Note - Disseminated intravascular coagulation, or DIC, is a syndrome that is pretty much when you've bled too much in too many places and your body can't produce enough clotting factors to stop all the bleeding at one time. In a nutshell: Is not good.
- The whole he/she thing is going to be a bit weird near the end...remember she's a she, but not to certain people.

Tenkuu no Ryuugekitai - Saigo Kangeki

'Subject seems to be regaining consciousness.'

Where am I? The lights were too bright. The room was too cold. Couldn't move...

'Begin xenohematic transfusion testing...'

***

Gatti rubbed his eyes and yawned as he half-awoke. He stretched out his cramped legs, and looked around the darkened room. The full moon was partially hidden by a cloud, only faintly lighting his bedroom. With another yawn, Gatti went to snuggle back down on his chair when he heard Shanti whimper slightly. He watched her silhouette and saw her twitching.
Must be dreaming.

***

'...now.'

There was a mechanical-sounding noise. A prickly sensation, like pins and needles, spread through her veins slowly. Most of the strange feeling seemed to be concentrating in her back, right around her shoulder blades.

'Little effect.' the voice came again.

'Noted.' A second voice came from the opposite side, startling her.

'Increase fusion by 3%.'

The sensation changed to painful throbbing. She winced.


***

The Dragon Slayer watched the girl as she appeared to be struggling against something. She started to mumble, though incoherently at first. Gatti listened closely, and heard bits of what she was saying. Tilting his head towards her, he heard one phrase being repeated again and again.

'Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop...'

***

Her breath became ragged as she tried to fight the agonizing pressure that was building in her upper torso.

'Subject is resisting. Increase to twice the amount.'

'That high? Prediction states that the subject will not-'

'Increase to twice the amount.' The command was given again, this time slowly and coldly. There was a slight hesitation as the second being nodded the affirmative.
The pain was too over-powering, and she shuddered. As the burning wave crashed through her a last time, she let loose a long, agonized scream that echoed off the walls.

***

'Shanti...wake up,' Gatti reached over and nudged her rigid body gently. 'You're having a bad dream.' He nudged her again. Shanti's eyes sprung open, and she gasped.

'W... wha...?' The Highlander blinked and lifted her head up. Gatti yawned and poked her.

'You okay? You sounded like you were having a nightmare.' Shanti reached up and touched his face, as if trying to reassure herself that he was still there.

'I- I guess I was...' The boy reached up and touched the back of her hand, frowning as he felt three small bumps located just below her knuckles. He started to feel around one of the bumps with his bare finger, but it was too tender for the Highlander's liking and she pulled her hand away. Gatti sighed.

'What was your dream about, do you remember?' he asked.

'Test complete.' The voice sounded morbidly satisfied. 'Return subject to her room.'
Shanti shook her head, as if the action would clear her mind of all the memories.

'No,' she replied softly. 'I don't remember.'

'Alright, then,' Gatti yawned. 'Well...try and get some sleep, alright?' Shanti nodded, and lay her head back down onto the pillow. She breathed in, and a sweet scent filled her nose...a pleasant mixture of sweat and cologne. The scent of Gatti...

What am I doing? The Highlander instantly became grateful the boy seemed fast asleep.
Silly. Don't act like a little girl. You're not falling in love with him, are you?

*****

We'll see who this Highland freak thinks he is, Dalet took another angry swig of the bottle in his hand. Vino. Master Dilandau was particularly fond of the drink, so all Dalet had to do was wait until the albino commander had gone to bed before sneaking into his stash. The liquor gave a faint burning sensation as it went down; leaving a semi-sweet after-taste. He wouldn't normally have drunk anything...but tonight was different.
The files are in here somewhere. Pushing a few dark strands of his chin-length hair behind his ears, Dalet bent over the box of papers and went through each one. The Dragon Slayer waited until an hour or so after lights-out, when he was sure everyone was asleep. For extra measure, he had popped a couple sleeping pills into the soup they had eaten for supper...just in case. When all was quiet in the Vione, he crept down to Folken's laboratory and peeked inside. For once it seemed Lord Folken wasn't there, bent over some concoction he had conjured up. Dalet thought perhaps the Strategos decided to act human for once and had gone to bed. However, the door had been unlocked, so Folken might return at any time. With that thought, the Slayer returned to his task with more determination.
There must be something on him! Something about his past. He took another drink. The bottle was getting lighter, but that was alright. There was another bottle. Suddenly, Dalet came upon a stack of paper that had been tied together. Opening the cover page, he saw to his delight that there was a short biography on the Highlander. On further inspection, however, he was disappointed that many of the words were blacked out.
They wouldn't do this to an original. This is a copy. So where's the original? Dalet continued to search through the stack, starting on a new bottle of vino. A random thought crossed his mind that he was going to get very drunk and was going to have a very bad hangover the next morning. The thought was quickly distinguished when his eyes fell upon an old sheet of paper, covered in slightly faded writing and free of black marks. Attached to the page was a small picture of an extremely young-looking Shanti.

