Wow, even I'm surprised at how fast I am updating on this. I'm on a roll! It's so much fun! This chapter doesn't contain as much action as the last two, but it was necessary. I'll hopefully be able to write more Varie and Van in the next chapter. Actually, I know I will because I'm already editing this next chapter.
Good job, myself. :)
Thank you, myself.
Well, despite the lack of action, there is definitely some drama going to happen soon. And some answers will be given. And some V/H is going to begin (because let's face it. That's the only reason you are reading this story anyways, right? ;)
I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Goau knew he must be in several stages of mental shock. Probably a visual hallucination due to stress and fatigue.
There was no way this could be true unless his mind had fabricated it. She was dead. He had seen her get shot. Fall to the ground. Lifeless…
And yet… and yet…
The green-eyed girl gave another gasping breath as if there wasn't enough air in the room. The skin around her wound was fully closed, yet the eerie green tint still lingered on her chest. Picking himself up from the floor, the dark-haired man coughed through the accumulating smoke. No wonder the girl couldn't breathe. The fire was spreading to the room.
"Hitomi?" He called, still coughing slightly. He stumbled his way to the little girl. She hardly seemed to notice him. "Hitomi, child, can you hear me?"
Tripping over the plates on the ground, Fanel staggered up to her. He caught sight of the Energist on the table's surface behind her. It gave a weak pump, lacking its usual pink luster. Mouth opening in awe, Goau zipped his eyes from the Energist to the little girl and back again. The entire green antimatter residue was absent from the left atrium. Reaching out with a burnt hand, he touched the spot on her soft skin where her gunshot used to be on her chest. Promptly, he gently leaned her small body forward to inspect her back. Incredible. If the blood wasn't still congealing on her skin, he would have never thought she had been shot.
"What happened?" He asked out loud, picking up the fossil. It gave another feeble pulse in his hand. It was not as hot as he knew it could be. In fact, it actually was cool to his touch.
A distant, raging explosion rocked the room, instantly reminding him of the problems at hand. With a determined cough, he dropped the Energist in his white coat pocket before carefully picking up the small, comatose girl. Cradling her small body to his chest to protect her from the heat, Fanel began to stride quickly out of the chamber. He felt a pang of sorrow hit his heart as he stepped over Megumi's crumpled body lying in the middle of the doorway. He cuddled Hitomi tighter in his arms and turned her head so that her face was against his shoulder. Comatose or not, she didn't need to see.
His dark eyes immediately gazed upon his best friend and partner on the floor. The radiation suits covering him were already on fire, slowly spreading to his clothes. Fanel fought the urge to vomit. He stopped for only a second to take in their still faces, his eyes burning with grief and smoke. He forced the image to be branded on his mind.
"I'll take care of her. I promise. I'll get revenge for you, my best friend. They will pay for this." He swore to him.
Running past the scattered radiation suits and dodging already flaming areas, he tripped several times and had to catch himself. It was more difficult that he had originally planned. Without the use of his arms, Goau relied on his burnt legs and feet to kick debris out of his way. After several suffocating and sweaty seconds, he finally cleared into the hallway. The boy they had hit with the hydrogen tank was lying as a twisted burnt corpse. Turning to the office doorway, he stepped over another burning carcass that might have been Uchida.
Reaching the door, he placed Hitomi on fire-free ground to fish out his keys from his back pocket. He watched with his peripheral vision for her steady breathing as he fumbled with the scorching hot lock. His bloody fingers slipped on the fiery metal door handle, burning his hand.
"Son of a-!" he cursed, using his coat to help open the door. Bursting through, he grabbed Hitomi's limp arms and carried her through the threshold. He felt her cough.
"It's alright," he murmured reassuringly in the girl's ear as he coughed as well. "I'll protect you, honey. I'll get us out." Using his foot, he kicked the door closed for more protection from the raging fire. Placing her on the floor again, he ran to the metal desk and flipped it on its side like a madman.
His cellphone slipped off the table and clattered at his feet. He unthinkingly grabbed and placed it in his pants pocket before settling on his tattered knees to pry up the tile floor where the desk used to be. It was hard work, especially with his hands already pealing from the burns and the large slice on his palm. He could still hear the squealing fire alarm, but it had almost faded into an afterthought. Every fiber in his being concentrated on getting the floorboard loose.
"Finally!" he coughed triumphantly as he threw the title away. He looked up to check on Hitomi. She was sitting up watching him, but her breathing was slow and shallow. Her green eyes were still cloudy.
The door to the room was on fire.
