Wow... 7 reviews for just the first chapter! I'm so happy! Thank you
everyone that reviewed! I'll try to make this chapter longer. Please R&R!
Disclaimer: Don't own Escaflowne or any characters. Don't sue me.
AN: In my fic Dilandau never lost control of the Dragon Slayers... he is still commander of them.
Chapter 2: Why him?
Even though Hitomi did prepare herself for what she was about to witness, it did no good. She landed on her hands and knees trying to regain her vision and balance.
The light faded away just as fast as it had come, going back to the heavily clouded sky.
Hitomi's eyes were tightly shut but a faint smell of something familiar invaded her senses. She felt a warm liquid against her hand and opened her eyes a little bit to inspect what it was.
The first sight filled her mind with nausea. A dark pool of crimson liquid stained her hands. Hitomi, afraid to look further, lifted her head a little to the source of the blood.
A man clad in armor lay there with eyes bulging out of his head. The pale white of his face showed that death had taken its toll. The reason of his death was clear. Two arrows protruded out from his chest.
Holding back the strong urge to loose the contents of her stomach, Hitomi inched her way away from the dead soldier.
As she kept sliding herself backwards, she did not notice something behind her. Soon enough she bumped into it and gave out a shriek.
Hitomi jumped to her feet and stumbled away from whatever she had just hit. Her eyes went wide in disbelief as she took in the site before her.
In all of Hitomi's shock, she managed to sputter out "No... th...this can't be real!"
What lay before her were bodies of many soldiers strewn across the land. They were all bathed in blood, some with swords, spears, and arrows extending out of their mangled bodies. By the looks of them all, none seemed to be alive.
Hitomi grew cold and felt extremely faint. The nausea was rising in her throat and she couldn't think straight. But then a noise in the distance caught her attention and took her eyes off the carnage.
*******At the battle*******
"Van! How are you holding up?" Allen shouted over the intercom.
"There is too many of them!" Van replied while slicing through a Zaibach guymelef.
They had been fighting for a while and the results were devastating. Corpses scattered the area and guymelefs of every sort lay broken and torn along the landscape.
Allen, who was showing the signs of exhaustion, held his sword up just in time to deflect the crima-claws that were heading straight for him.
Though Van's muscles ached, he fought with all the remaining strength he had in him. Not until he heard a cold menacing laugh did all his muscles tense up.
The red guymelef stepped out of the smoke coming from the fires, and walked casually up to Escaflowne. It could mean only one thing. Dilandau was piloting the red armor.
Dilandau then broke the silence. "I'm so glad you're not dead yet Van! Now I can finally kill you for what you have done to my face!"
At that moment, Dilandau formed a blade and charged at Van. Regaining his senses in time, Van swiftly dodged the attack by dashing to the right. Escaflowne then stood on the battlefield in its fighting stance. Van was ready for anything that came his way.
Dilandau also got into his fighting stance and made the first move. Bringing his blade down from above, Dilandau tried to push Van back to make him loose his balance. Van blocked the blow and held his footing. Lurching forward, Van pushed Dilandau off. They parried each other, while looking for an opening to attack.
Two great swordsmen of Gaea were at it to the death. Ash from the fire was suffocating Van but Dilandau enjoyed the heat. His eyes and soul glowed as the fire did, burning with the passion of killing and of death.
At that moment when Van thought the battle would never end, there was a vast explosion that went off right next to Dilandau. The force caused him to get thrusted sideways. This surprised both fighters and caught them off guard, but Van saw the opportunity to attack. While Dilandau went to steady himself, Van charged at him. Escaflowne slashed diagonally at Dilandau, but only managed to cut half way into the guymelef's arm. The liquid metal burst from the opening rendering the arm useless.
"Damn you! You're gonna pay!" Dilandau shouted from his cockpit.
Allen's voice then cracked over the fuzzy sounding comlink. "W...we ca...n't hold up! We've do...ne enou...gh! At... this rate, we w...ill die. Eve...ryone prepare... to leave! We have fo...ught ... to our extent." Allen gave the command and the crusade started to make its retreat.
Van didn't waste any time and transformed Escaflowne into its dragon form. Quickly taking to the skies, he looked back at an extremely furious Dilandau who was trying to chase after him. Apparently Van had damaged Dilandau's guymelef enough that it could not fly. Relieved that his fight with Dilandau was over, Van looked to the Crusade and flew away from the destruction.
Leaving the battleground behind, the Crusade flew away, but what they did not know was that someone dear to them was still there.
******Back to Hitomi******
The noise that woke Hitomi out of her thoughts was the Crusade taking to the skies. Hitomi looked in disbelief as her only way of getting back to Austuria flew away into the distance. In desperation, she started to run towards it. It was no use for no one would see her... they were too far away.
