Disclaimer: **runs around happy** I HAVE ESCA! I HAVE IT!! **men in black suits suddenly appear and grab the hysterical ShadowKat** Hey, no, it's MINE! HANDS OFF WEIRD-OS! LEGGO MY EGGO! **they grab the deed to Esca and disappear, leaving a distraught ShadowKat** They took my Eggo… NO FAIR! **CrimsonFire appears and hands ShadowKat a slip of paper** Oooh, pretty! Hey, it says I do own my characters! Hah! They can't take my Eggo! **runs around happily**
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 12: Remember Me Forever
It was the 11th day after Dilandau had announced that they would be attacking the King of Fanellia and Kat was now psyched at the news. With the upcoming day turning the corner fast she had been determined to show she could handle her mission and had been training hard. She wanted to show Dilandau and Folken that she could handle herself on the battlefield.
Kat laughed at herself as she punched a blue punching bag in the Training Room. She knew it was close to one in the morning and she wasn't supposed to be up. Who could sleep when those two annoying little girls kept bothering you when you tried to sleep? Telling you annoying things that never happened and kept saying, "please remember".
She hadn't gotten a goodnight's sleep since the stupid dreams had started and her appearance showed it. Dark circles had claimed her eyes and her actions were a lot slower then normal. Everyone had begun to notice and Kat had just shrugged off the questions when they tried to figure out the cause. I can't exactly tell them about those stupid little girls that invade my dreams. They'd think that I was a little girl with an overactive imagination! Then they wouldn't let me go on the mission! She thought.
She stopped and looked around. The Training Room suddenly seemed so empty and pathetic. Spending her time training throughout the night was beginning to get boring and it wasn't helping her condition any. Not only was she tired, sleepless but also she was pushing her physical limits.
Maybe I should lay off the late night workouts, she thought as she put a towel around her neck and walked out of the Training Room. Her bare feet padded across the floor as she moved through the corridors. No one was up and it was quiet, leaving her to fall into deep thought. Her running shorts swished rhythmically as she walked and her sports tee showed that she had been sweating.
As she walked she thought about the mission, the weird incident in the shower, the two girls, and Dilandau; but mostly about Dilandau. Her heart was screaming at her to tell him what she felt every time she saw him. The way her heart skipped a beat and her stomach fluttered in a good way-every time he touched her-the way he made her skin catch on fire and her pulse increase-and the way he spoke of her-that way her name rolled off his tongue so easily, it was like music to her ears. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed where she was walking.
Her feet had led her straight up to Dilandau's bedroom door. She only realized where she was when she suddenly stopped-coming out of her thoughts she looked around and sighed. Just go in, tell him about the dreams and then get out. You know they mean more to the mere eye. The darkness that was a part of her mind spoke.
Kat sighed softly, giving into the darkness. She was tired of battling it. Every night she had not gone to bed and roamed the Vione and every time she past Dilandau's door that part of her brain had screamed at her to just go in and tell him both things. Yeah, I'm sure he's going to like this, she thought sarcastically.
She phased through Dilandau's door so not to lose confidence in knocking and not to wake him if there was a chance he was sleeping. She did not want a pissed off Dilandau when she told him. Entering his room she found that he had a very nice room; nice and spacey, with a fireplace to the left, a King size bed to the right with a nightstand; then a walk-in closet towards her, a bathroom attachment towards the far corner to her left and a desk by the door.
"I was wondering when you would finally come in. Eleven nights of coming and stopping outside my door, correct?" A voice asked.
Kat smiled and turned towards the voice, which was to her right. Dilandau stood almost an inch away from her, dressed only in black pants and a white muscle shirt. "Correct. I was wondering if you could hear me-but that's not what I came here for. I came here for two reasons," she said, holding up two fingers to get her point across.
