Changes
By Songwind
Notes- Ah, hello! ^_^ What exactly, do you think, happened when Kongol was saved by Doel? This kind of goes into that line of thought.
Disclaimer- I don't own Legend of Dragoon.
~*~
Racing. Racing from the cold-sleep. The sleep you didn't wake from, that you needed the earth to stay warm for the rest of eternity while you slept. Racing to hold it at bay as long as he could. That was all that mattered.
But racing was never a Giganto's strength, not even a small, young Giganto such as Kongol. Though not even into adolescence yet, not even with all of his muscles, he was already panting from the effort of running and he'd only been running a couple moments. Then again, he'd never trained for running anyway; he'd dreamt since he could remember about fighting with his axe, his father's axe.
Now the dreams were gone. Racing was his goal. Racing away from everything he'd ever known. Over the rocks and boulders, scrambling up and down the huge stairs that were still slightly awkward for him, while others were falling into cold-sleep all around him.
His parents had already fallen into it, the first to fall. He had no idea where his brother was, but right then he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Kongol had a horrible feeling that he would find his brother in cold-sleep too if he looked for him, and he didn't want to be alone. No, not after twelve years of training with his brother, of learning to fight with his father, to care for his wounds from his mother...
But they were in cold-sleep.
Kongol skidded to a stop as a human man noticed him and advanced towards him. He backed away uncertainly, panting, as the human man leered. The man was only as big as Kongol, slimmer, but right now he seemed twelve feet tall instead of five or six.
"What'sa matter, you big brute?" the human sneered. "Forget how to fight a human? C'mon, let's see that strength of yours." He swung his sword. "Come on!"
He merely continued backing away.
"Hah, you can't even understand speech!" the human taunted. "You're all stupider than we thought! Good thing we're wiping you all out now and being done with you! I can't wait to bring your head to our commander, I'll get promoted for sure-" He swung his sword again and charged.
Kongol finally remembered he had an axe. He pulled it out quickly, fumbling, and held it out in front of him. Then he took a breath to try and calm his racing heart thudding, thudding in his chest.
"For parents. For brother! PURSUIT!" he bellowed, swinging his axe at the human.
The human skidded to a stop now, his eyes widening. "Wow, uh," he said. "You can talk. So what? You suck at grammar. Yeah, you're still nothing but oversized brutes!" He continued advancing, though now he had an eye on Kongol's axe.
Kongol then had a very, very frightening moment- he couldn't remember how to start the attack, Pursuit. Frantically he tried to remember. Wide stance? Walking stance? Just charge? Hold back a moment? What?? Whatever it was, the answer eluded him like the human was dancing around him now, planning a way to send him into a painful cold-sleep.
Only he knew that if he didn't fight and save himself, there probably wouldn't be anyone at this rate to bury the ones in cold-sleep to keep them warm during their eternal rest.
"P-p-p," he stuttered.
"Forget how to speak?" the human sneered. "You're mine!" he lunged.
Kongol finally threw logic and training to the winds and gave in to instinct. He thrust his axe into the air, blocking the sword. Then he swung it at the human. "PURSUIT!" he bellowed.
The human was torn to pieces, screaming.
Kongol stood there, panting and staring at his father's axe. For the first time in years, it'd tasted blood. Human blood.
His first kill. And it was another thinking being.
"But he tried kill me," he muttered to himself.
However, if it was in defense, shouldn't he feel the triumph his brother spoke of so grandly? Shouldn't his eyes shine and his chest stick out as he bellowed a battle yell? If he had truly killed someone, shouldn't he be proud of the achievement?
Then why did he only feel very, very sick inside?
Kongol shivered at the sight of blood on the axe, and hurriedly rubbed it on the human's clothing. The human was long dead. The young Giganto shivered yet again and turned away, and remembered the rest of the world.
Less and less of his people were still fighting, were still running. He saw piles of Giganto lying still on the ground. One or two of their closest friends stopped from time to time to try and shake them, but that only resulted in them being sent into the cold-sleep as well. Kongol looked away and started to run again.
Then he heard a bellow, "THAT BRUTE GOT TORVIS! DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!"
Other human voices screamed assent, and Kongol felt the first tinges of panic enter his mind. He had a feeling that he was the one who just killed the human called Torvis, and they were going to race after him. He wasn't a runner, they'd catch up. He barely just survived his first life-or-death battle. He'd be outnumbered. Even his panicked mind could recognize this.
