Whoadie: O_O WHOA! XDDDDDD Wow I lurve you guys! Your so awesome with your reviewness! Dun worry I put some of you in here. If your not, you will be in the next chapter. These things take time, YOU CAN'T RUSH CREATIVITY! XDDD j/k ^_^ Well here ya go!
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Torn Apart
Chapter 7- Dragon Massacre
A tear slipped down her cheek as she stood infront of his bed again. He had been in this state for three days now. Sleeping so deeply, the doctors were starting to think he was dead. She looked over at the sleeping cat girl, not once did she leave his side. She smiled at the way Merle's body was hunched over the bed with her head resting on its side, buried in her folded arms.
She pulled a blanket over her, wiping away the tear as she set the blanket around her shoulders. Familiar warm liquid gathered in the back of her eyes. Her vision was going blurry again. Her efforts of trying to wipe away her sadness with the one tear she tossed away, were useless.
Covering her mouth to keep her sobs from spilling out she wobbled to the door, using the wall for support. Once outside she slid down the wall, doubling over in pain. Her body was shaking and quivering, choking sobs echoed off the hallway walls as she tried to quell them. It was her fault he was here.
Why did he have to be so kind hearted? Something so innocent and pure shouldn't have been harmed, yet he was. Because of her. Those words hit her hard every time she repeated them to herself. What tore her heart even further, was the fact that he would suffer for eternity for her. He would take that hit again and again to end her pain and sorrow.
She didn't even know if she would do the same thing for him. She was back to thinking she was a coward. She slammed her fist into the ground, smashing her knuckles into the metal harder with each blow. The metal bang caught the attention of the silent 3 Slayers, who had been on their way to the hospital wing.
"She's at it again." Miguel said through clenched teeth. He ran off ahead of the two.
Dallet followed without saying anything, this was becoming too much of a routine. 'This is all HIS fault....'
Gatti groaned, "How long will she continue to beat herself up over this?" He had no choice but to go comfort her with his friends. He was a bit slower than the two since his leg was broken, he was on crutches so it made it difficult to go fast. He wasn't THAT skilled...yet.
Miguel reached Hitomi first, hugging her fiercely. He rocked her back and forth, only tightening his hold when she tried to fight him off. Her struggles and fighting didn't bother him, he wouldn't let go. He could tell she was tiring because her attacks were weakening.
She tried to pull away and push him off of her, she wasn't worthy of being touched. She was cursed. Cursed to always lose those close to her, cursed to live forever in sorrow and guilt. It was like being dead. A real living hell that she couldn't escape from.
Miguel felt her stop moving altogether, her body went stiff. He was about to let go when he felt her body jolt. He winced from the high pitched cry when it reached his tender ears. A blood curdling scream was heard all around Gaea.
She wouldn't let up. She screamed all her hearts worth, getting out all her past, present, and most likely future pain. Letting regret, guilt, and other inner conflictions come tumbling out. She screamed harder and louder, her throat was growing raw and dry.
She continued to scream. Her heart was breaking and the pain was almost unbearable. All who heard the scream felt her suffering. Tears reached the edges of those eyes that heard her torment lashing out. Crystal droplets fell from her eyes as she put all her anger, frustration, and sadness into her cry.
His ear twitched from hearing the scream, slowly his eyes opened. Red irises glared through the darkness of the room. Dilandau turned his head to the door of his room. 'Hitomi?' He bit down on his tongue to keep himself from groaning as he sat himself up. He was sore and his muscles ached, not to mention the 5 broken ribs he had, tripled the ache. Training his Slayers and himself wasn't helping him heal any faster either.
The scream didn't die down. It grew stronger. Bringing his attention away from his physical state.
He had to do something, the health of his Slayers was vital to him. Especially their mental health. His feet touched the plush carpet as he got out of bed. He wore leather pants but no shirt, he found it best to train without them. His mid section was bandaged for his broken ribs, he scratched at them irritably.
Heart wrenching sobs with an occasional loud cry replaced the scream.
"That damn woman and her emotions..." He walked slowly to his room door. Punching in the code from memory. The door slid away, letting the demon out. 'Time for her to come to grips just how cruel this world can be.'
Gatti and Dallet were kneeling infront of Hitomi, Dallet tried to get her to calm down. She had started to hyperventilate. Dallet removed the wet locks of hair from her face as Miguel massaged her stiff shoulders.
Gatti, however, watched her silently. He didn't reach out to her or try to comfort her. He only watched. "Stop it, Hitomi."
The other two looked at him out of surprise. One, he was being serious for once. Two, he was acting a little harsh. And three, were those tears in his eyes?
He grabbed both her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Look at me!"
Her head slowly raised to meet his. Her eyes were puffy from tears, her lips were quivering from her trying to stop crying, and her face was flushed from all the energy this was zapping from her.
"He's not dead, yet your taking it like he is."
"But-"
"Shut up and listen. I know you probably have had a pretty crappy life so far, so you don't really have a good outlook on life. But there are times to be sad and times to be mature. You...you don't give anything a chance. One bad thing happens and you act like your whole world fell apart. That's one of the bad things that changed about you, Hitomi, you never see the good things anymore."
Miguel's eyes were wide with shock. 'Whoa...talk about a wake up call.'
Dallet was grinning from ear to ear. 'Go Gatti...'
"That's right, so suck it up."
All three Slayers looked up at the new voice. They quickly got to their feet, bowing to their superior. All three replied at once, "Lord Dilandau..."
His red eyes never looked at them, they were busy glaring down at the rag doll on the ground. "Get up, woman. That's what disgusts me about you creatures, you take everything so emotionally. Well that's life, so get over it. You learn take what you get and cope with the obstacles that appear. Unlike you, I don't just give up. Here...' he waved around them, '...you'll learn to break that habit.'" He threw down his sword. "Bring her to the Sword Training Area."
The three looked at each other then down at Hitomi. She didn't budge. It didn't look like she was going to be moving either.
Dilandua growled. "Drag her then..." He left them.
She stared down at Dilandua's sword, her eyes hazy from remembering. Three days felt like a lifetime. The sword infront of her reminded her of that bloody day. They called it now "Operation: Dragon Massacre". ((A/N: Alright TIME WARP! Going through a flashback here. ^^ didn't think I'd leave you hanging, did you?))
A flash of metal, then a bloody gurgle filled the air. Screams of surprise and protests blanketed the atmosphere. The Fanalian people ran around crazily, trying to find a quick exit. They were mice locked inside a glass chamber full of hidden pythons.
Dallet fought with as much ferocity as Dilandua himself, taking no mercy on the enemy. He struck down at his fallen adversary, cutting their throat without a second thought. He moved right onto the nearest person, ready to make them another victim of his blade.
Miguel wiped out the numbers of the unarmed soldiers quickly. He wouldn't let any of them reach their weapons. He was magnificent as he fought, the way his sword danced in the air and struck down his enemies was poetry in motion. He took out most of the Fanalian army with one run through.
That smirk of Gatti's was unmistakable. It was still planted on his face, he even had a little sarcasm in his eyes. He laughed as he fought, thinking this was just a child's game. "Is this the power of Fanalia? What a weak country this place has become!" He turned, swiping off an oncoming soldier's head. "Ugh, he got my clothes messy...gross!" He wiped at the smudge with fake disgust.
Dallet stood at his back, shaking his head. "Gatti...your really something else, ya know that? We're outnumbered and your insulting their country?"
"Um, duh." He rolled his eyes. "It's like fighting a flock of sheep, sure they outnumber us by alot but they aren't exactly fighting back, are they? Look at them run!" He laughed manically. He screamed a battle cry as he raised his sword and dove into the fleeing crowd.
Dallet's eyes widened, watching his friend run after them. 'He's lost his mind...' He laughed nervously as he watched Gatti slaughter them one by one.
"Hey, I'm finished." Miguel wiped the sweat off his brow. "I killed all the soldiers present, the rest are just minor nobles. No big."
"Your...done?! Already?! Your a beast, man!" Dallet high fived Miguel. "I think Gatti's got the nobles taken care of..." They both turned, watching Gatti tackle a man to the ground. His sword lost from his hands, he was just messing with them now. They both sighed as Gatti tackled another.
"He's having too much fun..." Dallet rubbed his head.
"Hey, where's the princess?"
Dallet looked up and scanned the place. Fire was spreading along the draperies, someone must have knocked one of the lamps down as they ran. He noticed the palace was in ruins, chunks of pillar and wall lay adorned on the floor. But still, no Hitomi.
He turned back to Miguel, shrugging. "Dunno...no wait..." He squinted his eyes through the smoke and dust cloud. "Is that her?" He pointed to the figure in the corner.
Miguel turned, what he saw made his stomach turn. Hitomi's dress had been torn, so her legs were pretty much free. Her white dress was no long white, but splotched with dark red blood. Her wings were torn also, blood dripped from them, most likely from her fallen victims. She held her sword up, ignoring the man's pleas. She plunged it into his open mouth, watching the blade come out from the back of his neck. She had a battle crazed look in her eyes as she turned her sword and just took the head off altogether.
