DISCLAIMER: This is a novelization-in-progress of the masterpiece Xenogears from SquareSoft. I do not own the content of this, save for maybe the way I described "how" something happened. All characters, speech, and storyline are exclusive property and copyrighted by SquareSoft.
Girl in the Woods
The sun glared angrily down upon him as he sat in the warm sand. His dirty, grubby cheeks were streaked with the trails of tears as they ran down his face while he sobbed uncontrollably. He wished he was a giant so he could reach up with his thumb and blot out the sun's unforgiving rays. He looked into the horizon, although blurry from tears.
In the distance, he saw a line of figures moving along the dunes. Surprised, he sprang to his feet and began running after them.
"Wait! Hey! Don't leave me here!" he called. "Wait!"
The figures continued moving along, faster than the he could keep pace. They eventually disappeared into the horizon. Defeated, he gave up and plopped back into the sand. New tears began to well up into his eyes as he began sobbing again. His tiny frame shaking back and forth in time with his sobs.
Suddenly, a shadow extended along the ground in front of him. He didn't notice at first though. He sat sobbing as thoughts raced through his head. Where is mom? Where am I? What am I doing here? His heart burned at the thought of his mother. She was dead. He saw her die.
"You must be lonely here by yourself," said a voice from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to look up the owner of the voice. It was a young woman, not much older looking than he. What surprised him was the fact that she looked so much like his own mother. His heart ached at the thought of his mother, but the aching subsided when he looked up at her. She wore a simple robe, and around her neck she wore a cross-shaped pendant with a ruby inset in it. She extended her hand down to him, offering to help him up. He smiled at her as he reached up towards hers. Her voice echoed to the reaches of his mind.
"Fei...Fei...Fei...?" The voice started to change into another woman's voice. Elly's voice.
"Fei!" she said sternly.
He looked up at her with a puzzled look on his face. Was he dreaming? It had seemed so real, and yet, like a dream. Had he been stranded in the desert when he was younger? He didn't know.
"Fei?" Elly asked again. "Are you awake?" She kneeled down in front of him, inspecting his face. He gave her a nod and sat up, and stretched. He kicked out the fire that was still burning from the night before, albeit the flames were almost non-existant.
"Shall we continue?" he asked.
She gave him a brief nod, and they continued together into the depths of the forest. The going was hard, as they both tripped over roots and were scratched by itchweed. They walked for about another hour when they reached a stone bridge. Fei stopped to have a look around while Elly wandered off to find something to eat. The two of them sat down and ate in silence, avoiding the other's eyes. When they finished, they sat up, brushed off their legs, and continued across the bridge.
They reached another small clearing in the forest when Elly began to lag behind. Her eyes, concentrating in thought, were burning a hole into the ground. Something was bothering her.
"Fei..." she started. Her words pierced through the air, shattering the silence between the two. Fei stopped mid-step and looked back at Elly. She was approaching him now, but gone away was the cautiousness of yesterday. Gone was the hidden fear in her eyes. Now the crystaline blue orbs carried concern, almost worry. "Yesterday you said your life was worthless. What did you mean by that?"
"Why are you asking?" came his reply.
She couldn't believe her ears. "Why?" she asked. "Yesterday you looked like you had a deathwish. You think it wouldn't make me wonder...?" She could hardly believe she was talking to him like this. Ordinarily, she wouldn't care, much less even ask a common surface dweller about the way he felt. Then it struck her as odd that a man like him wandering around in the woods was very strange, even for the surface dwellers, who were known to be very peculiar indeed. "Say, how did you get stranded in this forest in the first place?" she asked.
"I should ask you the same question," came his curt reply.
His abruptness caught her off guard. She struggled to find a suitable answer. "Huh? Well, I, errh..." she stammered.
But Fei didn't seem to be listening. He walked over towards a large tree. "I... ran away... from my village... or what's left of it..." he started.
Elly took a short breath. "Village...? You don't mean...?" she gasped. Fei still took no notice of her.
"Lahan... It was a small village that existed between this forest and the mountain range. I ran away from there."
Elly couldn't believe it. Was he talking of the same village? "That village...?" she started to ask, but Fei cut her off again. He was in his own world.
