Disclaimer: I disclaim to claim a thing for a thing is but a thing and I have not this thing. And kudos to you if you understood any of that. XD
I guess AUs are really only popular if they are high school fics…or involve Alnel. Well, that doesn't matter anyway. There are 19 hits on chapter 3 which means someone out there's reading this. Maybe people might find this a bit confusing – it's supposed to be that way for just a little while longer. Just hang in there, the next chapter will reveal a major detail. One thing that makes it easier is not having to include details on how the characters look and I did the list at the end of the last chapter instead of putting the details in the fic. If this were a novel then I would have had to add all that stuff somewhere along the way…
And personally, I'm reading the dictionary but I can not remember what all the characters look like – especially the Sphere employees. So if anyone catches a mess up on that then just bear with me and consider it an AU description. XD
Her breath caught in her throat. She swallowed it down and forced herself to stay calm. One glance was all she needed to know that her life was about to come to an abrupt end. Quickly and quietly she prayed her last rights.
But giving up was not in her nature. If she were to die, she wouldn't go without taking at least one of them with her.
Nel stepped back and drew her daggers. The man that led the small group laughed. The very sound of his voice sent chills through her entire body. If she could have it her way, he would be the one to die first.
The eerie silence was broken by the rustle of rapid footsteps behind her. She didn't have to look to know that the four 'pilgrims' had approached her back. She listened to her gut; it had never been wrong before. The four behind her were no threat. This she knew; but what happened next caused her to doubt everyone.
The man she marked for death stepped forward. "Fitter. I should have known a planet as vile as this would draw scum."
The blonde man Nel had run into earlier chuckled sarcastically behind her. "Still can't appreciate nature, huh? Where's the love, Rood?"
Nel heard the exchange curiously. It didn't take intelligence to understand that the two knew each other. The thing on Nel's mind was whether it was in her favor or not. Unsure if she should turn, she stood still and ready to strike. The man called Rood raised his hand. Nel couldn't identify the object in his hand, but it was made of metal. Whatever it was, it was definitely foreign to her. She hesitated. Previous experience had taught her to be cautious of anything these new comers had.
A flash of light erupted from the metal's tip. She only had one second for her pulse to quicken and her brain to register what had happened. Her life was going to end on soil far from her home.
"Oh, Apris!"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Dragonfly's Fire
Chapter Four
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Clair had to admit that the blonde was fast and crafty. She was truly a force to reckon with and Clair couldn't help but to hold a deep seated respect for anyone who couldn't be taken by surprise. But her respect for Mirage was accompanied by frustration. As long as the woman breathed the life of the queen was in danger. She had no choice. Mirage had to die.
She never slowed, but it was obvious to Clair that the woman she chased was unfamiliar with Arias. Clair pursued her through the streets as Mirage literally ran in circles. Every time Clair got within reach, Mirage would dodge her. It was like the woman had a sixth sense for never once did Mirage turn to check on Clair's position; but somehow she knew where she was and what direction her strike was coming from.
Under different circumstances, Clair would have sought such endurance and skill to be on her side.
To Clair's relief, Mirage stopped running circles and ran out of the southern exit. She was sure the citizens of Arias were relieved as well. They were a peaceful people already stricken with rumors of war on the horizon.
On the flat and empty grounds of the Aire Hills, Clair was able to gain on her target within little time. The woman was mere inches from striking range. Jumping forward, Clair bridged the gap and thrust her blade straight for the back of her neck.
A split second before impact, Mirage leaned forward and stopped. Clair's blade cut the air over the blonde's head. Mirage planted her hands on the dirt and turned her body in a full circle. As soon as Clair's feet hit the ground, Mirage was finishing her sweep. Clair had no time to react before her feet were knocked from under her. Clair hit the ground the same instant Mirage was up on her feet.
"Why are you trying to kill me?" Mirage screamed in fury. She kept her stance solid. Her fist held slightly away from her. She was ready to stop running and fight.
Keeping her eyes locked on her adversary, Clair stood cautiously. She kept her daggers ready. "I have no choice. It's you or the queen."
Mirage shifted. "That's what Nel said. Tell me what I have to do with your queen."
Clair thrust a dagger forward in a warning fashion. Her expression twisted in anger. "Now I will kill you to save my queen and avenge Nel!"
