The girl swept a straight lock of dark blonde hair behind her ear as her fingers danced across the numberpad. With a hydraulic sound, the door hissed and retracted. Gabrielle welcomed Dilandau in, following close after to seal the door. Heading straight for the foot of the bed, she promptly let herself fall onto it, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Forgive my casualty," She sighed, and turned herself over to look at her commander. Dilandau lifted one shoulder slightly in a gesture of it not mattering. Whilst laying on her side, Gabrielle took off her boots, placing them neatly at the side of the bed. She curled herself into a half ball. "Please, have a seat wherever you like… Well, I guess there's not much else but the bed to sit on," She gave a small grin and shifted herself to the side to give him ample room.

Gabrielle yawned, swallowing back the bitter taste of tiredness.

"What's the mission tomorrow?" She asked, to make conversation.

"We're to go into Fanelia." He replied curtly.

"Oh." Gabrielle smiled sleepily, a soft, distant expression. "Where's that?" She asked. He flicked on the desk light and shut off the main one for her, observing her gentility.

"It's a large country mainly surrounded by forest. Land wandering dragons abound in that part of the world. Ruffian country if you ask me. Lots of Energists about there though, with all the dragons." He explained.

"What's an Energist?"

"An Energist is a type of crystal. Dragons have a natural type of them in the centre of their bodies for hearts. We use them to power mecha suits. We can also mine Energists, too. The most powerful Energists come from Dragons. Both the Libreia and Oreides have dragon Energists, interestingly enough."

"Uh-huh." She agreed, blinking slowly. Dilandau observed her falling asleep. This brang to him a very hazy, warm feeling that made all his nerves relax. He leaned his elbows on his knees as he sat on the foot of the bed, head turned to watch as she curled up tighter. For the first time, he didn't question the feeling, but instead let it happen. It was a feeling of safety, despite the wars that raged all around and against them.

Gabrielle shifted her weight, watching and listening to him in the dim glow of the desk light.

"What did you have for dinner tonight?" He asked. It took her a moment to answer.

"Pizza. Apparently it's a delicacy. That's very strange." She said softly.

"You falling asleep...?" He asked with a barely detectable smirk.

"No, I'm listening. I'm just tired." She insisted, and propped her upper body with her elbows. Her posture was quite pleasing to the eyes. The young commander was silent for a moment. He looked at her soft expression of calm happiness.

"I see you crying sometimes." He looked at the floor.

"Oh? … I'm sorry, if I do, I do it when, well… When I think nobody's watching."

"I was wondering why you cry."

Gabrielle sat up, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed, sitting a few inches from him.

"For everyone I'll never see again. It's quite obvious I'm never going home – I came here flailing in a beam of light. If that's not a freak occurrence I don't know what is, and the chance of it happening again is absolutely ridiculous. It just can't happen… I have a hard time comprehending how I even got here in the first place. Whenever I think of home and all those things and people I'll never see again, it hurts.

'Let's face it, one of these days I'm going to die. I'm going to die on a completely different world than where I was born, away from everything I've ever known. It's depressing and stupid, and childish, I know. But I miss everyone. I want to go home and step in my room, and look at the paintings on the wall. I want to smell the ferns and the flowers I have in the corner of the room, I want to look in the mirror and see the very first rose I ever got from someone, hanging dried against the glass. I want to go to school even if it's just to skip classes. I want to see my cat curled up and asleep on the blanket I've had since I was a week old."

Gabrielle had put her head in her hands, trying her hardest to keep her voice from breaking. Dilandau peered at her, lowering his head to try and get at eye level. Her hands were covering her eyes. The pleasant soft emotion he'd felt earlier was replaced by something cutting and lonely. Her sorrow seemed to pierce him. Reaching to his shoulder, Dilandau removed the large red spiked shoulder guards and put them on the floor by her shoes. Hesitantly, he put his arm on her back.

"I'm so scared of this place. I don't know what I'm doing here, what this world is. I guess I'm just scared of everything. I'm a soldier in some army when a week or something ago I was a final-year student working for minimum wage in a coffee shop who wanted to produce animated films. This is just so fucked up!" She spilled out her troubles further. In response Dilandau put his arm further around her. What else could he do?

