Hey everyone, sorry it's only one chapter this week…but there are exams
coming up…so there might only be just one more chapter in the next
fortnight. I'll try my best…
And thank you to everyone who's reviewed my fic! More comments please!
[This chapter has not been extensively proof read. Any questions and queries, please email me]
Chapter 15
Rodimostev's voice was hard and compelling, and her eyes glazed briefly before going dull. She was instantly transported into the darkest recesses of a human mind, a place she had been so many times before. But Kamus' nephew was unyielding, unwilling to let her into his secrets. In front of her was a solid dark grey steel wall and she was suspended in pitch darkness. Normally, she would already be in the world created by the person's mind – sometimes a fairyland faded and tormented by reality, now the only haven of comfort and peace for the unfortunate soul. Sometimes, it would be a blazing inferno filled with the ghastly shrieks of victims and a hideous laugh so frightening it sent chills down her spine. She despised those cold blooded murderers. But this, this was something completely new, and she did what came logically – break down the barrier and find the damn manifestation of the soul. But the steel was thick and would not budge. On closer inspection however, she saw the many scars, dents and even great rents along the side where the slings and arrows of life had tried to penetrate this barrier. She knew one thing – it was not invulnerable and could be broken down.
Rodimostev searched quickly and favoured a particularly large and ugly dent. She could almost feel the drumming of whatever was happening on the other side of the barrier. Surrounding herself in her nen, it only took a single punch to form a gaping hole which consequently bought down the steel wall. Or rather, what was on the other side of the barrier came burst through in great angry roars, instantly washing away the crumbling ruins of the barricade.
The Emperor levitated herself just in time to prevent herself from being washed away in the, now, boundless ocean of raging waves and violent whirlpools. It was not so safe levitating either for dark clouds gathered for miles on end, crackling and rumbling with dangerous electricity. She barely missed a fork of lightening as it struck the water, and the impact sent a massive splash to drench her silly. However, in the brief glare of light, she spotted a figure, helplessly tossed like a rag doll in the fierce ocean, one arm weakly reaching up for help. It didn't take a genius to figure out what to do here, and her nen glowing fiercer still, she pushed past the howling winds now shrieking like ghouls past her, grappled with the huge waves and cut a straight line through to clamp an iron grip on the cold and wet hand. With a huge heave and plenty of effort, she pulled Illumi out of the ocean.
Illumi clung to her with weak and trembling arms, choking, gasping and gagging for breath. As he coughed up the salty sea water and wiped the stinging salt from his eyes, pushing back his wretchedly soaked hair, he looked about him in amazement.
"The walls are down! I'm no longer trapped!" he laughed joyously, sting clinging onto the Emperor for dear life. It had been too long, just facing those steel walls, trapped in the cube and suspended in darkness. Too long had he cried and wept in loneliness and the deep pains of solitude. He shouted his voice hoarse for what seemed like a millennia, and all he ever got in return was the haunting echo of his own voice rebounding off the remorseless grey walls. And then not long ago, great torrents of water invaded his prison and he was helpless against the lashing waves and the shrieking winds. In horror and panic, he felt himself drowning, yet he struggled endlessly, never wanting to die. And after so long, he could finally behold the vast, endless space of his heart, his soul, his thoughts no longer confined and restricted.
He gave the Emperor a good hard hug.
Rodimostev smiled at him happily, also feeling his elevation. She gestured to the raging weather about them.
"Perhaps you could calm this down first, and create a bit of dry land so we can sit down and talk." She suggested. Illumi however, became puzzled.
"Do you think I'm a god or something? Stop this!?" he looked around him incredulously. "If I could stop it in the first place, I wouldn't be drowning now, would I?"
But the Emperor took no offence and her smile never wavered. "But of course you can stop this. You ARE the god of this place, and you have to power to create whatever you desire in here. No one has taught you, that's all."
Illumi blinked a few times, but shook his head vigorously in denial. There was also a trace of bitterness in his features. "If I were the god of this place," he began quietly, his tone betraying years of hurt and pain, "then I wouldn't have been trapped in such a desolate prison that I could not escape. No, I have no control in this place at all." He sounded so miserable that Rodimostev seriously thought that he might start crying, but her hand gripped his harder still.
"The first thing is to believe that you have the power to control this place. This power comes in the confidence you have in your own abilities, and your own determination to take control of the life around you and create the things that you want to create or do the things you want to achieve. That is the foremost and most precious pre-requisite."
