~*~Author's Note: Hello! Look at me, three updates in one month! I am so good, lol! Well, this is the chapter where I really get deviate from the Escaflowne
plot. I'm so excited lol. This chapter is shorter than a lot of my others (though short for me, means just over 10 pages, lol) so it should be a semi-quick read.
Lots of action and junk... Hope you like it! I put reviewer responses at the end of the chapter! Hope you enjoy!~*~
Chapter 13
"She's remarkable," General Adelphos nodded his approval of the female soldier that stood before him at attention. "But I don't know how well men will take to having a woman in command."
"When they see what she can do, they'll over look that."
Adelphos stared hard at the three Madoushi who'd come bearing the gift of a new warrior fresh from their lab. "How is she in relation to Dilandau?"
"She is his superior," the tallest one smirked arrogantly. "We request permission to remove Dilandau from his position so that we can make some enhancements. We are afraid he is becoming obsolete."
Adelphos didn't decrease the harsh intensity of his gaze, "What sort of enhancements? I have had no reports of bad conduct from him, since you made your last adjustments."
"But you've had reports of failure."
"Acceptable," Adelphos countered. "The dragon was within reach, the mission was aborted to protect future plans. Dilandau's performance has been satisfactory."
"The Emperor wishes his soldiers to be exemplary not merely adequate. If you will grant us the permission to take him with us, we will return him to you at optimum level. Until then, we leave you with our newest candidate worthy of rank and title."
Adelphos scowled as he suddenly realized he had no real say in the matter. Even if he cared enough to question the procedures to be done on Dilandau and found them not to his taste, the orders given to the Madoushi were over his head. They were simply being polite and making it seem as if he held the power in the relationship. He sighed and put a hand to his temple. He sat back on his throne and let his eyes find their way back to the girl. She was tall with short blond hair caught back in a severe braid with no hair falling over her forehead. Her dark purple eyes were piercing and dangerous as they stared at him defiantly. Her small chin was held high and her graceful shoulders were pulled back. She wore the uniform of a Zaibach soldier and certainly had the arrogance of one. Adelphos wanted to add in his description of her, that she was pretty...but the rigid military harshness in her frame shook that assessment from his mind.
"And what shall I call this new soldier of mine?" he asked, his voice flat.
"Valesca."
"And where shall I place her?"
"I believe there is an opening on the Revere. She will be a welcome addition to the crew there, along with her new team of specialist that she will personally pick herself from your ship."
Adelphos nearly bit his tongue. His ship?! He nodded, careful not to flinch.
"Thank you for your time, General. This hour has been most productive. I trust you will show Valesca to a room where she may start preparing for her first drafting session?"
Adelphos waved a hand to summon an attendant to lead Valesca away. The girl gave a very un-lady-like bow to the General and rose with a smirk to follow the attendant out of the throne room.
"Good day, General."
Adelphos watched the three Sorcerers glide away and retreat through the doors their creation had passed through.
What in Gaea just transpired here? He wondered to himself. Ugh. He needed some vino. He waved a hand to summon his attendant and realized that... "Dammit!" he'd sent the man off with Valesca!
What was this world coming to?
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"I can't eat that," Lord Dilandau's face was impossibly pale as he tried to avoid making visual contact with the hot porridge Viole had brought in.
Viole frowned down at the steaming golden-brown porridge that he had so carefully folded strawberries into. "Lord Dilandau, maybe if you just tried a little of it..."
"No, take it away," Lord Dilandau moaned, he rolled onto his side in the large bed, turning away from Viole.
Viole sighed and set the small silver tray, that the porridge perched on top of, down, and came to sit on the side of Lord Dilandau's bed. The silver-haired captain had bathed and dressed for the day, but he hadn't left the room at all. He had completely missed morning warm-ups, which Gatty and Shesta had led. After the missed session, Shesta had requested for Viole to come with him to check on their Lord. They found him sitting on the rim of his cold milky bathtub in soft black pants and a sleeveless white shirt, clutching his left arm which was encased in ruby stained bandages. Viole nearly cried out, thinking Lord Dilandau had just obtained the wound and had tried to take care of it himself. It was level-headed Shesta that noticed the blood on the bandages was old. The blond had knelt before Lord Dilandau, who stared at them lifelessly, and began to undress the wound. The punctured area was a deep purple, but much too small to have been the source of all of the blood that had soiled the many crusty bandages Shesta had unwound. Viole had stood still, in shock, holding things as Shesta shoved them his way, while the blond worked to clean the affected area. No one spoke while Shesta cleansed and re-wrapped the wound loosely with a fresh bandage roll that had been sitting idly on the porcelain sink.
