They walked out together, and she followed behind him to wherever they were supposed to go. It turned out to be a room with a large table, and all the Dragonslayers were all at the side. Dilandau passed them and sat at the head of the table, and she assumed that this was a position of power. There was an empty chair next to Gatti, and so shyly sat down.
She hadn't eaten in the past two or three days, and she was so hungry now that she thought about it. She looked at her wrist, and she wondered what the tight leather that encased her wrist would taste like. She looked about the table nervously, and looked at the room. After a few moments, Dilandau's meal was served.
It was served on a large platter, and it was fairly well-sized portions. It was roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots, and he had a Yorkshire pudding next to it. She found she was salivating at the sight of it and she swallowed. Dilandau sat and waited politely for the other's meals. My God, I can't wait! I'm so hungry! She thought to herself. It smelled so good, and the scent was further intensified by the raging hunger ravaging her insides.
Several servants walked up carrying plates, but what the plates bore on them was so hideously different from what Dilandau had on his! She watched them bring up six plates of food, if you could call it that. They were steaming piles of grey glop, it looked like. A plate was put down in front of her, along with a knife and spoon. She swallowed again. She stared at the mass. It had pale yellow and pinkish chunks in it. In some part of the slushy, quivering mass, it was greenish. She picked up a knife and poked it, gingerly. A bubble appeared where she had poked the mass, and it burst, letting forth a putrid smell that made her stomach turn over. Steam came from the hole that the bubble had made.
"It's high in protein," One said to her, and then he returned to eating the stuff ravenously with the others. She sniffed it. She found it smelled uncannily like urine. She tried not to make a face as she pushed it away. "Why aren't you eating, Gabrielle?" Dilandau asked her as he cut a piece of meat. "Oh, I'm... Not hungry." She choked. Her appetite had disappeared. He looked up at her. "You haven't eaten in three days. Eat." He said, and her gaze returned to the glop, and then back at him. She didn't say anything. "I... I'd rather not." She said, extremely shy at refusing him. The others stopped eating and looked up to see the sparks fly. He was about to say it was fine, when he saw everyone looking at him. I have a reputation to protect, but... he thought. "Fine!" He barked. "Go then, your quarters are on the second floor, third to your right. I will come after the meal to take you to see the Scientists." He snapped. She blinked back tears of frustrated embarassment. "Y-yes sir." She stammered, and she stood and bowed before leaving the room. They could hear her starting to cry very softly as she ran down the hall. Dilandau felt like an absolute heel.
"You made her cry?" Gatti said. "Shut up, Gatti." Dilandau snapped. "Don't ask rhetorical questions. She didn't eat." He said. Migel said three words. "Go to her." He said, and winced at his broken jaw. "Yes." Seconded Dalet. "She's not used to food like this." He said. "I think she deserves a good meal before seeing the scientists. Besides, she's never killed anyone before." He said. "I hate you all." Said Dilandau. "You appeal to guilt. Fine." He snapped, and he got up.
Gabrielle found her quarters easily enough and sat down on the bed. She began to cry again. Just my day! I kill people, I disappoint my superiors, and embarass myself in front of my equals! I'm such an idiot! She belittled herself some more. A few moments later, she heard a knock at the door. "Come in," She said very very quietly, and pressed the door release. The door hissed as the pressure expelled and it retracted into the ceiling in one piece. It was Dilandau.
"Sir?" She asked. She blinked back even more tears. "A-are you here to yell at me, sir?" She asked him. "No, Gabrielle. I'm not here to yell at you." He said. "I'm here to say I'm sorry. I have a reputation to uphold, and the reputation is that I'm a take-no-shit officer who constantly blows up at his crew to keep them in line." He said, and it was the first time she'd heard him swear. "I didn't want to yell at you, but I had to. I, um, I don't want you to be mad at me." He said. "Why should you care if I'm mad at you? You could simply smack me or get me expelled." She said. "Well, I wouldn't do that. First, because I can't hit girls. Second of all, I... Um, I enjoy your company." He said stiffly. "Thank you." She thanked him. She was still curled up on the bed in the corner of the wall. "I have to take you to see the Scientists now." He said. He stepped into the room, and he offered her his hand to help her stand up. She touched it lightly as she stood up. "What are they going to do?" She asked him nervously. He thought for a minute. "I don't know." He replied.
