Desolate Gail: Redux

by Zeronova

The walls of Troy have been blasted open by Kiske, and Troy is as vulnerable as the Seikishidan, but personal conflicts still exist. End of Arc II. Updates periodically.

12. Arc 1: Rise and shine

-X- Introduction -X-
- Desolate Gail Redux
- Started on: 5-17-2004 / Posted on: 8-2-2004 / Checked on: 3-11-2005
- By: Zeronova
- Chapter 12: Rise and shine

- Text: Third person, Narration
- Text: First person, Thoughts
- Text: Interjection, the Narrator

X- End Introduction -X-

I feel…light, somehow unattached, where am I? What am I doing? I feel like I can fly, yet I cannot move. I feel free, yet bound by chains of guilt. What is this? What trap has God bestowed upon me, to test me, give me a hurdle to overcome, such as Abraham and Jacob? How can I dodge something I cannot move to avoid though? Jesus, give me strength to the do these things I must. Wait, what was that? Sounded like voices, is it You, giving me direction, leading me? Maybe…I can't remember, how did I get here? Come on, Kiske, think…how, where, why… Oh yes, I remember. The Gear, above me, I killed it, but then I passed out. There was blood on my back, my neck, I remember I couldn't move, I felt nothing, only a coldness, a biting, sharp stab and twinge of the icy fingers of Death clutching my soul to hurtle it to the depths of an abyss of which God couldn't retrieve me from. And…here I am. I can't see anything, yet I see softness. I cannot hear, yet I know of lulls. I cannot feel, yet it feels tender and warm. Where am I? What do I see and know in this void?

"He moved…"

Come to, Kiske. Don't go to the light, you have business to do. That's what they say, is God's plan much different? How would me dying serve God's ultimate purpose for me? It doesn't, not at all. My purpose is to fight in the name of God, to kill Justice, save humanity from its own ignorance in creating such a weapon, that then abused it and led this war. I must live further, fight further, kill Justice. Get up, live again, move, breath, do it, Kiske.

He's coming around. Sir, can you hear me?" Open your eyes, live further, Atlas. "There you are, sir." Ky met the short and thin spiked hair of Jaygus, that stood straight up from the sweat and exhaustion floating through his breaths and body, his hair matted with sweat, which he ran his hand through, the hair standing up on end, trying to brush it back flat and slicked backward with his now drying sweat. The tips were a dark black against the soft light pervading through each strand, the bottoms a gray hew of silver. Ky opened his mouth to speak, yet his words came out a garbled mess of noises and sounds. "Shh, you're injured sir, we are tending to your injury. Hold still." Jaygus said soothingly, that undeniable niceness of his, to all and not taken aback by or for anyone, the sincerity dripping from each word.

Ky convulsed slightly, a pain shooting him from his slightly euphoric and dazed state. His body contracted and shot out again, blood pumping through his veins. He looked around the place he occupied as he did, it was a small officer's lounge, like the one they had entered the warehouse in on Floor C.

"Oh yeah, that shit stings." Quint said with a slight smirk, leaning against a far wall, looking down on the injured Ky, who had a white foaming crust around the wound, which was causing him immense amounts of pain. Atlas clenched his teeth in pain, and also in anger at Darton, the duplicated reason for instant feeling making the pain in his back seem somewhat less. His face flushed with emotion, a red tide washing over his frail, pale French skin, the light blonde hair frazzled and dried out from the sweat that evaporated out of it, covering the azure eyes that pierced like the beams of Justice.

"Where…am I?" Kiske said through clenched teeth, feeling the tip of a needle piercing the burning skin.

"Sir, do not talk, save your strength." Jaygus said, his voice bellowing, yet still undeniably friendly, like a father who never tired of the antics of his son, no matter how bad or insane. "Let me answer the best I can to what you may ask instead." Jaygus continued, each stab of the needle sending spikes of pain racing through Kiske. "We're out of the warehouse, we finished off the Gears, though the humanoid types we encountered below have surely found another way up, so we're not out of it yet. We just got out, you've been out for about an hour. It seems that a Gear got you pretty bad back here. He gashed right across your shoulder blades; I'd say an inch deep. Grazed your spine, lucky it didn't sever anything. It isn't bleeding that bad, though as soon as you get rest and water, it will. We sanitized the wound with some supplies from the warehouse, and now I am stitching you up. That answer the majority?" Jaygus said slowly, the affirmed nod from the pain stricken face of Kiske.

