The Ties That Bind
By Siren
Heyyyyyyyy everybody!!!!!!!!! I might not be able to update this fanfic for a while, because I have a bit of summer reading to do. But, until I decide to DO the summer reading, I'll continue to write more chapters. There will be a lot of Dilandau and Nikki interaction. Nothing really romantic, but more like a friendship. And I absolutely cannot STAND Celena! She made Dilly go away! weeps But, I suppose I could make her an entirely seperate character, because I'm a huge fan of Dilly. takes out flamethrower ^_^ Anyway, enjoy, Minna-san!!!!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Past Long Forgotten
Nnnn....groaning, I open my eyes. I'm in a dimly lit room. It appears to be someone's bedroom. A corner of the room looks charred, and my eyes widen. Excitement mixed with terror floods my insides. I'm in Dilandau's room. I force myself to stand, and move towards the door. I feel something tug at my ankle, and look down. I'm chained to a bolt in the floor. I tug at it fiercly, grunting as I feel my ankle begin to bruise. A noise escapes my throat that sounds like a mix of a sob and a laugh. I run my hands through my dirty hair, and grimace. God, I could use a shower. I look at my arms, and see the dry mud sticking to them. Bits of dirt and dry mud cling to the left side of my face, as well as my hair. I feel the back of my neck, only to find dry blood. The same is found above my right eye. That bastard cut me when he hit me. I growl, and continue my struggle with the iron chain. "Dammit!" I curse, unable to free myself. "Those chains are iron, so I doubt that you'll be able to break them." I tense, and turn around. Van's older brother stands before me, holding a bowl of water, and a rag. "Come to tend to my wounds, have you?" Folken's face remains nuetral, his eyes cold. "Please sit down," he tells me, his voice as hollow as his eyes. I roll my eyes, but do as he says. Folken kneels infront of me, and dips the rag in the water. He brings it up to my face, and I shut my eyes, expecting a violent roughness. All I feel, is the gentle touch of his hands, and the cotton rag. I slowly open my eyes, and look into his. My gaze slowly reaches the tattoo of the tear under his eye. I smile grimly. "The tear of eternal sadness, huh?" Folken tenses, then cleans off the rag, and resumes his task of cleaning me. "Do you always clean your victims before torturing them?" I ask coldly. Folken simply pulls his hand away, puts the rag in the bowl, and stands up. I do the same. Despite the fact that I saw the Escaflowne series, I could never comprehend why Folken did what he did. I glare at him, my eyes becoming as cold as his. "How could you? How could you betray Van, your own flesh and blood? Van never gave up on you. He always loved you, even when he thought you were dead. How could you do this to him?!" Folken places the bowel on a nightstand, and walks toward me. "You could never understand what I went through. The humiliation...the terror. What I went through was unfathomable." I snort in disgust. "Right. You went on that dargon-slaying ritual, and got your arm ripped off. You were going to die, but Dornkirk saved you. So in your opnion, Folken Fanel died that day, and Folken Strategos was born. God, you're pathetic. Fanel blood still courses through your veins. You are still Van's big brother, and I know that a part of you still loves him. But you turned your back on him. You gave up. Your heart is as cold as that friggin' arm that bastard gave you," I seethe. I see Folken flinch, and I wonder if I'm getting through to him. "You hurt Van in the worst possible way, and he has every right to hate you. But I can tell that he still loves you. You're brothers! You're supposed to protect eachother!" I take a deep breath, and attempt to calm myself. "I have two younger sisters. I've been through some shit too, but I would never, never, betray them. You lost an arm, but you did not lose your brother." Folken stares at me for a moment, then turns and leaves the room. Fine. Leave, you selfish bastard. I cross my arms over my chest, and lean against the cold wall. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour later, someone else came to visit me. Dilandau's silver hair seemed to glow in the light. "So, you're the wench that knows everything. Hmph. I expected more," he greets. I'm tired, annoyed, and stressed. I look at him, and promptly gave him the middle finger. He only smirks in amusement. "My, my, aren't we angry today." I shrug. "So, what do you want? You wanna know your future, your past, anybody else's past and or future?" Dilandau sits down infront of me. "You can really do that?" I nod lamely. "Yeah. Whadda ya wanna know?" Dilandau smiles. "I want to know if Zaibach obtains its ideal future." I sigh. Thought so. Oh well, might as well tell him. "You obtain your 'ideal future'. That is, if it's mayhem, bloodshed, and chaos." Dilandau's eyes burn with excitement. "Am I glorified as an amazing worrior?" I smirk, and laugh tiredly. Dilandau frowns deeply. "Dilly, you are not glorified. In fact, you're not really Dilandau. Your original name was Celena Schezar. You're not a soldier. Hell, you're not even a guy. Zaibach wanted to see if they could alter someone's destiny. Their future. So, they took children, and experimented. In Dornkirk's mind, you were a complete success," I tell him, too tired to care about the reprecussions. "You lie well, wench." I smile. Poor boy, he doesn't get it yet, does he? "When you were Celena, they cut your hair. But someone took care of you. Cared about you. I believe you call him Jajuka." Dilandau's eyes widen in disbelief. "Lying doesn't suite you, bitch," he sneers. I shrug. "You think I'm lying? Heh. Go ask Jajuka. He wouldn't lie to you. Or better yet, ask Folken. He probably knows more about it than dog-boy does." Dilandau stands up, and throws the bowl across the room, shattering it. I smirk. "Yeah, that was mature." Dilandau turns his attention back to me, his breath ragged. "Don't lie to me, bitch. I can have you killed," he threatens. My face softens. He doesn't want to believe it. But he has to. I lower my gaze to the ground, feeling a swell of empathy in my heart. "You could have me killed. But don't you think you've killed enough?" He stares at me with large eyes, almost like a frightened child. "When I first came here, I was so happy and excited. I thought of all the possibilities, and about all the good I could do here. Knowing that I could help people made me happy." I lock my gaze with Dilandau's. "How many people have to die to make you happy?" I ask darkly. Dilandau stares at me, confusion and burning hatred playing across his features. "You remember, don't you? You must remember being Celena. Don't you ever feel that you don't belong here? That you aren't what the say you are?" "Shut up!" I feel his cold knuckles graze my cheek painfully. I stare at him, eyes wide. My face remains soft, and somewhat sad. "I never knew there was so much rage in you," I say quietly. Dilandau throws his head back and laughs. I stare at him sadly. To be comsumed with so much hatred and rage...I can't understand how he could survive feeling like that. "I'm sorry." Dilandau looks up at me in surprise at my sudden apology. "What did you say?" he asks. Tears escape from my eyes and my voice shakes. "I'm sorry that they did this to you. I'm sorry that you feel so much rage. I'm sorry that I didn't get here sooner. If I did, maybe I could've saved you from this."
Dilandau stares at me, his features softening for a moment before returning to it's angered state. "You think you can save me?! Wench, your life lies in my very hands, do you realize this?" I nodd grimly. "Yes, I know. I was planning on coming here anyway. I wanted to talk some sense into you and Folken. I wanted to destroy Dornkirk's plans. I wanted...I wanted for everyone to be happy again. Gaea is a beautiful place, Dilandau. It still can be. But your ideal future will destroy this world." Dilandau shakes his head, a smirk on his face. "You thought you could stop us? Zaibach is an army, wench. You alone can't stop us. I don't even know why you tried." "I tried because I give a damn," I tell him strongly. He looks at me, and I can see a faint trace of admiration in his eyes. "Giving a damn won't save you." "Maybe not. But it can save someone else," I reply. I'm not giving up. I refuse. I didn't get the crap beaten out of me for nothing. I straighten my posture, and stare at Dilandau defiantly. "You and Zaibach can beat me down, but I'm not gonna give up. I am a pure-bred Jersey girl, dammit. And you should never piss a Jersey girl off." (A.N.-I LOVE NEW JERSEY!!!!) He smiles at me. "You got a pair on you, wench." I frown, not sure how to take the comment. "The name's Nicole. Remember it, 'cause it's the last thing Zaibach's ever gonna hear." That being said, I look away from him, a small smile on my face. I turn to him with a mischevious look. "So, do you really have a flamethrower?" Dilandau smiles, and nods. "Yeah. You like fire?" I nodd slightly. "Kinda. I mean, I don't approve of the whole killing people with it, but fire is beautiful. So, can I see the flamethrower?" Dilandau thinks for a moment, than nods. "Sure. I'll be right back."
