Chapter Ten: Anger
The Durandal trembled, explosions rocking her hull.
"Port shields down to 65! We've also lost several of our AWGS due to heavy enemy fire!"
"Divert all unnecessary power to the shields." Gaignun ordered. "Have the AWGS fall back and regroup. ES Asher, where are you?!"
We're a little tied up over here! Jr. snarled over the radio. These attack drones keep multiplying like rabbits during spring!
It's the same here. Ziggy reported from Zebulon. Gaignun turned his head towards another monitor.
"Dinah?"
Maybe they're trying to distract us? Shion asked. Jr.'s blue eyes widened.
The Emulators!
"We've powered the shields up as much as we can, but it won't hold for long." Shelley said.
"Kill the source of the drones and get to the Elsa. We'll gather the AWGS and retreat." The raven-haired U.R.T.V. ordered. A shriek from Zebulon had him whipping his head towards the screen where MOMO and Ziggy were displayed.
Look!
"ES Simeon has just gated out! It's heading this way, sir!" One of the Realians on the Durandal'sbridge called out. A shadow flashed across Gaignun's mind.
Hello little brother.
What do you want?! The cream colored ES pulled to a stop, wings outspread.
I just wanted to say hello to my fellow siblings. Is that so wrong?
When it's you, yes! Jr. snarled, startling Gaignun. Albedo must have let him in on this particular mental link…
Rubedo! You wound me. Your own flesh and blood…
You bastard! Maniacal laughter echoed over the link and in reality, the white-haired U.R.T.V. appearing on the Durandal's main monitor.
"I'd so dearly love to stop and play, but I have another matter to attend to…" He cackled, amethyst eyes gleaming. A cruel smile spread across his face. With someone very close to you…eh, Nigredo? Jr.'s eyes widened and he shot a look at his very surprised brother, who was staring at the viewscreen in shock.
Gaignun?
No! A scream tore down the radio, the image of Albedo disappearing to be replaced by the image of KOS-MOS and Shion inside Dinah, the brunette clutching at her head.
"Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!" She screamed. Terror speared into Gaignun's heart.
You son of a bitch, leave her alone!
Uh uh…don't even think about it, baby brother. You wouldn't want to blow your cover in front of Rubedo, would you? Shion's distress came down the link; Albedo was brutally attacking her on the mental plane.
"Aaahhhh!!!" Crying, she slumped forward inside Dinah. A roar of rage came from Asher, the purple-colored mech activating its thrusters and tearing towards Simeon.
"You leave Shion alone!" Gaignun felt Albedo pull away from Shion's mind to focus on his older brother, activating Simeon's beam saber.
"I was coming to you later, but if you insist, we can play together now..." Low, racking sobs caught Gaignun's attention, turning it away from the fiasco in front of him. KOS-MOS had taken full control over Dinah, piloting it towards the Durandal. Shion was slumping against her station, holding her forehead. Fury hazed the dark-haired U.R.T.V.'s vision, his fingers gripping the lip of the console tightly.
"…I'm going to meet them."
"Master Gaignun?!" Mary said in surprise.
"Call Asher and Zebulon back, and get us out of here!"
----
Cries of pain met his ears as he hurried inside the medical bay. Two medical Realians were trying to hold Shion down to the bed, yet every time they touched her, she screamed and thrashed around violently.
Mental overload… "Get away from her." The two Realians looked up in surprise.
"Master Gaignun?"
"Move!" The black-haired U.R.T.V. snarled, stalking over and pushing them to the side. Placing his left hand on Shion's forehead, his right gripping her right hand, he closed his eyes, calling on a sense of inner serenity and peace and projecting it into her mind.
Shion. He reached out. Shion, it's me. Gaignun. Please, don't be afraid… Beneath him, he felt Shion's mind stir, and an image rose up of her huddling in a corner, curled up into a ball.
No! Please don't!
Shion, it's me. It's Gaignun. Albedo's gone, you have nothing to fear. His voice was low and soothing. You're safe. Silence. Then…
G…Gaignun?
Yes. With a cry, Shion's mind reached out for his own. Gaignun accepted her attempt at the mind-link, drawing her close to him, surrounding her with his mental shields.
Sshh… He crooned. Shion didn't say anything, but burrowed even closer. In reality, Gaignun could hear Jin's voice, and footsteps hurrying over to the bed.
"Take her other hand." He ordered, pulling his attention away from the mind-link to focus on the older man. "Talk to her, let her hear your voice." Jin nodded, moving to Shion's left side and picking up her small hand.
"Shion-san…" He murmured, before saying something in Japanese. Underneath the two men's gentle ministrations, the terrible tension left the younger woman's body, her muscles relaxing. Judging that she was no longer awake but sleeping, Gaignun let go of the mental bridge, pain pounding at his temples.
"Let her rest for a couple of hours. She'll have a nasty headache when she wakes up, but that's normal." He said, rubbing his forehead. Better than her in a coma or going into cardiac arrest.
"What did he do?" Ziggy asked.
