Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Wings ❯ Zaibach ( Chapter 4 )

All standard disclaimers apply… I do not own Escaflowne or any of its characters.

Chapter 4 - Zaibach

Hard green eyes snapped open in frustration as a soft knock sounded on the door. He sat in a soft chair, concealed behind a screen, as he grunted his approval. The door opened slowly, and a cloaked figure slid into the room and shut the heavy metal door behind him. After throwing the lock, the newcomer pushed back the hood of the cloak, revealing the spiky, reddish blond hair, gangly build and hard green eyes, the same exact eyes as the one sitting behind the screen.

"Aniue," the newcomer said softly.

He stood up and walked around to face his twin, perusing over the similar features of his face.

"Everything is in place, Hiroshi. We are almost ready to strike Fanelia and Freid." The newcomer shrugged off the voluminous cloak and set it down across another plump chair, before collapsing into it, his head laid back against the back of the chair.

"Hideki…" Hiroshi walked up behind Hideki and began to calmly stroke the long sweat-slicked spikes of his hair.

"Ne Hiroshi?" Hideki asked, exhausted

"How are Allen Shezar and Dilandau Albatou?" he asked softly, still stroking his twin's hair.

"Oblivious to what we are doing," he replied.

Hiroshi smiled, an evil glint coming to his eyes. "Wonderful. Keep up the good work with them. And the other two?"

Hideki replied in the same manner as Hiroshi. "Perfect. They are reacting just as you anticipated. The long silence weakened them, yet events since then have solidified their relationship. However, the unexpected appearance of the other two from the Mystic Moon seems to have served to push the two of them together rather than pull them apart.

Hiroshi moved to sit across from him, across a low metal table strewn with maps of Gaea, Freid being on top of the pile. "While you were gone I considered our strike options." He pointed to a place on the outskirts of the capital of Freid. "Here would be a good place to start our attack."

Hideki shrugged. "As you wish, aniue."

Hiroshi nodded calmly as he cracked his neck. "Prepare Dilandau and Allen."

Hideki groaned as he lifted his head. "Now?" He looked into Hiroshi's eyes and groaned again, slowly picking himself up off of the comfortable chair. "Hai, aniue."

As the door closed behind Hideki, Hiroshi was left to his thoughts. Hiroshi always knew that his only-slightly-younger twin was empathically powerful, much more so than himself. His own specialty was strategy, seeing patterns and manipulating the threads of fate as he so chose. Although Emperor Dornkirk's Fate Alteration Machine had been destroyed by the likes of his general, Folken Fanel, with the help of Folken's younger brother Van and the seer Hitomi Kanzaki, he still knew the principles in which the machine operated. It was in his head, he could see the colorful strings of fate as they were woven. It was simplistic enough to see how Celena could be manipulated, though it was only through close work with Hideki that Zaibach was able to come so far without detection. Both he and Hideki knew that together they were unstoppably powerful. Hideki with his ability to manipulate people's thoughts, and his own ability to see how the chips would fall.

Hideki had often commented on how easy it was to manipulate all of the players; Van, Allen, Milerna, and Celena; with Hitomi being the only one of them that was in the slightest bit guarded. However, his brother commented that even Hitomi was rightly unprepared for their intrusion. Rightly so, since all of their work had always been secretive.

However, Hiroshi wanted to rip Van and Hitomi's minds to shreds. He was drunk of the power he could have, the power he could wield as he gazed at the lines of fate. "Hideki is not nearly as bold," Hiroshi mused aloud. Hideki had been squeamish when they had used Adam to tip the cascade of dominoes that led to Hitomi's return to Gaea, even if he knew that it was necessary if they were going to conquer both Gaea and Earth.

*****

"Dilandau-sama, Allen-sama"

Both men raised their heads from watching the army's training to contemplate the darkly cloaked figure approaching them. Allen raised an eyebrow in query.

"Ano, Allen-sama."

"Hideki? What do you want?" Allen replied brusquely.

"Allen-sama, I had an idea for an attack focal point," Hideki replied meekly. He kept his eyes downcast, carefully hidden so that neither Allen nor Dilandau would notice how cloudy his normally sparkly emerald green eyes were at the moment. Hideki kept his voice deceptively meek as to not raise any suspicions.

Allen and Dilandau both looked up expectantly. Hideki's behavior was nothing out of the norm. He was always shrouded in that damnable cloak, yet he always provided wonderful insight into strategic force placements, so neither Allen nor Dilandau were surprised.

"Where?" Dilandau demanded excitedly.

"The border of Freid," he replied as he pulled a map out of his voluminous brown hooded cloak. He spread it on the ground and knelt next to it, pulling one hand out of his robes to point at a town on the border of Fried, near to the capital city. "From here we can jump either to take Asturia or the rest of Freid."

"Very good idea, Hideki," Allen replied. Allen motioned for Hideki to leave with a curt nod of his head.