"I didn't know she could be so ruthless...kind of excites you, huh?" The bloody Gatti, nudged Miguel in the side.
Miguel responded by hitting Gatti in the side lightly, with the hilt of his sword. "It's not a time for smart comments, like that, to be made."
Dallet moved his back in towards the two. "Are there any times where his smart comments are welcomed?"
Gatti huffed at the laughing boys. "Jealous that you two can't be as charming as me." He held up his sword, his back was too to the middle. They were all back to back, with swords held out infront of them.
Dead bodies littered the ground around her bare feet, she had gotten rid of her shoes somewhere in the middle of the fight. The fire rose around her, embers danced as the air hit them when she walked by. Her green eyes were darkening, looking almost black.
Dallet nudged Miguel, "She's heading this way, kind of freaky...She looks like a fallen arch angel."
Miguel only smiled, "This is where she was meant to be. On the battlefield, not on the sidelines. So the look sort of fits."
"Whatever."
Their heads snapped towards the large doors of the ballroom, the doors had been blown to bits. The dust cleared, revealing a red guymelef. A click came followed by a metallic voice, "Where's your King?"
The startled Fanalians shook their heads in fear. Those who hadn't been crushed or killed by the blasting of the doors were now backing away from the Lord of the demons that sent their beloved country into turmoil. A blonde headed boy stood up, his arm had been injured during the explosion. He clutched the bleeding arm to him as he raised his chin proudly. "What business do you have here, Dilandua? Fanalia has been in peace for so long, why attack now?"
The hatch to the guymelef opened, revealing the smirking General. "Why Chid, I didn't know you were going to be present at this banquet! Well back to your question...why not? I think it was the perfect time to attack. All this peace and getting rid of weapons was starting to get old, someone had to liven Gaea up. So...Fanalia seemed to be the perfect opportunity to bring back those good ole days. Don't you think?"
King Chid growled at the mockery. "There's no need to fight anymore! Both Folken and Dornkirk are dead! Your leaders are gone, what more proof do you need that this war will not last."
Dilandua's smirk only broadened. "Chid chid chid...still naive? Those two were weak, that's why they're dead. As for the war, I have something else that'll keep it going. Something that Gaea needs quite badly to stay unharmed and protected or else it'll be thrown into a world of chaos. Did you forget the tales of Atlantis? Remember those fond memories, your majesty? Well DO YOU?!"
Chid was barely able to dodge the flying metal claw that was sent his way. "What about Atlantis! Only one can control it and she's WAY out of your reach!" His eyes widened when Dilandua began to laugh hysterically.
"If I may point your eyes to the newly improved, thanks to my humble services, your Mystic Moon Seer..." He pointed towards the battling Hitomi.
All eyes turned towards the girl they had ignored and not expected to be their long lost heroine. A silence fell upon the group. The only sound in the room was the sound of guymelefs outside the palace, destroying the country and it's people. Explosions and the creaking of the palace kept the place from being totally mute.
Hitomi looked up when she heard her old title. Her eyes looked over the shocked faces that she once protected and cherished. Chid looked at her with the most surprise. No way was this Hitomi, he was bluffing. Hitomi loved Fanalia, she wouldn't destroy her love's country. He glared back at Dilandua with even more hatred. "How DARE you taint Hitomi's name! That girl may be a good look alike, but that's not her! You'll pay for dirtying Hitomi's honor!!"
Miguel and the others looked over at Hitomi, wondering how she was taking this. To their surprise, her expression was unreadable. She just stood there among the bodies she destroyed, her sword dripping with innocence blood. Sweaty locks of honey brown hair tossed as she turned away from them. She walked away from the group, heading towards the connecting chamber she had exited out of earlier.
Gatti was the first to snap back to reality and followed her. Miguel and Dallet soon followed after him. Dilandua watched them go then turned back to Chid. "Do you want proof? How about Escaflowne? Van is the only one that can pilot it, but Hitomi is the only one who can summon it." ((A/N: Forgive me if your getting confused, if you haven't noticed already I'm combining the series and the movie together. You might recognize that I used some information and terms that can be found in either the movie or the series. I'm also adding some of my own stuff to it, so just bear with me))
Chid's eyes narrowed at Dilandua. "Yes, but you need Hitomi for that."
This kid was dense. Dilandua sighed to himself, growing irritated with this boy's game. "I told you, I SHOWED you, and now she's gone. Left to find your pitiful King...for me. The irony in this is hilarious."
Chid rose, limping as he ran to the connecting chamber. He had to warn Van that there was a Hitomi look alike and to not be fooled. Everyone was in danger, Dilandua held the key to Gaea that would send the peace and calmness of the land right back into another episode of the Destiny Wars. Even if the girl was a fake, she would be enough to cause a panic to spread. Although, there was a part of him that found the girl very VERY familiar, he believed with every essence of his body that Dilandua was lying.
He watched the pathetic King run. He raised an eyebrow, did he think that he could stop all of this? Oh well, it would only make the game more interesting. He turned back to the cowering scum of this country. "Your inspirational speaker has left, there's nothing else to stall your deaths." He disappeared back into the cock pit and fired his flamethrower at the scared people.
Outside the palace, fire engulfed the entire country. Burned bodies were scattered in the streets. Those few who had survived were being rallied up in a group. One guymelef stood aside from the mass slaughter, silver eyes raged at the sight he was seeing. He was too late. He didn't get out of the palace quick enough to save them.
He attacked the nearest guymelef to him, bringing down his sword at the unsuspecting Slayer. The Slayer screamed into his intercom out of anger. "What do you think your doing, Rai!"
Rai's eyes swirled with red now, he growled. "You'll pay for what you did..." He plunged his sword into the heart of the guymelef, the cock pit. He smiled as he heard the popcorn sound of the intercom loosing connection.
He looked up to see the other guymelefs coming for him. They had seen the whole thing. He smirked, "Come on your cowards!" He pulled his sword free, standing ready for a fight.
"Down here, Rai!"
The guymelefs stopped charging and were looking down at the Slayer who stood unprotected in the open. Rai looked down at him, then raised his leg ready to smash the vile Zaiboch maggot.
"I wouldn't do that..." The boy held up the limp body of a woman.
At first, he thought it was Hitomi, but then at a closer inspection it wasn't Hitomi at all. His eyes widened at the woman in the boy's arms.
"Let her go, Chesta!"
Chesta backed away from the extended metal arm, holding the sword closer to the woman's neck. She was barely alive, her skin was pale from the loss of blood. There was a long, deep gash on her back. Chesta's sword glistened with her blood. "Not a step closer...."
Rai hesitated, he growled. "You'll die for this, Chesta."
"Hmm, why does she matter so much to you, Rai? What about Hitomi? I thought you loved her more?" He tightened his hold on the woman, letting his sword drag along her skin. It left a small cut along her neck. The woman whimpered.
"That's none of your business! Now let her go!"
"Oh I think it is my business, for you see we have a problem. I made a promise to her and I plan on keeping it. I've warned and I've threatened, but you don't seem to get it."
He gritted his teeth, he hated to be lectured at, "Hitomi will forever be mine. That girl in your arms is mine also, I don't like other people touching my things."
"That's where your wrong. She might have belonged to you at one point, but she doesn't anymore. Like she told you tonight...Van"
Rai's eyes flickered. "I'm not Van."
"Stop with the cliché. I'm not fooled by those altered looks of yours. I have connections outside the Vione that let me know Fanalia's technology progression. It seems Millerna found a potion through dragons and werewolf blood. There's another ingredient, a mineral recently discovered in your mines. If I remember correctly, the hair of the person who drinks it will change to the color of the mineral they have chosen, the blood has an odd effect causing the eyes to turn a silverish tint. The other effects come on it's own. What I want to know is how the potion's effects ends."
Rai narrowed his eyes at him. "How long..."
Chesta smirked, "The day after you showed Hitomi around, I received the news. Your actions diminished all other doubts. Raiku Viena, your true name is Van Fanel!"
The potion inside his body felt the name being called and immediately flushed out of his body. By any means possible.
Chesta looked up with disgust as Van fell out of the cockpit. His body shaking as the potion took it's exit, it was a nasty sight. He turned his head slightly, trying to escape the reeking smell.
Van slowly rose up, his legs shaking still. He wiped the corner of his mouth away. "You got the answer half right though...Your source of information didn't say we successfully were able to duplicate any potion. So, what you thought was one of, there were really two. Two Raiku Viena's. We traded every now and then so we never abandoned our positions totally. We needed to learn about what was going on in Zaiboch without looking suspicious. We figured Zaiboch wouldn't just lie down and welcome peace, then the potion was created it was the perfect opportunity. Enough about that, one Raiku was revealed, but who do you think the other is? It won't matter, it'll be too late by the time you figure it out...." Van smirked.
