Chapter 12: The Darkness Within
Disclaimer: Slayers and it's characters including Dynast-sama *sniff* do not belong to me but to Hajime Kanzaka. I would be a millionaire if I owned it. Life sucks.
Rugradia's POV
I swear, one more day with those two idiots and I'm committing suicide. What have I done to have to put up with Filia and Xelloss?? I seriously think Ceipheed-sama wants placed in a mental hospital It's not that I've done anything bad to him!! Well, come to think of it, I did accidentally blast his room into bits. I swear, it was an accident! Ok, maybe not. But one should forgive and forget. I'm going to kill Ceipheed-sama when he reappears again. This is just one example why those two are driving me crazy.
"Sunake Babaa!!" the fruitcake would yell at a certain dragon priestess.
"Namagomi mazoku!!" said priestess would yell back and Whomp! Whamp! Bang goes the mace. In my opinion, we should win a prize for the most unusual shaped van.
"Stop fighting and sit down!!" I would scream.
"I hate you!!" Filia will shout and her body will glow golden. That is my worst fear.
"NOOOOO!! Filia! If you transform we'll all die!! So will this van!!" I will try my best to stop her. Xellos wasn't of much help and Sylfiell would only look as if she's going to die.(I didn't blame her) Luckily for me, the female Osama bin Laden still regards me as the water dragon king and would stop her transformation.
"Yare yare, you will never get married with your temper." Xellos would taunt the irate priestess.
"I wouldn't marry you even if you're the last man on earth! Namagomi!!" Filia would scream back, swinging her mace blindly and the both of them would fight again. Now you see why my lovely blue hair is turning slightly white? Curse Ruby-Eye. I've had enough.
"Oh look, it's a cliff! What do you think will happen if I DROVE OFF IT??"
That did the trick. Everyone shut up. and stared at me. Oh, I love power. Heh heh
~*~
Zel's POV Traffic jams. I hate them, because it makes me concentrate more on the chaos that's taking place behind me. Lina, Amelia and Gourry are fighting with each other for the last piece of sandwich. Luna had totally given up on them(I don't blame her) and was staring out of the window. Zelas was still smoking, even though I tried to tell her about the effects the smoke would have on the ozone layer and me. Phibrizo had gone to the back and was now annoying the hell out of Zelas. He's just jealous because he's now the youngest. We got a call from Lanngourt who said that they had found Dynast. Boy, was Phibrizo angry when he heard that Dynast is a University student too. They said Dynast was rather willing to help them. I hope we can beat Shabby. It wasn't easy for me to become human. Hey, I had to die for it. Anyway, I intend to graduate from high school whether that old crab likes it or not. Actually, it was no surprise I had my memories. My dad who is Rezo and mom who is ironically enough, Eris remembered everything too. So did Kopii.my father's twin. I don't hate Rezo now, that was in the past anyway, and he was possessed by that Ruby-Eye, so it wasn't actually his fault.
Then a loud cry of victory brought my attention to the back. Lina had won. She always wins. Standing on Gourry and Amelia(Until Luna yelled at her to sit down), our dear sorceress munched her sandwich happily. Or should I say, swallow? Actually, I had to consider myself lucky. At least I wasn't stuck with Xelloss. Poor Rugradia, Filia and Sylfiell. That brought me to wondering if Sylfiell was still alive. I highly doubt that she can handle Xellos, and Filia is probably insane now.
"Why can't be warp the van??" Phibrizo whined.
"That's because we would immediately be in the highlights of the newspaper the next day!" Luna snapped.
"Well? Isn't that good?" the Hellmaster asked. Phibrizo loves attention.
Luna merely glared at him. "The picture and story would be about our VAN and not YOU."
Zelas yawned. "Sitting all day in a van is no good for one's butt."
"You don't seem to care so much about your lungs though huh?" Luna snorted. I had to admit that Zelas was beautiful. Sexy, to be precise. But I doubt she would live to see her next birthday, at the rate she's going. Zelas smiled. "Can we go shopping when we reach Chicago??"
"My dear, we're here to 'shop' for Lei and not for cloths." Luna frowned.
"Corrections. I'm shopping for wine." Zelas pointed out and earned a death glare from her best friend.
"If you want to buy wine, you should go to the airport. It's duty-free." Phibrizo said helpfully. The two girls ignored him and Zelas started arguing about her rights. I sighed. It's a long way to Seattle.
~*~
Dolphin's POV
"My head hurts." That was Garv. I giggled. He and Val had a hangover from drinking too much last night. After we had our snowball fight, Garv challenged Val to a drinking match. Lanngourt had passed out from too much laughter and I brought him back to the van to sleep. We're now in New Orleans. Maybe if we're lucky enough, we could find Grou and Grau, though Dynast-kun didn't seem to be looking forward to meeting them. After lunch, we split up. Leaving Val and Garv in the van with Vrabazard, I went with Lanngourt and Sherra and Dynast went in another direction. We agreed to meet back at the van when the sun sets.
"I still don't understand.Why do you want to betray Ruby-Eye?" Lanngourt asked me as we walked down a crowded street. I looked at him in surprise, and in disappointment. He's my best friend, he should understand my feeling most of all.
"I'm tired of fighting, tired of seeing people in pain." I said, keeping my head bowed, so that he can't see the tears that were glistening in my eyes. Lanngourt looked at me. "It's more than that isn't it?" he asked softly. My heart skipped a beat. "What.What do you mean?" I stammered.
"You don't want to fight me, or Lina or anyone else." He said. I bit my lips. He had hit the bulls eye. But what can I do? How can I ever tell him that he's the most treasured person to me? I blinked. What was I thinking?? So confused. Love, I had never been in love before, not that kind of love. Am I in love with my best friend?
~*~
Sherra's POV
I swallowed hard. I could already feel my face heating up. Dynast-sama walked beside me, his mind focused on feeling for Grau's and probably Grou's presence. Since the astral plane didn't exist here, only the material plane, it was quite a task for Dynast-sama who still hadn't got back all his powers, not to mention his memories too.