'Number: 913
Name: Shantian naMorrighán Namuriel
Age: 9 years
Sex: Female

Purple, 3rd Moon. Testing begun. Subject is female, 9 years of age. We will start with periodical xenohematic fusion before continuing on...'
Dalet froze, and he glanced back to the beginning.
'Subject is female'? He's... a she?? Dalet took a long drink from the vino bottle and stared at the words. His head was starting to spin, and it was becoming hard for him to read the ink, yet he still stared. A slow, nasty grin crept onto his face as he hastily stuffed the papers back into the box, grabbed his half-finished bottle and staggered towards the door.
*****

Shanti peered up at the Dragon Slayer's form, watching his chest rise and fall in the moonlight and listening to his soft snoring.
You're so troublesome. Shanti closed her eyes with a sigh.
He's been so kind to you, and you repay him with lies. How selfish. Her eyes opened. Without even thinking, she lifted herself up and gingerly walked across the cold floor towards the window. The Highland girl stood in front of the giant window, looking up at the full moon. It seemed so unreal; that she would be here, with Gatti, with the moon. Alive. As a sharp pain flared up in her back, she decided to distract herself by very quietly humming.
The sound woke Gatti up from his doze, and he peered over at the source of the singing. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he watched her tilt her head to one side and play with her braid. He was about to go over and join her when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. The boy stared intently into the shadows, watching for any further movement. Seeing nothing, he shrugged it off... until something caught his eye. The moonlight was glistening off of some unknown object. Gatti looked back at Shanti, and was alarmed to see a shadow approaching from behind. It took him a split-second to realize what the light had reflected off of.

'Shanti, behind you!' The girl turned around in time to see the blade come slashing down.

*****

Migel sat up in his bed and ran his fingers, frustrated, through his hair.
Can't sleep, can't sleep, can't sleep. He sang the mantra in his head as he groped around in the darkness for the crutch Mikyla had given him, found it, knocked it over, found it again, and used it to stand himself up. Finding and lighting a lamp, he crutched his way outside his room and down the hall. The Slayer found that a good walk along the catacomb-like halls of the Vione always made him feel better. Tonight he would improvise, limping up and down the hallway of the clinic. Having to rely on a crutch was a new thing for Migel, and soon his chestnut hair was plastered to his forehead with the effort of moving around. He still didn't feel like sleeping, either.

'Migel...?' Turning his head to the soft sound, Migel saw Dante light his lamp through the open door. The Slayer hobbled over to his friend's bedside and, with the grace of a pregnant land dragon, sat himself down on a nearby chair.

'Couldn't sleep?' Migel whispered. The other boy weakly tossed his bi-coloured hair and rolled his brown eyes. Dante had been tied into a sitting position for his own comfort. The cuts that criss-crossed his body were still painfully sensitive, and were prone to bleeding that was extremely difficult to stop. According to Mikyla, he'd had another bleeding spell earlier that day, and was thus covered in wrappings that seemed to be an inch thick.

'How's your throat...?' he asked, his voice sounding faint. Migel shrugged.

'Hurts... how're your cuts?' Dante rolled his eyes again and winced.

'Hurt. Rather have Master 'Landau hit me. Used to pain though, 'cept when bleeds...' His words were becoming progressively slurred, but he gave a weak grin as if trying to brush off his frailty. ''Ky says I got somethin'... big word... dis-disseminated in... travascular co-ag-yooh-lation.' Dante finished proudly. Seeing the confused look on Migel's face, he explained further. 'Got somethin' to do with not bein' able... to clot.' The other nodded, and was silent for a moment.

'Look at us...' Migel's whisper held a tinge of irony. 'Stuck in this small place, our uniforms in pieces, can't even lift a sword... if I still had one...' He shook his head. 'If Master Dilandau were here, he'd say we're a pathetic disgrace to the Dragon Slayers,'

'Yah,' Dante quipped with a smirk. 'Can't e'en sleep at night. The shame,' Migel smiled at the absolutely mortified tone he used. Dante suddenly turned serious. 'You gotta promise you'll get outta here... tell Mas' 'Landau what happened...'

