to it, his blade still out. Guimel was several feet away, bleeding from the side. He looked pissed off, then charged at Folken.
Before he crossed half the distance between them, his body jerked, his emerald green eyes rolling up in his head as he lost his balance. Hiero's heart broke as the innocent face of the Dragon Slayer slammed onto the ground with rest of his body, a dagger protruding from his back. Sora was standing a ways behind him, looking perfectly blank.
Guimel reached out with his blade towards Folken, but the man was leaving. "The perfect fool, you always played the fool, Guimel." Folken said, leaving Guimel with Sora. The woman was dragging him into the shadows, looking utterly indifferent.
Hiero's heart pained from sickness at Guimel's whispery words, the vision fading. "Lord Dilandau….Lord Hiero….forgive me."
-End Vision -
Hiero blinked back tears as the vision left him, finding his hand still on Folken's, the man still holding himself in pain. "G-Guimel….you….hurt Guimel….and Dalet! You….how could you? You monster!!" Hiero wailed, his rage getting the best of him as he raised his blade over his head, his uncle dull red eyes widening.
The sword came down, a fountain of red gushing all over Hiero and Folken. The only sound that came was Folken's blade hitting the ground, his hand tightly fastened about it.
Hiero backed up, putting blade away before he went too far. He promised Dilandau they'd kill this man together. He wouldn't break that and he didn't have time to do much more. Folken finally screamed out in agony upon realizing he wasn't dead, but his right hand was severed, clutching his blade in some fleeting hope it was still a part of him.
"You'll die when I say so. Dilandau and I will enjoy killing you, you freak. For everyone you hurt. I never had a choice when I killed, but now I do. No one deserves it like you do, Uncle." Hiero spat and tore out of the room, not even bothering to relish in Folken's pain filled moans. Nor did he hear the man's pleas.
"Sora….stop him…." Folken begged, before passing out.
~ Halls of Midgar ~
"I can still save him. Dalet might be ok too, he's a damned Dragon Slayer, of course he's all right….what the hell am I thinking? They don't die so easily," Hiero stuttered, coughing as smoke filled halls greeted him," Guimel!! Dalet! Answer me, it's Hiero!! GUIMEL! DALET!! DAMMIT, SAY SOMETHING!" he shouted.
Hiero heard and saw nothing, so he plodded on, his mind alive with fear for the pair. Hiero had been merciless with Ainya, making sure she was awake and alive every moment he skinned her and took his anger out on Folken, nearly breaking his promise. He had to hurry, if the two young men didn't bleed to death, they'd die of smoke inhalation.
Hiero tripped over some fallen, metallic debris, slicing his legs up pretty good, but he ignored the pain. He'd caused it himself by not looking where he was going, for being hysterical, he could handle that. No one else had any right to hurt him, Delphine and Terrian had hurt him enough. He didn't want that anymore.
He reached a blocked off hall after several minutes passed, another explosion within the place nearly knocking him on his ass. He steadied quickly and went for another hallway. As dark as it was, it was the only other way he could go without heading towards the dungeon's and Folken again. The temptation to kill the man was too great right now, he had to stay away, for Dilandau's sake mostly.
One is one,
The Soul is thee
Let emotions run,
Let the heart be free….
Hiero stopped in his tracks as the airy voice reached him, forcing him to grab the hilt of his blade. When nothing sounded, not a rustle of clothing or a breath coming. He slowly moved his hand away, his eyes searching the darkness about him for any sign of attack. The moment his arms fell slowly to his side, something flew out of the blackness square into his chest. He'd hand no time to attack, a pain radiating in his bare chest, but it was unlike a blade or dagger.
'Absorption pain….NO!' he thought, recognizing it at last, he kept his hands away from the moaning figure plastered to his chest, his frightened eyes slowly looking towards it to see who's was fated to become one with him.