"'It wouldn't stop bleeding, yesterday," Lord Dilandau had said, as they helped him to his feet. "'I was afraid it would start again if I unwrapped it."'
Shesta had nodded, "'Lord Folken told me as much. He wants you to rest today. Gatty and I will handle anything that needs to be done, and Viole...will bring you some breakfast."'
And so, there he was, Breakfast Boy. Everyone seemed at a loss at what to do with a somber Viole. They rarely knew what to do with the abnormally hyper one, so what to do with this new one? The other Slayers were being so unusually nice to him it was making him feel slightly ill. Would Lord Dilandau kill him if he laid down too?
"The porridge wasn't so bad this morning, sir," Viole offered, watching Dilandau's back rise and fall slowly.
"It better not be bad any morning," Lord Dilandau grumbled. "I won't allow my Slayers to be served anything beneath satisfactory."
"It's not that it's bad food. It's just.... healthy-tasting. I, for one, would prefer something high in sugar, low in oats," Viole said. He smiled a bit as Lord Dilandau rolled over to look at him.
"You would say that," Lord Dilandau smirked. "How can you eat it?"
"Eat what? Sweet stuff? Easy," Viole shrugged, taking the chance and swinging his legs up onto the bed. "It's so good. I swear when I was little all I would refuse to eat anything else, and I was so spoiled, no one argued with me. It's a wonder I don't weigh 300 pounds."
"You're not a heavy eater, Viole. A slice of cake is a meal to you," Lord Dilandau pointed out. "The reasons why you don't blow away, is because of those cakes and muffins you like so well."
Viole grinned, pleased that his Lord was making conversation with him, and also he liked knowing just how much attention Lord Dilandau paid him. "And what keeps you from blowing away, Lord Dilandau?"
"All my heavy armor," Lord Dilandau narrowed his eyes, not willing to let himself be tricked by Viole throwing his own words back at him.
"You're not wearing it now," Viole quipped. "So, if you don't wish to be carried away, you had better eat. I put strawberries in it and everything."
"I'll be sick," Lord Dilandau whispered, shaking his head slightly. "It hurts too much to be sick. I... I'm sorry, Viole. I'm letting you all down."
"No way," Viole argued, his grin fading, "never. Why do you feel like that?"
Lord Dilandau snorted, "You don't have to play dumb reverence with me, Viole. I'm weak; I let Folken tell me what to do. We should have gone after Miguel, but I... Gods, Viole. I don't understand why you still follow me."
Viole blinked, "Because you're our leader, Lord Dilandau. We've pledged ourselves to you. It's almost like a marriage, you know? In sickness and in health? Til death do us part? It'd be pretty awful of us to abandon you. You actually need us, now. Before, we never understood why you picked us. You're the ultimate soldier; you didn't need our help. Sometimes, I thought we were getting in your way. It's kind of nice to feel needed, Lord Dilandau. Not feeling well is not being weak. Everyone has their good and bad days, and now, it's finally your turn. Relax and let us take care of you. We have everything under control. Tomorrow, we get Miguel, if the doppleganger still isn't back. Shesta has a plan all worked out. I think he said he was going to go over it with you tonight."
Lord Dilandau pushed himself up on one elbow and cocked his head at Viole, "Miguel is your partner... why aren't you angry at me, Viole? Miguel was saving my skin and got taken instead of me."
"That's what he was supposed to do. Our job is to protect you. I would be pissed if Miguel was here and you were not! I'm proud of him and when he gets back, I might let him know it. But, you know, Miguel's head is already big enough, he might not be able to fit through the door of our room after hearing me say he did me proud. Maybe I should keep it to myself, then, huh? Yeah..."
