April 12, 2019
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Dust II: Elysian Kingdom
Chapter 14 — I Want to Know What Love Is
Defeat was not something that Dust was designed to accept. He was originally created with the sole purpose of becoming savior of the Moonbloods by ending the vicious war against their kind, a mission which he triumphantly completed. In that previous life, he had definitely been injured quite a few times—nothing too severe—and yet, in this new life after regeneration, he had been defeated not just once by a couple stealthy soldiers, but again at the hands of a savage, corrupted Blade of Elysium wielder. How could he let that happen?
Everything was pitch black and completely silent, a feeling that was entirely too familiar to him. It was the same as when he found himself in that isolated cavern in the Blackmoor Mountains; somewhat conscious, but not enough to force himself awake. At times like these, it was difficult for his mind to not be overwhelmed by unanswered questions. Why were these unknown forces working against him? How were the other Blades of Elysium found, and how did they fall into the possession of these questionably random but likely calculated Warmbloods? Who could possibly be behind the corruption of the Blades, if the only known perpetrator against the Moonbloods was Gaius, who clearly perished? Is it all too much for Sen-Mithrarin to take on? ..Was he even still alive?
At last, his eyes slowly and shakily opened, greeted by a ceiling illuminated as dim as possible by a single flameless light from behind him. Right away, he realized how insanely weak he felt despite simply laying down, and his left arm was practically numb. Looking over, he saw that his shoulder and part of his upper arm were wrapped in white bandages, the injury covered up and suitably treated. A couple thin tubes came out from under more bandages over his wrist, leading to a hanging glass containing a foreign liquid. He probably should've panicked, but at this point he was just relieved to know that he was not only alive, but in good care.
This place must've been the infirmary on the second floor of Aurora Palace, as he assumed from scanning the area more thoroughly. He wore nothing except the turquoise pants he's had since the regeneration, but the temperature in the room was balanced enough that they were all he needed. It must've been late at night or early morning, as a small sliver of moonlight shone past the clouded sky and through the room's single window. Just how did he end up here? He faintly remembered hearing a voice before he fell unconscious, along with the sound of-
"Corbin!" Dust yelled as he jolted up in his bed, full of concern for what fate awaited the young boy. Immediately his shoulder seared with pain, causing him to grunt and quickly slam his head back down onto the pillow. His breathing anxiously sped up as he realized he couldn't protect his sidekick in the end, hoping with all his being that the absolute worst had not yet happened. Toru wouldn't go that far.. would he? No, he had no real reason to. However, from what Dust had suffered at the warden's expense, anything was a possibility.
Breaking the silence, the room's only door hastily swung open. "Dust?" It was Ginger. "Oh, thank Elysium you're awake!" He looked up slightly as she came over to the bed, checking the glass of liquid and feeling Dust's wrist to make sure everything was intact.
His voice was a bit raspy. "I-I'm so glad to see you, Ginger.. What happened to me?"
She let out a heavy sigh. "You've been in a coma for two, almost three days.." Dust gasped as his eyes widened. "Fidget told us everything. We're lucky Corbin thought ahead and sent for help when he noticed you were taken prisoner, otherwise Sanjin and his best soldiers wouldn't have been able to rescue you in time, before.. you know."
"..I have to remember to thank him," he noted. "Dare I ask where Corbin is now?"
"We.. We're not sure. That warden outran our soldiers and disappeared with him somewhere past Alcaeus. We were planning on sending a search party back out there in case you hadn't fully recovered-"
Dust turned his head away and suddenly banged his one good fist on the bed. "Damn it! Why am I such a failure?! I try to save some prisoners but I can't even save one person I care about!"
Ginger was shocked. She had never seen him get angry before, especially with himself, but she remained the voice of reason. "C-Calm down, Dust! You're not a failure," she ensured, placing a hand on the side of his head. "You're working so hard for all of us, for all of Falana.. So soon after you just came back, too."
He put his hand on top of hers. "Working hard, yeah, but.. how can I tell if I'm doing anything right? Evah didn't wake up, Toru wasn't coming around.. I feel like I'm half the hero I used to be. Even traversing Archer's Pass exhausted me much quicker than before. I don't get it!"
The Warmblood girl knew what she had to say in that moment, but she wished it didn't have to be her; that she could simply wait until morning when Elder Gray Eyes would undoubtedly deliver the truth himself. Then again, if she didn't say anything now, she knew she would regret it.
