SDGF - Pirate Isles - 6

"It's been destroyed?" The Admiral asked, his strange eyes burning into Talon's single brown eye.  "Just like the one in the King?  I'm disappointed, Talon."

The feathered gundam stared right back at him.  "I told you I'd never controlled anything but a drone before," he replied, "the Queen would have--"

"Yes," the man snapped, standing and crossing around the desk to stand in front of Talon.  "Yes, it would have been better to have the Queen use her best bug to control the husband I told her nine years ago was dead.  To have Katrina see that not only is Zeon alive but so is their daughter!  Yes, Talon.  Pray, tell me, do you have any other brilliant ideas?"

"I do, actually," Talon said calmly.  "Tell the Queen that Lacroa survived.  That the castle still stands.  Tell her that there are two Knight Gundams left-- and that neither of them are in Lacroa, doing their sworn duties.  Tell her that you just discovered that the General betrayed you both."

Rocking back on his heels, the Admiral's expression turned from irritated to thoughtful.  "Interesting.  Most...interesting.  And you say chess isn't your game."

"It isn't." Talon walked across the room to pour himself a measure of an amber liquid from a crystal decanter.  "I hedge my bets."

"Leave," the Admiral said, waving a hand in dismissal.  "Take the bottle.  Send Queen Katrina in on your way out.  Oh, Talon," he continued when the gundam was at the door, bottle and glass in hand.

"Yes, Admiral?" Talon asked, half turning.

Before the gundam could raise a hand in defense, the Admiral had him by the neck, forcing his back against the wall.  The metal feathers on the back of his helm and shoulders dug into the wood, sending sparks from the metal underneath.  "Watch your tone," the Admiral growled, "your freedom is in a state of flux.  Do not forget this."

"Y-yes, sir," Talon stammered, his good eye small in fear.  "Apologies, I forgot my place."

"Take care you do not forget again," the Admiral said softly, his multi-faceted eyes glittering in the light from the windows.  "Now.  Go pay your beloved siblings a visit.  Make sure they are sitting tight in their besieged home like good little misbegotten creatures.  It wouldn't do for them to be gone when the game begins."

"Sir?" Talon gasped around the hand on his throat.  Nodding, the Admiral let him go, catching the bottle before it could hit the ground when the gundam did.  He crossed back to the desk while Talon gasped on his hands and knees, one hand rubbing his dented throat.  In the time it took the gundam to pick himself up, the man had settled back at his desk, bottle back in its place.  "One day," Talon said hoarsely, "I will find out what you are.  You are no human."

"I look forward to it," the Admiral said.  "Run along, now.  Don't forget to send the Queen in before you leave."

**

"A boarder patrol?"  Zero asked, frowning.  "But--"

"My commander was intelligent but resentful," Song interrupted, her voice lowering.  "The man he replaced had been his best friend.  He blamed me and did not tell his men that I was not fully trained.  I did as well as I could, he included me in the strategy meetings so I could learn tactics and he was not unkind.  But due to my inexperience...there were casualties.  They kept comparing me to you.  I was supposed to be able to protect them!"

"They had no right to treat you thus," Zero snarled, his hands clenching.  "You are young-- you are untrained, how could they possibly--"

"Do you not think I did not know this?" Song shouted, wheeling on him.  Neither of them realized that the increased volume of their conversation had attracted the attention of Shute, Captain and Bakunetsumaru, who were now staring at them.  "Always it was I in first to every fight, I whom was blamed when the plan turned against us, no matter the real reason!  Because I am a gundam but I am not you, Zero, Winged Knight!  That you were there, that you, instead of I, suffered their blows, their ridicule!  I--"

"Hey!"

Shute's cry startled both Knights and they turned to see the other three members of the Gundam Force standing only a few feet away.  "C'mon, Song," the boy continued, "you can't blame Zero for any of that."

"Shute is correct," Captain agreed, his gaze shifting between the two gundams from Lacroa.  "Zero did not do any of those things."

"No," Zero said softly, "Song is right.  I should have been there.  I should have never left Lacroa until it was known that all of Tallgeese's allies were captured or driven off."

