Well, this will really be short this time. Enjoy Chapter Four!
Disclaimer: Taking lie detector test.
Lie Detector Dude: Okay, this is just to be sure that the lie detector is working properly: Do you own Escaflowne?
Me: (Screams maniacally) YES! YES I DO!
Lie Detector Dude: No, no you don't.
Me: T-T Sob.
Lie Detector Dude: Now I'm afraid we're going to have to lock you away in jail. Goodbye. (Mutters) Or maybe in an asylum. (Cough cough)
Me: 0o NOOOOOOO!
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Last time: "You're being paranoid, Dil. You need to learn to trust people. Give him the benefit of the doubt!" She smiled happily and trotted off. Dilandau sighed.
"You're going to get us both killed, woman." He muttered under his breath and followed her to the door of the cabin, not even realizing what he had said, or that he had even said anything at all.
Chapter 4: Fan the Flames
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Hitomi let out a nervous mental chuckle. Dilandau and Elis hadn't said a single word to each other since they had met, instead just stood there, unmoving, as they had for the past… 10 minutes, silently sizing each other up. Or whatever men did. Hitomi didn't get it.
---
He knew that he had seen this man somewhere before. Damn, but this was frustrating! Dilandau recognized him, although Hitomi hadn't mentioned the 'woodsman's' name yet. And without a name, the albino was left without any clues to aid in jogging his memory. ARGH!
The bearded man was not to be trusted, and by 'Dil's' estimation, he just seemed to be in a shadier profession. A thief? No… He was far too muscular for that. While it was possible, his stance was far too cocky to belong to a stereotypically meek pickpocket.
An assassin? That probably wasn't right either. True, the physique would suggest it, and the man certainly seemed flexible and observant enough, but there was the notable lack of a sword. Most assassins, like soldiers, always kept their long blades close at hand, and while he could have been armed with a concealed dagger, the 'woodsman' was outside with no place to pull a sword from, and the distance between them made Dilandau's longer blade far more useful and accessible than a mere dagger. The former soldier estimated that he could have the man's head on the ground before any hidden weapon could be drawn.
Wait… Why am I thinking about how fast I could kill him? Why would I want to? The albino was greatly disturbed by this. According to Hitomi, he had been in the military, and soldiers killed. On the battlefield, it was kill or be killed. That was what happened. But that wasn't what had triggered the edgy reaction. The thought of killing this man didn't bring guilt, or even cold resignation… The prospect of taking another's life had seemed almost… Fun.
Dilandau forcibly eased his hand off the rough hilt of his sword. It probably wasn't a good idea to tempt his dormant homicidal tendencies. Speaking of which, where had this sword come from, anyway?
His thoughts screeched to a sudden stop as a memory came to him. It was like a still-frame shadowgraph - the background and surrounding people were blurry, but this man's face was clear. Though he didn't know how he recognized it, emblazoned on the left breast of the image's pale tunic was the gray upraised eye that denoted a Shadow Snake, one of the most elite groups of spies and informants in all of Zaibach.
"YOU!" He snarled, taking a step back and snapping a hand back over his sword hilt.
---
What? What's going on? Hitomi was thoroughly confused. Dilandau's stillness-shattering movement had been incredibly sudden and certainly violent. He must know Elis. I wonder where f- What...? How would Dilandau remember anything? By his own admission, he doesn't know anything at all of his past. Unless… The seer's brows drew together sharply as she considered the possibilities. … Oh no… He remembered something! She had to stop him before he did anything crazy! Hitomi darted over to the amnesiac as fast as she could.
"Dilandau!"
---
"Dilandau!"
"What…?" His crimson gaze snapped over to the sprinting Hitomi. In his shock, he forgot to use her fake name. "Hitomi?"
Being distracted for even one second was one second too much. Only his quick reflexes saved him from the dagger hilt whipping towards his head.
"Damn!" It was too late to stop the fight. He unsheathed his sword just in time to block the dagger's second strike with the resounding clang of metal on metal. "Bastard!"
As his body fell back into the familiar rhythm of combat, however, the tables began to turn. From there on out, it was Elis' turn to do the blocking. Dilandau went on the offensive as he forced the spy to nearly fling himself to the ground in a desperate attempt to avoid having his stomach ripped open.
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Idiot! Elis cursed himself. I should have waited to bring him in! Damn me and my ambitions! I've gotten rusty since the end of the war and forgotten how to fight a worthy opponent!
In his current state, he would have had difficulty facing even a moderately skilled enemy, and Dilandau Albatou was a far cry from a mere foot soldier. Elis barely had time to recognize a feint in time to block the real slash to his throat. The spy was tiring quickly and his opponent was only speeding up. At this rate, the fight wouldn't last much longer. Come to think of it, he should have died years ago in an uneven fight just like this one. Ha ha… How cruel Mistress Fate returns to collect her dues.
---
Hitomi was stunned by Elis' sudden attack. Apparently, Dilandau had been right. At least he isn't enjoying it… Yet. What will I do if he remembers everything and regresses? As bizarre as it seemed, she already was considering this Dilandau as a friend, or at least a companion.
Suddenly, she stumbled back into a tree as a vision overtook her conscious sight.
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Darkness consumed the silent chamber. A man in a black cloak stood on a shadowed platform at one end of the chamber, seemingly waiting for something. He quickly turned to face the opposite end of the room as a sudden flood of light and crash of heavy steel doors shattered the stillness.
A tan-shirted, gray-cloaked Elis, just as Hitomi knew him to appear, stepped through the entrance and shut the portal behind him. Wordlessly, the Zaibachian moved to kneel before the platform's steps and fastened his gaze on the cold steel floor.