30 Minutes Later...
"...And this is the switch you flip for maximum flame potential." I stare at the flamethrower, eyes wide, mouth gaping. "That is _so_ cool." Dilandau and I smile at eachother. "I never knew that someone else appreciated fire as much as I do," he says in awe. I smirk. "There are more of us than you think." (Right Dilly fans? ^_^) "How would you feel about being a dragon-slayer?" I look at the silver-haired pyro, and shrug. "I think you're a nice guy and all, but I think I'm more of the anti-Zaibach person. No offense." Dilandau shrugs. "None taken. So, how far have you and Van gotten?" I blush. "Um, well, I kinda kissed him, and we got our singnals crossed. Than he kissed me. So basically, there's been some kissing." Dilandau nods and smiles with a knowing smile. I grab a piece of dragon-meat from the bowl in Dilly's lap, and munch on it. I look up at him, and smile. "So, how far have you ever gotten with someone?" I ask with a mouth full of food. Dilandau blushes. I giggle. "Aww, did Folken and you get physical?" I joke. Dilandau's eyes grow wide and he shakes his head furiously. "NO WAY IN HELL WOULD I EVER KISS THAT GUY!!!!!!!!" I nudge him playfully. "I'm just kidding! But seriously...how could you resist that metal arm of his?" We laugh hysterically, when there's a knock at the door. "Dilandau-sama? Dorkirk-sama wishes to speak with you." Dilly groans, and stands up. "Aww, you're leaving my dungeon so soon?" Dilly nodds. "Sorry. Duty calls." I nodd in understanding. Jobs suck. "Later," I say as he leaves. Now I'm alone again. Hmmm...I wonder...Slipping my hand into my boot, I feel for the dagger. My eyes widen as I grap the hilt. Thank God these people don't do weapon checks!
Now, I have two options for escape: one, I could try to pick the lock with the dagger, or two, I could cut my foot off. Let's go with number one. I jimmy the lock with the dagger, praying that it opens. YAY!!!!! IT OPENED!!!!! (Did you honestly expect me to amputate my foot?) I yank my ankle free, and run to the door. I listen for any noises. Satisfied that the hallway is deserted, I open the door, and stick to the shadows. I make my way down the hallways, and I can see the maintanence bay, filled with battle-ready guymelefs. An easy escape. But I came here determined to stop Zaibach before more people die, and I still plan to do so. Walking past what could very well be my only exit, I make my way deeper into the floating fortress. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Almost there..."Chesta! Find Dilandau-sama! The prisoner's escaped!" Whoops. Great. I'm on a floating fortress filled with people that hate me, and I passed up my only escape so that I can stop a war. All in a day's work, huh? Uh-oh. One of Dilly's dragon slayers is coming my way. I press myself against the wall, and wait for him to run past me. "Judo Chop!" ( I LOVE AUSTIN POWERS!!!!) I lift my elbow, and jab the back of his neck. He falls to the ground, unconcious. Or at least I hope he's just unconcious. I drag him into an empty room, strip him down, and put on the overly bulky armor. With my face so dirty, hopefully I'll pass as a dragon slayer.
I walk past the others, unnoticed. Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice. "SHE WHAT?!?!?!" Miguel stands infront of Dilly, trembling. I watch patiently, waiting for the trademark slap of insolence. SLAP! Yup, there it is. "You insolent fool! She was chained to the ground! How the hell could she have escaped?!" Miguel stares at the albino with wide eyes. "Forgive me, Dilandau-sama. Her room...wasn't guarded. With her chained to the ground, we thought there would be no need for---" Uh-oh. Dilly looks pissed. SLAP! Whoa. Never saw Dilly slap a guy twice. Dilly's a slapper. "She was left unguarded?! Find her, and bring her back alive and unharmed!" Miguel stands up shakily. "H-hai!" The poor dragon slayer runs off to search for me. I walk past Dilandau, only to have him watch me suspiciously. "Halt!" Oh crap. I do so, and turn around. "Hai, Dilandau- sama?" I try to make my voice deep to pass as a guy's. (If I was in the dubbed version, I wouldn't need to, ne? ^_^) Dilandau eyes me carefully with his violet eyes. (I always thought they were more violet than red.) "What's your name again?" he asks. Uh......I dunno?
