8: Legends
It had been about one week since Louise found out about the upcoming war. She was clearly upset at the news and was visibly distressed. When asked about why she was feeling so down, she just put on an obviously fake smile and changed the subject.
Colbert was able to make enough gas to start the engine of the zero fighter, but it would take a lot more to get it up and flying. I told him that maybe five barrels should suffice for a long enough time. I kept working on fixing up the zero fighter to get it in top form.
That's when the news came. The news Louise and I had been expecting for a while now. A messenger came on horse back through the academy's main gate. He seemed to be in a state of panic.
"Albion has declared war on Tristain! The army is already heading for Tardes!" he cried.
Louise looked at me, horrified that my prediction had come true. "You were right. Again."
I nod before walking towards the zero fighter.
"What are you doing?" Louise asks me, clearly worried.
"I thought that was obvious, I'm taking this plane, flying to Tardes, and helping out."
"What! You can't do that! Albion's dragon fleet is the best fleet in the world! You can't hope to stop them!"
"You're probably right. But I have to try right? Otherwise Siesta, her family, and everyone in the village will be killed. You don't want that right Louise?"
She hangs her head, ashamed that she forgot about them. "Then I'm coming too," she says indignantly.
"No you're not. It's too dangerous."
"That's why I'm going! To help you!"
"Louise, stay here. Promise me, I don't want to put you in danger."
She blushes a little, before nodding her head. You know she's just going to climb into the thing while your not looking, right? 'I'd be disappointed if she didn't. We need her to win, remember?' Oh yeah. Her void magic.
I rush to Colbert's office to get the gasoline he had made, hoping it's enough to fly to Tardes. I find him passed out over his desk. I grab his shoulder and shake him a bit to try and wake him up. He wakes up, but is still clearly half asleep.
"Saito, what is it?" he asks me.
"Colbert, I need the gasoline to get the thing to fly. Do you have it?"
"Yes! It's right over here, I'll go get it!" I'm amazed at quickly that woke him up. I head back to the zero fighter to get ready for take off. When I get to the plane, I open up the cockpit and climb in. I close the cockpit and wait for Colbert to get there.
"Louise, I know you're hiding behind the cockpit."
Louise pops her head up, surprised that I noticed her.
"I can see that you're serious about this, so I won't stop you. I just need one thing from you."
"What's that?" she asks me.
"You go the prayer book and the ring the princess gave you?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"It's a prayer book right? You might want to start praying for some luck." I tell her seriously.
She nods like she understands. Then Colbert shows up with the barrels of gasoline. He fills up the zero fighter the zero fighter and gives me a thumbs up to let me know it's full. I open the cockpit so he can hear me.
"Thanks Professor. I'll need you to spin the propellor."
"I understand." He tells me.
I close the cockpit. I feel like if I keep talking, I'll lose my nerve and run away. Colbert spins the propellor, and I start up the engine. The propellor starts spinning more rapidly and the fighter moves forward. About 30 feet before we crash into the wall, I pull the lever back and the zero fighter rises into the sky. Louise screams as we quickly gain altitude before evening out. I set course, and make a straight line towards Tardes.
*Scene Break*
It only takes maybe half an hour before Tardes comes into view. There's fire spread out and some troops on the ground. Dragons fly all through the air and the giant airship stands above all of them.
"You can't seriously be thinking about trying to take those dragons out." Louise asks timidly.
"Thinking about it? No. Diving in headfirst thinking of a plan later? Absolutely." My answer doesn't seem to calm her down. I wonder why that could be. 'Shut up, this plan usually works.'
I pilot the plane and at first, the dragon knights ignore me. Big mistake. I line up the wings of one of the dragons in my sights and pull the handle's trigger. Holes show up instantly and the dragon falls to the ground. Before the rest can react, I start turning and keep the trigger held down. Three more fall down. The knights have caught on to the fact that the zero fighter is very dangerous and start coming after me.
"T-that's amazing! Their dropping like flies! The dragon's raiment is really amazing!" cries Louise.
"Yeah, if only it would ever be this useful again." I mutter.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't have an unlimited amount of bullets, and they're too difficult to craft. If even a single flaw is present, the gun could misfire and seriously damage the craft." I tell her.
"Oh. Such a shame, this metal beast would have been incredibly useful." She says, disappointed.
The battle continues on like this. The dragons keep coming, I keep shooting them down. Than he shows up. I look over to my right and see Wardes atop what appears to be a wind dragon.
"Crap. Wardes is back." I tell Louise.
I have a sudden, rare stroke of inspiration. I fish around in the glovebox until I find what I'm looking for. Then I open the cockpit and toss it out the side.
*Elsewhere*
Gandalfar! There is no way you can escape me! Wind dragons are the fastest dragons in the world! There is no way for you to-"
Then the wrench Saito threw out the window hit Wardes in the face. He fell backwards and slid off his dragon, plummeting to the ground.
*Back to our heroes*
Poor guy really needs to learn to shut up. My inner monologue quips.
"That was... An interesting way of dealing with Wardes." says Louise.
"Hey, it worked. No point in complaining about it." I reply.
"I just wish I was more useful. You're doing this amazing things, and all I can do is watch." Louise says sadly.
Then a glow appears from the founder's prayer book. I smile to myself. Time for Louise to learn just how much she can do to help.
"Might want to check out the glowing book. In my experience, it's usually a good thing." I tell her.