Small crystalline tears formed at the edges of Ky's clenched eyelids, the frail boy inside showing through the leader of humanity façade.

"By the way, thanks Darton." Jaygus said, nodding. Darton made a low tsk noise, then nodded back, as if he didn't want to be acknowledged for what he did. Ky had a questioning glance as to what Darton and Jaygus had in mind, but was quickly relieved of the thought as the pain from his back punched him in the gut to remind him it was the most important thing to him, to stay on his mind rather than Darton or Jaygus. He'd file it in his memory to come back on later.

"Hey, you know the time?" Darton asked to another soldier who stood adjacent to him on the other wall.

"Nah, but by the sunlight from the sky light, I'd say dawn." He said kind of sarcastically, though with a trepidation that only showed that he was unsure of Quint's intent by what he said, if it was humorous or serious.

"Oh, well, duh." Quint said, like he should have immediately known. The soldiers who had spit on him and had disdain for him as their leader, Ky had, seemed to vanish, replaced with a mild respect and equal taste, and distaste, for each other. By no means were any of the soldiers readily accepting him, but what they had thus been through, they were more amicable to him than their immediate aversion earlier on.

"How many…" Ky stifled out.

"Me, you, Darton, and two others, a lieutenant and a private." Jaygus said softly, tending to Ky. He seemed to father Ky, sensing the inner insecurity that bled from Kiske, of which he tried to lock tight so no one would know it existed, but through all of the years Jaygus had on Kiske, nearly twenty, he knew a bit more than he, though Jaygus still trusted Kiske's judgment, he was the commanding officer. Also, how could anyone grow if they were always told what to do? Kiske would build character and be a fine man from what he was given, Jaygus knew, but also had a special reason for being so nice to Kiske. Jaygus' own special reasons are going to be left a secret for now, as many things else have been so far.

"Another day, another sun rises, like the last, and like the one that will rise tomorrow. Kind of ironic, huh?" Darton said, motioning for Jaygus to respond. The seasoned soldier only gave him a slight nod, knowing his meaning. Darton took a look out of the small officer's lounge, standing on one of the undamaged walls, the others littered with cracks and blossoms of blood from bodies removed. The door to the secret warehouse had been sealed behind them, for if one Gear slipped away from their initial battle, and came lurking back, it could kill most, if not all, while they were currently unprepared. The wall had been ripped off from the titanium door sliding, not like Kiske had removed it from the outside on Floor C, but how it was removed from the inside by the door itself this time. The crumbs of dry wall and the static white dust lie on the floor, aching to be rustled from the rest it so hated, no wall to cling to and give texture, it'd rather be free than captive to gravity.

I haven't had a lengthy author intervention in a while, and I think now, especially those poetic words Darton used, deserve a bit of insight. Another day, another sun rises, like the last, and like the one that will rise tomorrow. What does that mean? Jaygus knew, and I know, since I wrote that. Would the real Darton have said that? Possibly, though being an author, I see fit to add my own little touches here and there. Not to mention it gives a nice touch to the situation, which is by all means true. Anyway, onto the statement.

The sun raises always, not dependant on any factor. Nothing on Earth can stop the sun from rising and setting, it does so away from the control of man or Gear, unchanged and will be like that of our great grandchildren, and was like that for our ancestors. Nothing short of God can change that, yet that undeniable reality of something that will never change truly brings into question how can this war go on? This same sun rose on our ancestors as they built Justice, and rises on us as we fight him. Even if we lose this war, the sun rises for the Gears instead of humanity, it rises no matter what, on winner and loser, victorious and dead, it takes no prejudice or choice. Yet, it still has a small will. The sun is always a very beautiful thing, that no one short of God could change, yet it has its own little quirks.

