I LIVE!! I BREATH!!! I…. smell like crap. My entire apartment/account/whatever, which included my SHOWER was blown to smithereens thanks to Gobano and his discovery of gas lines and fire combinations…
Gobano: HA!! I laugh at your misfortunes, pi-ti-ful HU-man!! Here I go! HAHAHAHAHAHHHHH!!!
…. I hate you. Anyway, that's the reason I haven't updated recently. In between trying to unsuccessfully find a shower to use, I constructed a crude computer using a potato, a light bulb, and a wedge of three week old cheese.
Gobano: Yes, that's right!! WALLOW IN THE HUMAN MISERY!!!!
*draws Onimaru* You're getting your wings clipped, bat-b-
*a knock comes from the door*
Um… Come in?
*Tennyo Angel breaks down the door w/Van in tow carrying a rather large boackpack*
Tennyo: HI SHEN!!!
Uh, hi? What are you doing here, Tennyo?
Tennyo: I'm here for the Freid Guards!! The ones I asked you to hold for me?☻
Oh yeah, them. They're in the back room. Go nuts.
Tennyo: Thank, don't mind if I do. VAN!!! LET'S GO!!!!
Van: *sigh* Yes, Tennyo. If I were you, Shen, I'd get at least a fifty mile radius between you and here. Collateral Damage, and all…
Noted! Gobano, hold down the fort, I'll be back soon.
Gobano: Bring me back some sheep, OR I'LL ROAST YOU ALIVE!!!!!
Whatever.
* * * *
The Vision of Escaflowne: Reuinion
Chapter 10
Van counted again how long he had been gone. Four weeks. He had been wandering for a month with no direction whatsoever. All because of these damn wings on his back. Ever since he had sprouted them to save Hitomi, they had stayed out. Van didn't know where they had come from, much less how to put them back. Besides, he wasn't entirely sure things would improve if he could. Even if they were gone, he would still know they were there. And it didn't change the fact that he was a Draconian. A member of a race which had razed Freid. Did that make him a demon as well? He didn't see any way that it didn't.
Every town Van had approached, he tried desperately to get someone to help him. But he was shocked when he realized that what was coming out of his mouth wasn't the language he was used to hearing. No, instead, it was some mangled jargon he had never heard before. Another thing he couldn't understand, much less stop. Sometimes he found himself wondering if all this was real. That perhaps he was asleep somewhere and this was some hellish nightmare he had yet to awake from. But then he would see the terrified faces, hear the curses and screams aimed at him, and feel the rotten fruit and stones that were hurled at him and broke his skin. His clothes were tattered and soggy, bogged down with refuse that he hadn't the will to clean off.
But the worst came several days ago. He had been unfortunate enough to arrive at a town where guards were about in the marketplace. As soon as he set foot in the city looking, pleading someone to help him, the people became a mass of fear and outrage, as they realized a demon had set foot in their own personal comfort zones. The city guards where quick to act, overpowering him as soon he found himself tied down in the streets, pleading the people to let him go. It had no effect. Why should it? He was speaking in a language his own ears couldn't understand. If Van's own auditory senses couldn't make heads or tails of what he was saying, how could they be expected to? For all they knew, he was cursing them, or speaking some incantation that would bring the walls around these people topple down on their heads.
Van had been dragged to the city square, for an execution on the spot. No trial, just the headsman's block. Knowing what was coming, Van tried to resist, but it did him no good. Several guards lay hands on him, and in desperation, he cried aloud. Then something happened. Van's ropes burst, and the guards who had laid their hands on him suddenly found there arms clove from their bodies by the air around them. Van watched in abject horror as their blood splattered on his face. The crowd watched breathlessly for a moment, including the soldiers who had just lost their arms. Then all hell broke loose when the guards screamed in pain, their reflexes catching up with their brains. People fled everywhere at once, ignoring the guards' pleas, and Van took to the skies, leaving behind the cries and screams and everthing.
Since then he avoided any towns he came to, for fear of the incident repeating. His meandering from place to place was like reflex now; he couldn't stop it, he just mechanically kept moving. How long did he have to go through this? When would this torment that plagued his every waking hour end?