"You talk too much to keep anything to yourself, Viole," Lord Dilandau snorted.
"I wish people would quit saying that," Viole pouted. "It makes me feel as if you all think I'm annoying or something silly like that."
A muffled noise escaped Lord Dilandau and Viole grinned devilishly. "Are you laughing at me?"
"No." Another chuckle.
"I'm glad you find me so amusing," Viole fluffed a pillow behind him. "At least someone does. I just don't feel appreciated at times."
"Viole, believe me," Viole's eyes widened and he started when Lord Dilandau's hand touched his elbow, "you are appreciated and needed. It's why I chose you and why I always pair you with Miguel. Tense soldiers make mistakes..."
"Miguel didn't make mistakes," Viole said softly, as Lord Dilandau paused, his voice catching. "I guess you chose right with me then, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess I did."
"So, how about that porridge?"
"Fine," Lord Dilandau grumbled. "I'll try. If I throw up..."
"You can do it all over me," Viole raised his hands. "It will be entirely my fault and I deserve to be marked for it."
"I bet Miguel misses you," Lord Dilandau whispered.
"Yeah."
I know I miss him...
"I'll get him back for you."
Viole smirked as he placed the tray over his captain's lap and laid a hand on his shoulder, "I know you will."
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Folken sighed deeply and looked at Marie who was pulling off her lab gloves. "So... what are we going to do? We may not have time to wait for a donor, but the side effects of immunosuppressive drugs may kill him."
Marie sighed, "We can start him on a mild intravenous antilymphocyte globulin, after testing him for skin allergies first. We'll just keep him in here to monitor him, see how he takes to it."
"But he's so weak; on that treatment, a simple cold could wipe him out for weeks," Folken shook his head. "We don't have many options, and I fear we're running out of time."
"Folken, Dilandau has plenty of time for us to try what ever needs to be done in his best interests. But..." Marie stared at Folken, her green eyes troubled as she fiddled with her gloves, "I don't think that's what you mean by we're running out of time. Do you think they...?"
"I've been completely cut off from the Sorcerer's mainframe. They are doing something they don't want me to know about, and the only reason why they would do that is if it concerns Dilandau. They know I..." Folken took a deep breath. "He's not just another insolent captain under my jurisdiction aboard my fortress. I..."
"You care about him?" Marie blinked, "So what? Any idiot can see that. Was it supposed to be some sort of a secret? You fret over that kid like he's family; you always have. From the moment he first stepped aboard the Vione, you've been playing the role of an older brother, sort of. I say,' sort of,' because you're a strange one, at times, Folken. Some of your methods weren't always conventional, but... I always thought it was kind of sweet. I personally didn't see what you saw in that kid...until now. Who would have known under that cocky exterior laid a very sensitive little boy- but you?"
Folken remained quiet as he brooded over the next move they should make with Dilandau. "Perhaps, we should let Dilandau decide his treatment. Anything we choose can potentially hurt him. We'll give him all of the information he needs, and we'll do what he wants."
"He may choose not to be treated, Folken. Would you respect that decision, if he made it?" Marie questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Folken winced. Without treatment, Dilandau would surely perish. The boy was too young to choose a route that would lead to his end, unless... Unless he thought any treatments would hamper his fighting abilities, and his Slayers would be in danger. Oh Dilandau.
Folken lowered his head, "I'll have to. It is his life, after all. He won't benefit from a forced treatment, so if he declines our offers..."
Marie nodded solemnly, "All right then."
"I will go to Dilandau and deliver the news to him in his quarters. He may take it better there."
"Whatever you feel is best, Folken," Marie finally tossed the useless gloves she'd been toying with into a waste basket. "If he chooses not to...and you need someone to...talk to... you know I'm here for you, right? I know how much..."
There was a knock at the door, and Folken looked at Marie apologetically before calling to the person outside the door of his lab to enter. A herald stepped into the room looking rather nervous, "Lord Folken... Two Sorcerers have arrived with soldiers. I think they mean to collect Lord Dilandau. You hadn't said anything about them coming or his departure, so I thought I should inform you of their presence here."
Folken's heart leapt into his throat. The Madoushi were here? Oh gods...
"Lord Folken...?"