A tear slipped past his eye as he saw the dull mint hair, one emerald eye that wasn't already being absorb looking up at him painfully. "G-Guimel….argh, no, Not you! NOOOOOOO!!!!" Hiero wailed, but couldn't stop what was happening, the dizzying pain of absorption freezing him in place. His eyes were still functioning despite the blinding pain, to look up at whoever tossed Guimel to such a fate.
One is one,
The Soul is thee
Let emotions run,
Let the heart be free….
"SORA! You bitch! Argh, make it stop! It hurts, not Guimel, not him! Not anyone! I don't want to, stop it!!" Hiero screamed, his mind becoming weaker as Guimel's face was gone, his right shoulder melding in with Hiero's torso. A clatter erupted, Guimel's sword had fallen from his hands, too weak to hold onto it any longer. Hiero grabbed at it with the last bit of control he had, then stayed stuck there holding the blade, the pain to great for him to try and move again.
"Make it STOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!" Hiero screamed, and soon he couldn't form words, the pain too excruciating to take. He had no control over his powers, even for such a small absorption, but he was also fighting it. He didn't want to kill Guimel and trap him within his body for all times. Guimel deserved better, everyone deserved better than to be stuck inside Hiero Vendetta, the cursed Safaia Oni of Terrian.
"You truly are a monster. I must save Lord Folken from your anger as well. We will meet again, hopefully. Then a rightful ruler can take charge of this world, without you in it." She uttered with no emotion, then vanished into the shadows and a puff of white replaced her.
Hiero barely heard her, his mind falling out of consciousness. This wasn't supposed to happen, this never happened. 'Damn you….argh, Gaia! You don't…..ugh….know what you've done by….cursing us…………..' were his last thoughts, Guimel's body long gone and Hiero's mind in slumber. His eyes went white slowly, powerless against everything.
~
Hiero sat there with a blank expression on his face, not moving for few minutes. Then his fingers twitched, his left hand fastening on Guimel's blade. His eyes closed gently, a cruel smile struggling up his pale lips. Hiero stood up, extending his arms at either side of him.
"Vermin, prince of darkness, ride across the astral plane, bear curses of destruction sworn beyond the grave. Children of the darkness, all bore but to deceive! By the ancient code of evil, grant but one reprieve. Darkest forces and your demon's black order, gather your powers within me, offering to unleash pure sin and hate unto the living! Echo Pyre!"** Hiero chanted, his body enveloped in black and dark purple energy.
His head leaned over a moment, then lifted, his eyes opening with a snap. They were blood red, the cruel grin plastered across his face. "Now I'm in charge, beloved Hiero. Time to play." A voice that was not Hiero slipped out deeply from his lips.
"Phase Vermin! Overtake me!! Kya hahahahahahahahaaa ahahahahahaha!" the voice cackled, dark light taking over Hiero's body once more.
~ Outside ~
"Dammit! Move faster….this place is falling apart!" Dilandau shouted, diving out of the collapsing hallway with his men. He started to run again, and the others followed in suit. Gatti supporting an injured Dalet and Migel and Viole were running side by side. Chesta was running at the rear of the pack, meaning Guimel was still trapped inside with Hiero.
Things had gone so wrong so fast and it was so infuriating to Dilandau. His perfect plan was ambushed by a bunch of foot soldiers, clumsy ones at that. Explosions kept rocking Midgar around, and Dilandau and Gatti had gotten separated from the others. Their hands had been full killing soldier after soldier, but it was so dull. None of the soldiers promoted much of a challenge or knew where Hiero was.
They'd gone for the dungeons, pretty sure he'd be there, but not what level. There were at least three levels of cells, all disgusting a filthy with refuse and decay. None of the soldiers knew, and Dilandau didn't know whether to be angry or smug about it. 'Don't trust your own soldiers, huh Folken? Not good for an emperor, not good indeed, good for a coward though. I can't wait to slice you open.' He'd thought.