A few of the rumors that I have heard from an escaped inmate of the Japanese Repopulation Colonies said that the sun that rises in Japan is bigger than the horizon, and is redder than the lust of a thousand bachelors for the most beautiful of all women God crafted. That sun rose red the day Japan was destroyed, and seems to be dyed red since, perpetuating the blood that was thrown into the heavens, the day the Crusades was started when the Gears massed and annihilated Japan. That same sun rises small and dim in the arctic though. It stays in the sky for a month, and then hides for the next, like a celestial game of hide and go seek.

Though, if Justice had killed Ky that day, the sun would have still rose, shining glory upon Justice, shining sadness upon humanity, or a hope in a new savior for the few remaining humans, and maybe a renewed vigor for the war on Justice. It would be different for everyone, everywhere, yet it is the exact same, and still very distinct. Amazing thing, the sun is. I admire it, undeniably. Maybe that's what God thinks. He let the Gears be made, wage war, going on for a century now, why hasn't he intervened? Does He just sit there and watch, constantly viewing the events with an unwavering eye and an uncurbed brow, looking to neither side for victory, but merely spectator to this war? Ky would like not to believe it, he would pledge his life God was in favor of the Seikishidan, and Justice would claim that he was a God himself, yet the real God…where exactly does He sit on this century long war? We'll never know, but we can try and decipher His signs.

A small clang of metal reverberated through the mildly silent officer's lounge, the needle Jaygus was using dropping to the ground in finality.

"There you go, sir. All sewed up." Jaygus said paternally, standing up, then extending his own hand to help the boy to his feet. Ky lazily stood up, still groggy and in pain. The blood loss, coupled with the adrenaline that evacuated his body at the moment of the blow, and left a present of grogginess and uneasiness until the second he woke, like an executioner waiting for the victim to blink, daring him to make one wrong move. Ky stumbled over himself and was quickly helped back up by the lieutenant, who Ky in turn thanked with a haggard mouth.

Kiske dusted himself off, looking around once regaining his balance. The officer's lounge was like the others throughout the complex, simple and effective. It had a desk with a phone that connected to every other officer's lounge, one for every few rows of soldier dorms. They served as information posts, as well as hang out spots. They had small vending machines, extra materials that were needed, especially a stack of extra Bibles. The commanding officer also, the highest ranking one among the governed rooms, stationed the room for an eight hour shift, then the next consecutive officer came for eight, and the next lower for eight. The three-man shift worked everyday on their times, and were essentially glorified nannies to the soldiers in their dormitory range. They were soldiers on call, true, and fought, yet to the soldiers they led, they were the supreme authority. In battle, they followed Kiske, but when it got fierce and dirty, they followed their highest ranking officer in their dorm range. They tended to the soldiers, referred them to medics, relieved them of service, and whatever was needed. Once graduating from that post, they moved to a new dorm, where they were once again the smallest rank. Each floor had privates, lieutenants, and sergeants, respectively split in thirds along the length of it. Among the privates, there were ranks from first class all the way to fourth, first being the highest, same going for lieutenants and sergeants.

The room had been trashed, the small vending machines raided, the glass broken in and all of the food inside rotten or gone. The food had to be supplied by the on-site kitchen, so most of it was perishable. Either fruits or crudely packaged dried meats, all prepared on base and within the past 24 hours. No food was ever wasted, since the machines were free, except they needed verification of the personnel using it, which was done through a pad and pen. The Seikishidan didn't try and keep track of who used it and not, they needed soldiers in peak condition, wanting what they want as well, since they were giving their necks, and in return food. The officer on duty saw all that they took anyway, so it wasn't stealing, and no soldiers dared to take too much, but were not reserved in not wanting any. The rest of the room had been ransacked; cracks along the walls, a big splotch of red on the far wall, and a streak towards the ground, where a soldier was skewered up on the wall, and slid down from the Gear that removed its blade from the pinned soldier. The desk had been turned on its side, half of it splintered across the floor with papers lying in scattered disarray. Half of the doorway was busted off, a half-circle around where the frame should have been, where Gears flooded into the room, killing the soldiers barricaded inside. Ky finished looking around, counting the five of the soldiers, including himself, then, his eyes flashed open, silent, standing suddenly completely straight up, a cold shiver sent down his back. He turned to Jaygus, a bit of fear in his eyes.

