The Descended Shadow
Part Two
A Prophecy Fulfilled
Disclaimer - Escaflowne is not mine, the characters and story are the property of Bandai entertainment. The story and characters of 'The Descend Shadow' or 'Shadows of the Past' are the property of Butchs Fan Fiction Forum.co.uk. Before use of these characters or elements of the story please get permission from Butch Cassidy at butchsvideostop@Tiscali.co.uk
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…
Sand… Sand… Sand… Nothing but Sand. She had been walking for hours now, from dune to dune. She hated sand, always had even when she was a kid she hated going to the beach. That's why when she found herself 'wherever this place is' she walked towards the mountains. She was exhausted, and angry but she pushed herself all the same knowing even if she stopped for a moment it could be her last. She needed to make it to shade, thus the mountains.
She looked up at the sun high in the sky, beaming onto the wasteland of endless desert. She had muddled her situation through her mind time and time again, making less sense with each retelling. She had gotten up in the morning, another boring day with nothing special happening. She walked out into the street ready for collage out for another hard days work. It was the middle of her exams and she didn't have the time to even say goodbye to her mother. A second later there was a bright blue light and she was in the desert, wishing she had brought some sunscreen. She was even more shocked to find her sword, the one she and her mother had trained with since she was a child stuck into the sand beside her.
Wiping her brow again in the heat she looked up at the sun once more to make sure it was really there and not just a bright light. Convinced that it was the sun she continued her trek towards the mountain. She so wished she had brought some water with her, in that heat anyone would want a drink but she thought she had only a little walk ahead of her. It was at this sort of time that Yucari would laugh at her she kept on saying 'Always be prepared'. She had always given Sadako advice, mainly on the future and to be ready for anything. It was now that she wished she had listened to her, but how was she to know she was going to be teleported to a strange desert, its not exactly something you can mark on your timetable. But here she was…
"So hot", Sadako muttered to herself. The heat was starting to really get to her, not sure how much further she could go she stopped for a short rest. Before she had even fully stopped she slumped over, face first into the sand. Too exhausted to move she just lay there, and blanked out seconds later.
……………
When Sadako opened her eyes she wondered if really had, for it was just as black as it was with her eyes closed. She felt like she was hovering, nothing under her feet, nothing all around her but space…. Empty space. A feeling of emptiness consumed her soul, she was surrounded but nothing, she was nothing.
As far as her eyes could see a bright light flashed, blinding Sadako. Even though she was shielding her eyes she could see the light was moving closer to her, turning the darkness that consumed her and the place she'd been exiled into light. As soon as she could stand it Sadako shifted her gaze right into the centre of the light. Within the centre, glowing, Sadako saw a beautiful lady with long brown hair smiling at her with her heavenly lips. Sadako saw her mother. Before she could speak a voice that appeared to come from everywhere broke the silence.
"The past and the present ever connected to the future,
The glory's of old lead to none but this day,
With the conquest of fate, the victory of love,
The future is as planned by the dreamers of ancient's days"
Each word of the verse pierced Sadako like a dagger, each being burned into her mind never to be forgotten. Her mothers smile, the same as it had been looking at Sadako as a child, telling her fairy-tales of princesses and knights, Wars and valour, hate and the victory of love, a land where the earth and the moon hung in the sky. She grabbed her head, she couldn't take it, she couldn't make sense of the alien feeling. What was happening to her, what was she seeing, what was she hearing? Was this all a hallucination, a dream, a vision?
"Mum!" As Sadako cried out, her surroundings disappeared again, leaving her walking out onto a corridor, lavishly designed with inscriptions and the symbol of the winged dragon above her head. She had never seen the place before and yet she felt as if she had been there a hundred times. All feeling of emptiness or misplacisem disappeared with the bright light, she felt as if she belonged.
As she took her first steps she was greeted by a tall brown haired man adorned with a richly white shirt, worn casually. Just the sight of the man brought a smile to her.
"I'm really sorry, I mean I really didn't mean to walk in on you like that… You do look beautiful" The man started, apologizing profusely, Sadako smiled at the complement. Looking herself over she challenged him,
"It really is a beautiful Dress… I must give my thanks to Von as soon as I see him" Sadako told him; he smiled and took her hand, leading her through the hall. Sadako sighed into herself. As nice as this was she was still being bothered,
"Dawn…." She started. The man, Dawn replied,
"Yes"
"Do you really think this is the time to be celebrating?" She asked him, letting her feelings come to the surface.
"Even in times like these we must be able to let go. If we only look at the bad we will never find the good, and will be forever stuck in glum. We have to rise the spirits of the people or there will be no reason to fight..." Dawn answered her. She had a feeling that he had had time to think about this; nobody could have come up with that on the spot.
"But…" Sadako started again, still not convinced.
"Let us just enjoy the night. Although most people are enjoying themselves we do have people on guard. We are all quite safe" Dawn told her; he wanted to move away from the depressing subject of what had happened in the past few months. Sadako was about to return to topic when they entered the main hall of the Fanelian Castle Kanzaki. The hall filled with hundred of Fanelian's dancing. The room lavishly lit with thousands of candles on the walls and hung from the roof. The live orchestra playing only the finest Fanelian music for the kings private guests. Sadako stood in aw looking at the hundreds of people, forgetting their troubles, all of them for one night, one night of peace. She nearly jumped when Dawn took her hand and bowed to her,
"May I have this dance?"
"Of course, kind sir" Sadako answered without a second thought, continuing the joke. Both smiling she took Dawn's hand and placed it on her waist and placed her own on his shoulder. Within the beautifully lit room they circled, dancing, forgetting their troubles for the brief time they could. As the two danced the people around them seemed to melt away into some distant place hidden from them. They were the only two in within the Fanelian Royal hall, the only two in each other's world. Their endless waltz came to an end when a powerful voice echoed across the hall, catching all people's attention. Dawn sighed, looking to the top of the hall,
"Oh no, Vons going to make his big speech, lets get out of here" Dawn whispered into Sadako's ear, seeing Von was the man who caught the rooms attention. Sadako looked up to him,
"Why's that bad?"
"I listened to him practise it a hundred times this afternoon and I don't think I could stick it once more, lets get out of here" Dawn answered and before she could say another word she was ushered off by Dawn. He led her out of the hall and up several sets of stairs before she challenged him.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"Oh, it's a great place, your gonna love it" Dawn told her, very sure of himself "Your gonna love it!" She decided it would be better to go with the flow rather than argue, but she was interested to see what he thought was so important. Dawn rarely talked about himself, or perhaps just not to her. Before she knew it they had stopped, she looked up and froze at the sight.
They stood on a balcony overlooking the entire of the city of Fanel, a shocking sight of beauty to start with but before them stood a parade of lights and sounds she had never experienced. Below them the people of the city like them inside the castle where having the largest party in Fanelia's history. It appeared that the streets themselves where afire with lights and people. The calls of joy from the people were as music to the night air, it was the first time the city could relax for considerable time. Sadako just watched the city below as if hypnotised. A loud bang ripped through the air and Sadako awoke.
………..
Sadako awoke slowly, her head fogged over. At first she didn't even move, she just stayed where she lay, keeping her mind on what she had just experienced, afraid if she took her mind from it even for a second it would slip from her forever. It was hard enough for her to understand what she had just experienced but trying to get her mind around it was just mind-boggling. It felt as if she had just gone for a trip inside someone else's body, felt everything they felt, everything they were. Not only that but someone threw a ton of none-sensual verses at her. She went over the words in her mind,
'The past and the present ever connected to the future,
The glory's of old lead to none but this day,
With the conquest of fate, the victory of love,
The future is as planned by the dreamers of ancient's days'
Getting up, she shock her head. They made no sense! And what was it that told her them, was it a dream…. A vision… A window to the future or maybe the past…. Things had changed so much from that morning, she didn't know what to believe anymore, it felt like the sky could start to fall any minute. Pulled from thought she sensed movement in front of her. Without a second thought Sadako ripped a small knife from her sleeve, and lunged forward with it at her visitor. To her surprise it met with steel, freezing her in place. Opening her eyes she found her knife held back by a sword in the hands of a man cloaked in black. Pushing a little more power into his wrist he threw Sadako back onto the ground she had laid upon.