Level one and two were full of slaves and war prisoners, nothing of real interest, then they heard screaming, a woman's screams, but it was on level three, the only one that the explosions managed to block off. Dilandau cursed to luck and her and Gatti headed back up to get the others to help them pick off the debris. It was way too much even for him and Gatti combined.
They'd found Dalet limping through the halls, a blow to the head revealed by the bloodstain on his hair and a slash across his chest armor. It hadn't gone through, but the head injury was pretty bloody. His left arm was bleeding heavily, and would heal badly if it wasn't cleaned and bandaged. Dilandau would sooner have left him behind for being so weak and getting cut, but Gatti let Dalet lean on him for support. Dilandau was able to forgive Dalet slightly when he was told it had been Folken who attacked him.
What was a little injury when Dilandau and Hiero's target was still alive for them to slay? He could forgive weakness just little for that. After that, they'd found Chesta and Viole, who had seen Sora, but she vanished before he could catch her, blaming her magic on his failure. Dilandau had wanted to strike him, but Migel came running and shouting about more explosions coming from the dungeon levels.
Something, some kind of animal was ripping the place apart. Dilandau could hear the roaring and metal being torn apart, the screams he could have been causing echoing through the dying halls. He'd be back, he'd make Folken pay for stealing Hiero, for hurting his mother.
His garnet eyes caught on the hangar they had snuck in through, still open, but guarded by three guymelefs. "I don't have time for this crap. We just have to get out the door, that's it, we're faster than those lumbering fools!" Dilandau told himself, running out as hard as he could towards the hulking metal giants.
They saw him as he was almost upon them, firing a trio of Crima Claws at the young general. He leapt upwards, one claw nicking his boots, but barely. The things were firing again as Dilandau leapt for one of the arms, intent on shattering its energist heart.
He met with dead air, the guymelef ripped out the hanger opening in the blink of an eye by a giant emerald thing. He fell flat on his rear due to this, but it was better than slamming onto his feet and risking a broken ankle or two. Dilandau got up quickly, the emerald flash grabbing up the other two confused guymelef by their raised arms, dragging them and their screaming pilot out the door.
Explosions vibrated throughout Midgar, added in strength by the ones outside. Then the emerald mass of shimmering scales came back up, its golden eyes staring at Dilandau a moment. It was a dragon's head, nearly as tall as the hangar door, like a massive sea of emeralds come alive.
The dragon rested it's head on the floor, and snorted. "I don't have all day, cousin. Everyone get on, Midgar's is blowing itself apart." The voice boomed, even if it was meant to be a whisper. Dilandau knew the voice, and remembered the story Hiero and the Asturian knight had told him in Freid, the ancient dragon Val.
Dilandau got up quickly, climb up to the massive spiky crown of the dragon's head, holding onto the large and familiar horn protruding from it's forehead. "You heard him. Get up here!" Dilandau yelled, his stunned Slayers breaking from their shocked trances to join him on Val's head.
"Argh, this starting to hurt, I can't maintain it much longer….where are Hiero and Guimel?" Val asked, his voice pained.
"We couldn't find Hiero, the level where he was being held was blocked off!" Gatti shouted above another horrible explosion.
"Guimel is missing, he might be with Hiero though." Chesta added as loud as his voice could manage. Val seemed reluctant to move until an explosion went off in the hangar, forcing his head to jerk back violently.
Val started to moan, his head starting to glow faintly. "Damn, can't maintain my true form….anymore. We're going down…." Val uttered weakly, rushing his flying body through the clouds. Val was shrinking rapidly, his spikes and horn getting harder to hold onto, Dilandau's feet slipping off once emerald head. Soon he was standing in Val's hair, the young naked knight falling to his death with them. Gatti grabbed Dalet's arm as Val became human again, spreading his wings and Migel went for Val, holding the unconscious knight up. Chesta got Viole, but the knight was taller than him so he was struggling a bit. Dilandau simply spread his as the ground met his vision, a spec of pink, gold and lavender faintly showing off the dull brown they were upon.