Folken's fought the tremors that wanted to flood his body, "Pearce, Dilandau's men will be in the mess hall; please alert them that their captain needs them most urgently. Tell them he is in danger and to protect him and to get him off the Vione at all costs."
"My Lord," Pearce bowed.
The herald hurried from the room, and Folken turned to Marie, "You didn't hear any of that, understood?"
"Yes sir," Marie quipped, looking nervous. "They'll harm him if they get their hands on him again, possibly kill him... won't they?"
"They won't touch him," Folken said in a final voice. "His men have their orders, and they'll protect him to the death. Dilandau will be spared this day. I have to get to the main control room to make sure all the hangars stay open. Go back to the clinic and stay there, Marie."
"All right. Folken, you'll be court marshaled, if anyone finds out what you've done. Pearce could..."
"That loyal man wouldn't tell a soul," Folken said. "No one will have to know a thing, unless you'd like to tell them."
Marie shook her head "no."
"Then go," Folken slipped out of the lab, leaving the dazed red-haired woman behind.
The Madoushi were going to take Dilandau...
That wouldn't happen, even if Folken himself had to take up arms and defend him. But if Dilandau escaped, what would he do out there in the world? Without adequate medical care, he would die.
He pushed the thoughts aside; they were not important right now. What was important was that Dilandau survive this day; they would worry about the later days at another time.
The internal alarms sounded, the loud bells resonating through every hallway. The Dragonslayers were probably engaged in battle as Folken moved to keep open their only means of escape.
Hurry, he had to hurry. Dilandau's men were good, but they were not gods, and they would soon succumb to the force of the Madoushi's personal guards and
the other dozens of soldiers aboard the Vione that had a personal vendetta against Dragonslayers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dilandau had drifted into a light sleep after stomaching half a bowl of warm porridge. It really hadn't been that bad, as Viole had promised. He was still feeling the tiring aftereffects of the blood loss from the other day and the general malaise of his overall condition. Viole was still sitting on the bed beside him, sketching pictures of his diadem. Every now and again, he could sense the boy's concerned gaze on him. Once or twice he felt a comforting hand rub his back.
Dilandau would have felt perfectly content, if it weren't for Miguel's absence. He would have even agreed to let Folken drug him some more. He shivered slightly and frowned when he felt Viole roll off the bed. A few seconds later he heard the wafting sound of a blanket being shaken out and something warm, soft and clean-smelling fell over his curled body. The bed squeaked and depressed, meaning Viole had climbed back onto it. He held still as the wavy-haired Slayer tucked the blanket around him. "I make a good, Mama, huh?" Viole chuckled lightly to himself; unbeknownst to him, Dilandau was still very much aware of his surroundings.
"Better than Shesta," Dilandau informed him, hiding a smirk as Viole jumped.
"I thought you were asleep..."
"I am; so, leave me alone," Dilandau murmured. He opened his eyes a crack to peek at Viole's bewildered expression, then closed them again.
"Stop talking to me then," Viole snorted. Dilandau pulled his knees in closer to his chest and nestled into the blanket. Relax...he told his body, just go to sleep...
His sharp ears perked up as the door to his bedroom was opened without a proceeding knock. No one entered his room without knocking! He sat up, his outrage deafening his ears to Viole's startled silence. He should have wondered why Viole hadn't spoken, when it was obvious he had seen who'd entered unannounced. Dilandau's eyes blazed as they darted to the door and... His mouth dropped open in horror and terror overloaded every active nerve in his body , "Oh gods..."
The Madoushi... Two tall Sorcerers loomed in the doorway, smiling at him. "Ah, here you are Dilandau. We've come to make you all better. Come to us."
Dilandau trembled violently and grabbed hold of Viole's arm as Viole's eyes finally tore away from the Madoushi and focused on him. "Lord Dilandau, what do they want?"
"Do not be foolish, Dilandau; come now."
"Please...please leave me alone," Dilandau stammered; he gasped as Viole freed himself of Dilandau's arm and leapt from the bed, grabbing up the sword he'd deposited by the night table.
"Look, I don't know what you want, but you're upsetting Lord Dilandau. I'm asking you to leave, now," Viole's voice was strong and his dark-blue eyes fierce.