Illumi sobbed quietly and wiped hard at his tears. He was doing it again. He had shouted for so long to be released, yelled his heart out to be free, but he had never the strength to do it because the walls of the prison were too strong, too thick, too high and unyielding. There will never be escape…that's what he had always thought.
"No." Rodimostev said sternly. "Despair is only for the weak! You are no weakling. The freedom is yours to take, only that you must have the courage and determination to do so. Now shed aside the feelings of lost hope and despair for that is truly the killer of men. Hold your head up high, and repeat what I say: Storm begone!"
Illumi certainly didn't like being scolded at. In fact, it only bought back more horrors and painful memories of his dad and the despising tone of his when he spoke to him, spitting each word out like sour grapes. All he could manage was a small sniff and a whimper. He felt himself ready to burst into fresh tears if anyone pushed him harder. He had enough…enough…why did he always struggle thus? If he succumbed to his fears and loneliness, all the pain these lonely years had bought, it would have ended much earlier, and there would be sweet release.
"You will do as I say." Rodimostev tuned her voice to become perfectly low and intimidating, yet at the same time a voice that did not inspire fear. Rather, it was a tone of compelling, persuading, only that it carried the full weight of authority behind them. But Illumi would rather clench his eyes shut and cling on tightly all the whilst shrugging his head vigorously. He reminded her of a small boy who had never grown up, that somehow along the way, his development became suspended in time and whilst his body grew, the soul never developed because it was shut out from contact with reality. And it the finally dawned on the Emperor that the walls which Illumi's heart and soul had been trapped in were self made, a deliberate construct to shut his soul from the world and bury it deep within himself with the hope that he would one day forget that it was there, and that he was every capable of any feelings or emotions. Or perhaps the prison was a way of retaining whatever was left of his soul before his cruel parents stripped him of whatever emotions he had left, and he tucked it neatly into the darkest corner of himself, carefully preserving his own redemption until one day, he was safe enough to reveal his emotions again, only that along the many years, he had forgotten that there was just a box there, lying in the dark. Her voice suddenly caught in her throat, making it difficult to speak.
"You are so close to freedom, Illumi. You just have to wish away this storm and you'll see light again. I promise."
Illumi felt himself safe in that solemn voice, the sound of someone trustworthy and could be entrusted with his confidence.
"Just like that? I just wish it to go away, and it will go away?"
"Yes." She nodded slowly. Illumi gave a big smile, unhindered by his old memories, full of the exuberance of youth. It was an innocent smile.
"Then I wish this storm to go away."
The grey storm clouds around them quieted down, rapidly parting to reveal a boundless blue sky above. The winds subsided, leaving only the gentle breeze caressing their cheeks, and the raging ocean beneath them suddenly stilled and the gentle rocking waves shimmered in the bright sun like many crystals sewn onto an immaculate sheet of satin.
Illumi's eyes widened incredulously but he was too overwhelmed with laughter to be afraid anymore. His unfettered laughter rang clearly around them and gradually, the Emperor descended onto solid ground, on a hill of wild grass overlooking the calm sea. Illumi threw himself onto the ground and stretched, fully basking in the glow of the warm summer sun, happily babbling to himself.
Rodimostev gazed at the butterflies dancing around them and sighed. All it took to break the storm was simple compassion, and a voice carefully tuned to inspire trust and security. That was all it took to rub away this man's many years of misery, and to turn the once dark, desolate and oppressive prison into a heavenly paradise of peace and beauty. She continued to take in her surroundings and with slightly teary eyes discovered a wonder and gentle soul. One could almost imagine the ringing laughter of many children at play around them, the echo of a seagull's purr, and the hypnotic splashing of the waves beneath against the cliff.
They remained silent for a long time, but Illumi finally asked for her name. She turned to him and looked into his large eyes, shimmering with life and freedom. Her lips pulled into a small smile.
"Call me Rudy."
Illumi muttered the name a few times to get used to it and finally presented her a batch of daisies that he had plucked from a nearby bush.
"I won't be staying for long Illumi."
His face quickly dipped with disappointment and immediately began to protest.
"I need to teach you a few things before I leave so that you can remain here forever. This place must never yield to another storm or prison again, do I make myself clear?" At that moment, she sounded old and tired beyond her frail years. She accepted the batch of daisies and gestured for him to sit beside her.
She then proceeded to recount to him all the knowledge of a lifetime, experiences that he had missed out and propounded her theories of life. She spoke to him of anger, hate, compassion, forgiveness. She talked about desire and temptation, repulsion and rejection and filled in the gaps of twenty years of development in his life. And he gave small nods now and then, asked little questions and absorbed every single word like a dry sponge. When she had finally finished, he had a small frown on his face.
