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Rebellion Against Fate
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Chapter Three: Awakened Destruction
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"Wink?" Miranda walked into the room and placed herself down on the sofa, directly facing her sister who sat on the other end, "You've been awfully quiet these two days."
Such is Miranda's painfully roundabout way of saying that she was concerned. Wink drew her gaze away from the window and met her gaze, smiling slightly: "Was I? I'm sorry, I haven't noticed."
Miranda frowned. Wink looked pale and haggard, without a trace of the usual liveliness in her blue eyes. Instead, her eyes seemed haunted, strikingly deep and dark against her white skin, full of sadness. Equally alarming was the bags underneath her eyes as a testimony to her lack of sleep.
"What happened?" Miranda demanded, "We saved the world, Wink! We even blew up a goddamned moon! What the hell is there to worry now?!"
"Miranda...I'm not worried about anything, really." Wink bit her lips, trying hard not to lose what little composure she held.
The moon blew up... Oh gods, Lloyd...
"Don't give me that bull, Wink." Miranda said sharply, "You are not alright, and you are definitely worried about something. Now tell me what is wrong!"
Wink could no longer keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She was too tired, too sad to hide it any longer, and Miranda was being persistent. Wordlessly, she reached around her neck to unfasten the clasp, pulling Lloyd's pendent out from underneath her collar and handing it to Miranda.
Miranda took it from her curiously. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the charm in her palm: "I've seen this before, somewhere..."
Her back suddenly stiffened as she finally recognized it. She glanced at Wink in astonishment: "Wink... This is Lloyd's pendent, isn't it?"
Wink, who was openly crying now, could only nod in affirmation.
Miranda abruptly stood and all but towered over her younger sister: "Wink! How... When did you get this? Why do you have this?"
"Three nights ago, Lloyd came to see me..." Wink fought to keep her voice steady, "He gave it to me, before he went to Mayfil."
She turned her head away and braced herself for Miranda's berate. To her surprise, no shouting and yelling came her way. Miranda handed the charm back to her, the expression on her face was not one of rage, but one of thoughtfulness: "The few times I've seen Lloyd, he always wore this pendent... He probably did care about you, if he gave it to you."
Wink was stunned by Miranda's unusual behavior, but the surprise could not overwhelm her sadness. Fresh tears formed in her eyes as she thought back to that night, to the expression on Lloyd's face as he gave her the charm. Such intensity in his eyes, such tenderness...
"He..." Wink choked back a sob, burying her face in her delicate hands. Her voice was muffled but exceedingly pained: "He said he would come back to me..."
Miranda was silent for a long time, standing in front of Wink as she wept. Finally, when the storm of tears seemed to pass, Miranda spoke again: "You know... Lloyd wasn't really all that bad. I... well, I never told you the details of that battle. Do you want to know?"
Wink thought about it, took a deep breath and nodded: "Yes Miranda... Tell me."
"As you know, Zieg turned out to be possessed by Melbu Frahma. He finally emerged and replaced Shana in the Virage Embryo. That was when Lloyd appeared, as a dragoon in the Divine Dragon Armor."
Miranda took a deep breath and sat down again, continuing in a quiet tone: "Lloyd attacked Melbu Frahma, while the rest of us stood there, gaping in shock. He was doing an admirable job at it, until a laser beam from Melbu Frahma caught him unaware. I think... He was struck near the heart, and he crashed down to the ground, unable to maintain his dragoon form anymore."
"Oh, Lloyd..." Wink whispered, her heart breaking all over again as she was told the story. But she brushed her tears aside and nodded to Miranda bravely, asking her to go on. It was more painful than anything she'd experienced, but she wanted to know... She needed to know.
She wanted to be able to honor his memories.
"Lloyd gave the divine dragon spirit and the dragon buster to Dart, and asked him to stop Melbu Frahma, before he... well, you know." Miranda shifted in her seat uncomfortably, and lowered her gaze to the floor. In a much quieter tone, she added: "He wasn't really a bad guy after all, and he helped us more than I expected... He weakened Melbu Frahma considerably, making it easier for us to destroy those blasted tentacles, and Dart was only able to blast the Virage Embryo apart with the divine dragon canon."
