| Phase 23 � What does this mean?� Citan shook his head. � I do not know. That is the question you should be answering for me. Why now, after such a long dormancy?� � I don�t know either. I heard her say something about Dominia, but that name only registers as such. The few times before and then once here.� � Here?� Sigurd nodded. � She doesn�t remember much of the incident, but I got the information from Bartholomew, who saw it himself. Apparently, Dominia appeared one time when they were looking for monsters in the desert. As an experiment, she fired a dart with the Drive in it. He said that Kris went mad and nearly killed her. She barely escaped. Kris retains no real memory of the incident, just snatches here and there.� � Did she attack him?� � No. It lasted about two minutes and then she looked at him and passed out right there.� � But the effects of the Drive are supposed to last for hours. She should not have passed out then.� � Which is why I checked her blood. The potency was twice the normal level and with it that high, she should�ve gone on all day. But she didn�t.� He paused thoughtfully. � Maybe . . . This never crossed my mind, but now it is. He mentioned a strange attack that she has not since been able to duplicate.� � Strange attack?� � He said that she arched back and actually hovered in the air. Little azure crystals came from the ground and surrounded Dominia, then fired lazers at her. The ground shook and there was a seared glass line between them. When the attack dissipated, she returned to the ground and Dominia ran.� � Azure crystals? Aerods?� � So it seems.� � But without a Gear? I understand why she passed out now. Not even the best can summon Aerods without a correctly conditioned Gear. It must have been terribly taxing on her body.� � Well, could it have been a fluke from the extra dosage?� � Not likely. Drive only brings out latent abilities.� � Axyl always follows her under the sand. Could they have come from Axyl and she just summoned them remotely?� Citan shook his head again. � Records say that Axyl is an Aveh-made Gear. Nothing Gear-like has been made by Aveh for centuries. Because of that, Axyl would not be conditioned for or have the room to contain Aerods. It was all Kris� doing.� � Then where did the things come from?� � They could have come from anywhere. They could have been sand conformed into Aerods by her force of will. Then again, they may have been actual crystals that she summoned from the caves underneath the desert.� � Could she be that tuned to nature?� � Kris is very sensitive to everything. I find it possible that that is true.� � Are you saying she could be using Gaia to help her?� � That is exactly what I am saying.� � How? Her powers aren�t developed enough for that!� � Remember, that happened because of the Drive. You said it has not happened since.� � Yes, but . . . What if they find out?� � I think they have already.� � The assassin?� � Yes. Which is why we must keep an even more watchful eye on Kris. They finally found someone who would try to kill her despite the threat of Aerods and they may try it again.� � Do you think they�re trying to provoke her to do it again to gauge her strength?� � I believe so. And if she can call Gaian Aerods without Drive, she will be deemed a threat. They will send the assassin back out to get her. There will be no rest for any of us if that happens.� � What if she can�t?� � They will continue to provoke her until she does. The Emperor favors her for unknown reasons. They need to justify killing her before he will accept it.� � So Dominia was sent to vex her?� � I do not believe that was her purpose. From the transmissions, Dominia was planning to sink this ship to get rid of �him� for Kahr. Aggravating Kris was an added bonus for her.� � Do you think Kahr will come to finish �him�?� � It is a distinct possibility. Unfortunately, he will antagonize Kris if he sees her. Considering her last reaction, she may just kill him by accident. We need to keep her from any more fights involving him.� � What of the assassin?� � The only thing we can do is catch her. Killing is not an option, I am sure you would agree.� *>*<* � How did you get in here?� Bart demanded. I peered around him and saw a perfectly content Devon laying square in the middle of his bed. Through the door. � How did you get through the door?� I pressed the button. He grumbled and picked her up, depositing her on his chair. � Why don�t you just hang out with Axyl as you like to do?� She shifted, settling onto the padded seat. I wanted to be here. He flopped on the bed. � I don�t think I like you very much.� But I like you. � Oh no . . .� I giggled and sat on the edge of the bed beside him. It�s what you get for making fun of Fei and Chu-chu. He rolled away and buried his face in the pillow. � I�ll never do it again, I swear. Just get that thing away from me.� Unfortunately, I can�t. She�s my Sentinel and where I go, she goes. � Fine. But she better stay off my bed from now on unless I invite her!