He growled, he cut the woman's throat and threw her to Van. He took off back inside the palace, Hitomi was in danger. His legs pumped harder as he took the stairs two at a time. His breath growing short as he struggled to save time.
Van clutched his lover's dead body. Anger made him shake, he buried his face into her hair. She still smelled of peach blossoms, like Hitomi. She was to be his future wife. They both were, and Chesta took them both away from him. First with Hitomi, it's not like he didn't see them dance. He saw just how close those two really were. And now he killed his present love. He still had Hitomi though, all he had to do is get her to love him again, that wouldn't be a problem. If all things went well tonight, she would be his.
Hitomi crept in the darkness. There it was again. The sound of boots clicking on the marble floor. He was close...She stopped at the corner, she could hear him breathing. He was so close...She raised her sword and charged from around the corner.
Clang!
Sparks flew as their swords met in the middle. She had been anticipating this, no way would Van leave his back unguarded. ESPECIALLY in his own castle. She pressed down on the man she had grown to loathes blade. Something was wrong.
She pulled back her blade, stepping carefully over to a dim candle. The light didn't quite reach the person she thought was her old love. The shadow lingered there, eyeing her tattered form. Even in torn clothing and smoke stained skin, she still looked lovely. He could feel his breath catching, he needed her.
She held up her blade, moving it so that she held it horizontally in her hands. She reflected the candle light off of the metal, shining it onto her adversary.
He winced from the bright light, his arm raised to block it out. He backed away farther into the darkness, trying to hide his identity. It was too late, she had seen his face.
"Rai? What are you doing here?"
"I..." He was at loss for words. He had been originally positioned outside to rally up civilians. "I was reassigned..."
She continued to look at him suspiciously. Dilandua wouldn't make a last minute decision like that, usually he stuck to what he ordered. Thinking he was never really wrong. "Hn, whatever." She walked away from him, slightly annoyed at the fact that she had been following the wrong person all this time. Van probably was long gone.
The 3 Slayers caught up to her but stopped just before the corner. They listened in on the conversation, they too were just as puzzled at why Rai would be here. Miguel, being the level headed of the two, crept around the corner. He saw something that caught his eye on the hilt of Rai's sword.
Hitomi stopped, she saw a glimmer of metal in the dim light. She turned but was thrown to the wall from a blow to the side. The hit took her breath away, sharp pain kept her doubled over. She felt arms encircle her waist, then felt herself being thrown over someone's shoulder. She growled and thrashed against the person who held her captive. "Let go of me!"
Rai only grunted as his response. 'You know I can't do that, Hitomi.' His ear twitched, he heard a boot click. He whirled around, his hand moving to where the hilt of his sword should have been. He looked down with a look of disbelief, it was gone.
Miguel twirled Rai's swords with a grin on his face. "You heard the lady...put her down." Gatti and Dallet took the liberty to step out into the open then. Both their faces were empty of expression.
"I knew you were a traitor, I just didn't know to what degree." Dallet growled at him. "Set her down now!"
"Hmm interesting..."
Dallet looked back at Miguel. "What is?"
Miguel held up the sword's hilt so that Dallet could see. "It seems our traitor here, is acquainted with Austria."
Dallet looked at the insignia. "Hmmm, Austrian scum eh? Your just as bad as that pretty boy." He laughed, "Allen...oh the starry night of the heavens!" He mocked the knight's bow and well mannered gestures.
Rai's eyebrow twitched. "I'm not Austrian, I stole it off of an Austrian soldier. That's all..."
Miguel laughed, "I'm sure you did! How smart of you to wield it as a Zaiboch soldier, I'm surprised Lord Dilandua hasn't noticed yet."
That's when Hitomi elbowed the angry soldier in the back of the head. She fell back, but brought her knee up. It slammed into Rai's chest, but wasn't as hard as she hoped. She had been falling so the attack wasn't that effective. Dallet caught her. "Nice to have you back, princess!"
She smiled up at him, "Great to be back, sunshine!"
Dallet grinned and helped set her back on her feet. They both turned back to Rai with a satisfied look on their faces. Miguel stepped towards Rai, holding the blade in his hand. He held it out to Rai hilt first. "Take it...I don't want to hold this filth anymore. For all I know, it could have belonged to that blonde headed Putz."
Rai took it angrily, striking down at Miguel with it. Miguel blocked his attack, stepping back as he went. A smile crept on his lips. 'Alright, here we go. A real fight.' He swiped back at him, going for Rai's chest.
Rai parried, smacking the sword away from his body. He dove in, aiming for a vital organ near Miguel's shoulder. His blade cut flesh but didn't dig deep enough to do any real damage. Miguel had turned away from the blow.
He whirled back around to face Rai. "Again."
"As you wish." He raised his blade, preparing to dive onto Miguel. He took a step and fell forward. He barely managed to flip himself so that he landed on one knee. As he fell he managed to grab the blade in his boot. His sword went over his head, protecting the back of his neck. Miguel's sword made contact with it. Rai held the dagger up, waiting for the newcomer's attack.
Chesta had come in the middle of the fight, he slid in when he saw Rai go to attack. He swung his leg out and took Rai's feet from underneath him with one sweep. He finished the drop kick by spinning the full 360 on the floor. He was back up and had his sword ready. "Drop your weapon...Allen Schezar."
Allen convulsed as the potion in his body reacted. He grabbed his head as the potion took it's exit. Again, Chesta turned. This potion just had nasty outcomes.
Miguel covered his mouth and nose with his sword arm. He backed away from the mess. "Ugh...that's sick." His eyes met blue orbs. "You figured out his identity too, huh?"
"Yeah...after what Van told me, I had a pretty good idea."
"Wait..what?"
"Nevermind..."
Chesta walked towards the coughing knight. He moved his sword so that he touched the ends of Allen's short hair. He snickered, "You had to cut your hair...what do the women see in you now?"
Allen sneered at him, "Your one too talk...at least mine didn't require the assistance of a bowl." His eyes grew wider with astonishment before he blacked out.
Miguel's eyebrows twitched as he sheathed his sword. "You two...talking about hair.....gah sometimes..." He walked away, muttering to himself. "Dallet! Hitomi! Your coming with me!" The both of them looked at each other then followed Miguel.
Chesta made a face at Miguel's back.
"Don't think I don't know what you juts did, Chesta!" His voice fading down the hall.
"I hate it when he does that..." He walked over to the knocked out knight. 'Hmmm can't leave any survivors.' He positioned his sword at Allen's neck. His grip changed so that he could drive it down without having to put that much weight on it.
"Take him prisoner."
Chesta looked at Gatti with annoyance. "What?!"
Gatti uncrossed his arms. "It's the worst shame we can bring him. If we kill him, that'd be the easy way out. To live with this failure, would be a slow and painful process of dying."
"Gatti...sometimes your sick."
He grinned. "I know."
Chesta shook his head as he took one of the knight's arms. "Well come on then..."
Hitomi climbed into her guymelef. As the hatch closed, she let a few tears slip. Those people...they didn't even recognize her. She couldn't but grieve for their lost souls, she was looking for revenge on one person. The children and other innocent villagers who just wanted peace, didn't deserve this.
She turned her guymelef so it faced the burning kingdom. "It's just not fair..."
"What's not?"
"Merle?"
There was a cough on the receiving end. "Sorry you must have me mixed up with someone else. It's El Rem."
She mentally slapped herself for forgetting that everyone else would be listening also. "Forgive me, just having a flashback. Are we done here?"
"Well...yes and no. There's nothing left to kill or burn, the fire is engulfing everything. It won't stop till it burns up every last bit of Fanalia. The people have been enslaved or killed."
"But..."
"The reason for us coming here, is still alive somewhere."
"Van hasn't been caught, yet?!" Hitomi turned, looking around the forest floor.
"I just said he hasn't...So Dilandua has sent orders to us on a full fledged man hunt!"
A spark went through her mind. Her old pendent formed in her mind's eye. It started to swing, slowly at first but gradually gathering speed. It then swung in a direction.
'Of course!' She moved her guymelef and hit the boosters. She hovered over the ground, blasting off around the castle.
Her General's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Slayer, I ordered a full scale man hunt, why are you going back to the castle? Can't you see it's burning down! The only way out of the palace is over here, if we're going to catch a dragon we must block all it's exits but one. So, what the hell are you doing?"
"You just said the word, Lord Dilandua."
"Don't play mind games with me, Slayer."
"It's not a mind game, you said it yourself. In order to catch a dragon you must block all it's exits, but one. You left two open."
"WHAT?!"
"Position some of the Slayers in the sky! They are not looking for a man! They're looking for Escaflowne!"
Dilandua looked up at the sky shocked. He had totally forgotten about that damn armor. "I want at least thirty Slayers in the air! NOW!" He hit his accelerators and took off as well. "Is there any way you can call the armor to you?"