"Where is it?" he whisperingly spat out.

"Excuse me?" Jaygus said, politely.

"Here." Darton said, picking "it" up off of the floor, and tossing it at Kiske, who caught it expertly, holding it firmly in place of where he caught it for a second, examining it. The "it" was the Fuuraiken. He skimmed his eyes up and down it for a while, looking at it, then sheathed it slowly, his eyes transfixed on Darton. Once he had already lost it to Darton, and he didn't like anyone else having it, since it was one of the things Justice feared, and that it was a gift from Kliff to him, a priceless gift. A small grateful remark slithered out between Ky's teeth as he turned to walk out of the small room, Darton hearing it, but not all the most gratified by how it was delivered.

"You'd think he'd have a little grace to give me, eh?" Darton said to Jaygus with a smirk as he walked out, Ky and the other two soldiers already out of the room. Jaygus stopped in his steps, the other's trailing in echoes outside of the door. The gray of his hair seemed to have made its way slowly more upward through his jet black, wavy hair, as Darton saw when he turned. Can't blame the guy, war'll work a number on ya.

"I wouldn't persist on that notion, Mr. Darton." Jaygus said very tacitly. "Very simply put, I think it would be best, to all of our interests, if he didn't know. It would only complicate things, for now. Maybe when we're all out of here, alive and looking back, then would be good."

"Eh, maybe. Let's catch up." Darton said in an eschewed response, walking out of the smashed doorway, Jaygus following in succession. Darton found his pace behind the lieutenant, his uniform lined in a dull orange, now even more dull from the dirt and sweat that permeated every fabric they all wore. The whites of their Godly outfits had been turned speckled brown and crimson, dirt accentuating the medals of the slain. Even Kiske's blue trimmed uniform, signifying his leadership status, had been slightly torn and dirtied, the azure that matched his eyes turned a dull placid blue.

"What's the plan, leader?" Darton said contrived, still sour from his little conversation with Jaygus about whom he addressed.

"Escape through the sky light, wait for evac." he said slowly, not looking back, but plodding forward. Floor E was relatively clean, compared to the likes of Floor C, which resembled an unearthed graveyard. Not many soldiers made their way to Floor E and F before the Gears destroyed the stair sets, or used other methods of getting to higher ground. Few bodies were strung across the walkway, few holes in the cement and cracks along the walls made the scenery more illustrious. Indeed there were signs of Gears and battles waged, but compared to where most of it occurred on Floor C, Floor E was a janitorial clean up. It wasn't terrible, though not like Floor C, which would have to be completely renovated, if the facility was to be used again.

A small weight from the fitness center on Floor C had a metal chain through it and had been situated through a railing on Floor D, Quint noted as he walked by. Someone probably slung that across the gap and climbed up it. Not a bad idea, but not a good one either. His scanning eyes perused upward also to Floor F, and the elusive skylight. The dome, about twenty feet across, sat in the middle of the gap between each side of Floor F, in the direct center of the gaps and one length side to another. The forty-five foot gap between each of the twenty feet walkways made getting out a bit of a struggle, but since the cargo room on Floor C was destroyed, it was their only chance, besides tunnel out.

"Hey Kiske..." Quint said slowly, genuinely trying to get his attention without malice in his voice.

"What?" Ky shot back, without looking at who was talking to him, automatically taking a violent aural battlefield with him.

