Chapter Fourteen: Emotion
Cold. It was everywhere…pressing against her back, settling down on and around her as if it were a blanket. Moaning softly, Shion opened her eyes.
Oh…what? Hissing underneath her breath, she slowly sat up, pain manifesting itself in her skull and her ankle, her breath coming out in little puffs due to the temperature. Where…where am I? The last thing I remember is…
She was leaning against the debris pile, pulling herself up to her knees. Her ankle throbbed; she bit her lip against the pain. She'd heal it in a minute; right now she had to reassure Jr. and Ziggy that she was alright. Then a chill ran over her, and she became aware of a presence behind her… Turning her head, she saw him, dressed in white, if she had not known him for whom and what he was, she might have took him for an angel… Those violet eyes narrowed, a cruel smile spreading across his face as he stepped forward. Screaming, she turned, raising the MWS but then suddenly he was in front of her, his eyes glittering, and she found herself falling…
With a start, Shion's eyes widened, and she shook her head violently. Fear flooded her system, she was all alone, only God knew where she was, and worse, he was around here…someplace.
No! Don't be afraid! He feeds on that, remember?! You have to stay calm… It was one thing to think it, but it was another to actually do it. She didn't want what happened to MOMO to happen to her...
Calm down! Dragging in a shuddering breath, Shion closed her eyes. She had to relax, to form some sort of plan. Kneeling, she closed her eyes, falling back into the familiar mediation breathing patterns she had learned from childhood, when her grandfather had taught her and Jin how to fight. She was afraid yes, but she couldn't let her fear control her…
I need a plan. Calmer now, she opened her eyes, slowly turning her head to look at her surroundings. Obviously, she was on some sort of abandoned ship or station. The power seemed to be still working, though it looked like there was a problem with the climate control.
If I can find some computer consoles, maybe I can jury-rig a homing signal. She knew the Elsa's radio frequency; the others would be looking for her. And moving around would help her get warmer. But what about him? Albedo would surely come after her; it looked like he wanted her to come to him…
Something that I don't plan on doing! Rising, she cast Medica on her ankle. It wouldn't be much help in hiding her from him, but if she restricted her Ether usage, maybe it would give her a ghost of a chance. Fingers gripping around the MWS's handle, she hurried silently down the hall, her heart racing. Time had become too precious a commodity to waste.
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Fear and anger warred in him, two beasts fighting for supremacy. But he couldn't give into them; right now he had to be the level-headed one, the leader. KOS-MOS was out of commission for at least a day, Albedo's attack had done a number on her circuits. Out of all of them, she was the only one who could find Shion, and so they would have to be forced to wait while Allen did the repairs…but it was too long!
She could be dead in 24 hours! Damnit! Jr. clamped down on his temper. He couldn't lose it…if not for Shion's sake, then for Gaignun's…
Fingers clutched at his coat, tightening in the red material. The one he had always turned to as a pillar of strength, an anchor... Long before, it had been him on his knees, his fingers clutching at fabric, hot tears racing down his face as he begged for forgiveness…then warm arms circling him, someone kneeling before him and embracing him…but now it was a cruel reversal, and his heart tore at the figure kneeling in front of him.
"N…niisan…" Black-clad shoulders quaked. "My…my…my fault…" Jr. could bear it no longer, and he threw his arms around his brother.
"No, it's not! We'll get her back!" Never before had he seen Gaignun like this…he cursed Albedo then, with every word that he knew. With one brutal move, his twin had bared and ripped the heart out of their younger brother… Beneath him, Gaignun buried his face into Jr.'s coat and sobbed. Helpless, all the fire-haired U.R.T.V. could do was tighten his embrace, falling to his knees, allowing himself to be the anchor, the support. Nothing he could say or do could ease his younger brother's pain…the only one who could do that now was Shion. After the tears, exhaustion came, and Jr. helped Gaignun into bed, pausing long enough to pull off his "father's" jacket and throwing it at a chair. Knowing that something of hers would help ease Gaignun's sorrow, he ran to her room, grabbing the first thing that he saw before bringing it back, placing it next to his brother so it would be the first thing he saw when he awoke.
"Shion…" Jr. whispered. "No…imouto." He closed his eyes. Please, please, don't let anything happen to her…let her be safe…don't let that bastard get to her; just protect her until we can get to her, please…
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He slowly surfaced from the soothing depths of slumber, the darkness that he was named for. His eyes hurt, a headache pounding in his temples and forehead. The room lights were off, the curtains drawn.