They walked down a long corridor which was blindingly white. She got goosebumps from the energies of the place. She'd always been highly sensitive to psychic energies and vibrations, and she felt really bad ones here. Really bad. She looked over at Dilandau, walking beside her. He looked extremely uneasy. They came to door, and he opened it for her.
The room was white, and it seared her retinas, blinding her for a moment. The sharp smell of a clean, sterile environment burned in her nose. The smell of fear, pain and panic, undetectable to most humans, hung thick in the air. A man in a white coat approached them He spoke with a smooth voice. "Hello, Dilandau. I see you've brought ... Gabrielle here?" He asked him. "Yes." He said slowly, a bit confused. "How did you know her name?" He asked the man. "Oh, I saw the appointment block." He replied quickly. The man turned his sharp, piercing green eyes into Gabrielle's.
"Okay, we have to do some tests on you." He said. "I am Dr. Jerrick. We'll be running a blood and brain test on you today." He explained, and she shuddered. Something about him was unpleasantly familiar. She saw how tense Dilandau appeared to be here, and she figured that if he was afraid, she should be too.
Dr. Jerrick led Gabrielle to a metal table. "Please lie down here," He said, pointing in a room behind a window at a table. "Dilandau, you can come if you feel you want to." He said. She nervously walked into the room behind the window. There was a large table in the centre of the room, with a light right above it and surrounded by machines of many undeterminable purposes. She was in the room alone with Dilandau for the moment. She looked at the thick leather straps on the table. She swallowed. "I'd never get out of those. Dilandau, what exactly are they going to do to me?" She asked nervously. "Oh, probably just some blood tests and brain wave monitoring or something." He suggested, and was reassuring himself at the same time. There was that strange feeling, almost like a knot in his stomach. It told him to protect her. "I'll be right here, so don't worry, it can't be that bad." He said. "That bad?" She asked.
Dr. Jerrick walked in. "Please lie down," He told her. She nervously complied, and he fastened the straps around her wrists and ankles. "W-what are those straps for?" She asked fearfully. "So that you don't fall off." He replied nonchalantly. "I need a sample of your blood." He stated and he withdrew a large needle from a drawer. Her eyes widened. She got a memory flash of this room, and that needle, but how could it be? She'd never been here before... Or had she? "Nnn!" She yelped as he came towards her with the needle. "Just relax your arm. It won't hurt much." He said. She tried to make her arm as relaxed as a noodle, but it didn't really work. Once she felt it pierce her flesh, she squeezed her eyes tightly and she yelped again as he retracted it cleanly. A syringe full of her warm, red blood rested in Dr. Jerrick's hand. He removed the needle mechanism and placed the vial in a small machine that rocked back and forth to keep it from congealing.
He then withdrew another syringe, filled with a clear yellow fluid, and she squirmed. "What's that!?" She asked. "Just a sedative." He said soothingly. "No! No sedatives! I don't like sedatives, no. I want to stay conscious, please. No stuff that makes me sleepy." She said rapidly. The memories of her childhood operations came flooding back: The fear, the gas masks, the needles. She was most afraid of letting go of her consciousness. She hated not being in control. Sedated sleep was a sleep that you couldn't wake up from until the drug wore off, and she was afraid of that. She had a terminal fear of those, and she squirmed insanely when he advanced her.
"No! Please, no! I'm afraid of those drugs, please don't make me fall asleep! Please," She begged, her fear growing with every step Dr. Jerrick took towards her. "I'm sorry, Gabrielle, but we have to find out if you really are who we think you are." He said, and he advanced again. "No! Get away from me! Don't stick me with that needle! Please, I'll do whatever you want, I don't care about pain, please just don't sedate me! Please!" She begged frantically. Dilandau spoke up.
"If she says she doesn't want it, don't make her take it." He said stiffly. "Dilandau, please. You are here to watch, not to participate!" He snapped, and Gabrielle squirmed wildly, completely petrefied of that needle the man held in his hand. He was right over her now, and she cried, hot wet tears streaming down her face. She was defeated. She was going to lose control. "Dr. Jerrick, I'm allergic to those! Those cause muscle spasms in me and I can't breathe! Please, don't!" She screamed, her eyes wide and following the tip of the needle. "There is only one person we know of who has that allergy..." Dr. Jerrick said. "But I have to make sure. Relax. This is the type that you're not allergic to." He assured her. Dilandau walked up to the table. "Dr. Jerrick," He insisted. "Don't do this. Can't you see she's scared out of her mind? Look at her. Just leave her alone. I'm sure whatever tests you have to do, you don't need to put her under. A general anesthetic, anyways. I'm sure you could use some Daro venom for a local." He said.