Holding his sword firm he looked down upon her,
"There is no need to attack me young lady, I'm not going to hurt you". Spotting her sword within the dirt in front of her she lurched and grabbed it, raising it in front of her for protection.
"If that is true why are you holding that," She told him, indicating to his sword. With a small laugh he sheaved his sword and held out his hands.
"Are you satisfied?" He asked her, taking a seat, leaving nothing between them other than the little dying fire.
"We'll see" Sadako asked "But why are you here".
"Why am I here! That's a laugh" He answered, "Maybe you should be asking yourself that. Is this the place you last remember being?"
Sadako looked round and true she didn't remember the cave, the fire or how she had got there. "That's because I brought you here" He answered her unspoken question "I was travelling through the desert when I found you and decided to bring you here. It was clear that if you had spent much more time out there you would have died". Sadako slowly lowered her sword, not sure what to make this man. Then it occurred to her, this is the first person she had seen since arriving in the desert, he didn't look any different than anyone in Japan… apart from the large black cloak. 'This might be the last person I could see for a long time' Sadako thought 'I should try to get as much information as I can from him'. She sat down and looked at the man through the fire. Lowering her head in a bow she thanked him, "Thank you". He smiled in gratitude
"Tell me, were are you from, your clothes are unusual" He asked her "oh, I'm sure were are my manners, I am Géaroid, and you are?"
"Sadako, my name is Sadako and I come from Tokyo," She answered, still keeping her guard up.
"To-k-yo" Géaroid repeated slowly "I can't say I've heard of it. What Kingdom is it in?"
"Kingdom? Well if you mean country its in Japan, you know on the planet Earth" Sadako told him mockingly. She couldn't believe that he had never heard of Tokyo, it is one of the most important cities in the world.
"Earth? You mean you come from there!" Géaroid spurted out in disbelief, pointing out of the opening to the cave, far into the sky to the second moon, the blue green one. Sadako looked up open mouthed, before the sun was so bright she could only see it in the sky but there they were, the earth and the moon looking down at them from high up in the sky.
"You mean that is the Earth! Were I'm I?!" Sadako yelled out in surprise.
"You are on Gaia, within the great desert of Zaibach" Géaroid answered her, regaining his calm. Sadako turned to him,
"This can't be Gaia!" She told him angrily "Or Zaibach, they are only a story! Nothing more!"
"They are quite real young lady." He told her "And if you need proof, it's floating in the sky". Géaroid spoke but Sadako wasn't listening anymore, she had had it. First she appears in a desert in the middle of nowhere, then had some crazy dream, nearly kills the one who helped her and now she finds herself in a fairytale land that he mother invented. It was not the day she had seen ahead of her and that's for sure. Looking up at the sky again, at the Earth floating there she had no choice but to except fact, she wasn't on the Earth any longer and according to this man, Géaroid, she was on Gaia. She was either there or having the oddest dream she had ever experienced.
Looking up she saw Dawn watching her, defensively she looked away,
"What are you staring at?" She asked. Pointing at her neck he answered,
"What's that? The thing around your neck." Sadako looked down and lifted out a small red pendent made of a single red jewel. She held it in front of her, so Géaroid could see it clearly.
"It's a pendent, one my mum gave me for luck in my exams" Sadako answered "she told me it would lead me to my future"
"I see…" Géaroid muttered to himself, lying back on the dirt-covered cave "You should be careful in this sort of area young lady, the rebels fighting the alliance have been getting bolder and there are rumours of people going missing in this area"
"The Alliance? The Alliance formed during that big war?" Sadako asked, wishing she had listened with more care to the names her mother had mentioned.
"The Great War, the War with Zaibach" Géaroid laughed, "They thought it was our darkest hour, but then you could at least trust those closest to you"
Laying herself back Sadako's mind wondered to the dream she had had, and it all clicked. In her mothers stories the young king was called Von, Von Fanel, in the land of Fanelia. He was the one she had seen in her dream, the person who was going to give a speech. If she was to figure out what was happening or how to get home she should go there, to see him.
"Géaroid, which way do I go to get to Fanelia?" She asked rising out of the dirt, but looking around she saw no sign of him. He was gone but in his stead was a lot of light and the earth was once again hidden by the sun, high in the sky.
It was morning, she guessed she had fallen asleep and Géaroid must have left in the night. Beside the remains of the fire sat a container with water. She had a long trip ahead of her and had no idea where to start. Lifting the water and her sword she started out on her trip again, determined to find Fanelia, her only possible connection to this alien world.
…...
Unsure which way to go Sadako kept close to the rock face of the mountains, she wanted to stay out of the direct sunlight and hoped for a path that allowed her to avoid walking straight through the desert. As she walked she had the distinct impression that she was being watched, though she couldn't see anyone following her. Her trip went without delay until several hours after she had left a group of men confronted her. Not in any mood to make new friends after being abandoned by Géaroid she had no wish to speak to anyone from Gaia.
"Please do not delay me" She called over to the group of 5 men. Each was rapped in a brown sandy cloak, as if trying to blend into the desert around them.
"We have been sent to escort you, come with us," The front man told her over the distance of sand.
Sadako just sniggered at the man as if stalling for time. He returned her laugh, yelling out into the vast desert sands around them, echoing off the mountainside as if challenging it to move,
"See nobody here to help you sweetheart, so are you gonna come or what?"
Sadako swung her ponytail behind her head defiantly; She guessed these were the men Géaroid mentioned. It explained the feeling of being watched. Playing with one of the yellow ribbons in her hair, mockingly she answered,
"What if I say no? But of course you don't know, your type is too stupid to know what the hell is happening around them let alone with other people"
He turned red, Sadako laughed at him, he was nothing, unable to control his emotions and set off by even a weak insult. Rising his weapon, the rest of his party stayed still as if watching to see if a confrontation was inevitable.
"Sorry but I only follow orders, and not because I'm too stupid to understand either. I guess I'm just a loyal type of guy" He told her with a smile, and ran at her, his knife held aloft ready to attack.
Sadako didn't move till the last moment, giving him the feeling she was not going to resist. As he reached her she removed her curved sword from with speed from the leg of her jeans. He saw it too late, being sliced across the chest. He fell into the sand with a groan of pain.
Sadako's mind had stopped working; she was now working on instinct and skill. She had never used her weapon to attack a person seriously before but she knew that she needed to use all her strength to defend herself. There was no room for remorse, not until the end of the confrontation. She wanted to avoid the rest of the men getting involved, and delivered them a warning,
"My name is Sadako Kanzaki, I'm pissed and if you don't want my anger taken out on you… LEAVE!" Knowing actions to work better than words she wiped her blade clean and lowered it ready.
The one man who had kept himself hooded, lowered it showing off his short brown hair. He sniggered as if she had just delivered a joke and the lowering of her sword was the punch line.
"The little girl thinks she's tough because she killed a rookie, I think not pretty" He told her removing a large sword from his back. "Alright boys she's taken out one of our number and Nimura will be pissed unless carry out his orders"
Sadako sighed, guessing the battle had become inevitable and quickly formulated a plan, if she couldn't deal with a few unskilled 'Savages' her mothers training and will would have been in vain. The man ordered them to attack, leading the charge himself the 3 men came at her swords drawn. In a flash Sadako pulled a small knife from her sleeve and threw it at one of the mans lackies.
He yelled out in pain, clumsily falling and bringing down one of his friend. Landing in the sand they struggled to free themselves of each other's cloaks. Grunting at his men the leader charged his sword at Sadako. She blocked the powerful strike with her own sword and using his momentum against him ripping the sword from his hands. Unsheaving a second sword he fired it at Sadako, continuing the momentum of her last attack she shattered his sword.
