It's been two months since I've updated this thing and I feel kinda bad about it.
I actually wasn't really planning on continuing this for much longer, if ever but I was forced into it by the deal I made with the ~Dark Spirit~.
I was supposed to write another chapter when I got another review. And I did so here's the next chappie.
Enjoy
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"No…Allen," Van sank to his hands and knees, feeling violently nauseous all of sudden and mind reeling over what he had just witnessed…the hapless death of a great knight, the loss of a dear friend. His insides swam and he could feel the bile burning up his throat. Unable to focus, Van stared glassy-eyed at the network of stone slabs that formed the garden path below his gaze. They twisted like a gray ribbon along the lush grass and sent a new wave of sickness over him. It was all too much. Everything; all that had happened since he had woken up that morning to his eighteenth year; white, the twelfth moon, it was all eating at him, overwhelming him. Nothing made sense and all Van wanted was some semblance of an answer. Something to tell him that he was still dreaming, not living a nightmare that he couldn't wake from. It wasn't real, none of it, it just couldn't be.
"I-it can't be...it c-can't b-be true," Van sobbed, something he hadn't been able to do in a long time. All the emotions he had kept bottled up for so long just poured out. He wept like a child with a scraped knee, the hot tears flooding from his crimson eyes, streaking down his pale cheeks like a violent rainstorm. They wouldn't stop and Van couldn't make them.
"Pathetic," a listless voice from behind, "I told you it was too late."
Van raised his head, wincing from the pain of a headache caused by too much crying and looked to the cloaked man through red-rimmed eyes. "H-how did you k-know...Wh-who are you?" he said in a soft, hiccoughing voice, salty tears continuing to leak out the corners of his eyes.
The man waved his hand in dismissal. "You'll find out soon enough, but as for now, you may call me Velannaf."
"Velannaf," the young king echoed the words in a low murmur. "But how-"
"Quid pro quo Van," Velannaf cut in, "You've asked enough questions. Now it is my turn." He paused, taking stride towards Van's crouched form so he could observe his face. "Did you enjoy seeing her again? Did you enjoy seeing Hitomi?"
Van's brow furrowed as yet another mystery was added to his list of worries. How did this stranger know about his recent vision? It had been a daydream, a very real daydream, but nothing more and Van hadn't had the time to tell anyone about it so how did Velannaf know?
"I'm not looking for a speech, Van. Just a simple yes or no will suffice."
The raven-haired boy swallowed, forcing his vocal chords to form an answer, "Y-es."
"Good," Velannaf said, pleased, "Because she's here." He smirked, seeing Van's eyes widen, "In your dungeon."
"She...here...how...why...you..." Van rambled incoherently. All his thoughts melded together into a stream of gibberish.
The shadow broke into raucous laughter that rang out in the silent garden. "Don't worry Van, all will be explained in due time. I just wanted to see how you felt about her before I made you choose."
"Make…me choose?"
"Yes," Velannaf said in a dark tone, all amusement gone from his voice, "I want you to choose between the girl that has been loyal to you all you short existence...and the girl that abandoned you to this Hell and broke your heart."
Velannaf stared intently at the young king's drawn face, looking to see if the information had sunk in. There was an air of uncertainty in the boy's eyes so he continued. "Since you don't seem to fully understand my proposition, I will simplify it for you." He fixed Van in a cool stare, hidden by the shadows cast by his hood, "I am leaving it to you to decide which one of them lives...the heartbreaking wench Hitomi or sweet little Merle. It's your choice." He grabbed Van's jaw. Leaning in close, he breathed into his ear, "And you must make one."
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"Dilandau?" Hitomi sat cross-legged before the white haired demon.
"What?" He replied blankly, never looking up.
"Well I was just thinking-"
"That's nice."
"Gah," the blond girl threw her hands up, "Would you stop being a jackass long enough for me to finish?"
Dilandau remained silent, tilting his head up, almost interested in what Hitomi had to say. "Good," she said, "Well I was wondering how, if this is Van's dungeon, how did you get in here? I mean it doesn't seem to me that you'd be a welcomed guest here after what you and Zaibach did to Fanelia."
"I had a cloak on. The guards didn't know it was me."
Hitomi was unconvinced. "So you're telling me that the guards just stepped aside and let a cloaked stranger have the run of their dungeon," she inquired skeptically.
"Yes, that's exactly what happened," Dilandau said, raising his voice, "Velannaf told them to take off and they did."
"Okay that's another thing," said Hitomi, "This Velannaf guy, have you ever seen his face?"
"No. He keeps that fucking hood on all the time." Dilandau's temper was rising again. His blood was boiling beneath his devilish eyes. Hitomi cowered slightly under his gaze but kept her voice steady. "Because I think...No, I know it's Van."