Hitomi sank to her knees and felt like giving up all hope. She didn't know where to go or where the nearest city was. She really couldn't trust anyone for risk of getting herself hurt or worse... killed.
Her heart pounded against her ribs and the pounding seemed to grow in strength. Not until Hitomi felt her knees start to pound did Hitomi wonder. At first, she thought she might have been cutting off her circulation to her legs, so she started to feel her heart beat in her legs. When the ground seemed to beat around her, Hitomi started to doubt it was her heart. She looked around her and heard hooves beating against the ground.
Hitomi felt relieved that someone was there that could help her get back. Just as soon as she found the direction in which the sound was coming from, panic and terror replaced all hope. A flag of red and black could be seen waving in the dusty wind.
As soldiers on horseback came into view, Hitomi's heart's pace quickened, but when a few surviving guymelefs removed their invincibility devices, her heart skipped a beat. Many looked beat up and damaged very badly. They all stood behind the remaining soldiers and horsemen waiting for orders.
A voice in their direction could be heard. It was hard to make out what the person was saying but Hitomi heard something like 'Search for survivors'.
Alarm hit Hitomi like an arrow. What if they found her? Would they kill her? Use her? What if they found out who she was?
Slowly getting up, she looked for a way to escape. There was no place to really hide. The land was barren and void of a safe hiding spot. Keeping an eye on the rest of Zaibach's surviving army, Hitomi backed up while keeping low. Maybe she could gradually make her way somewhere without being noticed. Then she might stumble upon a good spot to stay till the army left.
Hitomi's pendant then started to give off a slight glow. A vision flashed before her eyes. It was one she never had before, and it lasted only one second. It had to be a warning.
"A red guymelef... why did I see that? It looked so familiar... didn't I see that guymelef the first day I was on Gaea? When Fanelia was burned down?!"
But Hitomi's vision didn't give her any warning. Still staying low, Hitomi backed up still keeping her eyes on the approaching army.
Hitomi's foot then hit something very hard. She stopped dead in her tracks and straightened up. Whirling around, Hitomi looked down to see what she hit but saw nothing. Dread consumed her as the pendant lying under her shirt glowed with a bright intensity like that of the sun.
Then right before her eyes, a red guymelef appeared. That was what she bumped into! She didn't see it before because it was invincible. Now that it was right before her eyes, all Hitomi wanted to do was run. As if guessing her actions, the guymelef raised its undamaged arm and shot the metal claws at her.
Raising her arms in front of her face, Hitomi closed her eyes and prayed that she wasn't going to die. She felt the metal brush against her side then felt it curl around her back. Surprised she didn't feel any pain, Hitomi lowered her arms and opened her eyes. What she saw scared her more. The claw had wrapped itself around her waist a few times and tightened. The end of one claw wrapped itself around her wrists and held them in place in front of her.
It was no use trying to wiggle free. The red guymelef then lifted its arm making Hitomi lift higher into the air. Hitomi tried to remember who was in the guymelef, but she was lost in her own nervousness.
Hitomi was then lifted up to the visor of the red guymelef as if being inspected.
Hitomi managed to find her voice and spoke to the pilot. "Just who are you?! Let me go!"
Hitomi didn't even need an answer as she suddenly heard the cockpit of her captor's guymelef fill with menacing laughter. She recognized it right away and she froze with terror.
Dilandau then opened the cockpit's door and hung on the edge with his feet planted on the edge of the door. He had a look of revenge and disgust on his face as he studied Hitomi who was being held right in front of him by the crima claws. Then realization dawned upon his features.
"You're the bitch from the Mystic Moon! Hahahahahaha!!!! Now I don't need to kill Van... I'll just have my revenge on you. You're the cause of all my pain!"
Dilandau grabbed Hitomi by her hair with one hand, and forced her head backwards and twisted it to the side. He trailed his other hand down her cheek moving in the same direction of his scar.
He let go of her hair, and brought the back of his gloved hand across her face. Sharp pain flashed through Hitomi's cheek and spread throughout her head. Hitomi was shocked through all the suddenness of everything.
Then the galloping of a horse could be heard coming toward them. She turned her head to get a glimpse of whom it was. It was a Zaibach soldier that rode ahead of the group to give the orders to Dilandau.
"Dilandau-sama, Folken-sama has sent levi-ships about 1000 feet from here to the east. We are to arrive as soon as possible to be taken back to the floating fortress." The soldier yelled up to Dilandau.
"Fine..." The soldier then left and Dilandau started to talk more to himself than Hitomi, "Damn that Van! He damaged my guymelef just enough that I couldn't fly. If he hadn't done that, I could have chased after him and killed him... DAMN IT!"
Dilandau's eyes raged with fire and stared at Hitomi. He smiled evilly at Hitomi, which in return sent chills up her spine.