Holding firm onto her sword Sadako jumped and rolled away from its shards, leaving the man to take the brunt of the steel pieces. He ignored the pain, as he tried to follow her, when he found she was already running at him. She watched him secure his footing, Sadako decided not to use a head on attack. Using her sword as a javelin she herald it at the man with all her strength.
Having secured his footing he was unable to move before the sword reached its mark. The sword went through the mans side. With a groan he lost his balance and started to fall to the sandy ground. Sadako, never having stopped running grabbed her sword from him, and removed it.
The man tripped by his friend was back on his feet and ready. Watching his leader hit the ground he suppressed a gasp,
"Who trained this girl?" Before the phrase had even left his lips Sadako launched her sword at him. Blocking the headshot, he jumped back recoiling from the impact and the sparks from the two swords. Lifting his sword to the sun, he reflected the glare into Sadako's eyes, stopping her from attacking. She shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight.
The man lifted one dagger and fired it at her. Even through her blindness she avoided it, groaning angrily as it sliced her neck and several of her free hairs. Pulling herself from the light Sadako wasted no time on pressing the attack, firing her sword at the man. Losing his advantage, he dropped his sword blocking Sadako's first strike. Thou he was not quick enough to block her second. Sadako knocked him on the side of the head with the blunt side of her sword. She watched him fall into the sand like his two comrades before him. There was no sound as his sword hit the sand.
Turning, her eyes red to the man she had daggered she started to walk slowly towards him. Sadako's mind was blank, nothing but one single function… survival. In the heat of battle there was no room for mercy or peace… only war.
Watching Sadako walk towards him slowly he began to panic, screaming out,
"Help, Help me. Please don't kill me, please," Breathing heavily; she looked down upon him with a face of pure disgust.
"You where warned", in his panic he threw his hand to the side in a vain attempt to grab his sword. Before he reached it Sadako's was in his gut. She twisted it and spat on him,
"You were warned".
Removing her sword, she wiped it off and turned to return to the man she had knocked out. He may not have been the nicest person but she was quite sure she could get some information from him. She had barely started to walk when; in front of her she saw a ghostly image of her mother, as if a mirage in the sands. Her mind, alive with emotion she called out in shock,
"Mum"
Before she could think of the possibilities that her mother's appearance could mean she let out a squeal of pain. Looking down she watched blood flow down her right breast, with a crossbow bolt tip sticking out of her. Sadako outstretched her hand towards her mother, "Mum?" and collapsed onto the deserts sand.
Her image faded away as Sadako hit the ground, but she never saw it. Frozen in place, she couldn't make her body move, not before she lost consciousness. Far behind Sadako where the fight had begun a single man stood, shaking with the crossbow aimed at the mid air Sadako fell from. His heart beating twice the pace it should he looked at the unmoving Sadako terror in his eyes. He had just watched this person kill two of his comrades and badly injure two others. Slowly advancing towards her, he refused to move the crossbow from trailing her. With a look at his comrades he kicked Sadako over onto her back. He gave a sigh of relief, checking her pulse. Groaning under the pressure he lifted her, and walked, slowly towards the mountain.
……
Watching across the featureless desert Nimura sighed into himself, the desert everyday unchanging. They rarely saw people this far in, this meant that anyone who was there had a good reason and he liked to know what those important reasons where. It was that morning that he dispatched people to find that information from two such people they had spotted. One being a man in a black cloak, they had been tracking him for days. The other a girl who appeared to be in his care. Having waited patiently for news from his parties he found himself confronted with bad news.
"We are sorry sir, but we lost him" A young man whom had just appeared informed Nimura. He was quite literally shaking. Nimura turned and looked down upon him.
"How did you lose a man in a black cloak in the middle of a desert?" Nimura asked calmly.
"I don't know, but one moment he was there the next he was gone. And whoever he was he was strong. He managed to injured several of us before he ran. Coward!" He said spitefully, losing his fear.
"It is inconsequential" Nimura told him, if it was true that some of his people where hurt, the man must have been skilled "Take me to the injured".
Nimura put the binoculars down, and motioned the next man to watch, then followed him through the hollowed out mountain, to the injured.
"Kid, has there been any news from the other party?" Nimura asked him anxiously. The kid slowed his pace to answer, allowing himself to turn facing Nimura.
"No, but we should be getting news soon".
"That's good. Tell me, how long have you been with us" Nimura asked him.
"Me, I've been here for about 5 months. And don't miss understand me, I am pleased to do my part. Zaibach for Zaibachian's." He answered Nimura, with a pound of the chest.
"No, anyone is welcome in Zaibach. A Zaibach free from oppression is our goal, not a Zaibach cut from the world" Nimura corrected him. He looked at Nimura as if he had said something odd,
"But surely we should take care of our own, the alliance has caused us nothing but pain and suffering" He asked Nimura.
"It is true that we should take care of our own but we must deal with the people who are against us within Zaibach first. Then we can deal with the alliance under the unity of one nation and rebuild our home" Nimura replied,
"But…" He rebutted being cut off.
"I may not mind a little banter of opinions once and a while but don't forget who I am" Nimura reminded him.
"Sorry sir", neither of them spoke again until they had reached their destination.
Entering the small carved out room they used as a ward it sounded like they had entered a battlefield, with yells of pain in the air. Abandoning his guide Nimura paced over to the first man. Looking him over, Nimura could see only small slices where a sword had struck him, but the man was yelling as if he had been cut from head to toe. Upon closer inspection, Nimura discovered the reason; each of the slices had ripped into a pressure point on the body, giving maximum pain without causing any real damage. He continued to check all of the men in turn and found they all had the same injuries,
'If this man was able to do these exact damages, in the heat of battle… I guess we got off easy, if he had wanted the whole party dead, he could have done it with little trouble. But the real question is who was he? And where is he headed?' Nimura thought to himself. Having checked the last man he asked,
"Are you sure that this man was alone, he had no help",
"Yes, he was the only person in the area, their was nobody else" He was answered.
Nimura acknowledged the answer with a nod, picked up some medical tools, herbs and began to seal the wounds on the men, by sowing them shut. Although there was more pain in the sowing of such a wound in the short run each man felt better for it afterwards. It was before Nimura had even finished sowing the last wound shut that a large commotion beyond the door disturbed the silence.
"See what it is" Nimura ordered, if there was one thing that he hated it was people making large amounts of noise near a medical room, When people are in pain the last thing they need is people making a racket near by. It was not long till the man returned, though not alone. He was with another man, who looked exhausted. Between them they carried a limp girl…. Sadako.
Nimura walked towards them and lifted Sadako's head, to look more closely into her face. He was about to complement his man when he saw the congealed blood on Sadako's clothes. Nimura punched him painfully in the jaw, and grabbed Sadako to stop her falling; he fell to the floor with a thud,
"IDIOT" Nimura yelled at him "I told you she was not to be injured "Get her over to this table". They pulled Sadako over and laid her down on the table carefully. Nimura started to gather his medical interments.
"I had no choice! She isn't as she appears, she's some form of demon!" He yelled back at Nimura, he looked down at Sadako on the table and cut her T-shirt to get at the wound,
"Explain yourself" Nimura ordered him.
"She attacked us, two of our men are dead, and even Sanjiyan was badly hurt by her" He replied, Nimura swung round to him,
"WHAT! Were is he and the others!" He yelled back "Tell me now".
"Their still in the desert, I could only manage to carry her back"
"Gather a party together and get them before night fall, we can't have people going out there blind" Nimura told him, and turned to the kid who brought him to the medical room.
"You go with him, and everyone who's not injured out of this room, I need quiet".
They all obeyed his orders and even the injured men barely made a sound, he looked down upon the injured Sadako again, lying unconscious. 'How could she have possible have done that, and to Sanjiyan too. Clearing his mind, Nimura began to treat Sadako's wound. Even if she has done this, Nimura had questions and he wanted them answered.
……………….
As Sadako regained consciousness, she showed no signs that she had. She heard voices in the room, as she lay listening to them she slowly started to regain her memory of what had happened. One thing she knew for sure was she was in pain.
"Why did you help her?! She killed our people. She also did that to Sanjiyan" One voice shouted angrily. Sadako guessed they were speaking about her,
"I don't have to describe my logic to you. Anyway we have no information on who she is, if she were to work with us… Anyway I want to know who trained her, Sanjiyan wouldn't be taken down by just anyone. We may have failed to capture the cloaked man but we did at least get her, so we can get some answers to why they were here" Another voice replied.
Sadako slowly opened her eyes a crack to see, she closed them quickly to make sure neither noticed. She didn't have a clue where she was but she guessed it wasn't a good place to be, especially after being attacked.
"Has there been any sighting of the Alliance troops recently?" The second voice asked,
"No, its all been quiet. Not a soul other than her and the other one" He answered,
"Double our observations" The second voice ordered.
"But why?" He was asked
"Because the alliance always patrol these areas, when they stop for no known reason I don't like it and want to know if anything changes quickly" The second voice answered.
"I shall issue the orders before the funeral," The first voice told him, "Will you be attending. You are the first, or is your patient more important than your men". The second voice sighed,
"Of course I will be attending; it was I who sent them to their deaths. You issue the orders," The second's voice told him,
"Yes sir" The first answered before footsteps left the room. The room was silent for a moment before Sadako heard footsteps moving towards her. They stopped at the side of the bed.
"So how are these wounds doing?" She heard him ask himself, and felt his hand touch her. Catching him by surprise Sadako lunged up, grabbed him turning his back to her and chocked him. Grabbing a glass on a table beside the bed she smashed it, and lifted it to his neck, releasing to allow him to breath.
"That was fast" He commented looking down at the broken glass against his neck.
"Shut up" Sadako told him angrily. She needed to find a way out and this appeared to be the only way, ignoring the pain of her wound she continued,
"How can I get out of here?" She asked aggressively. He remained quiet, refusing to answer.
"Tell me now!" She half yelled,
"I'm sorry but I can't let you just go" He told her. Sadako brought the glass in tighter to his skin, drawing blood.
"And why is that" She asked almost friendly.
"Because the only thing stopping you dying right now is me," He told her, Sadako froze for a moment, to think it over,
"Please elaborate" She asked, not believing a word of it "Why will I die without you?"
"Well for two reasons" He answered "One you are in the middle of an encampment with dozens of us, most wanting you dead for what you did to out people in the desert", He froze for a moment,
"Please continue," She told him, listening intently for any important information that may be of use,
"Well the only reason they haven't killed you is that they listen to my orders, and I ordered them to let you live. But I can assure you that they won't honor that order if you kill me".
"And the second reason" She asked,
"Well with a wound like that there isn't a chance of you making it far without a doctor. Me being the only doctor. Sadako froze the glass still in his neck. She wasn't sure what to make of this,
"If you are going to kill me do it, your not my only patient you know. Not that anyone here would really mind me dying, an automatic promotion" He told her, She remained Silent.
"Please put it down, I know that you are in a lot of pain, the longer you wait it will just get worse, not to mention damaging the wound further" He told her "If I was going to hurt you don't you think I would have done it while you were asleep… Please I won't hurt you."
Sadako slowly lowered the glass from his neck. She didn't quite understand why she did but she believed him, she believed that she was safe with him. As she lowered the weapon he pulled away from her and turned to face her. His long black hair getting stuck in the blood she drew. He lowered her back onto the bed and collected some herbs from the table beside the bed, the table strewn with broken glass.
"Well it is nice to see you have awakened, even if you are attacking people," He told her with a little laugh, bringing the herbs and setting them down on her. He started to unbutton the shirt she was wearing.
"What are you doing?" She asked defensively,
"I'm putting some herbs on the wound to help it heal" He finished, and rubbed the herbs into her wound, his gaze unmoving. Sadako felt herself turn red and wanted to take her mind of it,
"How long have I been here?" She asked, as he started to rub in a second set of herbs.
"About 2 days now" He answered his mind preoccupied. He covered up the wound and re-buttoned her shirt.
"Just who are you?" He walked over to a stone sink a few feet away, and collected a glass of water.
"I'm Nimura" He answered, "I'm in charge of this small group of fighters and the only one with any medical knowledge among them"
Sadako felt herself turn fierce again,
"You! You're the one who…" Sadako yelled pulling herself from the bed onto her feet. Unable to hold her weight she fell to the floor painfully. Nimura immediately came to her aid, lifting her back onto the bed. She forced him away and grabbed the broken glass again. One hand holding the glass and the other on her now more painful than ever wound.
"You are the one who ordered them to attack me. The big guy said it, you'd be pissed if they didn't carry out there orders" She yelled at him, Nimura froze,
"I ordered no attack on you, you where to be escorted here to answer several questions on why you where in our territory, then let free. I have already punished the man who caused you that wound and you punished the men that attacked you yourself, so please put that glass down and lie back. You must not damage your wound, or you will take longer to heal" He told her truthfully.
Sadako didn't know what to do, he was the person who ordered it but he had already proven he didn't want to hurt her. He had helped her and he could have called for guards at any point but didn't. She didn't have a clue what to believe or what to do,
"Please, just lay back and rest before you hurt yourself again," He asked her, pleading with her. She could hear the sincerity in his voice; nobody was that good an actor,
"Please…" She let the glass fall from her hand and lay back onto the bed; it hit the stone floor and shattered. Nimura carefully walked back to her. Stepping to the side of the bed he smiled at her,
"Here have some water" He offered her the glass. "I'm sure you're thirsty". Sadako reluctantly took the glass and started to drink it with small gulps, Nimura's smile widened,
"What's so funny?" Sadako asked between gulps.
"Nothing, just I love to see it when people get better. It is really amazing; 2 days ago you could have died, but its smooth sailing from here on", he answered "I'm sure you have a lot of questions so ask away"
He walked over to the only other man in the room, unconscious on the table, she recognized him as the man she skewered with her sword, their groups leader, named Sanjiyan.
"Why did you let me live? I killed your people… don't you want revenge?" Sadako asked him. Nimura forced a laugh,
"Well I'll be honest with you, it wasn't for company. We still have the questions that we need answered, and I don't like leaving anyone to die.... friend or foe. Anyway it was one of our people who attacked you, even if he wasn't meant to." Neither Sadako nor Nimura spoke for a moment, leaving their steady breathing the only sound in the cold dim room.
"Tell me, what is your name?" Nimura asked her; it only occurred to her upon prompting, that she never told him her name.
"Sadako" She responded quietly "Sadako Kanzaki"
"They're odd names…. Where exactly do you come from, Sadako?" He asked her, still checking over Sanjiyan.
"Now that's a long story…." Sadako told him truthfully. How she would explain the story of Earth, and appearing in Gaia she hadn't a clue.
"I love long stories, and it appears that neither you nor I are in a hurry." Nimura rebutted. Sadako decided to tell him, were would the harm come from that,
"Ok then, it all began…"
…………………
Tap, tap, tap,
The tapping echoed around the oval room, as if trying to grab all present's attention from the comforting silence. Ripping the silence in the room, bring all present to look towards the man walking forward. Leaning on his Cain, his head bandaged he looked upon the coffin centering the room. The final resting place of one not as lucky as he had been. Rising his eyes, he saw Nimura opposite him at the other side of the coffin.
"The life of a fighter is not a life without peril. We may delay death, but we must never forget that death is forever on our door. It is times like now that we are all reminded of this, our duty to be ready to lay down our lives for the future of our home and families" Nimura chanted quietly as if he had recited the same speech dozens of times before. His voice was the only sound in the small room.
"Nós vivere causá ille futurús, nós futurús causá illic vivere" The voices of all present echoed, doubling the number of voices within the small room.
"We are one, and have had parts of us torn away. But now we have healed" Nimura's opposite chanted
"Nós vivere causá ille futurús, nós futurús causá illic vivere" The voices echoed once more across the room.
"The end is not the end, but a new beginning. We have lost…. Yes, but for all the futures to come we shall be accompanied by all we have lost" Nimura continued once the echoing voices let the room return to silence.
"While we also retain the murderer, it would appear" All eyes turned to Nimura's second, for breaking with ceremony, Nimura remained quite quiet. "Or shall you be letting the cuter of our flesh just leave, as if a friend…. Nimura"
"These discussions are for another time, Talús" Nimura told him coldly.
"Another time, that's a laugh…. Maybe I should have told her that when she attacked me… When she killed Acér. We have the right to our justice; you haven't the right to stop us!" He yelled at Nimura. Nimura's cold face turned fierce,
"I am the leader of this unit, I have the right because I am, I was chosen by Letús. Not you!"
"Just because Letús named you, doesn't mean that you are right. If you will not allow us to have justice we will take it," He yelled back at Nimura walking around the coffin to the doorway. Nimura blocked it,
"I will not allow you to turn this show of respect for the dead into a recruitment for more death"
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! You have no right!" Talús yelled, producing a knife.
He froze it before entering Nimura's body, holding it at his stomach. Nimura didn't wince at his soldiers move,
"You may believe that I have no support… No friends here but I promise if you use that knife, you will die" Nimura told him.
"You have friends! That funny, your only friend is unconscious in the medical room. Sanjiyan cannot come to your aid. She has hurt you as much as the rest of us, so why do you stop us!"
"Because this sorry episode has caused enough death, and I will not allow you to take her life Talús" Nimura told him defiantly.
"Really, you and what army? You have no support" He rebutted, Nimura simply replied,
"Are you so sure?"
Talús looked around the tense faces of all present. Each pair of eyes piercing, not blinking even for a moment. Looking back at Nimura he saw his face confident, refusing to budge from the doorway. Defeated Talús lowered the knife from Nimura.
"You will not survive if you continue to ignore us," He told Nimura in defeat.
"I do not ignore you, I disagree with you. Take several days off duty to cool off Talús" Nimura told him, before returning to the centre of the room. Talús slowly left the room, his Cain echoing as he departed.
"Ok, shall we continue this ceremony" Nimura asked the crowd whispering among itself. "Second step forward and take Talús's place"
……...
"Tensions have been high recently, but never has there been a mutiny" Nimura thought as he sat, illuminated by the small candle he had just placed down on the table. Letús's appointment of him as leader was not popular, but they respected his decision. No one, especially Nimura wanted to have an internal dispute, which could only end in a violent blood bath.
'Today we barely avoided it. With no alliance troops, their minds turn to other matters' He continued, 'And Talús was always one of the more moderate of the company'. Nimura guessed that being beaten by Sadako, and losing a friend must have hardened him, blinding him to the truth of the situation. Looking over at Sadako he saw she was already asleep, gently breathing. He smiled, 'Even in that state they probable couldn't get near her'. Leaning back in his chair he let his mind wonder…
'What if I did let them have her?' He quickly shut the door on that question, no, if he was going to allow anything it would be a fair rematch for Talús once Sadako was healed, but he stilled needed to convince Sadako to remain. Another strong fighter would always be welcome, when dealing with an enemy as large as the Alliance of Six Nations.
Nimura laughed inwardly,
"Anyway she needs someone to bring her back to reality, living on the Mystic Moon".
He wasn't sure what to make of her, skilled…. But crazy, intelligent… But dangerous and he didn't kid himself, 'she is attractive'. Feeling himself dosing off he fought the wish to sleep, he needed to think… What is the alliance planning? No internal disputes could be allowed to distract him from that one question. What. But before he could think it over again he had fallen asleep, leaving the candle to slowly burn itself away throughout the night.
….
Nimura looked forward into the night, the battlements stretched far out in front of him, deserted. The torches burned dimly in the damp air, mapping out the whole length of the forward battlement. Deep inside the city beyond the battlements he saw 2 more sets with there own torches burning, the town lightless, as if pretending they didn't exist. The vast towers silhouetted against the moon almost beyond the city, as if in the mountains themselves.
Walking along the battlements he could make out the homes of the inhabitants coming and going but there was no sign of the people themselves. He walked for some time before he found someone on the walls; she was standing watching him approach. He was about to ask her were everyone was but before he could she started to chant into the midnight air, words that brought a chill to Nimura's whole being,
'The past and the present ever connected to the future,
The glory's of old lead to none but this day,
With the conquest of fate, the victory of love,
The future is as planned by the dreamers of ancient's days'
Finishing her chanting, she froze; illuminated by white light so strong it blinded Nimura. He found himself reflected in the light but the face was not of him, looking closer into his face he saw,
"Father?" Nimura started. Suddenly the air was filled with the voices of hundreds of people, screaming, shouting and yelling in the night air. The city that was once black was now illuminated in an evil orange glow created by the flames within many of the buildings. The blue moon of the sky turned red by the smoke mixed with flame. The battlements were now filled with soldiers in full armour, displaying the crest of the Winged Dragon. Outside the walls a vast army attacking the city. The sky dotted with arrows, burning with flame. Nimura as if pulled by an unknown force ran across the battlements at full speed, pulling his sword from the Sheaf, the lavishly designed blade, symbolic with the winged dragon.
Advising the soldiers as he ran he knew he had to make it to the front of the city, to the gates. Below him as he ran he saw the people running, running from the battle. Each carrying nothing of that which they owned, fleeing with not but their lives and the clothes on their backs. Jumping off the walls onto a stair case leading down to the gates of the city he called out,
"HITOMI", not sure who she was or why her was calling for her in such a panic. His voice carried along the area, even higher than the sounds of battle around the battlements as the men defended their city. The rain started to batter the people on both sides of the city walls, but lending no help to the burning buildings below.
Leaping the last two stone steps of the stairs Nimura's called again the name he never knew. His mind panicking in the battle, his sword raised as if to protect against the air itself. Firing his gaze everywhere within sight, he noticed how much worse the city looked from ground. The homes, buildings, gardens, people left lying destroyed around the city, by-passed by the fleeing people and soldiers joining the battle. A flag baring the winged dragon alight, blowing in the air. From the far side of the clearing Nimura saw a young lady with short brown hair running towards him, her own curved sword at her side.
Nimura's heart leapt at the sight of her, though he could have sworn he had never seen her before in his life. Lowering his sword, Nimura quickened into a run, bringing himself and the lady closer together. Meeting in the centre of the cleared road, leading to the city gates Nimura stopped face to face with her. Soaked by the rain, he hugged her tightly.
"I'm glad I found you Hitomi," He told her just loud enough to be heard above the noise of the air. Hitomi hugged him back,
"Your not the only one, I've been looking for you".
Pulling her away and holding her at arms length, Nimura looked seriously towards her,
"I want you to retreat back to the castle…." Hitomi opened her mouth to protest Nimura's voice dwarfed her,
"I'm serous; we don't know how long we can hold out against this. They're making their big push and Kanzaki is the only safe part of the city. Please go". Hitomi looked up at him as if begging him to reconsider his request.
"I…" Hitomi started before a large clanging noise caught both of their attentions. The main gates to the city, surrounded by enemy soldier began to rise. Opening the only way into the city. Raising his sword back into the air Nimura cried out,
"Tertiary!" Pulling away from Hitomi he started to run. He was stopped as a sharp burning tore into his side. Burning turned to pain as he turned back to the sight of a blooded knife and Hitomi's hands red with blood.
"Why?" Nimura asked weakly, falling onto his knees in front of her, grasping his side. Her eyes glazed over, Hitomi chanted an answer,
"Tertiary is nowhere, Tertiary is everywhere"
With a squeal of pain, she turned limp and fell onto Nimura, who caught her. Turning her over he found a crossbow bolt in sticking through her chest. Coughing, Hitomi repeated quietly,
"Tertiary is everywhere, Tertiary is nowhere". Dropping her, Nimura collapsed back onto the stone road, unable to move, his eyes watched the sky, reddened by the flames,
"Why", Nimura asked again before everything turned black
…………………
Nimura woke with a start. So much so he over tipped his chair, falling back hard onto the hard floor. The impact returning him to reality, he pulled himself from the cold stone with a groan. His head immerging from under the table the first thing he saw was Sadako, bolt upright on the bed, staring into space. Her face as white was a ghost. Lighting a candle to add to the light in the room Nimura walked over to her on the bed. As he approached she turned to face him.
Sadako seeing Nimura's concerned face, gave him a reassuring smile,
"What's wrong Sadako, you look like you've seen a ghost?"
"Nothing. It was just a bad dream" Sadako answered, Nimura returned the smile.
"Now lets have a look at that wound of your, shall we?" Nimura asked, lowering Sadako back onto her back. He checked the wound over, and quickly covered it up again.
"It would appear, even after all your activity yesterday, it is healing well" Nimura told her, "You should be able to get out of her within a week".
"That's good" Sadako broke in, although she didn't hate it where she was she was unnerved by being there. She never liked to be at the mercy of anyone but everyone else there other than Nimura wanted her dead. The sooner she left, the sooner she could make her way to Fanelia and find a way back home.
"You don't have to leave Sadako" Nimura informed her, he didn't feel comfortable mentioning this but he couldn't pretend that she wouldn't be a help if she was on their side, she had proven her skills. Another supporter wouldn't hurt either. Sadako turned serious,
"What do you mean?"
"Well you could join us" Nimura replied, he didn't like the cold touch to her voice.
"You want me to join up with you. With the people who tried to kill me and still do?" Sadako told him harshly, she had no intention of joining up with such a group "You expect me to want to stay with that hatred for me here?" Nimura wasn't willing to give up on her yet,
"Please…. Hear me out first. Once I'm done and you still don't want to then I won't mention it again"
Sadako watched him blank faced,
"I will listen but I wouldn't keep my hopes up".
"Were to begin? Oh yes, back 25 years ago, the nation of Zaibach as you should know was defeated by the newly formed alliance for 6 nations and the self appointed emperor Dunkirk was killed" Nimura started.
"Yes, I know that" Sadako told him,
"Yes, but the things that most people don't know. At the start the Alliance didn't pay much attention to Zaibach and let the country and its people start to become neglected and angry. When large numbers of people in Zaibach called for assistance several of the leaders of the alliance countries rebutted us, calling us radicals. After that alliance troops started to force down on the country destroying protests, peaceful or otherwise. Some of the people with power in the alliance tried to help us, but must of them either disappeared or were silenced by fear. One of them was my father" Nimura continued.
"What, you mean you're not from Zaibach?" Sadako asked, the fact surprising her a little.
"No, I was born and raised within the alliance. My father went missing after going to see Chid Fraid, The Dutch e a Fraid. Afterwards I later found myself in Zaibach" Nimura answered.
"What happened to your mother?" Sadako asked,
"Id rather stick to the topic at hand" Nimura told her harshly, pulling away from the subject of his family "Anyway, things have gotten worse since, the rebels, like the ones here have been fighting the alliance soldiers that it can to try and help free us from the alliance. But recently they have been really cracking down on us; killing more of our people, some of our best fighters have even been taken down. That's another reason why the majority of people hate, or distrust you. In their eyes you could be connected to the alliance. Because of this we need all the good people we can get to help us, and that is why I'm asking you"
The cold, dim room when quiet for a moment as Sadako took in the information that had been handed to her. It was a lot to take in, new names, new countries, and new events. She felt sorry for Nimura and sympathetic to his cause but she couldn't help them, she had her own mission, her own home to get back to and she couldn't find that out within a cave in a desert. Sadako was about to tell Nimura that she couldn't help when she became aware that someone was standing in the doorway. Nimura noticing her change of gaze, turned to see who was there. He impatiently asked,
"Yes, what is it?"
The young man in the doorway looked shaken, and out of breath. Nimura recognised him as the kid who had reported on the attack on the first group, on the day Sadako arrived. Nimura asked again,
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry but you are needed. Talús has called for you, it's an emergency" He stuttered, Sadako felt even more uncomfortable now; although he was young she doubted that any small event would make anyone tremble like he was. Something bad was happening.
"Well what is that Emergency" Nimura asked him, prompting for a quick answer… He didn't like emergencies.
"Reports have just been brought in of an alliance scouting party. They entered the area and quickly left before we could stop them".
"Are you sure" Nimura wanted to confirm the facts, if this were right it meant that a strike force wouldn't be far behind. And they had never taken on a full force before, just single soldiers and the odd Guymelef.
"Yes Sir, we are" He answered,
"What colours did they wear?"
"The symbol of the Dragon, Sir" He answered again. Nimura's eyes darkened.
"Fanelian troops could only mean one thing. Chid has shipped them in specially, and that means all out attack" Nimura spoke to himself "Go and tell him I'll be there right away".
Sadako's eyes lightened at Nimura mentioning Fanelia, she wanted to ask about them but thought it wasn't the time for such questions. She watched Nimura walk across the room and pick up a large object rapped in a Cloth. He threw it to her. Unwrapping some of it Sadako found her sword,
"If anyone should attack you use it to defend yourself, if it looks as if we are going to fall I will send someone to lead you to safety, someone I trust" Nimura told her walking to the door, "Oh and sorry but the sheaf was lost in the desert"
Before stepping out of the door and running down the stone corridor he called back "Máius dues tuéri vós nec vósr cognate.", and he was gone. Once again Sadako was alone, but this time she was able to protect herself even if she wasn't at her best. Removing her blade from the Cloth she prepared herself for anything that may come.
"And a 'Máius dues tuéri vós nec vósr cognate' to you too…. What ever that means".
…………….
Talús was the best friend of the man who used to run this small part of the rebels, Letús. Well respected he was the expected to be chosen as Letús's replacement. Instead just before his death he choose the boy he had risen for 11 years. Nimura. The majority of the rebels disagreed with this decision even though they honored it and the man who made it. They found it hard to except a leader without Zaibachian blood.
Tensions subsided over the weeks following Letús's death but reached a new height when Nimura made the decision not to allow the justice demanded of Sadako, who killed their people. They where on the mists of a civil war, when things got worse. Talús looked out upon the desert, taking the place of Nimura who still hadn't arrived.
Although he wasn't sure, he could have sworn he could see the first gleaming hazes on the horizon, hazes caused by a metal army, sent to eradicate them. He took another angry look at the door, at this rate they would reach them quickly and their leader still hadn't arrived. He was about to turn from the door when the boy he sent to Nimura ran back into the room, bowing to Talús,
"Nimura is on his way sir"
"Why didn't you accompany him?" Talús asked angrily, now was not the time for delay… of any kind.
"He wanted some time with the girl" He answered,
"Damn him! We don't have time to waste and he spends his time with HER!" Talús called out angrily. There wasn't time for this; it was time for him to take matters into his own hands.
"Boy" Talús asked, grabbing his attention "Inform the harpoon cannons to wait till they're right above us. They know the rest"
"Yes sir" He told Talús before jumping to his feet and running out the doorway at full speed.
Turning back to the desert Talús could now clearly see the larger elements of the army. Guymelef's and Levi-ships, typical long range strike force. He gave a little laugh, 'So predictable' he thought to himself.