I felt his warmth as I tried hard not to blush too much.
"Don't you think you should help me instead of thinking about unimportant things?" Dynast-sama asked coolly. I bowed my head. "Gomen." I mumbled. He shook his head. "We've been walking for a few hours. Let's stop for a while." He sighed. I nodded, unable to speak. " You stay here, I'll go and look around." Dynast-sama said and walked away. I stared after him, feeling downcast. What have I done? Now Dynast-sama will think I'm weak.
"Then go after him if you can't leave him for a minute." A sudden voice said in my head. Who's that? I wondered, shocked.
"It's me, have you forgotten??" the speaker didn't seem very pleased that I didn't know who it was. Then it hit me. "Dolgoulfa!" I cried out happily.
"My dear, I would like you to know that we're still in a public place and not in the North Pole." My sword said sarcastically. I looked around and saw everyone staring at me. I glared at them.
"So dear, are you going after your Dynast-sama??" Dolgoulfa drawled. I blushed again. "Shut up!" with that, I ran out of the café and crashed into Dynast-sama. Stumbling, I lost my footing on the icy ground and fell back. Just as I thought I was going to crash to the ground and embarrass myself even more, he bent down and caught placed his arm on my back to stop me from falling, so that my body was at the an angle of forty-five degrees to the ground and Dynast-sama's body above mine while supporting me. Oh My God!! I nearly screamed out. My face was probably as red as Ruby-Eye when he's in the crab thingy form. I could here Dolgoulfa snickering in my head. That stupid sword, I swear I'm going to make sure he pay after I'm done. Too bad it all ended as quickly as it started. Dynast-sama pulled me up and we stood there, not speaking.
"Sorry for causing so much trouble.." I mumbled.
"It's not like you to be so shy." Dynast-sama said. Looking up, I saw that he was smiling. At me. Blood rushed to my face again. L-sama, he's so handsome. That slightly tousled silky black hair of his, those icy blue eyes now filled with amusement and something else I can't detect. If only.I shook head. What are you thinking about?! I scolded myself mentally.
"Let's go." He said. I nodded dumbly, feeling like an idiot.
"Sherra.What do you know about the Claire Bible?" Dynast-sama asked me suddenly.
"Do you mean who has it??" I asked. He nodded.
"Vrabazard." I answered. "Why?"
"Nothing." He muttered, his brows furrowed.
"Dynast-sama." I asked. "Do you really plan on fighting against Lord Ruby- Eye?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well.I mean I will still be your general no matter which party you choose." I fumbled with my words.
"I don't doubt you loyalty, Sherra." Dynast-sama said. "It's getting dark, let's go back."
I nodded. We met Dolphin and Lanngourt at a cross road and walked back together. The air was unusually tensed as we walked back to the van in awkward silence. I glanced at Dolphin and Lanngourt. They were unusually quiet, which was weird since they talk a lot. Suddenly, a figure came running towards us.
"Fuck!! Dammit! Come to the van quickly!" he yelled. I realised that it was Val.
"What's wrong??" Dolphin asked worriedly.
"Vrabazard and Garv-sama!! They're.they're.Shabranigdu!!" Val yelled as he collapsed, blood covered his shirt and his face was pale. On hearing that, we ran towards the van immediately and saw that it had been severely damaged. The doors were ripped open and the windows broken. Garv lay unconscious on the ground beside the wrecked car, blood forming a puddle on the ground beneath him.
"Oh man, Vrabazard!!" Lanngourt yelled from the other side. We ran over and saw him holding the fire dragon king who was almost dead.
"Vrabazard!! What happened!?" Lanngourt yelled, distraught. "Call Luna and the others immediately!" he yelled, while trying to heal Vrabazard. Dolphin nodded and dialled Luna's number.
"It's no use! Nobody's answering it!" she shouted, tears running down her face as she sobbed. I stared at her. Dolphin was as emotional as Dynast- sama is emotionless. She had never been cut out to be a mazoku lord. She hated killing and loathed wars. She should have been a dragon lord instead. Heaven knows why Ruby-Eye-sama picked her.
~*~
Dolphin's POV
I stared at the bloody scene before me. It was the first time in this lifetime that I've ever saw so much blood. Images of past wars and battles flashed through my mind. The pain, the killings, the blood. I felt tears run down my cheeks, emotions washed through me. What does Ruby-Eye want? If he was so powerful, why can't he wait till we gather everyone? Then it hit me. The Claire Bible. I went towards Vrabazard and was about to ask him something when Lanngourt pushed me away. I gasped as I fell back to the snowy ground.
"Go away! Monster!" he hissed. I froze. The world around me turned to ice as the full impact of his words hit me. Fresh tears welled up in my eyes again. How could he say that? He was supposed to be my friend. Sobbing, I ran towards the forest. My heart pounded in my chest as I ran until I was put of breath. How could he say that? I sobbed uncontrollably as I finally stopped running and leant on a tree for support. The cold air couldn't match to the ice I felt in my heart. It wasn't my fault that I was chosen to be Ruby-Eye's servant. Then I sensed someone's presence. Looking up, I met Dynast's emotionless gaze.
"It's not safe for you to be out here, with Ruby-Eye-sama knowing where we are." he said calmly, then walked away.
I stared at him. "Why.Why did you do it?!" I whispered. "Why did you tell Lord Ruby-Eye?"
He froze. "What do you mean?" he muttered.
"Stop lying!" I shouted, brushing away my tears to confront my 'brother'. "You told him. You knew we were coming all along! You had your memories back even before we told you about it! Ruby-Eye-sama found you before us! Why, why did you tell him where we are. Why did you lie to us? You never for once wanted to join us, did you?" I cried out. "Why did you betray us!?"
