The judge smirked, "So, willing to go on, Mr. Albatou?"
Dilandau's eyes flashed, "I am." he paused, "And my name is Schezar."
The judge's eyes seemed to warm, though his expression remained harsh, "So what do you plead, Mr. Schezar?"
Dilandau stood tall and stared the judge in the eyes, "I plead not guilty."
The courtroom remained imperturbably silent.
That no one on earth will ever find?
Heaven gives its glimpses only to those
Not in position to look too close.
Dilandau was almost entranced by the silence of the courtroom. He was broken from the dead silence that his mind drifted in by a cold, triumphant hand gripping his own. He seemed to hear a loud cheer coming directly from that hand, as if a group of people thought his victory was their own. Shocked, he pulled his hand away, staring at the Doppleganger.
The creature's eyes sparked, and it smiled, the expression a strange contortion on its face. Dilandau was still shocked by the strange feeling he had gotten when the Doppleganger held his hand. Was it some sort of strange racial trait that he hadn't encountered before? Still, he felt better when he knew someone supported his decision. He was still reluctant about this entire proceeding, but he felt better to have a kind presence at his side, even if there was a good chance that it was false.
The tentative silence of the room was broken by the banging of the gavel on the counter, "All right, then… Prosecution, will you please call your first witness?"
Folken stood, languid and menacing in his black lawyer's robes, "The prosecution calls the Dragonslayer Gatty, second-in-command to Dilandau… Schezar." at the last, Folken sent a mocking smirk Dilandau's way.
Silently, Gatty rose from the audience, walking up the narrow hallway and throwing the shutter-doors open. He gave Dilandau a sidelong glance as he walked, one that seemed to have no small measure of envy and resentment.
He took a seat in the witness' box, and gazed more placidly around the courtroom. Folken sashayed around the table, fixing Gatty with a strange look.
"So, then, Dragonslayer Gatty, Mr. Schezar was your commander, correct?" Folken said, his voice silky.
"Yes." Gatty answered.
"How did he treat you?" Folken said quickly.
"Personally? He was cruel, hard, and abusive." Gatty said matter-of-factly.
Dilandau didn't bother to be crushed. Somehow he knew that this would happen.
"How so?" Folken said casually.
"When we didn't follow his orders correctly, he hit us. When we did follow his orders correctly, he still hit us." He stared at Dilandau, a challenge in his eyes.
Dilandau wasn't truly paying attention to the goings on around him. He was thinking through all the memories he had of his soldiers. Through the years since he finally 'recovered' his other self, he had tried to cling to the memories that had given him happiness, and not the ones that had upset him. Perhaps that was a foolish thing to do, because though Dilandau had, as a child, practically worshipped these soldiers who had been below him, and though he knew that Dilandau… that he had loved them more than anything, as much as his creators had let him love… He realized that his soldiers must have hated him.
Folken smirked at Dilandau's silence, "Dragonslayer Gatty, can you tell me what happened on the day you died?" he said with a semblance of sweetness.
At that, Dilandau snapped to attention. His eyes were wide. Those words, '…the day you died…' They affected him more than anything in the rest of this dream had. Because the spirits of this dream were self-aware, that meant that they perhaps… No. They couldn't be the same as the spirits of his friends… Could they?
Gatty didn't pause long enough for Dilandau to get his thoughts together, "Dilandau called us to the meeting room. We were supposed to be waiting for the dragon to come to the Vione. But he told us to suit up, that only fools and cowards waited for the enemy to come to them."
"So, he told you to disobey your orders?" Folken said casually.
"Objection!" shouted Zongi, standing, "This is not a military tribunal. The orders are inconsequential."
"But your honor…" Folken retorted, affecting surprise, "The mental state of the people involved is directly affected by the orders given by the defendant, and whether they were in conflict with the orders of officers higher up in the echelon."
"Objection overruled. Answer the question." The judge said.
"Yes, he told us to disobey our orders…" Gatty paused, giving Dilandau a significant and long look, "He always said that we should follow his orders, and not the orders of his superiors. He said that HE was our commander, and they were nothing. He expected us to be loyal to only him."
"And were you?" asked Folken.
"Outwardly." Gatty answered, "We always reported first to him, and tried to make it seem as if he was the only one we heeded."
"I see." Folken said, smiling, "So what happened on that day?"
"He told us to suit up, and so we did. We didn't want to make him mad." Gatty said, "Then we went after the dragon. We thought we could beat him, but we were wrong. Dilandau didn't tell us to retreat, he must have been going crazy…"
"Objection, your honor, opinions and conclusions." Zongi said, "He's not an expert."
"Sustained," the judge said briefly.
"So, Dilandau never told you to retreat…"
"No, he never did." Gatty repeated.
"And when you engaged the dragon, no one survived?" Folken asked.
"No one but Dilandau. He cut through us in no time." Gatty said.
"No further questions, your honor." Folken said, feeling assured in his victory.
The judge nodded and then turned to Zongi, "You would like to cross-examine the witness, I assume?" he asked.
"Yes, your honor." Zongi said.
"Very well." the judge said.
Zongi stood, sweeping over awkwardly in his robes, "You say that none of you survived, correct?" he asked.
Gatty nodded.
"And you died as well, right?"
