Disclaimer: Don't own Escaflowne, or any other references I use, (like the title) etc.

Thank you for Reviewing!

-----~-----~-----~

Chapter 9

Canned Heat

-----~------~-----~

The Dragonslayers had set out early that morning in their Guymelefs. They were traveling to Radezylia, a country in the mountains to the north. It was more of a diplomatic mission that anything, they were traveling there on behalf of the Zaibach Empire to seal a new trade agreement. The Dragonslayers, Ava was reminded for the umpteenth time, had gained a lot more power that what they had when she was here before, they never would have been involved with political movements like this or the trade with Allen Shezar. In addition, they no longer dined in the shoddy cafeteria (unless they wanted to, which Guimel often did,) they had a private dining room to themselves, with exquisite food and atmosphere.

The palace, Ava noted upon arrival, more closely resembled a posh mountain resort. The area was known for its hot springs, and the palace seemed to be in no short supply, she saw as they landed. A landing party had come to greet them, led by the king himself. The Dragonslayers and Folken jumped down from their 'Melefs, falling into formation. Ava watched the King out of the side of her eye. Dilandau and Folken had stepped forward to greet them, and the King introduced himself formally.

"Ah yes, Lord Dilandau, Lord Folken, a pleasure. I am King Armand de Radez. Welcome." Ava could see he was one of those men that was quite done up about his appearance. He had remarkably tailored hair, with deep plum robes and a huge, cosmopolitan grin. Dilandau looked annoyed, but didn't voice it.

"We thank you, in the name of Zaibach. These are the Dragonslayers," Dilandau said, motioning to them with his outstretched arm. Radez looked over them uninterested, until seeing Ava, whence he did a double take. His face broke out in a suave grin, and strode up to her. "Well, isn't that a surprise! A woman in the Dragonslayers. And beautiful too." Radez grinned, looked her up and down in a way that made her very uncomfortable. However, she didn't move out of formation. Clearly this man didn't think of women as much more than something to indulge in when the mood strikes him. Dilandau came up beside him, looking furious.

"Shall we?." he said with calmness that didn't match his emotions, leading Radez away. "Well, I suppose," Radez said. Folken followed alongside, the corners of his mouth twisting up slightly.

--~--~--~

Ava waited in the women's change rooms. All the Dragonslayers and Folken were expected to meet with Radez in the hot spring that waited just outside. Ava did NOT wish to join them. After all, these were the old fashioned hot springs, where you go in the nude. There is a screen where men and women can enter the spring without members of the opposite sex seeing, and then move into the main area of the spring, which is co-ed. But to get to those screens, which stand a ways away, you must walk out of the change room in plain sight of the men.

One of the maids in the change room ushered Ava to join them. Going against the voice in her gut that was saying "nononononononono" she wrapped herself tightly in towel, and moved towards the door, where she could hear the chatting of the others.

The minute she stepped out the door, the area became quiet. She looked around at them. Some of the Dragonslayers were goggling at her, as she was clad only in a tiny towel, which barely covered what she had intended it to. She made a mental note to club Guimel, who was making faces at her. Not everyone was watching, however. Folken was engrossed in conversation with a heavily make-upped, large breasted woman, clearly a concubine. Ava's eyes met with Radez. He winked at her very suggestively. No one else had seen, and Ava inwardly gagged, hurrying to the screens. She entered the water, leaving her towel on the walkway, and then wading out to the main area. She seated herself along the edge next to Folken.

She laughed inwardly. Folken was droning on about Zaibach technology, about the things that were being developed, and other complicated scientific matters. The concubine smiled at him stupidly, although beautifully. She giggled at random now and then, brushing Folken's arm with her fingers. Ava rolled her eyes. What an airhead

Someone had sat down beside her. Looking around, she saw the close-up face of Radez. "Hello there, darling." he said softly, staring straight at her breasts. "What might your name be?" Ava looked around for help, but no one was paying attention. "Uh... Ava." She said helplessly. "Ava, hmm?" Radez said, brushing her neck with his fingers. Ava sank lower in the water. Radez moved closer. Something underneath the water brushed up against her leg. Ava, realizing what it was, turned three shades of green. Ugh.. She heard Ryoun snickering loudly. Suddenly Dilandau waded up. "Discussing the plan with Ava?" Dilandau said, with a trace of malice. Radez turned to him, looking quite annoyed. Over his turned shoulder Ava mouthed an exasperated 'THANK YOU!!' At Dilandau. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly. Dilandau turned back to Radez, and promptly engaging him in diplomatic discussion that he couldn't escape. Ava took this opportunity to go hide by Chesta, Miguel and Viole.