Whipping his gaze to the floor, he coughed violently into his shirt before reaching in to unlock the hidden safe. It was an eight digit-code steel box that both he and Kanzaki had used to store the original records of the fossil. Both of them agreed to carry a part of combination for safety's sake. He was thankful the tall man had thought to tell him his code. Everything they had worked for – all of their hard years – summed up in this simple container. Punching in his four numbers plus the ones Kanzaki had told him, the safe clicked open. There was only a small folder inside. Fanel reached in, stuffed the folder in the back of his pants, and turned to pick up Hitomi. She wasn't there.
He gasped and felt a small hand on his shoulder. She was standing right behind him with her wide, fogged eyes focused on his.
Grabbing her palm and moving to the closet area, he opened the door and pulled cardboard storage boxes out of his way.
There is was. The vent that would lead them outside. Goau grimaced. It was tiny!
With strength he knew he couldn't possibly have, he clasp his bloody fingers on the rims of the vent and yanked with everything he had. There was a groan from the metal crate, but it didn't budge. He cursed and tried again, his arms screaming at him to stop. His grip slipped on the blood dripping steadily from his palm.
He felt the small hand again and glanced back to see Hitomi holding a metal rod that broke from the overturned desk. He shot her an appreciative smile – which she didn't return - took the bar from her, and wedged it into one of the vent's edges. With a satisfying screech, the vent popped off.
"In you go, girl." Goau coughed ferociously, grabbing the small girl's bare arms and gently pushing her into the vent's hole. She glanced behind to look at him. He translated the nonverbal movement as worry for him.
"I'll be right behind you," he reassured, ducking into the closet. "Just crawl as fast as you can."
Dornkirk sat at his desk, no longer stroking his white beard, no longer dreaming happily of the stabilized future he'd built in his mind.
What just happened?
The screen that had once been showing the gory details of the Dragon Slayer's pillaging was now a static ruin. Pressing buttons on the monitor with his bony fingers, Dornkirk pursed his lips angrily as the images of Fanel suddenly flashed on display. He let the video rewind a little longer till Dilandau entered the abandoned hallway. Pressing play, he watched through Dilandau's eyes as the young man lifted a leg to kick at the door to an office. The camera shifted suddenly to the hallway and the old man watched through squinted eyes as the girl opened her mouth to let out – what was obviously – a loud scream.
A section of the wall opened not a second later as a hand on his right side of the screen lifted a pistol and shot the girl in the chest. Dornkirk saw the mother grab her child as Uchida Hanne instantly appeared out of no where and tackled the boy to the ground. The camera caught every splatter of her blood as the woman jerked back from a shot in her head. The camera swiveled and another Dragon Slayer – Shasta – slid into view with his gun raised. The door where the mother came out of was gone. The lights flashed as an apparent lock down was initiated.
Shaking his head in irritation, he watched as both boys feverishly typed in codes to get the doors unlocked. It must have been at least five minutes. "This is pathetic," he muttered.
Finally, the doors were open. The old man leaned forward in his chair to study the screen. He flew with Dilandau as the boy got blasted back from the exploding hydrogen tank. That was a genius move by Fanel and Kanzaki. It was really a pity they had to die.
The camera was still for more than a minute as silver-haired boy obviously regained his senses. The image wobbled as he crawled towards his companion Dragon Slayer, Shasta. The boy was dead, his flesh pealing from the fire. The vision of the gore was covered by Dilandau's own hands as he covered his head. The boy was mourning over the corpse.
The old man clucked his tongue. This will not do. He feels too much. Unstable.
The boy staggered into the room with his pistol; the camera shook and weaved with him.
Immediately, the old man pressed 'slow' forcing the scene to play at half speed. Fanel was up, running towards Dilandau with murder in his eyes. The old man folded his hands, watching. The heavy chamber doors behind the scientist opened and a woman's figure was shown. The mother. What was she doing in that back chamber? Where was the little girl she had grabbed before?
As the woman dropped to the ground from an apparent bullet in the head from Dilandau, Dornkirk's bushy eyebrow's raised.
What was that behind the woman? The video fuzzed out. He pushed rewind. Playing the scene over, even in a slower speed, it was hard to make out. But there was something... A table? As the monitor showed the static of a lost connection, he narrowed his gray eyes. Pushing rewind once more, Dornkirk leaned to the monitor so far that his large nose touched the screen. A small leg? The child that was shot? The image went static. Refusing to give in, Dornkirk rewound the scene one more time, his eyes glued on the chamber door. It opened and the mother came out. Down goes the mother. And behind her… The child on the table… and… her leg moved…? Or was that the camera angle?