Dilandau smiled at her-a genuine smile. She had never seen him smile like that, it made his eyes sparkle and his face gentle. He gently took her upper arm and led her towards the fireplace, which was going. He sat her down in a crimson red wing chair in front of the fireplace and pulled another one up for him. "First reason?" He asked, taking a seat.
"Well.... First is that I've been having these dreams. It's always the same thing... well, not always-but I'll tell you the most common dream. I'm in this forest, just sitting there. I know I can't get out and it's as if I'm waiting for something. The scene might change and sometimes its day or sometimes its night, but I'm always in a background that I've seen in the past.
"Then these two girls come out. One is wearing a violet and the other one an emerald green cloak. They always start to talk to me, telling me lies and trying to convince me that I know them, which I don't. Crazy, I know. But they continue to say, "Remember, please". I don't know them and I can't wake myself from the dream without knocking them out," she said.
There was a silence, and then Kat continued. "Second is that…" she paused for her own good. She could feel her stomach flutter and her thoughts darted around wildly. What if he denied her feelings? What if he got mad? What if she dreamed that he liked her? What if what she did now lost her the mission?
"Well?" Dilandau asked. "The second thing?"
"First promise me that if I tell you the second thing you won't take me off the mission."
"Promised."
There was another pause. "The second thing is that… that I sort of have this thing for you. It's not a crush-I don't have "crushes". It's deeper then a respect or liking, whether in the friendly way or the commander ideal. It's more of an infatuation… sort of. What I'm trying to say is that… is that I…" she paused, trying to get the words out. Come on girl don't lose confidence now! She told herself. "I… I love you."
There was another silence but Kat didn't speak. Neither spoke for a long time and Kat twitched in the silence. It was driving her crazy! Was he just going to sit there and not respond, make fun of her, or was he trying to think of a way to punish her for her childish feelings. "Childish I know… I shouldn't even be feeling such little emotions. Being a Dragon Slayer and all-no mercy and all that-" she was cut off suddenly when she felt something on her hand.
She turned and saw that Dilandau had his hand on her hand that rested on the chair's arm, his eyes bearing into hers. "I have something to tell you, two things, actually. First these girls..." he paused.
Kat looked at his eyes, hoping he would tell her something. Maybe he'll spill something about these girls, she thought.
"Maybe they'd go away if you were with me," he finished.
Kat quirked an eyebrow as he stood up, gently pulling her to her feet. He started to walk towards his bed. Reaching the bed he sort of knocked her feet out from under her and caused her to fall back on it. Kat scattered backwards as he slipped under the covers, her eyes wondering and her heart racing. What's he doing? She wondered.
"What are we doing?" She asked, her tone stating that she hated not knowing what was going on.
"You are spending the night with me-in the non-intimate terms-you know, being commander and only a few days before a mission and all," he whispered to her.
Kat nodded cautiously snuggled up against Dilandau, resting her head on his shoulder and relaxing an arm over his chest. She felt his arm wrap around her and pull her against him. A small sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes (AN: note, they are sleeping next to each other, not with each other! Just wanted to make that clear). For once something feels right, she thought as a warm feeling engulfed her from Dilandau's fingertips touching her back.
She felt sleep come quickly and easily towards her. "Sleep well, my love," she heard Dilandau mutter in her ear before sleep engulfed her.
~DREAM~
Kat was once again in the forest everything the same except that now the two girls were all ready there. "Kat, please, you have to remember us!" The blonde one cried.
"I don't remember you so leave me the hell alone!" Kat screamed at them.
"We're best friends! You met me in the third grade! You saved me from being picked on by the biggest bully ever! Remember? And Nicole, we met her in fifth grade! She was new and alone!
"I didn't really want to have her as our friend, but you insisted and we became friends! Then when the same bully that tried to pick on me tried to pick on Nicole, you got a bloody nose protecting her! Don't you remember?" The brown haired one asked.
"God, can't you take the hint? Do I have to make a huge cue card for you? I said leave me alone!" Kat screamed again. She could feel the panic rising in her. It stressed her with their constant nagging-what were they talking about?