Dilandau watched them all spiral for those specs, a loud explosion above him throwing him slightly off kilter, a wicked laugh that nearly made his ears bleed roaring through the dark clouds. He turned a bit in the air, his pupils becoming pinpricks of red as the dark clouds gained hints of red, then Midgar came slowly through them, flaming and still exploding.
Dilandau watched it in awe, knowing Hiero would survive it if he was still there, but not Guimel. The place was a mass of flames and broken metal, nothing could have survived.
Then he felt a rush of cold wind shoot past him as Midgar plummeted slowly. He whipped around and saw a flash of living darkness and wings that seemed to blot out the sky. It was headed for the group on the ground, laughing wildly.
Dilandau dove after the dark thing, flying as fast as he could as his Dragon Slayers and the civilians scattered away from a ball of dark energy that was thrust from the thing.
As Dilandau neared the site, he could see the creature, a demon of some sort that was all black with large red horns. It's wings were blocking his view of everyone else, but he really didn't care about that. This was the thing that had stolen his fun.
"Hey you! How dare you interrupt my raid! You spoiled a perfectly lovely slaughter. The thing stiffened and turned easily, the fully red eyes flashing dangerously at him.
"Oh, it is only you, Dilandau. Hiero's favorite human. Hmmph, I can see why, you love slaughter nearly as much as I do." The thing giggled cruelly, flexing his claws a bit before taking a swipe at him. Dilandau backpedaled in mid-air swiftly, taking out his blade to cut a few of the thing's fingers off.
"Hiero?! You….You're another form inside him! Damn you, let him out!" Dilandau yelled, striking at the thing again.
The thing threw its ugly head back and cackled, lightening crashing in the background. "Me, Vermin? Give him back!? That's a good one! You, a mere mortal are challenging the great prince of darkness of Terrian, I wish my old man was still alive s he could roll around on his hooves over this, hah!" Vermin hooted, tears of blood leaking from his eyes as he laughed harder. As suddenly as he started, he stopped and grew deathly serious. "I have been in this boy's body for over 5,000 years, I have been his slave, my soul controlled by him, now it is my turn. I'll never let him out, I own this body for all times!"
"NO! Give him back!" Dilandau growled, attacked again. He nearly got his head torn off by one, but he was too fast for Vermin. "Damned persistent on keeping your soul, pretty boy. No matter, there are plenty of ripe, dirty souls in that metal monstrosity," Vermin sighed, then took off for Midgar," I'll be back for you in a minute."
Dilandau hovered in place staring at the air where Vermin once was, then turned around as numerous explosions erupted. He watched in utter fascination as black lightening ripped the place apart, Vermin shooting in and out of numerous sections, catching fleeing guymelef's every chance he got.
Dilandau huffed and flew towards the carnage. 'He's going to give him back or else. He's being a glory hog too! He'll kill everything before I can have a piece of Zaibach….' He thought, then his thoughts returned to Hiero, of how weak he'd been after he used the Avaris form. He'd been as weak as a child, unable to keep himself standing for very long, throwing up, even some blood had been mixed in with it. Migel had passed each time he sought out Midgar, and Val had passed out after being in his true form for too long, even he had to admit that he himself passed out each time he used the gift of the angels. It had been fun to use, giving him a power kick he delighted in, but, it had its price. 'The powers, they weaken our bodies….but if that's true….HIERO!' his mind screamed, and he flew faster at the dark monster.
"Hiero! Wake up, fight this wimp! Fight him! You're not weak, don't be, if you give in to this creep you'll break your promises, to me! To Val! To….grrr….Alessa! Wake the hell up….don't you dare leave us behind!! HIERO FANEL!!!! WAKE UP!!" Dilandau screamed and slashed a deep gash across Vermin's back. The thing retaliated and caught Dilandau in the gut and knocked him hard through the air. Dilandau spiraled, growing dizzy.