What's coffee? And animated films?

Absently, Dilandau touched his gloved fingers to her hair, feeling the back of her neck. This feeling called for him to be tender towards her, something he'd never before done. Gabrielle was crying now, leaning a little to his side. He barely heard her. Dilandau was immersed in the mists of thought, trying to understand her.

"It will be alright, one way or another," He spoke. "Memories are something that never leave you."

It was curious, but he found he didn't mind her tight cling at all. Echoing flashbacks of himself as a child plagued his mind, but Dilandau shook them off. They were always nondescript and fleeting – However, waves of emotion always accompanied them. It struck him that he sympathized with her aching feelings of loss and confusion. He lifted her chin to study her expression. Gabrielle gave slight resistance, but eventually found herself looking up.

His was the look of a man behind the bars of his own mind. Blinking to clear his mind of the swirling thoughts, he brushed her cheek to rid it of the tears before he settled back with his arms balanced on his knees.

"Thank you… For that…" Gabrielle looked to the ground, away from him. "Thanks for listening to me. And… Thanks for finding me in the forest. And bringing me here. I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

Gabrielle was then silent for a long while, leaning against Dilandau's shoulder. He moved slightly, and her weight bobbed loosely. She murmured in her sleep. Surprisingly delicately, Dilandau laid Gabrielle's limp body down on her side.

Hours later, Gabrielle opened one eye slowly. She became suddenly aware of the warm presence next to her. Snapping open her other eye, the girl held her breath, her body tense. She could hear the other's breathing. Was anyone in her quarters last night?

Dilandau was... Didn't he leave? All too aware of the pressure of a body next to her, she turned her head a little to see.

… Apparently not! Dilandau shifted in his sleep, and she heard him mutter something as he resettled again.

Gabbi squirmed a little bit, feeling very awkward. The sleeping young man adjusted to her movement. Unconsciously, he lifted his arm and placed his hand spread on her flat stomach. He nestled up to her for warmth, his forehead touching her temple. She lay like that for a moment. Butterflies flitted about in Gabbi's stomach… But hadn't he said they had to go on a mission? She gently tried to separate from him, but he made a little noise of disapproval and pulled her back close.

"Dilandau," She called softly. No answer, just a tighter grip. "Wake up." She said. She turned to face him. His eyes were closed, his expression soft and peaceful. He was lost somewhere in a dream far away. Gabrielle had never seen him like that before. Gabbi managed to prop herself up on her elbows. The girl smiled and shook her head as she watched him. Maybe she wasn't so alone after all.

She poked him. He reached out and caught her arm before he knew what he was doing, flipping Gabrielle neatly beneath him, pinning down her shoulders, snapping his legs down over her middle. Dilandau suddenly recognized her and paused, his sentient mind rising out of the murky, translucent depths of sleep. She blinked, looking up at him. Dilandau was ontop of her, near nose-to-nose, his body tense and pressed close. He suddenly realized himself and the posture. Dilandau scrambled off of her, suppressing his wings, which wanted to burst out of his back. He cleared his throat as he assumed a collected pose.

"It comes from being in the military. Someone pokes you in your sleep, and, defense, you understand." He said, looking at the ceiling and smoothing back his hair, the rush of colour fading fast. However, the sudden hormonal rush wasn't. He opened his mouth to speak, and then a voice over the intercom rang out.

"Gabrielle, report to the Dragonslayer's meeting room for a breifing." Chesta's voice said. "Oh, and if you happen to see Dilandau, could you tell him to come too? We can't find him. Over and out." He said, and the intercom link terminated with a pop and a click. She looked at Dilandau, sitting across from her, fidgeting. She smiled softly as she stood off of the bed and went to comb her hair.

"You're cute when you sleep," Gabrielle said over her shoulder at him, picking up the comb and smoothing out her somewhat straight hair, which really didn't look too bad, even after sleep. The blush returned slightly to his face.

"You… Look good too, Gabrielle." He cleared his throat again as he replied. Gabbi turned to face him for a second before turning back to the mirror.

"Thanks." She said with a small smile. She then picked up her cloak and put it on, slipping on her boots as well. She went into the small bathroom she had, which contained little more than a sink and a toilet. Gabbi fixed herself up and came out.