"You can't do anything about what those others said," Bakunetsumaru pointed out.  The samurai fixed his brown eyes on Song, who shifted slightly but didn't drop her gaze.  "They acted without honor and are not worth listening to.  If your training is incomplete, we will complete it and when you return to Lacroa you will show them you are a true Knight Gundam and a noble warrior."

"Baku is right," Shute said, grinning.  "All we've gotta do is work hard.  Imagine the looks on their faces when you and Zero go back, totally proving them wrong!"

"You..." Song trailed off, shaking her head slightly.  "I...I do not understand.  But if you wish to help me, I can hardly refuse.  You are truly remarkable."

"I have told him he is," Zero agreed, chuckling.  "Do you believe it now, Shute?"

"Ah," Shute said, rubbing a hand behind his head.  "If you say so.  I just think everyone deserves a chance to try their best, that's all!"

**

"First we must discover where the gaps are in your training," Zero said.  "I know your sword knowledge is good but you have cast no magic.  Your affinity is ice, what spells do you know?"

Glancing over at where Shute, his family, Captain and Bakunetsumaru were gathered on Shute's deck, Song edged further away from them.  "I know a few," she said, returning her gaze to Zero.  "About four.  I...should we be so close to them?"

"You will be casting toward me," Zero pointed out, "not toward them.  If it bothers you to have them watching--"

"It does not," she said immediately.  "Let us begin the duel."

"This will not be a duel," the Winged Knight objected, though he drew the Buster Sword from its resting place in his shield.  "But a demonstration.  See the boulder, there?"  He gestured with the tip of his blade to a stone about twice the size of both gundams.  "Super Magical Violet Tornado!"

Sharp winds whipped out from where he was standing, picking the boulder up and hurling it almost twenty feet.  He glanced over at Song and saw, strangely, fear in her expression, despite her nod.  "Oh Mana," she murmured, taking two steps forward and clenching her fist.

Even several yards away on the deck the watchers could hear the soft chimes which sounded when Song drew on her magic.  "She's afraid," Bakunetsumaru murmured, his eyes fixed on her form.  "It is there in her posture.  She does not want to use her magic."

"Why?" Captain asked, glancing at the Musha gundam.

"We will soon see," the samruai murmured.  "Get ready to protect Shute's family in case the spell goes awry, Captain."

"Ice spears!"  Song cried, jerking her clenched fist upward, elbow bent.  Blades of ice shot up from the ground, not only demolishing the boulder but leading in a trail back to Song, who jumped back to avoid them. "Next?" She asked, not looking at Zero or the stunned audience.

"Ah," Zero fumbled, eyes wide, "yes, ah, that was...very good." He cleared his throat, regaining his composure and, like Song had, took a couple of steps back from the apparently razor-sharp ice stalagmites. "Can you dismiss them?"

"I...no." Song was still refusing to look at him. "They will melt. Eventually."

"Well, it will make a good target for the next test, if nothing else," the Winged Knight managed after a few moments. He readied himself, then slashed his blade through the air. "Lacroian Crescent!"

A thin blade of magic, curved in the shape of a crescent moon, shot through the air and clipped the tips off of the spears of ice. Song and the rest watched until it dissipated into the air, harming nothing else.

Before anyone could move, Song drew her sword and made a diagonal slash through the air. "Snow Blade!" For a few seconds after the movement, nothing happened. Then a sharp crack split the air and a shockwave rippled along the ground, cutting most of the ice spears in half. Instead of dissipating harmlessly into the air, however, it exploded just beyond the remains of the boulder, sending pieces of ice, rock and grass in all directions. Everyone ducked, including Song.

"How many times have you cast these spells?" Zero asked after a long silence.  Song sighed, sitting down on the grass.

"Not...many.  I know, I am unskilled."

"I did not say that," Zero murmured, moving to stand beside her.  After a few moments he dropped to one knee, placing a hand on her shoulder.  "If you were unskilled you would not be able to aim the spells at all-- or they would explode in your face.  You need practice, that is all."