It was only a glimpse. The video wasn't clear enough. He'd have to get his team on it. Dornkirk had a feeling this was important. And he always trusted his feelings.
With the video replayed, the old man judged the heart monitors to his left. He'd lost one Dragon Slayer and the spy. She had actually attacked Dilandau before getting killed herself. He moved his hands to clutch the armrests of his chair in frustration. What was the training program for if they make spies that default at the most crucial moment of the Operation? Why spend all the money brainwashing if everything falls completely apart? And the visual of the fossil. There was none. He couldn't confirm that the fossil was even at the site! They could have absconded with it as soon as the attack began! And it was quite clear from the video that Fanel probably survived the attack. Slamming his bony hand on the desk, the monitors shook with the impact.
No, no, this was not how it should have turned out. It's all the Dragon Slayers' fault. They came in too confident. They should have been more aware of Fanel and Kanzaki's abilities. The scientists had the advantage of knowing their surroundings. Either the Dragon Slayers would need to be transferred to another sector for retraining, or they should be under new command.
"Dilandau has caused me too many problems." He whispered under his beard, gray eyes moving to the wild sporadic heartbeats of his commander. "I'll have to end him. He'll default if I don't. But who would be able to take his place?" Slowly, his gaze traveled down to the steady beats of Crying Gray…
With that decided, Dornkirk lifted a bony hand to pick up a phone.
Fanel collapsed and leaned his sore back on the trunk of a tree. Though he felt like he had been running for miles, there was still a bright glow in the trees from inflamed building behind him. His once wonderfully constructed lab was beginning to implode as multiple fires burst inside. Holding Hitomi in his arms, he hugged the little girl to his chest. They both panted and coughed consecutively for a good handful of minutes. After army crawling through a smaller-than-life vent filled with poisonous gas, the outside air was almost too clear for either of their lungs to handle.
"We-survived," he whispered to her hoarsely. He hugged her tighter to him in relief. "We-did-it."
He felt her nod slightly on his chest and give a shiver. It was then he realized she didn't have a shirt on. "Oh God, I'm sorry," he said through his weak throat. "You need something to wear. You're covered in ashes."
She lifted her small head off his dirty clothes, sat back on his lap, and stared him right in the face. Slowly, her green eyes trailed down his arm to his bloody palm that was now draped over her short legs.
"I'm not much better, huh?" Goau translated quietly. "You're sweet to notice but I think we should take care of you." She didn't respond and just kept staring at his hand.
"I'll take care of the hand first, I promise," he seceded gently.
She looked back into his eyes with a small smile. A strike of pain streaked in his chest as a memory of those same green eyes filled his mind. A burn appeared behind his eyes that had nothing to do with the smoke he just battled through.
Lifting her off his lap, he grunted in pain and slowly removed his lab coat. Taking the edge of it, he used both hands to attempt to rip the seam to make a bandage. The fabric wouldn't budge.
He laughed despite the throbbing pain in his hand. "They make it look so much easier on TV, huh? Let's see if I remembered my wallet - not that I can use my credit cards or anything." He added as an afterthought.
She gave him a curious look. He answered her unasked question.
"Who knows what those people wanted. We can't risk getting located by bank accounts and cellular phones. They probably wanted the Energist and the research. I was able to get it away from them, but we are probably in danger. We've gotta be outlaws now. I guess we are stuck together." He smiled into her green eyes.
He leaned over and wrapped his coat around her small bare shoulders. She looked down at the dirty coat in interest. Fanel found himself wishing the girl would say something back. He had no idea the extent of damage that was done to her.
But that was a problem to solve for another hour. Right now, they needed first aid and supplies. Survival was always first priority.
"That coat should help you until we can get better clothes. It's pretty warm, right?"
She stared at him.
Shaking his head with a sigh, he reached down to search his pant pockets. His dark eyes widened as he pulled out his cellphone. Vaguely, he remembered picking it up from the ground in the office. Almost on reflex, he pressed in the code to unlock the phone. The name that displayed on the screen made him take a quick sharp breath. The sudden intake of air made him choke.
"Varie…" he coughed roughly. Was she attacked, too? Did they come for her just as they came for Kanzaki's family? Glancing at the girl, who was exploring the outside pockets of his white coat, he felt immediate guilt and fear punch his stomach. He hadn't even thought maybe the assassins would go after his family as well. If they had tapped his number they would know his entire circumstance with his ex-wife and their sons… Whoever it was that did this, they had to know he wasn't in contact with his family. Varie said just yesterday that she blamed him for their separation because he kept her in the dark about his projects. For good reason, it seems.