'But I don't have a guymelef,' Migel protested.

'My 'Seides... outside gate... hid it. Use,' Dante coughed weakly. 'Please.' With a sigh, the other boy nodded his head, and Dante fell silent. Migel thought he had fallen asleep when the dark-eyed boy spoke again. 'Do me a favor...?'

'Sure.' Dante's dull eyes held a special sparkle in them now.

'Go out... buy me a ring. Gold in pouch on belt...' he motioned to a pile of what was left of his uniform. 'Pawn sword if you have to.'

'A ring?' Migel didn't understand until he saw the silly grin that was creeping onto the other's face. Feeling his heart slowly starting to break, he asked, 'For Mikyla...?' The other nodded, the sparkle in his eyes making him seem more alive.

'I love her... more than anything else. I want to marry her,'

'Aren't you too young?' He knew his argument was useless, but he tried anyway.

'The day I became a Dragon Slayer...was the day I became a man. That happened to all of us, Migel. Wars make you grow up fast.' The truth and finality in Dante's tone crushed him, but Migel's honor overpowered him and he nodded.

'I'll buy you a ring.' A sense of serenity filled Dante, and he let his exhaustion overtake him.

'Thanks...' he whispered before his head dropped and he fell asleep.

*****

Shanti leapt back, the blade barely missing her. Several red strands of hair floated to the ground. Before she could act, the owner of the sword lunged and knocked her to the floor. Pushing her roughly onto her stomach, her attacker rested his knee directly between her shoulder blades.

'Drop your sword, Gatti,' came a cold, familiar voice. Shanti heard footsteps hesitate, then stop as the knee dug into her back and caused her to yelp.

'Dalet.' A sword crashed onto the floor. 'Let her go.'

'Her?' Dalet seemed amused. 'Don't you mean him? Or are you tired of this charade? You're not the only one smart enough to look at files, though I don't know how you got them so easily...Folken must've felt sympathy for a fellow freak.' Directing his comments to Shanti, the dark-haired Slayer smirked.
'I know what you are,' he said, his voice taking on a perfect imitation of the creature that had tried to kill her so long ago. Shanti went cold as he continued on in the same taunting manner.
'Don't worry,' he leaned in close, 'when your secret is discovered, you'll be dead.' His breath carried the distinctive smell of vino - he was highly intoxicated.

'You sent them.' she stated, surprised by her own calmness. Dalet's drunken laughter filled the room, mirthless and bitter.

'Very good! I was wondering how long that would take you,' He suddenly forced his knee deeper between her shoulder blades. 'Stop moving Gatti. I still have this sword,'

'You coward,' the other boy's voice shook with anger. 'What is your problem? Leave her alone.' Dalet suddenly jerked, causing his knee to hit one of the gouges straight on.

'It's HER fault!' he screamed over Shanti's pained wail. 'He deserved more than this...but to be replaced by a GIRL? A lab-rat! Migel... I won't allow him to be replaced!'

'We all miss him, Dalet!' Gatti screamed back at him. 'You know that! When Master Dilandau told us he had died... a piece of us died with him! Stop being so selfish! How dare you-'

'How dare YOU!' Dalet's lilac eyes filled with anguished tears, his tone radically changing. 'What do you know, Gatti? Everyone else looks up to you... You weren't there! You don't know!' The dark-haired Slayer shook his head furiously, his hair swirling around his head. 'You - don't - know.' Gatti saw Dalet's change in mood, and tried a softer, more conversational tone.

'Then tell me. What don't I know, Dalet?' He edged closer, inch by inch, to the half-crazed boy. 'Tell me.'

'I heard him,' Dalet started shaking his head again, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. 'In my Alseides. The line was open, and I heard him try to capture the Dragon...for Master Dilandau. His unit was damaged... but if he concentrated all his power into one Crima Claw...' Shanti bit her lip to stay silent, even though his knee caused her agonizing pain. This was their battle.
'I heard him - oh, Gatti! If only you had heard his screams as his guymelef was destroyed. He escaped, only to...' He began to rock back and forth, his hands on his head. Gatti moved slightly more closer, until he was almost an arm's length away.
'I still have nightmares. Migel reaching out for help as that... thing kills him... its claws wrap around his throat, and he screams... and I can't do anything,' Dalet suddenly slammed his fists down onto the ground.
'I couldn't save him! I sat there... listening... should have told him to escape,' Slowly, Gatti reached out and put his hand gently on the boy's shoulder.