"This's a side of Zero I haven't seen before," Mark remarked, glancing over at the other gundams.  "He's usually so...forward."

"I think you mean brash," Bakunetsumaru agreed, laughing slightly.  "It is strange to see him behaving so gently."

"He was that way with Genki, sometimes," Shute pointed out.  "So were you.  He was nice to the Triplets, even after they were such jerks to him.  Song's a kid.  Maybe that's just how he is with kids."

"He doesn't treat you like that," Bakunetsumaru objected.  Shute grinned.

"That's 'cause when we met I was--" the youngster glanced at his parents.  "Ah, I'll tell you later."

"What other spells do you know?" Zero asked, not having heard the conversation on the deck.  Song climbed to her feet, beginning to absently slide her sword against the worn spot on her left fauld.  "Why do you do that?" he asked, noticing the movement.

Looking down, Song shook her head slightly.  "I wore my sword there," she said.  "I am not used to this one yet."  She contemplated it, head tilted to one side slightly.  "The Princess gave it to me and showed me how to store it and retrieve it from Mana."

"Our magical abilities are tied to our weapons," Zero murmured, looking at his own sword.  "The Buster Sword was very difficult to master-- I did not manage it until I was here."  He smiled at her.  "I will tell you that story another time.  What other spells?"

"I will not cast Glacier Wall here," Song told him after a few moments, her demeanor a bit friendlier after the smile.  "Last time I tried it I knocked myself out.  It creates a wall of solid, dense ice."

"We will work on that one later," Zero agreed.  "What is your last spell?"

"It is the one I used on the King," Song said quietly.  "I seem to have both the most and the least control over it.  Once when I was cornered I cast it in a panic.  It knocked out every human for thirty meters and made me very sick.  I could not stand for days."  When Zero gave her nothing but a concerned look she smiled slightly.  "It is called Mind Freeze."

"Show me," he encouraged.

"Who do you want me to use it on?" She asked quietly, looking over at the humans. "Is there someone you don't particularly like? It isn't...pleasant... to experience."

"Is it deadly?" Zero asked, frown clear in his voice.

Song shook her head in denial but her words contradicted the movement. "If held for more than a split second, it could be. But no. And it only really works on humans."

"We are all friends here," Zero said, startled.

"Here," Song said after a moment, pointing to a nearby bird. "That will be close enough. Mana, guide my hand." Before Zero could stop her, she reached out and made a motion like she was tapping the bird's forehead from twenty yards away. "Mind Freeze."

The bird shuddered and fell out of the tree. Zero quickly floated over and gathered it into his hand, checking for signs of life. To his relief, the small creature was still alive, though its feathers glistened with frost. "Mana," he murmured, passing a hand over the small form, "grant me healing."

Blinking, the avian pushed unsteadily to its claws, ruffling its feathers. Zero offered it to Song, who stroked a gentle finger very carefully along its back, watching it carefully.  Zero watched the gentle care the younger knight used with the bird. It was in stark contrast to the defensive and stubborn gundam she had been until now.  The bird fluffed its feathers again and took off from her hand. Both Knight Gundams followed its flight until they were looking at one another.

"You have had a harsh life already," Zero said, placing a hand on Song's shoulder. "It is not likely to be any safer with the Gundam Force. Our mission is to root the last vestiges of the Dark Axis from anywhere we can." He smiled before she could say anything. "But I think you will be well up to the challenge."

"Thank you, Zero," Song said after a few moments, dropping her gaze momentarily. "And I do apologize for my earlier behavior. And my comments."

"You did not know me," Zero murmured, "and you were afraid, perhaps, of what everyone expected of you. I do not blame you for this. It is easy to be afraid of letting others down. But true courage, as any of my compatriots can tell you, is what you do despite this fear, not because of it. Live by our beloved code of Chivalry--"

"Courage, wisdom, dignity, loyalty and tolerance," Song said, smiling finally. "I know it well."

"Indeed." Zero smiled back. "Live by it and you will well deserve the title Royal Knight of Lacroa. Now come, let us assure our comrades of our safety."

"And theirs," Song said ruefully. "I will not be casting any more magics this day."