Note - A miet is the equivelant to about 30 seconds.

'Each time on my leaving home
I run back to my mother's arms,
One last hold and then it's over.'

'Watching me, you know I cry,
You wave a kiss to say goodbye,
Feel the sky fall down upon me!'
-Evacuee, Enya

Tenkuu no Ryuugekitai - Dassuru!


'Dante? Dante wake up,' Mikyla nudged the sleeping boy gently, but repeatedly. 'Come on now, wake up... we have to go now.' With a weak groan, he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

'We have to leave now... up you get - that's right,' The girl found a warm shirt for him, and dressed him in it. Flicking a dredlock out of her eyes, Mikyla assessed the situation with a building sense of hopelessness. She had a cart of all the medical supplies and belongings they might need for the trip, and her mother had warned all their patients - those too sick to leave stayed, and her mother had decided to stay with them. Mikyla tried to convince her otherwise, but to no avail.

'It is the fate of those born in Freid,' she said simply, and no amount of pleading or yelling would change her mind. Mikyla and Dante would have to brave the Zaibach onslaught alone.

As she was desperately trying to figure out how to carry Dante and pull the cart, she heard the familiar tap, tap, tap of a wooden crutch. She turned her head and was startled to see Migel standing at the doorway, panting and looking as if he had seen a ghost. Migel walked as silently as a cat, save for the crutch, and Mikyla wasn't waiting for his leg to heal any time soon, lest he take it upon himself to start creeping up on her.

'Saw... them... but Zaibach...'melefs are,' he took a deep breath, running his hand nervously through his long hair. 'Knowing Master Dilandau, they'll surround the city. We have to leave now.'

'But... what do I do?' Mikyla asked, gesturing towards the unloaded boxes and Dante.

'I'll carry him. Load the box, say your goodbyes, and be ready to leave five miets ago,' He strode over, and put Dante's arm around his neck.

'But how will you-'

'GO.' With a nod, Mikyla grabbed the heavy box and waddled out to the awaiting cart, the Dante-carrying Migel not far behind. As she tied the ropes down tightly, she heard a series of loud crashes echo from the far distance.

'Guymelefs landing,' explained Migel. Mikyla told him to get a head start, and ran back into the house before he could protest.

'Mama? Mama, we're going,' she cried, throwing herself into her mother's embrace.

'Please be safe, baby,' her mother whispered as they hugged each other tightly. They broke apart, and the mother regarded her daughter with pride. 'You've grown up so much... I'm so proud of you, 'Kyla.'

'I love you, mama...'

'I love you, too.' she smiled, and Mikyla felt her eyes burning.

Don't cry. You're a big girl... don't cry. 'Well... 'bye...' she said, fearing if she spoke any more she would collapse altogether, kissing her mother on the cheek. With one last helpless look, she walked calmly out the door.

Outside, the tears spilt down her cheeks with unprecedented freedom. Wordlessly, she picked up the handles of the cart, and pulled it quickly to catch up with Migel and Dante.

She called out his name in a choked sort of voice and Migel, who had indeed managed to half-carry, half-drag the ragdoll that was Dante, slowed down. The tears dripping from her face was enough to tell him how she was. As they hurried along, Migel limping along at a remarkable speed, they heard a loud series of echoing crashes, and in the distance saw mighty dustclouds rise into the air. Seeing the confusion on Mikyla's face, Migel said quietly, his raspy voice taking an ominous overtone,

'They're here,'

*****

A report came in that the Freidan army had been divided into three sections, each rumoured to be led by the Duke of Fried, the Knight Caeli and the Dragon. Knowing that, without warning, they may find themselves fighting against the Knight Caeli, Allen Schezar, only increased the Dragon Slayers' battlelust. Ever since he and his men had attacked the Vione to rescue Van Fanel, their captured Dragon, the battles had become personal.

Dilandau in particular had a personal vendetta against Van, for the miserable wretch had scarred Dilandau's perfectly beautiful face. In one singular stroke, the pale skin had been broken, blood had been spilt, and a long, thin red line ran from temple to mouth. The very second that Fanel's blade had touched his cheek, in Dilandau's mind, Van had made a deathwish.
And so it was Dilandau's sole purpose in life to make sure that wish was granted. But, he thought, in the mean time he would still have some fun.