Dr, Jerrick ignored him, and he raised Gabrielle's sleeve. She cried even harder, her eyes squeezed tightly shut, her body rigid with paralyzing fear. Dilandau almost didn't know what he was doing when he held her hand. He reached out to snatch the syringe away, but Dr. Jerrick glared at him. "Do you want to be put on a table, too, Dilandau? I'm sure I can update my test results on you. Watch if you want to, even hold her hand like you're doing, I don't care. Just don't interfere. Got it?" Dr. Jerrick hissed at him. Dilandau seethed inside. He wanted to pound the man's face in! The urge to protect her was so strong that he felt if she cried one more tear in her fear, he was going to be forced to wring Dr. Jerrick's throat. He didn't especially know why he felt this, but he did. It tugged on his insides like a hook, along with that funny feeling he sometimes got in his chest. His back felt tight, too, and he still didn't know what that was from. Perhaps he should undergo a test... See what was wrong with him... No. Whatever it was, he was sure it wasn't allowed for him, and he didn't want to be mentally thrashed any more.
She cried as Dr. Jerrick injected her with a little more than half of the dose of the clear yellow liquid. "Dilandau, you have part of your wish. This won't put her completely out. She'll be drowsy, but she won't be forced to fall asleep. If she does, she does it of her own will. Are you happy with that?" Dilandau looked at Gabrielle, beginning to fight the drugs. "I can always put her fully under." He menaced. "I'm fine with it." Dilandau replied abruptly. "Good." Dr. Jerrick said.
Dilandau held her hand still. She was trying to fight the drugs out of her system, and it seemed that she was winning for a long while. Eventually, her grip on his hand weakened ever so slightly, and then little by little, he saw her slipping away from him, the misty look in her eyes giving it away. "You lied to me!" He snapped at Dr. Jerrick. Gabrielle shuddered, and he saw the consciousness flicker back into her eyes. She blinked slowly, and her breathing was deep. "Possibly. I need to find out if she is who my associates and I think she is." He said, and he approached her limp body.
Dr. Jerrick proceeded to lift her shirt to expose just her higher abdomen and nothing more. "Aha!" He exclaimed. "She has the scar! Johannes, come here!" He called, and another scientist walked in from the next room. He looked at the scar. "I see." He said. He looked at Dilandau. "And she ... fell from the sky, did she?" He asked. "Yes." Dilandau replied. "I saw her myself." He said.
'Johannes' and Dr. Jerrick went to a corner and conversed quietly, out of Dilandau's earshot, He couldn't make out their whispers. All he could tell was that 'Johannes' had been studying her blood sample and had found... Something highly unusual about it, something that was similar to 'that one's' blood, and something about 'She's come back.' He couldn't piece it all together just yet. He looked back down at Gabrielle. Her eyes were shut, and her breathing was deep and regular. She'd fallen asleep. The drugs had taken their effect. He continued to hold her hand as the scientists came back. Still, he didn't quite know why. Perhaps it was because he knew she needed it.
"Dilandau, she fell from the sky. She can't be trusted... We don't know if she's an enemy spy. Don't promote her, just keep her where she is. Most of all, don't get close to her... She might turn on us." He reasoned coldly. "And remember your training," He spat. "Don't care for anyone, in case the day comes where you might have to kill them." He said, and he turned away. "She might turn on us," He repeated. "She's no good. Take her away." He said. "But wait, Dr. Jerrick." Said Johannes. I want to do a brainwave on her..." He said, and he attached a few cords to her head, and Dilandau watched as a rapidly flicking needle recorded scribbles on a paper. "She is..." Johannes said, and then he told Dilandau to take her back. "The effects of the drug should be wearing off in a while. Take her back." He said. He detached the cords from her, and he lifted Gabrielle into Dilandau's arms.
