"Turn around slowly," ordered the sergeant. "And show me your hands!" Saito reluctantly complied, bringing his hands out from under the cloak. He was grateful that his hood for the moment kept his face hidden, but the boy had to think fast if he was gonna deal with this unexpected adversary.
Louise peered down from bottom of the cockpit. With the light shining on Saito, she was still hidden within the darkness. But she knew they were as good as trapped now that someone had seen them. The stranger drew a weapon, it looked similar to the one she had seen Saito briefly use in the fight against Joseph. As he approached the boy, Louise drew her wand and muttered a quick incantation.
Please work this time! She thought desperately, remembering what happened the last time she cast this spell. The man extended a hand, preparing to remove Saito's hood. When suddenly, Louise rose from the cockpit, wand pointed at her enemy. "Silence!!!"
There was a flash of pink light from the wand and a corresponding glow emanated briefly around the man. He looked over himself, unsure of what was happening. Seeing Louise, he attempted to yell at the girl, but to his shock, no noise came from his mouth. It worked!!! Louise thought triumphantly, pumping her fist in victory.
Saito looked up, realizing what happened, and smiled at the girl's achievement. But their troubles were far from over, as Sergeant Watanabe raised his pistol and pointed it at Louise. Even from the ground, he could see the girl's eyes widen in fear. No!!! Not again!!! Saito thought, and as if on instinct, rushed forward and grabbed his former instructor's arm, jerking it upwards so he was no longer aiming at Louise. A shot rang out and the bullet hit the roof with a loud noise.
Damn, Saito grimaced. Guess the spell only worked on his voice. Someone else will have heard that shot. We won't be alone much longer! The boy tightened his grip on his former instructor's wrist, forcing him to drop the gun. Saito kicked it away out of reach, the woman he loved would not die today.
Watanabe glared, bringing his knee up to strike the boy in his abdomen. It lands squarely, nearly knocking the wind out of Saito and forcing him to let go of his enemy. The Sergeant moved quickly, pulling a knife and lunging at the boy. Saito narrowly dodged, the Sergeant's blade cutting into the cloak. "Draw me, Partner!!" Derf called out. Not needing to be told twice, Saito pulled his knife out and went for the counter attack, his Gandálfr runes shining brightly.
The Sergeant's eyes were drawn towards the light of the runes, briefly distracting him. Saito took that window to slice at Watanabe's arm, cutting him slightly. The man grimaced and retracted his arm, getting into a more defensive stance. Saito knew he and Louise didn't have much time, and if he got into a drag-out knife fight with Watanabe, runes or not he wouldn't get away unscathed. He had to finish this quickly.
Don't be straight forward, he thought, remembering his training with Agnés and Julio. Waiting for the right moment, Saito stepped diagonally to avoid another knife strike. Pivoting quickly, he reversed his own blade so the butt of the handle was facing out. Saito swung downwards to the back of Watanabe's head, just as the instructor brought his blade into an upward slice. Both combatants made impact and there was a dull thud as a body collapsed to the ground.
Sergeant Watanabe was sprawled out unconscious as Saito stood over the man, breathing heavily. "I told you I'd make it," he said ruefully, and he took the knife from his enemy's hand. But as the boy turned away, he felt a sharp pain in his leg. Looking down, Saito saw he was cut deep in his left thigh. "Saito!" Louise came running over, "Are you alright!?"
"He got me, but I'm ok," he replied, ripping off part of his cloak. The boy tied it around his cut, trying to close the wound and slow the bleeding. "You're hurt..." Louise's gasped slightly. "It's a scratch, don't worry," Saito assured the girl. "But we've gotta move fast, they're onto us." The girl nodded with determination, supporting the boy as they hobbled back towards the ladder.
After climbing into the cockpit, Saito's head jerked up as he heard the sound of an alarm. "What's that!?" Asked Louise worriedly. "An alarm!!!" Saito replied as lights started coming on over the airfield. "Crap!!! They're coming!!!" He quickly started up the plane, and they started to move. But before the plane could exit the hanger, the door began to close and soldiers began running towards the building.
"We're too late!" Saito exclaimed. "They're blocking us in!" "Then we'll have to improvise," said Louise, whipping out her wand. "Just like you said, right? 'Improvise, Adapt, Overcome'!" The boy looked at the girl at first taken aback, then smiled in admiration, "Alright then, it's now or never!" The fighter jet barely made it outside as the door lowered shut behind them. The soldiers started shouting as Saito positioned the plane down the runway.
"Are you sure you can hold out?" Louise asked, pointing her wand. "Do it, hurry!!" Said Saito, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder. Louise started to chant her World Door spell and the runes on Saito's chest began to glow through his jacket. "Remember Partner, you've only got a 5 second window once she gets that portal open!" Derf warned. "Any longer, and in your condition you might not survive it!"
The boy was feeling dizzy between the blood loss and the effects of the runes, but he shook his head to keep himself conscious. Finally, the incantation ended and a large portal appeared just down the runway. "Go!!" Louise yelled out, and Saito gunned the engine.
They took off like a rocket on wheels. "One..." Derf began counting as Saito gripped the yoke, Louise keeping her wand pointed ahead. "Two..." The soldiers were rapidly losing ground. "Three..." "We're almost there!" Louise said, "Just hold on a little longer!" "Four..." The plane began to lift off and surged through the portal. A moment later, they were flying through the night sky of Tristain, as evidenced by the two moons.
"Close it!!!" Called Derf. Louise immediately released the spell and the portal vanished. She turned to Saito with a look of cheerful relief, "Saito, we made it!!" Her face fell into worry as she realized the boy was unconscious. The plane began to dip down towards the ground, out of control.
Louise shook the boy, "Saito!? Saito, wake up!! We're going to crash!!!" His eyes shot back open as he took control of the yoke, straining to pull the plane back up. "Come on, come on... Fly up!!!!" He leaned back in the seat, pulling as hard as he could. Louise grabbed on as well, leaning back into the boy as they managed to pull the plane out of its dive and leveled out again.
Saito breathed a sigh of relief, "That was too close." "In more ways than one," Louise added. "That's it, we're never using those runes again!" "I think this time he passed out from blood loss," Derf chimed in. Louise looks at Saito's leg, it's bleeding pretty badly in spite of the makeshift bandage. She rips off more of Saito's torn cloak and puts pressure against the wound.
"The second this thing lands, Partner needs a Healer," Derf continued. "But all in all, you two should feel proud of yourselves. Ya got your big weapon, and Partner even stood up to that jerk he told us about!" Louise looks up, smiling broadly at the boy, "That's right, we did it!! Now we have a better chance against the Ancient Dragon!!"
Saito smiled in response, "Yeah, I can't wait to see the look on Henrietta's face when she sees this thing!" "Hopefully she was able to complete preparations for battle," said Louise. "As long as the Dragon hasn't woken up since we've left..."
"Well the landscape's not on fire," Saito noted grimly. "So I guess we can take that as a good sign. But that could all change any second." Louise finished with Saito's bandage, "We'd better hurry then, thankfully this plane seems faster than the old one." The boy nodded in agreement, as the plane sped through the skies towards the Castle.