You Don't Need a Heartbeat to Follow Your Heart
Chapter 2 Confessions
By Threshie
AN: Sorry for taking so long to update--this chapter was already written when I posted the first one, but needed serious revision. You might notice I changed the title format a bit. Shrug I like it better this way. Also, please note that I do not own Escaflowne or any of its characters, places, names, etc. (I forgot my disclaimer last chapter! Oops...) Anyway, anybody wondering how Dallet came back from the dead yet? Read on to find out!
The room went silent.
Dilandau's mind scrabbled for an explanation, some shred of sense to the brown-haired boy's presence. He might not have really been dead--no, no, he'd been dead before he'd even hit the ground, the guymelef's open cockpit proved that... Someone revived him after they brought his body back...? Dilandau only realized that everyone was staring at him when Dallet met his eyes.
"Dilandau-sama," he said at last, smiling faintly.
"Y-you--how...?" Dilandau demanded, the jumbled words matching his confused thoughts very well. "Are you...the real Dallet?" He asked, squinting at the brown-haired boy.
Looking a little embarrassed, Dallet crossed the room to stand near his commander. Glancing down at his booted feet, he answered, "Yes, Dilandau-sama...I'm really me." He bowed, adding a bit unsurely, "And if you'd allow me to, I'd be honored to continue serving you."
Dilandau didn't answer, staring critically at the boy. He was horribly pale--deathly pale, in fact--but his face was certainly still his own. His lilac eyes were very unique, as was his longish haircut. The burn injuries his death had inflicted had mysteriously disappeared. Dilandau's mind accepted the impossible truth that, somehow, it really was Dallet. Clinging to logic, it added, 'but how?'
"Dallet," Dilandau began, tilting his head to examine the boy's face from a different angle, "How the hell can you possibly be here? You did die, didn't you?" He scowled, adding, "And if you faked it all in some twisted attempt at humor, you'll wish you'd died."
Dallet answered unhappily, "I'm here because I want to be. I...doubt you'll believe how, though."
Lies, Dilandau thought. He wasn't sure whether to slap him or yell at him first. The death, the sacrifice of his life, had all been false. And he'd actually fallen for it--he'd actually cared. A well of fury began to bubble in his chest, and he would have punched the brown-haired boy if his hands hadn't been clenched into such tight fists.
"I'm not alive." Dilandau's fury was not an easy thing to break through, but these three simple words somehow managed to freeze the silver-haired boy in place. Time seemed to stand still...the other Dragon Slayers didn't dare speak or move, and Dallet seemed afraid to check his commander's expression.
Dilandau himself wasn't sure whether to laugh or unleash the aforementioned fury on the hapless Slayer before him. Did the boy think he was stupid? Did he really, honestly believe Dilandau was foolish enough to believe that he could be standing there talking and yet be dead?
Before he could think of a reason not to, he had wrapped his fingers around Dallet's throat and lifted the boy off of his feet.
"YOU THINK HURTING US IS FUNNY?!" he snarled, shaking his captive rather violently.
"Dilandau-sama!" Shesta's voice could barely be heard over his commander's, as the silver-haired boy tried his best to strangle Dallet. The other boys joined in the horrified chorus: "Dilandau-sama, stop! Don't make Dallet die again! Please!" Desperate as they all sounded, none of them dared to physically stop their commander from doing anything.
Dallet, much to Dilandau's temper's disappointment, didn't appear to be suffering from the lack of air. He wasn't trying to escape the grasp, either. He, Dilandau found, was simply staring at him steadily. Steadily and eerily. And that's when Dilandau realized that no pulse beat against his palms. Regaining some control over himself, the silver-haired boy dropped Dallet abruptly, staring at him in shock.
"Y-you have no pulse!" He stated almost accusingly, too stunned to care that the other Dragon Slayers had witnessed him badly lose his composure.
"...Yes," Dallet sighed, dragging himself up into a kneeling position and touching his neck gingerly. "I told you, I'm dead."
Still a bit stunned, Dilandau plopped down on the floor face to face with the brown-haired boy and commanded, "Explain."