Jumping back into the guymelef, Dilandau turned to the east and headed towards the levi-ships with Hitomi still in his grasp.
Disclaimer: Don't own Escaflowne or any characters. Don't sue me.
AN: In my fic Dilandau never lost control of the Dragon Slayers... he is still commander of them.
Chapter 2: Why him?
Even though Hitomi did prepare herself for what she was about to witness, it did no good. She landed on her hands and knees trying to regain her vision and balance.
The light faded away just as fast as it had come, going back to the heavily clouded sky.
Hitomi's eyes were tightly shut but a faint smell of something familiar invaded her senses. She felt a warm liquid against her hand and opened her eyes a little bit to inspect what it was.
The first sight filled her mind with nausea. A dark pool of crimson liquid stained her hands. Hitomi, afraid to look further, lifted her head a little to the source of the blood.
A man clad in armor lay there with eyes bulging out of his head. The pale white of his face showed that death had taken its toll. The reason of his death was clear. Two arrows protruded out from his chest.
Holding back the strong urge to loose the contents of her stomach, Hitomi inched her way away from the dead soldier.
As she kept sliding herself backwards, she did not notice something behind her. Soon enough she bumped into it and gave out a shriek.
Hitomi jumped to her feet and stumbled away from whatever she had just hit. Her eyes went wide in disbelief as she took in the site before her.
In all of Hitomi's shock, she managed to sputter out "No... th...this can't be real!"
What lay before her were bodies of many soldiers strewn across the land. They were all bathed in blood, some with swords, spears, and arrows extending out of their mangled bodies. By the looks of them all, none seemed to be alive.
Hitomi grew cold and felt extremely faint. The nausea was rising in her throat and she couldn't think straight. But then a noise in the distance caught her attention and took her eyes off the carnage.
*******At the battle*******
"Van! How are you holding up?" Allen shouted over the intercom.
"There is too many of them!" Van replied while slicing through a Zaibach guymelef.
They had been fighting for a while and the results were devastating. Corpses scattered the area and guymelefs of every sort lay broken and torn along the landscape.
Allen, who was showing the signs of exhaustion, held his sword up just in time to deflect the crima-claws that were heading straight for him.
Though Van's muscles ached, he fought with all the remaining strength he had in him. Not until he heard a cold menacing laugh did all his muscles tense up.
The red guymelef stepped out of the smoke coming from the fires, and walked casually up to Escaflowne. It could mean only one thing. Dilandau was piloting the red armor.
Dilandau then broke the silence. "I'm so glad you're not dead yet Van! Now I can finally kill you for what you have done to my face!"
At that moment, Dilandau formed a blade and charged at Van. Regaining his senses in time, Van swiftly dodged the attack by dashing to the right. Escaflowne then stood on the battlefield in its fighting stance. Van was ready for anything that came his way.
Dilandau also got into his fighting stance and made the first move. Bringing his blade down from above, Dilandau tried to push Van back to make him loose his balance. Van blocked the blow and held his footing. Lurching forward, Van pushed Dilandau off. They parried each other, while looking for an opening to attack.
Two great swordsmen of Gaea were at it to the death. Ash from the fire was suffocating Van but Dilandau enjoyed the heat. His eyes and soul glowed as the fire did, burning with the passion of killing and of death.
At that moment when Van thought the battle would never end, there was a vast explosion that went off right next to Dilandau. The force caused him to get thrusted sideways. This surprised both fighters and caught them off guard, but Van saw the opportunity to attack. While Dilandau went to steady himself, Van charged at him. Escaflowne slashed diagonally at Dilandau, but only managed to cut half way into the guymelef's arm. The liquid metal burst from the opening rendering the arm useless.
"Damn you! You're gonna pay!" Dilandau shouted from his cockpit.
Allen's voice then cracked over the fuzzy sounding comlink. "W...we ca...n't hold up! We've do...ne enou...gh! At... this rate, we w...ill die. Eve...ryone prepare... to leave! We have fo...ught ... to our extent." Allen gave the command and the crusade started to make its retreat.
Van didn't waste any time and transformed Escaflowne into its dragon form. Quickly taking to the skies, he looked back at an extremely furious Dilandau who was trying to chase after him. Apparently Van had damaged Dilandau's guymelef enough that it could not fly. Relieved that his fight with Dilandau was over, Van looked to the Crusade and flew away from the destruction.
Leaving the battleground behind, the Crusade flew away, but what they did not know was that someone dear to them was still there.
******Back to Hitomi******
The noise that woke Hitomi out of her thoughts was the Crusade taking to the skies. Hitomi looked in disbelief as her only way of getting back to Austuria flew away into the distance. In desperation, she started to run towards it. It was no use for no one would see her... they were too far away.
Hitomi sank to her knees and felt like giving up all hope. She didn't know where to go or where the nearest city was. She really couldn't trust anyone for risk of getting herself hurt or worse... killed.