'Burn! Burn! BURN!!' His jubilant cries filled the air as flames poured from the guymelef's arm. Fire danced all around them as the Alseides moved through the burning city. Dilandau swirled around, practically skipping in the machine as he shot fire from one arm, and skewered the Fried 'melefs with the other. He gleefully imagined them, sitting in their ugly machines and wondering frantically where the fire had come from...where were the Invisible Giants?
A thick chain whipped around, coming dangerously close to Dilandau. His garnet eyes narrowed as he saw the brown form of a Freidan 'melef clutching its long spear, the chain attached. The commander hid the arms underneath the Stealth Cloak, and crept up to the panicking Freidan. Suddenly, the entire side of the Alseides' arm swung forward, creating two long scythes. With a triumphant cry he swept the arm forward. The Friedan had only moments to see the long red arm appear out of nowhere before the scythes embedded themselves into the 'melef. For a split second, Dilandau held the squirming enemy against the ground before he wrenched his arm back, hurling the lesser guymelef through the air. It slammed into a stone wall, and collapsed into broken pieces on the ground.
Crowing happily, Dilandau marched past it and led his men towards the forbidding temple where the enemy had begun to retreat.

'Is he always this ah ... cheerful?' Shanti asked demurely as she batted the head off a Freidan. Gatti smirked as he heard mad giggling over the intercom - Dilandau had torched his way through another line of Freidans. He had opened a private line with Shanti, though they barely spoke as enemy units came flying at them, spears in hand. Skewering a 'melef with his Crima Claw, Gatti watched Shanti fight out of the corner of his eye. Against Dilandau's orders, the Highlander decided to not use the Stealth Cloak, stubbornly stating that it got in the way. So, naturally, any units that escaped their comrades' onslaught zoomed straight for her, and, not surprisingly, Gatti saw she was encircled by three 'melefs.

The liquid metal formed into three curved claws on each emerald arm, reminding Gatti of a cat. As one Freidan lunged at her, Shanti stepped daintily out of the way and brought one sickled hand down upon the back of the 'melef, impaling it almost right through. With the other hand she reached in front and put it through the energist. Its power source gone, the machine fell to the ground, breaking apart as it did. The other two wasted no time in attacking; one came up from behind and pulled the chain tightly around front of the Alseides as if to garrote it. As Shanti clawed at the chain, the second flew at her with its spear pointed directly at the cockpit. When she made no attempt at dodging, Gatti armed a Crima Claw and stepped towards the charging 'melef. Just as Gatti was about to fire the Claw to save her, the green Alseides twisted impossibly, swinging the brown unit around so they switched places. Momentum carried the second right into his comrade, and the spear ran directly through him. As an agonized scream emitted from the 'melef, Gatti heard Shanti inhale sharply and curse over the com-link. The spear had also been driven through her unit, and pinned them together.

'Shoot it!!' she shrieked as the Freidan pulled the spear out of his fellow soldier's guymelef, steadied it for the killing blow, and charged.

Gatti sent a large gush of liquid metal towards the enemy. The metal solidified into a long spike that pierced though the armored plating into the face of the guymelef, crushing the soldier inside.
Gatti scanned the battlefield quickly, searching for more enemy units, and finding none. He listened in to Shanti's frequency, the voices of Guimel making an inane comment about Dalet's fighting, and Dalet telling him to shut up becoming fuzzy with the change of line.

'You alright?' he asked. The Alseides staggered as it pushed the other 'melef away from it, and Gatti could see fluid flowing from the gaping hole in the cockpit. Although the spear had missed the exact center, the hole was still large enough to have ripped off a leg. There was a long silence on the other end, and as he went to ask again with growing concern, he heard Shanti murmer brightly,

'Naah...'tis but a scratch.' She sniffed, and a hip, with its leg still attached, appeared in the hole. 'Not much room to move around in here, is there?' The arms turned inward, and the claws disappeared as Shanti went to patch the hole with liquid metal. Gatti watched, commenting,

'Master Dilandau's going to kill you. He went insane when Shesta and Dalet only dented theirs,'

'Oh, come on! All it needs is a little paint here and there...he won't know the difference! Besides,' she added as an afterthought. 'I quite like the pleasant breeze.'