Hideki nodded and bowed before walking back towards the tower.

Dilandau looked at Allen, smiling easily. "I'll leave you to prepare the army, I'm going to tell my Dragonslayers," he stated before turning on his heel and walking back inside. As he walked, he considered their next move more carefully, but with excitement. His Dragonslayers were more than ready to strike, especially Kieran. Kieran had a lust for battle and blood that rivaled even his own. And tonight, the night before they would leave for Freid, both he and Kieran would enjoy a slightly different kind of lust together.

He stood in the doorway of the private training room used only by himself and his subordinates. Leaning against the open door jam, he watched with approval as Kieran grappled with another Dragonslayer, as sweat dripped from his sandy blond hair and soaked into the tight white shirt he was wearing. Kieran flipped the other skinny boy to the ground and held him there with a foot to his neck, and then he looked up to see Dilandau blatantly admiring him. Kieran knew exactly what he wanted, and smirked. He helped the other boy up before grabbing a towel off a nearby bench and walked over to Dilandau. "Having fun, Dilandau-sama?"

Dilandau merely grinned before grabbing him by his arm. He pulled him from the room and down the hall to his room. "The fun is just about to begin."

*****

Hideki had watched Dilandau walk off from the side of the tower, and watched Allen descend into the arena to rally the troops. Only after both were out of range did he breath a sigh of relief and slump against the wall as he released the maelstrom of magic he had been using to manipulate both men. As the magic waned, so did his strength as he sank to his knees, using the tower's metallic sides as a lifeline. He stayed like that for a few moments, until some of his strength returned. He worked his way back up to the room he shared with Hiroshi, the brother Allen and Dilandau never knew existed. He knocked gently on the door before opened the door just enough to squeeze through, closing the door after him. Dropping his cloak to the floor, he flopped into a chair.

"Daijoubu?" Hiroshi asked as he emerged from a connected room, seeing how exhausted his brother was.

"Hai, daijoubu. You know how much this shit drains me"

"Gomen, Hideki"

"It's alright, aniue. I'm just tired. I'll recover. You are the lucky one, getting to stay in here and plan our next move."

"Yet, being cooped in here is also taxing. It's amusing to be mistaken as you. As smart as Dilandau is, he really is oblivious," Hiroshi replied with glee.

"Maybe it's because we look so alike," Hideki joked.

Both boys grinned at each other, their grins turning into mild laughter as they thought about Hideki's last comment. When the laughter subsided, Hideki lifted his hand to Hiroshi. "Hey, Hiroshi, give me a hand, I need a nap."

Hiroshi grabbed Hideki's hand and looped his arm over his shoulder, partially carrying him to his room and laying him down on his bed. "Sleep well, otouto."

*****

"Gods, I have got to stop this," she murmured to herself. She stood surround by a field of wildflowers again, yet staring into a small portal of brutality. She shook her head as if to clear it. "Dilandau, I know you are there…" Her voice trailed off as she watched him emerge from the portal of brutality.

He smirked, though his movements were languid, like those of a contented cat. "You rang, my lady?" He said with a small measure of laughter, as though he expected her to call him.

She growled at him in frustration. "You cannot keep me here forever," she bit out.

Dilandau only smiled at her. "Poor Celena," he replied with a small giggle. He sighed dramatically before continuing. "Bored? Or just frustrated?"

Celena frowned. "One of these days I am going to wipe that grin off your damned face."

"My poor dearest Celena. You are stuck here." He was still laughing his ass off and it was really beginning to irritate Celena.

She grit her teeth, grinding them together, as her eyes hardened in determination. "Wait and see, Dilandau," she replied softly, dangerously.

Dilandau only laughed harder. "Wait and see?" he forced out between gasps of laughter. "Wait and see? You can't even figure out how to keep your damned memories." He stood behind her and placed his arms around her shoulders, pulling her back against him. Lowering his mouth next to her ear, he whispered, "You are never getting out of here, my dear Celena."

Her face contorted with her rage. She whirled around and pushed him, hard. She flung him away from her. "Not this time, Dilandau. I will not forget this time. For once in my life, I am going to take control, and there is nothing you can do about it." She whirled on her heel and ran, ran for the small area containing the brutality she had been watching all this time. She dove for it.

Her eye fluttered open slowly. She blinked a few times to clear her cloudy vision before her eyes focused on the dark silvery metal of the ceiling. Moaning gently, she turned her head to one side.

… And she screamed.

Kieran opened his eyes with a snap as a scream sounded right by his ear. Rubbing the offended ear, he stretched languidly. "That hurt, Dilandau-sama." He looked over at the boy who was supposed to be there, but instead of a boy, there was a scrawny looking girl. "What the…" He tensed up as if readying himself for a fight, his eyes scanning the stark room for any signs of Dilandau, none of which he could find. His eyes finally focused on the girl.

