The 'judge' walked in and sat down. Dilandau and the rest of the people in the courtroom followed suit. Dilandau turned to Zongi, who smiled.
"Now it's our turn." Zongi said, "Don't worry about it. I've got it all figured out."
"Right…" Dilandau said desolately. He gave Zongi a pitiable look.
"What?" Zongi asked, disconcerted, "What's the matter?"
"I know…" Dilandau said softly, "Who the judge is."
A grim look stole over Zongi's face, "That's just as well." he said, resigned.
Dilandau looked at him, somewhat surprised, "Why?" he said.
Zongi grinned weakly, "Well, if you know, you know. There's nothing I can do about it. At least now you know it's all up to you, and has been since the beginning."
"Somehow that doesn't make me feel better." muttered Dilandau, putting his head down on his crossed arms.
"I didn't say it would." Zongi replied.
The heart knows no
measure of devotion,
Greater than being shore to the ocean.
Holding the curve of one position,
Counting an endless repetition.
Robert Frost-"Devotion"
Looking doubtfully down at Zongi, the judge sighed, "Would you like to call your first witness, defense?" he asked.
"Yes, your honor. I will call Ravi to the stand." Zongi said, holding the judge's gaze with his eyes.
Dilandau turned to the audience, and saw that the right side, which had previously been only occupied by shadowed figures, was a sea of familiar and kind faces. He saw Ravi, his mother, his uncle Allen, King Van, even King Dryden and Queen Millerna. The latter few seemed a bit surprised to be here, but they smiled at him, trying to make him feel comfortable.
Dilandau turned around. This was where he'd know if the madoushi were trying to trick him. If the people who now sat behind him were who they appeared to be, they'd support him over all else. Dilandau was confident that no matter how much he hated himself, his family and friends still loved him. For some reason they had blinded themselves to the fatal flaws in his personality.
Ravi stood behind him, and walked up to the stand. Dilandau saw that he was looking at him, and when he caught Ravi's gaze, Ravi smiled and gave him a subtle thumbs-up. This only soothed Dilandau slightly.
"Please, will you state your name for the court?" Zongi said.
"Sure." Ravi said, eyeing Zongi with a small smile, "I'm Ravi Benzi."
"And you're a friend of the defendant, correct?" Zongi asked.
"Best friend of the defendant." Ravi agreed.
Zongi smiled easily, "How long have you known him?" he asked.
Ravi paused to consider, "Um… About.. Wait, let's see." he looked thoughtful, "A little more than three years… Almost four years." he amended.
"And in all that time, what has he told you about his former life?" Zongi asked.
Ravi closed his eyes, trying to recall, "At first I didn't know." he said, "Then one day I was sparring with him, and I hit him on the face, and he started freaking out."
Zongi nodded, "What happened then?"
"A little while after that, he ran away from home, and stole a guymelef suit, and tried to kill King Van of Fanelia. I didn't understand why he would until his mom explained to me that he was really the Dilandau from the war. Before, I just thought that it was a weird name, never really thought about it."
"Just to clarify, how could that be?"
"What?" Ravi was confused, "How could it be that Dilandau was a weird name? You don't usually name your kid after dead war heroes from the ENEMY side…."
"No…" Zongi said, "No, how could he be the same person?"
"OH!" Ravi said, "Sorry. Um… I wasn't exactly too clear on that. Mrs. Celena told me that when she was young they did these experiments on her, and she was 'pushed aside' to accommodate the soul, the fate, of someone else."
"And that someone was Dilandau?" Zongi pushed.
"Yeah. She said that when Dilandau Albatou from the war died, he really just went back into her, and that she… uh… talked to him inside her head…" he looked uncomfortable, "You really should be asking her this stuff. I don't know enough."
"You're fine, Ravi." Zongi said soothingly, "So, we all know he didn't succeed in killing Van Fanel, what happened?"
"Oh. Well, we chased after him. That is, me and Sir Allen and Mrs. Celena, but we were too late. When we got there, Dilandau had already come, but King Van fought him off somehow, and he was unconscious again. When he woke up, he was just the same as ever… Even happier than ever, I thought."
"Was he exactly the same?" Zongi asked.
Ravi blustered, "Uh… Well, no. He had changed a lot in subtle ways, I suppose."
