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Note: English is not my native language, and I lack beta/proofreader, therefore expect mistakes and wonky grammar.
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It was difficult to say how long the battle lasted. There was a clock in the cockpit but each time he looked at it, it felt as if time stood still, the numbers unchanging. And he was scarcely in the position where he could go top-side and be of use – even if he didn't need to pilot the machina.
And it wasn't easy for Gaius to keep the platform in-line and coordinate with Mark II after the second finally platform rose from the clouds to the side of them. There were cameras, there were sensors but he was still very much unable to tell exactly what was going on. Such was the pace of the battle. On the console, he could read that the Mark II equally struggling to keep its rooted position and keep the containment field in place. Some of the blows made his teeth chatter and one explosion him uprooted and thrown clear across the console. To say that he was reminded of the time in the Ultima Weapon was wholly superfluous.
At one point, the force of the blows tilted the platform so far he swore it would tip over in midair. He hoped it wasn't... No. She couldn't have gone to Oversoul. The Weapon's change upon activation was unmistakable. And there were other irregularities that worried him about the Diamond Weapon.
'Hold it!' Came Cid's voice in Gaius' ear. 'We've nearly got it.'
"What is going on up there?!" He went through several control checks in an attempt to keep the G-Saviour steady, but the response was sluggish at best. "I don't think it will hold much longer."
'She's wearing it down.'
Gaius grunted but held on. That was good news. But he still didn't dare hope. The last few moments of any battle could easily turn the tide.
Mark I and II struggled to keep a synched position for the containment field to hold, but at times it proved too unstable. Or, given that these were Cid's calculations, perhaps the Weapon has proven to be simply too large to hold. Or mayhap, someone here was piloting wrong.
There was a great shudder, like a quake among the clouds.
The power went out and then darkness and silence enveloped the cockpit like a cocoon.
Gaius' heart was practically beating out of his chest, but he couldn't find his hands to move. Everything felt impossibly outside his touch, stifled and hidden by the eerie quiet he found himself with. Like a massive pause had been dumped all around. He tried to contact Cid but nothing came through. Not even static. How bad did things have to be if there wasn't even static?
He didn't even want to think...
O – o – o – o – O
Earlier...
"So we'll force it down?"
"We'll capture it," Cid corrected. "And then we'll make sure to extract Allie before she loses herself to the Weapon." As per the plan, once she had the Weapon's attention G-Saviour Mark II would join them and allow for the creation of a containment field that would let her fight the Weapon and prevent it from falling from the sky. "With Mark II's help, the containment field should be able to hold it in place."
"And where is Nero?"
"Fashionably late, I imagine."
O – o – o – o – O
He did not know how long it was, except that it was much later, when a muffled, crackling voice came through with a '...-t's lost powe-...' – meaning either the pilot or the engines were out. Gaius prayed for the latter. A moment later the emergency power came back, illuminating the cockpit in sickly red, and he realised that Allie's machina was plummeting to the ground. Thinking quickly, Gaius gathered the trajectory of its fall. He was of the mind to go there at once and he signalled Cid to release a manacutter, switching to the simple autopilot that would keep the platform airborne.
Just as he climbed topside he spotted her figure standing at the edge of the platform, looking down to where the machine had disappeared. Armour was torn and burnt, her weapon was gone and her hand was holding onto her side. It has become something of a familiar sight as of late. Was she wounded? The Weapon didn't bleed, and he spotted blotches of blood upon her, so she had to be. There were bloody footprints left behind her, and smears across the platform as if someone had been dragged across.
"How fare you?" It was out of his mouth sooner than he might have liked it, but it went unnoticed. He received a one-sided shrug (indicating that her other was likely injured, though there was no pain on her face to speak of).
"The Oversoul was not activated."
"I know. Perhaps Allie had no time, or she held back. Regardless, we are fortunate in this matter." He watched her as she ran the back of her hand across her lips, wiping away a trail of blood, the aether deliberately used to knit the flesh, not unlike two pieces of metal being welded together. It looked most unpleasant. "But that wasn't my question." His voice showed the same level of concern a general might for the state of his troops, something that was very much in line with who Gaius was.
"I am well enough to continue," she said not looking up and as her tongue darted out to clean the leftover small smear of blood off of her lips, he glared at her. "Is the answer satisfactory enough? What of the coordinates?"
Deciding it was best not to argue now, he simply nodded. "I have them. We should be able to track it down easily."
The manacutter docked to the side and she looked up, their eyes meeting for a brief moment. He nodded and she followed, settling behind him. From up close he spotted a busted lip, shredded clothes under the already shredded armour, and enough burns to make an impact on anyone looking at her state.
She was quiet for the rest of the trip as he took them across the sky.