"I talked to the Libreia last night." He said.

"You did?" She asked.

"I thought I should let you know. The blood bond in you creates a telepathic link between you. You should work on using that." Dilandau explained.

"How do you know that?" She asked, curious.

"Only certain guymelefs bond with given blood."

"I see… And what did you talk to her about?" Gabrielle asked.

"It doesn't matter. I just thought I should let you know." He grunted nonchalantly, and put on his boots. "We should go." He said, and put on his armguards as well. Vainly, Dilandau checked his hair in the mirror. "I just have to stop at my quarters first, so you go ahead and tell them I'm coming. If they ask why, just tell them some reason or other." He said, and she smiled.

"Will do." She replied. She stepped out the door, and headed for the rest of the Dragonslayers. Whilst was walking down the hall, Gabbi wondered why Dilandau hadn't just left when she'd fallen asleep. She remembered the warm feeling of him close next to her, and a little flutter in her stomach accompanied the memory. The thought of his taut body atop hers, pinning her body beneath him didn't help her focus on the task at hand… However Gabrielle eventually made it to the stone room used by the DragonSlayers. She opened the door. They all stood in a line and saluted her smartly.

"Oh, sorry. It's just me," She remarked quietly. "Um, okay... I'll just go in line..."

Gabrielle coughed and took place in line beside Gatti. Chesta spoke,

"Where's Dilandau? Did you see him?" He asked.

"Yeah, I saw him. I told him. He said he'll be here in a minute. He had to stop at his quarters first." She explained.

"Did he tell you why?" Chesta asked. "He said you'd ask. He also said that if you did, he'd have your guts ripped out and fed to the Fanelian land-dragons below us." She said with a grin. Chesta lifted an eyebrow.

"Sounds like him." Eventually, they heard Dilandau's footsteps approaching and they all stood with a salute.

He opened the door wide in an impressive entrance.

"All right, everyone. Let's get down to business. Anyone steps a toe out of line, and I cut it off. Clear?" He barked, and they all nodded vigorously. "We are to fly into Fanelia. Destroy anything worth destroying on the way to the royal city. Don't harm any natural resources if you can help it. Once again, this is supposed to act as a lure. Any further details will be presented to you on the radio. Go!" He commanded. "And don't forget to turn your invisibility cloaks on!" He growled as they left, and they were gone, sprinting towards the docking bays. Looking ahead at Gabrielle as she ran, he hoped she'd take this better than the last.

Gabrielle opened the doors and flipped skillfully into the pilot's seat.

"Libreia, invisibility cloak activate." She commanded, and the Libreia responded.

.:Acknowledged.:. The systems hummed to life. The orange dragon shivered as it broke the docking seal and heaved up onto the main level of the floor towards the open sky. The flame-coloured guymelef spread its wings, and as soon as it was in stable flight, it turned near invisible. The light rays curved over the metal, concealing it from view to the glancing eye. They flew in formation, and all were silent, remembering what Gabrielle had said before. They were reaching the borders of Fanelia and preparing to descend when Gabrielle alerted to something on one of the monitor screens.

"Wait, I see something." She announced.

.:"What's there, pilot?":. Dilandau chimed in.

"I'm going to go in." She said. "There's only enough time and space for one to go. Just circle and listen for me. Any objections first?" She said boldly, and all listened for Dilandau's reply.

.:"Affirmative.":. He said coolly.

She swung away smoothly from the formation, honing in on the image she saw. Dragon shaped. And the colour appeared to be white as the snow tops. It was sitting in stasus posture, she knew it because the Libreia adopted the same stance when it was recharging.

"Guys, it's the Dragon!" She said into the radio.

Gabrielle landed the Libreia as close to the White Dragon as possible, while still maintaining the element of surprise. She exited her 'melef silently, drawing her sword and rounding the copse of trees to get to the opposition. The female soldier catfooted softly on the earth, making hardly a sound. She knew the others were landing nearby.