"Check out the sky light." Ky looked up slowly as he walked, somewhat over his shoulder, since they were walking past it, towards the same end they occupied on Floor C, before they abandoned Quint. The dome, twenty feet across, with a curve of about three feet from the flat ceiling, was destroyed. The glass of the dome fit over an apex of four struts, forming an eight-point circle, that had a metal ring welded to all of it to hold it in, none of which resembled its former self. The glass had been smashed in the center, pieces of it removed and lying in glittering fragments on Floor A, which was the only floor with a solid base, and no gap in-between it. One side section still remained, since the glass was reinforced and triple layered, so if one part cracked and broke, the entire thing wouldn't follow in succession. The metal that held it up had been bent inward, and ripped off. Pieces lied in disarray on Floor A also, and others were bent and twisted like paper, odd formations of the steel above, like steel jaws. A slight dew from the morning had taken home in the crevices of the metal and pooling in a small formation on the flat side of another bent rail, dripping consecutively with each drop, spaced about ten seconds a piece.

"...This...is not a dire problem." Ky said, unsure of his own words as he continually stepped forward, eyes transfixed on the mangled skylight. "Well, it would have been impossible for us to break it anyway, so this is an improvement. I cannot break through three panes of reinforced glass, with steel wiring between each, and a welded metal frame that had been built right into the cement super structure. God has given us His graces." Ky said, looking at the better side of the situation, his words ending in a high note of praise from his low beginning.

Darton could find no fallacy in Kiske's words for once, and simply kept his mouth shut. While, it would be a bitch to get out of without snagging a limb, you could get out now.

"Alright...how do we get to Floor F then?" Darton said, just trying to find something negative and wrong with how Kiske thought and planned. Challenging Kiske's authority was something Darton excelled at, especially with Darton's view on Kiske being only sixteen, undeserving of the responsibility given to him, and unable to cope with it.

"Darton, shut up." Ky said, plodding forward, the soldiers in sync with him. Kiske, at this point, had lost most of his leadership morals, and focused on surviving. While still having to be a leader and a prominent figure in the soldier's fate, they had seen him at his best, and his worse thus far, from being an injured child, to a fighting essence of victory, and saying the right words to prove he was right for the job had gone to Hell. Also, with the survivors slowly dwindling, he didn't need to lead an army, just them. They all felt the stress and hardship of the war, the political side of being a leader wasn't important to them, just as long as Kiske got them out, he was enough of Kliff's heir. All of them shared the sentiment, except for Quint, who had his own agenda. His agenda, while slightly known, will not yet be revealed. Major plot points, including the secret I just revealed earlier in this chapter. You'll have to wait to know them, my dear and devoted reader. Why else would you be reading this now, after so many words and chapters? By this point, I believe I have your undivided willingness to finish my story, tell the fate of this world and these people. Though, that does not mean I will not keep things secret until the opportune moment to tell them. I like you for reading this far, no doubt, but I don't like you that much, not until you finish it. And by then, I think you'll like me, so we'll be on good terms as well. Or...maybe you won't, I guess it depends on what you think of…wait, can't say that, major plot points. Keep reading, my friends, keep reading.

They kept walking, the skylight becoming a distant object illuminated from the upcoming sun, but not close enough to make out the mangled beams. The oncoming bend in the walkway was coming, the half circle that connected both sides of the headquarters, the stairway as collapsed as it was when they were on Floor C. It had been razed from Floor F all the way down, like a boulder had been dropped from the top, crunching all the way to Floor D, where they couldn't traverse previously. They all found a spot to site or stand among the wreckage of the stair set, situated between two elevator shafts.

"Here you go, Kiske. Now what? Use our God given angelic wings to ascend to Floor F and out of here?" Darton roused. Ky didn't respond, circling around the wreckage, striding to the railing, looking around, back up, and surveying again. Quint watched him for a minute before clearing his throat, waiting for an answer. Ky stood up against the elevator shaft, knocking on the two dulled steel doors, the shined silver a non-reflective dull. Some privates would have gotten duty to shine the elevator doors on Floor E, as well as a different set for every floor. Everyone had duties, and they kept the headquarters looking new and running smooth, as it should. Shining railings, sweeping, washing, as well as training, learning, and living, simply. I've gone over this before, how people want to live at the Seikishidan because all it offers, yet it still is a military organization, so it has standards and sets of rules, as well as a schedule and jobs. Though, they never dismissed a soldier for misconduct, since every soldier was needed to fight against the Gears, and lucky for the Seikishidan, most of the remnants of humanity wanted to fight all they could against the Gears, so infighting was very minimal, as well as insubordination. Not to be a hypocrite, I re-iterate minimal, considering Quint.