"I'd swear that you are half my age. How is that you know so much?"
Rudy hesitated but steadied her voice when she responded. "I've seen a lot." She began, then wondered how to explain to him what war generally does to someone. "And I've done a lot. I've…. killed a lot of people already…killed a lot of people. I ordered the complete extermination of an entire nation for waging war against my country. First were the old and frail, the crippled and the disabled. I said that our economy couldn't sustain these people and that there would be no welfare for them. They were the first to be shot. Next came the women. Anyone that was capable of work were sent to labour camps to rebuild all that their husbands and sons destroyed." Her cold, cold eyes stared into his fearful ones. "Of course, I ordered them to be treated like dogs, because that's all they deserved. Half of them died from starvation, some from exhaustion, others from malnutrition and other diseases. And those who did survive? I signed their death warrants too."
She took a deep quivering breath and felt the distant drumming of thunder, reflecting Illumi's unease. But she looked defiantly into his eyes.
"And the children were sent to clear the minefields that their fathers and brothers laid down. I ordered that they be lined up across the field with a gun barrel pressed against their necks and told them to march. Hundreds and thousands of acres of minefields were thus cleared…by the children of my enemy." She glared at Illumi's horrified look. "The blood of my people soaked the earth to reclaim their country. It should only be right that the blood of their families be used to rebuild what they destroyed! I have seen too many good men fall down around me…my…my heart stabbed so many times with each death…they *all* deserved to die. I cannot risk any survivors with long memories. I am an Emperor, and the safety of my kingdom is my responsibility…even if I must bear this burden alone."
"You're just like me." Illumi commented softly. "alone."
"But," her voice hardened "I was taught never to despair. The war taught me that no matter how many people fell around me, I must remain standing and strive forward because there is no turning back…ever. We only live for tomorrow, and never the past. You must remember this Illumi."
He nodded thoughtfully.
"Despair will be the death of you. If ever on your path you should stumble across an obstacle, you must not shy away from it and have the courage to leap over and continue."
Cold hands clamped around the sides of his face and he fought back the urge to shrink back.
"Never look back. Understand?"
And he saw her eyes stinging with tears set on a grimly determined face, a look way beyond her years.
=========
Rudy withdrew her hand from Illumi's now steadily rising chest. His nen glowed strongly – reinforcement, to heal his wounds, then died again. But that sign was reassuring. She spoke to no one in particular.
"How many days have passed?" for it did seem like an eternity in there, just there talking to the boy.
General Kamus looked a bit astonished and cleared his throat before he could trust himself to speak. "Um…Sire…I guess around two seconds?"
To the people who had still gathered in the small room, they saw the Emperor's eyes go dull, but then the life returned and she had spoken. But there was now a great weariness about her.
"Really." She said distantly, not really caring at all. The Emperor took notice of no one and slowly left the room, presumably on her way back to the Forbidden Palace. Kamus shook off his shock and ordered that someone escort the Emperor back safely.
Illumi gave a slight groan, coughed up some blood and blinked frantically to see if he still had his vision. He felt a hand gently caressing his head.
"Illu?" Hisoka peered into those large feline eyes, and was surprised to find his own reflection. Illumi tried to smile back, but it hurt his face muscles too much. Still, he produced a small grin enough to frighten the world.
"I feel like someone whacked me around with a bag of bricks. I look terrible don't I?"
Hisoka smiled back and shook his head.
"I think a few of my teeth are loose too." Illumi giggled, but found that the effort to laugh hurt more than trying to smile so he quieted down again. Hisoka pulled the light covers up to his chin.
"Get some sleep ok? I'll wake you up for lunch."
Illumi sighed with relief and closed his eyes, asleep within no time. Which was good, because then he wouldn't have to see Hisoka being dragged away by Imperial Guards led by General Misha and Master Echlan.
Kamus walked fast to keep up with the Mad General. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed, glancing back at the struggling Hisoka who was being manhandled by the old eunuch. Fortunately, Kurapika and Leorio restrained the two children from coming and seeing anything nasty.