"Me going cold-sleep," he panted, and panic grew. The panic helped him speed up for a while. Pounding on the rocks, he ran for the exit of his hometown, not looking as his people screamed for help and lay, falling into cold-sleep all around him. He couldn't. He daren't. If he did... he'd stop. He didn't want to try and think about what'd happened if he stopped.
But even that motivation wasn't helping much. Far too soon for his liking, he felt the familiar feeling of fatigue, the feeling he always got after training with his brother or father. Who were now in cold-sleep... He shook his head wildly, trying to rid himself of those thoughts. The screams persisted in his head, all around him, as he raced. With fatigue building.
"Me going cold-sleep," he panted again. "No, not now!"
He'd have to fight if he stopped. He wasn't good at fighting, he was too small. Not yet. He didn't have the strength to bang two men together yet like his father. He couldn't. He could barely kill a man and stomach it.
His first kill. Oh, Gods.
And it would be his last.
Kongol slowed down, though not of his own will. His body was protesting every movement now. He wished suddenly that he could turn into a bird, or a human, maybe even a horse, and just race forever. Then he would escape his fears, escape this horror soon. If he could go fast enough he might even escape the cold-sleep longer.
The cold-sleep. His parents, his brother... his people...
No. This couldn't be happening.
This didn't happen to Gigantos.
Why?
What in Endiness did the Gigantos do to deserve this? They hadn't been in a war with anyone for centuries, and suddenly now the Humans all wanted them dead. Why?
Kongol stopped as he neared the gate, feeling despair kick in instead of panic. There were more humans waiting at the exit to his hometown, his world.
"Exit me life too," he panted to himself. "Well, me no die coward!" He summoned his waning strength to pull out his axe, and turned around in a little circle to see just how many humans were surrounding him.
His strength was about to fail him. He was entirely surrounded with about ten of the humans. They were all about his size. Not even his father could live against these odds.
"Well, where you going there, you ugly brute?" one of them sneered. "You look a little confused."
"Of course it is, Bern," laughed another. "It can't understand a damn thing we say!"
"Me can too," Kongol grunted, raising his axe.
The men looked genuinely surprised. "Why, it spoke!" a third man said. The others laughed. "Do it again, and we'll kill you quickly! C'mon, parrot something at us!"
"Oh, I know! It can only repeat us, so let's say something and make it say it!" the first stated. "Here's one, Giganto- I am nothing. Can you say that? I am nothing!"
Kongol glared as the men raised their swords and advanced in. "You be nothing," he replied hotly. His breath was returning slowly. Maybe, though, if he stalled them, he could get his strength back and have a small chance...
"It can mix up our words, how smart of it!" said a fifth in false admiration. Again, the humans laughed.
"Why?" Kongol demanded. "Why you hate us?"
"Because," the second one said, readying to advance. "Because we CAN!"
Kongol dodged the human's first attack. Again, instinct took over. "PURSUIT!"
The man became two halves instantly, falling to the ground without a sound. Instead, he only had a look of honest surprise and fear on his face.
There was a long silence, when the first named Bern shouted, "GET HIM!"
Kongol was staring at the blood on his axe, his father's axe. "Second," he murmured. His second killing. Again, he felt nothing but the sickness from before. It felt horrible. Why did people speak of glory in fighting? Was he supposed to like this sick feeling? Or was it something else? "Me cold sleep," he whispered sadly. Then he readied his axe.
A flash of violet light from above made everyone stop to stare up incredulously. Kongol waited for a moment, convinced it was a trick of some sort. When there was still no one attacking, he cautiously looked up.
And gaped.
A human- no, a Wingly? But Winglies were long gone, only in the stories his parents had told him. It could only be a human. But why was it flying?
The human-like being wore violet armor with a stone in the center of it that was glowing, seemingly pulsing with power of some sort. Magic? But humans couldn't manipulate magic, could they? No one could but Dragons and Winglies, and this couldn't be a Wingly... Kongol blinked, wondering if maybe his fatigue was making him hallucinate.
But no, the odd figure flying in the air was still there.
"What are you men doing, eh?" the humanlike being said softly. There was a subtle edge of something in his voice that said more than anything else that this man had power. "Having fun, are you? Terrorizing the Gigantos?"
