My apologies for the very long wait.
Reason one: Writers block.
Reason two: 25 viruses on my computer. (Now that kind of brings you down…)
But please bare with me only one chapter to go, or two from the looks of it. And I won't keep you waiting any longer… (A very long chapter awaits.)
Disclaimer: I don't own GSD/GS!
Chapter 11: Deathly vision
Sometimes the truth hurts. But not as much as this did…
She stared -bewilderment written across her entire face- at the silver pistol pointed at her heaving chest. A heaving chest attached to a trembling body, and a frightened girl. She should have seen it coming. Her hands now tide tightly behind her back, ropes binding her legs together as well. What an idiot she's been. How could she have missed them so? They were all right there within her reach; she could have stopped them immediately. Cagalli glanced around, quickly searching for an escape route.
Nothing. It was no use wasting her energy on that thought, when all that met her was thousands of wooden crates all stacked on top of each other. In a way her mind saw the crates as a disadvantage. Shielding her like a well armed fortress of wood, with no means of escape, or anybody hearing her past these pale walls. It seemed she was in some kind of warehouse. But it was old and dusty, seeming to have been used ages ago and never again. But where it was built, she had no clue and it made her panic a great deal. All the hunters surrounding her didn't help ease the blonde's mind one bit as well. Pointing the pistol at her, the hunter's face was masked by the shadows of the sickening place. Slowly he stepped forward, finally ready to unmask his identity. And bit by bit, all hope drained from her face, slowly leaking into the invisible pond of despair, as realization sunk in.
'Shinn.'
This was it.
The end of the the road for her so called miserable life. All she had left was a bit of dignity, and very deep past her fair skin, hope lay shattered to pieces. The blond closed her eyes, and turned her head sideways, ready to meet her fate. She heard him pull the trigger- and already scared to death- gasped as pain pierced her entire body in an instant.
This was it.
'Athrun…'
The end of the road.
Her eyes flew open instinctively, followed by small frightening gasp. Cagalli sat up abruptly, and felt around her trembling body. Sweat prickled her furrowed brows, and after a while she found no bullet or blood wounds on her skin. She sighed somewhat relieved yet still very alert and fell back down on to the beds wrinkled sheets. The dream felt real in anyway, to real for her liking. It was horrible and when she thought about what happened to her, a shiver shot through her entire body. Almost like what the bullet did to her… Then it hit her smack in the face. Her mind froze at the thoughts that appeared.
'Your ability child! You don't have dreams, but visions,' Leonor explained happily.
'Visions don't always have to be about the future Cagalli, but they can be someone's past as well,' Maria said wisely.
It can't be…
Was that a vision just now? She can't possible have one so fast, can she? Well it didn't feel unreal or weird at all and so forth. But if this was a vision it had to be of her future, because Cagalli as she recalled, was older and definitely scared. And this is where the troubling thoughts came rushing into her head. What had her worried was the fact that she died in this vision. Cold-blooded murder. She shook her head quickly wanting to get rid of those particular thoughts. The blond turned her head to the side, faced with an empty space next to her. The space where Athrun was supposed to be. In a way she was glad he left quietly, letting her rest fully for once. If he was to see this, she'd have to explain everything, and telling him about the part where she got shot 'dead', didn't sound so appetizing right now. Not if she wanted him to freak out, and feel sick all the sudden. But then again, he was her fiancé, and he did have the right to know whether his wife was about to be shot or not. Cagalli sighed and got out of bed. She glanced at herself and got a smell of a puking scent coming from her no less! She'd tell him later, once she got herself cleaned up. A fresh bath was much needed for her right now.
Reality could wait a little longer.
After cleaning herself to perfection, Cagalli went to her room, and got out a white sundress to wear. It flowed all the way to her knees and was tight around her waist, with wide straps going over her shoulders. She brushed her golden hair quickly until it shown beautifully. She then glanced in the mirror and eyed the wound on her shoulder sadly. The wound was healing at its own pace, but not fast enough for her taste. The blond prayed it wouldn't leave a mark once healed. The straps of the dress covered most of the wound, and only a bit of it could be seen at close inspection. But as the one who is stuck with the mark, Cagalli was the most conscious of it. It made sense in a way, and it made her uncomfortable. She decided to forget about it and went out of the room. Closing the door behind her quietly, Cagalli went on searching for Athrun. While cleaning herself, the blond thought it was only right that she tell him about her vision. She concluded that if he was to find out by anyone else-meaning Dearka or Yzak – he probably would be mad at her. She rounded another corner and almost ran smack into somebody else, to deep in thought to look where she was going.