Fitting his fingers between the two sides of the cold elevator, Ky situated both of his legs, and tugged on the sides. Without electricity, they were each a solid hundred pounds to move, and were rather tedious, as well. He grunted as he pulled, all of the attention focused on what he was doing. The sounds echoed, the metal screeching on itself as it slowly moved along the tracks, as well as Ky's exhausted grunts. He opened it a few inches, before taking a gasp and testing for a second, where one of the soldiers jumped in and helped him. In a matter of another minute, it was wide open. Inside, it was dark, very dark. No light permeated the shaft, making it more ominous than the warehouse, which had minimal lighting. Two solo wires hung in the middle, stoic and slowly waving back and forth with the draft of air from outside swooping to overtake the stale air inside. Both cables were very thick weaved metal, capable of carrying the elevators that ascended and descended those shafts, which could accommodate twenty soldiers (a bit snugly, but still could).

"This is how" Kiske said, a smirk on his face as he turned to face Darton. He motioned for the soldiers to gather up around him, and they all obliged, even Darton, fitting in the small group around the elevator shaft.

"Damn...better not fall." Darton said, leaning his head inside. Breathing in deep, then spitting out, he watched it fall into the darkness, which seemed to swallow it up and embrace anything that dared come into its abode. A small splash was heard, echoing off of the cement walls like a rocket about twenty second later, surprising them all a little.

"We're using this to get up to Floor F. Either we climb the cables or...well, I don't know." Kiske said plainly.

"Sir, we can use that." Jaygus said slowly, arching his arm inward of the doors. Leaning his head into the shaft, Kiske saw what he was pointing at. A small service ladder led from the bottom floor to the top, slightly indented to be out of the way of the elevator's pathway, though it was around to the side of the door.

"How the hell are we going to get to that?" Darton asked. "I don't see a how-to guide, I don't see any bungies." All of the soldiers sent him a defiant glare, all symbolizing "shut up". Even Jaygus, whose stoic manner was usually as solid as the surface of a pond in winter, seemed to implore in his expression for Quint to be quiet.

"...We need a median." Ky said, examining the ladder again, the small square of light filtering in through the open doors he stood in-between. "We can't jump straight to the ladder from here, it's impossible. We need another thing, to jump to from here, then jump from that to the ladder. Something, if we had a platform, or even a ledge. The wires would be our only chance, but those would most likely be our own death."

"Sir, maybe Darton has an answer." Jaygus said, looking over to Quint with confidence. Darton was also amused at the statement, for its randomness and that he had absolutely no idea what Jaygus meant.

"'Scuse me?" he chortled.

"That thing snug in your belt." Jaygus said, nodding to the top of an object protruding from under the confines of the leather. Darton looked down, not knowing, then recognized what he meant, and quickly responded.

"What? No, no way. Screw that," he defensively said, tucking it out of sight.

"What is that?" Ky asked slightly, stepping past Jaygus. "If it can help us get out of here, I want to use it." he said simply.

"Well, it can't. He's out of his damned mind." Darton violently replied.

"Darton..." Jaygus said paternally, like he didn't want to press the matter with more words than necessary and just wanted compliance.

"You don't even know what the hell it is, Jaygus."

"It's a knife." Jaygus shot back almost instantly, without any emotion or lingering questioning in his voice, it was matter of fact.

"How do you know?" Quint fired at him defensively. He was on his toes, his eyes shifting quickly, nervous and not knowing what to do, a cornered animal.

"You left us on Floor C to go get something from your locker, and that's got to be it. I'm sure it's special for you to go back for it, and not use it in battle. But, I'm thinking if we stab that into the wall, we can jump to it, then off of it to the ladder."