She's mad. She's absolutely raving mad. 'Right, so...I guess we'll stand guard here then, shall we?' Gatti changed frequencies to inform Dilandau that they were holding up the back, but he didn't think his voice was heard over the maniacal cackling. Switching back, he listened to Shanti hum a merry tune as she began to pull down wires and gears to help conceal the hole. His mind began to wander idly while he waited, and he looked about the burning remnants of the city around him.
This place looks familiar...isn't this the market? The entire square had been burnt, tiny blazes still dancing in the air up and down the street. The bustling marketplace, once so alive with teeming throngs of people, now lay as still as a ghost town. He glanced downwards, and froze when he saw a pile of splintered, burnt wood swathed in green fabric that still smoked faintly.

'Looking for a ring? I'll help you find the perfect one for your ladyfriend!' Thousands of tiny sparkling objects twinkled up at him like stars, scattered as dew-drops across the charred ground.
'I've lived here all my life...I will die here.' In horror, Gatti lifted the guymelef's foot, and prodded through the blackened wood in sad desperation.

*****

It was easy to manouevre through the marketplace, where the crowds had stopped to listen for more of the confusing loud noises. Mikyla wanted to scream at them all to run away for their lives, but Migel had strictly forbidden her to say a word. If a single person became panicked, the entire area would become a hysterical mob - creating deadly pandemonium.

He was good at ordering people around, Migel.

He'd have made an excellent general. Mikyla thought. She was starting to feel a bit guilty for yelling at him before, when now he was risking his own life to help her and Dante. It may have been the camaraderie between them, or perhaps some honour thing, but secretly Mikyla thought he was also doing it for her.

As they wove through streets and alleys, another loud crash was heard, and this time it continued on. She looked over her shoulder for a moment, and glimpsed a great fountain of fire erupting in the distance.

'Don't look back!' Migel shouted at her. Mikyla turned her head forwards, her dredlocks whipping into her eyes. Suddenly, the entire horizon seemed to explode, the sky itself ablaze. Out of the smoke and flame the ghostly silhouettes of guymelefs appeared briefly, before disappearing - 'Stealth Cloaks!'. Mikyla forced herself to ignore the screams of panic of her countrymen, and the igniting buildings all around her. Everything within her told her to run the other way, flee from the oncoming attack, but again, Migel had anticipated this.

'We'll be surrounded,' he had said. 'Master Dilandau will use the Stealth Cloaks, and burn everything he can. You must stay with me, do you understand? You can't stop and think, you must listen to what I say and do it. Is that clear?' Mikyla smiled a little, recalling how she had fought the urge to stop and salute to him.
Strange how she would be smiling when her country burned to the ground all around her.

'We're almost at the walls. Get ready!' He sounded exhausted now, a sheen of sweat covering his face and dripping from his nose. Mikyla nodded, trying to ignore the sweat that stung her eyes. The cart now seemed ten times as heavy, and it was so hot... Just behind her, a building began to break apart as the fire gutted it. The heat was unbearable, so thick that Mikyla could hardly breathe. Smoke was everywhere, too, billowing black clouds that covered the entire sky in an ash blanket. The crackling of sparks and cries of people were nothing compared to the constant pounding that seemed to be getting louder. The ground shook underneath her feet with each footfall of the approaching guymelefs.

But where are they? Panic and fear was rising inside of her, refusing to be quelled while trees and buildings collapsed around her. Twice she dodged the smoking remains of a house as it hurtled towards them. The fire intensified, smoke filling her lungs and the pounding, her ears. Migel paused at a crossroads, looking frantically about him.

'Which way?' he shouted, adjusting Dante. Mikyla lifted her head to answer him, and out of the corner of her eye she watched as a tree swayed dangerously towards them, then with a deafening crack, break in half.

'Look out!' Migel's head snapped up seconds before the burning wood crashed down on him.

*****

'What's wrong, Gatti? What do you see?' Shanti asked, concerned at the sharp intake of breath from the other side. Curiously she watched as the blue machine suddenly pitched forward, and heard a choked noise over the com-link. Gatti picked something up out of the rubble, holding it delicately in a liquid metal bowl. She moved beside for a better look, and saw it was a body of what once had been a beast-man. A fox, she thought, judging from the traces of red fur underneath the black smudges of ash.