"Why do you think that is?"
Ravi looked away, "Ah… He.. He told me it was because when he went after King Van and stuff… That… That was when he got back all his memories of his other life."
"Who's 'he'?" Zongi asked.
"Dilandau." Ravi said, matter-of-fact.
"Did you perceive any changes?" Zongi said.
Ravi seemed somewhat uncomfortable, "Uh… Yes." he said, "He seemed more quick to anger, less extroverted. Just little things, I don't think anyone else noticed."
Zongi looked at him, trying to convey the import of the question he was about to ask, "Did he seem like he would be capable of the things that you know Dilandau Albatou did?"
Ravi gave Zongi a look of surprise, "No! He didn't like to spar as much after that, and when he did, I could tell he was holding back. He didn't hurt anybody after that… I mean, before he'd get kinda rough when the boys weren't keeping their guard up, give 'em a little bruise to remind 'em, but after that he didn't touch anybody, didn't hit anybody." there was a pause, "It weirded the boys out for a while, but after that, I guess they just got used to it, ya know? They might not have learned as well, but it didn't really bother them…"
"So, his violent tendencies dwindled?" Zongi clarified.
"Yeah, that's a good way to put it…" Ravi said.
"No further questions." Zongi said, with a wink at Ravi.
Ravi smiled wanly, but as Folken stood, he seemed to quail. Zongi was a minor footnote in history, rarely mentioned except in conjunction with what happened in Freid. There were no pictures of him, and there were very few doppelgangers left in the world, so there was little for Ravi to fear when it came to the defense attorney.
But Folken was a major part of the Fate wars, made even more historical and strangely menacing by the twin paintings of him that King Van had had commissioned for the library of his new castle. One showed him as a youth, kind eyes, both arms intact, flanked by twin cat-girls. One showed him tall, dark, menacing, his right arm mechanical and outstretched toward the watcher with a deep sadness permeating his face.
This was the Folken that Ravi had seen when he visited Fanelia castle three years ago, the one that had sent shivers up and down his spine. This was the Folken that strode up to him, staring at him with dark garnet-brown eyes.
Was it Ravi's fault if he shrunk back a little?
Folken gave Ravi a narrowed look, "You're a friend of the defendant, then?" he asked contemptuously, as if he hadn't quite deigned to pay attention to Ravi's testimony.
Ravi stammered his answer, "Ah.. Ah, y-yes, sir." he said.
Folken made no move to make Ravi feel better, "And you've known him since he was reborn, correct?"
"Yes." Ravi said, avoiding the gaze.
There was a whirring, and Folken's mechanical arm came into view from beneath his robe sleeves. Dilandau raised an eyebrow. He didn't remember seeing it before, but then he hadn't paid attention to much except Folken's words and the words of his witnesses. The arm gripped the witness box like the wicked talons of a bird of prey.
"Let me ask you a hypothetical question." Folken said, not allowing for a denial.
Ravi nodded, his eyes wide and fixed on the gleaming metal hand.
"IF a criminal had committed atrocious crimes, and IF he was lost and later resurfaced to be tried for those crimes, is there any way you could excuse him?" Folken asked.
For a moment, there was no answer, as Ravi continued to stare fearfully at the wicked gleaming ghost of an arm that was latched onto the box where he sat.
"Well?" Folken asked loudly, his voice still slightly menacing.
Ravi swallowed, "Ah… I.. d-don't know." he said, and then his voice strengthened, and he looked Folken straight in the eye, "If he was a different person than that criminal, then yes. I could excuse him."
Folken smirked slightly, taking his arm from the box, and turned away, "No further questions, I suppose, your honor."
Ravi's eyes lit up on Dilandau, and he smiled. Dilandau sent him a weak smile in return. It did feel good to know that Ravi was on his side, that Ravi still believed in him. The thought that he had some allies, even in this dream world, lifted his spirits.
Still, the fact that Folken broke off so quickly seemed suspicious. It was obvious that Ravi had been petrified for a moment there. Dilandau had forgotten that Folken could be quite intimidating when he wanted to, or perhaps it was that he just didn't let Folken intimidate him, back then. In whatever case, Ravi seemed absolutely petrified at the mere sight of Folken.