Dilandau let out a grating laugh, "I think the air down here has affected you little girl. How the hell could Velannaf be Van?"
"My God Dilandau," Hitomi erupted, "Has it been so long since you've used your brain that you've forgotten how to think? You said it yourself, you've never seen Velannaf's face, so it's quite possible that it's Van under that hood."
Dilandau desperately wanted to strangle the girl from the mystic moon but he allowed her to pursue her thinking. "I'm being held in the Fanelia Castle dungeon which Van obviously had access to…and I was brought here with this," she held her pendant in front of the former slayer's eyes. It swung back and forth slowly, keeping perfect time as it completed one cycle a second. Hitomi's eyes misted but she would not cry again, "Velannaf gave this to me when he left just before you came in. I gave it to Van before leaving Gaea the last time."
"So what," Dilandau said incredulously, "Velannaf could have stolen your little trinket."
"Maybe, but if Velannaf was Van, then it would explain why he wouldn't let you complete your revenge all those times." Dilandau narrowed his eyes. The girl was making sense. "And, when he was leaving I called him Van and asked him not leave me. He told me that I already left him and he was just returning the favor." Hitomi's green eyes sparkled with tears, "Why would he answer if he wasn't Van?"
The white-haired killer watched Hitomi's bottom lip quiver. Everything she was saying was entirely logical. The pieces of the puzzle were fitting together. All Dilandau wanted now was one last piece of information, something that would chase away his doubts completely.
"Velannaf," he worded as his eyes widened. A thought had just crossed his twisted mind. He unsheathed his sword, alarming Hitomi. He turned to the cell wall and scraped the letters V-E-L-A-N-N-A-F in the stone. Hitomi watched with astonishment as Dilandau repeated the process but this time rearranging the letters. When he had finished, he stepped back and growled. Hitomi gasped. The wall now read V-A-N-F-A-N-E-L.
"I guess I can use my brain after all," Dilandau turned to Hitomi and jerked her to her feet, "Come on."
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Merle or Hitomi, the decision had been placed before the young king so simply, yet he could not find an easy answer. How was he supposed to choose between the two women he cared for most? The spunky cat girl had always been a true friend and Hitomi was, well his first love and Van couldn't bring himself to decide which would live. Either way, the consequence of his choice would be dire and this stranger had no write to ask it of him.
"You can't make me choose Velannaf, or whoever you say you are. I just won't do it."
"Oh I think you will your majesty," the shadow chortled, "Unless you want both of them to die." He glanced up to the balcony, "Yes, Merle looks about ready. I'd say you have...oh about a minute before she jumps."
"What?" Van cocked his head up, following Velannaf's gaze. Merle was teetering on the edge of the precipice. The wind whipped at her hair, an invisible hand urging her to leap to her death. "Me-"
"Ssh," said Velannaf softly, cupping his hand over Van's mouth. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. The moment the little cat girl is made aware of our presence I will take that as your decision and give Dilandau the command to kill Hitomi. Don't you want to give the mystic hussy a chance?"
Van pulled his head away from Velannaf's hand, "Dilandau?"
"Oh that's right, I forgot to mention he was part of this." Velannaf stood, "But of course you would already know that if you had any common sense. I mean, do you honestly think Allen would have attack you in cold blood and then come here to die?"
"But...Scherazade-"
"Is a guymelef equipped with Zaibach technology," the shadow walked leisurely walked back and forth, "You saw the crima claw and the flame thrower yourself."
Van made no reply. He was too busy chewing over the information presented to him. He paid no mind to the shadow staring intently at his tired frame, awaiting his decision. Van's mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about Dilandau, the battle in which he thought he had been fighting Allen, his birthday, Merle, Hitomi, the choice he was forced into making and of course this new stranger.
He was dizzy again. His body quivered under the strain of it all. The bright spots before his eyes grew in numbers and his stomach flip-flopped. Sweat dripped in a steady stream along the sides of his face and he fell to his hands again before heaving twice, feeling some relief as his stomach contents emptied on the ground below.
"Feel better?" said Velannaf, stepping out of the way of the pooling vomit. He turned his nose up as he watched Van fall to a seated position. "Now are you ready to choose? All you have to say is Merle or Hitomi."
Van opened his mouth but stopped when he heard a loud crash behind him. It sounded like a door being swung open too forcefully. Both he and Velannaf turned and saw a white-haired boy dressed in red and a rather scared looking young woman.
"Hitomi!"
"Well," grinned Velannaf, "If that's your decision."
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That's the end of this chapter. Sorry to leave it at somewhat of a cliff but I felt like adding some suspense. Keep you guys interested.
Stay tuned for more.
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