'I told you...' Gatti whispered, cradling the body gently. 'I told you to leave... why didn't you? Why??' Shanti jumped at the anguished scream, confused as the blue 'melef began to dig a hole in the ground. Gatti's cockpit suddenly opened, and as he leapt out she saw his cheeks were flushed. Soundlessly she watched the strange ceremony take place; Gatti tenderly lifting the dead fox-man from the liquid metal, laying him down in the hole and cover him with a piece of the green cloth. She opened her cockpit as well, and stood there as he filled in the shallow grave, and muttered the words to the Zaibach requiem that they had sung at Migel's funeral.

Shanti moved uncomfortably in the her metal cocoon and tried to think of something to say. After a long pause, Gatti suddenly stalked back up to his guymelef, though instead of entering it he sat broodingly on the edge. The girl watched him sadly as he glared at the ground, occasionally sniffing or wiping his eyes angrily. She had never seen him like this before, especially over some Friedan beast-man.

Perhaps he knew him from somewhere...met him when he sneaked here to find Dante. '...Gatti?'

'I hate this. I hate fighting, I hate killing... I HATE THIS WAR!' He slammed his fists down, leaving a small dent in the blue metal, and making Shanti jump again. 'Why didn't he leave? I told him! You fool... you should have listened... why? Why didn't he listen to me?'

A static cry filled both cockpits. Shanti closed hers, and the metal collar came down across her chest and neck.

'Unit 13 here, what's going on?' A flurry of replies came blaring out of the speakers, mingled with the odd cry or grunt. She heard a noise, and looked up to see the gigantic temple implode.

'We were chasing the survivor-'

'Guimel, behind you!'

'MOVE it Shesta!!'

'-he set off a trap!'

'Well done. We were set up. A sacrifice?' Dilandau's laugh drowned out the other myriad of voices. 'They sacrificed their army on such a scale. Well done! You're incredible Fried!' His maniacal laugh came again as Shesta's voice came on the line, calling his name for instructions.

'They escaped, the cowards! Look!' Dalet. Shanti looked up and saw a Freidan floating ship, containing, she assumed, the Duke.

'They're heading north... we should follow,' Gatti had sluggishly climbed back into his guymelef, seeming to be ready for battle again. His flippant tone suggested otherwise, and Shanti was relieved when Dilandau told him no.

'We're ordered to go back to the Vione. We're done here, so let's go home.' In the distance, the red guymelef shot into the sky, covered in dust and scratches. A few moments later, the rest of the squadron burst out after him, equally damaged. As she and Gatti moved into Flight mode and flew into formation, Shanti was pleased to her guymelef was not the only one that had been damaged. Guimel had lost an arm, and Shesta had a crushed leg, which caused his 'melef to twitch about in all sorts of directions.

Nearing the Vione, Guimel veered off to glide beside them, using a private frequency to ask,

'Do you think they made it? Dante, I mean...'

'Well. We'll find out soon enough.' Gatti replied, perhaps more shortly that he had wanted.

'What's up with you?' Guimel snorted, unhappy with his tone.

'Nothing,' came the scathing reply. Shanti gently explained about the fox-man to the ruffled Guimel before he puffed up and said something he'd regret.

'What, him? Isn't he the one that you bought the-'

'GUIMEL,' Gatti suddenly said loudly. 'You're veering off course,'

'Huh? Oh, right,' Shanti heard a click from Gatti's side, signifying him changing frequencies, and had the feeling he was chastising Guimel for whatever it was he was going to say. She shrugged inwardly, happy that at least Gatti was pre-occupied from thinking about the fox. As they neared the Vione, however, her curiousity crept up on her, demanding she wonder about what Guimel had said before being cut off.

Bought the what? she mused, watching Gatti's guymelef bump furiously into Guimel's.

*****

'Migel! Dante! Migel!' Mikyla rushed towards them, her heart pounding. Migel had thrown his injured comrade off of him as the tree came crashing down. Mikyla rushed to Dante, moving some debris off of him and turning him onto his back. He was unconcious, but breathing.