"Koran had no idea about what it was that he gave you after last night's little escapade with the rebels, so I finally managed to pry it out of him and found out that it was Hisoka who saw any significance in that little emblem, isn't that right Koran?" Misha grated harshly. The younger eunuch glumly nodded, quickly looking away from Hisoka's accusatory glare. "And then I asked myself, HOW would anyone apart from us Generals know of the significance of a symbol consisting of a few calligraphy brushstrokes? Unless of course" he continued dramatically, obviously in a bad mood "unless he's obviously met these people before and dealt with them. Anyone who's dealt with such people can quite readily be treated as suspicious. We're throwing him into the Cell and going to interrogate him, if you please General Kamus."
"After what happened to my nephew, I really don't want to see that room used ever again."
"It won't take long Kastro, only twenty minutes." Misha assured. "and it is convenient that Lady Kikyou has decided to come along as well. We've also invited your husband ma'am, because guess what Dr. Faust and Karen found last night when they were operating on Alluka?"
"I'm curious." Kamus curtly responded, clearly disliking the way Misha was handling the situation. After all, this WAS Kastro Court.
"Only a small tattoo on the child's arm, exactly the same as the symbol that Hisoka bought back last night. I have suspicions that these Nihilists were behind that child's crippling."
"Nihilists? What's this? Are these the people who hurt my son?" Kikyou demanded, eyes already blazing with holy anger. She saw Silva and Zeno standing calmly outside the entrance to The Cell.
Misha stopped, and the Master Eunuch likewise stopped with him when the pressure of the nen was already overwhelming. Beads of cold sweat drenched Hisoka's brow.
"Ok Hisoka, it's your call. You can either answer us here, in one of the adjoining rooms, or we can take you to The Cell. It all depends on your trustworthiness."
Hisoka closed his eyes, but he didn't need to think. There was a ghostly hand threatening to strangle the very breath out of him.
"I'll talk. Anything you ask." He said thickly.
They took Hisoka to a dimly lit room with no windows, only a rotting wooden table with unsightly dents and unusual patches of colour and two splintered wooden chairs. Echlan stuffed Hisoka on the one side and seated on the other under the approving nod of Misha. The elders of the Zoldick family remained in the shadows to listen, but even in this room, at least a hundred yards from The Cell, the mad pressure was gnawing at the edges of their consciousness. Echlan set the recording machine running, the whirring noise eeringly hypnotic.
"Let's get to the bottom of this straight away. Where did you ever see this sign?" Master Echlan held up the bloodstained cloth with the Nihilists' emblem stitched on.
"You've got it upside down." Hisoka swallowed the lump in his throat whilst Echlan rearranged the piece of cloth. The sound of his own voice was distant and he felt his vision gradually begin to blur due to the maddening nen. "I saw that four years ago. Illu came to me and said that some people had taken his kid brother and that he needed help to rescue him."
Sweat trickled down the side of his face, and some stung his eyes. "I said sure. So we went to some laboratory hidden in the mountains. Almost got killed just trying to breach the outer fence. Of course, that's where I saw that symbol. It was all over the place…the people were like…fanatics. I wanted to run away, but Illu was insistent…and I could never deny him anything when he gets all angry and frowns and pouts like that."
Kikyou's face darkened at Hisoka's amused smile. "So I limped along behind him. And we eventually found Alluka on the operation table, screaming endlessly in pain."
Hisoka seemed unwillingly to continue, but one menacing glare from Echlan prompted him. "Illu… Illu got very angry….very angry. Suddenly, there was eight of him, slaughtering everything that moved until the walls were dripping with blood and guts. Nothing could touch him…it was like there was some impenetrable forcefield around him, and he kept on lashing out even when the people were all dead. I grabbed onto Alluka before the whole place came crashing down and thought that I was seriously going to die. But I emerged from the rubble alive…dug Illu out and took them all to the nearest hotel. He…couldn't remember anything and thought that I had saved them…what a joke. Even now I still don't have a hope of messing with those people."
"Is that all?"
"Yes sir, I haven't had any dealings with these people in my life, ever."
"Wait," Kikyou stepped forth. "You said Illumi asked you for help four years ago?"
"That's correct." Hisoka couldn't bear Misha and Echlan's combined pressure for much longer. He could feel his consciousness gradually slipping.
Kikyou frowned deeply. "How long have you known my son."
"I met Illu when he was 16 – that's about eight years ago." Hisoka gave a trembling sigh and his mind darkened. Before he blacked out, he saw himself eight years ago, at the 199th floor of the Celestial tower where he saw Illumi, dressed in pink with ribbons in his hair, trying to pass himself off as a girl in a place where impressions and appearance was how your opponent judged you. Their first conversation bought a smile to his lips when Illumi glared at him and told him to move out of his way. It was then he knew that he *had* to have him.