Just seeing the number in his missed calls list made his head swim with panic. Maybe it didn't matter. They would have been hunted regardless just because they were associated with him.
Knowing his number was probably traced, he decided to brave checking the voicemail before destroying the phone for good. Maybe, she was still alive. Her and Van and Folken… Holding the phone in his uninjured hand, Fanel hardly noticed Hitomi pull out something from his coat. Dialing and prompting the service to check his voicemail, he waited breathlessly.
There was a silence. Then,
"Fireflies."
The call ended. Fanel closed his eyes and leaned against the tree in relief. Fireflies. She was safe. No one would be able to translate that. Not any secret society. She was with the fireflies. That means Jajuka's cabin. The first time they-
He heard a small gasp and opened his dark eyes immediately.
"Hitomi, what are you-?"
The little girl had the Energist in her hands, her green eyes open, and her mouth gaping wide. He made a move to grab the fossil out of her hands, but she pulled away from him keeping the stone to her chest. That was when he saw it. The green residue – no – the antimatter itself was clawing out of the small hole made inside the left atrium. It poured itself out willingly and soaked into her skin.
Right where her heart was.
She was absorbing antimatter.
A strange noise came from his hand. His phone… was recharging?
"What?" Fanel couldn't think. His brain seemed unable to process anymore information. The Energist pulsed once in her small hands before quieting down. The antimatter that had sucked into her chest was gone from the fossil. All of it.
His phone made a strange humming noise. The sound grew extraordinarily louder.
"Whoa!" the dark-headed man yelled as his phone shot off small sparks. He dropped it. The cellular device burst into little flames as soon as it hit the ground.
"What just happened?" Goau breathed to himself. He began gasping in short breaths, stars enveloping his vision. "This isn't possible. This can't be happening. She just took the antimatter out of the- and then it- and it- what is going on here? She was dead before and now- and the Energist- it's completely drained- what is happening? My phone…"
Little Hitomi closed her eyes and mouth. Still cradling the Energist, she glanced back up at the hyperventilating man. Her green eyes were clear, more alert than ever before.
"Mr. Fanel? Where are we?"
All Goau could do was stare. The metallic smell of burnt plastic circled his head from his destroyed phone. Well, Tsukasa, he thought through his shock. I can think of a few more hypotheses now.
Dilandau ran a hand under his nose to stop the snot from dripping into his mouth. His tears ran off his face and into his head set.
"I can hear you sniveling on the line. I'm making an educated guess here. The mission was a failure."
"Shut up!" the silver-haired boy cried, wiping his nose. "It was all Fanel's fault!"
There was a pause. Then the cool voice asked, "What do you mean? He's still-?"
"He's still alive, Crying Gray! And it's his entire fault! He ran towards me with a piece of metal. My face… my face is mutilated… and I let him live! I ran from the building and abandoned the mission! Shasta's dead! I didn't even see the fossil! He ruined everything!"
"Alright now, calm down."
"I can't calm down! I'm dead, Gray! I'm DEAD! And it's all Fanel's fault!"
The silver-haired boy broke out into racking sobs as the low voice on the line sighed with frustration or exhaustion. Probably both.
"You can't run away, Dilandau. Dornkirk will catch you no matter where you go."
"I can get rid of the tracer! He won't have me if I leave the country."
"Who do you think owns most of the world?" Crying Gray hissed angrily. "He will find you no matter where you go. Running away will only make the situation that much worse."
"Then… then what do I do?" Dilandau demanded through sobs. "I don't want to die."
"He may forgo killing you if you reason with him. You'll go back to training no matter what though."
"Oh God, I don't want to go back to training! I wouldn't make it through that again! They'll kill me for sure! I'm not good with reason! I'll probably get myself killed even if I tried to reason with him! Maybe if you came back with me when I go to make the report…"
"Not happening."
"You could make him see reason! He likes you! Crying Gray, please! You have to help me! You were right, I was too confident! I didn't plan better! I need you! I need you!"
"That doesn't mean that I need you." Gray replied stoically. "What's in it for me if I bail you out to Dornkirk? You're just going to get put back into training anyways."
"We could be a team! I'll follow whatever you say!"
"An unstable assassin following me around? You can do better than that, Dilandau."
"I'll help you catch Fanel!"
Crying Gray didn't reply. There was another long pause. The silver-haired boy took that as an invitation.
"Yeah! I'll help you catch and kill him! Dornkirk will probably assign that mission to you since you took care of his family! I'll help you hunt him down!"
"Oh, really?"
"Yes! Together we could find him within the week my training is done and put an end to him."