"Whoa! Sorry," A male voice said. She recognized it as that Dearka guy from earlier. The blond smiled inwardly.
'Speak of the devil.'
"No problem," She said and decided to keep on walking past him. She didn't feel like talking to him right now. The blond needed to find Athrun and from the looks of her vision, fast! Dearka stopped her, by taking her arm into his hand. He seemed hesitant.
"If you're looking for Athrun, he's outside helping with the packing of the carriages." Cagalli frowned and said puzzled.
"Helping with the Carriages?" Was he going somewhere? What puzzled her also was the fact that Dearka knew what she was thinking. Almost as if he read her mind, while she walked past him.
'Freaky…' Well it wouldn't surprise her if he really is able to do that. All this abilities that each vampire contains, was always entertaining in a way for her. Where the one was even weirder than the next. Dearka continued and let go of her arm.
"Yeah," He nodded. "Apparently you're to have a little vacation." He paused to hear her answer, and frowned later on.
"You didn't know did you?"He asked, biting his lower lip. She shook her head slightly. Cagalli wasn't mad or anything, but a warning would have been nice. Dearka lifted his eyebrows, seeming to wonder if he said to much to her.
"Oh… well, now you know. Have fun!" He smiled brightly and tapped her shoulder slightly. To bad it was the wrong one. She winched at the contact and hissed through her teeth uncomfortable, pulling her face in a funny way.
"My shoulder wound-" Dearka pulled back quickly and bit his lip unsure of what to say. He tried to smile at her but failed miserably. This guy really wasn't making his mark in her good books.
"Uh, sorry," he said and patted her other shoulder instead. "Wrong one." He turned and walked in the other direction she was going.
"Good luck finding Athrun!" The blond could only shake her head, while she touched her shoulder. Well that was a weird conversation. She laughed inwardly; luckily it wasn't mister grumpy Yzak. He probably would have said nothing in his defence and stalked off. She dropped the thoughts and walked on again.
Walking into the main entrance, someone with perfectly polished shoes came striding towards her. The blond would have loved to see the persons face but, the poor guy was hidden behind a stack of suitcases. The person nearly ran her over and she quickly sidestepped ready to tell the person to watch it. When he walked past her she saw the back of his head, and smiled.
"Careful Lucerne, you nearly ran me over there," Cagalli warned. Curiously she walked after him. Lucerne turned around and tried to peak around the stack he was carrying. There was a small pause.
"Miss Cagalli is that you?" She nodded, not that he could see her anyway.
"Yes."
"My apologies, I didn't see you there." Cagalli sighed and could only stare as he walked out the front door.
No kidding.
She stared at the wobbly stack of suitcases that disappear behind the door and concluded to herself.
'I guess my luggage's already packed-' The blond gasped as something cold pressed against the side of her neck. She jumped to the side, while a dark chuckle came from behind her. An all too familiar chuckle.
She sighed and said turned around.
"You realise those hands of yours are cold right, Athrun?" He smiled darkly and drew her in for a warm hug, cutting her protests off.
"I can't help it, my hands are cold from the weather outside," He countered, his breath tickling her neck slightly. She shivered and Athrun loosened his arms around her, but he didn't let her go completely. The conversation she had with Dearka popped into her mind and she asked briefly, staring up at him.
"When were you going to tell me of this little vacation I'm going to have?" His smile didn't faltered while she raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for his answer.
"What do you mean? You said so yourself, remember?"
Cagalli frowned and tried to recall a time were she she said that she wanted to go on vacation. Her frown deepened, and nothing came to her. Athrun continued seeming not to notice her furrowed brows.
"I spoke with Kira last night, and he said you wanted to meet your mother sometime, preferably within this year of course." His hand slid off from her back and one slipped into her limply one, entwining their hands together. He smiled and brought the back of her hand to his mouth. Cagalli blushed and shook her head slightly.
