Chapter Eight: Sickness
"Yeek!" Hissing, Shion jumped back and away from the AWGS just as wires snapped, sending sparks flying everywhere. "Ugh…"
"Well, Miss Vector?" The brunette looked down to see Matthews staring up at her. "Can it be fixed?"
"Uhh…" Sighing, Shion looked back to the panel in front of her, wiping grease stains from off her hands.
How the hell chaos got through all those battles in this thing is beyond me… "I think it would be best if you started looking around into getting a new AWGS…this one's just about had it." She replied. "I can do some jury-rigging, but I wouldn't recommend using it…" Matthews groaned, hanging his head.
"If it's not one thing it's another thing…" Looking up he noticed Shion yawning. "You alright up there?"
"I'm fine, just a bit…" Yawn. "tired. I was up all night working on ES Dinah."
"And the day before that chaos told me you were working on Asher. And the day before that, you were working on KOS-MOS's OS. Aren't you going to take a break?" The older man rumbled. Shion picked up a clipboard.
"I'm fine. I know what I'm doing." She said. Matthews frowned. Poor girl looked like she was about to collapse…
"Tony." The blond looked up from his position next to the AWGS' right foot.
"Yo?"
"We got some of that chicken soup you can nuke right and it doesn't taste like crap?"
"Yeah. Why?" Matthews jerked his head towards Shion.
"Fix some of that up for her, she doesn't look too well. Last thing I need is her collapsing and us getting the heat from her friends."
"Aww, Captain's got a heart…" Hammer teased. Seeing Matthews turn around suddenly, he quickly ran for one of the lifts, not wanting to be the victim of another vicious kick.
"Ah-choo!" Above the small group, Shion sniffed. "Sorry!" Matthews frowned.
"That's it; you've worked enough for the day. Get down from there!"
----
Specters of the nightmare still lingered, little demons at the edges of his soul, beady eyes gleaming, waiting to sink their claws into his weary flesh. The madness had not surfaced since then, sanity winning the battle for the time being…or had it? He found himself boarding Simeon, using his powers to sense hers, locating her onboard the Elsa.
As he entered, he found himself looking around the hanger, hoping for a glimpse of a familiar head of brown hair, now streaked with hints of gold.
"I'll come up to the bridge in a minute. I just want to go over this data."
"Alright. But hurry up, will you? Captain's going to be pretty angry…" Hammer said, stepping out of the doorway, a tray in his hands. Albedo hid himself behind the leg of the AWGS, watching as the blond moved over to the other lift and then left the hanger.
----
Shion yawned, unable to keep her eyes open.
Oh…I really don't feel so well. Maybe if I took a quick nap… Yawning again, she plopped down on the couch, lying down on her stomach, her left hand resting on the floor. I'll just close my eyes for a couple of minutes, and then I'll get up and go to the bridge…that's all. Just a couple of minutes… Her eyelids closed, and the Communication Gear slipped from her fingers to rest on the metal next to her hand.
That was how Albedo found her when he entered the room. Taken aback, he stared at Shion for a minute.
She's sleeping. Curious now, he walked up to the couch silently. Hesitantly he stretched out a hand towards Shion's prone form. Afraid that his touch might wake her, he paused briefly to "peer" at her mind, sleep had dragged her consciousness down into its darkest depths, it would take quite a bit to wake her up. So reassured, he bent over, his fingers grazing the base of her neck.
"Are you having sweet dreams, mon ange?" He murmured, malice gleaming in his eyes. One finger trailed gently across the sleeping woman's cheek. "What do you dream of? Do you even dream?" A small frown crossed Shion's face, her eyes narrowed and she turned to rest more on her side, drawing her hand back up from the floor. The movement also revealed the teardrop crystal that she always wore around her neck. Frowning, Albedo sat down and hooked several fingers underneath the pendant, lifting it slightly.