Dilandau carried her to her quarters, and he punched in her code in the ID lock at her room. He knew all of his Dragonslayers' codes. He never really used them, but he figured he should use hers right then. How else was he supposed to put her in her quarters? He stepped into the room, carrying her, and he placed her down on the bed. He noticed how scratchy the blankets were, and he wrinkled his nose at the thought of trying to sleep on them. He stood back up and turned to go. He stood near the door, but turned around and looked at her sleeping. Why did he consistently get that weird feeling in him when he was near her? It was kind of nice in a very strange, strange way, but he figured he would never get used to it. Maybe he should look it up on the computer. Maybe he was sick or something. But doesn't being sick mean you feel horrible... All the time? This doesn't feel horrible, nor is it all the time. It's just when I'm with her. He reconsidered looking up illnesses on the computer. Maybe I should look up 'emotions' instead. He thought. He half-smiled to himself and opened the door, stepping outside.
As soon as he'd left, she opened her eyes. She looked to make sure he was really gone. So what is this? I can't be trusted? What did I do? And they all act like they know me... The Scientists, even that nurse when I first came here. What's going on? God, I'm horrible! People hate me, I hate me, I killed people... Everybody's bound to hate me. I'm a monster! She insulted herself again and again. She curled up into a ball. Why couldn't she just disappear? Then it occurred to her that she had disappeared. From her home. She'd never see Michiko again, or her cat, or her mother and father. None of that. And now, she was going to be distanced from everyone here because she'd 'fallen out of the sky and can't be trusted?' She wallowed in her misery for what seemed like a long time.
After about an hour, there was a knock from the lower part of her door. Someone must have kicked it. "Come in..." She sighed, and she pressed the button. The door opened with a hiss, and she didn't even bother to look at who it was. Maybe it was those scientists, come to tell her she was useless and couldn't be trusted, and then stab her with needles again.
"Um, hello? I brought you some food." Came a familiar voice. She looked up, and it was the weirdest, most out-of-place thing she'd ever seen in her life. It was Dilandau holding a food tray, and he gave it to her. "Here." He said. "Will you eat that? The rations aren't exactly that appealing." He stated. "It's not going to be very good because I had to make it from nothing. All the cooks were asleep. I was so mad." He said. "I made it myself," He added, and she thought she detected the slightest bit of boyish pride. She thought about smiling at this.
It was a sandwich. She thanked him quietly, then picked it up. She ate it quickly, eager to satiate her hunger. She finished it within two minutes. "Thanks. But you know, you shouldn't get emotionally involved with me. I might turn on you." She said, mocking Dr. Jerrick's tone. He was about to say something back when she stood up and walked out the door, headed for the docking bay.
Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked down the hall, turning to the left, walking into the docking bay. She stepped up to the Libreia, and it's red eyes glowed faintly before activation. "Libreia, open." She commanded it. Visual unit program online. No further need for password. Identification confirmed. Welcome, Commander Fox. The computer said. It's doors opened, and she sat in the comfortable seat. She noticed something new on the interface beside the computer screen.
"Computer, what is that?" She asked, touching the new thing. Dragonslayer Gatti installed this hardware. He left a message to you regarding it. Would you like to hear the message? It asked her. "Yes, please." She replied. A hologram screen appeared in front of her. The sound quality was good, but it occasionally rewound a quarter of a second, making the video image and sound skip like a shaken CD.
"Hello, Gabrielle." Gatti's recorded voice said. "I i-i-nstalled the CD player into the L-Libreia. It's very good at reading d-d-disc information, but r-r-r-recording it is a different story. I'm working on an improvement for this model, I-I'll let you know when I have developed o-one. The sound of a CD doesn't skip, even when i-in mecha flight. I have the same model, and I've t-t-tested it. You can shake the mech like it was in an e-earthquake and it still won't skip! Well, I-I have to go now. Later." He said, and she half smiled. Her CD's were conscientiously placed beside the seat, and she picked out the David Usher: Morning Orbit CD. She pressed the button on the side, and the cradle opened. She placed the CD in it, and the drive closed.
"Libreia, open bay doors." She said. Acknowledged. The computer replied, and sent a signal to the doors to open. "Interior flight mode." She said, and the computer confirmed her command. The mecha's wings opened and started flight just as David Usher's "How Are You" Song came on the player. It was just as good sound quality as the players on her world. She was impressed with Gatti's work. He was right, it didn't skip, even if the mech ran into turbulence or if she barrel-rolled in the sky.