No...they would hurt Viole, too.
"Silly boy, you cannot give us orders. Dalton, Firenze, hold Dilandau so that I may sedate him; he is being difficult. Sears, restrain the other boy."
Three burly soldiers Dilandau had never seen before entered the room so suddenly that Dilandau would have missed them if he'd been able to blink. He heard the heavy clashes of steel meeting steel as Viole was engaged in combat with the one called Sears. Dilandau, himself, was seized and held still as the two Sorcerers floated further into the room, one holding a large syringe.
Dilandau fought against the two men restraining him, but they held him too tight, and one pressed hard on his injured arm. He felt the hot stickiness of blood coating and rushing down the limb. He moaned in pain and swooned in weakness and fear.
"This could have been avoided, if you'd just learn to behave like the good boy we made you to be," the Sorcerer with the needle tsked, shaking his head. Dilandau screamed as the needle neared his neck. "Hold still boy, this will hurt you, if you don't."
No...no....not again! He screamed and screamed, choking as the needle burrowed into the soft skin of his neck and its venom was injected. Tears ran down his face and his breaths came in huge gasping sighs. "Calm yourself, Dilandau... this is just going to make you go to sleep for a little while. When you wake up, you'll be all better."
"Leave me alone....please..." Dilandau continued to whisper as he slid out of consciousness and sagged bonelessly in the arms of his captors.
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"Lord Dilandau!" Shesta cried as he heard the frantic screams. "They've gotten to him already! They're hurting him!"
"I'll kill them," Gatty growled. All thirteen Dragonslayers flew through the hallways of the ship to meet with the men who'd come to harm their captain. Four burly foreign soldiers stood in the hall, blocking the door. "Get them out of the doorway!" Gatty roared. At his command, Refina, Biore, Tristan, and Ryuuon surged ahead of him to battle with the enemy guards. Gatty elbowed through the conflict and was the first to throw himself into the bedroom; he flew in a rage toward the two Sorcerers hovering near Lord Dilandau, swinging his sword like a madman. Dallet, Guimel, and Shesta poured in after him, Guimel going to Viole's aid, Shesta and Dallet attacking the two soldiers restraining Lord Dilandau's seemingly unconscious frame.
The internal alarm was pulled from somewhere within the ship, but the Slayers kept fighting on. They knew every soldier on board was going to come to the aid of the Sorcerers and their men and they would be outnumbered, but there was no way they were going to give up this fight.
The two men holding Lord Dilandau were dead, as were the two Sorcerers. Dallet and Shesta quickly caught the captain's limp body between them. "What do we do? The other soldiers are coming, and we'll be tried for treason! They'll execute us... kill Lord Dilandau..." Guimel was stammering, he was spattered with enemy blood. The Elite, Dallet carrying their leader, stumbled out into the hallway to join the rest of their team who looked as stricken as they did.
"Gatty?" All eyes turned to their temporary leader.
"We just killed Sorcerers....and their guard... We've sinned against Zaibach; we've become traitors..." Brian was shaking.
"What do we do, Gatty?"
Gatty ran a blood stained hand through his blond hair, leaving a sticky red streak, "We...we haven't done anything wrong. We didn't swear an oath to Zaibach, we swore to Lord Dilandau. They were going to hurt him... Folken said... We protected our Captain, like we are supposed to, and we are still going to continue doing that. If we remain, they'll try to hurt him again... We have to get off the Vione!"
"Desert? We're going to desert Zaibach?"
"We're not deserting anyone," Gatty said cooly.
"I hear soldiers!" Andre shouted. "We can't take them all!"
"We can try!" Dallet roared. "We'll go down fighting!"
"No, we have to save Lord Dilandau!" Refina shouted. She closed her eyes and then opened them, staring at the Elite who were unintentionally standing away from the other two lower-ranking groups. It was how it always was, the Elite were always separate from them...always destined and designated for the more important tasks. "Gatty, you and the Elite have to take Lord Dilandau and get out of here. The rest of us will cover you!"
"What?" Gatty blinked at the orders. He stared at the girl wide eyed, "Ref..."
"Take him and go!" the girl cried.
