Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Escaflowne characters nor the story. It belongs to Bandai Entertainment. The only things I own in this story are my characters!
Three Girls
This story is dedicated to the only person I know who has a heart of gold and a talent for the art of story telling. CrimsonFire my friend, you've been there for me when I've needed you and you're always willing to help me out no matter what situation I'm in. So this one is done for you!
Chapter 10: Fatal Loss
Dilandau walked into Folken's study at the desired time. At least, his desired time-to hell with what Folken wanted. He didn't know why the hell Folken wanted him when he revealed the "new and improved" Kat. He didn't want to see the girl he loved altered; he only wanted to see the old one and take back the night he had knocked her out.
"Good, you're here," Folken stated. All he got was a deathly glare and a, "Hmph" for a response. Folken sighed and stepped to the side. The boy could be real annoying at times. Dilandau's gaze drifted over to the chair that Folken had been hiding.
He almost gasped out loud at what he saw. Kat was sitting in the chair, wearing her black uniform, her legs crossed and her hands clasped in her lap. She had her eyes closed giving off the look of a peacefully sleeping angel. It was like nothing had been done. Folken stepped in front of Dilandau while he was still in shock. He didn't want the teen to do something stupid and mess up every delicate procedure he had done to Kat to get her to forget her past.
Positioning himself so that Kat couldn't see Dilandau but Dilandau could see her, he commanded, "Arise, Kat."
Kat didn't stir. She stayed motionless for fifteen minutes while Folken tried again and again to make her come to attention. "Kat, please," he finally said.
A satisfied smirk suddenly appeared on Kat's angel-like face and she opened her eyes, revealing her midnight blue eyes. She uncrossed her legs and stood up, making each motion as slow as can be. Dilandau saw in her eyes that she enjoyed every second of the torture that she put Folken through. Once she was standing tall, she went into attention, the smirk never leaving her face. I don't believe it, she's exactly the same, almost, Dilandau thought.
"Her memories have been captured and contained. She only remembers select things, mostly those excluding the other two girls. So she has no memory of them, but still has the same.... err.... charming attitude," Folken explained quietly to Dilandau. "Now, Kat, time to meet your Commander," Folken said, suddenly down to business.
He stepped aside, revealing for the first time since Kat had been taken to Folken's lab, Dilandau. Kat stayed still a second, quickly scanning Dilandau's eyes. It took only a few seconds to identify him the memory clicking into place. "I know who he is," she said. Just as she had thought, his eyes showed her that he was relieved to see her.
She turned her smirk into a smile and stepped towards Dilandau, but only one step. Something inside her was unsure…. she saw him grow a little more relaxed so she took another step. "Thoughts still running through your head? Hmmm.... you'll be mine soon enough," she whispered to him.
Dilandau strained to hear what she had said for she had whispered so softly it was almost impossible to hear her. Continuing to step forth she brushed past Dilandau, her hip barely grazing his, and walked out the door without another word. Dilandau watched her until the door slid closed. Her brief brush against him had lit an enormous fire within his soul just as watching the fire burn things lit him on fire. I just have to have her. There is no way such a woman could do what she does to me-it's as if she's the very fire that I love so much, he thought.
"Dilandau?" Folken asked the dazed teen.
Dilandau looked sideways at him an unreadable expression on his face.
"Is she.... acceptable, by your standards?" He asked with hesitation. He hoped the unreadable look on the young man's face was one of uncontrollable furry and not something else. That's just what we need, two teens going crazy over each other. Well, I do hope Dilandau finds a way to kill the damn girl; she's way too much trouble to keep as a Slayer, Folken thought to himself.
Dilandau chuckled lightly. "Oh, yes, Folken, she's perfect," he purred, "perfect for the battlefield."
With that said he walked out the door without another word. Folken looked at the closed door and sighed. This was going to be harder then keeping Dilandau in line-now he had Dilandau and Kat to keep in line. "Gods, have mercy on me," he muttered.
Kat smiled to herself as she swiftly swung her sword around and caught the unsuspecting Guimel in the side. He took the hit from the blunt end of her blade hard and fell to the ground, his previous injury from her sword bleeding. "Ha, ha, ha, Sheep boy! I b-b-b-b-b-b-e-e-e-e-e-e-at you!" She taunted her fluffy, white haired companion, turning the "BE" of the word "beat" into the bleating sound of a sheep. It was a common joke she used on him since his hair reminded her strongly of a sheep's coat.
Guimel glared at her but got to his feet. Kat held out her hand and Guimel bent down and retrieved something from his boot. He handed it to Kat and started to walk over to Miguel and Dalet who were muttering something to each other. Kat counted the silver coins that were in her hand and smiled as she pocketed them. There was the right amount there. Finally, I have enough for those gloves, she thought.
"M-M-Milady?" A stuttering voice asked her from behind. She whirled around and stopped suddenly, her foot inches away from Chesta's temple. "Boo," she said with a smile.