Gabrielle held the sword at the ready, stopping often to hear the slightest of sounds. The slender girl in blue armour was almost up to the mech. She heard a noise behind her and whipped around. Nothing. She backed up slightly, and then there was the unique sound of something moving through the air. She turned her head upwards to see what it was, but it hit her square in the back. The impact sent her to the ground, her sword bouncing off the soft earth to land point up a few feet away. It was the pilot of the white guymelef! He'd seen her! Gabbi scrambled desperately to get to her sword, but she heard the sound of his blade cutting through the air to impale her. Rolled onto her back, she avoided the vicious stab just in time. He drove the sword into the earth.

"Dammit!" He cursed, and she flipped back into a crouching position. Their gazes met. Her sharp blue eyes burned with a frightened fury into his reddish brown ones, belying only a warm calm.

He was tall, wearing a red lace up shirt with khaki pants, and he had scruffy black hair. Some of his hair hung over one eye.

"Dilandau!" She cried out. The pilot reached out to silence her. "Dilandau!" She yelled again. "I'm defenseless! Help me! Over here!" She yelled, keeping a frightened eye on the taller boy as she backed off. She heard them coming in her direction. She screamed as the strange pilot got his hands around her throat.

Gabrielle smacked her aggressor heavily in the face and attempted to scuttle towards her sword, but he caught her belt and pulled her back. He brutally smashed her on the back of her head. Gabbi slammed to the earth under the blow, but stood up groggily, still attempting to defend herself. She shook her head to clear it and was promptly hit again, the impact sending her to her knees. He took his sword and smacked her with the flat of his blade, and finally the girl whimpered and fell to the side unconscious. The strangely clad pilot gathered her up in his arms and dashed towards the dragon. He knew that the other members of her squadron were fast approaching with Dilandau in the lead. Wrenching the grips on the dragon to his level, he dashed up the side and to the reins.He twisted his head and saw Dilandau running through the long grass, his sword withdrawn and hurtling at top speed toward him. Dilandau reached the mechanical beast just in time to slash at the lifting chest. The sword created a shower of sparks as the metal cut into metal. A reverberating high pitched 'tang' echoed through the chilled air. The ancient dragon shivered to life and effortlessly swatted Dilandau away like an annoying insect. He skidded across the ground, a dust cloud billowing in his path. He cursed the pilot, running forward as the guymelef spread its valiant wings and took to flight. Dilandau was rushing up to it when both Migel and Chesta grabbed their commander, holding him back. He tried to shake them off but found he couldn't remove both of them. He dug his heels into the ground and tried to pull forward, but they pulled him back.

"Forgive us, my Lord, but the dragon will crush you if you run!" Chesta yelled over the noise of the pounding wings as the dragon lifted. Dilandau stopped struggling hesitantly. He relaxed himself, and gently pulled his arms from their restraint.

Migel sighed heavily, watching the creature of metal fly.

"What do we do now, my Lord?" He asked.

"Burn everything," He snarled darkly. He watched with those magenta-coloured eyes of his the dragon disappear over the mountain, and he felt his sanity go with it, fleeing from him on swift white wings with purple membranes. A very familiar laugh bubbled from within him as he more than gleefully ran to his landed Oreides. In return for the Dragon taking Gabrielle, he'd take from the Dragon. Fanelia had to die. It had to writhe in flames for its crimes, arson set by none other than himself.

"New mission, boys. Mission perogative: Kill everything that is within Fanelian borders. Guimel, 'Com the base and report Gabrielle has been captured. I will not rest until sh's back here." He commanded. Safe, at least.

All the others returned to their guymelefs, ready for Dilandau's dispersion orders.

.:"Time to fucking die, you inbred, under-educated country! Die for your precious boy king!":. His voice was little more than a hoarse, maniacal shriek. The tone he cried out in made all of the hairs on the backs of their necks stand up. He meant business. Dilandau raised an arm of the Oreides to the sky. He aimed a liquid metal claw at an airship overhead and fired. The claw shot up hundreds of feet into the air, piercing the blimp-like structure of the ship, causing it to burst into flames and fall as the gas within acted as an accelerant and was consumed by the hungry fire. He laughed as if this was hysterically, riotously funny.

.:"Gatti, head in the north and destroy everything that bears the Fanelia name. Anything foreign from Fanelia, leave untouched to the best of your ability. Dalet, go east. Guimel, take the south, and Migel, you take to the west. Chesta and I will go in the direction the Dragon has taken.":. He announced, and he shot up into the air inside the mecha, aiming for the peak of the mountain that he had last seen the White Dragon. Everything beyond that point was going to die.