"Betray?' he asked, his voice colder than ice. He whipped around to face me. I backed away. Dynast's eyes were filled with anger and hatred. "Betray?' he repeated. "Who's the traitor now?" he spat. Then he smirked. "You're right. I told Ruby-Eye where the Cliare Bible is. Very soon, dear old Ceipheed would be stuck with the Bitch!"
"Why do you want to destroy the world so much? It's different now, Grausherra! We have families and friends."
"What family? What friends!?" he shouted. "I don't need them!"
"You do!" I yelled back defiantly. "Please, Grausherra, the world is not as bad as it seems." I begged.
"Shut up! I don't need family love! I hate humans, and I want them dead." He snapped.
"What have they done to you? Even if they did something wrong to you, that's all in the past! Your parents love you!" I shouted desperately. He scowled. "They're worth nothing to what Lord Ruby-Eye can give me."
"What does he give you then?" I yelled. "Power? Status? Tell me, have you ever been happy being the Ha-ou? Ruby-Eye-sama doesn't give a damn about us. Look what he did to Garv!" Dynast didn't reply. I stared at him hopefully. "Please, Dynast, tell me where Ruby-Eye-sama is?"
He looked at me and smirked. "Aren't you great and finding things out? Then find him yourself." With that, he disappeared. I stared at the snowy ground in despair. Suddenly, I heard a call for me. The person appeared from the trees and stood in front of me.
"Lanngourt" I whispered and walked up to him. Then I stopped. What doe he want? He called me a monster, I couldn't face him. He probably hates me now.
"I'm sorry."
I looked up in surprise.
"I didn't meant to call you mon.monster, I really didn't! I was unable to curb my emotions at that time. You aren't angry are you?" he asked softly.
I bit my lip, and felt tears in my eyes again. Lanngout was surprised when a tear fell out of my eye and dropped to the snow, forming a small dent in it. Suddenly, he walked towards me and before I knew it, he hugged me. I froze. L-sama, he's hugging me!
"Don't cry.I'm sorry. I'll do anything to make up for that. It's not your fault. I know. But I." he whispered, distraught.
I leant against him, feeling his warmth. Then I cried. Again. I couldn't help it. I sobbed, feeling tears roll down my cheeks as if it was raining. Lanngourt didn't pull away. He merely held me in his arms and laid his head on my shoulder.
"Cry if you wish. I saw what happened just now. I swear, I won't let Ruby- Eye hurt you again." He said firmly.
"It's not Grausherra's fault!" I whispered. "what are we going to do now? Lanngourt." I asked after I finally stopped crying.
"I don't know. But if Shabby destroys the Claire Bible, we're doomed!" Lanngourt muttered.
I pulled away and stared at the clouded sky. "I'm sorry, I couldn't stop him." Lanngourt placed his hand on my shoulder. "It isn't your fault." he told me gently. Then it started to snow. I stared, mesmerised by the snow flakes.
"Every snowflake has a different pattern." I recalled Dynast telling me that. Of the five, I was the closest to him. Zelas seem to dislike me for no apparent reason, Garv didn't speak to me much, mainly because he's always travelling or either that arguing with Phirbizo. Phibrizo probably felt that I was a waste of his time and only spoke to me when he has too. Only Grausherra was willing to talk to me. Well if you if you call monosyllabic responses and occasional five-word sentences a conversation.Anyway, I do most of the talking and he sits there and listens to me. He talks of his general at times, it's pretty obvious that he cares deeply for her. I dunno if that counts as love. Grausherra often tells me about snowflakes, icicles and the aurora beams at the northpole. Sometimes he brings a snow fox or a baby polar bear for me to play with. It's a nice change from fishes. I've made up my mind. I'm going to find Ruby-Eye and bring Grausherra over to our side. A tap on my shoulder jerked me out from my thoughts.
"Aya, are you all right?" Lanngourt asked worriedly
Aya.He called me by my real name. I smiled faintly at him. This would probably be the last time I can smile at him. I wouldn't be able to survive Ruby-Eye. But still, I had to try. I know I'm probably stupid, to face Shabranigdu on my own, but I still had to try to bring my brother back.
~*~
Nobody's POV
"What?!" Luna yelled. On the other end of the phone, Lanngourt winced.
"Dolphin's gone. I think she went to find Dynast and Shabranigdu." He said in despair. He had called Luna and the others and told them everything. Sherra didn't say anything about what Dynast did, but merely sat on the ground in deep thought. Vrabazard , Garv and Val were almost healed.
"Look, Luna, you've got to be careful, especially your sister. She's his Knight, and I'm sure he'll make sure Lina goes over to his side."
Luna sighed as she glanced at Lina who was currently throttling Gourry because he ate her share of chicken. "I know. I'll make sure she stays by my side all the time. We've got to find Dolphin before Ruby-Eye kills her."
~*~
Dynast sighed as he leant against the marble pillar of Ruby-Eye's mansion. What Dolphin told him kept running through his mind. He shook his head. He didn't need his family, or his friends. It will all return to normal, after Lord Ruby-Eye reached his goal. He told himself, unable to get rid of the nagging feeling at the back of his mind. 'Sherra.' Dynast thought. It was she who melted him, her loyalty that touched him, gradually, he found himself thinking about the times they had spent together, before a third war destroyed everything. 'War.' Dynast sighed again. He couldn't stop himself from wondering if he had done the correct thing. Family.Dynast's mind drifted back to the times he had been with his family and friends. The time when his sister was born, partying at friends' house, scaring girls during Halloween, roasting marshmallows at a campfire and much more. A faint smile appeared on his face, and disappeared as quickly as it came. 'What am I doing? Thinking about those worthless trash.' He kicked himself mentally.
Footsteps echoing down the hall brought him back to reality. "Can't forget your present life?" a soft voice asked.
"Lord Ruby-Eye." he murmured. " Are you going to enslave all the humans after you killed Ceipheed?"
Ruby-Eye laughed. "Missing your parents? Don't worry you'll forget all about these human emotions that you gained from reincarnation. Listen, family and friends are worth nothing. They are merely obstacles that will stand in your way of success. Don't ever let your emotions get the better of you. Understand?"