And thank you to everyone who's reviewed my fic! More comments please!
[This chapter has not been extensively proof read. Any questions and queries, please email me]
Chapter 15
Rodimostev's voice was hard and compelling, and her eyes glazed briefly before going dull. She was instantly transported into the darkest recesses of a human mind, a place she had been so many times before. But Kamus' nephew was unyielding, unwilling to let her into his secrets. In front of her was a solid dark grey steel wall and she was suspended in pitch darkness. Normally, she would already be in the world created by the person's mind – sometimes a fairyland faded and tormented by reality, now the only haven of comfort and peace for the unfortunate soul. Sometimes, it would be a blazing inferno filled with the ghastly shrieks of victims and a hideous laugh so frightening it sent chills down her spine. She despised those cold blooded murderers. But this, this was something completely new, and she did what came logically – break down the barrier and find the damn manifestation of the soul. But the steel was thick and would not budge. On closer inspection however, she saw the many scars, dents and even great rents along the side where the slings and arrows of life had tried to penetrate this barrier. She knew one thing – it was not invulnerable and could be broken down.
Rodimostev searched quickly and favoured a particularly large and ugly dent. She could almost feel the drumming of whatever was happening on the other side of the barrier. Surrounding herself in her nen, it only took a single punch to form a gaping hole which consequently bought down the steel wall. Or rather, what was on the other side of the barrier came burst through in great angry roars, instantly washing away the crumbling ruins of the barricade.
The Emperor levitated herself just in time to prevent herself from being washed away in the, now, boundless ocean of raging waves and violent whirlpools. It was not so safe levitating either for dark clouds gathered for miles on end, crackling and rumbling with dangerous electricity. She barely missed a fork of lightening as it struck the water, and the impact sent a massive splash to drench her silly. However, in the brief glare of light, she spotted a figure, helplessly tossed like a rag doll in the fierce ocean, one arm weakly reaching up for help. It didn't take a genius to figure out what to do here, and her nen glowing fiercer still, she pushed past the howling winds now shrieking like ghouls past her, grappled with the huge waves and cut a straight line through to clamp an iron grip on the cold and wet hand. With a huge heave and plenty of effort, she pulled Illumi out of the ocean.
Illumi clung to her with weak and trembling arms, choking, gasping and gagging for breath. As he coughed up the salty sea water and wiped the stinging salt from his eyes, pushing back his wretchedly soaked hair, he looked about him in amazement.
"The walls are down! I'm no longer trapped!" he laughed joyously, sting clinging onto the Emperor for dear life. It had been too long, just facing those steel walls, trapped in the cube and suspended in darkness. Too long had he cried and wept in loneliness and the deep pains of solitude. He shouted his voice hoarse for what seemed like a millennia, and all he ever got in return was the haunting echo of his own voice rebounding off the remorseless grey walls. And then not long ago, great torrents of water invaded his prison and he was helpless against the lashing waves and the shrieking winds. In horror and panic, he felt himself drowning, yet he struggled endlessly, never wanting to die. And after so long, he could finally behold the vast, endless space of his heart, his soul, his thoughts no longer confined and restricted.
He gave the Emperor a good hard hug.
Rodimostev smiled at him happily, also feeling his elevation. She gestured to the raging weather about them.
"Perhaps you could calm this down first, and create a bit of dry land so we can sit down and talk." She suggested. Illumi however, became puzzled.
"Do you think I'm a god or something? Stop this!?" he looked around him incredulously. "If I could stop it in the first place, I wouldn't be drowning now, would I?"
But the Emperor took no offence and her smile never wavered. "But of course you can stop this. You ARE the god of this place, and you have to power to create whatever you desire in here. No one has taught you, that's all."
Illumi blinked a few times, but shook his head vigorously in denial. There was also a trace of bitterness in his features. "If I were the god of this place," he began quietly, his tone betraying years of hurt and pain, "then I wouldn't have been trapped in such a desolate prison that I could not escape. No, I have no control in this place at all." He sounded so miserable that Rodimostev seriously thought that he might start crying, but her hand gripped his harder still.
"The first thing is to believe that you have the power to control this place. This power comes in the confidence you have in your own abilities, and your own determination to take control of the life around you and create the things that you want to create or do the things you want to achieve. That is the foremost and most precious pre-requisite."