The soldiers split into their assigned directions, and they began immediately exacting their commander's bloodthirsty quest for vengeance. Soon they were all out of sight, and Dilandau could already see the smoke in the distance of a newly attacked town. The commander grinned in sadistic pleasure before moving forwards in dogged persuit of the Dragon. His sensors told him a town was just over that ridge. Perfect. The first onlookers in the doomed town saw a red shape burst over the top of the mountain, spraying snow everywhere. They cried out that the some ancient god had descended upon them to end the world.

.:"Your town is only the first of many!":. He cried. Pandemonium immediately began. Dilandau took no notice of their pain, only a hunger to numb his own and the rage that could not be quelled within him. He turned violently in the machine, smashing a succession of five buildings and setting fire to more. He felt no wrong intent while doing this, only a need to stop feeling pain by causing so much more than he had himself.

The distraught pilot kicked in some more buildings in his fury, and then left the town, searching for more things to destroy. He set forests ablaze, and laughed as they burned. The vicious militia commander continued to track the White Dragon, destroying anything and everything that moved in his path. It seemed that all he could see was an image of that hateful boy with his dirty hands on Gabrielle, taking her from him. His vision seemed red with a jealous rage, and he destroyed town after town, taking pleasure in the havoc he wreaked. He remained on the Dragon's path, killing and burning until the flame in his suit could burst forth no more.

He stood amongst a smouldering flatlands, everything around him gone. Leveled. He stopped everything and stood silent amongst the seemingly valley of death.

.:"We have done enough, Chesta.":. He sighed at last, his voice hoarse. His face was flushed, and his voice further broken. .:"We will develop a plan to get her back. I will not cease trying until she'sback safe. … I can't have one of my own in his clutches.":. He muttered, on the verge of breaking for this new emotion, regret. Gabrielle wouldn't have liked what he'd done to all these innocent people, and in her honour. She would have looked down upon it. Chesta made sure that the base wasn't monitoring their radio lines.

"I'm behind you all the way, Lord Dilandau." He said encouragingly.

.:"What have I done?":. He asked himself as he surveyed the wreckage.

"Your orders, sir." Chesta replied grimly with an innocent undertone.

Gabrielle awoke sharply in the cockpit. The boy was flying above, and she was contained in the chest of the dragon.

"Computer, where are you taking me?" She asked it. It did not reply. She cursed and looked through the bars at the outside. It was thousands of feet below. She swallowed. The boy could simply command the cage doors to open, and then she would fall to her death.

As she looked at the calm countryside beneath her, she began to feel afraid. "Computer, is there anything you can tell me about anything? Where we're going or who you are?" She asked boldly.

.:I am sorry. You are a hostage. That is all.:. The computer said in a masculine voice.

"Hah! Nobody will pay for my return! You might as well drop me right out of the sky here. I am worth nothing, dead or alive." She spat.

.:As you wish.:. The computer said, and the doors opened in front of her. She screamed as she fell through the clouds, the fear ripping through her like a rabid animal. The ground seemed to reach up for her, and then-

"Ah!" She cried out. Her body jerked, and she pitched forward. She was not in the cockpit. She was on the outside of the Dragon. The boy was controlling it. She had been lashed down crudely onto the dragon's back by the saddle apparatus. She was facing up into the sky. It was now night. The stars above her glittered in the deep black of the night. Her planet, the 'Mystic Moon,' was out of her vision. She could not see it. She had been ripped away from what she'd just grown to know.

What is to become of me now? She wondered tearfully. I am going to die, more than likely. The squad won't follow me forever, and since the White Dragon is as good at evading them as he is, they'll never catch me. She gazed at the stars. Dilandau will even give up on me. As will Gatti, my only friend here. Chesta, Guimel, Dalet... They'll all turn away from me. The most painful being Dilandau will. I was just beginning to... It doesn't matter anymore. None of it does. All hope is lost. I'll die here, a prisoner of a war that isn't my own, on a planet that isn't even my own. So far away from home... All her bravado was gone. Gabrielle knew she had to pull herself out of this despair.