He would have thrown up if something hadn't gotten in his way, something cold and hard, something that had engine sounds about it and had a large hand holding him. 'Guymelef….?' He thought wearily, shaking his head to regain his senses before looking at what stopped his seemingly endless flight.
It was a putridly rusted one, but that's not what made his face screw in disgust, it was Sora sitting on one of the rusted shoulders as if she were in a normal chair. She looked at him same as always, blank and far away. "YOU BITCH! Where's your master? I thought he kept you on a pretty short leash." Dilandau sneered, gritting his teeth as the guymelef's hand tightened around him.
"Right in….urk….here. Maybe I lost Hiero….but I won't lose you again. He'll come calling when he finds out I've got you in my grasp. Same as you did, it touches me really, I thought you didn't like anyone." Folken's strained voice uttered.
Dilandau wondered why for a moment until he saw the chest of the guymelef leaking out some red fluid, and the smell gave away its name, blood. "Did you get bitten already? Tsk, weak, same as always. You won't get away with this, never will I permit this." Dilandau snickered, only to be squeezed again, making him flap his wings madly out of reflex.
"Lord Folken, the monster is here." Sora said blankly, pointing to Folken's right, which made the guymelef and Dilandau's head shift in that direction. The devil called Vermin was staring at them with a cruel smile, his sharp, ivory teeth sticking out of his lips like daggers. His arms were at his side, those wicked red eyes regarding them as if they were playthings.
"Are we all done now? You're ruining the mood of chaos. I think I should take all your souls right now so I can get back to business, I'm 5,000 years overdue to suck your pathetic souls out, then all of this miserable mud ball. Who wants to be first?" Vermin asked with grim politeness.
Dilandau spat at him. "Hmm, how rude. I don't know where you've been, boy? I guess you'll be first, since you volunteered so nicely." Vermin giggled, and reached for him.
"Dammit Hiero! Wake the hell up, you're letting this feeble-minded loser win over you! Fight him, the gods be damned, fight him you wimp!! You think Alessa would stand for this!? How can you ask her why she and Chid kissed of you kill us all? How can you get back at that high-riding priss if you kill him. I know you, you'd rather bother people than kill them! Where's all the love in your heart now for the lot of us if you let vermin destroy it all, you said you didn't want to be alone either. Don't let Vermin make it come true!!" Dilandau shouted, swatting at Vermin with his only free limb, his sword arm. His blade struck Vermin in the eye, splitting it open.
Vermin merely growled, but then made a low moan, as if he was sick. Dilandau struck at him again, shoving his blade into the thing's chest halfway, but Vermin was bigger than Hiero was. The blade was knocked away and plummeted to the ground in a flash of silver. "Shit!" Dilandau swore.
"Dilandau is my pawn, demon, not yours. Go knock up some nuns!" Folken hissed out weakly, ramming the guymelef's body hard into Vermin. The devil made the moaning noise again, one of his arms fighting to come up. 'Just like when Avaris' form left Hiero. He's still there….he can hear us, the pain is weakening Vermin's control.' Dilandau mused, then smiled.
"Hiero, keep fighting. For all of us, for that woman you love, the one Moriun took away! For Veda…..she wouldn't want you to give up and be weak. You sacrificed your heart for her life, sacrificed two races so she could live. Are you going to just lay down and die after all that!? You coward!! They all died in vain!!" Dilandau yelled, slapping Vermin across his grotesque face as hard as he could, hard enough to make his hand throb.
Vermin moaned loudly, and the guymelef rammed him again, Folken not fully understand why Dilandau was yelling for Hiero to this thing. 'He won't know until it's too late. Good, I love surprises that hurt bastards like him.' Dilandau grinned as Vermin's arms both went out at his sides, his face struggling for control. "NO! No! I just got freeeeeeee!! NO!! I won't give him back anything! He stole my life! He stole everything!!!!" Vermin wailed, his voice no longer his own," Phase Grausherra! Overtake me!! ARGGHHHHHH!!!!"