The humans were in shock. Finally, Bern bellowed, "The hell're you? We're all armed and ready to fight!"
The being snorted softly. "Bandits. Professionals, but bandits all the same," he said. A couple of the humans cursed at him. "What was that?"
The man who'd just cursed him sneered and repeated what he said. The next moment, he had a glazed look on his face as the humanlike being removed his glowing sword from his stomach.
The being turned to look at the others, who were now beginning to be frightened. "Anyone else care to tell me what to do with myself?" he asked.
No one answered.
"Wonderful. This is a great start. Now, here's what you will do. You will call out your filthy men, and you will leave without touching a single bit of wealth that belonged to the great Gigantos. You will never return."
One of the men glared at him. "You can't do this to us! There are many of us! Even with your stupid flying speed, you'll be killed eventually!" he spat.
The being turned a cool eye on him. "We'll see. Now call your men." He pointed his sword at the man's head. "Or you will lose another man today."
There was a long silence.
Then the man spat another curse at him. He then promptly fell to the ground with a wound through his head.
Kongol watched, frozen in place in a sort of horrified fascination as one by one the men that had been about to attack him dropped to the ground never to wake again, falling into the cold-sleep. The being... he talked like the humans, he acted like the humans. Why was he flying, and why was he killing his own kind?
And the grace with which he did it... it was almost like dancing, where Kongol's axe attacks were nothing but clumsy thrusts and swings. Kongol wondered suddenly what he could do if he got a sword. Would he be as graceful as this being? Then he shook his head. "What me thinking? Me parent's axe, me carry honor," he said to himself sternly as the last human fell.
Then the being turned to look at him.
Kongol felt the blood rush from his face. His legs suddenly felt very weak. Maybe this being merely didn't like anyone other than its own race and was about to kill him too? The fear returned, as well as the despair. For the past few seconds, he'd been dreaming that just maybe this creature had been sent from somewhere to save his people. He readied himself for death yet again as the being took a step on the ground towards him.
Then something amazing happened. There was a flash of light, and the being was no longer unknown. He was a human.
Kongol raised his axe.
"Oh, put that down. You couldn't defend yourself against me if I wanted to attack you," the human said, sounding tired. "Why would I go to the trouble of saving you just to kill you anyway?"
Kongol blinked. "Who be you?" he demanded.
"I am Emperor Doel, the Emperor of Sandora. In southern Serdio. I hope to be Emperor of Serdio itself soon, though only time will tell of that," the man answered with a small nod.
Kongol frowned at the unfamiliar term. "Em...per...or?" he questioned.
"A leader of a lot of people," Doel explained. "What about you?"
Kongol drew himself up proudly. "I be Kongol, son of warrior Fongal," he answered.
Doel nodded again.
"Why you here?" Kongol asked, suspicious.
"You're wondering why I saved you, then." Doel's eyes never left Kongol's. It felt a little odd, staring constantly into this human's eyes, but Kongol refused to be the first to look away. "I came here looking for other races' help for the war against my enemy country in Serdio. I didn't expect to have to fight bandits to get you."
"Me?" Kongol asked.
"Not you specifically. Just one or two of your people. You are all very strong, and anyone of your people would have done well. I would have paid any one of you who'd be willing to help me." Doel raised an eyebrow, and smiled for the first time. It was a very old-looking smile, adding years onto the human's face.
Kongol frowned. "What?"
"More of the bandits are coming. Go and hide. I know you're still young, since you're not throwing yourself at me or the other humans. I want at least one Giganto still alive when this is over." There was another flash of light, and Doel was once again in that odd flying armor.
Kongol blinked in surprise, then reluctantly nodded. Right then, he had to believe this human. He was the only one who would care enough to protect him. He glanced around, and a lump formed in his throat. There were humans lying on the ground, but many, many more Gigantos that were destroyed beyond recognition. It would take a long time to bury them all later.
Kongol hid behind one of the large collections of rock piles that used to be a column of stone and watched in amazement as the human in flying armor used strange powers to defeat every enemy coming his way.