Chesta relaxed a little as Kat lowered her foot. He knew she was only joking and would not physically harm him on purpose.
"So, what's up, 'Shroom Boy?" She asked with a playful smile.
Chesta went red at the nickname and shyly handed her a message. "F-F-F-From Dor-n-n-nkirk him-s-s-self," he managed to get out.
Kat, ignoring the red Chesta, looked at the official wax seal on the scroll and nodded. "Ok, I'll bite. Meanwhile tell Mr. I-Get-To-Slap-People-Around that he should work on his Slayer's training a little more," Kat said, grabbing the scroll before walking out of the Training Room and towards the showers.
As she walked she broke the seal on the scroll and began to read it as she walked. Blah, blah, blah, she thought as she skimmed the letter. I have nothing better to say.... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... I'm an idiot... I still don't have Van and the Dragon.... want it captured, again.... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... man, this dude is boring… ah, here's something interesting. Want you and Dilandau to work together... bring back two girls... descriptions are, Kat read.
"So Ol' Dorn-y-kirk wants me to go and get two little girls. I've been here a month doing that same old same old and he wants me to go and get two little girls?" Kat muttered, enraged. "Okay, so I've got the advantage. I'm the "Oh Great Destroyer", big deal. Anyone can take this mission."
She entered the showers, which was a very short hall that led to one door and if you opened the door you came to a bunch cubicles of curtain-less showers in one very small room and a closet, which housed clean clothes to the side. Next to each shower cubical there was a hamper where you put your dirty clothes in. Inside one of the shower cubicles you had your basic white tile walls, showerhead and white tile floor with the drain in the middle of the small space, a metal bar above the opening of the cubical that was mean for clean clothes to hang.
Kat pushed open the door, walked into the showers, entering the farthest cubical from the door and turned on the water. Dilandau's going to kill me for skipping the rest of Training, she thought as she quickly undressed and threw her clothes over the high metal bar.
She stepped under the warm water and let it caress her arching body. Smiling to herself as the water ran down her body-it reminded her of something strangely familiar but she couldn't quite place it; the feeling but she could hear the sounds of two girls yelling and giggling. It's like an echo of the past or sumthin'. Maybe some dream I had, Kat thought, letting her mind reply the sounds and feelings.
Suddenly a bad feeling came over her. She heard the laughing and giggling start to grow fainter. "Wait! We shouldn't leave! Come back! Please! Come back!" Her voice screamed in her ears. It was her voice but very young.
"Please! Come back! NO!" The young voice screamed again. The sound of pounding feet could be heard. The noise pounded inside of Kat's ears as if she was the very ground on which the feet ran on. The sound of panting and a fast beating heart was suddenly mixed into the noise.
Kat heard the screeching of tires and then the sickening sound of metal on metal and metal on flesh. It was like she was standing right next to the crash, seeing it without actually looking. The pit of her stomach lurched as she heard her own voice scream out along with the one of the younger her.
Kat's eyes flew open blinding her with water. She hadn't noticed she had closed her eyes. Her body slouched against the wall and she let the water run over her, trying to calm her racing heart. What the hell was that? Who was I screaming too? She wondered.
After trying for some minutes her racing heart clamed down but Kat could still hear the sounds clearly, like they just replaying in her mind without her consent. It was tormenting; hearing what were happening but not being able to see it, not see the crash or the girl who sounded like her and why the girl was screaming.
Just then she heard the shower door open and the voices of all twelve Slayers walking in. Great, just what I need, she thought. "Guys, wait a second, 'kay?" She called.
The sounds of the guys halted and then she heard someone herding them out. "Right-o, Kat!" Miguel called back just before the sound of the door shutting was heard. Kat giggled to herself as she turned off the water and quickly dried off-it was an unwritten rule to the Slayers that they weren't allowed anywhere near her in the showers and that when she needed the showers they were all to evacuate.
She practically jumped into her black pants, boots and midnight blue tank top, wanting to get out of there as fast as she could. Maybe if she left the showers the sounds would go away. Walking out of the showers she smiled sweetly at the twelve boys cramped in the small hall. "All yours," she said right before she left.
Walking slowly down the halls as she was taking her time to get to her room. She was still thinking over what she had heard in the showers. Who was it that I heard? Why do I have this feeling like I know them? I don't even remember who they are-I can't even see them! So why do I feel like I know them? I bet it was some sort of dream I had when I was small and just haven't remembered it 'til now. Yeah, that's reasonable, she thought.
But how come I can't ignore the feeling that I know them? Am I related to them? Are they friends of mine? Did I know them while I was growing up? Do I still know them? Her mind questioned. I can't remember anything besides the Slayers… Everything is so fuzzy.
Kat growled under her breath. She hated it when her mind put up so many crazy questions-it was annoying and pathetic. With some force she shoved the questions out of her mind and looked around to see where she was. Finding that she was at her door she entered and locked it behind her. She planned on having a restful night, with no interruptions. Damned Dalet and Guimel with their stupid tricks. Always targeting me with the stupid toilet paper and egg routine. I'm getting sick of it and it takes me all night just to get back to sleep, she thought as she kicked off her boots and put them by the door.
