The Winglies of Hellena

Chapter Ten: Rescue Mission

Disclaimer: You know the Characters from LoD aren't mine, but all the others are. No stealy. .

I'm finally here, Lily thought to herself in relief as she stepped into the city. The people greeted her kindly, and pointed out where Dart and Shana lived. She thanked them and headed to their house, knocking on the wooden door softly. The door was answered by a pretty girl with large blue eyes and long brown hair - Shana, apparently. She smiled at Lily cheerfully and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, my name is Lily," she replied. "Could I please talk with you and Dart?"

"Oh?" Shana looked confused. "What for? Have we done something wrong?"

"Oh no, nothing like that," Lily reassured her. "I just have something I need to tell you about someone you know."

Shana blinked, then smiled and showed her in, leading her to a seat on the couch in the living room. She called into another room, "Dart, we have a visitor!" and a few moments later a handsome man with seemingly gravity- defying locks of reddish brown hair strode into the room. He looked at Lily in confusion. "Do I know you?"

Lily smiled. "No, you don't, but I really do need to talk to the both of you. I have some information about someone you both know."

Dart and Shana sat down across from her, and Shana spoke, "Who is this person, and what happened to them?"

"It's Lloyd... He's alive."

"WHAT!" Dart jumped up while Shana gasped, her hands over her mouth. "That's impossible! We saw him die on the Moon that Never Sets! Melbu Frahma stabbed him right through the chest a little over six months ago! He can't be alive!"

"He is alive, Dart, and he is in very grave danger. He needs your help," Lily insisted, her eyes wide and sincere.

"What does he need our help for? The big bad Wingly can't take care of something by himself!" Dart spat venomously.

At the look of pain on Lily's face, Shana reached up and touched Dart's arm to signal him to sit and calm down. She then looked at Lily. "What's happened to Lloyd?"

"Hellena Prison has been changed into a prison for Winglies. Lloyd was found on the side of the road not far from the rubble of the Moon, weak, but alive. He had that big puncture wound in his chest. It missed the vital organs, somehow. He was taken to Hellena and made a slave. It's a slave market there. The Winglies work in the mines most of the time, and when they're not, they're in their cells waiting to be bought," Lily explained.

"So how is it no one else knows about this?" Dart asked.

"Well... It's kept very confidential. They only tell people who are known Wingly-haters and who want nothing but to see them dead or enslaved. People who are trustworthy not to blab to others."

"And how do you know about this?" Dart asked with an uplifted eyebrow.

Lily sighed and confessed, "They employed me to work there healing up the more serious injuries the Winglies get when they're whipped or have broken bones and such."

"And Lloyd is in danger, how?"

"He... hasn't taken to slavery well, as I suspect you might have guessed. But all of the constant beatings he has received have left him more and more... detached. He withdraws from his body and seems to take refuge in his mind while he is beaten. He does not feel the pain, and each time he stays hollow and distant a little longer than before. I've been fearing for his mental health." She sighed and closed her eyes, continuing. "He killed a guard about three days ago when the guard was raping one of the children in the mines. The Boss put him in the black room. That's where he shackles the slaves to the wall, and has Dominic cast a spell on him to blind him and make him deaf. A clamp is put over his nose so he can't smell. Sensory deprivation has sent many a Wingly slave into madness already. Lloyd's been in the black room for two days now, and he has three days to go, but from the thrashing and the screaming I've heard him doing, I don't think he'll last that long."

Shana's hands were over her mouth in horror while Dart stared with wide eyes. He didn't like Lloyd, but no one deserved that kind of torture. "Who's Dominic?" he asked eventually, "And how can humans keep a bunch of Winglies captive? They've got those wings, and their magic."

"Dominic is a Wingly himself. He despises his own kind and works with the Boss to catch and enslave the others. He designed these special types of shackles that prevent the Winglies from using their magic, and every time they try they get an electrical shock, more severe for the amount of power they attempt to use."

"A Wingly who despises his own kind..? Now I've heard everything," Dart muttered. "But you're right - this can't go on. I'll come with you to Hellena and we'll see what we can do about Lloyd. Shana, in the mean time you should go to Albert and alert him. See if he can contact Meru. We will need Wingly help when fighting against this guy, if he's strong enough to keep Lloyd in check. Besides, I think they're all going to want a piece of this Dominic fellow."

Shana nodded and stood up. "I'll pack the things we'll need. We should leave as soon as possible." She quickly walked into the kitchen to find their weapons and armor, and started packing two bags with healing potions and some magic spells.

While she busied herself, Dart continued talking to Lily. "You like Lloyd, don't you?" he asked her curiously.

Lily sighed. "Not in that way. He is a very prideful creature with a lot of self-confidence - at least he was when he first came to Hellena. I've seen too many Winglies dying or going mad, or being beaten and raped. I don't want it to happen to him anymore, or to any of the others. But if the Boss finds out, he'll have me killed."

"We'll protect you, Lily," Dart reassured her as Shana came out with his sword and armor. He slid on the bulky crimson armor and put the Divine Dragoon spirit into his pocket, sheathing his sword at his side. Sliding the pack on his back, he kissed Shana and they bid each other good luck before heading out the door.

As she and Dart separated from Shana after passing through the forest, she looked over towards the distant black castle and whispered, "Just hold on a little longer, Lloyd. We're coming."