"So while you are in training for failure, I wait around for you while Fanel runs further and further from my grasp? Are you implying I can't catch him on my own?" Crying Gray retorted sharply. "You're a fool, Dilandau, and I'd rather you dead than working with me."
"I-I didn't mean it like that…" The boy whispered shakily. "I wouldn't be working with you! I-I'll work for you! I'll be your right-hand man regardless if you have caught Fanel or not! I'll be your personal bodyguard."
"How long are you planning to be my personal bodyguard?"
"For as long as you need me!"
"And this is if I go with you to report to Dornkirk? Even if he puts you back into training?"
"As soon as I'm out again, request me! I'll protect you, Crying Gray! Just request me!"
Crying Gray was quiet again, this time for a completely different reason. A blinking light appeared on his computer screen. Gray quickly activated the trace program to find where the cellular phone was calling from. His body unnaturally still, he watched the numbers scroll through the screen; slowly narrowing to an exact spot. Almost...
The trace broke off. Failed. Gray's anger was hardly evident in both his expression and body, but his soul seethed with rage.
Nice try destroying your phone, father. I'll find you...
"Crying Gray? Are you there?" Dilandau's panicked voice whispered in his headphones.
The young man's mahogany eyes narrowed.
"It's a deal."
The morning sun slowly broke through the foliage lighting his surroundings. Good, the dark-headed man thought, At least I'll stop tripping over hidden roots in the dark. Shifting the small, sleeping girl in his arms, he raised his bloody hand to tuck his tattered lab coat around her body. The Energist was wrapped safely in the inside pocket of the coat.
Though his body was fatigued beyond human comprehension, he kept going. His feet kept moving forward. His throat was parched. He didn't remember the last time he had a proper meal. Everything he'd worked for was destroyed. Everything he'd lived for these past years had been wiped from him within the span of twenty minutes or so. And on top of that, he didn't have his wallet. What was he supposed to do? He could go to Jajuka, but how would he possibly get the money for bus fare? Vaguely, he wondered if Varie was worried for him.
"Mr. Fanel?" he heard a muffled voice whisper in his ear. He jerked at the unexpected sound. "Why did that stone thing save me?"
Goau sighed.
"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I'm just as puzzled as you."
"It made me feel better. I could hardly control my body in the fire building, but when I held it in the forest a while back, I was able to move. My head wasn't so foggy." Her small hands gripped the back of his shirt. "Mr. Fanel, can I ask you something?"
Goau swallowed. "I promise I'll answer as best I can."
She lifted her face off his shoulder. He stopped walking for a moment and stared straight into deep green eyes. Tsukasa's eyes.
"What happened to my mama and daddy?"
If Goau had the hands available, he would have face-palmed himself. Why did I promise to answer her questions? Looking into her solemn expression, he immediately knew she already understood what had happened. She was confirming it. He stared her straight in those bright green eyes.
And decided to tell the truth.
"They are dead. The bad men killed them. Do you remember what happened in the hallway?"
She nodded slowly. "My chest hurt really bad and then I was floating. What happened after that?"
Goau winced, wondering if this was a good idea. "Your mother seems to have laid you on the table on top of the Energist – that stone thing. It has somehow brought you back."
She bowed her head and he thought for a moment she was going to cry.
"I heard a voice," the girl whispered suddenly. "After I floated, I was in a foggy place and my daddy came. Mama ran to him and they left together. The voice told me I couldn't go with them yet. It said there was stuff I was supposed to do."
Fanel blinked. He briefly wondered how much more information his overloaded brain could take.
"Did you see who was talking to you?"
She shook her small head. "No. It spoke in my head."
"Did they say anything else? Give you any kind of identification at all?"
"Identification..." Hitomi muttered under her breath, frowning. "What does that mean?"
Goau shook his head. "Don't worry about it."
He was quiet for a moment. "Do you know what 'under the bridge' means?"
"Under the bridge?" she repeated glancing back up at him in curiosity.
"It was the last thing your father told me. He said to remember 'under the bridge'. I wasn't able to ask him about it." A sharp pain snaked across his chest. He closed his eyes against the burn. "He was gone before I could."
"Are you going to cry, Mister?" Hitomi asked innocently from his arms. "Your face is really red. It's okay if you do. Mama always said tears are healing powers. I don't know if I believe that. My head always hurts after I cry really hard. That doesn't seem like healing to me."
The tears slipped out of his eyes unwillingly. He felt small arms wrap around his neck and hug him. He shifted so that he could hug her back. This small girl who lost just as much as he had. And he was taking comfort from her. He began walking again. His vision blurred by his tears.
"They looked so happy." He heard her whisper. A cold spot on his shirt confirmed she was crying as well.