She walked over to her dresser and grabbed some shorts, changed into them and casually tossed her pants to the side. She'd deal with the late night intruders later; right now it was time for some sleeping action.
Flopping into her bed, she barely made it underneath her covers before her eyes closed and she lay motionless. She didn't have to wait long for her much missed sleep came and enveloped her.
~DREAM~
Kat stood in a dark forest; the trees planted closely all around her and the air stiff and cold. She could tell it was night even though the thick, weaved together branches of the thick trees blocked her vision of the sky. The only light she had was from an eerie source, which she couldn't locate. "Dilandau?" She called into the total stillness of the forest.
No one replied.
"Dilandau! Come out now! This isn't funny! Dalet! Guimel! I'll get you for this!" She cried desperately.
Again no one answered.
Kat sat down on the ground feeling slightly scared and a little uneasy. Where am I? Where the heck is everyone? She thought. She sat, silent, for what seemed like hours to her, watching every inch of the forest for a sign of life. Finally she heard the first sound in the eternal quietness-a twig breaking not far off from her position.
Only a couple feet away, Kat assumed. She stayed seated, not bothering in giving her hunter the pleasure to see her move because he thought she was scared. Just then two figures moved out of the bushes from her right and straight into Kat's line of vision. She saw that her "hunters" were only two girls, roughly her age. One had short brown hair with sparkling emerald green eyes and the other had should blade length blonde hair with hazel eyes. Both wore cloaks, the green eyed one had an emerald green one and the other had a violet one.
Kat watched as they both stopped and looked straight at her. Kat merely blinked in realization that they were there as both girls walked towards Kat. They stopped about two feet away from her, seeming to be very confident. "Kat, we're happy to see you're alive! There have been rumors that you were killed!" The one with the purple cloak spoke. She sounded happy to see Kat and spoke as if she had known Kat for a long time but the funny thing was that Kat didn't remember her.
"Yeah. This is the only way we can contact you, so sorry about the whole missing sleep thing," the one with the green cloak agreed.
Kat looked at both of them carefully. Could they be the ones I heard in the shower? She wondered. "Who are you? What do you want with me?" She demanded coldly. Better to play cold then to warm up to them. I don't know them, and so far don't trust them, she thought. But deep down inside she did trust them. That was the thing that bothered her. How could she trust someone she didn't know but knew her?
"Kat, it's us. Nicole and Alex," the purple one spoke.
Kat eyed them wearily. "I don't know you," she hissed, getting to her feet.
"What? How can you not know us? We're you friends! We've known each other for years! Best Friends forever, remember? We even got matching bracelets!" The green one yelled. She was obviously very angry.
"I don't know you. I've never seen you in my life. I don't have any friends besides the Slayers and I sure as hell don't have some stupid bracelet that you're talkin' about! So leave me alone or suffer the payment for your actions!" Kat yelled back. She could easily whip these pitiful girls plus they had just pissed her off a lot.
"What? Kat… surely you don't mean that! What's happened to you?" The purple one asked; hurt very strong in her voice.
Kat had to cover a flinch-it was almost like the purple girl had physically hit her with her words. Kat formed a dark energy ball in her hand and held it up to her face. "I suggest you leave now," she hissed venomously.
"We're not leaving Kat! We want to know what happened to you! Why don't you remember us?" The green girl demanded.
Kat shrugged, her eyes becoming cold. "You're choice," she stated, and then let the ball go. It flew through the air as fast as any lightning bolt and barely missed the purple girl. She was thrown to the side by the pure force of the energy, hitting the ground with a satisfying thud and didn't move.
The green girl looked at her comrade and then at Kat. "Kat, what are you doing girl?! That was Nicole! What's gotten into you?!" She screamed.
Kat made another ball and threw it at the green girl. "I'm me and you're you. I don't believe that anything has "gotten into" me. Well, except for the teeny tiny urge to make you guys pay for making false things up about me," she replied evenly.
The girl barely had time to dodge the ball that was sent flying her way before another was made and thrown. This time she didn't get so lucky. She was hit in the side by the ball and was thrown into a near by tree. Her body slumped against the tree and she didn't move.
Kat smiled to herself. "A job well done, I'd say. Time to go back to bed," she said. She closed her eyes and went back to her peaceful dark world.
~END~
AN: Well well, here's the tenth chapter! What's all this junk about Kat forgetting Nicole and Alex? Can that really be true? Can their friendship be over that easily? And how come Kat gets to call Guimel a Sheep Boy! **sobs** I wanted to do that! **laughs** Caffeine high and late nights are fun! Who told you otherwise? Don't listen to the stranger in the black coat! **runs around** R+R before I totally go caffeine-less and tell me what you think!
~ShadowKat
