He fell from the skies

Disclaimer: I do not own Last Exile.

Author's Note:

When Dio died, I wouldn't believe it. I watched and I waited for something to happen…but there was…nothing. There wasn't even any commemoration given to him or Luciola.
Maybe that ending was not Dio's death after all. Perhaps he was truly gone when they took him.
…but he remembered! He's remembered something! A shadow of what used to be, but it was something! Wasn't it possible for him to heal? If Luciola had lived I know he could have!
sigh I'm sure that none of you want to hear my ramblings…it's just that my favourite characters…died.
No one's dead until I have the visual proof!

Italics indicate thoughts

P.S: I am also quite aware of the rumour that Dio was picked up by a guild starship as allegedly stated in one of the Last Exile art books.

He fell from the skies

Up in the Grand Stream, if you don't ride the winds you'll get caught up; you'll be tossed about like a leaf and there will be no one to hear your screams…

Realisation dawned on Dio. Luciola was gone. He threw himself across the vanship clinging to the mid-section. "Just because I said to get out…" he whimpered.
"Just because I said to get out?! Luciola!"
Tears streaked his face, the iciness of them cutting into his skin. He did not notice the swirling, roaring winds surround him, until he was unable to cling to the vanship any longer and was tossed into that great storm – the Grand Stream. "LUCIOLA!!!"

"The Grand Stream," I muttered under my breath, gazing in awe at the monstrous, grey storm.
I imagined what it would be like to ride in that; to feel its awesome power. Even thinking about it was almost overwhelming. Suddenly, the command came for us to start attacking Exile. I jolted back into reality. Exile - my eyes widened at the sight of its huge tentacles as it lay there, cradled in the gaping hole in the middle of Distith. Distith – that used to be Arden's home.
"Karin!" yelled Arden above the howling winds, "What are you waiting for?!? Start shooting!!"
I growled at my own negligence. "Right!"
This was it! Everything; even Arden's voice faded away. Left! Right! Immelman Turn! The trigger blanked. "More ammunition!" I commanded Arden.
"Roger!"
Now, dive down! Swoop up to the right! Right again! Up! The trigger blanked again. I growled under my breath. "That was the last of our ammo!"
I surveyed our situation. We were too close to use the missiles. We needed to go up! I jerked back on the controls, clenching my teeth against the pressure. 30 miles up I plunged us back down. I counted in my head 5-4-3-2-1
KABOOM – the missiles impacted. I pulled us back up, just avoiding the explosion coming off a nearby tentacle. Only 2 more…
Finally, the signal came to retreat. I sighed in relief. However, my relief was soon destroyed as I watched one of the battleships go down and then one of the guild ships. "No way are we going down like that!" I yelled back at Arden.
"But Karin!" he yelled back, "We don't have enough gas!"
He was right. "Fine then," I told him, "We'll fuel up then head back out!"
"Do you think they'll let us?!" He asked.
I scowled back furiously. "Arden! We don't belong to anyone!"
From the corner of my eye, I registered his nod.

Landing gave me a feeling of security; false security. I stared around at everyone's relieved faces sadly then went to fuel up. "Why are you so eager to fill back up?" came a voice from behind me.
I put on my soldier face and turned to face the chief mechanic. "Just in case, sir! We may need to head back out!"
He nodded with a grunt. However, I could see the distrust in his eyes. I couldn't blame him either. I hadn't shown much respect for our squadron commander, let alone him. "We don't belong to anyone, huh?" mumbled Arden.
I scowled back at him. "No we don't!" I hissed under my breath, "And we are gonna get outta here!"
The battleship shuddered violently bringing everyone to the ground. "Now!" I shouted to Arden.
We quickly checked our vanship over and boarded. "Claudia pressure - check! Fuel verification – ¾ full tank!"
He paused, "Do you think we have enough?"
"We don't have time Arden!"
He finished checking off and we shot out and over the edge. Come on! Come on!
We'd had it pretty rough today. I was jerked back as we shot out due to the sudden propulsion from the engine. "We're abandoning them," murmured Arden.
I looked back sadly. "Yes," I whispered, "We are."
I hardened back up clawing inwardly at my own tears. "But we had no choice, Arden! I want to live!"
I looked back at him, "Don't you?"
He nodded grimly, "Yes, I do."

15 minutes out, I caught sight of a falling vanship. "What the - ?!?"
Just then something was spit out by the Grand Stream. "What is it?" yelled out Arden.
"You're the one with the binoculars!" I yelled back.
"It's…it's…the Guild!"
I could tell he was startled. "Uh-uh…It's a Guild boy!"
A boy?
I dove toward the rapidly descending body. No one; not even a Guild boy deserves to die like this!
I had to think quick! Allowing him to drop into the vanship would definitely kill him. I cringed at the image of his body splattering all over our ship. Bile rose up into my throat and I choked it down. I pulled into a sharp dive parallel to the direction of his falling body. I caught sight of his face – a breath! "He's alive!" I yelled.
I prayed that my plan would work. "Arden!" I shouted back through clenched teeth, "Grab him! And gently too!"
Arden was an expert at these things – saving falling objects and not breaking them. Weren't all navis supposed to be like that though? No, Arden was a miracle worker. He just had a sense for these things. A living being –this would be the most difficult. He knew what I wanted and obeyed with a nod.
After a pause and a grunt, he yelled down to me, "Alright!"
I decelerated carefully and pulled out of the dive. "Did…Did we do it?" I asked nervously, not turning around.
"Yes," came his reply, "We did it."
I smiled back at him and the boy. The boy was puffing and wheezing. At least it was a sign of life. He looked about my age and although very strange, he was handsome too. What? Handsome!?!
I growled down the rising heat in my face as I turned back to the controls. Almost without thinking, I decided to head back. The boy would need medical attention and quick. "We're going back?" asked Arden.
"I guess so!" I yelled back slightly nervous.
What was Arden thinking right now? I was going to risk our lives for this boy; this stranger and of the Guild too? "Think about it Karin!" he yelled out, "He's of the Guild! They're not going to help him – not with all the other people they'll be attending to! Besides, what's the use if we all die?!"
I hadn't thought of that!
"We have a medical kit!" he told me, "Just land somewhere safely!"
"But we can't…"
He cut me off, "Karin! This is all we've got!"
I nodded, giving him an uncertain, "Okay."
No one can say we didn't try.
I pulled it back together. "Arden, I won't have this life on my conscience, okay?"
I turned back, "Or yours."
"I know, Karin."

Author's note:

I have been doing extensive research on Last Exile to ensure that my fanfic keeps as true to the original story as possible. Sorry for taking so long.

22 Jan 08 - I have an update on Dio from Wikipedia. It says that his voice is heard in one of the last scenes in Last Exile from the engine room of the Silvana saying, "Ascending!"
I checked it out on Youtube and it was correct. It's after the Mysterion is completed. The Silvana is set free from Exile's grasp and the guild engine worker from the House of Dagobart says, "This thing still won't give up."He starts up the engine then says, "Climb!" This is followed by what sounds like Dio's voice repeating, "Climb!"

23 Jan 08 – It's taken me a while, but I've finally discovered the name of the guild engine worker. I believe that it's Lescius. His name is only mentioned once. He is usually referred to as the Chief Engineer. I've also been taking a close look at his character and am trying to figure out his background.

4 Mar 08 – I've read everything I can on Wikipedia and am hoping to find further information to both add to and verify it. More preliminary work to do. We'll see how long this takes.