"Not much, just gave her the mental equivalent of a beating." It was hard to force the words out of his throat; the rage was clawing at him, making him see red. How dare that bastard even touch her…it was taking all his self control, and then some, not to reach out and tear his older brother from limb to limb.
And I'd take great pleasure in doing so… The fingers of his right hand clenched and unclenched, as if imagining a throat underneath them. Vaguely, he was aware of looks being aimed at him, and then the touch of a small hand on his arm.
"Gaignun? What's wrong?" He heard his older brother ask. Fear and anger coursed through his body, a dual-edged blade tearing at his sanity. Normally he had perfect control over his emotions, but today…Without a word, he jerked away from Jr., striding out of the medical bay.
"Gaignun?!"
----
The door to his room hissed as it opened.
"Gaignun, what the hell's wrong with you?" The black-haired man didn't respond, his back turned to Jr.
"…"
"Gaignun?"
"…Were you able to track Simeon's flight path?"
"No. We don't even know what column he jumped out of." Jr. answered. He crossed his arms. "What did Albedo mean by 'somebody very close to you'? By all rights, he should have thrown that remark at me, but you…"
"It's nothing." Gaignun said sharply, moving from the window over to the desk and sitting down. He couldn't meet Jr.'s eyes, if he looked into them he'd fall apart….those same blue orbs he was trying to avoid narrowed.
"You're lying."
Fact of life with me, isn't it, niisan? "I said, I'm fine." The red-headed U.R.T.V. stared at his brother for a moment, his mind flashing back over the events of the past several days and what had just happened, especially how his "father" acted towards a certain brunette…
"Oh my God…you're in love with Shion!" At this, Gaignun's head whipped up. "It's true, isn't it? And Albedo…"
"Don't!" The dark-haired U.R.T.V. roared, rearing up, his eyes blazing green fire. "I…I…" His eyes fell to the desk's surface as realization sank in.
I…I do…love her. Fingers fisting, he sank back down into his chair, leaning forward.
"That…bastard…" He squeezed his eyes shut, tears suddenly threatening to fall. All of a sudden, he felt Jr.'s presence next to him, hands gently gripping his shoulders and pushing him back.
"Hey…take it easy." Gaignun allowed himself to lean back, one hand coming up to cover his face.
"He's after her. I don't know why…but he's after her." Jr. hissed underneath his breath.
"Jeez, you could have told me about this earlier! This is why you've been so glum, hasn't it?! You need to learn how to let people in the loop more!" He looked at his younger brother. "When did this start?"
And yet I lie once more… Gaignun thought to himself bitterly. "I…I had a nightmare." Which was the truth. "In it, I saw Albedo…he had killed all of you. And then…Shion…" He closed his eyes against the memory.
Blood staining her beautiful cream-colored skin, her green eyes glazed over, the light in them forever gone…
"Albedo got to you using a nightmare?" Gaignun opened his eyes to see Jr. cross his arms again, a frown on his face. "That's not his style."
"I know. My best guess is he got into my thoughts while I was asleep." It was a weak excuse, and Gaignun knew it…even if Albedo had arrived while he and Jr. were asleep, Jr. would wake up because he would sense his "twin"'s presence.
"But then why wouldn't I have sensed him?" The one question Gaignun wanted to avoid…but he had to come up with an answer, and one that would satisfy his brother.
"I wouldn't put it past Albedo to be able to use his abilities over great distances." Another lie, he was the one who could do that. "Probably he could even do it from within hyperspace…that could be another explanation for why you and I didn't sense him." The red-haired U.R.T.V. nodded.
"Makes sense. Jeez, now we can't even sleep because of him?!"
"I think this was a one-time thing only." Gaignun murmured. "He wants Shion. And… and he knows about my feelings for her." He's punishing me, Rubedo.
What for?! You've never done anything! To that, Gaignun was silent. It was on the tip of his tongue to blurt out everything, to confess…. Jr. however, took his silence to mean something else.
"Hey." He put a hand on his younger brother's shoulder, causing Gaignun to turn his head and look at him. "It'll be alright. We'll protect her." A small smile crossed the black-haired U.R.T.V.'s face.
"Aren't I the one supposed to be saying that to you?" Jr. shrugged.
"Hey, I'm the older one in this outfit. I gotta act like it sometimes." He cocked his head, a smile appearing on his lips. "And it's nice to see you finally take the fall, bro. Gonna do anything about it?"
"What can I do?" Sighing, Gaignun rose from his seat to move over to the bed, finding the floor very interesting. "This is hardly the proper time to get involved romantically; all of us could die the very next day. And I doubt she'd see me that way."
"But…"
"I…I just want to protect her. Knowing that she's safe from harm is all I desire right now. Nothing more, nothing less." His head rose, green eyes glittering. "But he's going to pay, Rubedo."
"Gaignun…"
"No." Jr. fell silent, recognizing the glint in his younger brother's eyes and the tone of his voice. "Pray that I don't get to him before you do niisan. Pray."
AN: Btw, when you review, please drop in a vote for your favorite pairing! Albedo/Shion or Gaignun/Shion...your input will be very useful for a upcoming part of this story!