* * * *
Two hours. For two hours there had been no movement. The man had just sat there in that same pose: Hands folded beneath his nose; that focused contemplative look on his face. He was like a statue. Anteus was getting tired of it. He had come here to see his new armor, the jade monstrosity upon which he now sat, observing the white-haired man below him. This was getting boring, all things considered. He shifted slightly, hoping the white haired man was going to do something, and do it soon.
"How long do you plan on watching me?"
The sudden question jolted Anteus. It was spoken quietly, but since the armor chamber was like a massive cavern, it reverberated quite loudly. Taking a moment to compose himself, Anteus rolled over to look at the man below him. He hadn't move from his spot, so Anteus wondered if he had just imagined it.
"Are you going to answer me, or are you just pretending you didn't hear me?" the white-haired man asked. I guess that answered Anteus' question.
Dropping down from his perch, the young boy looked at the older man rather warily. He got the feeling making a mistake around this person could be fatal. The man's eyes were looking right at him, but refused to acknowledge him. That didn't settle Anteus' nerves, however.
"What are you doing here?" the man asked from under his hands. "Children have no business in the armor hall." All this without a hint of emotion. He could've been talking to himself, for all it seemed.
Anteus' eyebrows drew down. He hated being called a child. "I was just admiring my new suit of armor. You came in and caught me off guard. So I watched you to see what you were doing." The man's eyes took some slight notice of Anteus now. The boy noticed saw that his eyes were two different colors. It made Antues all the more on edge.
"Your armor?" The man asked slowly. This obviously surprised him. It gave Anteus a bit of confidence.
"Yes, MY armor," Anteus replied, his courage bolstered with every word. "The key Energist we recovered reacted to my energy, and since it responds to this armor, that makes it mine." He finished, having grown bolder the longer he went on. "And just what are you doing in here? This room is forbidden to those who aren't able to manipulate the dragon armor."
The man did not reply, merely shifted his eyes upwards. Anteus followed his gaze, to see the massive suit of armor behind the man. His courage left almost all at once. That was the Agamemnon, the armor that had come from the mystic moon!! Then that meant that… "Y… you're the one from the mystic moon, then? The one everyone's talked about?"
At that statement, the man's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What about me has everyone talking?" He said quietly.
Despite himself, Anteus took a step backwards. Raising his hands, he quickly tried to defend himself. "Uh, nothing!! I was just making that part up!" No one's said anything about you, honest!!" He inhaled sharply when the other man closed his eyes. Then without a word, he got up and strode right past Anteus.
Right before he left, he addressed Anteus while facing the door. "Since we'll be going into battle from now on, it's only natural I know your name."
This caught the boy off guard. "Uh… Anteus. It's Anteus Adelphos." He said, managing not to stammer.
"Anteus…" The other man said. "My name is Ryoji Takashi, Anteus." He said. "And by the way, next time someone says "nothing" about me, please let me know." With that, he left the armor chamber.
* * * *
It was raining. It seemed to be raining more than usual now. Van staggered onward, not knowing, nor caring where he was going. All he knew was that he couldn't stop. No place was safe, for him or those he encountered. When his legs ached to the point where they couldn't move any longer, his wings carried him. And when he flew until he could fly no longer, he would switch back to walking. His rest was little and fitful when he slept. He'd always see those guards whose arms he had torn apart. Or other times he might see others who he'd kill in the same manner. It got to the point where Van was afraid to sleep, for fear of seeing himself kill another person. The screams hounded him constantly, whether they were memories of those he had tried asking for help, or his own when awoke from his nightmares.
Furthermore, he could find little to eat. Water usually wasn't a problem, but at times he was tortured by the ache in his belly. He would sometimes eat roots or any small game he could manage to catch, but it only lessened his hunger, never got rid of it. At times he felt he would pass out from the hunger, but his fear of what he would see should he pass out drove him onward.
"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Van heard someone say. He didn't look around see who. He didn't really care. He just wanted to keep moving. The voice, whoever it was however, didn't seem to mind this fact. "Are you afraid, Van?"
Van was dripping wet and exhausted. And while he didn't particularly feel like having a conversation, his brain had apparently chosen otherwise. "Afraid?" He rasped. Was his throat really that raw? "Yes, I'm afraid. After what I've seen myself do, why wouldn't I be afraid?"
"Ah," the voice replied. "And what exactly was it that you did?"