"It's quite the opposite, it's calling to ME..." She stopped infront of a wall. She moved her guymelef so that it flew up the wall but away from the reaching fire. She landed on the burning roof. Her eyes looking around the stones beneath her machine's feet. This is where the pendent took her. She didn't look for a way in or for the suit itself. She was waiting.
An explosion to her right, blew her guymelef to the side. She screamed as the hot sparks of the fire, heated the metal surrounding her. She could feel the fire lick at her skin. Green eyes peeked through slits, there it was. The Dragon armor.
Escaflowne.
The suit didn't give her enough time to get back up, it was on her with it's sword ready to take her out. Van didn't know she was piloting the guymelef. Her eyes widened as she watched the sword come down at her. "Damnit, so this is how it ends..."
A white flash, then a sharp intake of air silenced her. "No...."
Dilandua spiraled down at Van, firing his flamethrowers at him. Van moved away from the flames, coming close to becoming singed.
Hitomi kicked open the cockpit door. She tumbled out of the machine but she just rolled back on her feet. She was bleeding from the side of her head and her leg from the earlier explosion. Yet she kept running. She climbed up the fallen guymelef as Dilandua averted Van's attention away from them.
"No..please no..." She fought away flames that sought to grab onto her skin. She tugged on the hatch, whimpering as the metal cut into her hands. The hatch gave away, revealing the badly injured Slayer.
"Chesta...why!" Hot tears streamed down her face as she pulled her friend free. She wrapped her arms around the limp boy, not able to hold back her sobs. She looked at her hands, blood. His blood.
"Damnit, it was my time to die! Not yours! You should have just let me die...." She cried as she held the boy close to her. She didn't even feel herself being picked up by Dallet's guymelef.
Dilandua laughed maliciously as he fought against Van. This was what he wanted. He struck down at the furious Van. "Now you die!" He blasted his flamethrowers at Van, charring the front of Escaflowne. He looked over, hearing a loud wail. "Hitomi?"
Van pushed Dilandua away from him, he was badly burned. He drove his sword into the red guymelef's side then kicked the machine away from him. He changed Escaflowne into the winged dragon, he looked down at Hitomi with determined eyes. 'I'll come back for you!' The dragon flew up into the night sky and disappeared.
Dilandua growled, "DAMNIT! I HAD HIM!" He moved his guymelef, making it stand. He thrashed at the debris around him, furious that he let the king go. There it was again, that wail. "It's all that damn woman's fault!!!!" His guymelef turned, ready to set the flamethrowers off on her when Miguel and Merle intervened.
"Stop it, Lord Dilandua! Don't do anything irrational!"
"Get out of my way, Miguel! It's because of her that our efforts tonight were in vain!!!"
Merle still held him back, "Not so, Fanalia has been destroyed. He has no where to go, all those present at the ball tonight were Gaea's leaders. They're all captured or dead. This won't go well for Van's reputation, he won't be welcomed anywhere. He'll come to us, don't worry. That temper of his is enough to get him to do something as mindless as attacking the Vione head on."
Dilandua calmed himself, she was right. He pulled himself free of their grip. "Hn. Very well, but this won't go without a punishment...." He flew off, calling his other Slayers back to the Vione.
"Phew...good call Rem."
Merle laughed inwardly at her name. "No problem.." She might as well enjoy her fake identity for now, before that one Slayer spreads the word about her.
Miguel's voice came on again, "So...did the coin hit the edge for you?"
"Yep..."
"How?"
"I got revenge and started the process on the Kings mental break down. His mind is slowly deteriorating, his reputation is crushed, the place he built is in ruins, he failed his people and his lover's dead. We all succeeded in staying alive and in a way, killing Van."
"Um, how is that the edge?"
"I killed myself in the process."
".........eh?"
"I killed Merle...." She smiled. 'And El Rem was born.'
Miguel blinked. What was he talking about?
"Forget it, let's get back. Chesta is in pretty bad shape."
"Right."
Gatti flew behind the others with a grief stricken expression on his face. After so many years of fighting, it took him all this time to realize that sometimes, there just wasn't room for sarcasm. He looked on to the sad image infront of him, he didn't want to have to figured this out like this. 'Not like this...'
Everything went slow from there. The landing on the Vione, the rush of injured soldiers to the hospital wing, the captured prisoners to the dungeon, and her standing in the hanger watching all of this go by. It was as if the pull of Fate tugged them to all their places, in where they were needed. Why did she feel no tug? She looked down at the floor, she felt immobile.
Her Fate was still undecided.
She looked up, surprised that someone too had stayed behind. "Sir, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be seeing to our prisoners?"
Dilandua stepped towards Hitomi with a dark look. His eyebrow twitched as he felt the growing fear in her. It fed his anger more, feeling the need to intimidate her more. "They are being sought too. I'm more interested in what YOUR doing here...YOU should be busying herself by doing something other than staring off into space. A Slayer never has time to be bored."
Hitomi gulped. "Sssorry, Sir. I'll go then." She bowed, rushing off towards the hospital wing. She was stopped by his extended arm. 'Crap...'
He had to stop himself from killing her right there. "You took my glory away today...be ready to make up for it." He stepped away from her, shooting one last glare in her direction. He disappeared down the connecting sector to the dorm area.
She sighed in relief when she could no longer hear the click of his boots.
"That was a close one, wasn't it?"
She looked up, her sword drawn and ready. "Who's there?"
A girl with shoulder length hair stepped out of the shadows. Her layers curved in towards her face, defining the red that was mixed in with the dark brown color of her hair. She looked on, the girl had the darkest colored eyes she had ever seen, almost black. When the girl approached, she could tell they were really brown. "Who wants to know?"
Hitomi raised her blade, she wasn't in the mood for games. "Since there isn't anyone here besides me, I think you know the answer." She noticed that the girl wore a dark purple armor, she must have been of noble birth because there was an insignia on her shoulder guard. "Your name..."
"Your in my way, I've come here to get revenge on my brother's name. Someone here dishonored my family by posing as Raiku Viena."
"How is that?"
The girl's eyes grew darker, "My brother is DEAD! The man who took his name, took his body! I WANT IT BACK!" She was close to tears, her voice was cracking.
Hitomi lowered her sword and took a step towards the shaking girl. She didn't have time to step aside when a glaive came down at her. It struck her shoulder. She winced from the sharp pain but was surprised to not feel any stinging. She moved her hand over where the wound should have been, there was nothing but a nice welt. The girl had moved the glaive just so, so that the metal pole hit instead of the blade. She was VERY skilled.
She shielded her eyes from the burning smoke that had settled around her. The smoke was...green? Her eyes watered, as the substance in the air burned her eyes. She coughed when she inhaled the strong scent. "A smoke bomb..."
She waved her arm infront of her, using it to be her eyes as she walked. She moved away from the green cloud. She coughed as she inhaled the clean air. 'Just who was that?'
"INTRUDER!"
"QUICK SHE'S HEADING TOWARDS THE DUNGEON!"
Hitomi squinted, watching blurry figures run past the hanger. 'So she knew how to make bombs as well...Clever girl. She didn't come unprepared. Raiku Viena....' Her eyes widened. "She's going to kill Allen before we get a chance to interrogate him!" She cursed herself as she took off towards the rushing group of Slayers. 'Lord Dilandua will have my neck if Allen is killed before he can have his questioning period.'
She didn't know when she passed out during the run there, but she did. Something in that smoke caused a rush of blood to shoot to her head. Running only quickened the process of the chemical. ((A/N: Alright, back to present...))
She blinked a few times as her vision came back into focus. She grabbed the sword and staggered to get up. 'That's right...there was a strange girl! I wonder what happened to her? What am I saying...what should I care?'
Miguel stood, nodding towards Dallet and Gatti. "You heard Lord Dilandua, take her to the STA."
They stood on each side of Hitomi, taking an arm to steady her. Dallet looked at Miguel with a raised brow, "Where are you going?"
Miguel winked at the 3 of them. "Gotta check on our cute prisoner. I'm supposed to be questioning her further today."
It was Gatti's turn to look at him with an odd expression. "Did you get nothing out of her yesterday?"
He rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Well I got her name...does that count?"
The two of them nearly fell over. "What is it?"
Miguel pretended to get starry eyes. He clasped his hands together with a far away look on his face. "Gabriella Viena..." He sighed.
They laughed at their comrade. "Wait...Viena? Then...is there really a guy named Raiku Viena?"
Miguel scratched his nose as he thought. "Dunno, but I'll find that out today!" He gave them a thumbs up and sped off down the hall. "After you drop the princess off, meet me in the Mess Hall. We're supposed to pick from the new stock of newbies that came in."
Gatti puffed out his chest. "Alright! It's the great harvest! I'd make a great teacher, don't ya think? And if they're cute...I could teach them a thing or too that they won't learn from ANYONE..." He winked at Dallet.
Dallet's laughter rang off the walls as they led Hitomi deeper into the Vione. With little knowledge that the training she was about to be put through, would prove to be near fatal.