"But you'll all be in danger, you could all be killed! You can't stand without us!"
"Lord Dilandau won't stand a chance if you keep him here!"
"How do the rest of you feel about this?" Gatty asked, after backing down from Refina's wild glare.
The young faces of the Second and Third String Slayers were pale and grim, their eyes were scared, but their heads nodded. "Please let us fulfill out duties to Lord Dilandau. Let us help save him," Andre pleaded, his eyes bright.
Shesta sighed, Guimel bit hi lip, Viole shut his eyes, Dallet took a deep breathe, but it was Gatty who spoke. "All right you've got your orders... Second and Third String will shadow the Elite, fencing them in from outside attack until we reach the docking bay. Whoever is left will enter their Alseid and fall into formation. Whoever falls behind...stays behind...."
"Yes sir!"
"Lets move!"
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Shesta's heart was in his throat for the entire run. The Vione's soldiers had broken through the tight circle a few times, and he had minor cuts from flailing swords to show for it. Dallet was the only one untouched, because he held Lord Dilandau. They kept him at the center and pushed him forward. Their only escape was the hangar; they had to get to their Alseides.
Folken would keep the hangar open...he had to. He was the one that had told them something was wrong. He wanted them to fight against the Madoushi and get away. They weren't really traitors if the Strategos ordered it. They wouldn't really execute them if caught.
He heard the dying cry of one of his comrades... Sergio. Gods...
His heart hardened, these soldiers didn't care... Even if it wasn't Zaibach's intention to have them killed, they would kill them. These soldiers wanted Slayer blood...
They hate us.
They hate Lord Dilandau.
"Approaching the hangar, Shesta, Guimel, flank Dallet! Get him in his Alseid..."
"Lord Dilandau won't fit inside with me! I'm too big!" Dallet shouted at Gatty, who turned to run a soldier, who'd broken the circle, through with his sword.
"I'm the smallest!" Shesta announced, "I'll take him!"
"Can you carry him?" Dallet yelled, already trying to transfer Lord Dilandau's dead weight onto Shesta's shoulders. Shesta braced himself for the unbalance, careful not to drop his leader. He was prepared to stumble and have to stagger forward, but Lord Dilandau turned out to be light as a feather.
"I got him, Dallet!" Shesta hollered triumphantly. "I'm going for my Alseid as soon as we break through the doors!"
The hangar was sparsely populated, the soldiers there looked surprised to see the legion of Dragonslayers charging through the doors, swords ready. Shesta felt himself being propelled from behind to the first Alseid available. The hatch opened and Shesta had to pass Lord Dilandau to Dallet while he climbed in. Dallet then slid Lord Dilandau into his lap, and Shesta closed the hatch.
They were inside. They were safe... for the time being. He heard the sounds of battle outside and the screams of pain and agony from fallen comrades.
No tears...this is no time for tears... You knew when you signed up for this half of the people you met weren't going to survive the entire war, so pull yourself together. Shesta took a deep, calming breath and rearranged Lord Dilandau in his lap, making sure he could reach all of his controls.
Should he leave? Was he waiting for the others? What if he was attacked while in the air? They needed a plan, but no one had time to make one!
His radio crackled to life, "Shesta, are you ok?"
"G...Gatty? Yes, I'm fine. Lord Dilandau's fine...I think." Shesta frowned at the pale, unresponsive boy. His chest rose and fell and his eyelids fluttered, though they didn't open.
"Everyone in guymelef, report!"
"This is Viole, I'm ready."
"This Dallet, I'm in...but I think I tore something in left arm."
"Guimel, here. I'm bruised, but intact."
"This is Tristan, I'm good to go."
"Kwami, I'm set."
"Keiran, I....I ... can fly."
"That all?" Gatty asked, his voice low. "Ok then... Move out, diamond formation with Shesta at point."
Shesta powered up his Alseid, turning on his systems and checking the status of every guymelef powering up in the room. The massive machine walked to the edge of the dock and then folded in its legs to go into flight mode. Shesta launched into the bright blue sky... startled at how cheerful and unaware the day was to what was going on inside the Vione.
He moved the throttle forward, setting his guymelef at full speed. He only relaxed when he heard the soft whirs of other engines falling into formation around him.