Illumi sobbed quietly and wiped hard at his tears. He was doing it again. He had shouted for so long to be released, yelled his heart out to be free, but he had never the strength to do it because the walls of the prison were too strong, too thick, too high and unyielding. There will never be escape…that's what he had always thought.
"No." Rodimostev said sternly. "Despair is only for the weak! You are no weakling. The freedom is yours to take, only that you must have the courage and determination to do so. Now shed aside the feelings of lost hope and despair for that is truly the killer of men. Hold your head up high, and repeat what I say: Storm begone!"
Illumi certainly didn't like being scolded at. In fact, it only bought back more horrors and painful memories of his dad and the despising tone of his when he spoke to him, spitting each word out like sour grapes. All he could manage was a small sniff and a whimper. He felt himself ready to burst into fresh tears if anyone pushed him harder. He had enough…enough…why did he always struggle thus? If he succumbed to his fears and loneliness, all the pain these lonely years had bought, it would have ended much earlier, and there would be sweet release.
"You will do as I say." Rodimostev tuned her voice to become perfectly low and intimidating, yet at the same time a voice that did not inspire fear. Rather, it was a tone of compelling, persuading, only that it carried the full weight of authority behind them. But Illumi would rather clench his eyes shut and cling on tightly all the whilst shrugging his head vigorously. He reminded her of a small boy who had never grown up, that somehow along the way, his development became suspended in time and whilst his body grew, the soul never developed because it was shut out from contact with reality. And it the finally dawned on the Emperor that the walls which Illumi's heart and soul had been trapped in were self made, a deliberate construct to shut his soul from the world and bury it deep within himself with the hope that he would one day forget that it was there, and that he was every capable of any feelings or emotions. Or perhaps the prison was a way of retaining whatever was left of his soul before his cruel parents stripped him of whatever emotions he had left, and he tucked it neatly into the darkest corner of himself, carefully preserving his own redemption until one day, he was safe enough to reveal his emotions again, only that along the many years, he had forgotten that there was just a box there, lying in the dark. Her voice suddenly caught in her throat, making it difficult to speak.
"You are so close to freedom, Illumi. You just have to wish away this storm and you'll see light again. I promise."
Illumi felt himself safe in that solemn voice, the sound of someone trustworthy and could be entrusted with his confidence.
"Just like that? I just wish it to go away, and it will go away?"
"Yes." She nodded slowly. Illumi gave a big smile, unhindered by his old memories, full of the exuberance of youth. It was an innocent smile.
"Then I wish this storm to go away."
The grey storm clouds around them quieted down, rapidly parting to reveal a boundless blue sky above. The winds subsided, leaving only the gentle breeze caressing their cheeks, and the raging ocean beneath them suddenly stilled and the gentle rocking waves shimmered in the bright sun like many crystals sewn onto an immaculate sheet of satin.
Illumi's eyes widened incredulously but he was too overwhelmed with laughter to be afraid anymore. His unfettered laughter rang clearly around them and gradually, the Emperor descended onto solid ground, on a hill of wild grass overlooking the calm sea. Illumi threw himself onto the ground and stretched, fully basking in the glow of the warm summer sun, happily babbling to himself.
Rodimostev gazed at the butterflies dancing around them and sighed. All it took to break the storm was simple compassion, and a voice carefully tuned to inspire trust and security. That was all it took to rub away this man's many years of misery, and to turn the once dark, desolate and oppressive prison into a heavenly paradise of peace and beauty. She continued to take in her surroundings and with slightly teary eyes discovered a wonder and gentle soul. One could almost imagine the ringing laughter of many children at play around them, the echo of a seagull's purr, and the hypnotic splashing of the waves beneath against the cliff.
They remained silent for a long time, but Illumi finally asked for her name. She turned to him and looked into his large eyes, shimmering with life and freedom. Her lips pulled into a small smile.
"Call me Rudy."
Illumi muttered the name a few times to get used to it and finally presented her a batch of daisies that he had plucked from a nearby bush.
"I won't be staying for long Illumi."
His face quickly dipped with disappointment and immediately began to protest.
"I need to teach you a few things before I leave so that you can remain here forever. This place must never yield to another storm or prison again, do I make myself clear?" At that moment, she sounded old and tired beyond her frail years. She accepted the batch of daisies and gestured for him to sit beside her.
She then proceeded to recount to him all the knowledge of a lifetime, experiences that he had missed out and propounded her theories of life. She spoke to him of anger, hate, compassion, forgiveness. She talked about desire and temptation, repulsion and rejection and filled in the gaps of twenty years of development in his life. And he gave small nods now and then, asked little questions and absorbed every single word like a dry sponge. When she had finally finished, he had a small frown on his face.