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Thanks to his skill, general knowledge of the terrain, and a bit of mad driving, they had reached their destination in record time. Here, even the landscape retained the wounds from the bombardment it had endured during the war. It was a town not unlike Terncliff, except utterly abandoned and with not a soul in sight. The smells of war, its blood, sweat, metal, and decay, faded with the distance, replaced by dusty dry forests growing colder. Despite the war having ended, this place had not a single living soul to speak of.
She looked around, scanning her surroundings, her horns straining to pick up the telltale sound of footsteps or that of a machine engine. Safe for the wind howling through the broken buildings, all was quiet. If there were any scavengers, they have likely fled at the sight of a meteor coming down upon them. Still, it was more surprising that the Empire had found no use for this town or the people of this land. Not for food production, not even for potential recruitment.
The Raen frowned and followed him across the ruined landscape, his long stride as he made towards the Weapon's location. It was almost difficult to keep up with him, but he seemed to know where he was going.
"In all the years since the invasion, this place has hardly changed. I was expecting to find some sign of the VIIth Legion here, but it would appear the Diamond Weapon has already taken them out of the equation." He seemed to be more perturbed by the sight than she was. He was the one to conquer these lands, but those who came after have left it to rot. This spoke much of what Garlemald, the country he had served so faithfully for so long, had become.
Passing a band into the small valley, they spotted it – listless, the machine has plowed face-first into the dirt, and with not a trace of energy readings. It had not caught fire and there was no explosion. Almost as if it had merely shut down.
The initial overwhelming wave of relief at sight had curdled into amorphous unease. Was the girl even alive? Will they have to pry out of the suit? Diamond Weapon was massive, even bigger than G-Warrior as machina. They will be in trouble should it activate while they're focused on doin-...
"Allie!"
Spotting the girl first, climbing and stumbling away from the machina, Gaius rushed over to her before she could react, and that did surprise her. Not knowing the direction she was walking before the girl collapsed to the ground just as they reached her. Even from distance, Kebhut could sense something was off with the girl's aether but she was not the best at healing magic, and she knew enough to stabilise her condition. Unconscious but not dead. She had definitely seen better days, but it could have been worse.
"She's still breathing. And she doesn't appear to be wounded either."
Whatever relief he felt, didn't last long. "Please, take her back to Terncliff. I have some unfinished business to attend to..." Not even looking at her, focusing on something only he could see his eyes turned to the front of the machina, half-resentment and mostly anger, saying nothing else to her because that seemed to be his preferred way to shut people out, if not outright lie to their face.
This was personal, in more than simply a case of family matter gone horribly wrong. It wasn't her place to interfere. But watching the man as he walked towards the front of the machina... He walked with purpose. And with dread. She knew that walk. She had walked it herself often enough.
With a brief nod, that could be read as a 'I trust you not to take too long,' she picked the girl up and carried her over to where the manacutter waited for them.
O – o – o – o – O
She had performed as asked, delivering Allie to Terncliff and into chirurgeon's capable hands. The girl was out for the entire trip, and she couldn't do much more as she was. The healers would likely have a better idea if anything was amiss with her.
Later and after taking care of her own wounds, she spoke briefly with Severa and Valdeaulin. And while they were relieved with the outcome, they still had many things that caused concern, about as much as they had to look forward to.
"She's been in a state of shock ever since she returned," Severa informed her. "We've even called Cid to see if he can ascertain what the problem might be. But for the time being, all we can do is wait."
Kebhut pondered the possibility that the Diamond Weapon itself was what caused Allie to close herself off like that, but she had no deeper insight on the circumstances surrounding the machina or the girl herself.
"I should tell you, while you were confronting the Diamond Weapon, the Werlyt Revolutionaries have seized the opportunity, and have taken control of the city. Not without a cost, though."
"Loses?" The Raen asked.
"Considerable, but they have at last gained their freedom," Valdeaulin supplemented. This, all of it, was a major step in retaking their freedom. Kebhut played her small part in it – as she had played in many others. Hopefully, they'll be drowned in day-to-day business, and forget about her soon enough.
"We also received a message from Gaius. Valens van Varro and the Weapon project are no more. I assume he is on the way back, even as we speak."
That was obvious enough. If the Ultima Weapon didn't kill him, this won't either. Not with Allie alive. Gaius didn't seem to her a man who'd wish to fail his only surviving child twice.
The Raen gave a small nod, and looked towards the hangar. "Then I will take my leave." If she was to argue, Severa stopped herself and Kebhut continued, "There isn't much more for me to handle in the area. And I have other obligations."
"Of course. I imagine he'd want to speak to you, after everything... but he knows that your time is in high demand."
The Warrior stared blankly at the woman, as if some grave insult had just slipped pass her lips. It lasted for perhaps a moment too long, enough to make the 'farewells' quite uncomfortable. Indeed, when the small Raen turned and left for the airship, Severa did let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
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