Van tiredly continued this conversation with a disembodied voice. "I hurt two guards. Maybe killed them. His eyes twitched slightly recalling the memory.
"So this is about hurting two innocent people, then?" The voice asked in an understanding tone. Van felt his movements slowing. His body was slowly giving out again. Van pressed himself to continue going. "And you did this on purpose, then?" It asked nonchalantly.
Van's vision was becoming black around the edges. "Yes…. No." He replied. "I… I didn't want… to hurt them." He said weakly. "It just happened. I don't know how… but it did."
The voice was silent for a moment. It was almost as if it were considering something. "Van, let me ask you; does hurting them by accident make you seem like a monster?"
"Well, I…" Van said. His movement became even slower. It wouldn't be long now. "I was becoming angry because of the way I was being treated. When I was tied up like a beast, I…" Van's steps had practically stopped now. He stood in the rain, panting. Before the voice could speak to Van again, the young draconian keeled over into the mud beneath him.
* * * *
Van heard someone calling him. He slowly opened his eyes, and awoke to see… nothing. He was in a black void, with nothing for miles around. He stood up and saw a taller blue haired man before him. It was the same one who had been in his dream in Fanelia. Folken, the man had said his name was. Van felt a surge of anger well up in him at the sight of this man.
"You knew, didn't you?" Van said accusingly. "You knew what I was! That's why you showed me those images from Atlantis, because I was a draconian!!" The man said nothing. He only looked at Van sadly, which aggravated Van even more. "Say something, Dammit!!" He roared.
Folken observed Van for a moment before answering. "Van, why are you so upset about being what you are?" he asked softly. It didn't serve to quell Van's fury. Only ignite it even more.
"Why am I upset?" the young man repeated Folken's question incredulously. "Why shouldn't I be upset!? I'm a demon! One of the monsters who destroyed Atlantis!! You told me yourself!"
Folken sighed slightly. "I see," came his reply. He slowly turned and began to walk away. Van couldn't believe this! Rage fit to boil over, he stalked after the taller man, having not finished what he started. He was surprised to see Folken had stopped and was gazing ahead. They had apparently stopped at a forest clearing, where the path the two were walking on abruptly split. Folken was looking at the intersection when he looked back at Van.
"Van, look at these two paths," he said. Van did as he was told, not entirely sure why. "What do you believe lies at the end of them?"
Van shook his head. "I don't know," he replied. "The only way to find out would be to walk down them, I supposed." He wasn't entirely sure where the older man was going with this.
Folken looked back at the two paths. "You're correct Van," he said. "The only way to find out what lies at the end of this path is to walk down them." He then turned his gaze towards Van. "You stand at a crossroads like this one, you know."
Van was a bit taken aback by this. "What do you mean?"
Folken looked again at the crossroads before replying. "Right now you don't know whether you're a draconian or a human." He said. It was statement more than question.
"I… suppose so…" Van replied rather uncertainly. He had thought he was human, but not anymore. How could he be, if he had these wings?
"Van, always remember that the path you walk depends on which one you take." Folken began walking down one of the paths. "One will take you to one location, and the other to a different one. But you are the only one who can decide which path you want to walk on. You should keep that in mind." With that Folken disappeared, leaving Van to ponder over the meaning of his words.
* * * *
Takashi found himself in the castle's library. He had come here at least once a week since he had arrived on Gaea. He found reading to be a calming pastime, and he could certainly use some calming. Ever since that arrogant bastard Daedalus had called him a half-breed, he found his mind wandering. Was he truly half human? Takashi had no other Atlanteans to compare himself to, so he had no way of knowing. Giving The History of Atlantis and its Glorious People half an eye, he pondered over this strange epiphany. It was true he was different than other Atlanteans he had seen thus far. He was a bit more hot blooded, as he had noted during his battle with that other warrior. The others all displayed an air of calmness and control. Furthermore, he found he lacked ample control over his powers. At times it seemed as though they weren't there, no matter how often he tried to summon them from his inner depths. Other times, it was all he could do to keep from crushing everything around him. As far as the others were concerned, they never showed that kind of problem. This was truly a quandary.
