SDGF - Pirate Isles - 15

"I think it's time we were introduced," Owl said, waving away the silence with his helm before replacing it on his head.  "I am Owl Freeborn, Falcon's uncle.  I used to have other titles but," he chuckled, settling in his chair.  "They hardly matter now.  I'm just an old gundam, hoping the cold days will warm again."

"I am Bakunatsumaru," the samurai started.  He activated his signature in the air, making sure as always that the flame didn't touch anything but the glowing letters. "Blazing Samurai, heir to the Bakushien armor and warrior of Ark!"

"Though you know me," Zero said, "I am Zero, the Winged Knight, last Royal Knight and Savior of Lacroa."  The violet rose that was his standard glowed briefly behind him while he spoke.  Keeping in his agreement with Song, he didn't mention his partnership to Fenn, not wanting to expose just yet exactly what Fenn was.  "I must know," he said, unable to help himself, "Owl, do you know what has become of my Queen Katrina?"

This time it was Owl's turn to drop his head, the brim of his hat covering his eyes.  "Yes," he said, "I do.  Falcon, I'd like some privacy for this conversation, please."

Green eyes flicking between Owl and Zero, Falcon reluctantly nodded and turned to steer a protesting Bakunetsumaru from the room.  Only after catching Zero's gaze and seeing him nod did the samurai allow the Pirate to guide him out without more of a fuss.  "Well?" Zero asked, abruptly wishing that he hadn't signaled to Baku that he would be all right.  Something about the way Owl was watching him from under the brim of his hat had his instinct for danger on edge.  But what threat could such an old gundam possibly be?

"I wasn't with Alba and the Queen the day the Storm struck," Owl began, "I was here, waiting for the Swallow's Rest to return from Lacroa with a shipment of crystal.  She was to have the honor of bringing the Queen home."  The old gundam stood, crossing the room to where stacks of boxes just about covered one of the walls.  "Here, lad, help me.  I'm not as strong as I once was."

"Of course," Zero said automatically, crossing to help Owl shift boxes away from the wall.  The contents of one of the boxes caused him to pause and he reached in to pull out a light blue crystal, of which there were dozens in Lacroa.  This crystal had delicate green and white strands trailing from it and when he touched one with a finger, it rose to gently twine itself around his hand.  Owl paused and smiled.

"Yes, that's a budding crystal from your homeland.  It's yours, if you want it."

"Thank you," Zero murmured, very gently freeing his hand from the clinging tendrils and setting the crystal carefully on a nearby table.  "I know exactly where I will plant it.  I must apologize, Owl, for my reaction earlier.  Deed...betrayed me.  Betrayed us all.  He is the reason I am the last Royal Knight."

"Never thought it possible," Owl said softly.  "I'm sorry, my boy.  I know what an evil thing betrayal can be.  Admiral Lodarian has a similar story.  But all is well in Lacroa now?"

"I...do not know," Zero admitted, returning to moving boxes and using the activity to keep from focusing too much on the conversation.  "The King raised a shield around it after Song was sent to join me in NeoTopia.  I can only trust that Kibaomaru is being true to his word and not only protecting my Princess and my King but is helping train the new generation of Knights."

"There," Owl said, straightening his back.  Zero took a step back as well, noticing that the tapestry that was hanging on the wall seemed to be covering something else.  Catching Owl's eye, the old mech nodded and together they reached to remove the tapestry, revealing the wall beneath.

"It's...a map," Zero said, his eyes wide.  He gazed at the large parchment, examining the details that immediately sprung out-- the positioning of Lacroa Castle, the delicate lines tracing the border between Lacroa and Ark, the trade paths marked in gold ink, the names of the states and cities of Ark written both in its native language and translated to the common tongue shared by Lacroa and Ark.  And the routes which led offshore to the Pirate Isles, in the southern ocean of both countries.  "I've never seen a map like this," he murmured, unable to help raising a hand to press it gently over the small but detailed drawing of Lacroa Castle.

"Ye miss yer home, that much's plain," Owl said softly. "I'm sorry, lad. I wish I could tell you the Knight Gundams on leave here had survived the storm."

"It was too much to hope for," Zero said, dropping his hand and his gaze. "So much was lost with my comrade's deaths and the destruction of the castle."

"Surely," Owl said slowly, "last Royal Knight doesn't mean last Knight?"

"I was," Zero said bitterly.  "General Zeong ordered all of the Knight Gundams captured.  Captured and--"  He stared at the map without really seeing it, hands clenching into fists.

"Killed," Owl guessed, resting a hand on Zero's shoulder.  The Royal Knight, caught up in dark memories, didn't feel a split-second of cold stinging on the back of his neck.

"And melted down!" Zero cried, lifting a hand to hit the wall.  A wind stirred in the room, fluttering the papers, but he didn't notice.  "All of my fellow Royal Knights, all of the Knight Gundams! All but me! Because my Princess knew the prophecy and knew that I must survived, so banished me." He took a steadying breath, doing his best to calm down.  "Even if I succeeded in reversing the petrification process of the bagu bagu thanks to my allies in the Gundam Force I still failed in saving my noble comrades!"