She didn't know anything that they were talking about! It was all a trick! They were trying to get her to think that they were her friends so that way they could get plans from Zaibach through her! She would not let them use her!
"But, Kat!" The blonde cried again.
"You heard her. Leave her alone," a voice said.
Kat looked to her side and saw Dilandau, in his Dragon Slayer's uniform, standing next to her. She silently sighed in relief as his sight greeted her eyes. "It's about time," she muttered.
"Dilandau! Get away from her!" The brown haired one screamed, fury in her eyes.
"I'll do no such thing. You heard Kat. Leave her be or else I'll have to get involved and it won't be pretty," Dilandau threatened.
Kat smiled as she noticed that the two girls stiffened. "I suggest you leave now," she said. She heard Dilandau draw his sword and she raised her hand and created a ball of dark energy.
"If I see you or if I even hear that you are in Kat's dreams again, you will regret ever interring her dreams," Dilandau hissed.
"I'll add some of my own punishment once he's done with you," Kat added as she let the ball fly. It hit a tree behind the two girls, causing the tree to fall. Kat didn't get to see what happened to the girls because just as the tree was inches from their heads Dilandau whispered, "Let's go back to sleep" and blackness consumed her.
~END~
"How could she...?" Alex raged. She and Nicole had just woken up remembering what had happened when they had tried to contact Kat.
"Dilandau must've been with her, it's the only explanation as to why he could appear in our dream walk with Kat. But.... if he was with her, or even in the same area as her, and she was able to call him into our dream walk, then what does that mean? Could she really be more powerful then both of us? There is no way we could ever call someone into our dream walks," Nicole asked.
Alex bit her lip for a minute. She hated it when Nicole asked hard to answer questions. "I.... I don't know. Maybe it was one of those one-time things. But I can't ignore the feeling that Kat has something more going on inside of her. I don't know how I got that feeling but whenever I look into her eyes it's as if I can see that she's trying to remember something deep inside," Alex replied.
Nicole was silent for a second. "Alex?" She asked softly in that soft voice you only used when you realized something life changing.
Alex turned to her friend and looked at her. Nicole's face showed pain. "What is it? Are you hurt?" Alex asked, immediately concerned.
"I'm fine. It's just that I think Kat won't remember us in time. We've tried everything. She doesn't want to believe us and that is providing a barrier for her to hide behind from us. We haven't been able to get through in our dream walks. We need to meet face to face, on her grounds, her terms, which would be the battlefield right before she kills us. That's the only way, maybe the last resort we have, to get through to her and even then it might not work. As long as she believes we're telling lies she won't come back to us," she whispered.
Alex looked at Nicole in horror. Nicole, usually the second most determined person, was giving up on Kat? She was actually going to let Van attack Kat and probably kill her?
"That's not what I'm saying," Nicole said, looking at Alex in the eye, reading her friend's thoughts. "I'm not going to let him kill her, Alex. We just have to meet on Kat's terms, and right now that's battle in real life-even if we might die. I'm just saying that we need to give Van the go ahead to attack."
Alex continued to stare at Nicole. I'm not sure. What if Kat gets to us before we can make her remember? What if something goes wrong and we loose her; or even worse, one of us? She thought.
"Please, Alex. You know it'll work. We just have to do it, it's our only chance, and believe that deep down Kat's still our Kat," Nicole pleaded.
Alex looked at Nicole, this time looking straight into her eyes. Nicole was right. Slowly Alex nodded.
Both girls stood up and left their room. They knew that tomorrow or the next day they would be attacking Zaibach, and seeing if they could get Kat to remember them.
Kat smiled to herself as she stepped out of the Vione and onto the soft grass. Today they were going to attack the King of Fanellia, a little ahead of schedule but good things come early. And I'm to capture those two annoying girls from my dreams. Since those are the ones that Dornkirk explained needed to be captured, she thought with glee.