"Humans weird," he said to himself. "Many want kill me, one want me. Why? Help him in something..." He continued watching the man in silence for a while, then wondered, "How can humans fly? Humans have no magic... but this one does." Another thoughtful pause. Then, "Human said he leader. Maybe human leaders have magic?" Then Kongol shook his head. "What matter? He saved me life. Now I live. Me can get revenge. If any live."
Finally, he watched as the last of the bandits fell to the ground, never to wake again, and shuddered. It would take forever to send everyone here into the earth for eternal warmth in their sleep. He wondered if the human would do this duty, then decided against it. Humans tended only to their own side.
He was right. The human Doel sheathed his sword after wiping it on the last bandit, and turned to calmly walk over towards where Kongol knelt. Again, Kongol felt suspicion rise. Where was everyone else? Were they hiding too?
"I'm sorry," Doel said simply. "That's everyone."
Kongol stared at him for a long moment blankly. Then he realized what Doel had just meant. He was sorry.
He was the only living one.
The young Giganto took in a deep, shaky breath, and let it out, rattling his chest. He stared at the Human Doel, still with a blank expression on his face, for a moment longer. Then he started to cry.
He hadn't wept for years. Weeping was considered weak, a child's acts. In an attempt to be adult before his years, Kongol had abandoned his tears at age five and had forced back the sobs every time they came upon him. But now they racked his whole body, and he couldn't stop them from pouring out.
Kongol felt shame at running. At hiding while this human killed the enemy. At not helping when he heard his people scream. And at crying in front of this human, who probably already thought he was weak. That last fact made the tears flow faster and more violently.
He waited, listening through his sobs for the snort of contempt, for the slap on his face. He waited for a while for the stern command to stop crying, it was a weak thing to do. But nothing ever came. Kongol raised his face to look at what the human was doing.
Doel was averting his eyes, looking at the ground, waiting with his hands clasped behind his back.
That surprised him out of his tears. The human was obviously embarrassed at dealing with a crying Giganto, but... wouldn't he, shouldn't he tell Kongol to stop acting like a huge infant? Or was crying acceptable to humans? Had this human ever cried? He didn't look it- no, Doel only seemed tired...
When he stopped sobbing, and started wiping his eyes, Doel glanced back up again. "It is a harsh thing, to lose a loved one," he said quietly into the ominous silence. "But it is even harder to be the last of your race."
That nearly brought him to tears again, but this time Kongol fought them back down. He nodded.
Doel seemed like he was trying to find the right thing to say. "I wish I could comfort you, but anything I'd say would be a lie," he finally said. "I never knew your families, so I can't say they were good people. And even the power of a Dragoon can't save so many lives, not a one."
The odd word brought Kongol temporarily out of his grief. "Drag-oon?" he questioned.
"A Dragon Knight. I am one of them. That armor you saw is the power of a Dragon Knight. It's given to me by the Spirit of a killed Dragon." Doel looked at him seriously. "I know this is a bad time, but the only thing I can think of for you is to come with me. I can at least find you a place to deal with your grief, but you won't be by yourself. There will be others around..."
"Not Giganto," Kongol said.
"No," Doel agreed. "But let me ask you this, Giganto. Where would you go? This place... is not a healthy place for a young one to stay for long. No matter how you were raised."
Kongol blinked.
"I won't ask it of you now, but perhaps later you might consider helping me, when you are larger and stronger than you are now. But right this moment, I am merely offering a place to sleep and eat until you can take care of yourself. What do you say to that?"
The Giganto took another deep breath, calming himself. "Where we go?"
"Serdio. To Kazas, a human city. In my castle."
Well, the only words Kongol recognized was 'human city', so what else could he do but nod helplessly?
Doel nodded back. "Let's get started, then. It very well may take a long time to get there, and even longer for you to deal with your grief." He held out a hand.
Kongol stared at it, then awkwardly put his huge hand on top of Doel's. Despite the size, Doel shook it vigorously.
"Very well, Kongol. Let's head to Kazas."
The two started towards the exit of the dead city once again. Kongol carefully did his best not to look at the littered bodies on the ground, or smell death on the breeze that gently blew at his tired muscles. However, he couldn't help looking back just one more time, back in the direction of his house, where his parents and brother lay.
"Farewell," he murmured, and turned, swearing to never return.
~*~
Well, uh... there ya go. This was meant to be a one-shot, but if anyone thinks I should, I may add more to it. Either way, please let me know what you think, OK? Thanks!