~~~~~~~~~~
Whoadie: x.x That was looooooooong. Well until the next chapter...^_^ toodles! R/R pwwwwweaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzeeeeeee!
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Torn Apart
Chapter 7- Dragon Massacre
A tear slipped down her cheek as she stood infront of his bed again. He had been in this state for three days now. Sleeping so deeply, the doctors were starting to think he was dead. She looked over at the sleeping cat girl, not once did she leave his side. She smiled at the way Merle's body was hunched over the bed with her head resting on its side, buried in her folded arms.
She pulled a blanket over her, wiping away the tear as she set the blanket around her shoulders. Familiar warm liquid gathered in the back of her eyes. Her vision was going blurry again. Her efforts of trying to wipe away her sadness with the one tear she tossed away, were useless.
Covering her mouth to keep her sobs from spilling out she wobbled to the door, using the wall for support. Once outside she slid down the wall, doubling over in pain. Her body was shaking and quivering, choking sobs echoed off the hallway walls as she tried to quell them. It was her fault he was here.
Why did he have to be so kind hearted? Something so innocent and pure shouldn't have been harmed, yet he was. Because of her. Those words hit her hard every time she repeated them to herself. What tore her heart even further, was the fact that he would suffer for eternity for her. He would take that hit again and again to end her pain and sorrow.
She didn't even know if she would do the same thing for him. She was back to thinking she was a coward. She slammed her fist into the ground, smashing her knuckles into the metal harder with each blow. The metal bang caught the attention of the silent 3 Slayers, who had been on their way to the hospital wing.
"She's at it again." Miguel said through clenched teeth. He ran off ahead of the two.
Dallet followed without saying anything, this was becoming too much of a routine. 'This is all HIS fault....'
Gatti groaned, "How long will she continue to beat herself up over this?" He had no choice but to go comfort her with his friends. He was a bit slower than the two since his leg was broken, he was on crutches so it made it difficult to go fast. He wasn't THAT skilled...yet.
Miguel reached Hitomi first, hugging her fiercely. He rocked her back and forth, only tightening his hold when she tried to fight him off. Her struggles and fighting didn't bother him, he wouldn't let go. He could tell she was tiring because her attacks were weakening.
She tried to pull away and push him off of her, she wasn't worthy of being touched. She was cursed. Cursed to always lose those close to her, cursed to live forever in sorrow and guilt. It was like being dead. A real living hell that she couldn't escape from.
Miguel felt her stop moving altogether, her body went stiff. He was about to let go when he felt her body jolt. He winced from the high pitched cry when it reached his tender ears. A blood curdling scream was heard all around Gaea.
She wouldn't let up. She screamed all her hearts worth, getting out all her past, present, and most likely future pain. Letting regret, guilt, and other inner conflictions come tumbling out. She screamed harder and louder, her throat was growing raw and dry.
She continued to scream. Her heart was breaking and the pain was almost unbearable. All who heard the scream felt her suffering. Tears reached the edges of those eyes that heard her torment lashing out. Crystal droplets fell from her eyes as she put all her anger, frustration, and sadness into her cry.
His ear twitched from hearing the scream, slowly his eyes opened. Red irises glared through the darkness of the room. Dilandau turned his head to the door of his room. 'Hitomi?' He bit down on his tongue to keep himself from groaning as he sat himself up. He was sore and his muscles ached, not to mention the 5 broken ribs he had, tripled the ache. Training his Slayers and himself wasn't helping him heal any faster either.
The scream didn't die down. It grew stronger. Bringing his attention away from his physical state.
He had to do something, the health of his Slayers was vital to him. Especially their mental health. His feet touched the plush carpet as he got out of bed. He wore leather pants but no shirt, he found it best to train without them. His mid section was bandaged for his broken ribs, he scratched at them irritably.
Heart wrenching sobs with an occasional loud cry replaced the scream.
"That damn woman and her emotions..." He walked slowly to his room door. Punching in the code from memory. The door slid away, letting the demon out. 'Time for her to come to grips just how cruel this world can be.'
Gatti and Dallet were kneeling infront of Hitomi, Dallet tried to get her to calm down. She had started to hyperventilate. Dallet removed the wet locks of hair from her face as Miguel massaged her stiff shoulders.
Gatti, however, watched her silently. He didn't reach out to her or try to comfort her. He only watched. "Stop it, Hitomi."
The other two looked at him out of surprise. One, he was being serious for once. Two, he was acting a little harsh. And three, were those tears in his eyes?
He grabbed both her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Look at me!"
Her head slowly raised to meet his. Her eyes were puffy from tears, her lips were quivering from her trying to stop crying, and her face was flushed from all the energy this was zapping from her.
"He's not dead, yet your taking it like he is."
"But-"
"Shut up and listen. I know you probably have had a pretty crappy life so far, so you don't really have a good outlook on life. But there are times to be sad and times to be mature. You...you don't give anything a chance. One bad thing happens and you act like your whole world fell apart. That's one of the bad things that changed about you, Hitomi, you never see the good things anymore."
Miguel's eyes were wide with shock. 'Whoa...talk about a wake up call.'
Dallet was grinning from ear to ear. 'Go Gatti...'
"That's right, so suck it up."
All three Slayers looked up at the new voice. They quickly got to their feet, bowing to their superior. All three replied at once, "Lord Dilandau..."
His red eyes never looked at them, they were busy glaring down at the rag doll on the ground. "Get up, woman. That's what disgusts me about you creatures, you take everything so emotionally. Well that's life, so get over it. You learn take what you get and cope with the obstacles that appear. Unlike you, I don't just give up. Here...' he waved around them, '...you'll learn to break that habit.'" He threw down his sword. "Bring her to the Sword Training Area."
The three looked at each other then down at Hitomi. She didn't budge. It didn't look like she was going to be moving either.
Dilandua growled. "Drag her then..." He left them.
She stared down at Dilandua's sword, her eyes hazy from remembering. Three days felt like a lifetime. The sword infront of her reminded her of that bloody day. They called it now "Operation: Dragon Massacre". ((A/N: Alright TIME WARP! Going through a flashback here. ^^ didn't think I'd leave you hanging, did you?))
A flash of metal, then a bloody gurgle filled the air. Screams of surprise and protests blanketed the atmosphere. The Fanalian people ran around crazily, trying to find a quick exit. They were mice locked inside a glass chamber full of hidden pythons.
Dallet fought with as much ferocity as Dilandua himself, taking no mercy on the enemy. He struck down at his fallen adversary, cutting their throat without a second thought. He moved right onto the nearest person, ready to make them another victim of his blade.
Miguel wiped out the numbers of the unarmed soldiers quickly. He wouldn't let any of them reach their weapons. He was magnificent as he fought, the way his sword danced in the air and struck down his enemies was poetry in motion. He took out most of the Fanalian army with one run through.
That smirk of Gatti's was unmistakable. It was still planted on his face, he even had a little sarcasm in his eyes. He laughed as he fought, thinking this was just a child's game. "Is this the power of Fanalia? What a weak country this place has become!" He turned, swiping off an oncoming soldier's head. "Ugh, he got my clothes messy...gross!" He wiped at the smudge with fake disgust.
Dallet stood at his back, shaking his head. "Gatti...your really something else, ya know that? We're outnumbered and your insulting their country?"
"Um, duh." He rolled his eyes. "It's like fighting a flock of sheep, sure they outnumber us by alot but they aren't exactly fighting back, are they? Look at them run!" He laughed manically. He screamed a battle cry as he raised his sword and dove into the fleeing crowd.
Dallet's eyes widened, watching his friend run after them. 'He's lost his mind...' He laughed nervously as he watched Gatti slaughter them one by one.
"Hey, I'm finished." Miguel wiped the sweat off his brow. "I killed all the soldiers present, the rest are just minor nobles. No big."
"Your...done?! Already?! Your a beast, man!" Dallet high fived Miguel. "I think Gatti's got the nobles taken care of..." They both turned, watching Gatti tackle a man to the ground. His sword lost from his hands, he was just messing with them now. They both sighed as Gatti tackled another.
"He's having too much fun..." Dallet rubbed his head.
"Hey, where's the princess?"
Dallet looked up and scanned the place. Fire was spreading along the draperies, someone must have knocked one of the lamps down as they ran. He noticed the palace was in ruins, chunks of pillar and wall lay adorned on the floor. But still, no Hitomi.
He turned back to Miguel, shrugging. "Dunno...no wait..." He squinted his eyes through the smoke and dust cloud. "Is that her?" He pointed to the figure in the corner.
Miguel turned, what he saw made his stomach turn. Hitomi's dress had been torn, so her legs were pretty much free. Her white dress was no long white, but splotched with dark red blood. Her wings were torn also, blood dripped from them, most likely from her fallen victims. She held her sword up, ignoring the man's pleas. She plunged it into his open mouth, watching the blade come out from the back of his neck. She had a battle crazed look in her eyes as she turned her sword and just took the head off altogether.