"What do you mean?" he asked her throaty.
"In the fog. When they met up together, mama and daddy were really, really happy."
He hugged the girl tighter and she clung to his neck.
"… Thank you…for telling me that."
He walked while they both shed their grief together. He walked when they both quieted. He walked when they could barely breathe through their stuffy noses. It was almost an hour before either of them wanted to speak again.
It was Goau that finally broke the silence.
"You're right. Crying really does make your head hurt."
He heard Hitomi giggle weakly against him. "Told you."
"Can you walk? Not that your heavy, I just really need to wipe my face."
He felt her nod. Putting her on the ground, he stretched his aching arm muscles. His hand was cracked open with dried blood. It needed treatment.
"Where are we going?" Hitomi asked, gathering up the long material of his coat to walk properly beside him.
"I'm not going to lie. I have no idea." Fanel answered, rubbing his sleeve over his face. "I'm trying to get as far away from that building as possible. If I knew what 'under the bridge' meant, I'd have a better clue. There is some place we can go, but it's too far to walk to."
"And we don't have any money." The small girl said matter-of-factly.
He smiled despite the grave situation they were in. Maybe that's what crying was good for. Forcing someone to find humor after all the tears were gone.
"Daddy used to stand on the small bridge in Cherry Blossom Park." Hitomi said suddenly. She turned to look at his face. "He called it his thinking spot. He used to take me there to play when he was home. That could be a place to start, right?"
Goau was quiet for a moment.
"How far away is Cherry Blossom Park?" He asked after a minute.
"I don't know. I was always driven there. I don't even know where we are. I'm five."
The dark-headed man laughed at the hopelessness of it all. "I could use my phone to look up directions." He laughed harder. "But you blew it up!"
"I'm sorry…" the girl apologized, looking startled at his unexpected mirth.
"It's okay," he chuckled, calming a bit. "It's just so funny now. I don't know why."
Hitomi frowned in thought. "Maybe you're going crazy?" she suggested.
"That is very possible," he agreed.
It was several more hours before they finally heard the telltale sound of cars driving by.
"We've walked to the highway," Fanel pointed out as he stepped out of the trees. Daylight was in full bloom. Judging by the sun, it was probably around 8 or 9 in the morning. "Now to figure out what highway we made it to. I should be able to navigate from there."
"Maybe we can ask someone to drive us to Cherry Blossom Park?" Hitomi asked, crawling through a large bush. The white coat got snagged and Goau turned to help her get free.
"You mean, hitch a ride? Should we risk it?" He asked her and then immediately frowned. She was five. Why was he asking her advice like she was an adult?
"Not everyone wants to kill us, Mr. Fanel. They could take us to the Park and they might have medicine and clothes for us."
"You sure you want to trust strangers?"
Hitomi looked up at him with green eyes wide. "You were a stranger to me and saved my life."
"I was also best friends with your dad."
"And maybe another stranger will be another best friend."
Goau didn't know how to respond to that. Shaking is head slowly, he watched the little girl clamber out of the bushes and slide in the ditch by the road.
"Be careful!" he called after her. He moved to follow. "Don't get too close to the road."
"OW!" he heard her shriek. At the same time, a street light down the highway burst, shattering glass and sparks everywhere. Goau felt a strange pressure emit from where the girl fell. He felt his hair stand up with static shock. "It's thorny here! Mr. Fanel, it hurts!"
He stopped in his tracks as he watched a car drive past. As soon as the vehicle pulled closer to them, it made a horrible screech.
"HITOMI!" Goau yelled, jumping immediately into the ditch. Scooping her small body into his arms, he ran with her. A horrible crash sounded behind him. It seemed to rumble even the earth itself. From the gust of wind that came after the crash, he knew that he had moved the girl just in time.
Hugging her to his body, the black-haired man stopped and fell to his knees in trembling relief.
"Are you okay?" he whispered in her ear.
"Yeah," she answered. "Are you?"
"I'll let you know once I stop having a heart attack."
"What the hell happened!?" A roaring voice bellowed out. The sound of a door opening made Goau turn around immediately. "This stupid vehicle is a dog-gone loaner car! I swear that dealership wants to kill its customers!"
Goau's mouth dropped. Eyes zipping from the little girl in his arms to the hollering man in front of him, he could only think of two words to say.
"Hi, Balgus."
The office was bright from the large bay windows behind the beech wood desk. It didn't help the dark look of the old man sitting in the leather chair facing them.