Rubedo. He closed his eyes, the ghost of a smile briefly appearing on his lips. Sitting up, his gaze fell to the covers, and he felt the breath slam out of his lungs. Lying there was one of Shion's Vector-looking jackets, the brown contrasting against the green of the comforter. A broken moan came from his throat, and his fingers reached out, closing around the soft material. Bringing it up to his face he inhaled deeply, her wonderful scent still clinging to the fabric, bringing him both pleasure and pain.
Vanilla… The tears came back, and his fingers fisted in the material, clutching it close to his heart. Shion…
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He was bored. Annoyance rose up in him, where was she?! By all rights, she should have come to him by now…he didn't like to be kept waiting! Madness warred with sanity, images of his nightmare flashing before his eyes, a small voice inside him crying to leave her alone, let her be…if he did what he wanted to do, he would lose her… Snarling, he rose from his seat, the folds of his cloak settling about him.
"Mon ange, what are you doing?" He crooned. "Why do you tempt me so?" His eyes gleamed as he reached out mentally, finding Shion easily. As he realized what she was doing, his eyes widened and then narrowed, fiendish delight appearing in their depths.
"Oh ho! So mon ange is not as weak as she looks! Such resourcefulness...you will not make it easy for me, will you?" He cackled. "That is perfect, just perfect! So be it then!"
Once she had found the working panel, her nerves had steadied somewhat, now being in familiar territory. Discovering a toolkit nearby nearly made her weep for joy, but she locked away that urge, she had more important matters at hand. Shivering violently from the cold, she pulled the console apart and got to work. For how long she toiled she did not know, all she knew was the circuits and wires underneath her fingers.
I've almost got it… Dragging in a shuddering breath, she pulled back, her eyes scanning the modifications. Just one more circuit and then they'll be able to find me…
An arm clad in white suddenly snaked itself around her neck, pulling her backwards, fingers muffling her sudden scream. Heat brushed against her left ear as another arm slid around her waist, pinning her to a body.
"Now, now…I can't have you doing that." A familiar voice purred. Shion's eyes widened.
Albedo!
"That's my name." The fingers moved, coming to rest just below her chin. "Mm…you smell so sweet. Like…" She felt a press of lips behind her left ear, a sharp inhalation. "Like vanilla." Disgust roiled in Shion's stomach, but right behind it was rage, an adrenaline-fueled monster. Snarling she threw her head back, cracking the white-haired U.R.T.V. in the skull. The arms around her loosened and she pulled herself free, whirling around with the MWS materializing on her left arm, Ether energy crackling around it.
"Spell Ray!" She screamed. Not waiting to see if the attack had any effect, she sped for the door, she'd come back later after she'd lost him, she had to lose him… No such luck though, as a hand reached out and grabbed her by the ankle, her injured ankle, nails biting through… Shion screamed in pain and fell down, twisting her body so she landed on her back, the MWS charging up again for another blast. Albedo anticipated this, and reacted by lunging forward, seizing her wrists in his hands and pinning them to the ground, using his weight to straddle the brunette. Desperate, Shion brought both knees up, slamming them into his midsection, feeling her captor's grip slacken. With a grunt she flipped herself backwards, biting back a scream as some of her weight went on her injured ankle. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Albedo lunge at her, and she reacted by putting her full weight on her left ankle, spinning around, her right leg flying out, the foot crashing into the U.R.T.V.'s jaw and sending him backwards, her ankle screaming from the fresh pain inflicted on it. Her breath coming out in harsh gasps, she got up, running out the door and into the hallway, turning her head to see if he was following…
And then with a loud CRACK, her ankle turned sideways, unable to bear the strain any further. Shion could not hold back her scream of agony, falling forward and landing on her side. Gasping, she pulled herself upright, propping herself on her elbows, looking down at her feet. Her right ankle was at an unnatural angle, twitching, blood pooling around it. Sobbing, she started to try and pull herself down the hallway, trying to get more distance between her and her tormentor…
No such luck.
"Mon ange, what have you done to yourself?" Breath catching in her throat, Shion looked up, seeing Albedo loom over her.
"Stay away from me!" She cried, the fingers of her right hand lashing out, leaving four bloody gashes on the white-haired U.R.T.V's left cheek. Her breath coming out in harsh sobs, she threw herself to her feet, all her weight going on her left foot. She only had one more chance to get away…
"Reveal thy ancient power to me!" The familiar golden light surrounded her, a welcome sight. Just a few more seconds…
"NO!" The light disappeared, and something crashed into Shion, sending her backwards and down. The last image she had was of Albedo standing over her, violet eyes glittering in triumph, his clawed fingers reaching down for her…
And then…nothing.
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AN: Yep, it's a cliffhanger.
imouto: little sister/my sister