"It's a goddamn knife, it can't pierce cement, or be used as an apex, it's a goddamn knife, man." Quint replied, his demeanor increasingly defensive and violent. He was willing to protect the knife to the end.

"Well, let's see it." Ky said, folding his arms. Now that it had been brought up, at least even mentioned, and they needed anything they could get, he wouldn't take no for an answer. Darton took a step back, his hand instinctively moving to the knife, scanning the eyes of all of the soldiers, whom now all seemed intent on seeing it. He sighed in defeat, and pulled it out. It seemed pretty normal; it had a wrapped grip with an old and soiled cloth, worn with years of abuse, bits of blood and oil on it, burn holes around part of it, tears and ragged lines of material hanging loosely. There was a sheath on it as well, though it was more than the standard issue Seikishidan ones. It was a mahogany, polished years ago, the shiny attire worn and tarnished, bits chipped and scraped. It was latched to the rest of the knife by a small piece of lace, wrapped around the handle. Quint slowly undid the knot, sliding the knife out of the sheath, slipping it back into the security of his belt. The blade was a straight variant, one side sharpened, the other dull, a descendant of a bowie knife, though only slightly. The one sharpened side had been abused with the years of use, the sharpness slightly dulled, and marks along the metal of it that signified many times it had been resharpened. It had seen its days of combat, and looked ready for retirement. The blunt side arched to a top, reaching to the sharpened side, topping at about six inches.

He held out in his open palm for viewing. Ky stepped forward to look, Quint flinching backward, his hand clasping over it slightly, then relaxing.

"See? just an ordinary knife, now let's find"

"Wait." Jaygus said, looking at the knife closer, stepping forward. He looked at Quint, nodded, and then picked it up with both hands from Darton, who hazardly let him have it, watching him intently like it was a newborn. He held the grip in one hand, his other palm resting the tip in the center of it. He turned it, looking down the side of it, felt the weight, and observed it, obviously knowing something that Darton didn't. But, what Darton didn't realize was how he was being watched by Jaygus. Darton's eyes were transfixed on the knife, not wanting to let it out of his sights, not seeing that Jaygus was monitoring him more than the knife. He turned and handed it back to Quint, who grabbed it and sheathed it quickly.

"He's right, it's just a normal knife. Won't pierce cement nor hold the weight of a man." Jaygus concluded, a smirk on his face. He turned to Ky, the smirk still sitting prominently on his lips.

"Now what?" he questioned.

"Well, one of us needs to get up there, then find a way to get us up there. Find some supplies, do something. We can't get up the shaft."

"I'm sure you can find a couple of clothes without anymore owners if you look in the dorms." Quint mused. "But wait. What the hell was the point of that?" Darton approached on Jaygus, stepping forward, demanding his attention to his question.

"With the knife? Simple, Mr. Darton. I was confirming something for myself."

"Oh, and what the hell was that?"

"That you do care about something." Jaygus said with a smirk. Darton took a step back, as if the words pounded him with the force of a hundred Gears. That I care? What the hell? Just cause I hate the Seikishidan, I never said I didn't care...what's this old man thinking? He's out of his mind...

"Anyway, let's get started." Jaygus said, motioning to Ky. Before he leaned inside of the elevator shaft, he looked back at Quint, that smirk still plastered on his face. It was genuine, a smile that had a thousand words. But, Quint knew what he meant by it. It's okay, don't worry, I know. I'm not going to tell, I needed to confirm it, I understand.

-X- Author's Notes –X-
- Zeronova's Notes:
- Well, another drama chapter, as opposed to action. I think this developed Jaygus a bit more, whether Samu thinks it is in his character's best interests or not, I do think it is (after out extended discussions). Also, I've brought Darton's knife out this time, making a much bigger plot point this time than in the original DG. I expect next will be more drama oriented as well, and then chapter 14 being the showdown. It's getting close to where I left off the original DG, but if I keep up my regiment, this should break through my previous barricade. Enjoy.
-X- End Author's Notes –X-