"And the sooner the better," He said. Now she knew what he meant with, 'she said so herself.'
"That doesn't count as a vacation Athrun," She pointed out, eying him closely. He didn't seem to care what she said and shrugged his shoulders, leading her outside.
"Visit, vacation, leaving. They're all the same to me. Anyway, you're still going. No buts." It wasn't like she was going to complain about leaving, anyway. Not if it meant she was going to be able to see her mother for once. And who wouldn't say yes to no school? They stopped at the carriage and he turned to her. The packing was almost done, and she had a feeling that they were going to leave any minute now.
"This will do you good, and change of scenery will help you deal with things better." She couldn't help wondering what 'things' he was talking about. She glanced up at the sky and cringed at what met her. Dark clouds were moving in and a thunder seemed to be on its way. The air was also a little chilly outside, if you weren't use to it. Luckily after spending a few years here, Cagalli got use to it and any day seemed just the same as the next. Only now and then they'll get really bad weather when waking up, and today seemed to be one of those unlucky days for them. Maybe she should have worn something warmer, now that she thought about it.
"Just to let you know, I'm not going to be going with you," Athrun said looking at her face. She cocked her head sideways, frowned, and asked almost too quickly.
"What, why? I mean, I just-"
"I still need to do a few things here and Kira offered to take you instead, seeing as Via is his mother and all."
"Oh." That she didn't expect. Not that it wasn't such a big train smash or anything.
"Besides wouldn't it be weird if I showed up with Via's long lost daughter and delivered the message that Kira just didn't feel like popping in? And say things like, well 'here she is, just thought I'd send her to you.'" Cagalli shrugged her shoulder at what he said. Athrun did have a valid point there. That would turn out weird in a way. A sudden chill shot through her body.
'The vision,' a voiced warned her in the back of her mind. Everything came back to her full force, and why she was even here in the first place. Without even knowing, she space out frowning immensely and looked confused as well. The first thing she remembered was the pian, then agony. The rest was all vaguely floating around in her mind. She couldn't worry about the hunters or the warehouse, even when they were the cause of her 'future death'. A cold hand to her face brought her back slightly. Athrun turned her head to him fully and asked concern definitely laced in his voice.
"Are you okay Cagalli? For a moment you spaced out there and completely went pale in the face."
The blond quickly blinked her eyes and shook her head lightly. Did she really just do what he said without knowing? She'd better watch out for that happening again.
'The vision, tell him about the vision!' Her mind pleaded.
"I.." Cagalli wanted to tell him about the vision she had, but for some reason the words got stuck in her throat and she couldn't spit it all out. Looking up at his alarmed face, warning signs came flashing in front of her eyes. What did that mean? Her gut screamed no, but why?Why was her gut telling her not to tell him? Why was she having such trouble saying the sentence? It was no big deal, just a vision. Another sign flashed in front of her eyes.
'Because you died in the vision,' a voice said in the back of her mind softly. 'You don't want him to know and worry about you…'Was that really it? In a way if Athrun did find out, he'll probably cancel the trip and forbid her from going. Maybe ever. But the blond couldn't wait any longer to see her mother and she wanted to go, badly. Seeing her inner turmoil, Athrun asked shaking her non-wounded shoulder.
"Cagalli is there something wrong? What's going on?" He seemed almost uncomfortable asking the next question.
"Did you not get enough blood or something. 'Cause if you want I could giv-" Slapping herself mentally, Cagalli screamed at her mind.
'Get a grip! He's watching you!' Her hand flew up and cut him off mid sentence.
"No!" She said and lowered her hands again. "I just- I…" She stammered, searching for the right words. "Cagalli!"
Luckily from afar somebody screamed turning their attention away from each other. Maria waved coming closer to them. Literally everybody was behind her, Kira being the nearest. She threw her arms around Cagalli lightly and hugged her. She drew back and smiled. Athrun seemed irritated that she interrupted them but held his tong respectfully. Somehow Cagalli felt relieved that she didn't have to finish what she wanted to say.
"You're leaving me already!" Maria asked and made a slight pout, clearly stating that she was unhappy.
