THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!
-123-
Hiroki took a good look at the report; something had to be distorted by the couriers. He knew Dilandau was awful, but the destruction of ten elite guymelefs with a mere soldier-class guymelef was preposterous!
Allen glanced at the paper Hiroki was reading. "It's Dilandau. That seems like his usual warm-up. Let me lead the strike force, Hiroki."
Hiroki's eyes bulged. A "warm-up"? "Allen-san, first, we might as well tell the elders, they'd find out anyway, and second, as I told you before, I'm not authorized to dispatch forces like that!"
Allen cringed when he thought of Dryden's reaction to Serena's disappearance. He was really in for it this time.
-124-
The giant had been dormant for seven years. Undisturbed. Unnoticed. Quietly sleeping, Escaflowne had enjoyed its years of solitude. All that would now end.
Van was luckily flying overhead when Dilandau had just caught sight of his silent victim. The tempting prospect of destroying Van overpowered him.
As he sped through the forest in pursuit of his winged enemy, Dilandau lost track of his position in relation to the sanctuary where Escaflowne slumbered. Losing sight of Van, he felt truly depressed, unable to attack either of his targets. The small shack in the distance, though, seemed to be something worth destroying, for the moment, at least.
-125-
Shiro was beside himself. The fact that he was not in immense agony was a good thing, but that never crossed his mind. All he could think about was Kerenai, passed out now, and bleeding out. The doctor had been called, but Shiro didn't think he'd be able to do anything. Considering his lack of an idea about Shiro, the chances that he'd know what was wrong with Kerenai were slim.
Bang.
Shiro shot up, looking towards the front door of the shack.
"Hey! What was that?!" he heard Chu-ni screaming form the next room. Quickly and stealthily, Shiro ran to him to hush him. Kerenai's sword was at the foot of the child's bed. Silently, Shiro unsheathed it and crept towards the source of the sound.
Bang. Bang.
Shiro hesitated, then continued. Finding a strategic spot, Shiro took a quick peek out the window. He saw three white feathers float closely to his face. Allowing none of his senses to be distracted, Shiro kept looking for the generator of the noise.
Bang.
The front door. Someone was banging on the big oak door. Unable to even get a glimpse of the person there, banging, Shiro quickly opened the door, letting his sword accost the visitor. The neck of the tall man was elongated at the prospect of the sword slicing directly through him.
However, seeing Shiro was his attacker, Van fell to his knees and wept for joy.
-126-
This was a familiar feeling; butterflies in stomach, shaking hands, sweating face, claustrophobia. But the situation was VERY new to Hiroki.
As he stood there, in front of the assembly of elders, Hiroki knew this was going to cause riots, cause pandemonium, possibly cause a was, but the fate of Gaea rested in his hands now.
"Dispatch the whole fleet, leaving twelve guymelefs at the Palace and send nineteen to guard Escaflowne."
The elders gasped. They had been briefed, but none seemed to completely grasp the severity of the situation.
"Allen-kun shall also require a guymelef to pilot and a force of twenty-five of our strongest fighters."
The plan was now set. "That is all." As the stuffy old men ran every which way, Hiroki slipped silently into the hallway to find some solitude for a moment.
However, he was merely face with pink poofs of hair.
"Hiroki, do you think Dilandau's going to try to destroy Escaflowne?" She sounded so concerned.
Because of the blood pact Van had made during the Great War with Escaflowne, it was definite that if Escaflowne were destroyed, the same fate would befall Escaflowne.
Hiroki couldn't tell Merelu what he really thought. He was sure that in her mind, that would only seal Van's death. So he just kept walking. It pained him to hurt his fiancée in such a way, but he knew any alternative would only hurt her even more.
-127-
As he was suiting up, Chid could feel his old war injuries acting up. The pain in his left shoulder came and went, usually more when it rained. Right now, as though for a warning, his entire arm felt almost numb. He thought for a second it might be a heart attack, but at his age? Preposterous.
Megumi looked up at the beast towering before her. She frowned. It was so rare that she ever frowned, but now, she felt like Chid-sama was in danger. She felt it was her duty to tell him that she was worried. Okay, maybe it wasn't her duty, maybe it was even against the rules, but she needed to do it. She wouldn't feel right otherwise.
"Chid-sama!" she screamed out, unusually loudly for Megumi, but she was trying to be heard over all the background noise.
Chid heard his name being called. Hoping it wasn't the duchess, he leaned out of his guymelef to see Megumi standing twenty-five feet below him.
He hoped out and down to the ground. She looked truly distressed. "Nani? Why are you crying?" he said, handing her his handkerchief.
The tears that Megumi was completely unaware of trickled down her cheek. "Watashi wa… I'm really worried that you won't come back, Chid-sama."
Chid frowned now, too. "I'll be just fine, Megumi, no need to…"
Megumi threw herself into his arms, sobbing, she just cried there, cradled by his muscular upper body, unable to control herself anymore. Under her breath, barely audible, she whispered, "Aishiteru, Chid-sama."