"Bloody hell, I can still smell the testosterone from over here" Ava said bitterly. Miguel chuckled.

--~--

In the change room, after they were done in the springs, the maids had brought Ava a beautiful dinner gown. It was kimono-like, a silky, tapestry material with a navy lotus flower pattern, and an ice blue silk undergarment, the bottom showing from under the hem of the robes, and over the top of the collar. The maids had promptly dressed her up, and were now fiddling about with her hair and giving her a touch of make up. She enjoyed being pampered like this; it wasn't something she was used to. Being in "this man's army" didn't really give her much of a chance to feel girly very often.

She joined everyone for dinner, sitting at an incredible marble dining table, in a room with large windows and ivory columns. Radez looked at her as though he wanted her to occupy the seat beside him, but luckily, there was only one more empty space, at the opposite end of the table. She thanked the powers-that-be for that.

Dinner turned out to be a rather tedious affair, with one mildly interesting detail: This 'trade agreement' they were to discuss really was just a fancy name for Radez sweet-talking the Zaibachian army to attack their enemy country, Camdala. They were to set out at dawn.

-----~----

Ava sat, submersed to her collarbone in liquid metal. She waited, surveying the scene before her. The Camdala palace spanned before her, and she was surrounded on wither side by the other 'slayers in the guymelefs. The palace before them was burning; think billowing smoke reaching up to the heavens. Soldiers were fighting all around them, as they awaited their orders.

Dilandau's voice crackled over the comm.- link. "Listen up! The king is in the northeast tower beyond the barracks. I want him alive, but kill whoever gets in your way. Let's move out!"

And he laughed.

--~--~--~--~

Sweat trickled down Ava's forehead. The northeastern tower, it seemed, was better protected than the 'Slayers had anticipated. Guymelef units were starting to force them back, but the Dragonslayers held fast. Ava deflected a sword attack, and promptly shot a Crima claw through the cockpit. The Guymelef fell. A voice crackled in her ear. "Heads up! We have more company! Dalet shouted.

Ava knocked down another unit with some difficulty and looked. Dozens of Guymelefs were coming over the ridge, and Ava felt a cold chill run up her spine. They couldn't fight all those off. Dilandau swore. 'Dragonslayers retreat!" he shouted. "I-I can't!" came the voice of Chesta. "My energist was crushed!" Ava heard Dilandau swear again. Suddenly Ava had an idea. Running up to his unit, she shouted back "Open your hatch and stand up!" "Are you mad??" Dilandau and Chesta both shouted at the same time. "Trust me," said Ava. Steam spouted from Chesta's hatch and she saw his head emerge cautiously from the cockpit. Quickly, she shot a claw at him, wrapping it securely around him. He grimaced, and color drained from his face, but he didn't say anything. "Move it!" came Dilandau's voice in her ear. The Dragonslayers switched to flight mode, and sped off towards the thick forest. The enemy units pursued; they could not fly, but they charged into the forest after them all the same.

They flew in silence for a long time. Ava kept a close eye on Chesta, who was looking a little green, pressed up against the chest of her 'Melef. "We need to stop here" Dilandau's voice cut in after a time. "Our energist levels are almost spent. If we go on, we'll crash. Those Camdalian troops would be stupid to still be after us," he added with malice. They set down in a small clearing and hid their Guymelef's under large trees.

Ava gently set Chesta on the plush foliage. He smiled up at her, still looking slightly queasy. Ava jumped down from the cockpit. Dilandau jumped down from his Alseides, looking pissed, muttering something about ignorant Camdalians and camping. Miguel looked about thoughtfully. "We should build a shelter and fire. Who knows how long we'll be here?" Dilandau heard this and looked even more annoyed.

The slayers set out into the forest, looking for firewood and useful materials. The day grew hotter, and the laborious task of dragging large heavy logs caused Miguel and Dilandau to shed their armor jackets and undershirt, their muscular backs shining with sweat. Miguel, Ava mused, was quite tanned. As she sat up in a tree cutting down palm leaves, she felt her eyes drawn to Dilandau, who had housed a broken tree trunk over his shoulders. His dog tags made a soft clinking sound as he moved about, and sweat glistened over his defined back. He was so.meaty.Ava snapped out of it and mentally slapped herself. It wasn't good to go think things like that about her commanding officer.

By now everyone had shed their armor jackets, and a few more had peeled off their undershirts. And, in Guimel's case, their pants too. Well, that solves the boxers-or-briefs dilemma, thought Ava, as Guimel frolicked amongst the foliage in his tighty-whities, picking berries and laughing.