Dynast nodded. Ruby-Eye smiled and continued. "Dolphin will be arriving soon. You know what to do."
"Hai." 'Dolphin?' Dynast wondered. 'She really came all the way here? She's nuts.' he thought and walked away.
"Grausherra."
Dynast stopped when he heard someone call him. "You're an idiot. Why did you come here. You'll never get out of here alive." He said as he turned around to face the speaker.
"I know. But I'm still going to try to persuade you." Dolphin said, her blue eyes filled with determination.
"Fine." Dynast said coolly as a sword made of ice materialised in his hand. "Then don't blame me if you get hurt." With that, he phased out in front of Dolphin and slashed at her. To his surprise, she didn't dodge. Dolphin winced a little as a cut appeared on her chest and blood dripped down from it.
"Why didn't you block me?" Dynast demanded.
"I don't want to fight you." Dolphin said stubbornly. Dynast narrowed his eyes.
"Fine then. I won't kill you. I'll let Lord Ruby-Eye deal with you." He snapped his fingers and a couple of guards appeared. "Lock her in the dungeons." He said coldly. Dolphin did not struggle when the guards pulled her away.
"Grausherra.You parents called just now. They want you back for Christmas." Dolphin cried out as they dragged her away. Dynast furrowed his brows. 'Forget about your present life. Love brings about only trouble.' Ruby-Eye had said. Dynast laughed bitterly. 'They want me back for Christmas??' he thought. "Was I ever happy being the Supreme King? And Sherra.Ruby-Eye would kill her if he finds out." Dynast whispered as he slid to the floor and buried his head in his arms. Suddenly, a soft tinkling jerked him out of his thoughts. He looked down and saw that the string of his necklace had snapped. Dynast picked it up and gazed at it. Sherra gave it to him in their past life, before the last war.
"Great. I hope I don't regret this." He muttered as went in the direction of the dungeons. 'Ruby-Eye should be back soon, I'd better do it quick if I want to go back for Christmas.' He thought. Upon reaching the dungeons, he located Dolphin's cell and went in. She looked up in mild surprise when Dynast started to unchain her.
"Get out of here quickly, before He comes back." Dynast muttered. Dolphin smiled. "Grausherra! You." "Shh!" he whispered. "Get out of here, don't turn back." And with that, he disappeared. Dolphin stared at the ground where Dynast once stood. "Baka! You know how stubborn I am." She giggled and phased out.
~*~
A dark haired teenager about the age of eighteen crept silently along an unlighted passageway. On seeing a faint glow at the end of it, he smiled. Quickening his pace, Dynast walked to the glow and stared at it for a moment. The Claire Bible sat on a round marble table, enclosed in a red glow. Stretching out his hand, Dynast whispered an incantation and tried to break the wards. Sweat dripped down his brow as he concentrated on his task. Energy ran through his veins, crackling out to the Bible. Slowly, the red glow dissipated and disappeared. Dynast sank to his knees, exhausted. Breaking Ruby-Eye's wards were not easy. He took the book and turned around, coming face to face with.
"Ruby-Eye-sama!" he gasped.
"Going somewhere?' Shabranigdu mocked. Dynast backed away until his body was against the marble table. He hadn't noticed Shabranigdu's arrival due to the fact that he placed all his attention on breaking the wards.
"I'm disappointed in you, Grausherra. I expected you to be different from the rest of your 'siblings'." Ruby-Eye said as he stared at his third in command, his ruby red eyes flashing. Then, he raised his hand and sent Dynast crashing into the wall behind him.
Dynast winced as pain cursed through his exhausted body. Ruby-Eye could kill him with a snap of his fingers, but he was merely playing with him, torturing him for his betrayal. A wave of energy hit him again and Dynast coughed out blood, shaking violently. A third wave was about to hit him again when someone phased out in front of him and blocked it.
"Dolphin!" his eyes widened. "Baka! Didn't I call you to get out of here?"
"Grausherra, are you all right??" Dolph asked as she knelt down beside him. "I won't allow you to hurt him anymore, Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu!" she yelled, trying to hide the fear in her voice.
Ruby-Eye narrowed his eyes. "Such foolishness! Choosing useless things like family over power and status! How could I have ever created such foolish beings?!"
"We are no longer your creations.!" Dynast said firmly as he stood up. Dolphin turned to face him, surprised. "Our lives no longer belong to you. You no longer own us! We have full control of what we want and we're not going to be your puppets anymore! In our past lives, we have been blindly doing whatever you want us to do, making sure that world domination is in your hands, thus costing us our lives! I'm not that stupid now."
Dolphin smiled at Dynast, then turned towards Ruby-Eye. "He's right. This is our world now and it does not belong to you. We'll protect it whether you like it or not!"
Ruby-Eye smirked. "How touching. To think that two of my most faithful servants are betraying me. Looks like you're worth nothing to me anymore. Don't worry, I won't kill you, not now. Until I regain my full power, I shall allow you to finish leading your pathetic lives." With that, the Demon King walked away, his footsteps echoing down the corridor.
Dolphin and Dynast stared after him, then at the Claire Bible. "I love you, Grausherra-kun!" Dolphin shouted happily as she glomped the surprised Ha- ou, or rather, ex-Ha-ou.
~*~
tbc
A/N: Yaaaa! I've finally finished it!! This should be one of the longer chapter ^^ Poor Dynast-kun!! Baka Shabby! *Stomps on Shabby plushie* Thank you to all that reviewed, and to Sailor Event Horizon, arigato for your reminder, I shall try to make Garv tone down a bit. Lol. Don't expect much romance, because I can't write romance ^^; The next chapter would be more humorous than this. *drools on Dynast plushie. Kicks Sherra away.* heh heh heh.