"Where do we go?"
"Away from the Vione, we have to lose them! Disable the tracking systems!" Gatty commanded. Shesta wanted to slap himself. Why hadn't he thought of that?
He located the small device and pulled its power cord. The red flashing light went off and he sighed. "Circle the east, we can't keep moving in a straight line!" Shesta followed his own command before anyone else acknowledged it.
"We've got company!" Viole shouted.
"Protect Shesta!" Gatty yelled. "Turn back and face.."
"No!"
"Tristan, now is not the time.." Gatty was growling, only to be cut off again.
"Get Lord Dilandau out of here! The best people to protect him are you guys! Keiran, Kwami, protect the Elite! We'll turn and face the approaching enemy!"
"Tristan!" Dallet protested.
"If we got away with Lord Dilandau, what then? He'd still need someone to protect him! What's the use of all of us getting killed? Let us do this! Get him out; we'll hold them off for as long as we can!"
"Gatty, it's your call..." Guimel breathed into his speaker.
Shesta's hands shook, all of the responsibility shouldn't be placed on Gatty. He was going to crack. "Gatty, they're right. Lord Dilandau won't stand a chance with all of us injured. We have to go... if we don't have to fight, we shouldn't...not right now. There will be other chances to fight, when we are needed."
"Elite, form a circle around Shesta and retreat. We circle west and.... head to Freid. Tristan, Kwami, Keiran... may the gods be with you. Lord Dilandau will be told of your valiance. Go!"
Shesta waited until Gatty's guymelef moved in front of his, before he began to move again. He saw the small blips that indicating approaching air vessels and felt the panic rise. "Hurry!"
They shot off, pushing their Alseides to their limits, leaving their comrades behind to fight a losing battle. Gods...
It wasn't supposed to happen like this.
Lord Dilandau gave a small moan, and Shesta frowned down at the boy, taking one hand off the controls to adjust the captain's head on his shoulder.
They flew in a circles for an hour, just in case they had been followed, then finally turned east....toward Freid.
"How is Lord Dilandau, Shesta?" Gatty's soft voice crackled over his speaker.
"Still out," Shesta reported. "I don't know what they gave him, but he doesn't seem to be in pain."
"Good. I want to set down in the clearing we're approaching. Everyone start preparing for a landing. Dallet, how's that arm?"
"Numb."
"Great..."
Shesta sighed. Did they have anything to treat Dallet with? Perhaps. He plotted the distance from his position in air to where Gatty had designated as their final destination. "Ok, I'm going to land."
"Ok, after Shesta, Guimel... then Dallet. Dallet, let us know if you have trouble; Guimel and Shesta will try to catch you, and Viole and I can steady you."
"I'm good to land," Dallet said snippily.
"Fine."
It only took a few moments for them to land, and Shesta sat patiently after opening his hatch. Gatty and Guimel climbed up the legs of his kneeling Alseid. Guimel carefully reached to take Lord Dilandau from Shesta's lap, and between he and Gatty, they got the captain safely to the ground.
Shesta's legs screamed in both pain and pleasure, when the weight was removed. His feet tingled as the blood started circulating back into them. He hadn't been aware of how uncomfortable he had been. Ouch.
He climbed out his guymelef and stretched his back and shook his arms and legs. Then he peered at their environment. The forest was thick and it would be hard for anyone to spot them overhead, even in the clearing. Good choice, Gatty.
Gingerly, he made his way to the ground, where Lord Dilandau had been laid out with his head resting in Guimel's lap, and Viole was doing his best to wrap Dallet's arm in the undershirt he wore under his armor.
They were a sad bunch. Guimel was almost as pale as Lord Dilandau, as he sat stroking the captain's silver hair and staring off into space. Viole's hands trembled as they worked to secure Dallet's makeshift sling and his mouth twitched every once and a while like he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. A speechless Viole was a scary thing. Gatty stood apart from the group, appraising them all solemnly and looking into the trees with his shoulders slumped. His frame revealed a weariness that someone his age shouldn't be experiencing.
Gatty was trying to make it his fault. He was in charge when Lord Dilandau couldn't be, and he'd led the Slayers not present to their deaths. He'd saved his own skin...