"Dust," she started as she went over to the other side of the bed and kneeled down to look into his eyes. "The Elder and Lady Tethys confirmed that one of your souls has definitely become dormant, and.. it's Cassius's."
He blankly turned his head back up at the ceiling away from her, and held his shaking hand over his eyes. "Hah.. I should've known Ahrah was right.." They were both silent for a moment, letting the reality sink in. "I can't call myself Sen-Mithrarin anymore. I might as well be the same as anyone else.."
Ginger looked down in disappointment. "Why are you talking as if Cassius is everything about you..? Your fighting spirit doesn't come only from him; it comes from your experiences all those years ago, from your time with Fidget and Ahrah, and from yourself."
"But why would they ask me to take on these missions if they weren't sure I was at my best condition?! How the hell am I supposed to do this now?!"
"Because they believe in you!" Ginger answered confidently. "I believe in you! You're nothing less because of this!"
"I know!" he retaliated. "..I know. I just.. need to think for awhile, okay?"
Dust closed his eyes with both arms rested as Ginger put her head down, emotions beginning to well up. She knew he wasn't directly angry at her, but she couldn't help being reminded of the few times when Jin used to get into arguments with her. While this wasn't exactly the same, she always used to wish everything would just work out right. Eventually they did, and she hoped the same would happen with Dust.
A few moments passed as she contemplated whether staying to keep him company was the best thing to do right now, or if she should just leave. The bed was fairly large, so there was enough room for her to finally decide to lay down on her side next to him. She needed to be there for him. He hadn't yet fallen asleep, so it only took him a minute to notice. "..You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm ok.. We don't have to say anything, I just want to spend time with you."
The world seemed to revolve around them as they silently laid together for the first time in who knows how long, Ginger's hands wrapped gently around Dust's arm. Outside, the clouds had dispersed almost completely, letting the moon fill the room with its pale light even more than before, as if it was watching over and protecting them. Ginger cherished those moments of serenity where their problems were put on hold, where she could feel her connection with Dust resonate as strong as ever. She wished they could stay like this forever, but she knew he carried a purpose that simply couldn't be ignored.
"Sorry I.. got out of control," he finally spoke, permeating the tranquil atmosphere. She had a feeling he'd have to apologize eventually, knowing the way he is.
Ginger looked up and smiled at him with sympathy. "It's alright, Dust.. I understand how you must feel."
"I feel defeated; like everything is weighing me down all at once, as if any move I make could cost someone I love their life. My thoughts are racing with concern about Corbin right now," he admitted with a heavy heart. "Feelings like this remind me what my purpose is and bring me back to my true self, despite defeat being an ever-present threat. So as soon as I'm fully recovered, I'm going to rescue him."
"Yeah," she softly trailed off while nodding, looking down towards the end of the bed, her mind still lingering on another subject. "I know.. this is just something you have to do," she began, a little choked up, "but I can't imagine losing my only brother again. Even if he's only a part of you, I don't think I could handle it.."
He responded instantly. "Ginger.. The way I look at it, I am your brother. I love you as my sister just the way Jin did, and that hasn't changed ever since I found out the truth about myself. Cassius's soul may also be a part of me, but I feel like Jin has always come through on a higher level; that's exactly why I'm here with you right now. And I swear, no matter what, I will keep him safe."
The girl found herself unable to respond as tears filled her eyes from his words. She could only wrap her arm around his torso and turn to bury her face in his chest, slowly starting to sob. Dust was slightly surprised as he had never heard her cry before, but he instinctively lifted his arm up and around her back to pull her closer to him, causing her to let the tears flow even more. At least they both knew they weren't entirely tears of sorrow.
Eventually, her crying settled down, and she quietly formed the words that now felt so easy to say. "I love you, Dust.."
"I love you too."
[Yet another chapter that came to me in a dream~ Man, can you guys believe it's already been five years since I started this fanfic? The first chapter was uploaded on April 4th, 2014 O: I would've updated this on the exact day but I was in Japan on vacation, so I'm putting it up now so it's at least close haha. I definitely didn't think I'd be working on this for this long, but I'm really happy other Dust fans enjoy it as much as I love my own ideas :D I don't think it'll take another five years to complete this fic, but I guess we'll see LOL.]