His musings were cut short when he heard the door of the library open to permit a young female around Takashi's age. She had raven black hair flowing down her back, and an olive complexion. Her lavender eyes were very sharp, the type to book no nonsense, and her face seemed cold enough to freeze a raging fire silent in less than a second. Her name was Olympia, and Takashi stepped lightly around her. Along with the rest of the Atlanteans…
Taking note of Takashi, Olympia sniffed. "And what brings you here today, Ryoji?" she asked in her usual superior attitude. She didn't seem to care for Takashi's answer, since she set down some maps and a few books on the table, and seated herself, quickly flipping open one of the volumes and skimming through it while checking the nearby maps periodically.
Takashi watched her with a bit of interest, as she continued her retinue of scholarly activities. Takashi found out from the others that Olympia was sort of the intelligence leader of the group of Atlanteans. She spent most of her time searching for the whereabouts of the Dragon Armors and key energists. It was Olympia who had discovered two of the Dragon Armors they currently had in possession, as well as three key energists needed to power them. As a result, though, she had little patience with anyone aside from Belshezzar, and even then she was very trite with him. She always sounded as if she were explaining things in the simplest terms to a bunch of pre-schoolers, and quite frankly, it grated Takashi a bit. He didn't care to be talked down to. Still, this woman held influence. Almost as much as Daedalus, as a matter of fact. Making her angry would cause quite a step back in his plans. Leaning over to get a better look at what held her attention, he noticed she was studying maps of Bashram, both old and new ones. It would make sense that she would have such easy access to those. She was posing as a royal adviser to the Royal Court of Bashram.
"Is there something I can help you with, or do you enjoy looking down my blouse?" She asked in a flat monotone, clearly indicating that Takashi's reasons were the ones stated. She hadn't even bothered to look up from her maps!! Takashi looked at her sideways, then returned to his previous position.
"So what exactly are you doing now, Olympia?" He asked, though he already knew the answer. Olympia never really seemed to do much aside from search for the armors, anyway.
"You know perfectly well what," she said, eyes glued to her maps and documents. "So I see no reason to answer, unless you're trying to prove you have the intellect of a two year old." Despite himself, Takashi found that his eyelids narrowed a fraction. Contemptible bitch. "And if you wouldn't mind, I'd prefer to do so in solitude. I spend enough time around idiots and fools, thank you."
Takashi made ready to do just that, finding himself ridiculed enough for one day, when he thought of something. In the last fight, he noticed Van's armor had a design that nearly matched his. Could that mean that Van was in possession of a Dragon Armor as well? The idea was rather intriguing. And he had the Atlantean's top bloodhound right here, so what better chance to verify his suspicion? Placing his hand down and leaning close to her, Takashi asked, as sweetly as he could muster, "Olympia, do you think you could check something for me?"
She finally looked up from her maps to give him an irritated look. "I really don't have time for this, Ryoji." She growled. Takashi however, wasn't swayed.
He gave Olympia a slight smile. "It's about one of the Dragon Armors. I believe I have a pretty fair idea where it might be located." She protested again, and was met with more persistence, and finally agreed, just to get him out of her hair. "That better," Takashi oozed, relishing the fact he managed to get under her skin. "The armor should be somewhere near the vicinity of Freid."
She gave him another feral look, then quickly pulled out a map of the aforementioned country and began to dowse. It wasn't even a minute before she came out of her trance with a gasp. "You were right Ryoji," she said grudgingly. "There's a Dragon Armor as well as a key energist in the immediate vicinity of the country." Takashi smiled quietly in triumph. "But how did you know there would be one there?" She asked suspiciously.
Takashi stood up and began to walk out of the library, already planning out a scheme to retrieve the Dragon Armor and key energist. Before he left he said with a small laugh, "Oh, just a lucky guess, I suppose."
* * * *
To quote a friend of mine, "Holy Sweet Bacon!!!" While you guys could probably guess this was a filler installment, I found it quite a good one! Will Takashi claim the Escafowne!? Will Folken be able to help Van recover from the shock of learning he's a Draconian? Will Van himself be able to stop having psychedelic and possibly naughty sexual dreams of his older brother!?!
Van: Probably not as long as I hang around with Tennyo, I'm not.
Van? *blinks* When did you get here?
Van: About two paragraphs ago. Tennyo broke out the rusty chainsaws, and I was getting hungry.
So…. How much of my apartment did she trash in the process?
Van: Let me put it this way: What apartment?
Ah.
Van: Goodburger?
Please.