Cagalli immediately smiled and chuckled, not wanting people to notice that she was down about something. She sneaked a glance at Athrun, and she saw that he wasn't happy that she did that. Maria continued to point a finger at her face and said playfully.
"Now don't you go and forget about me! Just 'cause you've found your real mother, doesn't mean I don't count anymore!" The blond chuckled at her statement, truly being happy that time.
"Wouldn't dream of it at all." Kira cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"Sorry to cut this short," He said and pointed at the sky. "But the weathers coming in fast. If we want to make it there unharmed, we should leave now." Everyone nodded and Maria gave Cagalli one last hug.
"Be save, okay?"She said.
"You too, Maria." Athrun came forward and gave her a hug as well. But he lingered a while longer than Maria. He pulled her closer and whispered into her ear softly.
"Tell me when you get back, okay?" Pulling back he kissed her slightly and stepped back.
"Sure." Despite everything that was said, she couldn't stop a troubling thought from entering her mind.
'If…I make it back that is.' She then bowed her head to the rest and got into the Carriage door that Kira held open for her. Lucerne walked to the front and got on as well. Once inside, her entire gut told her not to be in the carriage or leave for that matter. But she ignored it and closed her eyes, sighing inwardly. Her gut was telling her not to tell Athrun and the carriage had doom written all over it. How messed up was that? How is a person suppose to figure out what the right things is to do, when everything is giving you different signals? Kira got in after her and closed the door. And then within seconds they were riding away, the estate disappearing behind them, Lucerne in front, Kira looking out the window, and Cagalli left to shut down her troubling thoughts.
After about an hours ride, the weather finally crumbled under its pressure and rain came pouring down on their carriage. Thunder echoed in the distance when it came in touch with the earth. Sounding like a million buildings all falling down at once. Well for Cagalli it did. Or was she just being stupid and paranoid? For what seemed like the millionth time that hour, she drew the small red curtains of the carriage aside, and glanced nervously outside. The clouds were as black as night, and all the rain made it difficult for the blond to even see thirty meters in front of her. They were going down a muddy dirt road, surrounded by woods all around them. This frustrated her, because she had to keep a look out for anything strange. If not careful, visions could come true, and so she had to be alert at all time. If being on her guard stopped the vision from coming true- or even altering it a bit- then she'd do it any time. She sighed and closed the curtains again, all the while sitting back. All of this didn't go unnoticed by Kira, and he asked raising a curious eyebrow.
"You okay? You've been doing that the whole time since we got into the carriage." The blond glanced up at him. The last thing she wanted was him to start asking questions. Now she had no choice but to lie to him.
"I'm fine," She said, sounding anything but okay. He stared at her hard and it seemed that he wasn't buying her poor excuse for an answer. Kira sighed, and started to fumble with the buttons on his shirt. He frowned and stopped all the sudden. Cagalli found this weird, seeing him looking so annoyed all the time. And it's been happening more frequently as well. Too frequently for her comfort.
"You know what? I'm not even going to bother," He said, and looked at her sternly. She tilted he head to the side a bit.
"If you can't even muster up the courage to tell Athrun what's wrong, then why would you even consider telling me?" Cagalli was taken back by the sudden change of tone in his voice. She frowned for what felt like the tenth time that day.
"Athrun?" She asked becoming confused. "What does he have to do with this?"Cagalli tried to sound like she really didn't know what Kira was talking about. But seeing as karma always had its way with her, Cagalli's voice came out all shaky, and he saw right through her feeble attempt. Almost perfectly, he mimicked his best friends voice and said smiling:
"Tell me when you get back, okay?" Cagalli gaped at him, and couldn't believe what she heard. She stopped herself quickly, before he had a chance to respond to her facial expression.
"Wait a minute, how'd you hear what Athrun said to me-" Kira interrupted her by lifting up his hand. He rubbed his template lightly.
"I may have thought you were dead all this time, but that doesn't mean I'm death." Nobody said you were death, well that's what Cagalli said to herself mentally. Words were failing her, and it was a little frustrating to just let him rant at her, and she couldn't muster up one decent answer. He folded his arms in front of his chest and shook his head slightly. Almost disapproving of her.