She was finally going to get her revenge on both of them plus she would get to fight in a raging battle. It was time to crush the enemy in the blaze of the great fire. Suddenly Kat felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Dilandau behind her. "Thinking about the battle?" He asked, excitement in his tone.
Kat nodded enthusiastically. "You know it," she replied.
Dilandau flashed her a true smile. "Good. We'll be attacking on horseback. You'll be using my stallion's colt. He's still young and hasn't been trained properly yet, but he's the only thing we got," Dilandau explained.
Kat smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek. Ever since the night she had spent sleeping at his side she held felt more at ease about his feelings towards her and was able to drop the game and just flirt with him in normal terms. It was as if hearing him whisper in her ear, "my love" had set something in her head that she couldn't un-switch no matter how hard she tried. Everything she did around him was normal.
She grinned, returning to the talk of her horse. She knew exactly the horse he was talking about. "No problem. Give me, like, twenty minutes to get him ready and then I'll meet you at the front," she called over her shoulder as she began to jog towards the stables.
Dilandau watched her go. He knew that if things went as Folken had planned, he wouldn't be seeing Kat ever again.
Nicole and Alex stood in their uniforms at the front of the army Van had been preparing for the attack for over a month. They weren't really surprised that he was ready to rock and roll on such a short notice. They were more concerned about what would happen when they met Kat.
It was obvious to both girls that their friend was much more powerful then them and that she had surpassed their powers. Their fear of hurting her was enormous and their fear that she might go overboard was even bigger. However they knew that if they didn't get through to her their struggle would be pointless.
Van signaled for the troops to begin moving and Nicole and Alex started walking forward. They would be at the front until they got near Zaibach, then they would move to the middle and act as back up. If they didn't find Kat in the first wave they would have to wait for her to find them. They were to take any chance they could to get to Kat and try to reach her. "I hope this works," Alex muttered.
"It will," Nicole reassured her.
"Ugh!" Kat groaned for what seemed the millionth time. The black horse with the crooked blaze she rode was fighting her for the reins again. He constantly wanted to move forward or go another way and she had to use extreme force to get his stubbornness under control. They had been riding for a couple of hours and the colt's actions were getting very annoying.
"God, Dilandau! He wasn't nearly as bad when I last rode him!" Kat yelled over her shoulder as the colt suddenly jumped forward, putting even more distance between her and Dilandau's horse.
Damn, almost seems as if he wants to get me somewhere fast, Kat thought. She pulled the reins hard but the colt took no heed. "Oh, come on! I know you're feeling that! Just slow down, damn it!" She yelled, partly to herself. She struggled to get the colt under control again, only to wind up loosing.
Kat bit her lip as she held onto the black colt's mane as he charged forward, the reins lost. She knew Dilandau and the other Slayers could no longer see her for she was far ahead of them. This is not good, Kat thought as she suddenly picked up on a very familiar presence. Damn, it's those bitches from my dreams. Oh well, they'll find out soon enough the price for messing with me, she thought.
Just then the colt reared up. Kat gripped the mane harder, unfazed by this and just held on. When the colt's feet finally returned to the ground, she found herself staring at the two girls from her dreams standing right in front of her. "Well, hello; fancy meeting you here, no? Oh, I forgot, I still owe you something," Kat said as she drew her sword.
AN: Da da duh! What's going to happen?! OMG, Kat's actually attacking Nicole and Alex, face to face! The HORROR! No magical fairy dust cure here (**has been watching too many IBM E-Server commercials**). Not even a magical lamp! Uh oh. Will she kill them? Will she remember in time? Hm… "She heard Dilandau draw his sword and she raised her hand and created a ball of dark energy" doesn't look like the sort of thing that Kat would do to fake something. Plus it makes for a pretty cool picture. ^_^ Well, what's going on people?! The next chapter will reveal… R+R!
~ShadowKat