"G-Gatti?" Oh God, pllllleeeeeaaaassssseeeee tell me I can pass as Gatti. Dilandau nodds. "Fine. Find the girl, but do not hurt her." I have to smile at that. Thanks for the kindness Dilly-boy. I know it's rare of you. "Hai, Dilandau-sama." I turn on my heel, and continue on my search for Dornkirk. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FINALLY! Dornirk's quarters. There's Isaac, sittin' under that big 'ol machine, lookin' at the future. Wonder if he ever suspected me. I clear my throat. The old guy doesn't even bother to look at me. "What is it?" Feh. Could he care less about my prescence? I remove the helmet that I found, and take off the bulky armor. "It's the cursed one who's come to stop you, Isaac." Dornkirk stiffens. "How do you know that name?" he asks. I put my hands on my hips, and glare. "That doesn't matter. What does matter, are the people that I care about. If you continue what you're doing, many people will die." The old geazer stares at me with narrow eyes. "Sacrifices have to be made to attain the ideal future." I snort in disgust. "Bullshit. You've brainwashed these people to believe in your ideal future. But they don't realize how many people will die." Dorkirk looks angry, but tries to remain calm. "What is wrong with my ideal future? Once I gain the power of Atlantis, people's wishes will come true." My fists clench. This guy just does not get it! "Don't you wonder why Atlantis was destroyed? If that future, the future that the people of Atlantis had accomplished, was a good one, than an entire species wouldn't be dead right now. You're such a fool," I argue. "The Atlanteans were the fools. Their wishes were absurd." I feel like shaking this guy! "And your's aren't?! Isaac, you're insane! You've kidnapped children, and done horrible things to them! I mean, look at Dilandau! You've destroyed an entire kingdom, killed countless people! You've committed so many crimes against humanity, that I can't fathom how the world could survive your ideal future!" To my shock, he chuckles. "Child, I have committed many sins. But I have done it all for this small, dying planet. When I first came here, this land was dying. I saved it. I have dedicated my life to this. Is that worth nothing in your eyes?"
I show him my dagger. "You were a brilliant man, Isaac. But you betrayed humanity with your brilliance. And I'm going to make sure that this stops here." He smiles warily. "Killing me will not calm humanity's hatred. My empire, Zaibach, will continue to reach my goal even if I am dead. You cannot stop this." I tilt my head, and shrug. "Maybe not. But it's worth a shot." I run at him, dagger raised. I jump at him, and he stands, ready to meet the steel of my weapon. "Dornirk-sama!" I hear a shout, but ignore it. I raise my hand, ready to thrust it into Dorkirk's heart. Suddenly, something metal grabs me, and my blade only makes a diagonal slash against Isaac's chest. I'm jerked backwards, and thrown against the wall. I open my eyes to stare at a guymelef. "F-Folken..." I struggle in his grasp, the sharp metal of the machine's claws digging into my skin. He tightens his hold on me, and I can feel one of my ribs begin to break. "V-Van!" I choke out. As things begin to fade, I hear a battle cry. Van's battle cry. Folken drops me, and I hit the floor with a painful thud. I caugh, gasping the much needed air into my lungs. I look up, and see Van fighting Folken in Escaflowne. "Nicole." I roll onto my back, and stare up at the face of Allen. He picks me up, and gathers me into his arms.
"Get Van. We have to leave," I murmer. "Van! Come on, we have to leave!" Allen shouts. I snort. "I could've done that." I rest my head on Allen's shoulder, feeling exhausted. I feel the ground shake with Escaflowne's movement. Allen's running onto the Crusade, followed by Van. I feel the ship move as we pull away from the floating fortress. Allen's shaking me lightly, but my eye lids feel to heavy to open. "Get Millerna!" I hear Allen shout before I succomb to my exhaustion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mmmm...I groan as I open my eyes. I look around, and see that I'm in a room in Millerna's castle. ........I'm in Van's room! I look around, and see Van leaning against the wall, looking out the window. It's dark out now, and the sky is beautiful. I smile. "Talk about your good timing," I say. Van looks at me, startled. "You're awake." I nod, than frown. "What happened?" I ask. Van hesitates for a second, than sits beside me on the bed. "You passed out. Millerna cleaned you up, and stopped that bleeding." (The internal bleeding, remember?) "Oh." We're both silent. I know he's mad at me for just leaving. "Why'd you do it?" I look up at Van, who's staring at me intensly. "I wanted to stop Zaibach. I didn't want anymore people to die."
"You really had me scared, you know." I smirk. "Van Fanel? Scared?" He nodded, and I can see him blushing faintly. I take his gloved hand in mine, and motion for him to sit closer to me. He does, and I lay my head on his lap. "I'm sorry," I murmer. I hear Van remove his gloves, and run his hands through my hair. I finally allow my body to relax, and go back to sleep.