"In fact everyone outside isn't death as well, but they all still backed off and decided not to ask what was wrong. Except me of course…" For a moment she could have sworn, there was a hint of humour in his tone with that last statement. He relaxed a bit and ruffled his own hair. All Cagalli could do was stare at him, and despise the fact that he could read her so well. Why did he always have to be so good at everything?
His gazed softened and he grinned at her. Oh how she wanted to whack it off of his face right now. She hated herself for being so easy to read. Was it so simple with everyone? Kira didn't seem to notice her inner rambling, and continued.
"Now that that's all cleared and out of the way, why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" The blond sighed and decided to just drop the inner tantrum she was throwing. She knew it would get her nowhere to start a fight with Kira. Cagalli chewed her lip in thought and glanced down at her hands. They were gripping her dress viciously and she immediately released them. She flattened all the crinkles that appeared because of the pressure she placed on the material, all the while in thought. Could she tell him about the vision? Would he turn the carriages around, like she had thought Athrun would do? The blond couldn't be sure, but somewhere in the back of her mind, something told her she could trust him. That he needed to know for some reason. Okay, don't tell Athrun, don't get into the carriage, tell Kira. Any more signals waiting?
'Oh well, now or never Cagalli', She prodded to herself. 'I guess you just have to trust him.' The Blond bit her lip, showing that she was doubting herself. Kira smiled, urging her onwards.
"It's okay," he said, relaxing his entire posture. "Don't worry, you can trust me." Cagalli felt guilty for causing him to eventually have to say such words. She smiled sadly.
"I know. Things are just a little unstable here on my side, that's all." The brunette seemed interested and cocked an eyebrow.
"How come?" Cagalli could see he was confused and didn't really know what to say to her. He seemed to just go with what she said. He also wasn't forcing a direct answer out of her, but for some reason the blond still felt uncomfortable. Cagalli fiddled with her dress again and asked.
"Do you think it's too early to have a vision?"
"Vision?" Kira frowned and leaned forward, placing his head in the palm of his hand. Leave it for Kira, to be the curios one.
"Yeah," Cagalli nodded and met his gaze seriously. Her voice came out desperate and she didn't care.
"I really want to see mother again. But is it worth the cost of my life?" That caught her brother off guard. She could clearly see it. All kinds of emotions danced past his eyes, each one fighting for a chance to express itself. The curiosity was gone.
"Okay, whoah!" Kira drew his hands up, and shushed her. She ignored him.
"I had a vision Kira," She stated flatly. Cagalli turned and drew the curtains back again. A few droplets of rain fell on her face and she wiped it away, letting the curtain fall back to its original place. She felt sorry for Lucerne in front; he was probably freezing by now. Teeth clattering and all. She glanced at Kira again, and this time he forced her to hold his gaze.
"Where is this all coming from?" The blond sighed. The part that she dreaded the most was busy creeping closer. He let a frustrated breath out and she knew Kira was getting anxious.
"It all happened last night when I was sleeping. I woke up this morning and bam- everything came flooding back to me."
"And you didn't bother to tell anybody this part of news, why?" He sounded irritated with her, but she couldn't blame him.
"I was going to tell Athrun, but the he might have stopped the trip and I might not have not been able to visit Via."Kira sat back and scrunched up his face.
"But why? What could possible be so bad, that he would have to cancel the trip. And I want the truth Cagalli." The blond paused and knew there was no way out of telling him now. She felt nervous and knew Kira was getting irritated with her.
"Cagalli," He said sternly. "What happens in the vision?" She took a shaky breath and answered his question slowly.
"I get killed Kira. Somehow Hunters manage to catch me and before I-we know it, I'm shot dead." She bit her lip and waited for him to explode. But what met her was a blank face and she couldn't identify any emotion at all. Kira opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off immediately.
"You have to understand. I had to take the chance."
"And you couldn't have waited a little longer. Maybe at least 2-3 weeks?"Kira finally managed to choke something out.
"Kira please, I want to go-"
"Not at the cost of your life! Cagalli this isn't just a risk, it's suicide!" He drew her closer to him, hoping it will pull some sense into her.
"When is this happening and where?" She tried to avoid his intense stare, but he had her trapped inside the carriage. Cagalli new he was worried for her safety, in a way even more than she was for her own. The blond sighed and admitted defeat. There was no way she could get out of this. Period.