Silver light overtook the demon's body, startling Folken enough to force it backwards. Dilandau shielded his eyes for a moment, then felt the guymelef jerk, the arm crack and teeter. He tried spreading his wings, but the hand was still about him, so all he achieved was pain.
His eyes opened to see the ground coming up at him fast. "Damn, after all of this, I have to die retrained. No, I won't die, I will never die!" Dilandau raged and struggled harder. The ground was getting closer, and the hand around him wasn't helping. He kept his eyes open the entire time, not fearing death if it claimed him today. He'd never fear it again, not since Hiero.
The ground was about to meet when he felt something snag his ankle, stopping him in midair a foot above the ground, and he found himself staring at his fallen blade, his garnet eyes reflecting back the puzzlement he felt. "Oh dear, nearly forgot about you, didn't I?" a dignified voice uttered smoothly," My, what an ugly belt you have. Best we relieve you of this."
Dilandau heard something like crystals clinking together, the hand around him growing cold, then shattering off of him like cool glass. He tilted his head up curious and gasped, feeling as if he were looking in a screwed up mirror.
It was a young man in dark armor with silver lining, eyes as red as his and the same silver hue to his hair. The guy's hair wasn't spiky, more like swishy with a bang over it, the rest of his hair in a thin and short ponytail. His armor was sleeveless, all but the silver bracers on his wrists with strange green symbols, a lower case 'y' within a muddled 'O.' He wore some kind of white tunic under his armor, black boots up to his knees and dark pants. It was like looking at royalty with his features, all be it not as perfect.
The young floating man smiled proudly then his face darkened, as if Dilandau had interrupted him in some way. He hoisted Dilandau up over one of his armored shoulders his lithe body floating up a little high, nearly touching the clouds, and Dilandau saw the reason for the mood swing. The remaining guymelefs that vermin hadn't managed to destroy were slowly surrounding them.
"I fight to save Hiero's soul to be greeted in such a mundane fashion. Appalling….ah well, I best repay Hiero for grant me eternal life, even if I tricked him. I mean really Dilandau, how could he know I was faking death? I was very close to it, but not quite there. I couldn't pass up the chance to remain with my prized priest and the dream of eternal life." The man said, as if they were discussing politics.
Dilandau just grumbled a bit, not liking taking the back of the battle over a guy's shoulder. At least it had a name, and it was terribly….royal. "Quit talking Grausherra….Hiero's probably dying inside you the longer you remain!" he snapped, giving Grausherra a kicked in the side, but with the way he was position, it was more like a tap.
"Don't rush me….I've been out of action for a while….ahem. I'd say your comrades aren't near here, they didn't follow you….still at least a mile away. Perfect, don't want to make my priest angry with me, then I'll never be able to breathe the air again. Let's chill…." Grausherra purred, using his free hand to wield a spell that make sparkles of blue and white swirl about him. Soon the young Dynast was swirling about like a hurricane, taking Dilandau with him, but he wasn't scared, more so fascinated by the powers Hiero kept inside. "Once he gets a handle on this….oh, the battles we can have. I am the flames of hell and he is the ice of oblivion! Yes, destroy everything!" said aloud, cackling wildly.
"No wonder he likes you. You're as cracked as he is. How….perfect! HAH!" the Dynast chuckled lightly, the hurricane of icy sparkles and swirls slamming into the army of guymelefs. Once they cleared, Dilandau was delighted to see that every single guymelef was frozen solid, looking like giant diamond dolls.
"Now, as all Mazuko are prone to do, time to break my proverbial toys. Up and at them, as Hiero would say. My beloved little priest will be so happy." The Dynast said gently, then shot into the clouds and Dilandau grinned as the young man dragged all of the lightening from with them to his body. They burst back out of the clouds and Dilandau saw a large pentagram, the exact same symbol that had appeared on his forehead when he became the Angel of Death, glowing brightly on the ground the helpless guymelefs stood.
