Sicherung

The heartbeat was what diverted his attention. More specifically, it was the long pauses in-between each pulse that had him lifting his head, claret eyes narrowing. Nobody should even be where he was…curious, he tracked the waning life-force, gliding silently over the metal floor. As he drew closer, harsh, rasping breathing met his ears, his powers telling him that it was the sound of a person with massive internal injuries struggling for air, blood not only pooling outside but inside as well. Quickening his steps, he rounded the corner…

And stepped into a pool of blood. Startled, he looked down and lifting one foot slightly, his eyes skimmed over the floor…they landed on a slender hand, fingers curled up into the palm…the Vector CEO looked up, seeing a familiar brown-haired figure huddled on the floor, clothes now reduced to tatters, the fabric dyed a deep crimson…

"Miss Shion!" Not caring for the blood staining his clothes, he went on his knees next to her; one had slipping underneath her hair and gripping the nape of her neck firmly, the other going around her waist as he pulled her closer. He had known she and her party would be in this dungeon, that they would suffer some injuries, but he hadn't anticipated them apparently being separated, or the severe extent of her wounds… He sat back on his heels, cradling Shion's broken and battered body gently in his arms, one hand coming up to push several strands of hair out of her face. Blood trickled from her lips, her breathing was shallow, and if the internal bleeding wasn't stopped soon, she would die. Wilhelm's lips moved soundlessly, the Ether spell to stabilize her taking effect; he needed to see what other injuries she had before making his next move. His powers now at the surface, he checked her body. Four ribs were broken, every bone in her left foot was crushed, her right ankle was sprained, several deep stab wounds were on her upper right leg and midsection, clawmarks marred her back, shoulders, and her arms, the right one was broken at both the wrist and the shoulder, and if that slash across her jugular had been one millimeter deeper… To the side lay the cream-colored M.W.S., now painted a deep red by its owner's blood, electricity still sparking off it occasionally. Wilhelm's eyes darkened.

"I'm sorry." He murmured to the unconscious Shion. "Had I known, I would have drawn you away from here." Shifting position to get a better grip, he put one hand just below the younger woman's neck, sending his power to heal her internal injuries; just enough to make sure that death would not snatch her away from him. In response, Shion's body heaved and she started to choke and cough, turning her head away from Wilhelm, bringing up blood. Her breathing had improved greatly, her color returning, but her mind was slowly starting to drift up from the depths of unawareness.

"Ugh…"

"No." Wilhelm's hand went to Shion's forehead, easily forcing her mind back into slumber. "Not yet…" Cradling her body gently in his arms he rose, turning slightly as his E.S. materialized behind him.

----

It took little trouble on his part to make the medical Realians think she'd been found outside the hospital, as she was rushed into surgery he retreated back to his private quarters. His black suit was stained with her blood, if his Testaments saw him in this condition, the phrase "all hell breaking loose" seemed rather appropriate for their reaction. However, the ruby-red stains on his palms had him pausing. While it was true that his hands were just as dirty as the ones who worked for him, never had they been literally stained with blood. And what was on them was the most precious substance of all…the lifeforce of the "Mother".

All that I have worked for lies within her. Shaking his head slightly, he went to the sink to wash his hands; she would be out of the operating room soon, and he wished to check on her condition.

----

His Testaments arrived shortly afterwards, he was holding vigil by her bedside, watching her slumber. The doctors had been able to continue the work he had left behind, healing her major internal and external injuries, but because of the overabundance of nanomachines in her body, they could not treat her any more for fear of her becoming resistant to the healing Ether. So she lay there, bandages wrapped around the wounds on her small frame, she'd have to go 24 hours without any Ether cast on her, that was how long it would take for the nanomachine level to drop significantly. Kevin was the first to arrive, Wilhelm felt him start in surprise, and then shock as he saw the figure lying in the bed…

"What happened to her?"

"I found her not too far from my location, badly hurt. The doctors said that it looked like she got into quite a fight with a Gnosis." Wilhelm replied. "Were there Gnosis there?"

"They arrived not long after we came. Then all of a sudden, one of the Emulators went berserk and the whole place started to fall apart." Wilhelm felt the younger man struggle to keep his fear for Shion under control. "I was keeping an eye on the U.R.T.V. and his party, Virgil had the other group." As if on cue, the blue-cloaked Testament appeared, his green eyes locking on Shion.

"I thought so." Wilhelm stood up, his head turning towards the blond man.

"You know what happened?"

"It was an Azazel. Three of them attacked the party she was leading...they were after her."

"Why didn't you do something?" Kevin said. Wilhelm got the impression that the red-cloaked man wanted to attack Virgil for failing to protect Shion, his rage was all but tangible on the mental plane now.

"Gee, you would have wanted me to just appear out of thin air while he was around and snatch her out of harm's way?" Virgil retorted. "You know what's happened now, he's sticking to her like glue, it's damn near impossible to get near her!"

"But they were obviously separated." The Vector CEO interjected.

"The Azazel she was fighting grabbed her by the hem of her jacket right before she sent it over the balcony. I would have gone after them, but then Voyager ran into a problem with the Emulator." Wilhelm nodded.

"I see." It all makes sense now. And with the present situation, this may actually have been an advantage…For his counterpart, his other self, had realized that it was now Shion's turn in this performance, and now was using all of his powers to protect her. But the girl wasn't with him now, she was with them…a small smile crossed Wilhelm's face.

"For this unexpected turn of events, things have worked out rather well. We needed a way to bring her here, granted it would have been preferable that she'd still be healthy, but in the end, all that matters is that she's here." He said. "Is the Emulator under control?"

"For now. According to what I found out, that's the second one to go out of control in less than two weeks." Virgil replied. "The Federation's starting to get antsy."

"Just so. Both of you go back, monitor the situation. It would be unseemly for the Federation to gain control of the Emulators…if that happens, stop them. They must remain with the Kukai Foundation at all costs."

"And the girl?" Wilhelm looked back at the sleeping woman.

"She is no problem for me to handle. I'll keep an eye on her and make sure that she stays here." Virgil didn't say anything, simply bowed and dematerialized, Kevin following suit. Silently Wilhelm turned back to Shion, a thoughtful look on his face.

"So now I have you." He murmured, sitting down on the side of the bed. "All is in order, and you may now perform your task without hindrance..." One hand rose to gently push back a stray strand of brown hair.

"Show us to Lost Jerusalem, so that KOS-MOS may awaken."

Sicherung - German for "capture"