'Brothers…'
She vaguely remembered the crates all stacked up on each other and the pale walls that surrounded her.
"I remembered seeing wooden crates all stacked on each other and very high walls that were pale white. A warehouse maybe?" She suggested. Kira finally let his intense stare fall and sat back. He moulded her words and what he said next made her panic.
"We're turning this carriage around, and this instant." Her face fell and she pleaded.
"No please Kira! It's just a vision, and visions can be altered." This was exactly what she didn't want to happen. Kira wanting to cancel the trip as well. She didn't want to wait another three weeks to see Via. She wanted to see her now. Yes maybe it's selfish but she couldn't help herself. After so long of never knowing and now to finally have the chance…
"Kira-"
"No Cagalli! I'm not going to take the risk." He pointed his finger at her and she saw he was furious. Kira's ears were actually turning a slight red, and he kept looking at her in a disapproving manner. But still she tried her luck and hoped he would see things her way.
"If we just keep an eye out, we can still-" He cut her off immediately once he figured out where this was going.
"How many Hunters were there?" She opened her mouth to answered, but once again Kira budded in.
"We're two Vampires at the moment, and not nearly strong enough to take on any Hunters. Even if it hurts to admit it myself, If I can't handle them, then do you honestly think you will?" Kira did have a valid point and she understood his reasoning. How could they possibly handle the Hunters on their own, but it wouldn't hurt to try, if it ever came to that though.
"I understand whet you're trying to say-"
"No you don't seem to understand what I'm trying to tell you." Kira crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a fed-up frown.
"I lost you once and I'm not going to take the chance again. I think Via would appreciate my wise decision and so would the rest of our family." Cagalli was stunned to silence. Words failed her and she felt her heart swell up with joy. Kira was only protecting her and he didn't want to see her get hurt again…
She felt like a little child, who figured out what they did wrong and was being scolded now. In a weird way the feeling felt nice and not bad. It felt pleasant to know he cared about her like that and it seemed the others did as well.
"Understand now?" Kira asked and turned to shout something to Lucerne in front.
"Lucerne stop the carriage we need to-" He fell silent and all Cagalli then saw was a blurred figure in front of her followed by the next word ringing in her ears.
"Duck!" She gasped when a pair of hands circled around her back, purposely pushing her to the Carriage's floor. A sudden force collided against the side of the carriage. This made the impact of their fall even worse. The carriage completely fell over onto its one side and came to a sluggish holt. Cagalli coughed breathless, feeling like somebody just gave her one heck of a hard punch in the stomach. Kira seemed to have cushioned most of her fall and she was grateful for that, until she heard him groan in pain next to her.
"Kira?" she hastily asked him, touching his head slightly. Footsteps appeared on the roof of the carriage, now a part that use to be Cagalli's door. She panicked and barely had time to get on her feet. The door above her got ripped open and a series of hands appeared, grabbing onto anything they could find. She tried to avoid them, but a random hand grabbed onto her collar, and in a wink she was pulled into the poring rain, screaming her longs out.
"Kira!" It was a Hunter no less, and to her dismay, all the same as the last time. Only here and there new faces appeared in the crowd, all looking at her. She got a sickening feeling inside of her stomach, and suddenly Cagalli was thrown to the side. The blond fell a few meters away, on the muddy dirt caused by the rain. The ground squished under her weight and all breath escaped her lungs, pain soaring through her entire body from the impact. Her clean dress was now a muddy piece of clothing, drenched from top to bottom. Cagalli pulled herself up from the mud, breathing hard.
"You, stay down!" A hunter came from her right and put his boot on her back, forcing the blond back down again. The mud was too slippery to fight back, therefore Cagalli had no choice but to give in and surrender. She fell back down, a small splash sound made by the water underneath her body. The Hunter wasted no time in binding her hands behind her back. From the way he worked, Cagalli was forced to lie on her side and she nearly went numb for a second. Shinn also towered over her body, giving her nothing but a bitter stare. Her heart raced inside her chest, pounding in her ears a million time harder. The blond was so self-conscious she almost believed they could hear it. The rain kept on poring down, but the thunder had stopped for now. The air felt extra chilly but Cagalli knew it was only her mind paying tricks on her. What an affect fear could have on a person…
Kira was next.