Clair sprang forward. Mirage rolled to her side and struck her wrist with enough force Clair was sure the bone was broken. As the dagger fell from her broken hand, Mirage kept with her roll until she faced Clair's back. With a swift side kick, the air was knocked out of Clair as Mirage's foot came in contact with her side.
Clair fell hard. Holding her hand to her chest, she gasped desperately for air.
"I didn't kill Nel," Mirage said shuffling behind her. "And I have no intentions of killing anyone unless I have no alternative. That includes you."
Clair heard her start to walk away. Finding just enough air she groaned. Mirage turned and looked down at her.
"Then…kill me…now…for I…have no…choice but to…kill you."
Mirage studied the hard violet eyes that glared at her. The eyes held no anger or malice. The emotion apparent on the silver haired woman's face was one of fear and regret. An undefined guilt overcame Mirage and she knelt in front of Clair.
"When I woke I remembered nothing. My name, my life…all of it was taken from me. One thing I know is I'm not one to kill unjustly."
"Unjustly?" Clair's eyes searched her face. "But you have killed before?"
Mirage remained silent for a moment. She pressed her lips firmly together. "Something in me says I have; but I can not recall."
"Whoever it is you angered is determined to have your head. He said for us to kill you or he would kill the queen."
Mirage leaned forward. "Who?"
Clair shook her head still breathing heavily. "We do not know his name."
Mirage rubbed the sweat from her brow. "Perhaps I should pay 'him' a visit. Where can I find him?"
Clair stood, swaying slightly from the pain in her broken wrist. "He is at the castle, home to the Holy Mother. I too do not like the idea of killing 'unjustly'. I will take you there and do what I can to help preserve the safety of my queen."
Clair extended her uninjured hand. After a brief hesitation Mirage took it.
"You will not try to kill me?"
Clair bowed slightly. "My word is my honor."
Mirage let her hand go and bent to help Clair retrieve her daggers. She couldn't help but to hesitate as she gave the woman her weapon. Clair simply nodded in understanding.
"We should have that looked at," Mirage said indicating Clair's broken wrist.
Clair flinched as Mirage's words reminded her of the injury. "No need."
Mirage watched in wonderment as Clair placed her hand on her wrist and chanted under her breath. Mirage couldn't understand the words but noticed the faint blue light as it illuminated around her wrist.
"Healing!"
The light absorbed into the injury. Clair smiled and waved her now uninjured hand to increase the blood flow.
"Looks like I still have a few things to learn," Mirage mused.
Clair nodded her acknowledgment. "Now, I suggest we get Nel first. Her help will be valuable. That and if you didn't kill her then his men will."
Mirage gave her a questioning look.
"If we fail then not only will the queen die, but he said his men would kill us."
"Then I suggest we find Nel as soon as possible."
Clair nodded and started for the direction of Kirlsa.
Mirage walked slightly behind the woman. As much as she wanted to trust her, it was hard. She had already had to fight for her life twice and she was sure that was only the beginning.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Folstar pulled the trigger of his gun just a second behind the first shot. Light erupted from the barrel aimed at Nel but the laser missed its mark when the first shot clashed with his gun; throwing the laser over Nel's head.
Maria stood back and to Nel's side. She had both guns drawn. "Wanna try again?" she taunted.
Folstar grimaced and steadied himself to shoot again. He scanned his adversaries. A mischievous smile played across his face.
Nel shifted uneasily. The tension between the group in front of her and the group behind her hung heavily in the air.
Sophia shuffled to the rear. Drawing her staff, she set to using her support symbology. She started with casting Angel Feather on Nel.
Cliff stepped to Nel's side. "Alright, buddy. How do you want it? The hard way or the easy way…either is fine by me."
Folstar smirked. "You heard the man," he said over his shoulder. His eyes kept constant contact with Cliff. "Let's get 'em."
Nel side stepped behind Cliff to round on them from the other side. She cleared Cliff and came face to face with Dirna. The woman wielded a spear and a wild smile. Dirna thrust the spear at Nel in one swift motion. Nel managed to block the blow but was knocked down when Dirna continued with her stride – ramming her shoulder into Nel. As Nel fell, she threw her hands back to help absorb the shock. Dirna brought her spear down to slice; her target was the exposed flesh of Nel's leg. Nel watched helplessly as the tip came at her. Her hands were behind her from catching herself and she didn't have enough time to bring a dagger up to block.
The tip of Dirna's spear was caught by Fayt's sword. He grunted as he followed through with his swing and forced the spear back at its owner.