She paused, and then added ruefully: "I don't think I will ever like him. He did kidnap Queen Theresea after all. But... I do wish he is still alive."
"I wish that too..." Wink clutched Lloyd's pendent tightly in her hands, as if drawing strength from it. "Miranda... Thank you, for telling me everything. I needed to know."
The First Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau only nodded.
Wink studied her profile. Hesitantly, she ventured: "You... seem a bit different."
An ironic smile graced Miranda's lips. "I had a lot to think about, when we were on the moon." She sighed and walked over to the window, glancing out at the sunny sky, "You know... We could have all died. It was only with the greatest luck that we gathered all the dragoon spirits, made it through Aglis, Zenebatos, Mayfil... And all the way to the Divine Tree and the moon. I still can't believe we actually defeated a god and made it out of there alive. It made some other things seem rather... trivial."
Wink finally smiled. A small, sincere smile, rejoicing in Miranda's newly found peace. "I'm sure you are right." She replied softly.
Miranda stood up and gave her a pointed look: "It also does nobody any good to lock yourself in the room and mope." She walked toward the door and called over her shoulder: "I'm going to ask the cook to make something for you, and you better eat it. You are not going to waste away in your room!"
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Miranda might seem more sensitive and less temperamental now, but she certainly wasn't getting any less persistent. Under her watchful eyes, Wink ate and took a much-needed nap. Some colors came back to her pale cheeks and Miranda, finally satisfied, left her to her solitude.
However, night soon came and Wink found that sleep was eluding her once again. Deep in her heart, she still couldn't believe Lloyd was dead, even after Miranda's recount of the events in detail. She vividly remembered the night he came to her. She fingered the pendent around her throat and recalled his words:
Wait for me.
She did, but he wasn't coming back.
Wink walked up to the window and threw it wide open, gazing out to the dark horizon sorrowfully. Time would make everything better. She was told again and again in events of despair, yet at this moment, she questioned the truth of the statement. She never thought it possible to grow so attached to someone, in such a short time.
Nevertheless, this was the case.
Suddenly, Wink's eyes spotted something in the corner of her vision. Turning her head slightly, she looked curiously at a pulsating spark which appeared on the horizon. The bright, multi-colored light glowed stronger with every pulse, and expanded in size. It soon formed the shape of a column of sort, standing upright and shimmering against the backdrop of the night sky.
What can that be? Wink squinted, trying to identify the source of that curious light. It's coming from beyond the Kashua Glacier… How strange.
As Wink watched in fascination, the column of light suddenly vanished, only to appear again seconds later, closer this time. It shimmered, vanished, and then appeared a third time, this time almost on the edge of the glacier, and illuminated Deningrad in a faint rainbow of light.
Wink had no time to ponder about its existence anymore. Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently, causing her to lose her balance. She cried out in alarm, skid across the entire room, and landed in an graceless heap near the door.
An earthquake?! What is going on?
Wink scrambled out of her room, dashing for the stairs. Everything seemed to be shaking, spinning… Knights and servants alike were frantically running in all directions. In the chaos, Wink nearly collided into another petite, feminine figure.
"Setie!" She grabbed onto the youngest Sacred Sister, steadying them both, "Where is Luanna?"
"I don't know!" Setie's eyes were wide and frantic as she sobbed, "I can't get to her room, the path is blocked! I don't know where she is!"
"And Queen Theresea?"
"She hasn't retired when I went to my chamber… She might be in the throne room still!"
Wink paled and pushed Setie toward the stairs: "Go! Get out of the castle before it collapses!"
"What about you?"
"I'm going to find Miranda! She can save Queen Theresea!" Wink knew for a fact that Miranda would be in her training room. She was always the one to stay up the latest. Gathering her skirts, Wink ran toward the North Wing.
Very soon, she spotted Miranda, clad in her dragoon armor, her hair flying about her shoulders in disarray.
"Wink! What are you doing?" Miranda grabbed her arms, "Come, I'm going to get you out of here!"