Ps. I know 'sunake babaa' is supposed to refer to Taiitsu-kun, but I think Xellos would call Filia anything just to annoy her. ^^;
Disclaimer: Slayers and it's characters including Dynast-sama *sniff* do not belong to me but to Hajime Kanzaka. I would be a millionaire if I owned it. Life sucks.
Rugradia's POV
I swear, one more day with those two idiots and I'm committing suicide. What have I done to have to put up with Filia and Xelloss?? I seriously think Ceipheed-sama wants placed in a mental hospital It's not that I've done anything bad to him!! Well, come to think of it, I did accidentally blast his room into bits. I swear, it was an accident! Ok, maybe not. But one should forgive and forget. I'm going to kill Ceipheed-sama when he reappears again. This is just one example why those two are driving me crazy.
"Sunake Babaa!!" the fruitcake would yell at a certain dragon priestess.
"Namagomi mazoku!!" said priestess would yell back and Whomp! Whamp! Bang goes the mace. In my opinion, we should win a prize for the most unusual shaped van.
"Stop fighting and sit down!!" I would scream.
"I hate you!!" Filia will shout and her body will glow golden. That is my worst fear.
"NOOOOO!! Filia! If you transform we'll all die!! So will this van!!" I will try my best to stop her. Xellos wasn't of much help and Sylfiell would only look as if she's going to die.(I didn't blame her) Luckily for me, the female Osama bin Laden still regards me as the water dragon king and would stop her transformation.
"Yare yare, you will never get married with your temper." Xellos would taunt the irate priestess.
"I wouldn't marry you even if you're the last man on earth! Namagomi!!" Filia would scream back, swinging her mace blindly and the both of them would fight again. Now you see why my lovely blue hair is turning slightly white? Curse Ruby-Eye. I've had enough.
"Oh look, it's a cliff! What do you think will happen if I DROVE OFF IT??"
That did the trick. Everyone shut up. and stared at me. Oh, I love power. Heh heh
~*~
Zel's POV Traffic jams. I hate them, because it makes me concentrate more on the chaos that's taking place behind me. Lina, Amelia and Gourry are fighting with each other for the last piece of sandwich. Luna had totally given up on them(I don't blame her) and was staring out of the window. Zelas was still smoking, even though I tried to tell her about the effects the smoke would have on the ozone layer and me. Phibrizo had gone to the back and was now annoying the hell out of Zelas. He's just jealous because he's now the youngest. We got a call from Lanngourt who said that they had found Dynast. Boy, was Phibrizo angry when he heard that Dynast is a University student too. They said Dynast was rather willing to help them. I hope we can beat Shabby. It wasn't easy for me to become human. Hey, I had to die for it. Anyway, I intend to graduate from high school whether that old crab likes it or not. Actually, it was no surprise I had my memories. My dad who is Rezo and mom who is ironically enough, Eris remembered everything too. So did Kopii.my father's twin. I don't hate Rezo now, that was in the past anyway, and he was possessed by that Ruby-Eye, so it wasn't actually his fault.
Then a loud cry of victory brought my attention to the back. Lina had won. She always wins. Standing on Gourry and Amelia(Until Luna yelled at her to sit down), our dear sorceress munched her sandwich happily. Or should I say, swallow? Actually, I had to consider myself lucky. At least I wasn't stuck with Xelloss. Poor Rugradia, Filia and Sylfiell. That brought me to wondering if Sylfiell was still alive. I highly doubt that she can handle Xellos, and Filia is probably insane now.
"Why can't be warp the van??" Phibrizo whined.
"That's because we would immediately be in the highlights of the newspaper the next day!" Luna snapped.
"Well? Isn't that good?" the Hellmaster asked. Phibrizo loves attention.
Luna merely glared at him. "The picture and story would be about our VAN and not YOU."
Zelas yawned. "Sitting all day in a van is no good for one's butt."
"You don't seem to care so much about your lungs though huh?" Luna snorted. I had to admit that Zelas was beautiful. Sexy, to be precise. But I doubt she would live to see her next birthday, at the rate she's going. Zelas smiled. "Can we go shopping when we reach Chicago??"
"My dear, we're here to 'shop' for Lei and not for cloths." Luna frowned.
"Corrections. I'm shopping for wine." Zelas pointed out and earned a death glare from her best friend.
"If you want to buy wine, you should go to the airport. It's duty-free." Phibrizo said helpfully. The two girls ignored him and Zelas started arguing about her rights. I sighed. It's a long way to Seattle.
~*~
Dolphin's POV
"My head hurts." That was Garv. I giggled. He and Val had a hangover from drinking too much last night. After we had our snowball fight, Garv challenged Val to a drinking match. Lanngourt had passed out from too much laughter and I brought him back to the van to sleep. We're now in New Orleans. Maybe if we're lucky enough, we could find Grou and Grau, though Dynast-kun didn't seem to be looking forward to meeting them. After lunch, we split up. Leaving Val and Garv in the van with Vrabazard, I went with Lanngourt and Sherra and Dynast went in another direction. We agreed to meet back at the van when the sun sets.
"I still don't understand.Why do you want to betray Ruby-Eye?" Lanngourt asked me as we walked down a crowded street. I looked at him in surprise, and in disappointment. He's my best friend, he should understand my feeling most of all.
"I'm tired of fighting, tired of seeing people in pain." I said, keeping my head bowed, so that he can't see the tears that were glistening in my eyes. Lanngourt looked at me. "It's more than that isn't it?" he asked softly. My heart skipped a beat. "What.What do you mean?" I stammered.
"You don't want to fight me, or Lina or anyone else." He said. I bit my lips. He had hit the bulls eye. But what can I do? How can I ever tell him that he's the most treasured person to me? I blinked. What was I thinking?? So confused. Love, I had never been in love before, not that kind of love. Am I in love with my best friend?
~*~
Sherra's POV
I swallowed hard. I could already feel my face heating up. Dynast-sama walked beside me, his mind focused on feeling for Grau's and probably Grou's presence. Since the astral plane didn't exist here, only the material plane, it was quite a task for Dynast-sama who still hadn't got back all his powers, not to mention his memories too.