What is this? "A gift from a parent, or your brother? Or…" He fell silent, looking at the small crystal. A memory of a picture from Shion's Vector file came up, one of a blue-haired man wearing the exact same pendant…
"Ahh. A memento of him..." He released the teardrop, and it returned to its place on Shion's skin. "Do you still yearn for him still? Have you allowed no other man to touch you, to draw close to you…?" His shoulders quaked with suppressed laughter. "Do you even know he still lives? What would you do if you found out?!" Eyes narrowed, he surveyed Shion's sleeping form before leaning closer.
"He's abandoned you, do you know that? He was never yours…" Shion slept on, oblivious to the madman leaning over her. Albedo sighed. Part of him rejoiced that his nightmare hadn't become reality, that she was alive, her innocence and serenity a balm for his shattered psyche while another part of him screamed that he get rid of her, she was making him weak… His fingers played with several locks of her hair. It would be so easy to gain entry into her mind while she was like this, to watch those beautiful eyes open, dazed and disoriented at first but as realization set in, to see pain and fear appear in those green depths…
Her skin was cold as ice underneath his fingers. Blood adorned most of her body, now a dull brown compared to the vibrant ruby red it had been once, her life was on his very hands, and no matter how much he washed them, the stains would never leave, he was marked a murderer forever, just like Cain when he killed Abel…
"No!" Hissing in pain, he grabbed his temples. "No…" He couldn't…he didn't want to! He didn't want to be Death's messenger to this innocent creature, if she died, part of him would die too…
I just want her to accept me! Just like how she accepts Rubedo and Nigredo… Part of him yearned for her to smile at him, to speak to him in the same way she spoke to his brothers, to have her look at him with respect and kindness in her eyes instead of fear and anger…yet a deeper, much smaller part wished that she would look at him and only him with those eyes, not at any other man…A small moan jerked him back to reality. Shion's brows were knitted, and beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead.
"Uuuhhh…" The white-haired URTV put the back of his hand on the younger woman's forehead.
She's feverish… "Mon ange, have you been working yourself too hard?" He murmured, removing the hand. A knock at the door had him turning his head, a small smile crossing his lips as a thought occurred to him. Turning his attention back to the woman lying next to him, he traced her upturned cheek with a finger before disappearing.
"Shion? You okay in there?" A concerned Hammer entered the room. "Shion!" He rushed over to the couch. "Oh man, you've got a fever!" He hurried over to the communication panel. "Captain! You gotta get down here, Shion's sick!"
----
Blue eyes widened.
"She's sick?! How the hell did she get sick? Did you feed her some of Tony's meatloaf?!"
Hey! Tony protested.
We don't know, Little Master. It's probably all the work she's been doing lately. Matthews rumbled. Jr. frowned, crossing his arms.
"She's been overworking herself too much lately, that's for sure. How much longer before you guys arrive?"
Another 20 minutes. The redhead nodded.
"Right. When you dock, take her straight to the sickbay. I'll let the others know." Matthews nodded, and his picture disappeared from the monitor. Jr. shook his head.
"Man, Jin and the others are going to freak…" He pressed several buttons, and Allen's picture came up. "Allen?"
Huh? Oh, hey Little Master! What's going on?
"How much longer are you guys going to be planet-side for?" The U.R.T.V. asked, cutting right to the point.
Um, KOS-MOS won't be released from Second R&D until tomorrow morning, and I think Jin and the others were planning on coming back to the Foundation. Why, what's wrong?
"Shion's sick."
What?! What happened to her?!
"We don't know. Matthews and the guys are bringing her back now; they said she got a fever 10 minutes ago. Tell Jin and the others for me, will ya?" Jr. cut off the screen before Allen could spaz out some more, fear slinking into his heart.
I hope she's alright… He bit his lips, blue eyes dark with worry. His feelings for Shion were that of an older brother protecting his little sister, she had such a kind heart, and in this day and age, the kindest ones were the people that were badly hurt in the end…
Like Albedo… Jr. closed his eyes. If he could turn back time…but he had to focus on the here and now. And right now, it was getting the best medical help for Shion.