Dilandau watched Ravi go back to his seat, and tried to relax. He turned to Zongi for a moment, about to ask him who the next witness was, but Zongi was looking preoccupied.
"Zongi?" Dilandau whispered.
Zongi jolted guiltily, "What?" he said.
Dilandau decided to pay no mind to the seeming jumpiness of his arbiter, "Who's up next?" he asked nervously.
"It's-" Zongi began, but he was interrupted by…
"Would you please call your next witness, defense?" the judge said irritably.
"Yes, your honor." Zongi said, with a flash of a smile at Dilandau.
Outside, the dark figures resumed their motion.
"This may not be as hard as we thought." True muttered, "He seems more at ease now."
"Of course it's not." scoffed Gaze.
Shy grimaced, "I think you should keep quiet for now." he said to Gaze, "You almost ruined him for us at the last."
"It didn't happen, did it?" Gaze said, somewhat miffed.
"No." Care said, "If we hadn't stepped in it would have, however."
"He was about to break away." growled Last.
Gaze looked chastened, "All right, then." he said by way of an apology.
The rest softened, "Then, it's all right. We know you didn't mean any harm." True said, "We've already waited so long, a little longer can't hurt."
Shy nodded, "Yes. Just a little longer, then."
There was a pause, and then Care spoke, "Strange to know that he knows, eh?"
"You mean that he knows it's all up to him?" Shy replied, and after a pause said, "Stranger still to know that the part of him we helped create is the part of him that he hates the most…"
"It's not…" Gaze said loudly, and then he breathed out the rest quickly, "It's not so strange after all…"
Sadly, the group agreed on this matter, and then began again to concentrate within their circle.
Author's note: Hey, I'm back!! It took me a while to finish this, because I put it off until after my vacation. Gomen!! Maybe the next one will be quicker… (snicker) Did you like how I left off who the next witness will be? And tell me what you thought of the scene with the madoushi… I worked hard on it, and I'm not sure it seems just right. Also, who loves Ravi? (raises hand) I wanted to say real quick that though Ravi often reminds me of me and really reminds me of Gaddess, the fact that Dilandau had to have a friend who had his back no matter what came from my best friend, whom I love. SHE'S THE GREATEST!!! (lovelove) Anyway, I thought it would be kinda cute to see Ravi all scared of Folken's metallic arm. It was a fun scene to write, because I must be so sadistic… Anyway, expect the next chapter… ah… sometime… With a seeeecret witness whoooo!!! (Also, the words to this poem might be wrong. I couldn't find my book, so I used one I had memorized, but it might be a little off)
Rewhatsits!!!
BlueAloe: You got in before Feye! Good job, it's been a while since anyone reviewed before Feye-chan! I'm glad you liked Dilandau's characterization. I'm often afraid that I'm writing him all wonky because of what I wrote him going through in the first part… I can't help it!! I love Ravi, too, though I recently realized that he's basically just a parallel to Gaddess, except more… Ah.. young. Yep, that's about all the difference is. OH WELL! He's still cool.
Feye Morgan: YAY RAVI!! (waves Ravi-theme banners) Yay staunch friend! (likes that phrase) Dilandau did deserve to be slapped, but it was also an excuse for me to ah… let Dilandau get a bit of a taste of his own medicine, so to speak.. ^^;; It's all dramatic irony and crap. Hehehe. I think this chapter was sort of anti-suspenseful, too. It's going to be pretty smooth sailing from here on in. This is where the plot starts to be nice to Dilandau.
Eboni: (wary pat) AH.. Thank you? Yeah, Ravi's great, everyone loves him, including me! I tried to write him as a very simple kinda guy, sort of not seeming to look past the face value, but really having a great handle on what's going on, and stuff. Strangely, he reminds me of me in that fashion. Also, get off the drugs, Ravi can't beat up Miguel, Miguel's dead.
Etowato: Yeah, he's gonna win the case. That's not the surprise. And don't worry, your reviews are always welcome, first or no! Maybe someday you'll get lucky. Ravi and Celena are great for Dilly-chan's side, but that doesn't mean that there won't be a few bumps along the way…
Shy Violet: HA HA!! Takes that! I told them that Ravi was based on you, and you said he talked like Rose de Nose! That means that you talk like Rose de Nose!!!