"I'd swear that you are half my age. How is that you know so much?"
Rudy hesitated but steadied her voice when she responded. "I've seen a lot." She began, then wondered how to explain to him what war generally does to someone. "And I've done a lot. I've…. killed a lot of people already…killed a lot of people. I ordered the complete extermination of an entire nation for waging war against my country. First were the old and frail, the crippled and the disabled. I said that our economy couldn't sustain these people and that there would be no welfare for them. They were the first to be shot. Next came the women. Anyone that was capable of work were sent to labour camps to rebuild all that their husbands and sons destroyed." Her cold, cold eyes stared into his fearful ones. "Of course, I ordered them to be treated like dogs, because that's all they deserved. Half of them died from starvation, some from exhaustion, others from malnutrition and other diseases. And those who did survive? I signed their death warrants too."
She took a deep quivering breath and felt the distant drumming of thunder, reflecting Illumi's unease. But she looked defiantly into his eyes.
"And the children were sent to clear the minefields that their fathers and brothers laid down. I ordered that they be lined up across the field with a gun barrel pressed against their necks and told them to march. Hundreds and thousands of acres of minefields were thus cleared…by the children of my enemy." She glared at Illumi's horrified look. "The blood of my people soaked the earth to reclaim their country. It should only be right that the blood of their families be used to rebuild what they destroyed! I have seen too many good men fall down around me…my…my heart stabbed so many times with each death…they *all* deserved to die. I cannot risk any survivors with long memories. I am an Emperor, and the safety of my kingdom is my responsibility…even if I must bear this burden alone."
"You're just like me." Illumi commented softly. "alone."
"But," her voice hardened "I was taught never to despair. The war taught me that no matter how many people fell around me, I must remain standing and strive forward because there is no turning back…ever. We only live for tomorrow, and never the past. You must remember this Illumi."
He nodded thoughtfully.
"Despair will be the death of you. If ever on your path you should stumble across an obstacle, you must not shy away from it and have the courage to leap over and continue."
Cold hands clamped around the sides of his face and he fought back the urge to shrink back.
"Never look back. Understand?"
And he saw her eyes stinging with tears set on a grimly determined face, a look way beyond her years.
=========
Rudy withdrew her hand from Illumi's now steadily rising chest. His nen glowed strongly – reinforcement, to heal his wounds, then died again. But that sign was reassuring. She spoke to no one in particular.
"How many days have passed?" for it did seem like an eternity in there, just there talking to the boy.
General Kamus looked a bit astonished and cleared his throat before he could trust himself to speak. "Um…Sire…I guess around two seconds?"
To the people who had still gathered in the small room, they saw the Emperor's eyes go dull, but then the life returned and she had spoken. But there was now a great weariness about her.
"Really." She said distantly, not really caring at all. The Emperor took notice of no one and slowly left the room, presumably on her way back to the Forbidden Palace. Kamus shook off his shock and ordered that someone escort the Emperor back safely.
Illumi gave a slight groan, coughed up some blood and blinked frantically to see if he still had his vision. He felt a hand gently caressing his head.
"Illu?" Hisoka peered into those large feline eyes, and was surprised to find his own reflection. Illumi tried to smile back, but it hurt his face muscles too much. Still, he produced a small grin enough to frighten the world.
"I feel like someone whacked me around with a bag of bricks. I look terrible don't I?"
Hisoka smiled back and shook his head.
"I think a few of my teeth are loose too." Illumi giggled, but found that the effort to laugh hurt more than trying to smile so he quieted down again. Hisoka pulled the light covers up to his chin.
"Get some sleep ok? I'll wake you up for lunch."
Illumi sighed with relief and closed his eyes, asleep within no time. Which was good, because then he wouldn't have to see Hisoka being dragged away by Imperial Guards led by General Misha and Master Echlan.
Kamus walked fast to keep up with the Mad General. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed, glancing back at the struggling Hisoka who was being manhandled by the old eunuch. Fortunately, Kurapika and Leorio restrained the two children from coming and seeing anything nasty.