Her heart pounded against her ribs and the pounding seemed to grow in strength. Not until Hitomi felt her knees start to pound did Hitomi wonder. At first, she thought she might have been cutting off her circulation to her legs, so she started to feel her heart beat in her legs. When the ground seemed to beat around her, Hitomi started to doubt it was her heart. She looked around her and heard hooves beating against the ground.
Hitomi felt relieved that someone was there that could help her get back. Just as soon as she found the direction in which the sound was coming from, panic and terror replaced all hope. A flag of red and black could be seen waving in the dusty wind.
As soldiers on horseback came into view, Hitomi's heart's pace quickened, but when a few surviving guymelefs removed their invincibility devices, her heart skipped a beat. Many looked beat up and damaged very badly. They all stood behind the remaining soldiers and horsemen waiting for orders.
A voice in their direction could be heard. It was hard to make out what the person was saying but Hitomi heard something like 'Search for survivors'.
Alarm hit Hitomi like an arrow. What if they found her? Would they kill her? Use her? What if they found out who she was?
Slowly getting up, she looked for a way to escape. There was no place to really hide. The land was barren and void of a safe hiding spot. Keeping an eye on the rest of Zaibach's surviving army, Hitomi backed up while keeping low. Maybe she could gradually make her way somewhere without being noticed. Then she might stumble upon a good spot to stay till the army left.
Hitomi's pendant then started to give off a slight glow. A vision flashed before her eyes. It was one she never had before, and it lasted only one second. It had to be a warning.
"A red guymelef... why did I see that? It looked so familiar... didn't I see that guymelef the first day I was on Gaea? When Fanelia was burned down?!"
But Hitomi's vision didn't give her any warning. Still staying low, Hitomi backed up still keeping her eyes on the approaching army.
Hitomi's foot then hit something very hard. She stopped dead in her tracks and straightened up. Whirling around, Hitomi looked down to see what she hit but saw nothing. Dread consumed her as the pendant lying under her shirt glowed with a bright intensity like that of the sun.
Then right before her eyes, a red guymelef appeared. That was what she bumped into! She didn't see it before because it was invincible. Now that it was right before her eyes, all Hitomi wanted to do was run. As if guessing her actions, the guymelef raised its undamaged arm and shot the metal claws at her.
Raising her arms in front of her face, Hitomi closed her eyes and prayed that she wasn't going to die. She felt the metal brush against her side then felt it curl around her back. Surprised she didn't feel any pain, Hitomi lowered her arms and opened her eyes. What she saw scared her more. The claw had wrapped itself around her waist a few times and tightened. The end of one claw wrapped itself around her wrists and held them in place in front of her.
It was no use trying to wiggle free. The red guymelef then lifted its arm making Hitomi lift higher into the air. Hitomi tried to remember who was in the guymelef, but she was lost in her own nervousness.
Hitomi was then lifted up to the visor of the red guymelef as if being inspected.
Hitomi managed to find her voice and spoke to the pilot. "Just who are you?! Let me go!"
Hitomi didn't even need an answer as she suddenly heard the cockpit of her captor's guymelef fill with menacing laughter. She recognized it right away and she froze with terror.
Dilandau then opened the cockpit's door and hung on the edge with his feet planted on the edge of the door. He had a look of revenge and disgust on his face as he studied Hitomi who was being held right in front of him by the crima claws. Then realization dawned upon his features.
"You're the bitch from the Mystic Moon! Hahahahahaha!!!! Now I don't need to kill Van... I'll just have my revenge on you. You're the cause of all my pain!"
Dilandau grabbed Hitomi by her hair with one hand, and forced her head backwards and twisted it to the side. He trailed his other hand down her cheek moving in the same direction of his scar.
He let go of her hair, and brought the back of his gloved hand across her face. Sharp pain flashed through Hitomi's cheek and spread throughout her head. Hitomi was shocked through all the suddenness of everything.
Then the galloping of a horse could be heard coming toward them. She turned her head to get a glimpse of whom it was. It was a Zaibach soldier that rode ahead of the group to give the orders to Dilandau.
"Dilandau-sama, Folken-sama has sent levi-ships about 1000 feet from here to the east. We are to arrive as soon as possible to be taken back to the floating fortress." The soldier yelled up to Dilandau.
"Fine..." The soldier then left and Dilandau started to talk more to himself than Hitomi, "Damn that Van! He damaged my guymelef just enough that I couldn't fly. If he hadn't done that, I could have chased after him and killed him... DAMN IT!"
Dilandau's eyes raged with fire and stared at Hitomi. He smiled evilly at Hitomi, which in return sent chills up her spine.
Jumping back into the guymelef, Dilandau turned to the east and headed towards the levi-ships with Hitomi still in his grasp.