"I see you're awake." Said the pilot, gently steering the dragon through the air. She said nothing, cold as stone. "Sorry about the hit on the head. My name's Vaughn. What's yours?" He asked, turning his head to look. Her gaze could have turned hot glowing lava to a frozen river of ice in a matter of seconds. "Phinny…" She replied. Her name from home. Gabbi stared at the sky.

"So, you're the one who pilots the Red Dragon," He said casually. She was silent.

"Yes." She replied finally.

"Heard you came from the Mystic Moon." He said. "Did you?" He looked her square in the eye. She gave him a look that belied her fear.

"You did..." He said to himself, struck with awe. "Angels seem to be raining down this year." He said, and she only looked away from him, her cheek touching the cold metal of the dragon's back.

"It's not long until we get to the place." He said, and she didn't care. She longed for Dilandau, and it surprised her that she did. She hadn't been sure if he had really liked her, or if he had only been with her because he was lonely. He was strong... And such a commander... She hadn't realized she'd shared such an affection for him. Not until now. Now, when she longed to be in his arms for comfort. She closed her eyes and prayed that she'd wake up, and she'd be in her quarters again. She was frightened of this 'Vaughn' character. He seemed familiar, like Dilandau had when she'd first come to this world. She was so cold on the dragon's back. She couldn't move, and the metal she was tied to chilled her clean through to the bones.

After a few hours of flying, Vaughn eventually brought the dragon into descent. The dragon flared it's wings as it landed, and Gabbi was rudely awakened. She hadn't thought she'd fallen asleep… The girl tried to tune out the speech, but she couldn't. Vaughn was talking to somebody named 'Allen,' and Allen was talking to Vaughn about what had happened. Vaughn explained that he had a hostage, and Gabrielle practically hissed. How dare they select her as a hostage!

"Well, well. What have we here?" Asked a tall man with long, blonde hair. He stepped over her, on the dragons back, and peered at her. She said nothing.

"She says her name is 'Phinny.'" Vaughn explained as he untied some of the ropes beneath her.

"And so it should be! Dolphins are lovely creatures, it reflects you well." Allen exclaimed, and Gabrielle just looked away from them.

"Ban-Sama!" A high pitched, very annoying voice called. It almost made Gabrielle's hair stand on end. "Ban-Sama!" The thing called again, and she felt the knot loosen underneath her. Allen offered her a hand. She neglected it, standing on her own instead. Allen smiled a half smile.

"Feisty. I like that." He said, and it made her stomach crawl. He was very handsome indeed, but he was much older than her! She was only seventeen, and yet this man appeared to be twenty-eight or so. She slid off the dragon and stood alone, completely silent.

Then, she was poked.

"Ban-Sama! You have one of those scary soldiers here!" A thing said. She said nothing, just stared blankly ahead. It poked her again. "It's a girl!" It exclaimed. "She's weird!" It said. Gabrielle said nothing, but she could feel the rage inside. She glanced at the thing.

It was about five feet, two inches tall. It had pink hair, and a humanoid face. The eyes were green, and the flesh was very tan. It appeared to be covered in fur. It also appeared to be female. There were spiky stripes on her face, arms, and legs. She was in an orange shapeless dress that had leopard spots on the bottom right corner of it. She had poofs of white... fur? On her shoulders, wrists and ankles. She wore sandals. She also had a long, striped tail with another white tuft of fur at the end. Her ears were long and pointed, and they constantly moved, just like a cat's, though this... girl's ears were situated on the side of her head, not on the top where a normal cat's ears would be. She poked Gabrielle again.

"Merle, stop poking the girl. She might hurt you." Vaughn said.

"I don't think so. She's dead in the head!" 'Merle' laughed.

"Wanna bet?" Gabrielle snarled, and Merle backed off, frightened.

"Ban-Sama! The soldier person girl thing! She scared me!" She said, hiding behind Allen, but poking her head out to look more at this curious oddity, being Gabrielle.

"Vaughn, where do you plan on keeping the girl on my ship? All the rooms are taken." Allen said, looking at Gabrielle. She looked away, but secretly made a face of disgust. The man was trying to be charming! "Sickbay." Vaughn replied, inspecting the slash mark Dilandau's sword had made.

"No, there's already two people there." Allen replied seriously.