"No, I can still make it by using the stairs." Wink shouted back, "Go save Queen Theresea and Luanna! Setie believes Theresea is still in the throne room, and Luanna might be trapped in her quarters!"
Miranda led out a string of curses. "All right! Just be careful!" She pushed Wink toward the great stairs and then flew upward to the throne room.
Wink scrambled down the stairs. She fell twice and scraped her elbows and knees, and the sword wound on her back started to ache again. But pain was overwhelmed by fear, and she scarcely felt anything as she pushed her body forward, fueled on by her survivor instincts.
She managed to make her way down to the ground floor safely. However, just as she moved into the Great Hall, the front entrance collapsed with a violent shudder, completely blocking her escape route.
The thought of going to the back of the castle and try the kitchen entrance vaguely crossed Wink's mind. However, she had no time to examine the practicability of her idea. Not five feet away, a giant bulk of crystal fell from the ceiling, crashed to the ground with a deafening thud, and the rush of air knocked Wink off her feet.
It could have crushed her… She was trapped; the next one might crash her… Frightened by the reality of her situation, Wink shielded her head with her arm and screamed as debris continued to rain down all around her. In her hysterics, she didn't notice Lloyd's silver engraved pendent suddenly flare with magical energy, issuing a call in the form of a bright rays of light.
And it was answered almost immediately.
A sudden heat wave from above, accompanied by a loud crash, caught Wink's attention. Her head snapped up and she gasped as a fireball blasted one of the high windows to pieces. In a rain of shattered glasses, a black figure burst through the broken window, and dived down at her without a pause.
Wink didn't even have time to react. Suddenly she was hovering at least ten feet above the ground, suspended in midair by a pair of strong arms around her slim waist. Instinctively she grabbed onto the arms that held her. Only then did she dare to look up, and to her greater surprise, she was looking straight into the handsome face of a man she thought dead.
"L-Lloyd!"
The dark Wingly nodded, shifting his balance so he could hold her with one arm. The other drew his sword and its blade flared to life. "Hold onto me." He glanced around warily, "We have to get out of here now."
Wink nodded, instinctively tightening her hold on him, her mind going overload with shock.
Lloyd made a strange sign in the air and chanted softly under his breath. Another ball of flame appeared and he slammed it into the far wall with his Dragon Buster. A large hole immediately appeared. Cradling Wink carefully and shielding her with his body, he flew out of the crumbling castle at top speed and didn't stop until they were hovering above the Evergreen Forest. Only then did he dare to stop and turn around.
"Oh my god…" Wink could only clutch onto Lloyd's arms for dear life, shivering in his embrace as she watched, wide-eyed, at the sight of Deningrad.
The multi-colored column of light she saw earlier appeared again, this time it shot up skyward from the ground directly underneath Deningrad, and completely enveloping the city within seconds.
Rocks and trees were lifted off the ground and swirled upward as if in a hurricane, houses were torn apart, the castle shattered like a toy model. The great column of light suddenly burned white, and in a burst of liquid flames, everything Wink held dear disappeared in its dazzling radiance.
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A/N:
So, ah... No more Deningrad o_O I'm really sorry to end the chapter here, but I promise, at least some of this mess will be explained in the next chapter.
Miranda is less bitchy now, which probably is a good thing because Meru will be making her appearance next chapter. And in case you are wondering, no, Wink is not going to become a dragoon. I'm not going to install any new dragoons beyond the original ones, and making Wink the dark dragoon is as absurd (IMO) as Lloyd dancing a jig on Albert's dinner table. So... most likely, the line up will be as follows:
Divine Dragoon - Lloyd
Red-Eye Dragoon - Dart
Jade Dragoon - Albert
Violet Dragoon - Haschel
Blue Sea Dragoon - Meru
Golden Dragoon - Kongol
White-Silver Dragoon - Miranda
Dark Dragoon - Rose (?)
And if I decide to let poor Rose to rest in peace with Zieg, her replacement will be Lenus. Uh, yeah, that Lenus. Let me know what you guys think, please!