"What a burden to bear," Owl sighed, squeezing Zero's shoulder one last time before crossing to sit heavily in his chair across the room.  "I wish I had answers for you, lad.  And I wish...I wish your Queen was who she once was.  But she's been under the influence of Lodarian's suggestive magics for nigh nine years, now.  Takes a toll on a mind, that does."

A sense of heavy dread seeped into Zero's chest and he turned, resting blue eyes on the old gundam sitting across from him.  Owl abruptly looked smaller, sadder and exhausted, his brim hiding his eyes once again.  "What do you mean?" Zero forced himself to ask, drifting closer.

"You're the ranking representative of Lacroa in the Pirate Isles now, lad," Owl said softly.  "The Queen...she belongs to the Admiral, now.  The longer a mind is under the influence of a bug, the harder it is to return to clear thought."

"That makes sense," Zero allowed, shifting his weight uneasily.  He both wanted Owl to get to the point and dreaded what he somehow knew what was going to be said next.  "Is there any chance that she is even still...?"

"That I don't know.  I've never heard tell of a mind recovering from being stung more than a few months.  T'would be a noble act of mercy just to end her suffering."

The Royal Knight Gundam's eyes contracted but he couldn't find any rational argument against what Owl was proposing.  The darkness in his chest grew until he bowed his head, lost. "I...I have never done such a thing," he said, his voice a bare thread of sound. "But if I must...may the King and my Princess forgive me."

**

Song was wrapped in a blanket with her back to the door when Zero stepped in. Still in shock, he sat heavily on his own bed and buried his head in his hands, eyes tightly shut. Fenn settled in his lap, doing his best to comfort his friend but for once, Zero didn't respond. Twice before in his life he had felt this alone; once when Princess Relejimana had banished him, once after discovering he was the only Knight Gundam surviving the devastation of Lacroa. The first time he hadn't had anyone to pull him out of his melancholy, he had simply existed until discovering Sayla and joining the Gundam Force. The second time had felt like a spear thrust through his soul and twisted sharply but he hadn't had any time to react, since they had been under attack from both Genkimaru and the General of the Dark Axis. Now, though he had Fenn and the other members of the Gundam Force, the idea of having to end the life of one he had sworn to serve...it was utterly overwhelming.

He didn't know how long he had sat that way before feeling an arm encircle his shoulders. A soft clink of metal and a gentle pressure against the side of his helmet, avoiding the small spike at the base of one of the wing flourishes, followed. "I know not for what you grieve," Song whispered, voice kind, "but my shoulders are strong.  You are no longer alone, Zero, Winged Knight. It is my duty, privilege and want to support you in all things."

Zero opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly, the distance between their masks less than an inch. "That is a Royal Knight's vow," he whispered, puzzled.

"Are you not noble?" Song wanted to know, her voice remaining as quiet as his. "Are you not deserving of the same support and vassals as our Royalty? Was I not sent, by them, to serve you?"

"That is a far cry of what you used to think," Zero pointed out, also not raising his voice. "You attacked me, once."

"Your elegance and noble upholding of all laws of Chivalry has moved the heart of this young gundam," she replied. "You have a temper, yes, but so do I. Our comrades in the Gundam Force do not exactly make your life easy. They do not understand our ways, even with the limited grasp that I have."

"Stop belittling yourself," Zero told her quietly. "You serve our beloved laws of Chivalry well, Song, Knight of the Frozen Storm. You have grown and changed much since we first met." He smiled slightly, shifting so the jewels on their foreheads were resting together. "Our Princess and King will be amazed and well pleased with you upon our return."

"You speak as though they will not be pleased with you, their most beloved Knight," Song murmured, tone concerned. "What have you learned, Zero? What are you planning?"

"The Queen is stung," Zero whispered finally. He nodded faintly to Song's gasp. "Kept slave these nine years by our foe. It is my duty and my intention that if she cannot be freed...she must be killed."

"Zero, you can not mean that!"  Song gasped, changing her grip on his shoulders to shake him once.  "She is our Queen!"

"She is not of sound mind," he objected.  Feeling something at the back of his neck pull slightly he winced, but the sensation was gone in an instant and just as quickly forgotten.  Song, however, noticed the wince and shifted her arm again.

"Are you injured?" She asked softly, drawing her hand along her arm's path, fingers examining the armor of his shoulders and the back of his neck.  "Is that why you are behaving so strangely?"  Suddenly she froze and with a swift jerking motion, snapped her hand away from a spot he hadn't realized ached slightly.

Half way through another wince he froze, feeling the world tilt and spin, then snap back into focus.  He shook his head to clear it, running his hands along his arms and glancing back at her as a wash of warmth enveloped him.  "What was that?" he asked, confused.

A crunch came from Song's hand and she growled, glaring at her clenched fist.  "Something is very wrong here," she said quietly, looking up at him.  "That was a black BaguBagu.  Zero, you were stung."