She had no idea how far she was going to fly away from the Zaibach Fortress, and she didn't have an intention of going back. She knew she would have to eventually, but right then she just wanted to fly on forever.
She hadn't eaten in the past two or three days, and she was so hungry now that she thought about it. She looked at her wrist, and she wondered what the tight leather that encased her wrist would taste like. She looked about the table nervously, and looked at the room. After a few moments, Dilandau's meal was served.
It was served on a large platter, and it was fairly well-sized portions. It was roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots, and he had a Yorkshire pudding next to it. She found she was salivating at the sight of it and she swallowed. Dilandau sat and waited politely for the other's meals. My God, I can't wait! I'm so hungry! She thought to herself. It smelled so good, and the scent was further intensified by the raging hunger ravaging her insides.
Several servants walked up carrying plates, but what the plates bore on them was so hideously different from what Dilandau had on his! She watched them bring up six plates of food, if you could call it that. They were steaming piles of grey glop, it looked like. A plate was put down in front of her, along with a knife and spoon. She swallowed again. She stared at the mass. It had pale yellow and pinkish chunks in it. In some part of the slushy, quivering mass, it was greenish. She picked up a knife and poked it, gingerly. A bubble appeared where she had poked the mass, and it burst, letting forth a putrid smell that made her stomach turn over. Steam came from the hole that the bubble had made.
"It's high in protein," One said to her, and then he returned to eating the stuff ravenously with the others. She sniffed it. She found it smelled uncannily like urine. She tried not to make a face as she pushed it away. "Why aren't you eating, Gabrielle?" Dilandau asked her as he cut a piece of meat. "Oh, I'm... Not hungry." She choked. Her appetite had disappeared. He looked up at her. "You haven't eaten in three days. Eat." He said, and her gaze returned to the glop, and then back at him. She didn't say anything. "I... I'd rather not." She said, extremely shy at refusing him. The others stopped eating and looked up to see the sparks fly. He was about to say it was fine, when he saw everyone looking at him. I have a reputation to protect, but... he thought. "Fine!" He barked. "Go then, your quarters are on the second floor, third to your right. I will come after the meal to take you to see the Scientists." He snapped. She blinked back tears of frustrated embarassment. "Y-yes sir." She stammered, and she stood and bowed before leaving the room. They could hear her starting to cry very softly as she ran down the hall. Dilandau felt like an absolute heel.
"You made her cry?" Gatti said. "Shut up, Gatti." Dilandau snapped. "Don't ask rhetorical questions. She didn't eat." He said. Migel said three words. "Go to her." He said, and winced at his broken jaw. "Yes." Seconded Dalet. "She's not used to food like this." He said. "I think she deserves a good meal before seeing the scientists. Besides, she's never killed anyone before." He said. "I hate you all." Said Dilandau. "You appeal to guilt. Fine." He snapped, and he got up.
Gabrielle found her quarters easily enough and sat down on the bed. She began to cry again. Just my day! I kill people, I disappoint my superiors, and embarass myself in front of my equals! I'm such an idiot! She belittled herself some more. A few moments later, she heard a knock at the door. "Come in," She said very very quietly, and pressed the door release. The door hissed as the pressure expelled and it retracted into the ceiling in one piece. It was Dilandau.
"Sir?" She asked. She blinked back even more tears. "A-are you here to yell at me, sir?" She asked him. "No, Gabrielle. I'm not here to yell at you." He said. "I'm here to say I'm sorry. I have a reputation to uphold, and the reputation is that I'm a take-no-shit officer who constantly blows up at his crew to keep them in line." He said, and it was the first time she'd heard him swear. "I didn't want to yell at you, but I had to. I, um, I don't want you to be mad at me." He said. "Why should you care if I'm mad at you? You could simply smack me or get me expelled." She said. "Well, I wouldn't do that. First, because I can't hit girls. Second of all, I... Um, I enjoy your company." He said stiffly. "Thank you." She thanked him. She was still curled up on the bed in the corner of the wall. "I have to take you to see the Scientists now." He said. He stepped into the room, and he offered her his hand to help her stand up. She touched it lightly as she stood up. "What are they going to do?" She asked him nervously. He thought for a minute. "I don't know." He replied.