By Songwind
Notes- Ah, hello! ^_^ What exactly, do you think, happened when Kongol was saved by Doel? This kind of goes into that line of thought.
Disclaimer- I don't own Legend of Dragoon.
~*~
Racing. Racing from the cold-sleep. The sleep you didn't wake from, that you needed the earth to stay warm for the rest of eternity while you slept. Racing to hold it at bay as long as he could. That was all that mattered.
But racing was never a Giganto's strength, not even a small, young Giganto such as Kongol. Though not even into adolescence yet, not even with all of his muscles, he was already panting from the effort of running and he'd only been running a couple moments. Then again, he'd never trained for running anyway; he'd dreamt since he could remember about fighting with his axe, his father's axe.
Now the dreams were gone. Racing was his goal. Racing away from everything he'd ever known. Over the rocks and boulders, scrambling up and down the huge stairs that were still slightly awkward for him, while others were falling into cold-sleep all around him.
His parents had already fallen into it, the first to fall. He had no idea where his brother was, but right then he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Kongol had a horrible feeling that he would find his brother in cold-sleep too if he looked for him, and he didn't want to be alone. No, not after twelve years of training with his brother, of learning to fight with his father, to care for his wounds from his mother...
But they were in cold-sleep.
Kongol skidded to a stop as a human man noticed him and advanced towards him. He backed away uncertainly, panting, as the human man leered. The man was only as big as Kongol, slimmer, but right now he seemed twelve feet tall instead of five or six.
"What'sa matter, you big brute?" the human sneered. "Forget how to fight a human? C'mon, let's see that strength of yours." He swung his sword. "Come on!"
He merely continued backing away.
"Hah, you can't even understand speech!" the human taunted. "You're all stupider than we thought! Good thing we're wiping you all out now and being done with you! I can't wait to bring your head to our commander, I'll get promoted for sure-" He swung his sword again and charged.
Kongol finally remembered he had an axe. He pulled it out quickly, fumbling, and held it out in front of him. Then he took a breath to try and calm his racing heart thudding, thudding in his chest.
"For parents. For brother! PURSUIT!" he bellowed, swinging his axe at the human.
The human skidded to a stop now, his eyes widening. "Wow, uh," he said. "You can talk. So what? You suck at grammar. Yeah, you're still nothing but oversized brutes!" He continued advancing, though now he had an eye on Kongol's axe.
Kongol then had a very, very frightening moment- he couldn't remember how to start the attack, Pursuit. Frantically he tried to remember. Wide stance? Walking stance? Just charge? Hold back a moment? What?? Whatever it was, the answer eluded him like the human was dancing around him now, planning a way to send him into a painful cold-sleep.
Only he knew that if he didn't fight and save himself, there probably wouldn't be anyone at this rate to bury the ones in cold-sleep to keep them warm during their eternal rest.
"P-p-p," he stuttered.
"Forget how to speak?" the human sneered. "You're mine!" he lunged.
Kongol finally threw logic and training to the winds and gave in to instinct. He thrust his axe into the air, blocking the sword. Then he swung it at the human. "PURSUIT!" he bellowed.
The human was torn to pieces, screaming.
Kongol stood there, panting and staring at his father's axe. For the first time in years, it'd tasted blood. Human blood.
His first kill. And it was another thinking being.
"But he tried kill me," he muttered to himself.
However, if it was in defense, shouldn't he feel the triumph his brother spoke of so grandly? Shouldn't his eyes shine and his chest stick out as he bellowed a battle yell? If he had truly killed someone, shouldn't he be proud of the achievement?
Then why did he only feel very, very sick inside?
Kongol shivered at the sight of blood on the axe, and hurriedly rubbed it on the human's clothing. The human was long dead. The young Giganto shivered yet again and turned away, and remembered the rest of the world.
Less and less of his people were still fighting, were still running. He saw piles of Giganto lying still on the ground. One or two of their closest friends stopped from time to time to try and shake them, but that only resulted in them being sent into the cold-sleep as well. Kongol looked away and started to run again.
Then he heard a bellow, "THAT BRUTE GOT TORVIS! DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!"
Other human voices screamed assent, and Kongol felt the first tinges of panic enter his mind. He had a feeling that he was the one who just killed the human called Torvis, and they were going to race after him. He wasn't a runner, they'd catch up. He barely just survived his first life-or-death battle. He'd be outnumbered. Even his panicked mind could recognize this.