"I thought I told you to stay away Talús" Talús knew the voice, the voice he recently begun to despise,
"So you have finally decided to join us Nimura" Talús told Nimura hotly "I'm not pulling you away from anything important am I?"
"This is not the time for attitude," Nimura told him, turning his attention to the now shaped haze heading their way.
"It's also not the time to waste on little girls" Talús rebutted angrily. Nimura shot him a look that could have cut steel, Talús changed the subject.
"What are your orders for us?" He asked Nimura, although he may have disagreed with Nimura he was still leader and they couldn't waste any further time squabbling.
Nimura wasted no time in answering. Without taking his eyes from the haze he answered,
"Take up position in the ambush positions we discussed last week. When they are in place, attack"
"We shall succeed" Talús told Nimura confidently; he had great confidence in his men's skill. They were not destined to be cut down by the alliance, none of them were.
"Be careful, the Fanelian's are not as honorable as they used to be" Nimura warned him, spit in his voice.
"Whatever personal problems we may have, they are forgotten until this battle is won. Farewell" And Talús was gone, to join his men and lead the defense against the alliance attack. Whatever had happened in the past time had run out for these two men.
……………
In front of them the rock face that dwarfed both sides of the entrance to the rebel stronghold got larger with each step they took. The giant Fanelian Guymelef's marched forward over the desert. Looking up the pilot of the first Guymelef saw the first three levi-ships of the fleet wiz by, overtaking them. The pilot sighed, in all battles someone had to go in first, and that was going to be his honor. A large force of allies may have accompanied him but all it would take was one good shot to bring him down. Being the newbie sucked!
He quickened his pace, now entering the small path between the two rock faces. Far above him he heard a large crashing noise, looking up he saw one of their own Levi-ships plowing to the earth, just in time to jump out of the way of it. With an even louder crash the ship ripped apart on impact. Looking up, from the ground he and his Guymelef had been forced to jump to he could see, a large harpoon fly from the side of the mountain. It tore through the Levi-stone of another of their Levi-ships and lodged itself. Reeling the harpoon back in, they pulled the ship into the side of the mountain, bringing another crashing to earth.
"Damn rebels!" One of the pilots yelled, avoiding the second ship.
"Lieutenant" The pilot of the most impressive Guymelef called out to the pilot right next to him, "Deal with those things, please". Carrying out his orders he ripped his Guymelef's hands into the side of the rock face and began to pull himself up the sheer drop.
"And what are the rest of you waiting for, forward!"
The first Guymelef pulled himself back to his feet, but as soon as he had the rock face to his left exploded outwards, firing him into the opposite rock face with several of is friends. As the dust cleared, 3 of the Fanelian Guymelef's where in pieces in the sand. In front of his eyes he watched another of his friends Guymelef's tore apart by… Nothing.
"THEIR USING AN INVISIBILITY CLOAK!" The commander yelled to the rest of the pilots "Destroy it". The whole collection of Fanelian Guymelef's charged forward to where the invisible enemy had last struck. Into the army of Guymelef's the right rock face exploded showering them with yet more debris. Blinded by the dust the calls of the pilots were their only way of knowing anyone else was there. As the dust cleared again, the first Guymelef was being held in mid-air by a sword, held in mid-air. The pilot screaming inside, for help. With a massive force from the enemy the Guymelef was fired at his friends, flooring a half dozen of them. The remaining Guymelef's threw themselves at the sword floating in mid air. Blocking the first Guymelef, he fired it into the remains of the right rock face. He also blocked the 2nd and 3rd attacking Guymelef's knocking them to the side.
The 4th didn't hear his fate, looking up to late to see the falling Guymelef, ripped from its climb to the top of the rock face. They crushed each other on impact, also damaging the nearest Guymelef's around them.
Watching the battle from the outside the commander was starting to get annoyed at his people failing to carry out his orders. Pulling out his own sword he prepared to go into battle himself,
"Such technology must be destroyed," He muttered to himself. He was about to move out when he heard the tearing of Steel on Steel. Looking down he saw a basic looking sword sticking out of the place a pilot would usually sit in a traditional Guymelef. With a smile, he fired his sword between his Guymelef's legs and into the invisible Melef behind him, and ripped right out of its back. Hearing the yells of the pilot, he removed its sword from himself and turned to face him.
Still invisible it appeared as if his sword was stuck in mid-air. Ripping it out, he tore through the cloak revealing his opponent. Dropping his sword, the Guymelef stumbled back from the commander, his cloak ripped and unable to fight. The commander, now oblivious to the battle behind him, kicked his enemy to the ground, claiming victory by placing his foot squarely on the head of the disable Guymelef. He looked down at his helpless pray,
"If you want to dance with death, make sure you don't forget the box of chocolates".
With one quick movement his sword pierced the armor of the Guymelef, killing the pilot. Removing his sword he turned to see that his people had uncovered both the other Guymelef's from their cloaks but were unable to beat their skilled pilots. Leaving the remains of one Guymelef behind him he ran his Guymelef towards the battle, he was no longer happy to sit on the sidelines; it was time for him to get involved.
Arriving at a lull of the fight the commander called out,
"Which of you is the leader of this Unit. Or do you rebels lack the courage to fight me?"
Out of the Guymelef, which jumped from the right wall came a powerful commanding voice, the voice of Talús.
"I am the leader of this unit! I will fight you and in the name of Honor"
"Well let's hope you can put up more of a fight than your friend" He mocked Talús, "Attacking one when you're invisible doesn't seem to be the most honorable approach to me".
"Don't you talk to me about honor!" Talús yelled throwing himself at the commander, his sword ready to strike. The commander blocked it, pushing Talús back,
"In the name of the Kingdom of Fanelia I will defeat you!" He called out, turning to the rest of his troops, "Deal with the other one, he's mine!"
Talús charged at him again, this time more furiously with his sword, the commander blocked it again and threw him to the side,
"You rebels, you're all the same. Nothing but animals" He told Talús mocking him again. He had hoped for a better fight, even if it was dirt he was fighting. This time it was the commander that attacked Talús, firing his sword at him. He blocked it, freezing their swords in contact.
Holding Talús's sword back with one hand the commander grabbed his face and fired him back into the sand and debris. As he walked slowly towards Talús's cracked Guymelef the commander heard the yells of the other rebel pilot, his people had completed their task. Not taking his eyes off Talús's unmoving Guymelef, he yelled new orders to his people,
"Destroy those cannons! The levi-ships must be allowed in!"
Following his orders the Guymelef's began lifting debris from the rock faces and firing it up at the where the harpoons had fired out of the mountainside. The commander looked down disgusted by such a weak battle,
"Get up" He told him "GET UP!" Talús didn't move, his Guymelef unmoving on the sand. The commander moved right over him, looking right into the cockpit of the unmoving machine, he laughed.
"What a weakling".
Without warning Talús's Guymelef jumped forward, head butting the commander right on, firing him backward. Regaining his footing, it was Talús's turn to laugh,
"How did you become a commander, falling for a simple trick like that?" The commander reclaimed his sword from his side, and smiled happily.
"Well, well, I guess I'm going to get a good fight after all!" He called out to Talús. Ignoring the compliment Talús ran at him his sword ready, the two massive machines crashed steel on steel several times, neither gaining an advantage.
From behind, one of the Fanelian Guymelef's fired a spiked piece of debris into Talús's Guymelef. Talús cried out in pain as the debris pierced the back of his cockpit. Unable to control his Guymelef it fell to the side. The commander looked down at him, taking a few steps, he grabbed the Guymelef that threw the Debris and chucked him back into the side of the mountain,
"IDIOT! I TOLD YOU HE WAS MINE!".
Turning back to Talus, He lifted him off the ground.
"Fight Me!" The commander yelled at him angrily, but still Talús's Guymelef did not move. With all his strength the commander fired Talús at the entrance to the rebel base, ripping in the wall, the yells of people fleeing the collapsing caves carried in the desert winds. Walking over to the still unmoving Talús covered in rock the commander looked down in pity, he wasn't ever given the honor of fighting without interference.