"It was a nice, peaceful village. Everyone there treated me like family," he began. She could tell that he was starting to get shaken as he recalled the incident. "Then, last night, a group of Gears suddenly appeared and started fighting right in the middle of the place. The village was engulfed in flames... I couldn't just stand there and watch Lahan be destroyed... So to try and save the villagers, I got in an empty Gear... without even knowing how to operate it. I just thought maybe I could do it... no... it was more like someone whispering to me... Someone whispering to me... telling me to do it... But it was a disaster! The village..." He was almost to the point of breaking now. He was staring into the ground, breathing rapidly through his nose while the tears welled up in eyes, threatening to spill across his cheeks and water the earth below.
"Was it destroyed by the Kislev army?" asked Elly. Fei didn't answer. He was afraid that he tried to speak now, he would lose control of himself. "Fei...?" she coaxed.
"No... The village was destroyed... by me..." he said between gasps.
Elly's eyes went wide as she took in what she just heard. A -Lamb- piloting a gear and destroying a village? He must be disillusioned. How could a -Lamb- from a backwater village pilot a military grade gear, much less destroy a whole village? Not to mention why would he destroy the village he was trying to protect?
"Yes. It was me. I destroyed Lahan. I'm sure of it..." said Fei.
"What do you mean you destroyed it? I thought you were trying to help save the villagers?" she asked.
"I did try to help. I actually took out a few Gears. But then I came under heavy fire from a new group of Gears... And then my friend... Timothy... was hit by a hail of bullets... Then I lost it... Everything just went dark..." Fei rubbed the side of his head. He was really struggling now. "I don't remember anything after that. The Gear I was in went out of control... Well, that's what doc said.
When I came to... the village... and everyone in it... was... Alice... She was such a... Alice and Timothy... Oh god...! Everybody... All such good people...!"
He broke. He fell onto his backside against the tree and planted his face into his hands. His breath ragged and short while he sobbed against his palms, the tears running races through the dirt that caked his face.
"Went out of control...? The Gear...? What about the village?" Elly was getting confused. Why did she care? She was going to shoot him once they left the forest, why should she even bother consoling a worthless -Lamb-? Fei, however, wasn't even paying attention to her. She tried to get his attention. "Fei?"
Fei looked up at her now. He was breathing a little more steadily now, but the tearstreaks were still visible on his face.
"...Yes, the Gear! If only those Gears had never landed in the village...!" His eyes burned with resentment.
Elly was sure of it now. He was talking about the village. The village that she had landed in. The village that she had led the Kislevian army into. The village that was later destroyed. She had been on a secret covert mission to steal a gear from the experimental gear hangar in Kislev. The mission would've been a success had somebody not noticed the tiny changes in the guard schedule. A lapse of 30 minutes without a guard. That was all the time they would need to get in, rig the gear, and escape with it. It was their misfortune, however, that somebody had noticed the small change.
They were about halfway back into Aveh territory when the first shell exploded to her left. She checked her rear moniter to find ten Kislevian gears chasing her small group, and they were slowly gaining on them. For some reason, that bastard Shakan wouldn't allow her to take her own Solarian gear. She was stuck with an old, rusting piece of junk that had been sitting in one of his hangars for several years. Not even his common soldiers piloted such inferior machines! Now she couldn't even outrun her pursuers, and to make matters worse, the seal on her gear's slave generator was slowly growing a crack on it's aft end.
An hour later, a voice crackled on her reciever. "Damn them... They're still giving chase. We've entered Aveh territory... I'm not giving up now."
To her left, the owner of the transmission edged forward towards the front, gunning the afterburners in his jets. Suddenly, it's backside exploded into a ball of flame. Elly jumped, and watched as the burning gear descended towards the earth below. The voice crackled over the radio again.
"...That's done it! I'm at a disadvantage now." he breathed.
A thud followed by a violent explosion slammed into her backside. She looked into her system diagnostics as her machine shuddered in it's death throes and began to list. The radio crackled again.
"Van Houten! What's wrong? Respond!" a voice demanded.
"Sh, shrapnel... In my back. My thrusters' output is dropping. I can't maintain altitude." she gasped. The impact had caused a shower of sparks throughout the cockpit, and a panel to her right had exploded, sending pieces of micro shrapnel to pepper the side of her face, neck, and arm. Her blood began to slowly ooze through the fabric of her flight uniform, although all the injuries were minor.
"Damn it! Everyone land now! Regroup on the ground. We'll have to engage them!"
With great difficulty, she mananged to maneuver her dumbstruck gear to the ground. Right into a village. She cursed inwardly. This was the last place she wanted to land. The landing was a rough one, as she slammed forward into the control stick she had been gripping with both hands. The control stick rammed into her soft midsection with unforgiving force, knocking the wind out of her, along with a few drops of blood. A strange warmth began to spread throughout her midsection. She sucked in a breath, only to scream in pain. Her ribs were either badly bruised...or broken. As for the strange warmth in her midsection, something must've been torn.
Clumsily, she keyed the cockpit release, and stepped out of her wrecked machine. But in the middle of her daze, she lost her footing, and fell headfirst to the ground below. She landed on her back with a resounding thud, once again knocking the breath out of her small frame. Another spray of blood burst forth from her mouth. She needed to get medical attention immediately. Her condition wasn't life threatening, but it could certainly cause some implications.
She looked up to see that one of the Kislevian gears banking in the sky to turn around to bear down on her broken machine. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet and clumsily ducked behind her gear. Machine gun fire rattled and shook the frame of the once mighty gear. Pieces of armor plating chipped off and dug themselves into the ground at high velocities. Slowly, the bullets would dig themselves a hole into the other side of the gear.
She closed her eyes and braced for the impact that she dearly hoped wouldn't happen: when the bullets found the fuel tanks. The explosion would send shrapnel flying through the air, and shred her body to ribbons. Thankfully, the explosion didn't happen. The pilot must've figured that she was dead and mangled enough for satisfaction. With great effort, she stumbled off towards the nearby forest.
She was snapped out of her reverie when Fei spoke for the first time in several minutes. "If they had never come to the village, never started fighting there... Then I wouldn't have tried to pilot that Gear. It's all their fault... Not mine! They're the ones to blame. If they'd never come... none of this would have... ... if not for them!" Fei was looking angry now. He turned around to face the giant tree. He glared at it with hate. He began pounding his fist into the side of the tree as he drove his words home. "Them! Them! Them!" he screamed. Blood started to ooze out of his knuckles and form droplets on the grass.
"Enough of that!" blurted Elly. His rantings suddenly made her angry at him. He turned to look at her, a puzzled look on his face. "You're a coward!" accused Elly.
He looked at her in surprise. "A coward? ... Me?" he asked. A coward? I'm a coward? Because somebody barged into my home, caused my village to be destroyed, and me to be put in exile? I'm a coward because of this?
"Yes, you're a coward. All you're saying is 'them, them, them'." Elly continued. "Don't talk as if you had no part of the blame, as well!"
"I'm to blame...?" said Fei, more to himself than to anybody else. How am I to blame? I was only trying to protect my home... It's their fault...they showed up and started fighting. I was only doing what I thought was the best course of action...
But Elly wasn't done with him just yet. She walked closer to him, looking him straight in the face, almost spitting on him. "Yes, that's right!" she roared. "Of course the direct cause of the battle was that a Gear made an emergency landing in your village. But all Kislev wanted was the Gear, right? They weren't invading or out to destroy Lahan. The real damage occured because you climbed in a Gear and tried to fight back!"
Fei looked like she had dealt him a blow to the face. He looked at the ground again. A coward...
"What ever made you get into that Gear?" she asked. But she didn't wait for an answer. "Not just anyone can pilot them! It takes training! There is no way a civilian could hope to pilot one! Besides... you should have been helping the villagers flee to safety instead! How can you blame the damage on a Gear when it was your decision to fight in it in the first place? Why don't you take some of the responsibility yourself? Why are you putting all the blame on others? That's just running away! That's what makes you a coward!"
Fei reflected on the words, which had been driven so forcefully into him. Maybe she was right. It was true that he had never used a gear before. What chance did he possibly have in successfully defending his home? If he hadn't boarded the gear, his village might not have been blown apart. The Kislevians probably would've just taken it, and been on their way. But no, he had fought in it, and as a result, his village was no more, and everyone was dead. No wonder he was exiled.
"Well, if you put it that way..." said Fei. "Yes... that's right, I am a coward!
I didn't realize my own strength and have been blaming what happened as a result of that on others.
I'm a pitiful excuse for a man. But... I just felt this rush of blood in me and I couldn't help myself! Couldn't help myself... or help others." His emotions overwhelmed him again, and he fell back against the tree. He slammed his face into his palms, and new rivers began to flow down his face.
Elly regretted what she had said to him immediately. She had been too harsh. Still, she couldn't understand why she cared. She was superior to this land dweller. The way he felt should've meant nothing to her, but here she was trying to comfort him.
"Fei, I, I'm..." she began, but Fei cut her off.
"Shut up!" he screamed. "What do you know? When I came to I was surrounded by piles of rubble... I didn't know what had happened or what I had done. I remembered absolutely nothing.
All I knew was that my hands could still feel what they had done. The only things that penetrated the Gear's barrier were screams... Screams accompanied by the stench of blood, the sound of crushing bones, and my own curses..."
His voice was starting to get hoarse, and Elly wondered if the noise might attract some more of those damn forest elves, but Fei kept going.
"Look!" he demanded. He sprang up from his seat and thrust out his hands to her. "Look at my hands! Can you hear their voices? Can you understand this feeling? The feeling of having destroyed your village with your own hands...? Of not being able to do anything for the children left behind...? Now they have nothing... I have nothing... I have nowhere... no one..." He sat back against the tree, whimpering into his palm. "I didn't want to get in it... I had no choice... There was no other way..."
Elly looked down at his pitiful figure. She took a few steps towards him, and reached her hand out, but then pulled back towards her body. This guy was unstable. He might hurt her if she stuck around. She backed away from him cautiously, and watched him for a few moments. Then she turned and walked towards the other end of the clearing. She would have to find her way out on her own. She took one last glimpse of him over her shoulder as she stepped into the brush.
"Why did I go and say that to him...?" she asked herself. She herself was guilty of similiar crimes. Flashes of memories went through her mind as she thought of her own incident one year earlier. The memories seemed to intermingle with the argument she just had.
You talk as if it's not your responsibility!
A chamber of blood, with bodies strewn across the floor. Their blood seeped in crimson rivers across the floor as she frantically shook her head, hoping to erase the fresh image from her mind.
No... I didn't do anything!
A young man looked up at her as she screamed in his face.
They died because you had to pilot the Gear and start fighting!
The chamber of blood again. She dropped to her knees. Blood was everywhere. Dripping off the ceiling, running down the walls, pooling on the floor. And the bodies. The bodies were so mangled... Some of the blood runs across the floor and covers her hands. She looked at her palms staring dully at the fresh blood that coated them.
It wasn't me, can't you understand?
The young man continued to look at her with bewilderment as she continued to scream at him.
Not just anyone can pilot those machines, you know!
Dead bodies littered the floor around her, their blood oozing through unnatural orifaces.
I didn't do it!
The young man again. He still looked confused, but anger slowly seemed to be seeping onto his face.
Why don't you take responsibility?
She's stood in the center of the dark room. A bright light cast down upon her as she squinted into the faces of the men looking down on her.
I'm not so strong.
The young man looking at her still while she screamed at him.
Why are you trying to put the blame on others?
The blinding light forced her to look towards the ground as the men's eyes continued to pierce into her.
I'm not even all that talented.
More blood. Flowing freely everywhere. Covering her world.
You're a coward!
That's right! I'm a coward.
"Yes... that's right... I am a coward..." said Elly. She felt terrible. She had no right to talk to Fei like that. But now, she felt that she couldn't apologize to him. The damage was done. There was no turning back.
A loud thump resounded through the forest. Elly froze, and looked around her. What the hell was that? The thumping continued as she looked around her. Her blood froze in her veins when she found the owner. A rankar. A large green lizardlike beast that stood at least twice her height. Elly tried to run for cover, but it was too late. The noise from her argument must've caught it's attention, and began to bear down on her with frightening speed.
Elly dodged to the side just as it's razor sharp teeth went rushing past her. Her success in evading the beast was short lived as she saw the whiplike tail rushing at her. She managed to scream before she blacked out.
Fei heard the scream. He snapped his head up and sprang to his feet, his misery forgotten. He knew who the owner of the voice was. He sprinted to where she disappeared into the brush and stared down the ragged path.
"Oh no!" he breathed.
Fei took off down the ragged trail, his feet barely touching the ground as he sprinted, ducked, and jumped through the forest. Within moments he burst into the next clearing in time to see Elly being scooped up into the jaws of the mighty rankar.
"Elly!" he called.
The rankar turned to the source of the new sound. He dropped the price in his jaws and roared at the intruder. Fei stared him down. What the hell am I going to do? There's no way I could beat this monster! But I'm not going down without a fight. Not for Elly's sake! He looked over at the crumpled heap that was Elly.
"Elly! Are you alright!" he called frantically. "Darn! She's unconscious!"
He looked back over to the rankar and saw its tail bearing down on him from above. He managed to jump out of the way just in time. He landed on top of the tail and sprinted up it's length towards the beasts face and landed a kick into it's eye. The rankar roared in irritation and pain as Fei pushed off from the eye and flipped back a safe distance. He looked around for a weapon that could possibly aid him in defending himself.
A few feet away, he spotted one of Elly's fighting rods. It seemed like such a flimsy weapon, but he knew better. He had seen Elly use it on a few of the monsters that lurked the forest, and knew just how effective the razor tipped weapon could be. Desperately he made a dash towards the rod. The rankar's tail smashed into the ground in front of him, tripping Fei but he used his moment to roll the last few feet and snatched the rod up into his hand.
The beast lunged at him again, but Fei took the initiative and dashed forward and rolled underneath the salivating jaws. He sprang to his feet and ran the rest of the way under the monster, carving a bloody trail into it's chest and stomach. The beast roared in pain and tried to turn to face him, but Fei made sure to stay underneath the beast, stabbing him the whole time. Blood gushed down out of the wounds and soaked into the ground, but this only angered the rankar more. It swept it's tail underneath itself, catching Fei by surprise. It caught him in the midsection and sent him flying.
Fei slammed against the base of a tree. He coughed in pain, and blood spilled from his mouth. He looked up hazily at the beast that was closing in on him again. This is it. I'm sorry, Elly.
Suddenly a distant whump whump whump whump whump whump could be heard in the distance. Fei looked up into the trees overhead, but saw nothing. The rankar even stopped and looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. Soon, the noise was accompanied by the sound of splintering and cracking timber and something sliced into the tops of the trees. Fei looked to his right to see a familiar looking object in the sky. It was the land crab from Citan's shed!
"Fei!" called the good doctor from his perch. "Fei! I have been searching for you! Here, You can use this!"
He dropped a hulk that the land crab had been carrying. Fei recognized it immediately. It was the same gear from Lahan. Immediately he refused.
"Hey! Hold on a second! To tell me I can use it is one thing..." He looked over and noticed that the rankar was turning back onto Elly's prone, limp form. "Elly... Damn it!"
He turned to look back up at Citan who was hovering just above the treetops. He had to yell at the top of his lungs for Citan to hear him.
"Doc. I have a favor to ask! I will defeat this monster! But, if it looks like I'll go out of control like last time, then shoot me!" he called.
"Fei... Let us pray that won't happen!" Citan called back down.
Fei dashed towards the outstretched hand of the gear and hopped onto it, and from there, into the cockpit itself. The latch for the cockpit closed behind him as he sat himself behind the somewhat familiar control stick. Immediately, the gear's internal computers hummed to life, sending data back and forth between themselves and to sensors throughout the gear. The moniters blipped on in front of him, showing him the views to his front, sides, overhead, under, and rear.
He targeted the rankar and fired a salvo of machine gun fire into the rankars hindsection, taking care to avoid Elly. The rankar roared in pain and anger and settled his attention to the much bigger threat at hand. He charged into the breastplate of Fei's gear, knocking him back into some trees. The trees snapped in half like so many toothpicks. Fei balled up his fist, and slammed it into the side of the rankar's head repeatedly. The rankar, however, wouldn't let go of it's deathgrip around his gear's neck and squeezed it's jaws tighter. Fei stood up, holding the rankar to his midsection, and began to ram it into nearby trees that were still standing. The trees couldn't withstand the force of the blows and splintered under the impact of the rankar's backside.
The rankar's grip loosened, and Fei was able to rip it off of him. He threw it into the ground shaking the ground visibly. The rankar countered by sweeping Fei's legs out from underneath him with its tail.
Again, the rankar was upon him, clawing at his breastplate and drooling all over the camera receivers. Fei took the time to charge up the ether gun in his right arm before delivering a jaw cracking blow to the side of the rankar's head, shooting off the ether bullet at the same time. The force of the blow knocked the rankar off of him while the ether bullet itself created a hole in the side of the rankar's head. The bullet ricochet'd around the inside of the rankar's skull, turning its brain into a giant soupy mushball. It was dead. Blood was everywhere. But Elly was safe.
"Fei! Are you alright?" called Citan.
Fei knelt down in the now spacious clearing and turned off the power to his gear. The hatch to his cockpit opened and he hopped out onto the soppy, stinky, bloody grass. Citan had already landed his machine and had dragged Elly to safety, propping her against the base of a tree.
"Yeah... I guess so." said Fei. He looked over at the body of the rankar, still twitching.
"That fight with the Rankar was remarkable. An ordinary Gear could not defeat that monster. And you certainly keep yourself in good shape..." commented Citan. He was obviously impressed with the way Fei had dealt with the monster, despite his inexperience with the gear.
"Why did you bring this here, doc?" asked Fei.
"This...?" asked Citan, motioning to the gear. "You mean Weltall?"
"... Weltall? This is the Gear that destroyed our village." said Fei. "Why did you bother bringing it here? I never want to see another Gear again..."
"I understand how you must feel..." said Citan. "But, in order to protect yourself you need a certain degree of strength. Even more since we are being pursued."
"I agree that a certain degree of strength is needed for self-defense. And if it weren't for this Gear here, Elly and I'd be in that Rankar's stomach right now... But its power goes beyond what is necessary. Does one really need the power to destroy everything?" asked Fei. Citan just looked at him, not saying a word. "I don't need that kind of power... I just hate Gears."
"Fei, using power or being used by power... is that not a problem of the heart...? If humans do not use their power for wrong it can be a good thing... I believe such power can help us. In that respect, I know you will be fine. It sure helped you out this time. Am I right?"
"I want to believe that. But something is holding me back. This Gear..." He looked back at the gear, it's armor crimson red due to all the blood that been spilt on it. He shook his head in disgust, and turned back to Citan. "Well, whatever... At least Elly is safe now."
They walked over to where Elly still lay against the tree, unconcious. She began to stir, moaning softly into her chest.
"She seems to have come to." said Citan.
Elly stood up on wobbly legs. Instinctively, her hand went up to her head and rubbed it slightly, shaking her head.
"Huh...?" she groaned. She turned to see Citan and Fei watching her.
"I am Citan... a friend of Fei's." said Citan, stepping forward. "You almost did not make it. If Fei had not have helped you, I hate to think what may have happened. But I was not too pleased with his rashness in trying to take on that Rankar with just his bare fists."
"Bare fists?" Elly looked at him with a puzzled expression. Bare fists? He tried to fight that monster with his bare hands? Was he crazy? She stole a look at Fei, taking note of the fresh cuts and bruises on his body.
"Well, I am glad that you were able to find a use for what I brought you." said Citan.
He turned and looked up at Weltall. Elly looked too and barely suppressed a gasp.
"Let us just say we are borrowing what the Kislev army left behind..." said Citan, matter-of-factly.
"... Oh." Elly turned to look at Fei again. A misty look almost in her eyes. "Thank you, Fei. This makes twice."
"Don't mention it. I'll just put it on your tab." he replied.
"It is getting dark. Let us make camp now and start out early tomorrow. The both of you look tired and I need to make some repairs on our friend here..." said Citan. His hand already found his chin, and his foot was tapping.
The fire crackled happily, sending figures of light dancing across the grass as Elly gazed into it. Fei lay nearby, curled up on the ground sleeping. Their wounds were freshly bandaged, and Elly was trying hard not to breathe in too deeply. Both she and Fei has messed up their ribs over the past few days, and both were careful not to give them any reason to hurt.
"It is no use. The knee actuator and bypass circuit are both ruined. The acutator can be fixed, but the circuit needs to be replaced..." said Citan, cursing silently under his breath.
He set a tool he had been using down on the plated armor of Weltall's knee, and jumped down into the grass. He looked down at Elly, still gazing into the fire. He cleaned off his glasses quickly before he spoke to her.
"Oh, having trouble sleeping there?" he inquired.
"Yeah..." said Elly. She looked up at him, the firelight dancing across her scraped and bruised face.
"I imagine you would. You have had quite a day." said Citan. He turned around and looked up at the gear. "This is the machine Fei used when the village was attacked. There was another machine left sitting on the outskirts of the village..." He paused briefly and looked intently at Elly. Then he spoke a language unlike what he had been using. Elly recognized it immediately. "Nil bayer dars legus? (It was yours, right?)"
Elly looked at him in surprise. Huh? How does he know my language? He's just a surface dweller, isn't he?" Citan saw that she was still recovering from the initial shock of his words, but recognized that she knew what he was referring to.
"Just as I thought... The missing pilot from the Gear that made an emergency landing in Lahan... ...and the mysterious woman found wandering lost in the forest... are actually one and the same person. Judging from your uniform, I would also say you are with the military... Am I correct?"
"How...? Who are you?" asked Elly. She couldn't believe it. Who IS this man?
"I checked the ID tags of the soldiers who died in the attack on Lahan... The design on their tags and the design on your uniform there is the same." said Citan. Elly looked shocked for a moment. "Do not worry, they were given proper burials. But, they may not have been too pleased to die in a foreign land."
"... Maybe." said Elly, her voice trailing off.
"Does Fei know about you?"
"I don't think he has realized yet."
"Most likely... Fei knows nothing of the world outside of Lahan." Citan looked down at Fei.
"I see... So how come..." started Elly, but Citan must've not heard her, because he cut her off.
"... In any case, it is best if we do not pry into each other's pasts anymore."
"But..." Elly started, but Citan cut her off again. There was a look in his eyes that suggested that she not push the subject further. A look she had grown accustomed to when she was in training at Jugend.
"Let us just say that I know a little more about the world than most do." said Citan, continuing to stare intently at her. "Anyway, Elly... I have a favor I must beg you to do..."
"... What is it?"
"Go straight ahead and you will come to a road. Then just keep going... Would you please leave us while Fei is still asleep?"
Elly looked up at him surprise. Why was this man telling her to leave? She still had a few things she need to tell Fei before they were split up at the edge of the woods.
"Unfortunate things keep happening around Fei. I would like to protect him if possible..." said Citan. "I do not want him caught up in any vain struggles. I am also saying this for your benefit. Elly, you do not belong here. Go back to your family."
"Um... I..." started Elly. Again Citan didn't allow her to finish.
"Do not worry. I will not tell Fei what your true identity is. I will... just tell him you went to meet up with your family..."
"No, it's not that! I did something terrible to him... So... I want to... apologize."
Citan raised an eyebrow at her. "Something terrible?" he asked.
"Fei told me it was our fault your village was destroyed. Fei kept saying... 'if only they hadn't come...' Then, I called Fei a coward because he was trying to escape from the responsibility... But in fact it was me who was trying to escape from taking the blame..." She stopped briefly to allow this information to sink in. "If I hadn't crash-landed there, they would all still be living peacefully now. All those innocent people wouldn't have been caught up in that tragedy. But I accused Fei..."
"You are a rarity. I did not expect your people would ever think like that. To your people, surface dwellers are nothing more than domesticated animals, are they not...?" inquired Citan.
"'The Shepherds, -Abel-, took control over the surface dwelling -Lambs- ... possessing the right to give life and death unto them as they see fit...'" recited Elly. It was a teaching that had been driven into her head from an early age.
"Exactly. Yet you seem to feel responsibility toward Fei and the villagers. Why is that?"
"I don't know myself... At Jugend I was taught that surface dwellers were stupid and base...
... And that is why we have to control them... But..." She trailed off.
"But upon meeting Fei, something about him made you feel differently?" coaxed Citan.
"Yes. He's no different than we are... in fact he seemed more powerful. He possesses something... ... something we don't. He also risked his life to save me... twice."
"Most of your people would feel ashamed at receiving such an act. Yet, you are grateful to Fei...?"
"It's probably because of my father. He had an open mind to surface dwellers. My nanny was... a surface dweller. No one knew about her though... Besides... I am the same as Fei..." said Elly as she stared into the ground.
"The same?" asked Citan.
"No, nothing. Nevermind..."
"Hmm. I think I understand. I am sorry. After just saying we should not pry... It is my nature, you know? My wife says I am too persistent and that I talk too much. But, personally, I do not think I talk too much." Elly was beginning to agree with his wife. "It is probably best if you return home to your country. You really should not be here."
"I'll return to headquarters. But then what..."
"You are worried..."
"Yes..."
"Worrying is natural... 'Even I used to worry once too, you know?'"
"Oh, Citan..."
"Anyway, let me handle what to tell Fei... You had better go now."
Elly got up slowly, supporting her weight on the log she had been sitting on. She carefully picked her way across the clearing and towards another group of trees. She stopped briefly long enough to look back at Fei. Goodbye, Fei. I'm sorry.
A few hours later, Citan got back to work on Weltall. Fei had certainly had a fun time with that rankar. There was several hours of work to be done if he expected to get Weltall up and running again. He didn't even see Fei come up behind him.
"Has Elly gone yet?" he asked.
Citan turnd around to look at him over his shoulder. "Oh, so you were awake?" he asked.
"Yes, I woke up midway, so I only heard part of what you two were discussing." said Fei.
Citan frowned on the inside. He had been hoping to keep the information about Elly from Fei to protect him. Apparently, he failed at doing this. So now Fei knew the truth. At least part of it.
"Fei, she is..." started Citan. Fei cut him off.
"I know. It's not Elly's fault. What happened to the village is all my fault. I took out all my pent up feelings on Elly. I'm the one who should apologize."
"Fei, do not blame yourself. It was not your fault either. You were just trying to protect the village."
"Thanks, doc... By the way, how is everyone from the village going?"
Citan thought back to the village. Everything had been destroyed. The huts were mostly blown over, and the livestock had been killed. The place had stunk because of the smell of rotting flesh and blood. But, being the good doctor he was, he rounded up the survivors and instructed his wife to take them back to his house.
"Do not worry, Yui is taking care of them. I told her to leave soon and take them all to a certain place. They should be safe for a while. So you just worry about yourself for now."
"Okay, doc."
"Now to think what we should do next... Shall we leave this forest and head for the desert town of Dazil? We may learn what Aveh and Kislev are up to... not to mention getting some parts for Weltall. The leader of Aveh is not going to sit back and let the other night's fiasco go by unpunished!" warned Citan.
Fei and Citan headed off towards the edge of the forest. They had left Weltall behind for obvious reasons, and it was decided that it was better to hide there anyway. Suddenly the ground began to shake, and the air filled with a low rumble. Fei looked up into the sky. A huge battleship was flying low over the trees heading towards the capital.
"What is that...?" he gasped.
"I would assume it is an aerial battleship from Aveh..." said Citan.
"An aerial battleship? I've never heard of Aveh having anything like that." noted Fei.
"Of course it does not come from Aveh originally... Most likely it belongs to the Gebler forces stationed in Aveh." explained Citan.
"Gebler?"
"Special forces from the Sacred Empire of Solaris known as Gebler. I am sure you have heard something about them. They are an organization providing large scale military aide to the Kingdom of Aveh. They showed up in Ignas several months ago. Until then, Aveh was being routed by Kislev. But with Gebler's help they have managed to regain half their losses. They are now expanding their territory and gathering resources buried in the ruins." said Citan.
"I've heard the village elders talk about it... Is Elly a part of that?"
"Quite possibly so. Their group has superior technology and power. It is rumored they are here solely to get the resources in the ruins. I am surprised they are using something as powerful as that ship... It must be to supress the recent border skirmishes."
"So they are fighting the Kislev Empire?"
"Yes. It seems they have found new ruins on the northern edge of Aveh. Those ruins are under a five-hundred-year-old temple. Three weeks ago Kislev took over those ruins. Most likely they are fighting over that."
The two of them stood and watched as the huge battleship cruised away, eventually turning into a speck on the horizon. They then set off out of the forest. The trees slowly grew thinner and thinner as the ground below them got sandier and sandier. The weather was also starting to heat up and lose humidity. For some reason, it seemed oddly familiar to Fei. Like he had been here before. But that was ridiculous. Fei had never been outside of Lahan...
Whew! This chapter, without a doubt, is the longest one so far! I recently had to rebuild my computer from scratch so I lost everything before this chapter! Good thing I had the stuff on Anyway, I've began to get more creative with my writing, and am starting to add my own stuff into it. Did you notice? I think it's turning out pretty good, but I won't know unless you review!
Averlus