Celena clutched the sheets to her chest, her eyes wide with fright. She flung her self from the bed, clutching the dark satin to her in a vain attempt to maintain her modesty. "Who are you?" she demanded.

Kieran raise an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same question couldn't I? Where is Dilandau?"

She blinked a few times, then a confused look passed over her face. "Dilandau doesn't exist."

Kieran snorted, "Then why…"

"He's not real, he doesn't exist, he can't!" she bit out, fear laced in her shaking voice.

"Hey, calm down," he said softly. For some reason, this small, frightened girl seemed to pull up the small amount of compassion he had left, even after getting it beaten out of him. Years of nothing but fighting and training tended to do that to a person, and in the heat of battle, compassion was your enemy. Compassion was what got you killed; it got his brother Chesta killed over seven years ago. He stood up, grabbed for his pants, and swiftly pulled them on. He walked over to the huddled, shivering girl and knelt next to her. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you ya know."

She blinked a few times. "He's not real, he can't be real," she whispered.

"Why?" he asked simply.

"Because if he is real, then all of those things were real."

"What things?"

A tear came to her eye and slowly slid down her cheek. "Horrible things. Oniisama, he wouldn't…" Her voice trailed off as she looked up at Kieran. "Would he?" Her voice broke as the tears came, flowing from her eyes and sliding over her cheeks, only to drip off of her chin and darken the already black fabric of the black satin sheets.

"Hey, stop crying," he said as he gathered the sobbing girl into his lap, gently rocking her to soothe her tears.

"Demo… Oniisama, he… he hit me then… then he laughed." Her voice broke, yet she still forced the words out. "Dilandau… he laughed… in my head… then… then nothing. Wildflowers and sun, and… behind my back… battle and rape and torture… and so many terrible things… How could he, how could I allow it?"

Kieran looked down at the sobbing, nearly delirious girl. For the first time since he learned of his brothers' death did he feel something, anything. And for some reason, it was not pity. This poor broken girl, abused by her brother, taken over by Dilandau, he may not have understood it, but he would be damned if he was not going to try.

"What's your name?" he asked softly and gently, both things that were not normally laced with his voice. He was surprising even himself, for he knew he was not a gentle person. Quite the opposite actually, he had spent his childhood fighting, beating down any form of gentleness.

She gulped a few times, and swallowed a few more, to clear the lump from her throat as she swiped at her tears with the back of her hand. When her voice had cleared enough for speech, she chocked out, "Celena, Celena Schezar."

Kieran's eyes widened and he froze, his mind blanking as the shock ran though him. Unlike the other Dragonslayers, he knew the history behind the dragon legends; he knew what had occurred over seven years ago, from the dragon Van Fanel, to his friends Allen Schezar and Milerna Aston, and the Seer Hitomi Kanzaki, though he kept this knowledge to himself. From all reports from the previous war, Allen was searching for his sister, a truly honorable knight. However, Allen's current involvement with Zaibach contradicted his previous actions, though a love triangle between Allen and Van over Hitomi made sense. But to beat his sister? The sister he had been looking for his entire life? That just did not make any sense. Kieran vowed to himself that he would figure out what was going on.

"Celena, it will be alright," he said soothingly, even if his fists had clenched.

Celena laid her head gently on his bare shoulder, her shoulder length silver hair spilling over his lean muscled chest. "It will never be alright, never." She paused, composing herself. After a few moment she asked, "Who are you anyway?"

Kieran blinked at that question, assuming that if she had remembered Dilandau and Allen's escapades that she would have remembered him, since he spent nearly every night in this room with Dilandau.

Before he could answer she continued. "I've seen you before, a lot, but I don't remember your name."

"Kieran."

She smiled softly, as she lay there. "Arigato gozamasu, Kieran," she said softly.

"For what?" he asked.

"For being here, I guess. For not hurting me, for helping me."

"I just calmed you down so you could think rationally, that's it," Kieran shrugged.

"But you aren't like the others are you, Kieran?"

"Why do you say that?" he asked puzzled.

"Because the others would have brought me to Allen immediately. So that he could change me back to Dilandau."

"I won't let that happen."

Celena brightened a little when she heard that, but her eyes still held shadows of depression. "There isn't anything you can do, Kieran. Unless we are to be suspected, I have to change back into that murder. But this time, I have the upper hand. He will NOT remember this encounter, I promise you that."

"Why would you do that for me?"

"Because you helped me, and for that, I thank you. But I am the dominant personality for too long, Dilandau will suspect something. I have to go…" her voice trailed off hinted with her fear of Dilandau. "Don't tell him, please." She begged this of him. She let herself fall asleep, relaxed in his arms, to go back to that field of wildflowers to watch.

Kieran nodded as he watched her sink back into sleep, her form melting into Dilandau's. Lifting the boy up, he placed his slumbering leader back on the bed before crawling in next to him as if nothing had changed. Yet in his mind, everything had changed.

This was a new beginning, a turning point.