Deep within the remains of his Guymelef Talús lay, blooded, the pain nothing like he had ever felt before in his life. Unable to move, he knew that it was the end; his life was reaching the end of its road. Though his life was not the longest he harbored few regrets, one being he never learned why Letús had chosen Nimura, but he guessed he would know soon. He was already dead when the commander's massive Guymelef sword went through the cockpit. He was gone.
…………..
Nimura had watched the battle between the Guymelef's from the window he stood at, waiting, waiting for the decisive move that would point either side to victory. When Talús was the only remaining man on their side he left. As skilled as Talús was not even he was able to take on a dozen Guymelef's and without a cloak.
He made his way to the entrance of the base; it was his guess that any major attack on them would come in the front door. There was only the one entrance to the base that any alliance soldiers could know about. His sword drawn Nimura waited for the battle he knew was coming to start, the battle that would decide the fate of his people.
He was not the only one there, listening to the sounds of battle, with several other soldiers present to hold back the tide. He wished for nothing more than to see what was happening in the battle outside, but he dared not send anyone to see. His thoughts were interrupted by the cries of the kid. Out of breath he stopped square in front of Nimura,
"Sir, we have multiple breaches. They're all over the base!" He cried out as soon as he could. Nimura was speechless, how could they have gotten in when the entrance was still blocked,
"How?" Nimura asked anxiously, if this was true their battle was already over, they were outnumbered 5 to 1, if the Levi-ships where anything to go by.
"They enlarged the crawl way from the harpoon cannons," He answered right away.
"Enlarged?" Nimura asked, "The only way they could have done that would be with a Gymel….". Nimura froze; they got Guymelef's on that sheer drop. How did they manage to d it without falling off the mountain, it's got a 4 foot ledge!
"We don't know, all we know is they did and now alliance troops are all over the base" He told Nimura, Nimura was about to answer when the front wall of the base crashed in.
As the Guymelef ripped into the base, the roof caved in around the rebels, showering them in rock and dust. They ran, as fast as they could, barely getting out before the last of the roof turned the area they were into a large, solid wall of rock. Others were not as lucky. Nimura turned to the surviving door guards,
"Issue a general retreat." Nimura told them, "What are you waiting for…. GO!"
What do you want me to do sir?" The kid asked him, not sure what to do,
"You, I need your help, follow me" Nimura told him, and started to run down the damaged dusty corridor, they had failed. There was nothing more left to do other than to save as many people as they could. They had failed.
…………
Sadako leaned against the bed she had now used for the past 3 days. She was barely able to stand, but it was important that if anyone came they thought that she was able to fight. From her place in the medical room she could hear the loud-battling going on outside. The noise of steel was unbelievable; she couldn't understand what could be making that sort of noise. What technology did these people have? She guessed that she should try to find a way to escape. The noises where getting closer and that could only mean the rebels were losing and she didn't want to wait for the few remaining deciding they wanted to finish her off before the end. Nimura had promised to send someone to her, but she had not time to wait and there was no guarantee he was even still alive. Forcing the bad thoughts from her mind she grabbed a metal bar that lay beside the bed and crutched herself to the door. The pain was almost unbearable,
"I swear if I get out of this I will never complain about hospital again," She swore to herself. She had just cleared the door when she hit into the ground hard. Something or someone had knocked her off her feet. She held up her sword, but she couldn't make out due to the dust.
"Don't come any closer, or I'll use this!" She threatened, but knew she couldn't use it if she needed to.
"Sadako? What are you doing out here?" She was asked; she knew the voice,
"Nimura? Is that you?" She asked, her heart leaping. Not an enemy, a friend.
"Yes its me, here" Nimura offered her his hand and helped her to her feet, then handed her to the kid, who stood beside him,
"Help her, I'll be out in a moment" Nimura told him, before running into the medical room. He looked at Sadako, one of her arms around his shoulder and the other holding her sword.
"So you're the one everyone hates?" He asked in a failed attempt to make conversation. Sadako ignored him, instead waiting quietly for Nimura to return. Her wound was stinging, like crazy. He didn't make her wait long as a few moments later he come out pulling out Sanjiyan.
"Ok, lets go" Nimura told them leading them down the corridor, now Sadako was even more confused than she was before.
"What's going on? Where are we going?" She asked, she had a ton more questions but decided it was better to stick with only these two. Nimura answered without even turning to face her, instead quicken the pace,
"Q1 we have lost. Q2 we're getting out of here".
They walked for several minutes before anyone spoke again, and when the voice came nobody expected it,
"That hurts you know" Nimura looked down in shock at the form of Sanjiyan. He was now moving, obviously no longer unconscious.
"Your awake!" Nimura asked excitedly, the others who didn't hear him asked,
"Who are you talking too" In unison.
"Yes… So please stop dragging me" He asked Nimura, this time the others heard his answer, but Nimura refused to stop. Their time was limited,
"Sorry but we can't, not yet anyway".
Nimura turned into a dead ended corridor, motioning the rest to follow him. Reaching the end Nimura punched the wall 3 times in the centre. In a moment the solid wall was turned into an open passageway. He turned to face them,
"Kid, take them to safety" Nimura told him putting Sanjiyan down onto the sandy floor of the passageway "Sanjiyan knows the way to the next encampment".
"You're not coming with us?" Sadako asked anxiously, she didn't want to leave with someone she didn't know and someone who tried to kill her. She didn't want Nimura to stay behind
"Sorry Sadako but I have no choice. I won't abandon this place; anyway some of the others may still be alive in here. I have to help them as I helped you" Nimura told her,
"But" Sadako protested, but it fell on deaf ears. Nimura had made up his mind.
"I'm sorry but it would appear that none of you are going" Came a voice from the corridor, they turned to see the Guymelef commander and two of is soldiers following him, "I have strict orders not to allow anyone to escape, but we do need prisoners if anyone wants to volunteer".
"Go, I'll hold him back" Nimura told them, motioning them to go down the passageway.
"Well then if you want them to escape I hope you last longer than your Guymelef commander" He told Nimura with an air of superiority,
"Talús… You killed TALÚS" Nimura yelled,
"I did" Came his simple answer
"GO!" Nimura yelled back to them.
"Sorry but we can't go… I can't disobey my commander" Came a voice from behind Nimura. He watched the kid with his sword to Sadako's neck; he couldn't believe his eyes,
"Your commander" Nimura asked disbelievingly, "I ordered no such thing".
"Yes I know Nimura, but he did, pointing down the passageway. Out of the shadow walked, a tall man in a long blue coat, his long blond hair turning white in places. The man stood waiting for the question he knew Nimura was going to ask.
"Who are you?" Nimura asked him angrily, "Answer me".
"Me he answered, who am I?" He answered, "I'm Alan Shazar, leader of the Knights of Celia of Asturia and I have orders to bring you to Fanelia".
End Of Part Two
Butch Cassidy
19.11.03 (Euro-Date DD/MM/YY)
…
Author Message
Well it is here, 4 months after the release of The Descended Shadow Part One, Part Two everybody (Cheering I hope). I know a lot of you are pissed because of the lack of Original characters in this. I will first tell you that more of the original characters shall appear, mainly within the next part of the Series. But if you are a reader looking for a story to completely centre around only the main characters of the original series you should stop reading on in this story. I personally am sick of watching the original characters again and again; a true fan fiction comes from how the original characters work with new characters and a full new plot.
Well now that that's out of the way I hope you enjoyed this part of the series, part III of the series should be out in the New Year for anyone who cares. Also look up Shadows of the Past, if you like this story. The Descended Shadow being a parallel fan fiction with it. It is on 'www.butchsforum.co.uk'. Any comments on it please mail me at the address below as I love to receive C&C (Comments and Criticism).
butchsvideostop@tiscali.co.uk