I felt his warmth as I tried hard not to blush too much.
"Don't you think you should help me instead of thinking about unimportant things?" Dynast-sama asked coolly. I bowed my head. "Gomen." I mumbled. He shook his head. "We've been walking for a few hours. Let's stop for a while." He sighed. I nodded, unable to speak. " You stay here, I'll go and look around." Dynast-sama said and walked away. I stared after him, feeling downcast. What have I done? Now Dynast-sama will think I'm weak.
"Then go after him if you can't leave him for a minute." A sudden voice said in my head. Who's that? I wondered, shocked.
"It's me, have you forgotten??" the speaker didn't seem very pleased that I didn't know who it was. Then it hit me. "Dolgoulfa!" I cried out happily.
"My dear, I would like you to know that we're still in a public place and not in the North Pole." My sword said sarcastically. I looked around and saw everyone staring at me. I glared at them.
"So dear, are you going after your Dynast-sama??" Dolgoulfa drawled. I blushed again. "Shut up!" with that, I ran out of the café and crashed into Dynast-sama. Stumbling, I lost my footing on the icy ground and fell back. Just as I thought I was going to crash to the ground and embarrass myself even more, he bent down and caught placed his arm on my back to stop me from falling, so that my body was at the an angle of forty-five degrees to the ground and Dynast-sama's body above mine while supporting me. Oh My God!! I nearly screamed out. My face was probably as red as Ruby-Eye when he's in the crab thingy form. I could here Dolgoulfa snickering in my head. That stupid sword, I swear I'm going to make sure he pay after I'm done. Too bad it all ended as quickly as it started. Dynast-sama pulled me up and we stood there, not speaking.
"Sorry for causing so much trouble.." I mumbled.
"It's not like you to be so shy." Dynast-sama said. Looking up, I saw that he was smiling. At me. Blood rushed to my face again. L-sama, he's so handsome. That slightly tousled silky black hair of his, those icy blue eyes now filled with amusement and something else I can't detect. If only.I shook head. What are you thinking about?! I scolded myself mentally.
"Let's go." He said. I nodded dumbly, feeling like an idiot.
"Sherra.What do you know about the Claire Bible?" Dynast-sama asked me suddenly.
"Do you mean who has it??" I asked. He nodded.
"Vrabazard." I answered. "Why?"
"Nothing." He muttered, his brows furrowed.
"Dynast-sama." I asked. "Do you really plan on fighting against Lord Ruby- Eye?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well.I mean I will still be your general no matter which party you choose." I fumbled with my words.
"I don't doubt you loyalty, Sherra." Dynast-sama said. "It's getting dark, let's go back."
I nodded. We met Dolphin and Lanngourt at a cross road and walked back together. The air was unusually tensed as we walked back to the van in awkward silence. I glanced at Dolphin and Lanngourt. They were unusually quiet, which was weird since they talk a lot. Suddenly, a figure came running towards us.
"Fuck!! Dammit! Come to the van quickly!" he yelled. I realised that it was Val.
"What's wrong??" Dolphin asked worriedly.
"Vrabazard and Garv-sama!! They're.they're.Shabranigdu!!" Val yelled as he collapsed, blood covered his shirt and his face was pale. On hearing that, we ran towards the van immediately and saw that it had been severely damaged. The doors were ripped open and the windows broken. Garv lay unconscious on the ground beside the wrecked car, blood forming a puddle on the ground beneath him.
"Oh man, Vrabazard!!" Lanngourt yelled from the other side. We ran over and saw him holding the fire dragon king who was almost dead.
"Vrabazard!! What happened!?" Lanngourt yelled, distraught. "Call Luna and the others immediately!" he yelled, while trying to heal Vrabazard. Dolphin nodded and dialled Luna's number.
"It's no use! Nobody's answering it!" she shouted, tears running down her face as she sobbed. I stared at her. Dolphin was as emotional as Dynast- sama is emotionless. She had never been cut out to be a mazoku lord. She hated killing and loathed wars. She should have been a dragon lord instead. Heaven knows why Ruby-Eye-sama picked her.
~*~
Dolphin's POV
I stared at the bloody scene before me. It was the first time in this lifetime that I've ever saw so much blood. Images of past wars and battles flashed through my mind. The pain, the killings, the blood. I felt tears run down my cheeks, emotions washed through me. What does Ruby-Eye want? If he was so powerful, why can't he wait till we gather everyone? Then it hit me. The Claire Bible. I went towards Vrabazard and was about to ask him something when Lanngourt pushed me away. I gasped as I fell back to the snowy ground.
"Go away! Monster!" he hissed. I froze. The world around me turned to ice as the full impact of his words hit me. Fresh tears welled up in my eyes again. How could he say that? He was supposed to be my friend. Sobbing, I ran towards the forest. My heart pounded in my chest as I ran until I was put of breath. How could he say that? I sobbed uncontrollably as I finally stopped running and leant on a tree for support. The cold air couldn't match to the ice I felt in my heart. It wasn't my fault that I was chosen to be Ruby-Eye's servant. Then I sensed someone's presence. Looking up, I met Dynast's emotionless gaze.
"It's not safe for you to be out here, with Ruby-Eye-sama knowing where we are." he said calmly, then walked away.
I stared at him. "Why.Why did you do it?!" I whispered. "Why did you tell Lord Ruby-Eye?"
He froze. "What do you mean?" he muttered.
"Stop lying!" I shouted, brushing away my tears to confront my 'brother'. "You told him. You knew we were coming all along! You had your memories back even before we told you about it! Ruby-Eye-sama found you before us! Why, why did you tell him where we are. Why did you lie to us? You never for once wanted to join us, did you?" I cried out. "Why did you betray us!?"
