Oh! O_o all of you people with PS2's have to go rent Devil May Cry 2! It's the most fun game I've played since I tried to beat Sephiroth on Kingdom Hearts (and I almost wet myself when that white-haired bishonen came after me!). You CAN'T LOSE this game, guys! O_o AND you can jump off of walls, fly, and have white hair and a red trench coat! And handguns! And a few big whomping swords! You can't lose!!! Dante is my hero! I call Dante! Do you hear that, Black Dragon? Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhah! And no, I am not trying to sell their product…oh, never mind, yes, I am!
Disclaimer: Brought to you by…Dante from the PS2 game Devil May Cry 2 (That was a big surprise, wasn't it???)
ACG: O_o *giggles insanely*
Dante: *does a cool pose*
ACG: *giggles some more*
Dante: *takes out his bazooka and blows up ACG's High School*
ACG: *giggles and cheers* "Do you know why you're so cool?"
Dante: *shrugs*
ACG: "'Cause you're like a Vash-sama with white hair who LIKES to blow stuff up!"
Dante: "I am pretty extreme, aren't I?"
ACG: *nods vigorously* "Most definitely. Do I own Escaflowne?"
Dante: *stares at ACG for a second, then nonchalantly demolishes a building with his huge, Cloud-like sword, picks up a small rock, and hands it to her* "No, not at all, but here's a little rock to keep you company."
ACG: *looks at small rock and nods* "I'll name him…Jimmy The Stone."
Dante: *walks off*
ACG: "Gosh that was a long one, guess I've been playing that game for a little to long. Yeah, right, the only reason why I'm not playing it now is because my brother is playing it. So, I'm writing this story about characters and places that REALLY DON'T BELONG TO ME! On with the freakin' chapter, already!"
Second Destiny
Chapter 7
Celena ran to her room and locked the door behind her with a key. She leaned against the door, breathing heavily, already starting to think of what she was trying not to think about.
~My brother? No, it just can't be! I won't believe it! Millerna always blows things way out of proportion. She just can't be right about this!~
She looked around desperately for a second, and then slumped in submission against the shut door.
"Brother…Allen…now I can never look at you the same again, even if you aren't…if you haven't…" she moaned and slid slowly down the doorframe to cradle her head on her knees. "Why did she have to tell me? I thought she was my friend…She has a sister she can talk to. Why does she always have to tell me?" She looked at the ticking timepiece on her bureau drawer and its blank face gave her no answers.
She felt a deep depression settle over her shoulders, and she slunk into a position that was lower to the floor, if it were possible. She felt tears begin to prick at her eyes and she suddenly became very angry, as if a bright flame had lit in her soul and was eating her from inside out.
"Who is he, anyway!" the young woman yelled. "I don't remember anything about these people! Why…" Celena started to choke on the words. "Why not, too? Everyone I've ever met knows more about their own past than I will ever remember about my own! Why am I so different? Do I not deserve to have a family to share my memories with?"
She stopped her rambling tirade suddenly. ~Could it be true? Could I…not deserve this happiness? ~ She saw clearly in her mind's eye the servants' suspicious, even superstitious glances, the hidden whispers.
She sat up. What was the point, then, of living here? She had felt exhilarated to remember, faintly, memories of Allen…but those memories were from so long ago. If Millerna was right, and Allen wasn't who she thought he was, if he wasn't the sweet boy with beautiful blonde hair that she so dimly remembered, then there were little, if any bonds to keep her in the castle.
She stood up with self-righteous anger. "And Allen could even be lying about the whole thing. If he's not who he claims when he deals with his wife, then why would he bother to tell the truth to me?"
She looked out of her window at a bird perched on the sill. It shook out its feathers as if it didn't care, and flew off.
Celena smiled viciously, and had a mental image of the bird bursting into flames. ~Like it should, ignoring me like that. To see the feathers shriveling, the last painful cry of terror, cinders where once a bird was…~
The ring on her finger pulsated wildly, almost frantically, as if it were trying to prevent something from happening. She looked down quickly and saw the ring twist feverishly as its color swirled from sky-blue to scarlet and back to blue again. Pain twisted in her fingers and she became even angrier than before.
"Stupid ring!" she screamed, and yanked it off. The ring seemed to struggle with her.
As soon as the ring left her finger, it turned a dark blood red in her hand. She frowned, and then a great dark force took her, forcing her mind into a sea of black.
*~*~*~*~*
Dilandau opened his eyes, and wondered where the heck he was. He was standing in a bedroom that he didn't recognize, with a canopied bed and a window that let in golden sunlight. He knew the room wasn't inside a flying fortress; there was never so much wasted space for living quarters.
He moved his arm slightly to support his weight, and stopped suddenly at the feel of unfamiliar fabric. He glanced at his arm to look, and totally froze.
"What in Gaia is this!?" he said incredulously. His arm was shrouded in a pale blue fabric. Dilandau's eyes turned to the blue and white dress he was wearing. It would have been a beautiful thing under any other circumstances, with a woman wearing it, but this was Dilandau.
He stood up quickly and stalked over to the closet, opening it with a flick of his wrist. The small opening was filled with small, frilly dresses. Dilandau hurriedly ripped all of the dresses out, searching in vain for some breeches and a tunic. He cursed over and over, finally realizing the extent of the trick. Someone had drugged him, put him in a dress, and left him in this room to see what he would do.
"Whoever did this is going to burn!" the young general promised. He would never live it down if he walked around in a dress, but sometime in the near future he would have the great pleasure of burning the perpetrator alive.