"Me going cold-sleep," he panted, and panic grew. The panic helped him speed up for a while. Pounding on the rocks, he ran for the exit of his hometown, not looking as his people screamed for help and lay, falling into cold-sleep all around him. He couldn't. He daren't. If he did... he'd stop. He didn't want to try and think about what'd happened if he stopped.
But even that motivation wasn't helping much. Far too soon for his liking, he felt the familiar feeling of fatigue, the feeling he always got after training with his brother or father. Who were now in cold-sleep... He shook his head wildly, trying to rid himself of those thoughts. The screams persisted in his head, all around him, as he raced. With fatigue building.
"Me going cold-sleep," he panted again. "No, not now!"
He'd have to fight if he stopped. He wasn't good at fighting, he was too small. Not yet. He didn't have the strength to bang two men together yet like his father. He couldn't. He could barely kill a man and stomach it.
His first kill. Oh, Gods.
And it would be his last.
Kongol slowed down, though not of his own will. His body was protesting every movement now. He wished suddenly that he could turn into a bird, or a human, maybe even a horse, and just race forever. Then he would escape his fears, escape this horror soon. If he could go fast enough he might even escape the cold-sleep longer.
The cold-sleep. His parents, his brother... his people...
No. This couldn't be happening.
This didn't happen to Gigantos.
Why?
What in Endiness did the Gigantos do to deserve this? They hadn't been in a war with anyone for centuries, and suddenly now the Humans all wanted them dead. Why?
Kongol stopped as he neared the gate, feeling despair kick in instead of panic. There were more humans waiting at the exit to his hometown, his world.
"Exit me life too," he panted to himself. "Well, me no die coward!" He summoned his waning strength to pull out his axe, and turned around in a little circle to see just how many humans were surrounding him.
His strength was about to fail him. He was entirely surrounded with about ten of the humans. They were all about his size. Not even his father could live against these odds.
"Well, where you going there, you ugly brute?" one of them sneered. "You look a little confused."
"Of course it is, Bern," laughed another. "It can't understand a damn thing we say!"
"Me can too," Kongol grunted, raising his axe.
The men looked genuinely surprised. "Why, it spoke!" a third man said. The others laughed. "Do it again, and we'll kill you quickly! C'mon, parrot something at us!"
"Oh, I know! It can only repeat us, so let's say something and make it say it!" the first stated. "Here's one, Giganto- I am nothing. Can you say that? I am nothing!"
Kongol glared as the men raised their swords and advanced in. "You be nothing," he replied hotly. His breath was returning slowly. Maybe, though, if he stalled them, he could get his strength back and have a small chance...
"It can mix up our words, how smart of it!" said a fifth in false admiration. Again, the humans laughed.
"Why?" Kongol demanded. "Why you hate us?"
"Because," the second one said, readying to advance. "Because we CAN!"
Kongol dodged the human's first attack. Again, instinct took over. "PURSUIT!"
The man became two halves instantly, falling to the ground without a sound. Instead, he only had a look of honest surprise and fear on his face.
There was a long silence, when the first named Bern shouted, "GET HIM!"
Kongol was staring at the blood on his axe, his father's axe. "Second," he murmured. His second killing. Again, he felt nothing but the sickness from before. It felt horrible. Why did people speak of glory in fighting? Was he supposed to like this sick feeling? Or was it something else? "Me cold sleep," he whispered sadly. Then he readied his axe.
A flash of violet light from above made everyone stop to stare up incredulously. Kongol waited for a moment, convinced it was a trick of some sort. When there was still no one attacking, he cautiously looked up.
And gaped.
A human- no, a Wingly? But Winglies were long gone, only in the stories his parents had told him. It could only be a human. But why was it flying?
The human-like being wore violet armor with a stone in the center of it that was glowing, seemingly pulsing with power of some sort. Magic? But humans couldn't manipulate magic, could they? No one could but Dragons and Winglies, and this couldn't be a Wingly... Kongol blinked, wondering if maybe his fatigue was making him hallucinate.
But no, the odd figure flying in the air was still there.
"What are you men doing, eh?" the humanlike being said softly. There was a subtle edge of something in his voice that said more than anything else that this man had power. "Having fun, are you? Terrorizing the Gigantos?"