"I didn't know she could be so ruthless...kind of excites you, huh?" The bloody Gatti, nudged Miguel in the side.
Miguel responded by hitting Gatti in the side lightly, with the hilt of his sword. "It's not a time for smart comments, like that, to be made."
Dallet moved his back in towards the two. "Are there any times where his smart comments are welcomed?"
Gatti huffed at the laughing boys. "Jealous that you two can't be as charming as me." He held up his sword, his back was too to the middle. They were all back to back, with swords held out infront of them.
Dead bodies littered the ground around her bare feet, she had gotten rid of her shoes somewhere in the middle of the fight. The fire rose around her, embers danced as the air hit them when she walked by. Her green eyes were darkening, looking almost black.
Dallet nudged Miguel, "She's heading this way, kind of freaky...She looks like a fallen arch angel."
Miguel only smiled, "This is where she was meant to be. On the battlefield, not on the sidelines. So the look sort of fits."
"Whatever."
Their heads snapped towards the large doors of the ballroom, the doors had been blown to bits. The dust cleared, revealing a red guymelef. A click came followed by a metallic voice, "Where's your King?"
The startled Fanalians shook their heads in fear. Those who hadn't been crushed or killed by the blasting of the doors were now backing away from the Lord of the demons that sent their beloved country into turmoil. A blonde headed boy stood up, his arm had been injured during the explosion. He clutched the bleeding arm to him as he raised his chin proudly. "What business do you have here, Dilandua? Fanalia has been in peace for so long, why attack now?"
The hatch to the guymelef opened, revealing the smirking General. "Why Chid, I didn't know you were going to be present at this banquet! Well back to your question...why not? I think it was the perfect time to attack. All this peace and getting rid of weapons was starting to get old, someone had to liven Gaea up. So...Fanalia seemed to be the perfect opportunity to bring back those good ole days. Don't you think?"
King Chid growled at the mockery. "There's no need to fight anymore! Both Folken and Dornkirk are dead! Your leaders are gone, what more proof do you need that this war will not last."
Dilandua's smirk only broadened. "Chid chid chid...still naive? Those two were weak, that's why they're dead. As for the war, I have something else that'll keep it going. Something that Gaea needs quite badly to stay unharmed and protected or else it'll be thrown into a world of chaos. Did you forget the tales of Atlantis? Remember those fond memories, your majesty? Well DO YOU?!"
Chid was barely able to dodge the flying metal claw that was sent his way. "What about Atlantis! Only one can control it and she's WAY out of your reach!" His eyes widened when Dilandua began to laugh hysterically.
"If I may point your eyes to the newly improved, thanks to my humble services, your Mystic Moon Seer..." He pointed towards the battling Hitomi.
All eyes turned towards the girl they had ignored and not expected to be their long lost heroine. A silence fell upon the group. The only sound in the room was the sound of guymelefs outside the palace, destroying the country and it's people. Explosions and the creaking of the palace kept the place from being totally mute.
Hitomi looked up when she heard her old title. Her eyes looked over the shocked faces that she once protected and cherished. Chid looked at her with the most surprise. No way was this Hitomi, he was bluffing. Hitomi loved Fanalia, she wouldn't destroy her love's country. He glared back at Dilandua with even more hatred. "How DARE you taint Hitomi's name! That girl may be a good look alike, but that's not her! You'll pay for dirtying Hitomi's honor!!"
Miguel and the others looked over at Hitomi, wondering how she was taking this. To their surprise, her expression was unreadable. She just stood there among the bodies she destroyed, her sword dripping with innocence blood. Sweaty locks of honey brown hair tossed as she turned away from them. She walked away from the group, heading towards the connecting chamber she had exited out of earlier.
Gatti was the first to snap back to reality and followed her. Miguel and Dallet soon followed after him. Dilandua watched them go then turned back to Chid. "Do you want proof? How about Escaflowne? Van is the only one that can pilot it, but Hitomi is the only one who can summon it." ((A/N: Forgive me if your getting confused, if you haven't noticed already I'm combining the series and the movie together. You might recognize that I used some information and terms that can be found in either the movie or the series. I'm also adding some of my own stuff to it, so just bear with me))
Chid's eyes narrowed at Dilandua. "Yes, but you need Hitomi for that."
This kid was dense. Dilandua sighed to himself, growing irritated with this boy's game. "I told you, I SHOWED you, and now she's gone. Left to find your pitiful King...for me. The irony in this is hilarious."
Chid rose, limping as he ran to the connecting chamber. He had to warn Van that there was a Hitomi look alike and to not be fooled. Everyone was in danger, Dilandua held the key to Gaea that would send the peace and calmness of the land right back into another episode of the Destiny Wars. Even if the girl was a fake, she would be enough to cause a panic to spread. Although, there was a part of him that found the girl very VERY familiar, he believed with every essence of his body that Dilandua was lying.
He watched the pathetic King run. He raised an eyebrow, did he think that he could stop all of this? Oh well, it would only make the game more interesting. He turned back to the cowering scum of this country. "Your inspirational speaker has left, there's nothing else to stall your deaths." He disappeared back into the cock pit and fired his flamethrower at the scared people.
Outside the palace, fire engulfed the entire country. Burned bodies were scattered in the streets. Those few who had survived were being rallied up in a group. One guymelef stood aside from the mass slaughter, silver eyes raged at the sight he was seeing. He was too late. He didn't get out of the palace quick enough to save them.
He attacked the nearest guymelef to him, bringing down his sword at the unsuspecting Slayer. The Slayer screamed into his intercom out of anger. "What do you think your doing, Rai!"
Rai's eyes swirled with red now, he growled. "You'll pay for what you did..." He plunged his sword into the heart of the guymelef, the cock pit. He smiled as he heard the popcorn sound of the intercom loosing connection.
He looked up to see the other guymelefs coming for him. They had seen the whole thing. He smirked, "Come on your cowards!" He pulled his sword free, standing ready for a fight.
"Down here, Rai!"
The guymelefs stopped charging and were looking down at the Slayer who stood unprotected in the open. Rai looked down at him, then raised his leg ready to smash the vile Zaiboch maggot.
"I wouldn't do that..." The boy held up the limp body of a woman.
At first, he thought it was Hitomi, but then at a closer inspection it wasn't Hitomi at all. His eyes widened at the woman in the boy's arms.
"Let her go, Chesta!"
Chesta backed away from the extended metal arm, holding the sword closer to the woman's neck. She was barely alive, her skin was pale from the loss of blood. There was a long, deep gash on her back. Chesta's sword glistened with her blood. "Not a step closer...."
Rai hesitated, he growled. "You'll die for this, Chesta."
"Hmm, why does she matter so much to you, Rai? What about Hitomi? I thought you loved her more?" He tightened his hold on the woman, letting his sword drag along her skin. It left a small cut along her neck. The woman whimpered.
"That's none of your business! Now let her go!"
"Oh I think it is my business, for you see we have a problem. I made a promise to her and I plan on keeping it. I've warned and I've threatened, but you don't seem to get it."
He gritted his teeth, he hated to be lectured at, "Hitomi will forever be mine. That girl in your arms is mine also, I don't like other people touching my things."
"That's where your wrong. She might have belonged to you at one point, but she doesn't anymore. Like she told you tonight...Van"
Rai's eyes flickered. "I'm not Van."
"Stop with the cliché. I'm not fooled by those altered looks of yours. I have connections outside the Vione that let me know Fanalia's technology progression. It seems Millerna found a potion through dragons and werewolf blood. There's another ingredient, a mineral recently discovered in your mines. If I remember correctly, the hair of the person who drinks it will change to the color of the mineral they have chosen, the blood has an odd effect causing the eyes to turn a silverish tint. The other effects come on it's own. What I want to know is how the potion's effects ends."
Rai narrowed his eyes at him. "How long..."
Chesta smirked, "The day after you showed Hitomi around, I received the news. Your actions diminished all other doubts. Raiku Viena, your true name is Van Fanel!"
The potion inside his body felt the name being called and immediately flushed out of his body. By any means possible.
Chesta looked up with disgust as Van fell out of the cockpit. His body shaking as the potion took it's exit, it was a nasty sight. He turned his head slightly, trying to escape the reeking smell.
Van slowly rose up, his legs shaking still. He wiped the corner of his mouth away. "You got the answer half right though...Your source of information didn't say we successfully were able to duplicate any potion. So, what you thought was one of, there were really two. Two Raiku Viena's. We traded every now and then so we never abandoned our positions totally. We needed to learn about what was going on in Zaiboch without looking suspicious. We figured Zaiboch wouldn't just lie down and welcome peace, then the potion was created it was the perfect opportunity. Enough about that, one Raiku was revealed, but who do you think the other is? It won't matter, it'll be too late by the time you figure it out...." Van smirked.
He growled, he cut the woman's throat and threw her to Van. He took off back inside the palace, Hitomi was in danger. His legs pumped harder as he took the stairs two at a time. His breath growing short as he struggled to save time.