'Migel?' The tree lay pinning him across the left leg and lower back. The flames were starting to creep up the wood, closer to the Dragon Slayer, eager to consume this new fuel. Migel groaned as she neared, and struggled to move the tree off of him. Mikyla went to help him, trying hard to lift the heavy branch. Without warning, the ground began to shake violently. Rolling clouds of dust swirled up from the dry earth in the distance, coming closer, closer...

'Guymelefs...' Migel stated, his voice tight. 'They're heading this way. Run,' he started coughing from the smoke and dust blowing his way.

'I won't!' Mikyla replied fiercely through gritted teeth. Her muscles cried for rest, and she stopped for a moment to regain her breath.

'Don't be stupid,' hissed the boy. 'You'll be crushed!'

'I'm - not - leaving - you!' she hissed back, straining once more against the heavy tree. Moments later she heard Migel yelp as the log began to roll off of him. The flames licked dangerously close, and Mikyla felt her skin burning from the intense heat.
'Almost... got it!' She took a deep breath and pushed again, feeling a sense of hope as the tree moved in agonizing centimetres. Migel held himself up by his arms and helped her, arching his back into the rough bark.

The footsteps of the invisible guymelef thundered in their ears, and Mikyla squinted through the smoke to see deep impressions being left in the earth. Migel was right - they would be crushed underfoot if they didn't move. The ground had begun to shake so ferociously that small pieces of debris and stones were being thrown into the air.

Come on... move... come on come on come on... With a cry, Mikyla threw herself at the branch, focusing all her strength into moving it. An earth-shaking footstep appeared mere metres away - the next step would be where they lay. The wood moved slowly, slowly... and suddenly Migel was free. With no time to spare, the girl dragged the Dragon Slayer away as the branch was crushed into a thousand splinters with a loud crunch. A cloud of dust filled the air, intruding their lungs and eyes.

'Are... are you okay?' she coughed to Migel, who nodded. 'Good... let's go.' The Dragon Slayer picked up Dante, this time slinging him over his shoulders. Migel looked surprised at how light Dante actually was, feeling his comrade's bones poking into his back. Mikyla grabbed the cart, wincing at the blisters on her hands, and they set out to delve into the inferno once more.

There was smoke everywhere, obscuring the sky in thick clouds that looked like they would explode. The flames called coquettishly out to the trio, twisting in the air and snapping sparks. Just as Mikyla thought they would all die from the poison they were breathing, she felt a cool breeze caress her reddened face. The smoke thinned out, the heat lessened, and soon they were moving up a dirt path away from the city. She pressed on, her body mechanically moving to obey one command - move. After an eternity, Migel stopped at the top of the hill and fell to his knees, gasping in the fresh air. Mikyla pulled up beside him, and for several minutes they did nothing but breathe and cough. Migel lay Dante gently against a tree, taking off his own shirt to provide cushioning, and Mikyla found some water to give him as he roused.

'We... escape?' he asked, sipping weakly at the canteen.

'Yes,' she replied in a raspy voice. When she had checked Dante over for any bleeding, she let him rest and went to find Migel, who had gone up the path a little. She found him by a tiny stream, washing the ash from his eyes and skin.

'So,' he started, looking over his red skin that had already started to peel. 'Think I'll get a tan?' Mikyla forced her face to resemble a smile, too exhausted to laugh. They could still hear the fire raging on, the smoke still existant.
'Clean up, have some water, and we'll move on.'

'Gatti said he'll meet us in Gigas... a small village on the outskirts of Freid,' Mikyla said, sighing happily as the cool running water bathed her skin. Migel suddenly looked away with a strange thoughtful expression.

He misses them so terribly... and yet he stays here to help you. The girl thought as she felt a guilty feeling fill her. 'Er... Migel?'

'Hn.'

'About earlier...'

'Yeah?' Those grey-green eyes looked at her now, filled with curiousity. Mikyla bit her lower lip, and splashed her face with water again before saying,

'I'm sorry. For yelling, I mean. I was just so-'

'I know.' She looked up, into his beautiful eyes until at last he gave a cough. 'I'll go check on Dante... hurry up, alright?'

'Yes,' she said off-handedly, watching him leave and realizing he had lost his crutch. After she had finished, Mikyla returned back to where Dante lay and found the canteen of water.
When they had rested their weary bodies long enough, Migel picked up Dante, Mikyla picked up the cart, and they started down the narrow path that led out of Freid.