2 Be Continued...
By Siren
Heyyyyyyyy everybody!!!!!!!!! I might not be able to update this fanfic for a while, because I have a bit of summer reading to do. But, until I decide to DO the summer reading, I'll continue to write more chapters. There will be a lot of Dilandau and Nikki interaction. Nothing really romantic, but more like a friendship. And I absolutely cannot STAND Celena! She made Dilly go away! weeps But, I suppose I could make her an entirely seperate character, because I'm a huge fan of Dilly. takes out flamethrower ^_^ Anyway, enjoy, Minna-san!!!!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Past Long Forgotten
Nnnn....groaning, I open my eyes. I'm in a dimly lit room. It appears to be someone's bedroom. A corner of the room looks charred, and my eyes widen. Excitement mixed with terror floods my insides. I'm in Dilandau's room. I force myself to stand, and move towards the door. I feel something tug at my ankle, and look down. I'm chained to a bolt in the floor. I tug at it fiercly, grunting as I feel my ankle begin to bruise. A noise escapes my throat that sounds like a mix of a sob and a laugh. I run my hands through my dirty hair, and grimace. God, I could use a shower. I look at my arms, and see the dry mud sticking to them. Bits of dirt and dry mud cling to the left side of my face, as well as my hair. I feel the back of my neck, only to find dry blood. The same is found above my right eye. That bastard cut me when he hit me. I growl, and continue my struggle with the iron chain. "Dammit!" I curse, unable to free myself. "Those chains are iron, so I doubt that you'll be able to break them." I tense, and turn around. Van's older brother stands before me, holding a bowl of water, and a rag. "Come to tend to my wounds, have you?" Folken's face remains nuetral, his eyes cold. "Please sit down," he tells me, his voice as hollow as his eyes. I roll my eyes, but do as he says. Folken kneels infront of me, and dips the rag in the water. He brings it up to my face, and I shut my eyes, expecting a violent roughness. All I feel, is the gentle touch of his hands, and the cotton rag. I slowly open my eyes, and look into his. My gaze slowly reaches the tattoo of the tear under his eye. I smile grimly. "The tear of eternal sadness, huh?" Folken tenses, then cleans off the rag, and resumes his task of cleaning me. "Do you always clean your victims before torturing them?" I ask coldly. Folken simply pulls his hand away, puts the rag in the bowl, and stands up. I do the same. Despite the fact that I saw the Escaflowne series, I could never comprehend why Folken did what he did. I glare at him, my eyes becoming as cold as his. "How could you? How could you betray Van, your own flesh and blood? Van never gave up on you. He always loved you, even when he thought you were dead. How could you do this to him?!" Folken places the bowel on a nightstand, and walks toward me. "You could never understand what I went through. The humiliation...the terror. What I went through was unfathomable." I snort in disgust. "Right. You went on that dargon-slaying ritual, and got your arm ripped off. You were going to die, but Dornkirk saved you. So in your opnion, Folken Fanel died that day, and Folken Strategos was born. God, you're pathetic. Fanel blood still courses through your veins. You are still Van's big brother, and I know that a part of you still loves him. But you turned your back on him. You gave up. Your heart is as cold as that friggin' arm that bastard gave you," I seethe. I see Folken flinch, and I wonder if I'm getting through to him. "You hurt Van in the worst possible way, and he has every right to hate you. But I can tell that he still loves you. You're brothers! You're supposed to protect eachother!" I take a deep breath, and attempt to calm myself. "I have two younger sisters. I've been through some shit too, but I would never, never, betray them. You lost an arm, but you did not lose your brother." Folken stares at me for a moment, then turns and leaves the room. Fine. Leave, you selfish bastard. I cross my arms over my chest, and lean against the cold wall. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour later, someone else came to visit me. Dilandau's silver hair seemed to glow in the light. "So, you're the wench that knows everything. Hmph. I expected more," he greets. I'm tired, annoyed, and stressed. I look at him, and promptly gave him the middle finger. He only smirks in amusement. "My, my, aren't we angry today." I shrug. "So, what do you want? You wanna know your future, your past, anybody else's past and or future?" Dilandau sits down infront of me. "You can really do that?" I nod lamely. "Yeah. Whadda ya wanna know?" Dilandau smiles. "I want to know if Zaibach obtains its ideal future." I sigh. Thought so. Oh well, might as well tell him. "You obtain your 'ideal future'. That is, if it's mayhem, bloodshed, and chaos." Dilandau's eyes burn with excitement. "Am I glorified as an amazing worrior?" I smirk, and laugh tiredly. Dilandau frowns deeply. "Dilly, you are not glorified. In fact, you're not really Dilandau. Your original name was Celena Schezar. You're not a soldier. Hell, you're not even a guy. Zaibach wanted to see if they could alter someone's destiny. Their future. So, they took children, and experimented. In Dornkirk's mind, you were a complete success," I tell him, too tired to care about the reprecussions. "You lie well, wench." I smile. Poor boy, he doesn't get it yet, does he? "When you were Celena, they cut your hair. But someone took care of you. Cared about you. I believe you call him Jajuka." Dilandau's eyes widen in disbelief. "Lying doesn't suite you, bitch," he sneers. I shrug. "You think I'm lying? Heh. Go ask Jajuka. He wouldn't lie to you. Or better yet, ask Folken. He probably knows more about it than dog-boy does." Dilandau stands up, and throws the bowl across the room, shattering it. I smirk. "Yeah, that was mature." Dilandau turns his attention back to me, his breath ragged. "Don't lie to me, bitch. I can have you killed," he threatens. My face softens. He doesn't want to believe it. But he has to. I lower my gaze to the ground, feeling a swell of empathy in my heart. "You could have me killed. But don't you think you've killed enough?" He stares at me with large eyes, almost like a frightened child. "When I first came here, I was so happy and excited. I thought of all the possibilities, and about all the good I could do here. Knowing that I could help people made me happy." I lock my gaze with Dilandau's. "How many people have to die to make you happy?" I ask darkly. Dilandau stares at me, confusion and burning hatred playing across his features. "You remember, don't you? You must remember being Celena. Don't you ever feel that you don't belong here? That you aren't what the say you are?" "Shut up!" I feel his cold knuckles graze my cheek painfully. I stare at him, eyes wide. My face remains soft, and somewhat sad. "I never knew there was so much rage in you," I say quietly. Dilandau throws his head back and laughs. I stare at him sadly. To be comsumed with so much hatred and rage...I can't understand how he could survive feeling like that. "I'm sorry." Dilandau looks up at me in surprise at my sudden apology. "What did you say?" he asks. Tears escape from my eyes and my voice shakes. "I'm sorry that they did this to you. I'm sorry that you feel so much rage. I'm sorry that I didn't get here sooner. If I did, maybe I could've saved you from this."
Dilandau stares at me, his features softening for a moment before returning to it's angered state. "You think you can save me?! Wench, your life lies in my very hands, do you realize this?" I nodd grimly. "Yes, I know. I was planning on coming here anyway. I wanted to talk some sense into you and Folken. I wanted to destroy Dornkirk's plans. I wanted...I wanted for everyone to be happy again. Gaea is a beautiful place, Dilandau. It still can be. But your ideal future will destroy this world." Dilandau shakes his head, a smirk on his face. "You thought you could stop us? Zaibach is an army, wench. You alone can't stop us. I don't even know why you tried." "I tried because I give a damn," I tell him strongly. He looks at me, and I can see a faint trace of admiration in his eyes. "Giving a damn won't save you." "Maybe not. But it can save someone else," I reply. I'm not giving up. I refuse. I didn't get the crap beaten out of me for nothing. I straighten my posture, and stare at Dilandau defiantly. "You and Zaibach can beat me down, but I'm not gonna give up. I am a pure-bred Jersey girl, dammit. And you should never piss a Jersey girl off." (A.N.-I LOVE NEW JERSEY!!!!) He smiles at me. "You got a pair on you, wench." I frown, not sure how to take the comment. "The name's Nicole. Remember it, 'cause it's the last thing Zaibach's ever gonna hear." That being said, I look away from him, a small smile on my face. I turn to him with a mischevious look. "So, do you really have a flamethrower?" Dilandau smiles, and nods. "Yeah. You like fire?" I nodd slightly. "Kinda. I mean, I don't approve of the whole killing people with it, but fire is beautiful. So, can I see the flamethrower?" Dilandau thinks for a moment, than nods. "Sure. I'll be right back."