"Betray?' he asked, his voice colder than ice. He whipped around to face me. I backed away. Dynast's eyes were filled with anger and hatred. "Betray?' he repeated. "Who's the traitor now?" he spat. Then he smirked. "You're right. I told Ruby-Eye where the Cliare Bible is. Very soon, dear old Ceipheed would be stuck with the Bitch!"
"Why do you want to destroy the world so much? It's different now, Grausherra! We have families and friends."
"What family? What friends!?" he shouted. "I don't need them!"
"You do!" I yelled back defiantly. "Please, Grausherra, the world is not as bad as it seems." I begged.
"Shut up! I don't need family love! I hate humans, and I want them dead." He snapped.
"What have they done to you? Even if they did something wrong to you, that's all in the past! Your parents love you!" I shouted desperately. He scowled. "They're worth nothing to what Lord Ruby-Eye can give me."
"What does he give you then?" I yelled. "Power? Status? Tell me, have you ever been happy being the Ha-ou? Ruby-Eye-sama doesn't give a damn about us. Look what he did to Garv!" Dynast didn't reply. I stared at him hopefully. "Please, Dynast, tell me where Ruby-Eye-sama is?"
He looked at me and smirked. "Aren't you great and finding things out? Then find him yourself." With that, he disappeared. I stared at the snowy ground in despair. Suddenly, I heard a call for me. The person appeared from the trees and stood in front of me.
"Lanngourt" I whispered and walked up to him. Then I stopped. What doe he want? He called me a monster, I couldn't face him. He probably hates me now.
"I'm sorry."
I looked up in surprise.
"I didn't meant to call you mon.monster, I really didn't! I was unable to curb my emotions at that time. You aren't angry are you?" he asked softly.
I bit my lip, and felt tears in my eyes again. Lanngout was surprised when a tear fell out of my eye and dropped to the snow, forming a small dent in it. Suddenly, he walked towards me and before I knew it, he hugged me. I froze. L-sama, he's hugging me!
"Don't cry.I'm sorry. I'll do anything to make up for that. It's not your fault. I know. But I." he whispered, distraught.
I leant against him, feeling his warmth. Then I cried. Again. I couldn't help it. I sobbed, feeling tears roll down my cheeks as if it was raining. Lanngourt didn't pull away. He merely held me in his arms and laid his head on my shoulder.
"Cry if you wish. I saw what happened just now. I swear, I won't let Ruby- Eye hurt you again." He said firmly.
"It's not Grausherra's fault!" I whispered. "what are we going to do now? Lanngourt." I asked after I finally stopped crying.
"I don't know. But if Shabby destroys the Claire Bible, we're doomed!" Lanngourt muttered.
I pulled away and stared at the clouded sky. "I'm sorry, I couldn't stop him." Lanngourt placed his hand on my shoulder. "It isn't your fault." he told me gently. Then it started to snow. I stared, mesmerised by the snow flakes.
"Every snowflake has a different pattern." I recalled Dynast telling me that. Of the five, I was the closest to him. Zelas seem to dislike me for no apparent reason, Garv didn't speak to me much, mainly because he's always travelling or either that arguing with Phirbizo. Phibrizo probably felt that I was a waste of his time and only spoke to me when he has too. Only Grausherra was willing to talk to me. Well if you if you call monosyllabic responses and occasional five-word sentences a conversation.Anyway, I do most of the talking and he sits there and listens to me. He talks of his general at times, it's pretty obvious that he cares deeply for her. I dunno if that counts as love. Grausherra often tells me about snowflakes, icicles and the aurora beams at the northpole. Sometimes he brings a snow fox or a baby polar bear for me to play with. It's a nice change from fishes. I've made up my mind. I'm going to find Ruby-Eye and bring Grausherra over to our side. A tap on my shoulder jerked me out from my thoughts.
"Aya, are you all right?" Lanngourt asked worriedly
Aya.He called me by my real name. I smiled faintly at him. This would probably be the last time I can smile at him. I wouldn't be able to survive Ruby-Eye. But still, I had to try. I know I'm probably stupid, to face Shabranigdu on my own, but I still had to try to bring my brother back.
~*~
Nobody's POV
"What?!" Luna yelled. On the other end of the phone, Lanngourt winced.
"Dolphin's gone. I think she went to find Dynast and Shabranigdu." He said in despair. He had called Luna and the others and told them everything. Sherra didn't say anything about what Dynast did, but merely sat on the ground in deep thought. Vrabazard , Garv and Val were almost healed.
"Look, Luna, you've got to be careful, especially your sister. She's his Knight, and I'm sure he'll make sure Lina goes over to his side."
Luna sighed as she glanced at Lina who was currently throttling Gourry because he ate her share of chicken. "I know. I'll make sure she stays by my side all the time. We've got to find Dolphin before Ruby-Eye kills her."
~*~
Dynast sighed as he leant against the marble pillar of Ruby-Eye's mansion. What Dolphin told him kept running through his mind. He shook his head. He didn't need his family, or his friends. It will all return to normal, after Lord Ruby-Eye reached his goal. He told himself, unable to get rid of the nagging feeling at the back of his mind. 'Sherra.' Dynast thought. It was she who melted him, her loyalty that touched him, gradually, he found himself thinking about the times they had spent together, before a third war destroyed everything. 'War.' Dynast sighed again. He couldn't stop himself from wondering if he had done the correct thing. Family.Dynast's mind drifted back to the times he had been with his family and friends. The time when his sister was born, partying at friends' house, scaring girls during Halloween, roasting marshmallows at a campfire and much more. A faint smile appeared on his face, and disappeared as quickly as it came. 'What am I doing? Thinking about those worthless trash.' He kicked himself mentally.
Footsteps echoing down the hall brought him back to reality. "Can't forget your present life?" a soft voice asked.
"Lord Ruby-Eye." he murmured. " Are you going to enslave all the humans after you killed Ceipheed?"
Ruby-Eye laughed. "Missing your parents? Don't worry you'll forget all about these human emotions that you gained from reincarnation. Listen, family and friends are worth nothing. They are merely obstacles that will stand in your way of success. Don't ever let your emotions get the better of you. Understand?"