The humans were in shock. Finally, Bern bellowed, "The hell're you? We're all armed and ready to fight!"
The being snorted softly. "Bandits. Professionals, but bandits all the same," he said. A couple of the humans cursed at him. "What was that?"
The man who'd just cursed him sneered and repeated what he said. The next moment, he had a glazed look on his face as the humanlike being removed his glowing sword from his stomach.
The being turned to look at the others, who were now beginning to be frightened. "Anyone else care to tell me what to do with myself?" he asked.
No one answered.
"Wonderful. This is a great start. Now, here's what you will do. You will call out your filthy men, and you will leave without touching a single bit of wealth that belonged to the great Gigantos. You will never return."
One of the men glared at him. "You can't do this to us! There are many of us! Even with your stupid flying speed, you'll be killed eventually!" he spat.
The being turned a cool eye on him. "We'll see. Now call your men." He pointed his sword at the man's head. "Or you will lose another man today."
There was a long silence.
Then the man spat another curse at him. He then promptly fell to the ground with a wound through his head.
Kongol watched, frozen in place in a sort of horrified fascination as one by one the men that had been about to attack him dropped to the ground never to wake again, falling into the cold-sleep. The being... he talked like the humans, he acted like the humans. Why was he flying, and why was he killing his own kind?
And the grace with which he did it... it was almost like dancing, where Kongol's axe attacks were nothing but clumsy thrusts and swings. Kongol wondered suddenly what he could do if he got a sword. Would he be as graceful as this being? Then he shook his head. "What me thinking? Me parent's axe, me carry honor," he said to himself sternly as the last human fell.
Then the being turned to look at him.
Kongol felt the blood rush from his face. His legs suddenly felt very weak. Maybe this being merely didn't like anyone other than its own race and was about to kill him too? The fear returned, as well as the despair. For the past few seconds, he'd been dreaming that just maybe this creature had been sent from somewhere to save his people. He readied himself for death yet again as the being took a step on the ground towards him.
Then something amazing happened. There was a flash of light, and the being was no longer unknown. He was a human.
Kongol raised his axe.
"Oh, put that down. You couldn't defend yourself against me if I wanted to attack you," the human said, sounding tired. "Why would I go to the trouble of saving you just to kill you anyway?"
Kongol blinked. "Who be you?" he demanded.
"I am Emperor Doel, the Emperor of Sandora. In southern Serdio. I hope to be Emperor of Serdio itself soon, though only time will tell of that," the man answered with a small nod.
Kongol frowned at the unfamiliar term. "Em...per...or?" he questioned.
"A leader of a lot of people," Doel explained. "What about you?"
Kongol drew himself up proudly. "I be Kongol, son of warrior Fongal," he answered.
Doel nodded again.
"Why you here?" Kongol asked, suspicious.
"You're wondering why I saved you, then." Doel's eyes never left Kongol's. It felt a little odd, staring constantly into this human's eyes, but Kongol refused to be the first to look away. "I came here looking for other races' help for the war against my enemy country in Serdio. I didn't expect to have to fight bandits to get you."
"Me?" Kongol asked.
"Not you specifically. Just one or two of your people. You are all very strong, and anyone of your people would have done well. I would have paid any one of you who'd be willing to help me." Doel raised an eyebrow, and smiled for the first time. It was a very old-looking smile, adding years onto the human's face.
Kongol frowned. "What?"
"More of the bandits are coming. Go and hide. I know you're still young, since you're not throwing yourself at me or the other humans. I want at least one Giganto still alive when this is over." There was another flash of light, and Doel was once again in that odd flying armor.
Kongol blinked in surprise, then reluctantly nodded. Right then, he had to believe this human. He was the only one who would care enough to protect him. He glanced around, and a lump formed in his throat. There were humans lying on the ground, but many, many more Gigantos that were destroyed beyond recognition. It would take a long time to bury them all later.
Kongol hid behind one of the large collections of rock piles that used to be a column of stone and watched in amazement as the human in flying armor used strange powers to defeat every enemy coming his way.