"Move!" Fayt screamed.
Nel was all to glad to do as told. She scooted back and stood; allowing Fayt to battle Dirna. She surveyed the scene, unsure if she should aid the 'pilgrims' or not.
Maria gritted her teeth as she rolled to dodge Folstar's fire. The man was firing at all of them and had moved to stand near Leiria. Leiria had started the fight by mimicking Sophia and had moved to the back to use her symbology.
Folstar was covering both Leiria and Solon; causing Cliff and Maria frustration every time they attempted to fight. Fayt was left to exchange blows with Dirna. Nel stood on the side and watched in a cloud of confusion.
Cliff frowned as he dodged Folstar's fire again. He knew what they were up to and he didn't like the odds. Solon was calling any beast in the area to aid them in the fight. If he wasn't stopped then the fight would take a turn and the favor would be with Folstar.
Both sides became distracted when someone shouted.
"Nel!"
All eyes turned to the silver haired woman who was approaching fast; daggers in hand. Cliff nearly stumbled when he realized who was running at them along with the woman who had shouted. The sight of her nearly caused him to forget about the fight.
Mirage was running fast and straight at them.
Dirna stepped back and sought Folstar. "Sir!"
Cliff didn't register what was happening until it was too late to stop Folstar. Folstar was running straight toward the duo; his guns aimed and he was shooting.
Acting on instinct, Mirage rammed her shoulder straight into Clair; sending the native out of Folstar's range. Clair lost her footing and fell. Mirage continued accelerating at the gunman.
The remainder of Folstar's shots missed their target as Mirage dodged every blast. Unable to believe her agility, Folstar left himself open to her attack. Her first punch made contact with his gut. She followed up with a side punch to his cheek. Before the man could stumble back, Mirage slid her hand down his arm and relieved him of one of his guns.
When Folstar had his balance, Mirage kicked his leg. He fell unwillingly on one knee. Mirage stepped up to him and shoved the barrel of his own gun into his temple. She didn't say a word but her expression told the whole story. She was fed up with it all and ready for an end.
Folstar kept eye contact with the blonde. His expression remained neutral. He was a gambling man and use to putting on a face to fool the eye. But Mirage wasn't fooled. She never broke the contact she had with his eyes while she shot his wrist as he brought his other gun up to shoot her.
She returned the gun to his temple and jabbed it into his skin. "Where can I find your superior?" Her tone was harsh and blunt.
"Heh. You really think I'll tell you? Why is it you hesitate to kill me? What's wrong? You don't remember who you are do you?" His tone hinted to the frustration he felt from his current situation. It was clear he knew more then she did and was using his knowledge to taunt her.
She grunted and shoved the gun at his head with enough force to knock him to the ground. She thought about shooting him, but she didn't. Another realization hit her as she pointed the gun at him – she hated guns.
Clair sprinted to Nel, who was closest to Mirage. "Nel, we have to get out of here. With this much commotion it's a wonder the Storm Brigade hasn't shown up."
"Agreed," Nel responded. She gave Mirage a brief glance. "And her?"
"She will help us free the queen."
Mirage stepped back from Folstar and nodded at Clair. She kept the man in her vision as she scanned the group gathered. Out of all of them, the stares of one man drew her curiosity. His blue eyes told her she should remember something. But what she was to remember remained out of her grasp.
When he shouted her name, she flinched. She was about to respond when the distant shouts interrupted.
"It's them," Clair said almost frantic. "It's the Storm Brigade."
"Come on," Nel shouted. "If we stay here then the queen is as good as dead."
Mirage nodded and followed the two women. She heard her name shouted again but didn't stop. She couldn't stop. Who ever the blonde man was she didn't feel threatened by him. Regardless, she promised to help Clair and that was first on her list.
The three women managed to avoid the soldiers by ducking into a side street. When they had passed, the three ventured from their hiding spot and continued their run. The exit was in sight when another group of soldiers blocked them off.
"Halt!" the man leading the group shouted. He was an elderly gentleman but Mirage could see years of experience in his body language. She knew he might no longer possess the stealth to deflect her if she were to attack; but experience was one of the deadliest things to go up against blindly.
Fighting was ruled out. Her only option was to run. If they weren't the type to listen to reason, she couldn't risk being imprisoned. Then again, she wasn't sure she could reason with anyone in her current state.