Van clutched his lover's dead body. Anger made him shake, he buried his face into her hair. She still smelled of peach blossoms, like Hitomi. She was to be his future wife. They both were, and Chesta took them both away from him. First with Hitomi, it's not like he didn't see them dance. He saw just how close those two really were. And now he killed his present love. He still had Hitomi though, all he had to do is get her to love him again, that wouldn't be a problem. If all things went well tonight, she would be his.
Hitomi crept in the darkness. There it was again. The sound of boots clicking on the marble floor. He was close...She stopped at the corner, she could hear him breathing. He was so close...She raised her sword and charged from around the corner.
Clang!
Sparks flew as their swords met in the middle. She had been anticipating this, no way would Van leave his back unguarded. ESPECIALLY in his own castle. She pressed down on the man she had grown to loathes blade. Something was wrong.
She pulled back her blade, stepping carefully over to a dim candle. The light didn't quite reach the person she thought was her old love. The shadow lingered there, eyeing her tattered form. Even in torn clothing and smoke stained skin, she still looked lovely. He could feel his breath catching, he needed her.
She held up her blade, moving it so that she held it horizontally in her hands. She reflected the candle light off of the metal, shining it onto her adversary.
He winced from the bright light, his arm raised to block it out. He backed away farther into the darkness, trying to hide his identity. It was too late, she had seen his face.
"Rai? What are you doing here?"
"I..." He was at loss for words. He had been originally positioned outside to rally up civilians. "I was reassigned..."
She continued to look at him suspiciously. Dilandua wouldn't make a last minute decision like that, usually he stuck to what he ordered. Thinking he was never really wrong. "Hn, whatever." She walked away from him, slightly annoyed at the fact that she had been following the wrong person all this time. Van probably was long gone.
The 3 Slayers caught up to her but stopped just before the corner. They listened in on the conversation, they too were just as puzzled at why Rai would be here. Miguel, being the level headed of the two, crept around the corner. He saw something that caught his eye on the hilt of Rai's sword.
Hitomi stopped, she saw a glimmer of metal in the dim light. She turned but was thrown to the wall from a blow to the side. The hit took her breath away, sharp pain kept her doubled over. She felt arms encircle her waist, then felt herself being thrown over someone's shoulder. She growled and thrashed against the person who held her captive. "Let go of me!"
Rai only grunted as his response. 'You know I can't do that, Hitomi.' His ear twitched, he heard a boot click. He whirled around, his hand moving to where the hilt of his sword should have been. He looked down with a look of disbelief, it was gone.
Miguel twirled Rai's swords with a grin on his face. "You heard the lady...put her down." Gatti and Dallet took the liberty to step out into the open then. Both their faces were empty of expression.
"I knew you were a traitor, I just didn't know to what degree." Dallet growled at him. "Set her down now!"
"Hmm interesting..."
Dallet looked back at Miguel. "What is?"
Miguel held up the sword's hilt so that Dallet could see. "It seems our traitor here, is acquainted with Austria."
Dallet looked at the insignia. "Hmmm, Austrian scum eh? Your just as bad as that pretty boy." He laughed, "Allen...oh the starry night of the heavens!" He mocked the knight's bow and well mannered gestures.
Rai's eyebrow twitched. "I'm not Austrian, I stole it off of an Austrian soldier. That's all..."
Miguel laughed, "I'm sure you did! How smart of you to wield it as a Zaiboch soldier, I'm surprised Lord Dilandua hasn't noticed yet."
That's when Hitomi elbowed the angry soldier in the back of the head. She fell back, but brought her knee up. It slammed into Rai's chest, but wasn't as hard as she hoped. She had been falling so the attack wasn't that effective. Dallet caught her. "Nice to have you back, princess!"
She smiled up at him, "Great to be back, sunshine!"
Dallet grinned and helped set her back on her feet. They both turned back to Rai with a satisfied look on their faces. Miguel stepped towards Rai, holding the blade in his hand. He held it out to Rai hilt first. "Take it...I don't want to hold this filth anymore. For all I know, it could have belonged to that blonde headed Putz."
Rai took it angrily, striking down at Miguel with it. Miguel blocked his attack, stepping back as he went. A smile crept on his lips. 'Alright, here we go. A real fight.' He swiped back at him, going for Rai's chest.
Rai parried, smacking the sword away from his body. He dove in, aiming for a vital organ near Miguel's shoulder. His blade cut flesh but didn't dig deep enough to do any real damage. Miguel had turned away from the blow.
He whirled back around to face Rai. "Again."
"As you wish." He raised his blade, preparing to dive onto Miguel. He took a step and fell forward. He barely managed to flip himself so that he landed on one knee. As he fell he managed to grab the blade in his boot. His sword went over his head, protecting the back of his neck. Miguel's sword made contact with it. Rai held the dagger up, waiting for the newcomer's attack.
Chesta had come in the middle of the fight, he slid in when he saw Rai go to attack. He swung his leg out and took Rai's feet from underneath him with one sweep. He finished the drop kick by spinning the full 360 on the floor. He was back up and had his sword ready. "Drop your weapon...Allen Schezar."
Allen convulsed as the potion in his body reacted. He grabbed his head as the potion took it's exit. Again, Chesta turned. This potion just had nasty outcomes.
Miguel covered his mouth and nose with his sword arm. He backed away from the mess. "Ugh...that's sick." His eyes met blue orbs. "You figured out his identity too, huh?"
"Yeah...after what Van told me, I had a pretty good idea."
"Wait..what?"
"Nevermind..."
Chesta walked towards the coughing knight. He moved his sword so that he touched the ends of Allen's short hair. He snickered, "You had to cut your hair...what do the women see in you now?"
Allen sneered at him, "Your one too talk...at least mine didn't require the assistance of a bowl." His eyes grew wider with astonishment before he blacked out.
Miguel's eyebrows twitched as he sheathed his sword. "You two...talking about hair.....gah sometimes..." He walked away, muttering to himself. "Dallet! Hitomi! Your coming with me!" The both of them looked at each other then followed Miguel.
Chesta made a face at Miguel's back.
"Don't think I don't know what you juts did, Chesta!" His voice fading down the hall.
"I hate it when he does that..." He walked over to the knocked out knight. 'Hmmm can't leave any survivors.' He positioned his sword at Allen's neck. His grip changed so that he could drive it down without having to put that much weight on it.
"Take him prisoner."
Chesta looked at Gatti with annoyance. "What?!"
Gatti uncrossed his arms. "It's the worst shame we can bring him. If we kill him, that'd be the easy way out. To live with this failure, would be a slow and painful process of dying."
"Gatti...sometimes your sick."
He grinned. "I know."
Chesta shook his head as he took one of the knight's arms. "Well come on then..."
Hitomi climbed into her guymelef. As the hatch closed, she let a few tears slip. Those people...they didn't even recognize her. She couldn't but grieve for their lost souls, she was looking for revenge on one person. The children and other innocent villagers who just wanted peace, didn't deserve this.
She turned her guymelef so it faced the burning kingdom. "It's just not fair..."
"What's not?"
"Merle?"
There was a cough on the receiving end. "Sorry you must have me mixed up with someone else. It's El Rem."
She mentally slapped herself for forgetting that everyone else would be listening also. "Forgive me, just having a flashback. Are we done here?"
"Well...yes and no. There's nothing left to kill or burn, the fire is engulfing everything. It won't stop till it burns up every last bit of Fanalia. The people have been enslaved or killed."
"But..."
"The reason for us coming here, is still alive somewhere."
"Van hasn't been caught, yet?!" Hitomi turned, looking around the forest floor.
"I just said he hasn't...So Dilandua has sent orders to us on a full fledged man hunt!"
A spark went through her mind. Her old pendent formed in her mind's eye. It started to swing, slowly at first but gradually gathering speed. It then swung in a direction.
'Of course!' She moved her guymelef and hit the boosters. She hovered over the ground, blasting off around the castle.
Her General's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Slayer, I ordered a full scale man hunt, why are you going back to the castle? Can't you see it's burning down! The only way out of the palace is over here, if we're going to catch a dragon we must block all it's exits but one. So, what the hell are you doing?"
"You just said the word, Lord Dilandua."
"Don't play mind games with me, Slayer."
"It's not a mind game, you said it yourself. In order to catch a dragon you must block all it's exits, but one. You left two open."
"WHAT?!"
"Position some of the Slayers in the sky! They are not looking for a man! They're looking for Escaflowne!"
Dilandua looked up at the sky shocked. He had totally forgotten about that damn armor. "I want at least thirty Slayers in the air! NOW!" He hit his accelerators and took off as well. "Is there any way you can call the armor to you?"
"It's quite the opposite, it's calling to ME..." She stopped infront of a wall. She moved her guymelef so that it flew up the wall but away from the reaching fire. She landed on the burning roof. Her eyes looking around the stones beneath her machine's feet. This is where the pendent took her. She didn't look for a way in or for the suit itself. She was waiting.