The Dynast gave a dignified bow to the frozen masses, then tossed the tendrils of lightening he'd summon right at the center of the pentagram. Upon impact, a hail of electrified and shattering ice flew up from the ground, leaving nothing but a crater filled with shards of the death and mangled machines with their pilots to remain.
"Oh, what a show. I must do this again sometime. Oh….my body….but first, I have to get you back to them….Hiero's….hurting….Argh." the Dynast moaned, and hovered swiftly to where Dilandau had left the group.
As soon as they arrived, the Dynast dropped Dilandau onto Chid, then floated a ways off to collapse on the ground. Dilandau got off and made sure to kick Chid for good measure before turning his attentions to the Dynast, who already had his arms spread out.
"Dynast Grausherra! But he said you died!" Val gasped weakly, trying to cover his nether region with his torn shirt. Alessa and Viole were supporting the young knight, and hurt was practically oozing from his eyes.
The Dynast coughed and shook his head. "I tricked him….he never meant to, but I have no time to explain, he'll….be lost forever if I don't leave. He's already in enough pain. Just tell him thanks….for choosing me. Thanks for….trusting me to make good on my word," the man said, then bit back as another wave of pain hit him," Phase Grausherra! Leave Me!"
The flash of light came again, but Dilandau only stepped forward, not bothering to shield his eyes. Screams met his ears as the light faded, and there was Hiero, stained with blood, spitting up some of his own, his eyes bulging and rapidly changing color and shape, and his body going through a terrible fit of spasms.
"Restrain him!" Dilandau ordered, already hold Hiero head down, hating the fact he'd forgotten his sword. Gatti and Migel rushed in first holding Hiero's legs as they kicked out wildly, as if Hiero were being attacked. Dalet started to come up when Hiero screamed at him. "GET AWAY! NOT LIKE GUIMEL!! NOOOO!! NOT LIKE HIM! WON'T KILL YOU TOO….ARGHHHHHHH!!!!" Hiero screamed in a million voices at once, blood vomiting forth from his mouth. Dalet jumped back swiftly in reaction.
"Guimel….is dead?" Chesta strained out, but Hiero went on screaming. "Viole, get you sheath off and get it in his mouth so he doesn't bite his damned tongue off. Hold it in his mouth," Dilandau announced, and Viole followed the order swiftly, then his garnet eyes went to Alessa and Chid," Don't just stand there like statues, come gold down his arms!"
Alessa came after Chid did, the young duke sitting on Hiero's left arm. Alessa seemed to hesitate, then, her eyes widened. 'What is she waiting for?' he thought and saw she was looking dead at Hiero, who had calmed slightly, his right and free arm reaching out to her. His eyes were pained and pleading, begging Alessa for something.
Alessa came slowly then, kneeling down to the right of Hiero, her hands, hesitating near his outstretched one. Another few minutes and when Hiero's eyes began to shed bloody tears, she grabbed his hand, then gasped. Hiero spat out the sheath and screamed.
Then Alessa fainted onto the ground, breathing softly. Hiero body quieted also, his free hand now gripping Dilandau's weakly. It made the young general look at him, the pleading look making him want to look away. Then Hiero's lips moved, saying something so softly, Dilandau had to lean in to hear it.
"Pride….is our….destroyer…." his voice whispered, then he exhaled, his eyes shutting gently.
Dilandau pulled back, putting his fingers to Hiero's pale, bloodstained neck. "You can all let go now. He's alive. He's been weakened considerably because of Vermin and the Dynast, but he bought us some time." Dilandau said quietly, waiting for everyone to let go of Hiero before picking the unconscious king in his arms. His expression was stern, fastened on Alessa now.