'Dalet, you couldn't have done anything. Migel did it for Master Dilandau,' Dalet looked up with glazed, blank eyes. 'Even if you had said anything, you know Migel wouldn't have listened. His loyalty blinded him, Dalet. That's what killed him,'

'Killed him,' His hair covering his eyes as he bowed his head, Dalet mumbled incoherently. He seemed to be fighting some inner demon. Gatti's words made sense... and yet... Standing up, Dalet struggled to keep his balance as he reached for his sword. Seeing Shanti trying to sit up, Gatti reached out and helped her. Dalet's eyes narrowed. 'You've forgotten him,'

'No, I haven't,' the ash-blond boy shook his head. He'd never forget Migel.

'You have.' Dalet said accusingly. 'It didn't take you long to forget him, with this... girl around. She's poisoned your mind,'

'Look, the alcohol's gone to your head. You're not thinking right, Dalet,' After making sure she could stand, Gatti left Shanti and cautiously approached the maddened boy, who glared at him. There was an insane look in those lilac eyes... 'Dalet, come on, I haven't forgotten Migel. I've just moved on,' He tried to reach out, but the Slayer jerked back as if Gatti had touched him with a hot iron.

'Don't touch me, don't touch me, DON'T TOUCH ME!' Dalet shrieked and brought his hand up to his head. 'Someone... has to pay... someone,' His glazed eyes moved over to Shanti. There was a moment's pause as he tried to make sense of his thoughts.
Kill her.
I can't.
She's turning them all against you.
No...
Can't you see it? They've already forgotten him. Everything was fine until she came and replaced him.
But I can't!
If you kill her, they'll mourn, but move on. It doesn't matter if you kill her. They'll forget her soon enough. Then they'll remember Migel.
'Then they'll remember Migel.'

'What?' Gatti's brow furrowed in confusion as he heard Dalet mutter something. Suddenly, those lilac eyes flashed and looked into his own grey ones. Mirrored in those eyes was an insane fury. Dalet was beyond all reasoning. All the grief that had built up, mixed with the vino, had finally pushed him over the edge.

'It doesn't matter if I kill her,' he said softly, his voice sounding almost giddy. 'Everything will be fine if she's gone,' without any warning, the deranged Slayer lunged for Shanti, sword drawn. As she dodged, Gatti drew his own sword and slammed his body into Dalet, throwing him off balance.

'I don't want to fight you, but I won't let you hurt her.' Gatti took a defensive position in front of the Highlander. Seeing this, Dalet became even more infuriated.

'You would choose a weak, pathetic GIRL over one of us?'

'Dalet, listen to yourself! She IS one of us!' Dalet shook his head and lunged again, this time for Gatti. Their swords met in a loud clash before they broke off. The longer-haired boy continued his relentless attack, causing Gatti to focus all his energy into blocking.
He had sparred against the Slayer many times in training, but this time Dalet wasn't holding back. This time...Gatti was sure Dalet would kill him.
But this isn't Dalet.He thought to himself, dodging a strike to his head. He wouldn't do this. Suddenly he felt a stinging pain as the other made a swipe at his arm. Gatti winced as he felt blood dripping down his bare skin. It was an uneven fight; Dalet wore his armor, while Gatti had nothing but his uniform pants and an undershirt.
'Dalet, I know you're in there somewhere!' He lifted his sword up as Dalet brought his own blade slashing down.

'Everything was fine until she came,' the long-haired Slayer intoned emotionlessly. Sparks flew as metal rubbed against metal, each blade fighting for the upper hand. Their eyes locked.

'You don't have to do this! Migel wouldn't want it to be like this! Dragon Slayers shouldn't fight each other!' Gatti searched the lilac eyes in vain, straining for any sign of comprehension, but Dalet kept up his blank, zombie-like countenance. They broke apart, the moonlight from the window glistening on the sweat that dripped down their bodies. Panting, the grey-eyed Slayer warily watched Dalet circle him like a predator circles its prey. There was a tense moment of silence, then a terrifying scream as Dalet flew at him, sword thrusting, parrying, then thrusting again. So intense was their fighting that the appearance of several Dragon Slayers escaped their attention. Gatti hesitated as he heard Shesta call out, telling them to stop - a mistake. Seizing the opportunity, Dalet knocked the sword out of his hand and slammed into him. Both boys landed hard on the nearby windowsill, leaving Gatti momentarily stunned. He felt the smooth leather of Dalet's gloves slip around his throat and tighten.