An explosion to her right, blew her guymelef to the side. She screamed as the hot sparks of the fire, heated the metal surrounding her. She could feel the fire lick at her skin. Green eyes peeked through slits, there it was. The Dragon armor.
Escaflowne.
The suit didn't give her enough time to get back up, it was on her with it's sword ready to take her out. Van didn't know she was piloting the guymelef. Her eyes widened as she watched the sword come down at her. "Damnit, so this is how it ends..."
A white flash, then a sharp intake of air silenced her. "No...."
Dilandua spiraled down at Van, firing his flamethrowers at him. Van moved away from the flames, coming close to becoming singed.
Hitomi kicked open the cockpit door. She tumbled out of the machine but she just rolled back on her feet. She was bleeding from the side of her head and her leg from the earlier explosion. Yet she kept running. She climbed up the fallen guymelef as Dilandua averted Van's attention away from them.
"No..please no..." She fought away flames that sought to grab onto her skin. She tugged on the hatch, whimpering as the metal cut into her hands. The hatch gave away, revealing the badly injured Slayer.
"Chesta...why!" Hot tears streamed down her face as she pulled her friend free. She wrapped her arms around the limp boy, not able to hold back her sobs. She looked at her hands, blood. His blood.
"Damnit, it was my time to die! Not yours! You should have just let me die...." She cried as she held the boy close to her. She didn't even feel herself being picked up by Dallet's guymelef.
Dilandua laughed maliciously as he fought against Van. This was what he wanted. He struck down at the furious Van. "Now you die!" He blasted his flamethrowers at Van, charring the front of Escaflowne. He looked over, hearing a loud wail. "Hitomi?"
Van pushed Dilandua away from him, he was badly burned. He drove his sword into the red guymelef's side then kicked the machine away from him. He changed Escaflowne into the winged dragon, he looked down at Hitomi with determined eyes. 'I'll come back for you!' The dragon flew up into the night sky and disappeared.
Dilandua growled, "DAMNIT! I HAD HIM!" He moved his guymelef, making it stand. He thrashed at the debris around him, furious that he let the king go. There it was again, that wail. "It's all that damn woman's fault!!!!" His guymelef turned, ready to set the flamethrowers off on her when Miguel and Merle intervened.
"Stop it, Lord Dilandua! Don't do anything irrational!"
"Get out of my way, Miguel! It's because of her that our efforts tonight were in vain!!!"
Merle still held him back, "Not so, Fanalia has been destroyed. He has no where to go, all those present at the ball tonight were Gaea's leaders. They're all captured or dead. This won't go well for Van's reputation, he won't be welcomed anywhere. He'll come to us, don't worry. That temper of his is enough to get him to do something as mindless as attacking the Vione head on."
Dilandua calmed himself, she was right. He pulled himself free of their grip. "Hn. Very well, but this won't go without a punishment...." He flew off, calling his other Slayers back to the Vione.
"Phew...good call Rem."
Merle laughed inwardly at her name. "No problem.." She might as well enjoy her fake identity for now, before that one Slayer spreads the word about her.
Miguel's voice came on again, "So...did the coin hit the edge for you?"
"Yep..."
"How?"
"I got revenge and started the process on the Kings mental break down. His mind is slowly deteriorating, his reputation is crushed, the place he built is in ruins, he failed his people and his lover's dead. We all succeeded in staying alive and in a way, killing Van."
"Um, how is that the edge?"
"I killed myself in the process."
".........eh?"
"I killed Merle...." She smiled. 'And El Rem was born.'
Miguel blinked. What was he talking about?
"Forget it, let's get back. Chesta is in pretty bad shape."
"Right."
Gatti flew behind the others with a grief stricken expression on his face. After so many years of fighting, it took him all this time to realize that sometimes, there just wasn't room for sarcasm. He looked on to the sad image infront of him, he didn't want to have to figured this out like this. 'Not like this...'
Everything went slow from there. The landing on the Vione, the rush of injured soldiers to the hospital wing, the captured prisoners to the dungeon, and her standing in the hanger watching all of this go by. It was as if the pull of Fate tugged them to all their places, in where they were needed. Why did she feel no tug? She looked down at the floor, she felt immobile.
Her Fate was still undecided.
She looked up, surprised that someone too had stayed behind. "Sir, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be seeing to our prisoners?"
Dilandua stepped towards Hitomi with a dark look. His eyebrow twitched as he felt the growing fear in her. It fed his anger more, feeling the need to intimidate her more. "They are being sought too. I'm more interested in what YOUR doing here...YOU should be busying herself by doing something other than staring off into space. A Slayer never has time to be bored."
Hitomi gulped. "Sssorry, Sir. I'll go then." She bowed, rushing off towards the hospital wing. She was stopped by his extended arm. 'Crap...'
He had to stop himself from killing her right there. "You took my glory away today...be ready to make up for it." He stepped away from her, shooting one last glare in her direction. He disappeared down the connecting sector to the dorm area.
She sighed in relief when she could no longer hear the click of his boots.
"That was a close one, wasn't it?"
She looked up, her sword drawn and ready. "Who's there?"
A girl with shoulder length hair stepped out of the shadows. Her layers curved in towards her face, defining the red that was mixed in with the dark brown color of her hair. She looked on, the girl had the darkest colored eyes she had ever seen, almost black. When the girl approached, she could tell they were really brown. "Who wants to know?"
Hitomi raised her blade, she wasn't in the mood for games. "Since there isn't anyone here besides me, I think you know the answer." She noticed that the girl wore a dark purple armor, she must have been of noble birth because there was an insignia on her shoulder guard. "Your name..."
"Your in my way, I've come here to get revenge on my brother's name. Someone here dishonored my family by posing as Raiku Viena."
"How is that?"
The girl's eyes grew darker, "My brother is DEAD! The man who took his name, took his body! I WANT IT BACK!" She was close to tears, her voice was cracking.
Hitomi lowered her sword and took a step towards the shaking girl. She didn't have time to step aside when a glaive came down at her. It struck her shoulder. She winced from the sharp pain but was surprised to not feel any stinging. She moved her hand over where the wound should have been, there was nothing but a nice welt. The girl had moved the glaive just so, so that the metal pole hit instead of the blade. She was VERY skilled.
She shielded her eyes from the burning smoke that had settled around her. The smoke was...green? Her eyes watered, as the substance in the air burned her eyes. She coughed when she inhaled the strong scent. "A smoke bomb..."
She waved her arm infront of her, using it to be her eyes as she walked. She moved away from the green cloud. She coughed as she inhaled the clean air. 'Just who was that?'
"INTRUDER!"
"QUICK SHE'S HEADING TOWARDS THE DUNGEON!"
Hitomi squinted, watching blurry figures run past the hanger. 'So she knew how to make bombs as well...Clever girl. She didn't come unprepared. Raiku Viena....' Her eyes widened. "She's going to kill Allen before we get a chance to interrogate him!" She cursed herself as she took off towards the rushing group of Slayers. 'Lord Dilandua will have my neck if Allen is killed before he can have his questioning period.'
She didn't know when she passed out during the run there, but she did. Something in that smoke caused a rush of blood to shoot to her head. Running only quickened the process of the chemical. ((A/N: Alright, back to present...))
She blinked a few times as her vision came back into focus. She grabbed the sword and staggered to get up. 'That's right...there was a strange girl! I wonder what happened to her? What am I saying...what should I care?'
Miguel stood, nodding towards Dallet and Gatti. "You heard Lord Dilandua, take her to the STA."
They stood on each side of Hitomi, taking an arm to steady her. Dallet looked at Miguel with a raised brow, "Where are you going?"
Miguel winked at the 3 of them. "Gotta check on our cute prisoner. I'm supposed to be questioning her further today."
It was Gatti's turn to look at him with an odd expression. "Did you get nothing out of her yesterday?"
He rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Well I got her name...does that count?"
The two of them nearly fell over. "What is it?"
Miguel pretended to get starry eyes. He clasped his hands together with a far away look on his face. "Gabriella Viena..." He sighed.
They laughed at their comrade. "Wait...Viena? Then...is there really a guy named Raiku Viena?"
Miguel scratched his nose as he thought. "Dunno, but I'll find that out today!" He gave them a thumbs up and sped off down the hall. "After you drop the princess off, meet me in the Mess Hall. We're supposed to pick from the new stock of newbies that came in."
Gatti puffed out his chest. "Alright! It's the great harvest! I'd make a great teacher, don't ya think? And if they're cute...I could teach them a thing or too that they won't learn from ANYONE..." He winked at Dallet.
Dallet's laughter rang off the walls as they led Hitomi deeper into the Vione. With little knowledge that the training she was about to be put through, would prove to be near fatal.
~~~~~~~~~~
Whoadie: x.x That was looooooooong. Well until the next chapter...^_^ toodles! R/R pwwwwweaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzeeeeeee!