Dilandau paced wearily in his quarters. The only mote of what could be half referred to as sleep he'd gotten was when the damn Libreia had knocked him out, and he'd only gotten two hours from that anyways. He blinked his heavy eyelids and stopped pacing. Why couldn't he sleep? There was always an angry undertone to him that kept him awake, and even the massive tiredness couldn't whet its appetite.
They had almost killed him last time, wrecking his suit and nearly killing him in the process. The only way he had gotten out was when the White Dragon's pilot had seemingly yelled at the bastard Asturian to stop crushing his cockpit. Dilandau sighed in his disgusted frustration and sat down in his stone chair. Slowly, the boy drummed his fingers on the edge of the seat, his head feeling as if it would explode. A ceaseless pounding rythmically throbbed in his head with waves of aching pain. The commander had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, but he didn't care. He barely even noticed them. He barely even noticed anything anymore. There was only the whispering of what could be voices inside his head, and only the numbness of overused and shattered nerves.
Sounds seemed so loud, and incredibly sharp. It was if anything that made a noise was sending its hideous sound waves directly into him, and he held his head for a minute, hoping to make it stop. It didn't. There was a rap at the door, and it nearly made him kneel down with the sound.
"Come in," He croaked. The sound again startled him. The brokenness of it. He found it'd nearly gone, replaced by some raspy groan that could only be made by some creature of the dead. He placed one hand gracelessly over his face, touching his forehead as he sprawled out limply in the chair. The door creaked, and he grit his teeth along with the frequency of the noise. He could hear the small grains of the metal in the door hinges sliding along each other, and each fibre of wood vibrating with the motion of the door. He almost screamed out loud, but he said nothing, only kept it bottled up within. It would serve as energy later.
"Master Dilandau?" Asked an oddly familiar, husky, deep voice. With great effort, the boy lifted his head to cast his fading gaze upon the guest. He could only see the silhouette of the one before him, the door closed behind the newcomer and cut off the light from outside. It took Dilandau's tired eyes a moment to refocus and adjust to the pleasant, and yet still only bearable gloom in the place.
Before him stood a very tall figure, slightly broadened and rippling with thick muscles. He was bipedal like a human, but covered in tan fur. His canid snout jutted from his face. Long triangular ears poked out from his regal head. The fur was short on his entire body but on the top of the head, like a human's hair. This hair was the same colour as the rest of his body and it cascaded in long gentle waves down his back. He was dressed in a uniform.
"Jajuka?" Dilandau's voice cracked as it asked of himself, squinting through his newly-acquired double vision that just couldn't be trusted. The tall figure bowed deeply.
"It is I, Master Dilandau." The canid man replied. Jajuka. The one and the same who'd raised Dilandau since as far as he could remember. Dilandau would have normally been more jubilant, but he just didn't have the energy.
"Might I ask the reason of your appearance, Master Dilandau?" Jajuka asked him imploringly. He'd had a thought. The information he was sent here with was a potential, but one could never know for sure with him…
"I'll tell you when I feel like it," He attempted a growl. He could barely form the words. Jajuka's slender eyes only closed in polite understanding of him. Emotional attachment. Dilandau could not take this.
"Have you not been told…? There was a new recruit… A female… And she's been taken hostage by the White Dragon."
Jajuka looked mildly surprised by such a seemingly emotional reaction to the possible loss of life.
"She is… Important…" He allowed himself, "And I will not rest until she is back safe."
At once, as it was Jajuka's way to read through the boy's carefully chosen words and harshness, he understood.
"I am greatly pained to hear of this, Master Dilandau. If I may, I shall request greater detail as to the girl. She must be of great skill or have valuable information to have illicited such a reaction from you … I was also told to inform you of 'new information' that they have obtained. The White Dragon will bring the one that you desire to the meadow by Kaladhar mountain. They want to give her back." Jajuka explained.
"When? Did they say when? I have to know. I have to go now. Now. When did they say?" The sudden volume of his own voice made his body shudder like a leaf in a gale. It disgusted him, but at the same time he hadn't the attention span to be vain at the moment.
"Sir, the time is not for another eight hours." Jajuka told Dilandau with a bow of his long face.
"May I suggest sleep until then, Master?" He closed his eyes as he spoke and swept his right hand across his chest, spreading the open palm over his heart, a gesture of deep respect. Dilandau blinked, ignoring the courtesy, but not punishing Jajuka for insubordination at his suggestion.
"I can't sleep. Ever since she's been gone. I just can't sleep. I worry too much." He said, and stared off into space. "… About information leaks." He blurted, a good second after he had finished the sentence. Damn his tiredness. He mustn't lose face!
"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Jajuka again swept his hand over his chest.
"Oh, go on then," Dilandau was too tired to refuse him. Besides, the Melchian already knew. He must. He had no use putting up this façade… The dog-man had raised him since birth. Dilandau realized that to Jajuka, he was glass.
"First time I've ever heard of you worrying about something or someonefor that matter." Jajuka said with a smile. "Take something to help you sleep if you can't fall asleep on your own." Jajuka again calmly broached the subject.
"Don't question my decision to remain awake!" Dilandau snapped, ill-tempered.
Jajuka bowed his head deeply and apologetically.
"I had forgotten my place," He uttered. He replied in a most sensible tone. "Master, If they challenge you to a fight, which they probably will, you and I both know that even a great warrior, as tired as you are is a dead one. I merely speak from concern." Jajuka added politely, with a lilt of his long face.
Dilandau, at first, was silent,
"But, I..." He defied weakly, but his mind could no longer justify himself. It hadn't the power to. Eventually, he relented.
"Sleep. You will get her back tomorrow. Without fail if you get rest." Jajuka said.
Dilandau growled, averting his gaze.
"You would rather keep yourself weak and have a larger chance of failure than catch a few hours sleep and reduce the risk of error?" Jajuka asked, but it sounded more like a statement. He realized he was being risky… But perhaps the boy would see.
"All right, Jajuka. I see your logic. Wake me up in the morning. If I can get to sleep..." Muttered the exhausted commander.
"Shall I get you something, Master?" Jajuka asked with a bow.
"Please, Jajuka. Just something to get me to sleep." He said, as if he'd made up the idea in the first place. Jajuka smiled and nodded, ignoring his surprise at the 'please.' He bowed deeply and left the room on his errand.
Dilandau was left alone in his room again. He could get her back tomorrow. He wanted her back now. Tomorrow was too uncertain - Filled with too many variables. What if he failed? They'd most certainly kill him, but Gabrielle? He feared they'd kill her, too. His mind was sluggish and couldn't compute many thoughts in the seemingly yawning space of time it took Jajuka. At most, he realized how his emotions had flared and dulled down with tiredness. Still, they were there, but the anger was replaced by something else. There was no wit, no comebacks, no insults. Just this ache. At last, he returned a few moments later with a large glass of water and a small beige pill on a tray.
"A mild sedative, sir." He explained. Dilandau nodded without so much as a grunt. It took far too much effort, but he reached out and took the tray from Jajuka, dismissing him.
Dilandau took his uniform off and lay on his bed spread out. He allowed his head to fall to the side to look at the tray with the pill and the water on it. It was small, so in the very least it went down easily.
He felt again disgusted with himself about canceling out his vow not to rest until she was back, but he saw the obvious logic in the move that Jajuka had brought to his attention. As much as he denied it, Dilandau was weak and could not fight in the state he was in. Still, he felt he had done himself and her a betrayal somehow. Eventually the drug began to work. His senses grew even fuzzier than they already were. He fell in a sort of stupor, staring up at the ceiling, eyes half open but almost unseeing. His pupils dilated as consciousness faded.
He attempted to roll over on his side, but he couldn't move his muscles. It seemed his control was greatly delayed, and his mind told him he'd already turned, but he could feel he was still flat on his back like he always had been. He had only dreamed he'd turned over. He eventually managed to move himself to his side, his favourite way of sleeping. He fully closed his eyes with the last conscious effort he had. The drug wore off sometime around seven in the morning, but Dilandau slept on. Once the drug had given him the final nudge he needed to sleep, he stayed asleep for a long time. He didn't even stir that much. Only when dreaming did he stir, and even then it was only small spasmic twitches of his fingers or the slight movement of his arm or leg, no matter the violence of the dream.
Jajuka checked the sun outside the Dragonslayers' lair. It told him that it was near time. I should wake up Dilandau. He needs to go at nine hundred sharp to make it to Kaladhar on time, Jajuka thought. I had better wake him carefully... He mentally grunted, and he stood up from the chair and the scroll he'd been writing on. He placed down the ink feather pen back in the bottle of ink, and strode across the room. Jajuka was so tall that it only took him four strides to get across the room and out into the hall. The Melchian man walked down the hallway, headed directly for Dilandau's chambers. He rapped heavily on the door, but there was no answer. Jajuka sighed to himself with a small smile. Of course Dilandau would still be sleeping; He hadn't in several days. Jajuka felt a kind of parental feeling towards the adolescent commander. After all, the man had looked after the boy since Dilandau was very young.
Jajuka pressed in the combination to open the door, and it opened easily with a hiss. He ducked down a little to get his muscled frame through the door. Jajuka hid his smile and walked over to where Dilandau lay sprawled on the bed, only slightly tangled in the sheets. He tapped Dilandau on the shoulder. No reaction. He shook him a little. Still no reaction.
"Master Dilandau," Jajuka implored in a rough voice, shaking the boy.
"No... Don't want to get up. Gabrielle. Just minute... Stay here. No hurry." Dilandau mumbled, some of the words slurred. His eyes were still shut and a delicate sleepy expression adorned his features. Jajuka shook both the boy's shoulders.
"Wake up now, Master Dilandau." He barked gruffly.
"Stop it...! No hurry, I said…" Dilandau murmured in an annoyed, tired, 'go-away-and-leave-me-be' tone of voice.
"Forgive me, but I can't do that, Master Dilandau. Come on. Up. I let you sleep as long as I could. You have to be ready in a quarter to go get Gabrielle from the rebel group." He insisted. Dilandau's eyes snapped open, and he stared Jajuka in the face, nose to snout for a moment until he realized what the tan-coloured fuzzy thing in his face was.
"Jajuka?" He started dumbly. "J-Jajuka, what are you doing here?" Dilandau exclaimed, realizing his vulnerability in his... lack of clothing. He clapped his hands down over himself, and Jajuka chuckled.
"Get out!" The boy shrieked, bristling with fury in his embarrassment.
"Don't worry, you haven't anything I have not seen before." He said reassuringly, but Dilandau's eye twitched and he still looked aggravated. "I needed in here to wake you. My apologies, commander." Jajuka bowed once more.
"Sir, come now, don't be like that, I was and still am keeping my focus on your eyes. Forgive me, Master. Please, I'm only trying to help. You have a little less than a quarter to get ready to get to Kaladhar. The co-ordinates are pre-programmed for you already. It takes you hours to get there. Hurry." Jajuka said.
"I will go alone," Dilandau said, unsure, but saying it with no hint of such. Jajuka sensed this, studying him.
"I will follow only if under your orders, Master Dilandau." Jajuka replied, still keeping his sharp green eyes locked into Dilandau's magenta coloured ones.
"Follow at a distance, then." Dilandau commanded. "… Get me my clothes." He added quickly.
The Melchian laughed in a fatherly way and passed Dilandau a fresh set of clothes.
Jajuka turned around to humour the boy and looked at the one stone wall of the three in the room, some of which stones had engravings carved by Dilandau himself when he had gotten bored. There was a poem written in Melchian scripture and in Japanese and English copied down on three of the stones. Dilandau had been practising his Melchian scripture since Jajuka's sudden absence. The big dog-like man could tell. The syllables were much more well formed than when Dilandau had been taken away. Well, of course they were. Dilandau had been taken when he was only five. Jajuka had only gotten him to be able to read the scripture and start to begin to write it. Now, the characters were smoothly formed, evenly spaced, perfectly punctuated and expertly carved into the stone.
"You may face me now, Jajuka." Dilandau said finally. Jajuka turned as his Master had said. Dilandau passed Jajuka smoothly and washed his face, the door open for Jajuka to talk.
"Are you ready to get her back?" Jajuka asked.
"I have thought of nothing else for days. Excuse me." Dilandau replied flatly. Dilandau shut the door, and then emerged a minute later.
"Let's go." He said.
"The others know where I'm going. Gatti will find out and tell them. He always does." Jajuka and Dilandau went to the docking bay to get into the guymelefs.
Gabrielle was led outside onto the deck of Allen's ship, tethered and bound. The sky was grey and rain was falling. It intensified as soon as she stepped out of the cabin, and she was sure it was to spite her. The whole image of the ship was very grey, and Allen and Vaughn were conversing. She stood still in the cold rain pounding on her, her hair now soaked even after less than a minute of standing outside. It was just as wet as if she'd jumped into a pool.
Merle walked up quietly to Gabrielle.
"Hello, lady." She said in a small voice to Gabrielle. "You're going aren't you, lady?" She asked, her tail with that curious pom-pom on it swishing.
"Not of my own choice. Nor was it my own choice to come here, Merle, please understand." Gabrielle tried to explain. She'd grown fond of the little cat-girl, and she was a little upset to be leaving her.
"You have to fight us, still, don't you, lady?" She asked, her bright eyes looking up.
"Yes, Merle. I still have to fight you, if I make it out of here alive. I don't know why, but I have to. That place is the only place I know other than home. I have to obey. You understand, don't you, Merle?"
"Yes... Gabrielle, I understand. You're my friend, Gabrielle. I'll miss you."
She said, and she hugged her. Gabrielle managed a very small smile in all the grey and the rain and the sadness. "I'll miss you, too, Merle," She said. "You're one of my only friends here."
Merle looked down at the soaked and shining floorboards of the deck. She was contemplating something, but she reached a quick decision.
"Gabrielle, take this to remember me. It'll give you good luck and protect you. It's the only thing I have left from my parents." Merle said, taking off her necklace with the long red oval jewel on it and holding it up.
"Oh, Merle, I can't take that, it's too important." Gabrielle said. Merle only shoved it up closer to Gabrielle. "I'm not giving it to you. I'm letting you borrow it," She said.
"But, Merle, I'm not-" Gabrielle started, but was cut off.
"For when we meet again. Then I want it back. But until whenever that is, you'll need it. Good luck and protection wherever you are. Also, you'll have something to remember me by. Then, when we meet again, you'll still remember me, because you'll have had my amulet. Then we can tell each other what's happened in between the time!" Merle said, smiling up at her.
"Okay, Merle." Gabrielle replied.
"Remember, you're only borrowing it. I'll need it back someday. But right now… You need it more." The small girl blinked and looked at the floor.
"Gabrielle, we're taking you back now," Vaughn called. The security surrounding the strange Zaibachian soldier had lessened considerably during her stay. Most of the crew had come to trust Gabrielle to quiet, relaxed compliance if nothing else.
"Come over here!" The boy's voice hollered to her through the rain and over the deck. Gabrielle hesitantly put on Merle's amulet, and she walked over to Vaughn, looking back at the little pink-haired cat-girl that had been her friend, for a last look before she went. Merle waved, and that was the last she saw. Merle standing on the rain-soaked deck, and she smiled softly and waved at Gabrielle, one small hand clenched and put up to her mouth.
Then, the confused soldier was shoved rather rudely into the Scheherazade's cockpit beside the pilot's seat. Allen immediately took the thing to life and the Scheherazade crouched and jumped off the platform down to the forest below. She saw the Escaflowne in its dragon form leap out and fly over a mountain that was just in front of her. The mountain was part of a range, but it was by far the biggest and most impressive in all its regal boulder-strewn, snow-capped glory.
The Scheherazade started running and cleared the forest after about fifteen minutes. She could no longer hear the ship, and she figured it had flown far away by now to keep from being tracked. She said nothing, and Allen skillfully piloted the mecha through the mountain and overtop the side of it into the valley below. It was a beautiful valley, very large and expansive. It would have looked even more impressive if it hadn't all been soggy and water-logged with the seemingly endless rain. They ran through the valley to the very centre of it, and she could see the Escaflowne had landed, waiting for Allen.
.: I'll go scout the perimeter and look for him. :. Vaughn said over the radio. .: By the way, I still think this is stupid. We should just give Gabrielle back. Peacefully. :. Vaughn added with a sigh.
"Never! Dilandau will die today, and Gabrielle will be the beautiful little lure."
.: ... Whatever. I'll go scout, as I said. :. Vaughn replied, and she watched the dragon reanimate and fly up, arcing and diving to gather speed to propel itself round better. She wised she'd been on the outside of that dragon, feeling the wind and reminders of freedom. Eventually, Allen opened the doors, and they got out of the gargantuan thing. The doors closed with a crackling hiss behind them, and then all was silent except for the constant patter of rain hitting leaves. Gabrielle was immediately drenched again. She was silent and listened. Nothing.
Good. Maybe he won't come for me. Then he won't get caught…
There was a large group of flat rocks over to the side of them, and the blonde knight took her up to one, just to have her elevated above the terrain a bit for effect. Gabrielle noticed him scanning the angle of the shadows cast about them. The man looked to the left and right before assuming a stoic posture, apparently gauging wind direction and other such things. Eventually, Allen smirked and touched the hilt of his sword.
"He's here..."
There was a distant whooshing of wind on metal and large amounts of material. Two large footprints in the earth a long way off appeared, and then the invisibility cloak dissipated. The Oreides stood askance to them, the view turned right at them.
"No! Run! Get out of here!" She mouthed, closing her eyes. She knew he could see them clearly through a magnification viewer. The Oreides stood still, visibly hesitating. "Please, run." She mouthed. The Oreides took a step back.
"Shit!" Cussed Allen, and he gripped Gabrielle's arm. He should have known that the commander wouldn't fall for something so easy. He had drastically underestimated him and felt somewhat embarrassed for it. The Oreides ceased movement, and Allen could feel Dilandau's hard, vengeful gaze on him as he clutched the girl's arm. "Ah, you don't like that, do you, little boy?" Allen sneered. Once he did nothing, the Oreides took another step back. Allen was about to withdraw a knife when he heard the hydraulics of a door open.
Dilandau pulled himself out and slid to the ground with fluid movements, expertly timed and arranged like those of a graceful cat.
"Almost got you right where I want you..." Allen muttered. Gabrielle struggled and Allen wrenched her arm, causing her to cry out and bend down.
"You touch her again, and you die, pig!" Dilandau called to Allen.
Gabrielle's arm hurt. She bent down with the twist of her arm. The pain danced inside her like a rabid white wolf. Allen flipped out the dreaded knife and held her at knifepoint.
"Don't move!"
Gabrielle struggled in his grasp, and Allen slashed down and cleaved her previous cut. She yelped and convulsively jumped back. Unarmed, surprised, weakened, and confused, the girl watched as he withdrew his sword, holding it high up. She panicked and pulled away. Allen of Asturia sliced with calm precision through the air and cut deep diagonally into her chest, from below the collarbone almost down to one of her breasts. Gabrielle staggered for a half second as she attempted to recover, but was too caught in the momentum as she spun from the blow, losing all her strength with it. Her bright red blood mixed with the rain instantly and it flew off the sword, a lighter, oranger colour as it mixed with water.
Dilandau saw her fall into the puddle, her eyes open still, her face in an expression of surprise and sudden pain. The only thing he really heard was her scream and the splash of the water as she hit the cold stone, bleeding into the puddle and turning it red. He felt all his muscles lock as he stared at her. She was unmoving, and the wind whipped by again, and stirred her clothes and hair, but she did not move. All was wasted.
"You killed her, you son of a bitch!" Dilandau screamed at Allen, and was torn between running to her or running to kill Allen. For the moment, revenge had not won. It would be dealt with... Best to assure life still ran in what he came here for. Dilandau ran to Gabrielle. Allen merely stood and watched, interested and bemused.
She lay in the puddle on her side. He gently lifted her head with one hand, and stared, shocked, at her closed eyes. Many times he had seen the faces of those taken by death, but he could not bring himself to fully comprehend it this time. Allen laughed coldly, enjoying the sight of having this key officer in such easy range. By accident, Dilandau dropped her. Her head fell back limply and heavily to the side again, making a light tinkling 'splosh' as her cheek hit the stone. Dilandau held his breath and tore one glove off, holding his hand in front of her mouth and nose to feel for her breath. He couldn't feel anything. Biting back his rage, he checked again.
Dilandau lifted her up from the stone and laid her head on his lap. Grabbing her shoulders, he pressed his naked hand to her throat, feeling for a pulse. He heard Allen's cold laugh rang out again, and the pale commander of deminished numbers looked up at him with hate in his eyes. Why had he not struck yet? Was this some kind of sick game to him? These days, all wasted, only to watch the girl fall here. All that fretting, those strange feelings, those associations with positive things. He'd never know, now. Dilandau was reminded once of a feline he had seen, beautiful and striped, in the forests. Sliding from the bushes, a green and yellow serpent flared its finned head and prepared to strike. He'd made a sound, and the cat had whipped its head around to see the thing. As it leapt with wide eyes, jaws had clamped around its side. The hope and strength had bled from the animal as the venom slowly replaced its blood, thickening in its heart and poisoning its brain. It was perhaps the look of utter defeat that had saddened him most. Inevitability was something that had never sat well with Dilandau, and he narrowed his eyes as he looked at the gallant being before him.
So high and mighty, wasn't he? Looking back through the slicing drops of rain, his golden hair hanging straight and in matted pieces from the water, which ran in rivulets over the metal that adorned him and dampened the cloth that covered him. What exactly made Allen any better than himself? Some honourable knight was he, murdering people just as Dilandau had done. Simple, without consideration. A task completed, like the folding of paper between one's fingers. The realization dawned in Dilandau's eyes, and coiled in his stomach as a cold mass that he and this other man were on the same level of existance. Some twisted cohesion, some miscarriage of fate had brought them down to this moment. Witnessing the death of another was never a pleasant task, but, this?
He breathing was at first with a slight wheeze and much effort, but noticeable. The wracked form in her commander's arms coughed. She coughed again, a hoarse sound, choking up blood and a bit of water. Without a sound or a second thought Dilandau slid the arm that was already supporting her shoulder forward, and held her close for but a moment. He smiled shakily down at her, withdrawing slightly, all his anger at others ad his confidence at how he'd act with her when they finally met again sucked out of him.
With great effort, the girl drew herself up and onto her elbows. Wincing at the small torrent of blood that splashed down onto the rocks, she managed to shakily stand. Apparently, Allen was much taken aback by this. The cut must have been miscalculated. As he looked at the gash that graced her chest, he saw how effective the leather and neck guards were. Whilst there was a long slice in the equipment, it had only actually got her flesh in three places. It had been a stunning blow, nothing more.
She simply stood in the rain, giving Allen the most acidic look she could manage. Allen went again to lift his sword.
"You touch that goddamned piece of metal with an intention to hurt me ever again, and I swear," She threatened in a brave, frightening voice that sounded completely as if it were not her own. She almost didn't know what she was saying, but just as long as she kept shouting, she felt okay.
There was an intense feeling in her, though she knew not what it was. It felt very tight, and it pulsed as if it had a heart of its own.
"I want vengeance, but I know that whatever I can do to you is wothless in comparison to what will come. Whatever I received at your hands, it will come back threefold to you!" She roared. "Whatever pain, whatever malice, whatever rape and wrong intent, it will come back to you times three. It is the way the angel Karma, works. And I'll laugh at you, and when you die much sooner than me, I will dance upon your grave. Only the innocent lambs of Asturia who know not who you really are will mourn you, for they are too enthralled by the stories of the strong, brave long haired blonde knight that abound here. And that is all that they are, and all that they ever will be, unfortunately for this land. Stories." She hissed.
"What did you do to her?" Dilandau finally spoke, his voice a manic growl. He'd been feeling rather left out of all of this, gathering his own wits about him. The ranking commander got up from where he'd been sitting and rushed at Allen, feeling the world melt away. Rage sang in his veins as he withdrew his sword. Dilandau and Allen clashed, and they stood only about two feet from each other, straining to get their swords forward on either side. Their strength was just about equally matched, because neither of them moved a millimetre, but the swords were shaking and sparking with the effort they put in to it. Dilandau quickly grew tired, his low reserves of energy spent. He used the strength he didn't have and pushed forwards harder, making Allen take a step back. Dilandau slapped Allen's sword away neatly with his left hand, and in the brief half-second of confusion that followed, he tried to slash at Allen's throat, but the graceful knight had recovered and blocked Dilandau again.
With an open opportunity, the blonde knight let go of the sword with one hand and punched Dilandau right in the stomach. Dilandau took the blow with a twitch, but he didn't buckle at all. Grinning, the boy smiled the sort of broken expression that an enraged animal might make, and spat at Allen's feet. The man momentarily paused at the transgression before unleashing himself upon the disrespectful boy. With effort, he tried to fend off Allen's quick but strong blows, and he did block a few of them. But, Allen just kept going, and managed to beat Dilandau down after what seemed like a long time. He fell upon the gritty stone with a heavy sound, his body giving out beneath him. Uttering only the smallest grunt of denial, the ground accepted him.
Allen then turned his attention to Gabrielle, having taken care of the commander. She was standing, unarmed and frightened, but she had had quite enough of being abused.
"You," Allen snarled as he tried to slash at her. "You are quite beautiful, and intelligent, spirited and unlike many I've seen. I wanted you. Now it's too late, and today is the last day you'll ever see, which is too bad. You've disgraced my honour." He hissed coldly. She laughed in his face, disguising the wince that her stinging cut made with the movement.
"Hah! What honour would that be, pray tell? You're about to kill an unarmed girl! Tell me the honour in that!" She barked, and Allen looked to the side for a second.
"You're a member of the enemy's forces, and there will be one less when you die. Looks like I won't die before you, and I don't see any angels. Save you, of course, but you aren't in the position at all to rip my soul apart now, are you? I see one cut at your heart wouldn't kill you. Try another one!" He exclaimed, and lunged towards her.
Allen grunted as he slashed downwards and she jumped very neatly over the fast blade. Having the sudden advantage, she aimed a blow at the back of his neck. Hearing the satisfying smack of elbow to vertebrae, she grinned, but her expression faltered as she felt his weight shift. He lunged unexpectedly and shouldered her in the gut, rendering her breathless and smashing her head back on the rock when she fell back.
Her vision was double and it was hard to focus properly. She squinted, and she tried to move out of the way. She was very nauseous and felt a strong urge to throw up, but she did not. She saw him standing above her, smiling a half-smile. This is it, I'm helpless. I can't do anything anymore. She knew this in her mind. She felt she couldn't breathe, and heaved for air. Eventually she could breathe, but it hurt. Not as much as her head. She watched her death standing above her, and almost welcomed it. In the very least... She had not gone without a fight... She saw Allen raise his sword, and then a flash of red and black. Before she saw anything else, she passed out from the nausea and pain.
Dilandau had recovered and barreled into Allen, knocking both him and himself off the rock. They landed on the muddy ground near the rock, and Dilandau scrambled up first. The desperate boy held Allen at the throat, pinning him down and repeatedly smacked the Asturian, because Dilandau didn't have the strength to punch him. Allen reached up and grabbed Dilandau's neck, flipping him over and shoving Dilandau into the muddy earth.
"Foolish boy! You should have let me finish what I was doing," Allen hissed. "Because now I'm going to busy myself killing you...!" He snarled. Dilandau choked, and he found very quickly that couldn't breathe. Allen cast a wicked grin as his hair dripped onto the struggling commander beneath him. He knew that the boy couldn't move.
"It's now just a matter of time." Allen snapped, and Dilandau felt his head spin for lack of air.
Allen started as he caught the glimpse of something out of his peripheral vision. It was large and red, and it was going to smash the Scheherazade to pieces. Allen whipped his gaze, and saw a second Oreides, standing behind the Scheherazade, just about to destroy it.
"Shit!" Allen cussed again, and he got up off of Dilandau quicker than a fleeing hare and ran towards the Scheherazade. His method of battle, transportation and escape was far more important than this. Dilandau gasped, and air filled his lungs, finally. He got himself out of the mud, and he was nearly cleaned of it anyways because of the rain pouring down. He got to his feet slowly, stumbling several times, but all the while keeping a watchful eye on what was going on. Thrusting his arms up onto the slippery rock, he lost his balance twice as he dragged himself up the crags. Reaching at last the flat top, he made his way over to the blood-soaked body that was Gabrielle, unconscious and sprawled.
She was definitely out, and she was still bleeding. Gabrielle felt very cold to the touch and her breathing was very light and laboured. She'd lost a lot of blood... As it was, she wasn't in a good state. Dilandau could hear the metal-grating battle going on. Allen had gotten to his Scheharezade and Jajuka was fending him off. What worried him was the location of the White Dragon. Jajuka was well equipped and quite skilled enough to keep Allen occupied and at bay, but he didn't think Jajuka could handle the White Dragon at the same time. Dilandau hadn't heard nor seen of him; Maybe he hadn't come.
He lay Gabrielle across his lap. What am I going to do? He asked himself.
"You have to make it back to the base," He told Gabrielle, even though she was far from being able to hear him. "Please, don't die." He asked of her, but the only answer was a silence. How am I going to escape? I can't just go unnoticed. He knew. He couldn't run as fast while carrying Gabrielle; If Allen had a spare moment, Dilandau and Gabrielle would be easy targets to pick off. There really was no cover except for the side of the rock they were on, and the Oreides, of course, but it was too far away. Dilandau knew he couldn't really fight again, either. He was exhausted, and he was hurt, too.
The rain was still pelting down, and Vaughn had snuck up to the rock, completely unnoticed by anyone. He was looking straight ahead at Dilandau and Gabrielle. Vaughn knew Allen was right; This was war, and Dilandau was a key officer. He had to die for Vaughn to gain a small advantage. The boy king climbed up onto the rock just as silently as ever. Dilandau had his head down, and couldn't see Vaughn approaching stealthily.
Dilandau heard wet grit beneath the other boy's feet, and turned. He finally looked up into Vaughn's eyes, and the strange thing was that Dilandau was not at all surprised to see him. Vaughn could see the sudden realization of defeat creep into Dilandau's mind, and the calm sadness. There was a very slight rustling sound, and beautiful black wings quietly spread out of Dilandau's back, from well disguised slits in the uniform. Flaring them, he covered Gabrielle and himself from the rain. They were like very large raven's wings, long and slightly wide, blacker than night with the light that shone on them a glossy blue. Dilandau said nothing. His movements were soft, quiet and gentle. Not at all like the vicious, spasming maniac he had been told about.
He only looked at Vaughn with an empty, defeated blankness, and Vaughn recognized the slight flicker of fear in his eyes. Gabrielle stirred and made a noise, and Dilandau's eyes dropped to her for a second as he looked down at her. In a quiet act of selflessness, Dilandau pulled her close and aimed her face away from Vaughn and towards himself, only so that she would not see the sword come down to seal her fate. Dilandau shushed her murmurs and told her to go to sleep. She was quiet again. He folded one wing behind him, leaving the other spread over her. Dilandau swallowed and looked back up at Vaughn with a hard expression. He closed his eyes and looked away, waiting for it.
Vaughn couldn't do it. He just couldn't make the easy move and take both their lives in a single stroke. Vaughn could only think that if it were the other way around, if it were himself and Hitomi. He saw just how oddly similar he really was to Dilandau. Vaughn took a deep breath, and he sheathed his sword. It just wasn't right to kill them. Dilandau looked back up, slightly confused.
"Why don't you do it?"He implored with an odd tone, just over the sound of the rain.
"Run." Vaughn said aloud. "I spare you this time." He said quietly, but there was a deep reason he was just not willing to voice. Vaughn turned on his heel. "I never saw you here, I never saw you approach, I never saw you leave." He said, and walked down the rock and leapt off, out of sight. Dilandau was stunned and a little confused. He wasn't clear as to why Vaughn hadn't killed them, but he was thankful for whatever reason had compelled Vaughn not to. Gabrielle was still bleeding, and he lifted her up and looked for the Oreides. He saw it a ways off. Jajuka and Allen were still fighting, and the commander figured Jajuka could keep him distracted for long enough. The officer ran down the rock and leapt up into the air, flapping his wings. He would have had enough propulsion if he'd simply jumped from where he was standing, but he felt he needed the extra speed.
She was light, only one hundred-ten pounds, but it was still very difficult to carry his own weight and hers. It dragged him down, but with a lot of effort that he had no idea where it was coming from, he managed to stay in the air. It was very difficult flight, but he got very close to the Oreides. With a final flap, he managed to boost them up to the cockpit doors. He gripped the bars of the door with one hand and kept her stable with the other. The doors began to slide open, and he slipped inside them before they were fully open. He just managed to shut them and get a cloak up when Allen noticed him.
Allen lunged at the spot where he'd seen the Oreides, but he stopped. Dilandau didn't know why, but it was because Vaughn had spoken to Allen on the radio.
.: Allen, leave them alone. :. Vaughn said sternly.
"What? Are you crazy? Gabrielle knows too much, and, what about Dilandau?" Allen exclaimed.
.:"Allen, leave them alone. Just forget them for now. Anyone who loves someone as much as to sacrifice themselves deserves to live." :. Vaughn said in a tone that told Allen he would not take no for an answer. Allen would leave them alone, and that was that. The knight reluctantly turned away and followed the Escaflowne, which had honed in on the signal sent out by the ship. The Oreides had shot up in the air, and Dilandau was tracking the Zaibach Fortress to get back. He wanted to get back as soon as he could, because Gabrielle was growing fainter and fainter.
.: Master Dilandau, are you alright?" :. Jajuka's deeply masculine voice crackled over the radio.
"Yes, Jajuka. I'm okay. She's not so good, though..." Dilandau replied, trailing off as he looked back at her. .: "Well, what are we waiting for?" :. Jajuka asked. .: "I've got the locations here if you don't have them, Master Dilandau. I'll upload them for you." :. Jajuka said quickly, and the computer beeped a few seconds later. A panel popped up displaying the grid location, and the words 'Destination Locked.' Dilandau could only bring himself to look on with concern at the girl lying beside him, and then the Oreides moved forwards as fast as the engines could propel it towards the Fortress.
Gabrielle stirred, but didn't open her eyes. It seemed as if only a second had passed since she'd fallen down on that rock and passed out. Her head hurt. So did her chest and stomach. A continuous beeping sound became noticeable to her. What's that sound? She wondered. It took her a moment to place it. A heart monitor. What the? The beeping sped up a little. Am I in trouble? Am I dying or something? She caught snips of a conversation.
"Blood transfusion... Only one match amongst you. ... He came with her just in time... Glad it worked... Out for hours... She seems to be coming around now." A feminine voice was talking to someone.
There was the nurse that she'd seen when she'd first come to Zaibach. She was speaking to Guimel. She recognized his voice. She felt as though only half her mind was here... She was only half-conscious. She felt herself beginning to slip away again...
"He doesn't know it worked yet. Should I get him?" Guimel asked the nurse.
"If he wishes to see her, he can now. She'll be fairly weak, though, because her body is just accepting the blood now and she's getting over the anaesthetic. Tell him that. She probably can't stay awake for long. It's best if she sleeps it off, so he can only see her for a few minutes." The nurse said, and she heard Guimel say he understood and that he'd go get 'him.' Guimel said that 'he' told him that if he didn't get him the moment she was either affirmatively alive or dead, Guimel would be thrown off the Fortress. The nurse laughed and said, "Dilandau's most popular threat, isn't it?" Guimel agreed, and then she heard his footsteps leave the room.
God, I feel so weak! I can barely open my eyes, She thought. Hell, I can barely think. She felt very sleepy. It seemed that speech kept her tied to consciousness, and she dozed when no-one was speaking for a while. She was fairly far into the realms of sleep when Dilandau came into the room. He spoke with the nurse quietly for a second, and then he walked up to the bedside where she was asleep. The daylight shone in from the window, and it was a clear sky outside. Gabrielle could sense his presence in the room, and she lifted out of sleep just a little bit. It took her a minute to shake off the sleep. Dilandau was sitting on a stool near the bed with an expression of concern. He was silent. He looked a little more rested than before, and he reached out and touched her hand to get her attention. She could tell he wanted to say something.
"Hey," She said very quietly. It was all she could manage. He gave her a small ghost of a smile.
"Hi," He replied. Looking down at her hand in a manner that belayed almost shyness, he inspected it, turning it over. His thumb made circles in the palm of her hand.
"What happened?" She breathed. She couldn't remember past whacking her head on the rock.
"I got you back." He said simply he was muttering, voice low in the white room. "You lost a lot of blood and we had to find a match. There was only one among all the squads and teams. We all got tested." He said. She looked at him as if to ask, 'who?'
"It was Gatti. Gatti was the only blood match. You're an 'O' negative, so you can give to all of us, but you can only get the same back. Anyways, you need to sleep. Your cuts will be gone in a while, but you need time to sleep off the anaesthetic and the weakness." He reasoned, and he hesitated slightly as if he were about to do something, yet didn't quite know what to do with himself. He sat withdrawn back on the stool and waited for her to fall back asleep, wishing he'd had the nerve to tell her what this feeling was.
He watched her fall deep asleep, and the nurse came a few minutes later, breaking the slow, almost-silence. The only sound was his and her soft breathing.
"Visiting hours are over, sir," The nurse whispered. Still gazing at Gabrielle, asleep, he nodded slowly. He turned his gaze to the nurse.
"She'll be all right, won't she?" He whispered back. The nurse smiled and nodded.
"In a matter of hours, she'll be fine. She's on speed-healing drugs. She'll be better in about twenty-four hours, so she's staying overnight." She replied with a soft smile. Dilandau nodded and turned back to Gabrielle, still holding her hand.
"I'm staying longer." He stated. He hesitated, and then quietly muttered, "Please."
Dilandau's never... asked ... For anything before! The nurse was surprised as she thought. Only demanded... It is against protocol... But, he is a high commanding officer. He could probably override. I could ask... The nurse looked puzzled, and Dilandau waited calmly for her answer.
"I... I don't know... Let me ask the Head Nurse. Just wait here, I'll only be a moment." She said, and she clicked off into one of the other rooms. Dilandau waited, making circles on Gabrielle's palm with his thumb. It was almost instinctual, and calming in a strange sense.
When should I tell you? He wondered to her. I want to, but the words catch in my mouth. What if I never get the chance? What if I die before I tell you? He wondered, his mind tormenting him, concern tracing his stoic features. He remembered the conversation between him and a few of the Dragonslayers before Gabrielle had disappeared. Guimel... Was it Guimel? Had said that Dilandau should take Gabrielle to dinner and tell her. Maybe...
"Head Nurse says-" The nurse started to talk, and it snapped Dilandau out of his train of thought. He grunted. "Oh, sorry." She apologized. "Um, Head Nurse says that since you're in such a high rank, you can stay as long as you want." She said, and Dilandau nodded, looking back at Gabrielle again.
"Okay." He said simply. The nurse nodded, and then she was called away by the sound of a bell coming from one of the rooms.
"Excuse me." She said, and walked away.
Dilandau could see the cuts on Gabrielle were still not fully healed. He gazed at the part of one he could see, the top of the cut extending just above her collar bone. She only had bandages on her top, and she was covered in a blanket from the top of her bandages down. She was sleeping peacefully, her head facing him. He went to pull the blanket up to her neck to keep her warmer and the cut covered when he touched the cut by accident. She showed no reaction; She probably had numbing cream applied to it.
A strange sensation filled his body, traveling from his hand which touched the cut up his arm and to his back, where it immediately spread out all the way down to his toes. It was almost like an electric shock, but not unpleasant in any way. Neither was it pleasant, it was just a sensation. He could feel his wings wanting to come out, and he tried to subdue them. He could not. They popped out of his back, spraying a few black feathers around the room. The shock-like feeling grew incredibly strong, and it then dissipated to a dull buzzing feeling in his arm. He took his hand away, staring at it dumbly. He looked back at her. What did I do? He dumbfoundedly asked himself.
Her cut was completely gone. Or at least the part he could see was, anyways. No trace of one at all. Gabrielle's eyes fluttered a little and she opened them, wide awake.
"Wha?" She breathed, and she sat up quickly. Dilandau was just as shocked as she was. She looked at him. "What just happened?" She asked, slightly afraid of the unknown.
"Uh?" He grunted quizzically. Gabrielle touched where the cut had been. Nothing. Just smooth, undamaged skin. He sat dumbly staring at his hand, his wings fluttering in unconscious expressions of his confusion. There were black feathers everywhere. He looked around quickly after he'd gathered his wits about him. "Fuck! No-one but you and Vaughn know I have wings! I want to keep them hidden, not become the latest science experiment!"
"Put in your wings, I'll think of an excuse!" She said. It occurred to her suddenly she didn't feel weak at all. Dilandau concentrated and his wings retracted. It had been good timing, because the nurse walked in at just that moment.
"Oh!" She said, a confused expression appearing appearing on the young nurse's delicate features. "What happened? Oh my!" She exclaimed, surveying the room, black feathers everywhere.
"A bird!" Gabrielle piped up. "It was a bird! It smashed in here and flew out, leaving its feathers!" She said excitedly. Dilandau looked at her, and back at the nurse.
"A Barghef! Yeah, it was a big, lead Barghef." He added, gesturing with his arms and playing along with it. The nurse looked confused.
"A single Barghef couldn't have let off these many feathers." She said.
"Oh, but it was a big Barghef!" Gabrielle said. Dilandau put on a stone face to keep himself from laughing. Barghef, indeed.
"And you? Why aren't you sick? You had a blood transfusion, you should be exhausted!" The nurse added.
"I feel fine." Gabrielle said.
"What...? That's impossible. Let me do a test on you. Gosh, those must be the new speed-healing drugs to work that quickly." The nurse said, and she picked up a small machine. She waved it over Gabrielle, and she reviewed the results.
"You're... Completely normal. You're healthy in every respect... That's so... wierd! Well... I'll go file the release form." She said apprehensively. "You're free to leave, I guess." The young nurse said, dismissing it all.
Gabrielle was given back her uniform, and she changed promptly. "That was weird." She said to Dilandau once they were out of the medical wing. Dilandau said nothing for a moment in agreement.
"You know, I'm happy that you're back." Dilandau said to her. "I've never really been happy in a long time." He continued.
"Well, I'm glad that you're happy now." She said, and she smiled at him.
He repeated phrases over and over and over in his mind, trying to say it but the words just wouldn't come.
"Would you come to dinner with me... Tomorrow night?" He asked her, mind racing.
"Of course I would. I'd love to." She replied, and he nearly danced inside.
"You should go to your quarters and go to sleep." He said to her.
Yes, go to your quarters and go to sleep... Or come with me to mine… A voice was saying in his head.
"Or, you could come to-" He just about said it. He cut off right there.
"I could come to where?" She asked innocently, adjusting her uniform's collar.
"You could... You could... " He searched for something to get himself out of the hole.
"You could always come with me for a while to mine." It hadn't sounded that bad in his head.
What an idiot you are! A voice belittled him.
She giggled. "Just for a while, then. To talk. But then I have to go to mine and sleep, I'm actually getting tired." She said, and she continued to walk with him to his quarters. "So, where are we going to go for dinner tomorrow?" She asked, and he thought a minute.
"Just someplace I know," Was his sly answer, and it made her burn with curiosity.
"What kind of place?" She tried to extract information from him.
"A nice place." He said.
"Well that really clears things up now, doesn't it?" She asked sarcastically. He smiled slightly.
"Yes it does." He replied, just as sarcastically. She laughed.
She looked around the hallway, and then looked back at him.
"Why do you want to keep them hidden, Dilandau?" She asked in a low voice.
"Keep what hidden?"
"These," She said, and she touched his back.
"Oh. Well, if anyone found out, I'd be reported and I'd be studied. They'd probably end up dissecting me to see how they work or something. Obviously, I don't feel like being the latest test subject on that matter." He explained.
"I see." She replied,and bit her lip.