"Yes." said Gatty, frowning.
Zongi nodded as if he was considering this very hard. "So, he killed you all very quickly, right?"
"Yes."
"You said, 'in no time', I believe."
"Right."
Zongi trained his large eyes on Gatty, "And how about you, when did you die?"
"Me?" Gatty said, taken aback, "I died… pretty early on." he said with a sigh.
"I see. How early, would you say?"
Gatty's head sank, "Just a few minutes into the battle." he muttered.
Zongi's pointed ears twitched, "What was that again?" he asked.
"I said…" Gatty started, louder, "About thirty seconds into the battle."
"Hmm…" Zongi said, "I see. So, you were one of the first to die, then?" he asked.
Gatty nodded, defeated.
"In that case," Zongi finished, "It's understandable that the order to retreat may have been given, but you were no longer alive to hear it, is that so?" he said, almost kindly, as if he was sympathetic with the boy. Dilandau blinked, and so perhaps he was. After all, death was probably something that only the dead could relate to.
Gatty, not looking at the doppelganger, nodded once.
"No further questions, your honor." Zongi said with a faint smile.
When Zongi sat down, he gave Dilandau a small victorious smile.
Dilandau smiled back, almost sincere. He was still shaken. Gatty had practically been his right-hand man. Dilandau knew he could never have let someone be so close to him, the way he was before, and Gatty was almost there. In a way, Gatty had been his only friend. Part of him felt betrayed at the testimony Gatty had given, but part of him felt vindicated because Zongi had devalued that testimony.
As Gatty left the stand, he gave Dilandau a stare of cold hatred and frustration, as if he had waited all this time since he died to stick it to Dilandau, and Zongi had robbed him of that right. The look that Dilandau gave back was nothing but pity and sadness.
Coldly, Gatty ignored him, and sat back down in the audience without a second glance. Dilandau settled down into his chair, waiting for the judge to begin the proceedings again.
The hall outside the courtroom was empty but for the five smoky figures that stood in a close circle just in front of the doorway. The room was bathed in bluish shadow, and the ring of darkness that was around them seemed to be kept at bay by nothing more than their wills.
A voice rang out clearly in the darkness, "He has passed the first test." said True. The tone of his voice seemed strained, as if it was a physical battle that he had just lost.
"It seems so." spoke Gaze, as if he was trying to clear a distaste from his voice, "The small modicum of trust that he has given to his lawyer has allowed the creature the ability to perform well, and root out the flaw in the testimony."
"However," chimed in Shy, "the next one will be more difficult, and the trust he has in his attorney is not yet matured."
Last nodded sagely, "He may still succumb. We must be prepared for it." his voice sounded faintly like desperate hunger.
"There are yet many more challenges…" said Care, "Many more chances for him to give way."
There was a simultaneous nod and a general stiffening of resolve, and their circle tightened as they watched the center. The dimness around them seemed to thicken with the force of their wills. And their cycle began again.
Author's note: I hope it doesn't all seem too obtuse. (frets) I try to make everything as easy to understand as possible, but I always feel like I'm writing over people's heads. Not about the law, though… I'm sure you realize that there's something going on in the courtroom that's only hinted to. (I hope no one guesses!!) Only I know what the eventual outcome will be. (grins evilly) I hope you all are enjoying the ride though!!
OK! If anyone noticed, I changed Chapter 3 in the middle of writing this chapter. If anyone wants to tell me what the change is, and why, they'll get a special prize! Prize is yet to be determined, mostly because I'm pretty sure no one will get it. Email me at DragonGirl17@AOL.com if you think you've got the answer.
Also, I got braces on and they really hurt. I think, though, that I'll be OK for writing the next chapter. I tell you this because I believe all you care about is your next fix, and not my general well-being. ;_; Wahh.
But wait, there's more reviews!!
BlueAloe: Yeah.. The reason the chapter was centered was because I screwed up ^^;;. I have to write the HTML on my own, and sometimes I screw up and forget to check it. I fixed it, though… Anyhow, when I'm really worried and uncomfortable, it certainly feels like that to me.(like the worry is hovering around my hips…) Plus, I'm sick of all those old metaphors. Thought I'd make up some of my own… Anyhow, yeah, graduation feels a hell of a lot better than being just before graduating did. Thanks for the congrats!
dilanda: Yes, why yes, I did have to end it there. Hope I updated fast enough for ya!
Macky: I put 'em in this chapter just for you! Feel special! Yeah, it was sort of obvious he'd plead not guilty, but maybe if I'm not too sick of the idea, after I finish I'll write an alternate universe where he pleads guilty. It'll be a challenge for me, anyhow. I bet I could get it to its eventual ending even if he did plead guilty. Hehe!
Eboni: I know! That's why I wrote the story, because I was so mad that they had just chucked such an interesting character. It's unlikely that there'll be any more Escaflowne, although many will be happy to know that Tokyopop picked up the rights to one of the Escaflowne Manga, and it's coming out in, I believe November. Some will be unhappy to know that it's just plain not a very good manga, and Dilandau's way different. (Be happy though, he's not even in the other manga series, only Celena is…)
Etowato: I'm sorry your review wasn't posted. I'm sure it was the sagest thing you've ever written. But you don't have to wait long for the next chapter, cuz here it is!!