They hurled him out of the carriage, showing no mercy the way they had done with Cagalli. Immediately the brunette was punched in the gut and forced to fall on his knees. A low growl escaped Kira's lips and he tried to fight back, but they all held him firmly on the ground.
"Kira!" Cagalli screamed. She struggled, but with a lot of effort, turned her head around, and took in all her surroundings. But what she saw next brought tears to her eyes.
'Lucerne.'
Lucerne was lying in the mud a few meters away from the broken Carriage. He was to far off, for any of them to reach, and laid there motionless, his clothes soaked from the water. His back was facing them and it was obvious that the butler wasn't breathing at all. And that the blood seeping out from under his back, wasn't just coincidence.
Cagalli was too stunned to respond at what she discovered, and merely laid there, a few tears trickling down her cheeks. When she finally had the strength to speak, her words came out all insecure and her lower lip quivered.
"Lucerne… Is h-he dead?" Kira was second to explode, boiling with rage.
"You dare call us monsters when you go and kill a mere old man, who has nothing to do with this!" By sheer luck he forced himself free from the Hunters grip and stormed off at Shinn.
"No, Kira!" Cagalli warned. She eyed Shinn and he merely stood there emotionless. He suddenly drew a gun from his belt and instead of aiming it at her brother, directed it at Cagalli. He took her by the collar and pulled the blond to her feet, placing the gun on her scull.
"One step closer and I kill this thing right here, right now! Trust me you don't want to test my patience." Kira hastily stopped himself and clenched his hands into balls of fists. Cagalli felt herself go weak in the knees and wanted to cry even more. To say she was scared is an understatement. She was terrified for them.
"My orders," Shinn started, "are to capture this thing and take it to my superiors alive." He nodded to the Hunters and they immediately took hold of Kira again. But this time the brunette let them willingly. Shinn continued, pressing the gun harder into Cagalli's head. Kira was hesitant, but held himself back. Cagalli quivered a bit and turned her head away from the gun as far as possible.
"If anyone even tries to stop me, I'm to kill it on site and the object that made my mission impossible… If you or this thing try and resist, I will not hesitate to pull the guns trigger." Kira glared at him, his facial expressions that of frustration and inner rage. He shouted.
"What are you going to do with her?" Shinn smirked, pulling one side of his mouth upwards. Shinn then replied; using an old saying everyone was familiar with.
"For me to know and you to find out." Cagalli resented what he said, as well as Kira, but the blond also feared for what was waiting for her. Kira prepared himself to lunge forward again.
"No, don't!" Cagalli begged. The brunette stopped.
"Yeah," Shinn prodded. "Why don't you listen to it." He slipped a hand around her neck and brought Cagalli even closer tot him. She felt her lungs burn a little, screaming for more air.
"If my sources are correct, then your ability comes quit handy at times. Why don't you run along and tell your precious freaks, that their little flowers been stolen from them." Kira was fuming inside, and the only thing keeping him sane was the pleading looks Cagalli gave him.
"Run along now, or else," Shinn warned. He sighed and pulled himself from the Hunters. This was battle already lost and there was nothing he could do. Kira gave one last glance at Cagalli and turned away from her.
"I'll be fine, don't worry!" She shouted after him. Shinn grunted at this and had a devious smile about his mouth. Kira walked over to Lucerne and bended down, feeling his heartbeat. He said nothing and picked the old butler up, gently placing him over his shoulder. In an eyes wink he was gone, leaving a stunned Cagalli behind. The Hunters started to pull her away.
"Notify headquarters!" Shinn shouted. He turned to Cagalli. "We fulfilled our objective…"
The blond feared his words and prayed that they would be able to find her again. She then prayed that Lucerne wasn't really dead, that the tears falling down her cheeks weren't really real. That this whole incident was just a dream. But who was she kidding.
Eventually a vision has to come true.
Well how was it? Please review and let me know what you thought about the whole carriage scene! I'd really like to know if I need to improve it more and etc. Were the emotions coming through okay? Or a little too much? R&R! And a special thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter, it means a lot to me!
*DEVILGIRL101*