-128-
** "What's that sound, Oka-san?"
"Oh, Shiro, hunny, that's just your heart. It's beating very quickly. You're just nervous. Try to calm down. No one is going to hurt you."
"Damo, Oka-san…"
"Shiro, dear, Oka-san will make sure no one ever hurts you. I know it's a new, strange place, but please, no one will hurt you. I promise." **
-129-
Shiro's hand brushed gently over Kerenai's skin. The softness he had expected, that he had felt before, was replaced by clammy, dry skin, as though it had been soaked in alcohol. "Why, Oto-sama? She didn't do anything wrong! She did nothing to deserve this!"
Van drew in a shallow breath. He could tell that Shiro had fallen in love with this knight, of all people. Knowing from experience, he could tell his son was in for a lifetime of worry and heartache. Those who live dangerous lives are the hardest to love. He remembered Hitomi. How she was constantly worried for him. How she wept day after day while on the Mystic Moon, and how he had done the same for her. The most unforgivable thing he had ever done was to expose Hitomi to these dangers she would not have encountered if she had never come to Gaea in the first place. He could tell that all that pain was the same as the feelings Shiro was struggling with right now.
"Damn."
Shiro looked at his father with a skeptical expression. "Nani?"
Why do we have to be damned to pain by Love? Van thought. "I just," he rubbed his face, "I just got something in my eye. That's all."
Truly, Van had no answer for Shiro, which pained him even more. He only wanted the ability to help, but he couldn't even do that much.
"Damn."
Shiro's eyes fell once again upon Kerenai's hand, bleeding like an idol he seemed to remember seeing once. Maybe it was with his mother.
"Oto-sama?"
"Hai?" Van's eyes met Shiro's. After only an instant, Shiro's rested once more on Kerenai's palm, no longer holding the pendant, but still dripping blood. Van's eyes followed Shiro's and he seemed a little confused until Shiro wiped the blood away with a damp cloth. Van's eyes widened.
"Damn."
On her palm was emblazoned a glowing pink imprint of the guymelef, Escaflowne and it was…
Bang.
Of course, not just any bang. This was the bang of the roof of the shack collapsing and exposing a guymelef being insanely piloted by no one else but Dilandau.
"Damn."
-130-
Dryden's blood began to boil. As Hiroki and Van before him, Dryden was coming to the gross realization that Gaea was in for some real problems. It was not that which made him so furious, but rather his limited ability to do anything of consequence. Of course, he could inform other members of the Trade Federation, but that was inadvisable, as it would only cause a panic. Mass hysteria worldwide.
"How many guymelefs do we have?"
The Minister, who seemed tense and confused, consulted a small book he had and replied, "2000, O-sama."
"Good. And how many are ready for dispatch by this evening?"
Shocked, the Minister did a calculation or two, and answered, "Maybe 100, O-sama, but we really can't…"
"Do you presume to tell me what I can and cannot do, Minister?"
"Certainly not, O-sama! I merely…"
"Good." Dryden rubbed his head in thought. "I want you to prepare 150 guymelefs for 6 o'clock this evening. They are to be sent to the main courtyard for briefing." He began to walk away, still engrossed in thought. "Really, I had hoped to send more. Perhaps tomorrow morning I could dispatch another hundred…"
"But O-sama! We couldn't possibly…"
Dryden waved his right hand in the air in dismissal. "You've been given your orders, Minister. I'm sure you can work out something." Finally, after hearing another grumble from the Minister, Dryden turned back to face him. He tapped his temple for emphasis. "My dear man," he said. "Use that head of yours. If you don't think you mind passes examination, why don't you find someone more capable and give your job to him."
-131-
Kerenai could no longer feel the overall searing pain, but now just a lack of sensation. She couldn't really move, but she watched the following events unfold with a pain she hadn't felt before. As Shiro tried desperately to keep her out of danger, at risk of his on safety, Kerenai was struck with a deep worry, a dull hurt, whatever you want to call it, what Shiro didn't care about himself. That he'd get hurt. Never mind the intense fear and pain that she should have felt. Kerenai died a thousand deaths each time Shiro fell or bruised himself.
Furthermore, she was angry with Shiro. Why was he so careless? His technique needed work! I thought I told him to follow through on that thrust! Most importantly, why didn't he understand the danger he was in? Why wasn't he at all scared? He should have been.
Suddenly, it looked like the battle was taking a turn for the worse, when Van grabbed D'Artagnan and Chu-ni by the waists and spread his deathly black wings, taking off for the sky. Needless to say, Chu-ni and D'Artagnan were both extremely surprised, but what came next was downright shocking for Kerenai. Ever so gently, Shiro took Kerenai into his arms, but when he spread his wings of heavenly white, he was struck near his left shoulder blade, spilling blood and feathers everywhere. Kerenai could feel the earlier pains from bleeding returning, but judging by Shiro's expression, he was perfectly fine. She knew that he was in extreme agony; especially now, trying to fly, but his face maintained a stolid indifferent look of contentment. As she passed out, she felt him smile at her, but she let the black come, because she knew she could not return the favor.