"He's here because of the Madoushi," Viole informed them, seating himself cross-legged nearby. Dilandau and Dallet both turned to stare at him for a moment.
"What?" Dilandau demanded, scowling. Noticing this, Viole seemed to shrink a little--usually the Dragon Slayers all knew better than to mention the Madoushi in their commander's presence.
"It's true," Dallet sighed. The two words sounded rather faint, but they managed to grab the attention of everyone in the room and hold it.
"I'm still waiting for an explanation--how are the Madoushi involved?" The scowl remained firmly fixed upon Dilandau's face.
Knowing from experience that angering a scowling Dilandau resulted in unpleasantries, Dallet said, "I'll tell you what I know. I-I'm not sure how they resurrected me so quickly--I'm guessing that they had this planned for sometime and were just waiting for a body to try it on."
"Oh?" Dilandau's eyes narrowed at the thought of Zaibach's sorcerers using one of his Dragon Slayers in their twisted experiments. The Madoushi had been his own shadowy tormenters of much of his lifetime--as long as he could remember, in fact. If they've done to Dallet anywhere near what they've done to me, he thought in half horror, half fury, I don't care if Dornkirk-sama is displeased, I'll murder them....
"...Dilandau-sama?" The silver-haired boy blinked at the tentative hand on his shoulder. Coming back to the present, he found himself peering into Shesta's large, turquoise eyes. "Are you okay? You're shaking all over!"
Dilandau blinked once, realizing that it was true. He would have slapped Shesta for mentioning it, but then the others might see how much his hands were trembling. Angrily, he clenched them into fists, settling himself with a glare in the blonde boy's direction. Much to his annoyance, Shesta took this as a sign that he was back to normal and only smiled a little before returning to his seat on the floor near Gatti.
Attempting to cling to his composure, Dilandau commented scathingly, "So the Madoushi brought you back to life, then, hm? It's just like them to resurrect someone and forget to give them vital signs."
Dallet nodded, leaning one hand on the floor. He really did look pale...Dilandau wondered idly if he had any blood--or needed it--since he didn't have a heartbeat and apparently didn't need to breath. "Yes, I...I'm sorry if my return came as a shock," the brown-haired boy said quietly, gazing down at his blue boots. Damn the Madoushi, Dilandau thought angrily, noticing that Dallet was still in uniform. That meant the sorcerers had stolen him within minutes of his arrival at the morgue. I'll bet they didn't even wait until he got cold...
"Madoushi. Resurrection. Explanation," he reminded Dallet pointedly.
Dallet slowly nodded, almost like his head as too heavy to lift up again easily. "I apologize," he sighed, lifting a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind his ear, "The Madoushi, through some combination of...of magic and fate alteration...brought my soul back to my body."
"So how come you're not really alive again, then?" Dilandau demanded, coming to the point of the matter. 'How' and 'why' were his only two concerns at this point.
Dallet sighed, hanging his head. "I-I'm not sure...." He said faintly, placing a hand on nearby Migel's shoulder for support.
Dilandau blinked. "Obviously you're not entirely well again yet," he observed, nodding toward them even though Dallet was still hanging his head, and so couldn't see him.
"Y-yes, I...forgive me..." The last words were faint, and only Migel realized he'd collapsed quickly enough to save him from slumping to the floor. Dilandau rushed over to them, memories of Dallet's death flashing through his head.
"Dallet?" He asked, as Migel carefully placed the brown-haired boy on the floor.
There was no answer.
End Chapter 2
Heartbeat Akugi!
Akugi #1:
Narrator: His lilac eyes were very unique, as was his longish haircut.
Dallet: With a mullet akin to Movie Folken's "I hate you, Threshie."
Akugi #2:
Dallet: "I'm guessing that they had this planned for sometime and were just waiting for a body to try it on."
Dilandau: Pokes the frilly pink ballgown Dallet is wearing "I can see why they waited for a dead somebody."
AN: Gomen for the goofy stuff--I love Akugi in other people's fics. Please R&R--heck, if you've read down this far the least you can do is tell me what ya think. Right? =)