They walked down a long corridor which was blindingly white. She got goosebumps from the energies of the place. She'd always been highly sensitive to psychic energies and vibrations, and she felt really bad ones here. Really bad. She looked over at Dilandau, walking beside her. He looked extremely uneasy. They came to door, and he opened it for her.
The room was white, and it seared her retinas, blinding her for a moment. The sharp smell of a clean, sterile environment burned in her nose. The smell of fear, pain and panic, undetectable to most humans, hung thick in the air. A man in a white coat approached them He spoke with a smooth voice. "Hello, Dilandau. I see you've brought ... Gabrielle here?" He asked him. "Yes." He said slowly, a bit confused. "How did you know her name?" He asked the man. "Oh, I saw the appointment block." He replied quickly. The man turned his sharp, piercing green eyes into Gabrielle's.
"Okay, we have to do some tests on you." He said. "I am Dr. Jerrick. We'll be running a blood and brain test on you today." He explained, and she shuddered. Something about him was unpleasantly familiar. She saw how tense Dilandau appeared to be here, and she figured that if he was afraid, she should be too.
Dr. Jerrick led Gabrielle to a metal table. "Please lie down here," He said, pointing in a room behind a window at a table. "Dilandau, you can come if you feel you want to." He said. She nervously walked into the room behind the window. There was a large table in the centre of the room, with a light right above it and surrounded by machines of many undeterminable purposes. She was in the room alone with Dilandau for the moment. She looked at the thick leather straps on the table. She swallowed. "I'd never get out of those. Dilandau, what exactly are they going to do to me?" She asked nervously. "Oh, probably just some blood tests and brain wave monitoring or something." He suggested, and was reassuring himself at the same time. There was that strange feeling, almost like a knot in his stomach. It told him to protect her. "I'll be right here, so don't worry, it can't be that bad." He said. "That bad?" She asked.
Dr. Jerrick walked in. "Please lie down," He told her. She nervously complied, and he fastened the straps around her wrists and ankles. "W-what are those straps for?" She asked fearfully. "So that you don't fall off." He replied nonchalantly. "I need a sample of your blood." He stated and he withdrew a large needle from a drawer. Her eyes widened. She got a memory flash of this room, and that needle, but how could it be? She'd never been here before... Or had she? "Nnn!" She yelped as he came towards her with the needle. "Just relax your arm. It won't hurt much." He said. She tried to make her arm as relaxed as a noodle, but it didn't really work. Once she felt it pierce her flesh, she squeezed her eyes tightly and she yelped again as he retracted it cleanly. A syringe full of her warm, red blood rested in Dr. Jerrick's hand. He removed the needle mechanism and placed the vial in a small machine that rocked back and forth to keep it from congealing.
He then withdrew another syringe, filled with a clear yellow fluid, and she squirmed. "What's that!?" She asked. "Just a sedative." He said soothingly. "No! No sedatives! I don't like sedatives, no. I want to stay conscious, please. No stuff that makes me sleepy." She said rapidly. The memories of her childhood operations came flooding back: The fear, the gas masks, the needles. She was most afraid of letting go of her consciousness. She hated not being in control. Sedated sleep was a sleep that you couldn't wake up from until the drug wore off, and she was afraid of that. She had a terminal fear of those, and she squirmed insanely when he advanced her.
"No! Please, no! I'm afraid of those drugs, please don't make me fall asleep! Please," She begged, her fear growing with every step Dr. Jerrick took towards her. "I'm sorry, Gabrielle, but we have to find out if you really are who we think you are." He said, and he advanced again. "No! Get away from me! Don't stick me with that needle! Please, I'll do whatever you want, I don't care about pain, please just don't sedate me! Please!" She begged frantically. Dilandau spoke up.
"If she says she doesn't want it, don't make her take it." He said stiffly. "Dilandau, please. You are here to watch, not to participate!" He snapped, and Gabrielle squirmed wildly, completely petrefied of that needle the man held in his hand. He was right over her now, and she cried, hot wet tears streaming down her face. She was defeated. She was going to lose control. "Dr. Jerrick, I'm allergic to those! Those cause muscle spasms in me and I can't breathe! Please, don't!" She screamed, her eyes wide and following the tip of the needle. "There is only one person we know of who has that allergy..." Dr. Jerrick said. "But I have to make sure. Relax. This is the type that you're not allergic to." He assured her. Dilandau walked up to the table. "Dr. Jerrick," He insisted. "Don't do this. Can't you see she's scared out of her mind? Look at her. Just leave her alone. I'm sure whatever tests you have to do, you don't need to put her under. A general anesthetic, anyways. I'm sure you could use some Daro venom for a local." He said.
Dr, Jerrick ignored him, and he raised Gabrielle's sleeve. She cried even harder, her eyes squeezed tightly shut, her body rigid with paralyzing fear. Dilandau almost didn't know what he was doing when he held her hand. He reached out to snatch the syringe away, but Dr. Jerrick glared at him. "Do you want to be put on a table, too, Dilandau? I'm sure I can update my test results on you. Watch if you want to, even hold her hand like you're doing, I don't care. Just don't interfere. Got it?" Dr. Jerrick hissed at him. Dilandau seethed inside. He wanted to pound the man's face in! The urge to protect her was so strong that he felt if she cried one more tear in her fear, he was going to be forced to wring Dr. Jerrick's throat. He didn't especially know why he felt this, but he did. It tugged on his insides like a hook, along with that funny feeling he sometimes got in his chest. His back felt tight, too, and he still didn't know what that was from. Perhaps he should undergo a test... See what was wrong with him... No. Whatever it was, he was sure it wasn't allowed for him, and he didn't want to be mentally thrashed any more.
She cried as Dr. Jerrick injected her with a little more than half of the dose of the clear yellow liquid. "Dilandau, you have part of your wish. This won't put her completely out. She'll be drowsy, but she won't be forced to fall asleep. If she does, she does it of her own will. Are you happy with that?" Dilandau looked at Gabrielle, beginning to fight the drugs. "I can always put her fully under." He menaced. "I'm fine with it." Dilandau replied abruptly. "Good." Dr. Jerrick said.
Dilandau held her hand still. She was trying to fight the drugs out of her system, and it seemed that she was winning for a long while. Eventually, her grip on his hand weakened ever so slightly, and then little by little, he saw her slipping away from him, the misty look in her eyes giving it away. "You lied to me!" He snapped at Dr. Jerrick. Gabrielle shuddered, and he saw the consciousness flicker back into her eyes. She blinked slowly, and her breathing was deep. "Possibly. I need to find out if she is who my associates and I think she is." He said, and he approached her limp body.
Dr. Jerrick proceeded to lift her shirt to expose just her higher abdomen and nothing more. "Aha!" He exclaimed. "She has the scar! Johannes, come here!" He called, and another scientist walked in from the next room. He looked at the scar. "I see." He said. He looked at Dilandau. "And she ... fell from the sky, did she?" He asked. "Yes." Dilandau replied. "I saw her myself." He said.
'Johannes' and Dr. Jerrick went to a corner and conversed quietly, out of Dilandau's earshot, He couldn't make out their whispers. All he could tell was that 'Johannes' had been studying her blood sample and had found... Something highly unusual about it, something that was similar to 'that one's' blood, and something about 'She's come back.' He couldn't piece it all together just yet. He looked back down at Gabrielle. Her eyes were shut, and her breathing was deep and regular. She'd fallen asleep. The drugs had taken their effect. He continued to hold her hand as the scientists came back. Still, he didn't quite know why. Perhaps it was because he knew she needed it.
"Dilandau, she fell from the sky. She can't be trusted... We don't know if she's an enemy spy. Don't promote her, just keep her where she is. Most of all, don't get close to her... She might turn on us." He reasoned coldly. "And remember your training," He spat. "Don't care for anyone, in case the day comes where you might have to kill them." He said, and he turned away. "She might turn on us," He repeated. "She's no good. Take her away." He said. "But wait, Dr. Jerrick." Said Johannes. I want to do a brainwave on her..." He said, and he attached a few cords to her head, and Dilandau watched as a rapidly flicking needle recorded scribbles on a paper. "She is..." Johannes said, and then he told Dilandau to take her back. "The effects of the drug should be wearing off in a while. Take her back." He said. He detached the cords from her, and he lifted Gabrielle into Dilandau's arms.
Dilandau carried her to her quarters, and he punched in her code in the ID lock at her room. He knew all of his Dragonslayers' codes. He never really used them, but he figured he should use hers right then. How else was he supposed to put her in her quarters? He stepped into the room, carrying her, and he placed her down on the bed. He noticed how scratchy the blankets were, and he wrinkled his nose at the thought of trying to sleep on them. He stood back up and turned to go. He stood near the door, but turned around and looked at her sleeping. Why did he consistently get that weird feeling in him when he was near her? It was kind of nice in a very strange, strange way, but he figured he would never get used to it. Maybe he should look it up on the computer. Maybe he was sick or something. But doesn't being sick mean you feel horrible... All the time? This doesn't feel horrible, nor is it all the time. It's just when I'm with her. He reconsidered looking up illnesses on the computer. Maybe I should look up 'emotions' instead. He thought. He half-smiled to himself and opened the door, stepping outside.
As soon as he'd left, she opened her eyes. She looked to make sure he was really gone. So what is this? I can't be trusted? What did I do? And they all act like they know me... The Scientists, even that nurse when I first came here. What's going on? God, I'm horrible! People hate me, I hate me, I killed people... Everybody's bound to hate me. I'm a monster! She insulted herself again and again. She curled up into a ball. Why couldn't she just disappear? Then it occurred to her that she had disappeared. From her home. She'd never see Michiko again, or her cat, or her mother and father. None of that. And now, she was going to be distanced from everyone here because she'd 'fallen out of the sky and can't be trusted?' She wallowed in her misery for what seemed like a long time.
After about an hour, there was a knock from the lower part of her door. Someone must have kicked it. "Come in..." She sighed, and she pressed the button. The door opened with a hiss, and she didn't even bother to look at who it was. Maybe it was those scientists, come to tell her she was useless and couldn't be trusted, and then stab her with needles again.
"Um, hello? I brought you some food." Came a familiar voice. She looked up, and it was the weirdest, most out-of-place thing she'd ever seen in her life. It was Dilandau holding a food tray, and he gave it to her. "Here." He said. "Will you eat that? The rations aren't exactly that appealing." He stated. "It's not going to be very good because I had to make it from nothing. All the cooks were asleep. I was so mad." He said. "I made it myself," He added, and she thought she detected the slightest bit of boyish pride. She thought about smiling at this.
It was a sandwich. She thanked him quietly, then picked it up. She ate it quickly, eager to satiate her hunger. She finished it within two minutes. "Thanks. But you know, you shouldn't get emotionally involved with me. I might turn on you." She said, mocking Dr. Jerrick's tone. He was about to say something back when she stood up and walked out the door, headed for the docking bay.
Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked down the hall, turning to the left, walking into the docking bay. She stepped up to the Libreia, and it's red eyes glowed faintly before activation. "Libreia, open." She commanded it. Visual unit program online. No further need for password. Identification confirmed. Welcome, Commander Fox. The computer said. It's doors opened, and she sat in the comfortable seat. She noticed something new on the interface beside the computer screen.
"Computer, what is that?" She asked, touching the new thing. Dragonslayer Gatti installed this hardware. He left a message to you regarding it. Would you like to hear the message? It asked her. "Yes, please." She replied. A hologram screen appeared in front of her. The sound quality was good, but it occasionally rewound a quarter of a second, making the video image and sound skip like a shaken CD.
"Hello, Gabrielle." Gatti's recorded voice said. "I i-i-nstalled the CD player into the L-Libreia. It's very good at reading d-d-disc information, but r-r-r-recording it is a different story. I'm working on an improvement for this model, I-I'll let you know when I have developed o-one. The sound of a CD doesn't skip, even when i-in mecha flight. I have the same model, and I've t-t-tested it. You can shake the mech like it was in an e-earthquake and it still won't skip! Well, I-I have to go now. Later." He said, and she half smiled. Her CD's were conscientiously placed beside the seat, and she picked out the David Usher: Morning Orbit CD. She pressed the button on the side, and the cradle opened. She placed the CD in it, and the drive closed.
"Libreia, open bay doors." She said. Acknowledged. The computer replied, and sent a signal to the doors to open. "Interior flight mode." She said, and the computer confirmed her command. The mecha's wings opened and started flight just as David Usher's "How Are You" Song came on the player. It was just as good sound quality as the players on her world. She was impressed with Gatti's work. He was right, it didn't skip, even if the mech ran into turbulence or if she barrel-rolled in the sky.
She had no idea how far she was going to fly away from the Zaibach Fortress, and she didn't have an intention of going back. She knew she would have to eventually, but right then she just wanted to fly on forever.