"Koran had no idea about what it was that he gave you after last night's little escapade with the rebels, so I finally managed to pry it out of him and found out that it was Hisoka who saw any significance in that little emblem, isn't that right Koran?" Misha grated harshly. The younger eunuch glumly nodded, quickly looking away from Hisoka's accusatory glare. "And then I asked myself, HOW would anyone apart from us Generals know of the significance of a symbol consisting of a few calligraphy brushstrokes? Unless of course" he continued dramatically, obviously in a bad mood "unless he's obviously met these people before and dealt with them. Anyone who's dealt with such people can quite readily be treated as suspicious. We're throwing him into the Cell and going to interrogate him, if you please General Kamus."
"After what happened to my nephew, I really don't want to see that room used ever again."
"It won't take long Kastro, only twenty minutes." Misha assured. "and it is convenient that Lady Kikyou has decided to come along as well. We've also invited your husband ma'am, because guess what Dr. Faust and Karen found last night when they were operating on Alluka?"
"I'm curious." Kamus curtly responded, clearly disliking the way Misha was handling the situation. After all, this WAS Kastro Court.
"Only a small tattoo on the child's arm, exactly the same as the symbol that Hisoka bought back last night. I have suspicions that these Nihilists were behind that child's crippling."
"Nihilists? What's this? Are these the people who hurt my son?" Kikyou demanded, eyes already blazing with holy anger. She saw Silva and Zeno standing calmly outside the entrance to The Cell.
Misha stopped, and the Master Eunuch likewise stopped with him when the pressure of the nen was already overwhelming. Beads of cold sweat drenched Hisoka's brow.
"Ok Hisoka, it's your call. You can either answer us here, in one of the adjoining rooms, or we can take you to The Cell. It all depends on your trustworthiness."
Hisoka closed his eyes, but he didn't need to think. There was a ghostly hand threatening to strangle the very breath out of him.
"I'll talk. Anything you ask." He said thickly.
They took Hisoka to a dimly lit room with no windows, only a rotting wooden table with unsightly dents and unusual patches of colour and two splintered wooden chairs. Echlan stuffed Hisoka on the one side and seated on the other under the approving nod of Misha. The elders of the Zoldick family remained in the shadows to listen, but even in this room, at least a hundred yards from The Cell, the mad pressure was gnawing at the edges of their consciousness. Echlan set the recording machine running, the whirring noise eeringly hypnotic.
"Let's get to the bottom of this straight away. Where did you ever see this sign?" Master Echlan held up the bloodstained cloth with the Nihilists' emblem stitched on.
"You've got it upside down." Hisoka swallowed the lump in his throat whilst Echlan rearranged the piece of cloth. The sound of his own voice was distant and he felt his vision gradually begin to blur due to the maddening nen. "I saw that four years ago. Illu came to me and said that some people had taken his kid brother and that he needed help to rescue him."
Sweat trickled down the side of his face, and some stung his eyes. "I said sure. So we went to some laboratory hidden in the mountains. Almost got killed just trying to breach the outer fence. Of course, that's where I saw that symbol. It was all over the place…the people were like…fanatics. I wanted to run away, but Illu was insistent…and I could never deny him anything when he gets all angry and frowns and pouts like that."
Kikyou's face darkened at Hisoka's amused smile. "So I limped along behind him. And we eventually found Alluka on the operation table, screaming endlessly in pain."
Hisoka seemed unwillingly to continue, but one menacing glare from Echlan prompted him. "Illu… Illu got very angry….very angry. Suddenly, there was eight of him, slaughtering everything that moved until the walls were dripping with blood and guts. Nothing could touch him…it was like there was some impenetrable forcefield around him, and he kept on lashing out even when the people were all dead. I grabbed onto Alluka before the whole place came crashing down and thought that I was seriously going to die. But I emerged from the rubble alive…dug Illu out and took them all to the nearest hotel. He…couldn't remember anything and thought that I had saved them…what a joke. Even now I still don't have a hope of messing with those people."
"Is that all?"
"Yes sir, I haven't had any dealings with these people in my life, ever."
"Wait," Kikyou stepped forth. "You said Illumi asked you for help four years ago?"
"That's correct." Hisoka couldn't bear Misha and Echlan's combined pressure for much longer. He could feel his consciousness gradually slipping.
Kikyou frowned deeply. "How long have you known my son."
"I met Illu when he was 16 – that's about eight years ago." Hisoka gave a trembling sigh and his mind darkened. Before he blacked out, he saw himself eight years ago, at the 199th floor of the Celestial tower where he saw Illumi, dressed in pink with ribbons in his hair, trying to pass himself off as a girl in a place where impressions and appearance was how your opponent judged you. Their first conversation bought a smile to his lips when Illumi glared at him and told him to move out of his way. It was then he knew that he *had* to have him.