She starts leafing through before stopping at one page. It looks blank to me, but she looks at it with great interest, her eyes darting back and forth, reading whatever's written on the page. Then she climbs over the seat and sits in my lap which, under other circumstances, most likely would give me another near death experience.
"Saito," Louise says in a calm, almost monotone voice, "Pilot the Dragon's Raiment over the vessel. I can take care of it from there."
Neither I nor Derflinger question her request. We both already know what's going to happen. I bring the zero fighter over the vessel and circle it. Louise opens the cockpit and stands up. Despite the circumstances, my nose starts bleeding a little. Wind + short skirt + her butt being level with my eye = bad things for my health. Focus! I control my urges and try to keep the zero fighter steady as Louise starts chanting. I immediately feel a surge of power I know all too well from her void spells. I hold off some more guards while I give Louise time to finish her spell. Then she does. She points her wand at the ship and at first, nothing happens. Then everything was engulfed in a bright ball of light and energy. When it dies down, the entire fleet is gone. Vanished without a trace. Louise collapses, and leans against me for support.
"See? I was right. All hail Louise, legendary user of void magic!" I say, teasing her a little while I close the cockpit.
"Shut up, legendary familiar," a small smile appears on her face, but it's clear she's still in a bit of daze.
I smile back. "Let's go back to the academy and rest up." I say before becoming serious "After all, this war is just getting started."
*Scene Break*
It was a few days after returning to the academy when Henrietta requested to see us. I'll try not to bore you with the details, but the meeting was almost unchanged from last time. Louise became part of her majesty's court and was given permission to do pretty much whatever she wanted, provided she showed the proper paperwork. Since I'm only a commoner, the best the princess could give me was some gold coins. We were also enlisted as a sort of trump card to help in the war, though obviously Louise's magic had to be kept a secret.
After that we went through town and did some shopping. Why not? Louise and I both had some cash so why not treat ourselves a little bit?
"Saito, look at how beautiful this necklace is!" Louise says, showing me the necklace.
I grin, its the exact same necklace I bought her as the last time we went shopping here. Some things really don't change do they? "I agree. It suits you." I take the necklace and turn to the shop owner. "How much for the necklace?"
"Three new gold" he responds. I oblige and give him the money, and the necklace to Louise. I intentionally ignore the fact that she's rubbing the necklace against her cheek.
We continue on and I see IT. Hanging on the wall in the back of a second hand clothing store was the sailor suit. So many horrible memories flood back to me. All the joy that thing brought me was nowhere near worth the pain it brought as a result. I grab Louise's arm and drag her off, still ignoring the fact that the necklace hasn't left her cheek yet.
*Scene Break*
"Come on Louise, is that all you got?" an explosion forms in front of me, and I jump back and dodge.
"I would be better if you stopped moving!" cried Louise angrily.
"That ruins the fun and point of these exercises!" I let her know.
Let me explain, after Louise unblocked her magic, I suggested we take up some training to hone her skills. It was tiring work for her, but she was improving. Her aim was getting better, her chants quicker and, most dangerously, her magic more powerful. We briefly considered working towards getting her to move and chant at the same time to avoid danger, but decided that being the "Gandalfar, shield of god" it was my job to protect her, so she didn't need to move while casting.
I hold up my hands in mock surrender. "Okay, I think that's good for today. Very good Louise, you are getting much better, we just have to work on your aim and spell chanting."
Louise sighs. "Do you have any water or something to drink?" she asks me.
I shake my head. "Not on me. Let's head back to the academy and get something there."
She nodded. We had out little practice sessions a good distance away from the academy to keep her magic a secret, and to avoid destroying anything important. I would like them to be a little closer, in case one of us gets hurt and needs medical attention, or like now when we just need something to drink. When we get to the academy, we saw Guiche and Montmorency sitting at a table drinking some wine. This image triggers alarms in my head, but I can't remember why.
"Perfect! Guiche, do you mind if I have your wine? I'm rather thirsty." Louise asks him.
"Go right ahead Louise!" he replies.
Don't let her drink it! My inner monologue says, panicking.'What? Why?'
Louise grabs the bottle and lifts it up, then I remember. Montmorency and I try to stop her, but its too late. She drank everything that was in the glass. The love potion included.
"Ah, much better," she says turning to me. "Now lets g-" then her expression changes from happy, to a bit like she's half asleep as soon she sees me.
"Crap," Montmorency and I mutter at the same time.
Louise runs up to me and grabs me by the shirt and buries her face in my chest. This is not good.
"Saito! Why are you so mean to me, You're with me all the time but-"
I immediately tune her out and let her continue rambling about how I ignore her and turn to Montmorency.
"We'll discuss this first thing tomorrow morning. Best start coming up with an excuse now." I tell her angrily. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's Louise doped up on love potion. It's less love and more obsession. Quite frankly, it gets really creepy, real fast.
"Why do you talk to Montmorency! Why won't you notice me when I love you so much!" Louise continues to sob into my jacket.
Hell yes! We are going to ruin her tonight! ... Did I say that out loud?
*Louise POV*
"Saito! Saitooooo! Stop ignoring me! Why don't you notice me? Stop ignoring me! Why do you ignore me? You hate me don't you! Why do you hate me when I love you so much! Saitooooo! Why do you say you love me then ignore me! Saitooooo! Stop ignoring me! Look at me! Look at me!"
Saito sighed. "This is going to be a long night."