Crying Gray could practically hear the boy's sporadic heart beats from several feet away. The silver-haired kid was a complete mess. Gray felt anger stir within him. He didn't even try to clean up and make himself more presentable to Dornkirk! The burns from the lab's fire were still untreated. A long bloody cut ran down the side of his face. His black clothes, torn and ragged, were covered in blood and ash. He knew immediately that trying to keep Dilandau from being executed by the Corp. would be a daunting task.
The kid was a fool, but Gray had promised.
He just hoped he wasn't setting himself up for a world of trouble saving this kid. Sweeping his stoic mahogany eyes over the trembling figure beside him, he resisted the urge to sigh. I really should stop keeping my word. He thought.
"Dilandau, I've discussed your mistakes during Operation RED with the board. They also has viewed your video footage. The possibility of Fanel left alive, a Dragon Slayer confirmed dead, and no visual of the fossil. It has been unanimously voted that for the good of the company, you are sentenced to execution.
"It-It was just a mistake…" Dilandau whimpered. Gray prayed the boy wouldn't wet himself. "I-I was-"
"It was one mistake too many. And during Operation RED, no less." The old man hissed dangerously. Crying Gray sensed it was a good time to step in.
"Mr. Dornkirk," his low voice was polite but lacking any emotion. "I request Dilandau be placed into training again. Once he's out, I'll take him with me. If he even makes one hint at instability, I'll kill him myself."
"I already guessed Dilandau would use you as a shield, Gray. Why else would you be here and not in the field? It's unreasonable to put him in your care, especially since you have only been with us for such a short time. My answer is no."
Dilandau began to cry. Tears streamed down his cheek and ran into the cut on his cheek.
"He may be unstable now, sir, but Dilandau was one of your top commanders. He impressed the shareholders so much that they put the Dragon Slayers in his hands the moment he came out of training. Are you sure you want to get rid of such raw talent when it can be fixed again in only several short years?"
The old man was quiet. Gray really wished the kid would stop sniveling.
"You've made a good point, but I need you to answer one question for me: Why do you want him once he's out? What is your motive?"
"I don't have a motive, sir. I see the talent in him and I'm willing to use it to my advantage in hunting Fanel."
The old man cocked his head. "I never assigned you to that position."
Damn! Folken cursed. I said too much.
He swallowed, but the sound was loud in the quiet office. He knew Dornkirk saw him. Saw every bit of him.
"Is that the position you are wanting?"
Better not to lie. It'd be unwise to say no.
"Yes, sir."
"Why is that?"
"I took care of Fanel's family during the Operation. I burned their rent house down. You can confirm it through the television reports and my own written statement. Three bodies, a female and two males; a teenager and a child. I also have photos of their corpses. I've submitted all my documents to the committee already. They were approved."
"So, because you killed his family, you want to kill Goau Fanel as well?"
"I predicted that would be my next mission, sir. I apologize if I thought wrong."
"No, no, you were actually right." Dornkirk waved his hand, smiling slightly. "I'm just curious why you would want Dilandau as your partner. It will take years to make sure he will no longer break stability. That is if I convince the board to not continue with the execution. If you take out Fanel before he even get's done with training…"
"Then you gain a reformed killer and Fanel is dead anyway."
"I see… and who would you suggest I send to search for the fossil?"
Gray had a sudden sense he was on dangerous ground. The man's smile hadn't left his face, but those words… who would you suggest… screamed rising danger.
"Send who you will, sir. I only want a partner for hunting Fanel."
The man's gray eyes shifted. He's impressed. Folken translated instantly. He didn't expect that nonchalant answer.
"Stop your crying, fool." The old man hissed at Dilandau. The boy dried his tears on his dark sleeve, but his blood-shot eyes kept producing more water. "You will be sent to training. If there is any hint of unstable behavior once you are out, Gray has permission to kill you. And Crying Gray," he added turning back to the tall young man. "Search for the fossil as well as Fanel. I expect monthly statements. I'll assign someone to back you up until Dilandau finishes his training."
"Yes, sir."
"Push, you fool!" the bigger man roared, straining his own muscles against the car. "Steer it more to the left, girl!"
"She and I can hear you just fine without the yelling." Fanel groaned, getting the fender bloody from his opening wound on his hand. He raised his eyes to watch Hitomi gently guiding the car's steering wheel left. They found her a stick to help press the petals down.
She is pretty good at this. He thought randomly. I shouldn't have worried so much.
After going over the controls for ten minutes, she had forced Goau to leave her alone.
"You're repeating everything," she had said with a frown. "I can do it."
"Are you sure? Because you might have to press pretty hard on the brake to make it work. Are you strong enough to-"
"Go," she had shooed him away from the driver's seat.