� I looked at Devon. You heard him. I did. Her tail twitched calculatingly. This is his room and what he says goes. Do you understand? Yes. I didn�t believe her, but Bart would make sure she learned her lesson if she tried it again. I laid down behind him and put my arms around him, snuggling against his back. He made a pleased noise and then, slowly, we both fell asleep. *>*<* Sigurd got in the elevator. Bart had not answered and the headsets alerted you when a call came through. As he walked to Bart�s room, he wondered whether they�d gotten into a fight and broken it. He paused to listen for yells and punching. Silence. Stopping outside the room, Sigurd listened again, but only got more silence. He entered the pitch-black room and turned the lights on dim. The place, miraculously, was still organized, showing no signs of war. Hello, Lord Sigurd! He looked over at the chair and the sleeping black ball. � Hello, Devon.� Seeing movement in the corner of his eye, Sigurd looked over at the bed and nearly spit the tea he was drinking on the floor. Kris was nestled against Bart�s back, the tip of her nose lightly resting on the nape of his neck, and her arms were locked around him. Bart was curled forward a bit, his hands covering hers to be sure she was there. He was obviously asleep, yet his sub-conscious kept track of everything in the room and labelled it harmless or a threat. Sigurd was glad to find that he had not been assumed a threat. � Young Master.� Bart jumped at the quiet call and lifted his head. Kris shifted and made an annoyed sound. � Sig?� he asked sleepily. � What�s the matter? Why didn�t you use the headset?� � I didn�t use the headset because you weren�t answering and the matter is that I have news.� � News?� � Elly has returned.� � Oh?� � Citan said she was acting just a bit strangely. She�s coming here to rest, so she says, but I am worried.� � What for?� � Solaris wants you dead. They may have drugged her to kill you.� Bart had to take a minute to process that. � . . . It�ll be okay. If something�s wrong, Kris�ll wake up and let everybody know.� � That�s what I�m afraid of. Come on.� Sigurd grabbed Bart and drug him to the door. It was too late. Elly stood in their path, gun raised, finger on the trigger. � Admirable attempt, Sigurd. But I still win.� Sigurd snarled and bravely placed himself in front of the gun. � Over my dead body.� � Fine, Lamb. If that�s really the way you want it.� She smiled evilly. � You can die first.� Her finger tightened on the trigger and Sigurd shut his eyes, praying silently. The cry of a wyrm erupted from inside the dark room. A winged black form lunged over Sigurd�s head, letting out another wyrm cry. A shot rang out as Elly stumbled back into the wall. She took off down the hall and the form, now discernable as Kris, used the wall as a springboard to follow. � Kris?!� She looked at Sigurd. She�s going to the engine room! Sigurd leaned heavily against the doorway, shaken by the near encounter with death. He stared down the now empty hall as Bart squeezed past him into the corridor. � God, I didn�t think she�d get that pissed.� Noticing something new on the wall, he went over to investigate. Letting out a long sigh, Sigurd remarked, � I guess that shot went wild.� Bart�s uncertain tone made him turn. � . . . I don�t think so.� On the wall where Bart staring was a glistening smudge of red. � Is that . . .?� Bart took off and Sigurd was close behind. They reached the engine room in short time, which had turned into a spectacular light show. � What the hell�s going on?!� Bart yelled. � The engine�s going to blow!� Sigurd replied. � Kris!� I�m trying, I�m trying! Kris frantically looked over the panel. Okay, how did I fix this before . . .? Ah! Flipping two switches and turning a dial, Kris managed to secure the engine. Whew . . . Fei and Citan appeared and checked on Elly. � Hypnosis,� Citan confirmed. � Very good hypnosis.� � Then why didn�t you stop her?� Bart demanded. � If I had interfered, it may have caused severe damage to her mind. Luckily for all of us, the hypnotist was a good one. She will be fine.� Bart looked over to Kris, but she wasn�t there. � . . . Kris?� Hm? � Where are you?!� Checking the panels around the back here. Don�t get hysterical. There was a bit of silence, then a dull thump and a rattle of the metal floor. � Kris?� Bart walked around the central generator, looking up at the upper level. Kris was sprawled on the floor, unconscious. � Kris!� He climbed up to the second level and knelt by her. He reached under her shirt to check her throat for a pulse and came back with bloody fingers. � No . . .� � Bart? Is Kris okay?� Bart picked her up and jumped down. � Not hardly. I�m taking her to sickbay right now.� Fei began to panic. � What happened?!� � Your girlfriend shot her,� Bart snapped, turning and running from the engine room toward the medical room. He burst into the room and laid Kris on one of the beds. The doctor rushed over and Bart explained shortly, � She was shot and I�m not sure where.� � Remove her shirt,� the doctor instructed, turning to gather some necessary instruments. Bart did as he was told and the doctor gave a quick examination. � It didn�t hit anything vital, thankfully. From this it looks like the bullet bounced off one of her ribs. Boy, the chances of that are infinitesimal.� � Can you get it out?� � Yeah. Shouldn�t be much of a problem. She�s stable enough for it.� <--Phase 22 Phase 24--> |