"We require something of you, Elis Payne." The cold voice was emotionless as the metal casing of the room. Chill fingers danced up and down Hitomi's spine. There was nothing in that voice. Not compassion, hate, maliciousness, irritation, not even ambition. It was just… Sound.
"Yes, Sorcerer." The Shadow Snake's voice was respectful and even, revealing none of his emotions to his shadowed employer.
"Capture the experiment you call Dilandau Albatou. Its purpose outside has been fulfilled. We now require its return. You have 24 hours to bring it back to us." After a moment's pause, seemingly recognizing the source of the spy's hesitation, the Sorcerer added, "We shall add 500 gidaru to your normal payment if you can complete this task for us. If you manage to return the specimen within four hours, you will receive an additional payment which shall be given to you upon the completion of your mission."
"I, Elis Payne, accept the mission you have set before me. I will return Dilandau Albatou to you within twenty-four hours of my immediate departure." The bearded man rose, bowed once, and trotted briskly from the room, only the dull thud of the doors and a flicker of light announcing his exit through the shadows.
This is crazy. He wants me to capture Dilandau Albatou, of all people. Damn my avarice, damn my inability to get another job, and damn those Sorcerers while I'm at it. They're going to get me killed some day, and with this insane new mission, it may well be today. They're almost doubling my normal payment, but still… Money's no good to a dead man. Elis looked back at the tightly closed metals doors he had just exited. But there are worse things than death. From everything I've seen and heard of him Albatou's a vicious bastard, but I can't help but feel a little sorry for him. There are few things worse than death, but out of those few, being one of the Sorcerer's little lab rats has to take the cake.
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The vision shifted as Hitomi was thrown even farther back in time. Her unseeing eyes widened in shock as she realized what she was witnessing.
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A little brown-headed boy was thrown back roughly against the grimy brick wall of the alley. He winced, but didn't cry. He wouldn't give the gang the pleasure.
"Heh heh heh… Just hand over the money, little boy, and you won't get hurt. We know ya worked in that bakery for a few days so don't try ta play dumb." A group of at least five boys, all armed with sticks and knives, loomed menacingly above the sapphire-eyed boy.
"No way! I made this money all by myself! Go get your own!" He was trying to be brave, but the tears brimming in his sparkling eyes sabotaged his valiant, but vain, attempt.
"You couldn't even protect your own mama! If ya couldn't help her, then ya definitely can't protect your measly money. Unless ya decided not to help 'er, ya liddle freak! Ha ha ha! 'Sides, it ain't that much money. So fork it ova! You can always make more wit yer little job, right?" All of the teens laughed at this.
"No! This is my money! I said go make your own!" His small hands clenched desperately over the pocket of his ragged pants.
The laughing ceased. "Fine, little kid, you asked fer it! You shoulda handed over the dough when ya had a chance. Now yer gonna pay!"
Little Elis could do nothing but cower in the mud and trash as the boys descended like ravenous predators.
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He awoke sometime later in a white, sanitary, hospital bed. His puffy, blackened eyes opened slowly, painfully, as he took in his condition.
Bright white bandages fairly encased his battered body. Both legs appeared broken, and even through the bandages Elis could tell that many of the numb limbs were swollen and possibly even infected. His seasoned inspection was halted abruptly as a black-caped man with spiked blue hair and kind amber eyes entered the room.
"My name is Folken," Sounded the man's soft voice, "I was the one who brought you here. I found those boys attacking you and brought you to the infirmary for treatment. How are you feeling?"
"I-I'm all right, I guess. Th… Thanks for saving me. Wh-," He stuttered, attempting to speak around his split and swollen lip, "Where am I?"
"You're aboard the Vione, one of Emperor Dornkirk's floating fortresses," Came the simple reply, "We're still above Zaibach, so you can return as soon as you're feeling better."
Elis turned his eyes away from Folken to the painted brick wall. "Okay…"
"However, if you wanted to, we could train you here, maybe as a soldier or even a spy. You would have clothes, food, and shelter, maybe even a group of friends. You would have to share a room with a few other people, and it would be difficult work, but we would care for all of your basic needs. How about that?" Folken's voice, though he was still maintaining an emotionless mask, held the barest hint of a smile.
"Are you serious?" Folken nodded wordlessly in reply.
"Of c-course! Th-Thank you so much!" The little boy grinned broadly. Those boys wouldn't be better than him ever again!
"I'll begin making the neccesary arrangements. Get some rest. Good luck." The Zaibachian Strategos slipped quietly out the door to begin the promised preparations. Elis never spoke with him again.
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Hitomi gasped aloud as she was flung out of her vision and was greeted by a terrifying sight – As she had witnessed Elis' past, the fight between Dilandau and the Zaibachian spy had progressed. Features set in a grim expression, Dilandau had pinned his opponent to the ground and now held his sword point to the elder man's throat.
Scarlet eyes narrowing suddenly and a wicked smirk growing on his face, the Dragonslayer pulled his blade back for the final strike.
"Dilandau, DON'T!"
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End Chapter
I hoped you liked it! I tried to enhance Elis' character a bit more this time, as well as Hitomi's. I figured it would be nice to have more background info about each of the characters to give them more depth. Something was bugging me about the writing of this fic, but now I think it's better. Please tell me if you liked it! Bye!
PS. The second part of the vision was soooo annoying to write! There were two leaf hoppers that had somehow gotten into the car and were hopping all over my glowing laptop screen and onto my hands! GRRRRRRR!
I have also written and little implied Dilandau x Miguel oneshot called Under the Willows. Please read and review that, too please!
Aurah
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