"Humans weird," he said to himself. "Many want kill me, one want me. Why? Help him in something..." He continued watching the man in silence for a while, then wondered, "How can humans fly? Humans have no magic... but this one does." Another thoughtful pause. Then, "Human said he leader. Maybe human leaders have magic?" Then Kongol shook his head. "What matter? He saved me life. Now I live. Me can get revenge. If any live."
Finally, he watched as the last of the bandits fell to the ground, never to wake again, and shuddered. It would take forever to send everyone here into the earth for eternal warmth in their sleep. He wondered if the human would do this duty, then decided against it. Humans tended only to their own side.
He was right. The human Doel sheathed his sword after wiping it on the last bandit, and turned to calmly walk over towards where Kongol knelt. Again, Kongol felt suspicion rise. Where was everyone else? Were they hiding too?
"I'm sorry," Doel said simply. "That's everyone."
Kongol stared at him for a long moment blankly. Then he realized what Doel had just meant. He was sorry.
He was the only living one.
The young Giganto took in a deep, shaky breath, and let it out, rattling his chest. He stared at the Human Doel, still with a blank expression on his face, for a moment longer. Then he started to cry.
He hadn't wept for years. Weeping was considered weak, a child's acts. In an attempt to be adult before his years, Kongol had abandoned his tears at age five and had forced back the sobs every time they came upon him. But now they racked his whole body, and he couldn't stop them from pouring out.
Kongol felt shame at running. At hiding while this human killed the enemy. At not helping when he heard his people scream. And at crying in front of this human, who probably already thought he was weak. That last fact made the tears flow faster and more violently.
He waited, listening through his sobs for the snort of contempt, for the slap on his face. He waited for a while for the stern command to stop crying, it was a weak thing to do. But nothing ever came. Kongol raised his face to look at what the human was doing.
Doel was averting his eyes, looking at the ground, waiting with his hands clasped behind his back.
That surprised him out of his tears. The human was obviously embarrassed at dealing with a crying Giganto, but... wouldn't he, shouldn't he tell Kongol to stop acting like a huge infant? Or was crying acceptable to humans? Had this human ever cried? He didn't look it- no, Doel only seemed tired...
When he stopped sobbing, and started wiping his eyes, Doel glanced back up again. "It is a harsh thing, to lose a loved one," he said quietly into the ominous silence. "But it is even harder to be the last of your race."
That nearly brought him to tears again, but this time Kongol fought them back down. He nodded.
Doel seemed like he was trying to find the right thing to say. "I wish I could comfort you, but anything I'd say would be a lie," he finally said. "I never knew your families, so I can't say they were good people. And even the power of a Dragoon can't save so many lives, not a one."
The odd word brought Kongol temporarily out of his grief. "Drag-oon?" he questioned.
"A Dragon Knight. I am one of them. That armor you saw is the power of a Dragon Knight. It's given to me by the Spirit of a killed Dragon." Doel looked at him seriously. "I know this is a bad time, but the only thing I can think of for you is to come with me. I can at least find you a place to deal with your grief, but you won't be by yourself. There will be others around..."
"Not Giganto," Kongol said.
"No," Doel agreed. "But let me ask you this, Giganto. Where would you go? This place... is not a healthy place for a young one to stay for long. No matter how you were raised."
Kongol blinked.
"I won't ask it of you now, but perhaps later you might consider helping me, when you are larger and stronger than you are now. But right this moment, I am merely offering a place to sleep and eat until you can take care of yourself. What do you say to that?"
The Giganto took another deep breath, calming himself. "Where we go?"
"Serdio. To Kazas, a human city. In my castle."
Well, the only words Kongol recognized was 'human city', so what else could he do but nod helplessly?
Doel nodded back. "Let's get started, then. It very well may take a long time to get there, and even longer for you to deal with your grief." He held out a hand.
Kongol stared at it, then awkwardly put his huge hand on top of Doel's. Despite the size, Doel shook it vigorously.
"Very well, Kongol. Let's head to Kazas."
The two started towards the exit of the dead city once again. Kongol carefully did his best not to look at the littered bodies on the ground, or smell death on the breeze that gently blew at his tired muscles. However, he couldn't help looking back just one more time, back in the direction of his house, where his parents and brother lay.
"Farewell," he murmured, and turned, swearing to never return.
~*~
Well, uh... there ya go. This was meant to be a one-shot, but if anyone thinks I should, I may add more to it. Either way, please let me know what you think, OK? Thanks!