30 Minutes Later...
"...And this is the switch you flip for maximum flame potential." I stare at the flamethrower, eyes wide, mouth gaping. "That is _so_ cool." Dilandau and I smile at eachother. "I never knew that someone else appreciated fire as much as I do," he says in awe. I smirk. "There are more of us than you think." (Right Dilly fans? ^_^) "How would you feel about being a dragon-slayer?" I look at the silver-haired pyro, and shrug. "I think you're a nice guy and all, but I think I'm more of the anti-Zaibach person. No offense." Dilandau shrugs. "None taken. So, how far have you and Van gotten?" I blush. "Um, well, I kinda kissed him, and we got our singnals crossed. Than he kissed me. So basically, there's been some kissing." Dilandau nods and smiles with a knowing smile. I grab a piece of dragon-meat from the bowl in Dilly's lap, and munch on it. I look up at him, and smile. "So, how far have you ever gotten with someone?" I ask with a mouth full of food. Dilandau blushes. I giggle. "Aww, did Folken and you get physical?" I joke. Dilandau's eyes grow wide and he shakes his head furiously. "NO WAY IN HELL WOULD I EVER KISS THAT GUY!!!!!!!!" I nudge him playfully. "I'm just kidding! But seriously...how could you resist that metal arm of his?" We laugh hysterically, when there's a knock at the door. "Dilandau-sama? Dorkirk-sama wishes to speak with you." Dilly groans, and stands up. "Aww, you're leaving my dungeon so soon?" Dilly nodds. "Sorry. Duty calls." I nodd in understanding. Jobs suck. "Later," I say as he leaves. Now I'm alone again. Hmmm...I wonder...Slipping my hand into my boot, I feel for the dagger. My eyes widen as I grap the hilt. Thank God these people don't do weapon checks!
Now, I have two options for escape: one, I could try to pick the lock with the dagger, or two, I could cut my foot off. Let's go with number one. I jimmy the lock with the dagger, praying that it opens. YAY!!!!! IT OPENED!!!!! (Did you honestly expect me to amputate my foot?) I yank my ankle free, and run to the door. I listen for any noises. Satisfied that the hallway is deserted, I open the door, and stick to the shadows. I make my way down the hallways, and I can see the maintanence bay, filled with battle-ready guymelefs. An easy escape. But I came here determined to stop Zaibach before more people die, and I still plan to do so. Walking past what could very well be my only exit, I make my way deeper into the floating fortress. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Almost there..."Chesta! Find Dilandau-sama! The prisoner's escaped!" Whoops. Great. I'm on a floating fortress filled with people that hate me, and I passed up my only escape so that I can stop a war. All in a day's work, huh? Uh-oh. One of Dilly's dragon slayers is coming my way. I press myself against the wall, and wait for him to run past me. "Judo Chop!" ( I LOVE AUSTIN POWERS!!!!) I lift my elbow, and jab the back of his neck. He falls to the ground, unconcious. Or at least I hope he's just unconcious. I drag him into an empty room, strip him down, and put on the overly bulky armor. With my face so dirty, hopefully I'll pass as a dragon slayer.
I walk past the others, unnoticed. Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice. "SHE WHAT?!?!?!" Miguel stands infront of Dilly, trembling. I watch patiently, waiting for the trademark slap of insolence. SLAP! Yup, there it is. "You insolent fool! She was chained to the ground! How the hell could she have escaped?!" Miguel stares at the albino with wide eyes. "Forgive me, Dilandau-sama. Her room...wasn't guarded. With her chained to the ground, we thought there would be no need for---" Uh-oh. Dilly looks pissed. SLAP! Whoa. Never saw Dilly slap a guy twice. Dilly's a slapper. "She was left unguarded?! Find her, and bring her back alive and unharmed!" Miguel stands up shakily. "H-hai!" The poor dragon slayer runs off to search for me. I walk past Dilandau, only to have him watch me suspiciously. "Halt!" Oh crap. I do so, and turn around. "Hai, Dilandau- sama?" I try to make my voice deep to pass as a guy's. (If I was in the dubbed version, I wouldn't need to, ne? ^_^) Dilandau eyes me carefully with his violet eyes. (I always thought they were more violet than red.) "What's your name again?" he asks. Uh......I dunno?