Oh, please don't tell me I have to sleep in the same room as this Allen man. By the looks of it, I'm going to have to beat him off with a stick. If I have to get stuck in the same room as any of these, I hope I get stuck with Vaughn. He won't do anything. Not Merle. She's creepy and childish, and I'd probably have a hole in my back by morning from where she'd be poking me all night. She thought avidly. She began inspecting the ship around her for weaknesses.

It was an airship, and she couldn't see exactly how it operated yet, but she saw the massive fishtail-like rudder fin that helped steer the ship in the air. It seemed to be primarily made of wood and metal. There were guards posted, however, so she couldn't get out of here without making a lot of noise. Unless... She could manage to sneak by the guards... But that was nearly impossible.

She had long since filtered out the speech going on about her, even managed to filter out Merle's voice. So, she was surprised when she was tapped on the shoulder.

"Phin," Said Vaughn. She snapped her head around. "... You can be stuck in the brig, or sleep in either mine or Allen's room. He is a Knight of Asturia, so don't try anything. I'm the King of Fanelia, and I know how to use a sword. If you don't want to stay there, then as I said before, you can stay in the jail." He said, but he couldn't help looking at her when he said this. All of her. He did it casually, so she didn't notice. She happened to be nice looking girl. From her nature so far she seemed to be so in personality, too. Such a shame.

"Well?" Asked Allen, and Gabrielle walked to stand behind Vaughn in a quiet formal pose. She had an expressionless face that she'd learned to emulate well from Dilandau. But, behind the lack of expression, there was a quick and sharp mind, calculating the best escape routes and how she could pull it off with the least amount of hassle. She did not give this away by showing quick movements of her eyes as she studied the ship. She barely moved them, pretending instead to occasionally focus on one of the faces staring at her, when in reality she was looking at the background.

"Don't even think about escaping. You'll remain right here. Allen will extract information from you tomorrow, so I suggest you just relax." Vaughn said flatly. Merle made a face at Gabrielle. She blinked sadly and looked the other way. Merle stopped making the face.

Vaughn began to walk into the cabin section, and she followed him, aware that the cat-girl was also following, trying and failing miserably to be stealthy. Vaughn opened a door, and he stood back for her to enter first. Gabbi paused cautiously, and looked at him with a flicker of suspicion. She looked inside the room. It was completely normal, so she stepped inside. He entered after. She walked to the corner of the room and sat down on the hardwood floor, facing the wall. She leaned her head on the wall and sighed, closing her eyes. She heard Vaughn walk over and sit on the bed, and she could feel his subdued curious eyes on her.

"So. You really do come from the Mystic Moon." He said. She looked over slightly to the side, tilting her head slightly to show that she was listening. "I can tell that you've been there, at least. But there's something about you that makes me think you were born here. That doesn't make sense, does it?" He asked. She didn't answer, only shifted her weight slightly so that she didn't get pins and needles in her leg.

"You might as well just tell us everything you know about the inner workings of Zaibach." He sighed, and in her mind she laughed bitterly. Why? She thought. "Allen knows more about torture than anyone. He can inflict more pain on you than you could ever imagine." He continued.

God, what a tired old cliché. She responded in her mind.

"Then, when he's done with you, I'll leave you to him." He said.

In what context does he mean by that? She wondered disgustedly. At first she'd thought this Vaughn character to be reasonable.

"First, if you don't answer by mere suggestion, we starve you of food and water. Then, we will cut you slowly. If that doesn't work, we resort to heavier means of torture. We could cut off your achilles tendon and watch you flop around like a fish." He suggested. She was just as silent as ever.

I won't tell anything. I won't disappoint Dilandau. I won't betray him. She thought, determined.

"We have so many ways we can break you." He continued.

Does he ever shut up about how much he's going to hurt me? I don't care.

"Oh, come on. You must understand at least some of our language." He said, and she wanted to kill him.

"I understand absolutely crystalline what you are saying. It takes more than threats to break me. You won't get a word out of me. I am one of the Dragonslayers, my codename is Phinny, for the dolphins of the sea. You can torture me as much as you want. I will not speak. In fact, I challenge you to try, you barbarian. Dilandau will come for me." She growled at him, and resumed her silence. I hope.