That left her with the only one way out. Escape.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Cliff scanned the streets and quickly motioned his crew to follow suit. He didn't like the idea of leaving Mirage behind, but right now he had no choice. He couldn't continue his search if he had to deal with the local authorities.
Cliff and authorities never mixed. This was a known fact.
Folstar's crew had gathered around him. They were just in hearing range for Cliff to catch a small portion of their conversation as they helped the man up.
"Sir? She's getting away."
"It doesn't matter," Folstar boomed. He grunted heavily as he stood. "When I get my hands on that wench then she'll know what true pain is. Mark my words; I will squash the Dragonfly!"
Cliff froze momentarily before following his three companions through the streets.
"Dragonfly? What does the Dragonfly have to do with any of this?"
All he could hear was his own breath as he followed his crew into a nearby building. He hadn't paid attention to his where-a-bouts and was slightly shocked to find they had ducked into what appeared to be a workshop.
Fayt stood wearily by the window. He ducked when a group of soldiers passed by. Maria and Sophia stood in the center of the room and held their breaths. Cliff was still stationed at the door and ready if anyone should enter.
"Clear," Fayt called giving them the signal to relax.
Cliff nodded. "Looks like we better stay put for a while." He pulled his communicator from his belt and set to contacting Wittcomb.
-Wittcomb- he answered in a casual tone.
"Yeah, Fitter here. Look, I've got a question for you."
-Cliff? You sound too serious. What's on your mind?-
Cliff shifted uneasily. "What do you know about the Dragonfly?"
There was a rustle on the line. If was clear to Cliff that Wittcomb had become restless.
"Are you going to answer me?" Cliff asked trying to sound patient.
-First Cliff, understand that what I'm about to reveal to you is strictly confidential. You and anyone listening to this must uphold the highest form of restraint with what I am about to say.-
"Gotcha. Everyone here knows how to keep their mouths shut. That should be evident considering who you're talking too."
-Understood, but this information surpasses the secrecy of FIRE-
"Yeah, yeah," Cliff replied trying to keep his cool. "Just tell me what the Dragonfly has to do with Mirage."
Wittcomb paused for another second. –Okay, but I'll need to start with some background first. So far the whole story behind the Dragonfly isn't accurate. A lot of what you know is true but it's not the whole truth and some of it has been fabricated.-
Cliff held his tongue. It would seem that things were about to get a lot more interesting.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Mirage scanned the caverns as she chose her path at random. She tried not to think about Clair or Nel. She needed to keep her thoughts clear and focus on escape. She only hoped that they were able to get away.
The three had tried to stay together; but in the end it wasn't possible. Nel had run for the exit, Clair had headed down a side street and Mirage had took off for the caverns. After numerous turns she managed to loose the few soldiers who pursued her.
Feeling safe for the moment she paused to catch her breath. She paced her breaths in an effort to control her heart rate as she examined the gun in her hand. She turned it over a few times and located the safety switch. Once the safety was on, she tucked it into her front pocket.
She didn't want to stay still for too long. She felt like a sitting duck. Pulling the cloak tighter around her, she started to walk. She kept the hood off of her head to allow any sound to reach her with little obstruction.
She had only taken three steps when her head began to pound. The headache came on so suddenly and fiercely she was forced to her knees. Her fingers dug into her hair in a futile attempt to control the pain.
In the end the pain won and she blacked out. Her ears were numb to the approaching sounds of the soldiers. Her senses were unable to detect the presence that loomed over her. She didn't feel anything as someone dragged her into a secret passage. All she knew was darkness and the images that she could only guess to be glimpses of her past.
Blue's Afterthoughts:
Wow, there's just so much going on right now…I think I might need to take a whole chapter to slow it down a bit and get some explanations out of the way. The feel I'm going for with this is to have the reader in the dark about a lot of things to start with. The reader should relate a lot with Mirage and feel confusion like she does, but on an ironic scale since the reader knows more then she does.
There was one more piece I wanted to add to this chapter, but after finishing I noticed that it would do really good for the mini-section at the start of the next chapter. Yeah, I'm trying a new format here…mini-section – title and chapter – fic.
And I have the whole dictionary at my disposal… and there will be more familiar faces to show up. Who…well some you can guess and others you might guess but you might never imagine the roll they will play. No, I don't have the whole story outlined – just sections that I want to put in. I basically do an outline for a chapter right when I finish the previous chapter. My fics seem to take their own turns and I have to be flexible.