Goau was surprised Balgus was okay with a five-year old driving his car. The old man made no grunt about it. Apparently, he was fine with anything as long as his car got out of the ditch.
"There we go! Keep going! A little more!" Balgus shouted loudly. The black-haired man couldn't help but flinch every time the old man opened his mouth. After being in the quiet forest for so long, the noise was almost unbearable.
After thirty sweaty minutes, the car was finally backed onto the side road. Hitomi gave a small cheer from the front seat and put the car in park. Balgus moved past Goau – who was panting heavily and holding his injured hand to his chest – and raised the hood of the car. Bending to check the car's insides, the bigger man let out a small whistle.
"I'll sue 'em."
"Sue them for what?" Fanel asked, stepping up to inspect the car as well.
"The battery… it…" the old man faltered. His small eyes widened in surprise. "Hell on earth, what the hell happened with this thing? It's completely melted! This is a bomb waiting to happen if we turn that car back on!"
Goau's eyes traveled to Hitomi, who still sat watching the two men from the driver's seat.
"How unusual…" He whispered, his eyes narrowing in thought. Slowly, he turned his head and looked at the broken street lamp. "Hitomi, come here please." He called.
She was there in less than a two second. Her face was shinning brightly at their recent success.
"We found a friend, didn't we?" she asked happily. "I knew we would."
"How did you know? Wait, that's another question for another time." He said quickly as she opened her mouth to reply. "You hurt yourself before with the thorns. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Why?"
"Just creating a hypothesis," he answered vaguely. He glanced back over at the broken street light before swiveling his eyes to a cursing Balgus.
"Oh," she replied. "What's a hypotheesus?"
"A proposed explanation for a phenomenon before it has been scientifically test-"
"What the hell happened to this thing!? A certified pre-owned, my big behind! This damn battery would have killed me!"
Goau and Hitomi turned to see the old man dangerously ripping the battery out of the car. Throwing it on the pavement, the temperamental man made a move to stomp on it.
"No, no, no, no!" the black-haired man yelled, running to Balgus and grabbing onto his upraised leg. This caused Balgus to lose balance completely. They both fell together in an ungraceful heap to the concrete ground. The small girl winced at the impact.
"She can power the car!"
"Get off of me, you little-"
"She'll take care of it!"
"I don't believe-"
"It's fine, you don't have to believe me! But please don't stomp on an already unstable car battery and cause sulfuric acid to spray out of it! You'll hurt everyone here, including yourself!"
"What the hell are you-?"
"And please stop cursing in front of a little child."
"What do you mean she can power the vehicle? Are you insane?" The old man's face was one of pure rage. "Get off of me!"
Pushing the smaller man away, Balgus got to his feet. "Come here, girl." He growled.
Her green eyes narrowed. She walked closer to the big man. "Don't make me take back the 'friend' comment, sir." She said with a scowl. "You shouldn't talk to Mr. Fanel like that. And my name is not 'girl', it's Hitomi!"
Fanel picked himself off the ground and moved to the driver's side of the car. He studied the girl. She was getting irritated. This might be it.
"I'll call you whatever I want! Ever since I crash landed here, I've had to deal with an idiot ex brother-in-law and his bratty child!"
"I'm not bratty!"
"You are a brat!"
"Am not!"
Reaching in through the open window, Goau turned the key that was already in the ignition. The car fought him and blinked off. He bit his lip in concentration.
"Are too and that idiot will pay for all these damages if my lawsuit to that damn dealership doesn't go through!"
"I don't know what any of that means, but don't call him an idiot!"
Goau gave it another shot. He opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. Turning the key again, the engine struggled for a fraction of a second and then turned over. With a roar, Fanel pumped the gas to give it more juice.
And suddenly, it died again.
"Wha-wha-wha…" the older man stuttered. His eyes were as wide as the headlights. "What just happened? The car just started."
Hitomi had her head cocked in confusion. "What are you doing, Mr. Fanel?"
Stepping out of the car and leaning on the door frame, Goau grinned.
"Proving a hypothesis."
And here is Balgus. God, I love Balgus. I don't know what my problem is, but I always make him a crabby old man! I almost can't help myself. In probably every story I've written where Balgus shows up, he's so mean. But in a redeemable way. He's definitely up there on my most favorite Escaflowne characters and the funny thing is, he's hardly in the show at all! I feel like I can play with his personality because it isn't established very well.
Well, enough about Balgus. I love to hear predictions on what you think will happen. And if you just liked the chapter in general, you can tell me. Even if you didn't like it, I'll welcome the criticism with open arms. :)
Thanks again for reading! See ya next time!
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