Dynast nodded. Ruby-Eye smiled and continued. "Dolphin will be arriving soon. You know what to do."
"Hai." 'Dolphin?' Dynast wondered. 'She really came all the way here? She's nuts.' he thought and walked away.
"Grausherra."
Dynast stopped when he heard someone call him. "You're an idiot. Why did you come here. You'll never get out of here alive." He said as he turned around to face the speaker.
"I know. But I'm still going to try to persuade you." Dolphin said, her blue eyes filled with determination.
"Fine." Dynast said coolly as a sword made of ice materialised in his hand. "Then don't blame me if you get hurt." With that, he phased out in front of Dolphin and slashed at her. To his surprise, she didn't dodge. Dolphin winced a little as a cut appeared on her chest and blood dripped down from it.
"Why didn't you block me?" Dynast demanded.
"I don't want to fight you." Dolphin said stubbornly. Dynast narrowed his eyes.
"Fine then. I won't kill you. I'll let Lord Ruby-Eye deal with you." He snapped his fingers and a couple of guards appeared. "Lock her in the dungeons." He said coldly. Dolphin did not struggle when the guards pulled her away.
"Grausherra.You parents called just now. They want you back for Christmas." Dolphin cried out as they dragged her away. Dynast furrowed his brows. 'Forget about your present life. Love brings about only trouble.' Ruby-Eye had said. Dynast laughed bitterly. 'They want me back for Christmas??' he thought. "Was I ever happy being the Supreme King? And Sherra.Ruby-Eye would kill her if he finds out." Dynast whispered as he slid to the floor and buried his head in his arms. Suddenly, a soft tinkling jerked him out of his thoughts. He looked down and saw that the string of his necklace had snapped. Dynast picked it up and gazed at it. Sherra gave it to him in their past life, before the last war.
"Great. I hope I don't regret this." He muttered as went in the direction of the dungeons. 'Ruby-Eye should be back soon, I'd better do it quick if I want to go back for Christmas.' He thought. Upon reaching the dungeons, he located Dolphin's cell and went in. She looked up in mild surprise when Dynast started to unchain her.
"Get out of here quickly, before He comes back." Dynast muttered. Dolphin smiled. "Grausherra! You." "Shh!" he whispered. "Get out of here, don't turn back." And with that, he disappeared. Dolphin stared at the ground where Dynast once stood. "Baka! You know how stubborn I am." She giggled and phased out.
~*~
A dark haired teenager about the age of eighteen crept silently along an unlighted passageway. On seeing a faint glow at the end of it, he smiled. Quickening his pace, Dynast walked to the glow and stared at it for a moment. The Claire Bible sat on a round marble table, enclosed in a red glow. Stretching out his hand, Dynast whispered an incantation and tried to break the wards. Sweat dripped down his brow as he concentrated on his task. Energy ran through his veins, crackling out to the Bible. Slowly, the red glow dissipated and disappeared. Dynast sank to his knees, exhausted. Breaking Ruby-Eye's wards were not easy. He took the book and turned around, coming face to face with.
"Ruby-Eye-sama!" he gasped.
"Going somewhere?' Shabranigdu mocked. Dynast backed away until his body was against the marble table. He hadn't noticed Shabranigdu's arrival due to the fact that he placed all his attention on breaking the wards.
"I'm disappointed in you, Grausherra. I expected you to be different from the rest of your 'siblings'." Ruby-Eye said as he stared at his third in command, his ruby red eyes flashing. Then, he raised his hand and sent Dynast crashing into the wall behind him.
Dynast winced as pain cursed through his exhausted body. Ruby-Eye could kill him with a snap of his fingers, but he was merely playing with him, torturing him for his betrayal. A wave of energy hit him again and Dynast coughed out blood, shaking violently. A third wave was about to hit him again when someone phased out in front of him and blocked it.
"Dolphin!" his eyes widened. "Baka! Didn't I call you to get out of here?"
"Grausherra, are you all right??" Dolph asked as she knelt down beside him. "I won't allow you to hurt him anymore, Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu!" she yelled, trying to hide the fear in her voice.
Ruby-Eye narrowed his eyes. "Such foolishness! Choosing useless things like family over power and status! How could I have ever created such foolish beings?!"
"We are no longer your creations.!" Dynast said firmly as he stood up. Dolphin turned to face him, surprised. "Our lives no longer belong to you. You no longer own us! We have full control of what we want and we're not going to be your puppets anymore! In our past lives, we have been blindly doing whatever you want us to do, making sure that world domination is in your hands, thus costing us our lives! I'm not that stupid now."
Dolphin smiled at Dynast, then turned towards Ruby-Eye. "He's right. This is our world now and it does not belong to you. We'll protect it whether you like it or not!"
Ruby-Eye smirked. "How touching. To think that two of my most faithful servants are betraying me. Looks like you're worth nothing to me anymore. Don't worry, I won't kill you, not now. Until I regain my full power, I shall allow you to finish leading your pathetic lives." With that, the Demon King walked away, his footsteps echoing down the corridor.
Dolphin and Dynast stared after him, then at the Claire Bible. "I love you, Grausherra-kun!" Dolphin shouted happily as she glomped the surprised Ha- ou, or rather, ex-Ha-ou.
~*~
tbc
A/N: Yaaaa! I've finally finished it!! This should be one of the longer chapter ^^ Poor Dynast-kun!! Baka Shabby! *Stomps on Shabby plushie* Thank you to all that reviewed, and to Sailor Event Horizon, arigato for your reminder, I shall try to make Garv tone down a bit. Lol. Don't expect much romance, because I can't write romance ^^; The next chapter would be more humorous than this. *drools on Dynast plushie. Kicks Sherra away.* heh heh heh.
Ps. I know 'sunake babaa' is supposed to refer to Taiitsu-kun, but I think Xellos would call Filia anything just to annoy her. ^^;