He smiled grimly in anticipation and walked over to the window to look at the surrounding countryside. Expansive gardens extended as far as he could see, and he smelled the salty smell of the ocean.
"This place looks like Asturia. I hate Asturia." Dilandau frowned. "Why don't I remember how I got here? Who am I here with? What am I supposed to be doing?" He punched the windowsill in frustration.
"AND WHO DRESSED ME LIKE THIS?" he thundered.
*~*~*~*~*
Hitomi Kanzaki was a senior in high school with short brown hair and large, expressive green eyes. She wore her green school uniform which fitted around her slim figure in a flattering way. She had really grown in the few years she had been away from Gaia and looked toward the future with a bright anticipation that seemed to emanate from her.
She leaned on a wall outside her house and waited for her friends. Today they were going to take the subway to the mall and shop around for some new CD's and clothes.
She sighed and glanced at her watch. Amano and Ukari were not usually so late in picking her up.
Hitomi remembered that when Amano moved back to attend their school, he immediately started to date Ukari. A long time ago she had had a crush on him, but after her adventures in Gaia, and all of her memories of Van pushed all thoughts of other boys out of her head.
~It's not like I want to come between them, anyway, ~ Hitomi tried to convince herself. ~I love to see how happy they are together. ~
She winced at the untruthfulness of the thought. ~No, I AM happy for them. Really. I don't have a crush on Amano anymore. He reminds me too much of Allen. ~ She shuddered.
~No, not unhappy, ~ she thought reluctantly, ~I guess I'm just jealous of their close relationship. The most I have with anyone is what I have with Van, and he's a whole world away. ~
Unconsciously, she glanced up to where the moon was in the blue sky, and sensed the presence of that other world, Gaia, floating serenely just beyond her reach.
"Oh, Van," she whispered. "Why don't you come visit me anymore?" she folded her arms and leaned in toward herself.
Amano and Yukari appeared walking down the walk, and they waved cheerfully at her as soon as they saw her.
"Hi, you guys!" Hitomi grinned. She started to walk beside them. "So, what did you want to do at the mall?"
Yukari smiled in excitement, waving her arms around. "I wanted you to listen to this awesome CD I'm going to buy! There's this really nice song on it, and I just have to have it."
"Oh really?" Hitomi poked her friend. "Who is it by?"
Amano smirked as he put his arm around Yukari. "Well, you'll just have to find out then, won't you?" Yukari smiled up at him adoringly.
Hitomi tried to mask her discomfort. ~If only Van were here, ~ she thought hopelessly, ~then I wouldn't feel like such a third wheel…~
After the train ride, the three friends finally arrived at the mall. They laughed their way through the crowds of shoppers and spotted a small store with a sign that said Music Extravaganza.'
"Hey, isn't that the place?" Amano asked.
"Yeah, it is." Yukari turned to Hitomi. "I've never seen this music anywhere else, Hitomi. I listened to it last time, but I didn't have enough to buy it."
Hitomi nodded and the three entered through the small door. As Amano wandered through another section, Yukari led Hitomi toward the back. She immediately picked out a black CD case.
"Yes! Hitomi! It's still here! I'm so happy!" Yukari waved the case around. Hitomi grabbed it to read the two words in small white print.
"'Mystic Angels'" Hitomi said. "Never heard of 'em, but the name sounds nice. Hurry up and buy it, already."
Yukari nodded enthusiastically and proceeded to check the disk out with the small balding man at the counter.
Yukari's eyes widened. "Hitomi, I think I forgot to bring my CD player. Could we use yours?"
Hitomi nodded and pulled a Discman out of her pack. Then she held it just out of Yukari's reach. "Yeah, but I get to listen to it first!"
"But it's my CD, Hitomi!" Yukari whined.
Hitomi smiled. "And it's my CD player. Don't worry, I'll let you use it in a minute. Besides, you've already got to listen to it before and I didn't."
Yukari pouted and handed over the case. Hitomi ripped through the plastic wrap and popped the disc into the player. The CD whirred around and started to play the first track.
Hitomi's breath caught in her throat as she recognized the mournful melody.
It was a song that she had heard only once before, on the last day of the Destiny War.
And Folken had been whistling it.
ACG: Does anyone else hate Amano' guts? Sorry for the cliffhanger, people, but there IS a President's Day coming up pretty soon! I can write all I want, then! So, who are your favorite Dragonslayers? And how should Hitomi react to the song "Memories of Fanalia"/ "Fatal" ? (Oh, I recommend you getting both of these songs…"Fatal" is the one where Folken is actually whistling. ^^
Nihongo: "Do you smell the smell of burning human flesh? 'Cause I'm sizzling'!" -The Elusive Allen Schezar. Yeah, that one was pretty bad, wasn't it? *hums* NOW WE'RE ICHI-MONJI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We outrank al'yall!!
BlackDragon7: Pure imagination, eh? *nods* yes yes. And thank you, my little brown friend. Oh, and finish that dragon picture for me, okay?
RainStorm: ^_^ YAY! Thank you very much!
ViolesDragonGurl: Here you go! And Viole gives you a very big hug without me even asking him to!
Digi-riven: You liked the Folken part? Really? And Sephiroth? I'm so glad! ^_^
And I am NOT going to have a boy/girl person EVER, because that isn't so good. How would you do that, anyway? I like how you guys like Folken, too! I don't feel as bad, now!
Blue Demon: Thanks for reviewing, I didn't think that anyone would after a week…^_^ I was very pleased!