'For Migel.'

*****

Dante's uneven breathing was the only sound in the room. Migel stared at his comrade.
'How unfortunately lucky you are,' he whispered. 'You don't have to go back to Master Dilandau... you can stay here with your love,' Dante made no reply, his eyes shut tightly as he slept, his head hanging almost grotesquely down across his upright torso.
'Perhaps I don't have to return...if they think I am dead. But how honourable is it to keep up that pretense? If we ever met again, would they think me a coward? The best of them, running away. For what? A girl?' His grey-green eyes filled with irony. How fitting that the most hardened Dragon Slayer; the best swordfighter and pilot, second only to Master Dilandau, perhaps the most emotionless...would give that all up for one girl.
'Not just any girl,' he murmured. 'A girl who would never love me back, the woman of a fellow Dragon Slayer. Soon to be the wife of one,' the boy found this thought amusing. 'You'll get married, yes... and if you recover,'
If?
'will you return to Master Dilandau? Leave your love and return to your commander, the one who made you what you are? Even if it meant your death?' Migel shook his head, laughing at himself for being so thoughtful.
'I wonder... if you can hear me in your dream world. If you can hear me rambling,' the Slayer bent forward. 'If you can hear me say what I can never say... that I love Mikyla.' Feeling as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Migel continued without any thought as to who might be listening. Not at this hour.
'I'm sure it's not just infatuation... or striving for it because I can't attain it... but the way she moves, the way she does her hair, the way those dark, deep eyes look into my very soul... This feeling, this emotion... this is love, hey?' He paused, tilting his head to one side. He was sure he had heard a noise somewhere... No, he told himself. He was the only one awake. Without warning, Mikyla's white kitten jumped up into his lap, startling him.
So you're the one making all the noise, hey little one? Migel yawned and stretched, but the tiny feline demanded his attention with a persistent meow. Scratching behind the kitten's snowy ears, the boy decided he would return to his room once he could persuade himself to move.
Mikyla...

On the other side of the wall, a girl had her hand to her mouth with her dark eyes wide, hardly daring to believe the words that had drifted to her ears.

*****

Gatti thrashed as his air was cut off. He reached up to pry the fingers from his neck, his legs involuntarily kicking as he fought to breathe. The smell of alcohol was over-powering...Shesta and Guimel were moving towards them...Shanti... One of his legs connected with the windowsill, and the power pushed Gatti into Dalet, and Dalet into the window. Glass shattered as the momentum broke through, and the two Slayers were thrown out into the cold night air. Dalet released Gatti, his arm shooting out to grab the broken pane. Gatti's fingers struggled for a hold as he slid down the rough surface of the floating fortress.
NononononoNO! Seeing the edge of the Vione, his mind screamed as he dug his bare fingers into the rocky outside, scraping the skin raw. Suddenly, he stopped. Opening one grey eye very carefully, Gatti looked up to see Dalet high above him. He wouldn't dare look down. He moved his legs moved slowly, and he felt nothing but air.
Oh, god. He was clinging, by his fingertips, several hundred costa high up in the night sky with only two directions to go- up or down.

'Gatti!' Shanti watched as the boy slammed through glass and fell as if in slow motion. While the boys were fighting, she had forced herself to scramble down the corridors and wake up Shesta and Guimel, and in doing so woke up Viole and a boy with glasses she'd forgotten the name of.
Shanti held her breath as Shesta and Guimel ran to the window, peering fearfully over the edge.

'I can see him! He's holding on to the edge,' Shesta squinted, trying to make out Gatti's pale body in the full moonlight.
'Don't move Gatti!' he called. As the boy with glasses went to go find a rope, Guimel and Shesta reached down to hoist Dalet up. As the two boys dragged their comrade into the safety of the room, the lilac-eyed Slayer brushed against some glass. The shards wavered, and then fell, heading straight towards Gatti. Before either Guimel or Shesta could warn him, Gatti was pummeled with the broken glass. One shard stabbed into his hand, causing him to weaken, and lose his grip.

'Gatti! NO!' Hearing Guimel's cry, Shanti sprinted gingerly towards them, looking out the window in time to see Gatti seemingly hang there in mid-air... then fall.

Gatti thrust out a hand, his fingers brushing the stone before touching nothing but air. As he fell into the clouds, the cold air whipping around him, he could hear Shanti screaming his name.

'GATTI!'

Goodbye, Shanti...