"Chid, give your little brother your robe to wear. We don't need to get arrested because all he has on is a shirt. Not like you don't wear anything underneath that trash you call fashion." He added, making Chid glare, but one look from Dilandau's angry eyes made him comply with the order. Val put it on quickly, standing up on his own now, but had a sad look was on his face.
"I'll explain what the Dynast did to become one with Hiero to you later, cousin, for now, carry the jinx. If we leave her here, Hiero will only hurt himself further by going after her. We don't need another hostage situation now or ever. Chesta!" Dilandau went on, not bothering to regard Val in any way. He was too angry to think about personal feelings right now.
"Yes, Lord Dilandau?" Chesta asked, standing at attention. "Where are we right now? Did you see any towns of villages in our approach here?" he asked the young Slayer plainly.
"Yes, Egzardia should be far off, by wing or foot, but wings would be better. Anything else, sir?" Chesta said, pointing in the direction Dilandau and the Dynast had come from previously.
"Yes, I dropped my sword over that way, we might as well walk on foot since Egzardia is in the same direction. Once we reach it, we take wing. Chid can continue walking." Dilandau uttered, walking off to Egzardia without another word, his face like stone.
~
"But sir?" Chesta asked, but got no reply. Dilandau kept walking on, the Val followed with Alessa hanging limply in his arms. Chid grumbled as he got back in his guymelef. Chesta shrugged, and went to Dalet to attend to his arm as quickly as possible. The bleeding had stopped, and he still had Lady Alessa's bag full of medical tape, ointments and bandages. He'd gone through her things in Freid when she went on her tour to understand Mystic Moon medicine better. He was glad he did or Dalet would be a very worthless Slayer soon.
Chesta couldn't help but worry about Lord Dilandau, even as Dalet smacked the back of his head for accidentally poking his wound. Lord Dilandau never helped anyone, unconscious comrades included, but he was doing so for Hiero. He wasn't trying to kill Alessa, which he'd been hell bent on before. Everything their patron had said was forgotten now.
"Friendship is a power no one can challenge easily, not with a mind like Lord Dilandau's. Perhaps….he has learned how powerful it is, and it scares him." Chesta said aloud, startling Dalet. The brunette looked at him strangely with his lavender eyes, then a small smile pursed across his lips.
Chesta's turquoise eyes smiled as deeply as his mouth did when Dalet patted him on the arm roughly. "That's what second chances are for. To learn from our mistakes and short comings. Maybe he will learn something new….and embrace it. But let's let him do it on his own or we'll catch holy hell from him. Just keep your baby-faced mouth shut about this stuff. He's annoyed enough, Chesta, ok?"
"Ok….let's catch up now. Lord Dilandau's will probably forget we are here by the time he reaches Egzardia….Come on…." Chesta sighed, then ran off after the others with Dalet beside him.
If they had bothered to look around, they would have seen a ripple in the air several feet away, an Alseides unit watching them as blood leaked from the cockpit. "Let the mice play for now, this cat is cleaning his claws. Urgh. I won't be defeated by children. To Eden, Sora, I have to get….this scratch fixed." Folken's voice uttered. Sora nodded as she pushed the cloak off of them, light from her body surrounding the guymelef seconds before they vanished from sight, only leaving a downy swirl of feathers to the wind as the rain finally fell.
The Fool card represents Hiero's eccentricities getting the best of him and Guimel's innocence in just trying to help a friend, and losing his life for having faith in the fact he could succeed. It also an end to Dilandau's ignorance of friendship, understanding Hiero's body is eternal, but his soul is as mortal as anyone else.
Notes: **- I give full credit to the metal band Manowar, since I used lyrics from "Demon's Whip" to make that Echo Pyre spell possible. Also, if anyone hates me for killing Guimel, hey, it took me a week to chose which non-angel would die. I ask not for forgiveness, just don't anyone kill or flame me for this. It's really for the best.
Teaser: Hiero is in a coma and Alessa is sent through his memories to discover herself and potential to be the Angel of Love. Will she choose Hiero or Chid?