"G-Gatti?" Oh God, pllllleeeeeaaaassssseeeee tell me I can pass as Gatti. Dilandau nodds. "Fine. Find the girl, but do not hurt her." I have to smile at that. Thanks for the kindness Dilly-boy. I know it's rare of you. "Hai, Dilandau-sama." I turn on my heel, and continue on my search for Dornkirk. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FINALLY! Dornirk's quarters. There's Isaac, sittin' under that big 'ol machine, lookin' at the future. Wonder if he ever suspected me. I clear my throat. The old guy doesn't even bother to look at me. "What is it?" Feh. Could he care less about my prescence? I remove the helmet that I found, and take off the bulky armor. "It's the cursed one who's come to stop you, Isaac." Dornkirk stiffens. "How do you know that name?" he asks. I put my hands on my hips, and glare. "That doesn't matter. What does matter, are the people that I care about. If you continue what you're doing, many people will die." The old geazer stares at me with narrow eyes. "Sacrifices have to be made to attain the ideal future." I snort in disgust. "Bullshit. You've brainwashed these people to believe in your ideal future. But they don't realize how many people will die." Dorkirk looks angry, but tries to remain calm. "What is wrong with my ideal future? Once I gain the power of Atlantis, people's wishes will come true." My fists clench. This guy just does not get it! "Don't you wonder why Atlantis was destroyed? If that future, the future that the people of Atlantis had accomplished, was a good one, than an entire species wouldn't be dead right now. You're such a fool," I argue. "The Atlanteans were the fools. Their wishes were absurd." I feel like shaking this guy! "And your's aren't?! Isaac, you're insane! You've kidnapped children, and done horrible things to them! I mean, look at Dilandau! You've destroyed an entire kingdom, killed countless people! You've committed so many crimes against humanity, that I can't fathom how the world could survive your ideal future!" To my shock, he chuckles. "Child, I have committed many sins. But I have done it all for this small, dying planet. When I first came here, this land was dying. I saved it. I have dedicated my life to this. Is that worth nothing in your eyes?"
I show him my dagger. "You were a brilliant man, Isaac. But you betrayed humanity with your brilliance. And I'm going to make sure that this stops here." He smiles warily. "Killing me will not calm humanity's hatred. My empire, Zaibach, will continue to reach my goal even if I am dead. You cannot stop this." I tilt my head, and shrug. "Maybe not. But it's worth a shot." I run at him, dagger raised. I jump at him, and he stands, ready to meet the steel of my weapon. "Dornirk-sama!" I hear a shout, but ignore it. I raise my hand, ready to thrust it into Dorkirk's heart. Suddenly, something metal grabs me, and my blade only makes a diagonal slash against Isaac's chest. I'm jerked backwards, and thrown against the wall. I open my eyes to stare at a guymelef. "F-Folken..." I struggle in his grasp, the sharp metal of the machine's claws digging into my skin. He tightens his hold on me, and I can feel one of my ribs begin to break. "V-Van!" I choke out. As things begin to fade, I hear a battle cry. Van's battle cry. Folken drops me, and I hit the floor with a painful thud. I caugh, gasping the much needed air into my lungs. I look up, and see Van fighting Folken in Escaflowne. "Nicole." I roll onto my back, and stare up at the face of Allen. He picks me up, and gathers me into his arms.
"Get Van. We have to leave," I murmer. "Van! Come on, we have to leave!" Allen shouts. I snort. "I could've done that." I rest my head on Allen's shoulder, feeling exhausted. I feel the ground shake with Escaflowne's movement. Allen's running onto the Crusade, followed by Van. I feel the ship move as we pull away from the floating fortress. Allen's shaking me lightly, but my eye lids feel to heavy to open. "Get Millerna!" I hear Allen shout before I succomb to my exhaustion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mmmm...I groan as I open my eyes. I look around, and see that I'm in a room in Millerna's castle. ........I'm in Van's room! I look around, and see Van leaning against the wall, looking out the window. It's dark out now, and the sky is beautiful. I smile. "Talk about your good timing," I say. Van looks at me, startled. "You're awake." I nod, than frown. "What happened?" I ask. Van hesitates for a second, than sits beside me on the bed. "You passed out. Millerna cleaned you up, and stopped that bleeding." (The internal bleeding, remember?) "Oh." We're both silent. I know he's mad at me for just leaving. "Why'd you do it?" I look up at Van, who's staring at me intensly. "I wanted to stop Zaibach. I didn't want anymore people to die."
"You really had me scared, you know." I smirk. "Van Fanel? Scared?" He nodded, and I can see him blushing faintly. I take his gloved hand in mine, and motion for him to sit closer to me. He does, and I lay my head on his lap. "I'm sorry," I murmer. I hear Van remove his gloves, and run his hands through my hair. I finally allow my body to relax, and go back to sleep.
2 Be Continued...