But that wasn't what happened. Shesta walked past Guimel, Dallet, and Viole and stopped beside Gatty. He tried to lay a hand on the other blond's shoulder, but he jumped.
Gatty whirled, ready to fight, and froze at seeing Shesta. Shesta wanted to give him a smile, but found that he'd forgotten how for the moment. "Gatty... It was their decision."
"They didn't have to die. We're the better warriors... we should have fought, and they should have taken Lord Dilandau. We would have stood more of a chance!"
"Yes, Gatty, we are the better warriors. They knew that, which is why they entrusted us with the task of protecting Lord Dilandau. Who better than us? Look at him, Gatty," Shesta gestured back to where the other Elite were sitting. He nodded toward their unconscious leader. "He's so helpless, so weak... what would he do with Andre or Sergio? How could they help him? They can barely take care of themselves. He needs strong guardians. Ones who can act without being instructed to do so and act correctly. Don't make any of our comrades' honorable deaths into mistakes and poor judgment! They did what had to be done! It doesn't seem right; deaths of people you're close to never seem right, but their sacrifice was necessary."
"But all of them..."
"And... who says they're dead? Maybe they've been taken prisoner and we'll rescue them. Wait until Lord Dilandau wakes up; we'll see what he says," Shesta reached to touch Gatty's shoulder again and squeezed. "You did a really good job, Gatty. I couldn't have done it, and I respect you."
Gatty's blue eyes filled with tears, but he blinked them away instead of shedding them. He nodded briefly at Shesta and let out a shaky sigh. "Thank you, Shes. I... I couldn't have done it all without you there, though. When I got really wound up and thought I would burst from the stress...I would remember, Shesta's here. Shesta will help me."
"I didn't.."
"It was your presence," Gatty said softly.
Shesta remembered how to smile at that moment and Gatty did too. "So...what's our next move?"
Shesta studied the smooth planes of Gatty's face as he stared off into the fringe of trees his mouth a straight line. He blinked slowly and looked at Shesta with determination glistening in his eyes.
"We get Miguel."
~*~Author's Note: Well, that's it. What do you think? You like it, don't like it, don't care? Let me know!! Please review!~*~
~Reviewer Responses~
Blue Ice: Hey, I'm glad you like the personalities I've tried to develop for each character. The Dragonslayers are a lot of fun to work with, especially since you
get to create their personalities and eccentric quirks without having to worry about going against any kind of series canon. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
Thanks for reviewing!
Deadly Beauty1: Well, I'm glad you decided to stop in and review. I'm guilty of reading lots of good stories and not reviewing until like 20 chapters after I
started too, lol. I'm getting a lot of positive feedback about Miguel and Viole....hmm..maybe I shouldn't kill Miguel off... Well, we'll see what happens in
chapter 14. Oh, and uh...can you get me sugar cookies instead? Chocolate...bleah! Lol ;) Thank you for reviewing!
Kou-Kagerou: Lol... Thank you for the review, hope you got to read the previous chapter ok.
Feye Morgan: He, he, he!! Your reviews are always so funny! I enjoy reading them probably more than you enjoy reading the chapter. I know you're always
looking for new events that will change the Escaflowne plot...well, here's one, lol! And who says Van has a better chance with Hitomi? ;) Maybe, maybe not...
But no, he won't have to worry about Allen in that respect lol. As for Miguel's fate....Muhahahahahaha! We shall see... Thanks for reviewing chica...I hope to
see more To Mend The Roses soon :).
Nikku: The famous question again.. Will I kill Miguel? Hmm... You'll see in the next chapter! Yes, you will finally know the fate of the Dragonslayers. Will Dilandau figure out who Celena really is and about his strange relationship to Allen? I think its safe to go ahead and say, "yes." I won't tell you when, where, or how though, lol. All of that can be a surprise. I was kind of afraid I was being too OOC for Dilandau. I like him crazy, like he is in the series, but I had to change him a bit for my story. I'm glad you don't think I've changed him to the point of where he's not believable as being Dilandau anymore. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for the review chic, I always appreciate it ;)
Ok, that's it! Thanks everyone! Don't forget to review! Take care! :)