--~--~

The sun was starting to set, and they had managed to build a pretty decent shelter, and had a nice fire going. Ava and Gatti had crept off for a while, and managed to catch a wild pig, which was now on a spit over the fire, fat dripping and smelling tasty after a hard day's work.

Everyone sat around the fire. Ava slumped down between Dalet and Gatti on a big stump; Gatti was in the middle of a story about some legend of the Mystic Moon. Ava wasn't really paying attention, it sounded kind of boring. Dilandau was staring into the fire quietly, lightly stroking his cheek. Ava took a swig of water from her canteen, and passed it to him. He turned and looked at her, the hardness of his scarlet eyes fading momentarily, and he drank, punching her on the shoulder good-naturedly in thanks.

Night came, and many of the slayers stayed up long into the night. It had grown cold, so Ava pulled the emergency blankets from the 'Melefs, wrapped one around her, and passed the rest around the circle. One by one the slayers started going into the shelter to go to bed. By the time Ava went to bed, there were still several slayers huddled by the fire, murmuring, or simply sitting, as Dilandau was.

She awoke sometime during the night. Everyone was asleep now, and the fire had died down, so everything was enveloped in darkness. Everyone was curled up against each other for warmth. Lying half-blind in the darkness, Ava felt a mild weight drop down on top of her. Dilandau was starting to lie down beside her, and was sharing his blanket with her, pulling the remaining half over himself. Ava felt sleep encase her once more. --~

Dilandau laid awake long after everyone else had gone to sleep. He had been sitting by the fire alone for a time, thinking. He pondered their previous battle, annoyed at their bad luck. He crawled into the shelter, grabbing a blanket of Ryoun. (He had two) and went to lie in an empty spot beside Ava. She had no blanket at all (greedy shit, Ryoun, he thought) and dropped half of his over her. He stared at the ceiling; he could not sleep. He frequently had problems sleeping. Demons haunted him in his dreams, foggy images of past lives and false truths. Suddenly Ava, still asleep, turned over. She flung an arm over his chest and nestled her head in the crook of his arm. She brought her leg up, which caused it to rub up against him. He blinked in mild surprise. After a time, Dilandau felt the enveloping haziness of sleep upon him. He liked that; how sleep could overcome you, and you can forget. Forget who, or what you are. You just are. Dilandau closed his eyes.

--~

Ava awoke. The sun had been up for a while, it appeared. Then Ava realized the spot beside her was cold. Dilandau was not there. Or in the shelter at all. She got out and looked around the campsite and guymelefs. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. She saw his armor jacket and sword propped against a stump, where it had been the previous night. But Dilandau was gone.

--~--~--~--~

Ava stood back while Miguel, who was second in command, spoke with Folken over the comm.-link. Ava had woken everyone up when she realized that Dilandau was missing. They tapped the remaining energy sources from all the guymelefs, and channeled that power into one, to use the comm. to contact the Vione. Folken was on his way there.

Folken arrived within the hour. The Melefs were brought to their docking bays, and Folken met with the slayers in the meeting room.

"I looked at some of the evidence from the campsite. We've had spies looking for him since we received news of his disappearance. Along with what our spies have gathered, we have pinpointed who abducted Dilandau, and where he is." He said, flicking a switch on a machine. A projection sprang up of the wall. "This is a floor plan of the building he's in. It's the Asturian Palace, located in Pallas, Asturia. It is believed that the youngest princess is involved, as well as the King of Fanalia-" he wavered slightly "- and Allen Shezar, Knight of Caeli."

Pictures of all three people replaced the blueprints as he spoke, then the image returned to the castle floor plans. "At the rime the info was gathered, Dilandau was being held here," Folken said, pointing at a room on the top floor. "We need to assemble a team for rescue. Any Volunteers?" Several slayers put their hands up, Ava included. Folken looked around for a brief moment. "Chesta and Ava may stay for debriefing. The rest of you are dismissed," Folken said. When everyone had left, Folken sat down at the table. Together, the three of them hatched a plan.



------------------~------------~----------~

Hmm. There we go. I lied; Ava hasn't gotten in serious serious trouble yet. But that's coming up SOON.

NEXT CHAPTER: Dilandau's fantastic rescue, Ava confronts the assailants, and gets *the* ball rolling (whatever that means)

Thanks to all those who R&R'd!! YAY! *cough* www.geocities.com/silverchair_fanatik/fanart.htm *cough*