Upon that misty night
in secrecy, beyond such mortal sight
Without a guide or light than that which burned so deeply in my heart
That fire t'was led me on and shone more bright than of the midday sun
-Lyrics to 'The Dark Night of My Soul' performed by Loreena McKennitt
Elements of Great Design Part 60
Meiran sat at the edge of Alex's bedside as the Fighter lay unconscious and prone on his back. Sniffling, the lovely young woman reached up to wipe away a pair of fresh tear trails rolling down her cheeks. Her other hand held onto that of her lover... his only hand that she could grasp thanks to the loss of his right arm in battle.
Slowly blinking his eyes open with a deep breath, the Peacemillion soldier turned his head towards her. Fully awake, he smiled sadly, "Hey. I was hoping that you'd be allowed in to see me by the time I woke up again."
Trembling, the dark-haired rebel whimpered and nodded, "Sally told me that she had time to tell you..." Unable to continue her sentence when a sharp sob escaped her, she covered her face with her hands and bend forward to rest against his bare chest.
Instantly wrapping his only arm around her, Alex kissed the top of her head in the wake of the tears filling his own eyes. "It's alright," he breathed, nestling his head against her shaking shoulder. "I still have one good arm to hold you with." At that allowance to let go, Meiran clung all the tighter to him as she full out cried.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Stepping back from the deep hole that he and his capable counterparts had dug in the cold ground, Mueller tossed the shovel in his hand to the ground with a deep sigh once he caught his breath. Covered in dirt and sweat, he wiped his brow with the back of a hand and stared up and down the long trench that would serve as a mass gravesite.
Though the line passed through the tree lines at either end of the field, he muttered in realization, "This won't be enough for all of the bodies." As those words sank in, the Fighter stumbled back a few feet and spun to collapse onto his knees and lose the water that he had gulped down recently to stay hydrated for his work.
When he came back to his feet, the soldier gasped at the sight of Dorothy walking up towards him. Her arms opening, Mueller took in her tattered dark robe and shook his head, "I am a mess... you do not have to-"
"Like a bit of grime could ever scare me off," the Oracle replied, never pausing in her advance and pulling Muller into a tight embrace that he immediately returned. Only pulling away when her lover's shaking melted away, she reached up to cup the side of his face. "I am sorry to have to warn that this is going to be a very long day for all of us."
Drawing a deep breath, the Fighter nodded.
Already, the hundreds of covered bodies were being moved in to be lowered into the ditch... an endeavor that was going to take the better part of the new day to complete with so many losses.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
At no surprise to Trent, he had not made a single one of his intended shots. However, he was at least hitting the sides of the trees that he was aiming for. Numb from head-to-toe from both the cold and his overwhelming emotions, he reached back to take out yet another arrow from his quiver strapped across his back. Opening and closing his reddened fingers, he could not feel a single shaft to hold onto.
His eyes blinking widely, the soldier peered over his shoulder to see that he was indeed out of ammunition. He had used every single arrow that had filled his carrier to capacity in what felt like only moments ago. But then... the night was still thick and he had to work by torch light to have any idea of what he was firing into...
...that fire was no longer needed now that the sun had risen high enough to flood the world with its own brilliance again.
Stunned, Trent finally took in his surroundings with a slow turning of his head as he breathed to himself, "H-how long have I been out here?"
"At least five hours now," a familiar voice answered.
Turning in a dizzying whirl around to face the unexpected guest, the Fighter gasped when Queen Relena slowly stepped beyond the tree line that was now littered with arrows in the trunks spread around. Blanket in hand, the royal had a thick coat of brown fur wrapped around herself as she approached with the same timid slowness that anyone would have when coming onto a wild animal.
While the thought of his lover being that hesitant towards him was troubling, Quinze could not deny the sight that he must have made... lightly clothed, cuts dried with blood on every exposed part of his skin... physically heated from the fight that had fallen upon the White Fang.
Adjusting the bandage that wrapped the top of his head so that it covered the bruised eye that Sally had shielded to keep it from infection, he bit his lip and allowed the tension in his entire body to relax.
In little more than a whisper, he frowned, "You were here all night watching me?"
Her own frame easing along with him, Peacecraft was quicker in closing the distance between them. "Only for the last hour," she admitted as she pulled the quiver from the Fighter's back to drape the thick blanket around his shoulders. "I was busy helping where I could until..." she paused to clear her throat of the lump that filled it and shook her head, "until there was no one to help anymore."
The dark stains of red that still colored her hands and crusted under her fingernails spoke as much. But then there was the exhaustion and loss in her haunted eyes to share the whole of her experience.
Still, she was there for him... being as strong as she could manage in her own state.
"I am just so relieved that you are alright," Relena breathed as tears ran down her face. If she had intended to say more than that, she would have been unable to thanks to the force at which she was pulled against her lover's chest. Sniffling, she squeezed her eyes closed and embraced the soldier back with every bit as much desperation.
Trent closed his own eyes deeply and inhaled the scent of her hair, her skin, every bit of her that pushed away the horrors that they had survived and thinking of their happier times together. Moments ago, he had thought that letting his frustration out as he had been was going to be the solace that he needed, when in fact it was the young woman that he had always been in love with.
How he had ever imagined otherwise was impossible to fathom as they held onto one another.
Pulling back only enough to turn their heads and bring their lips together in a fiery kiss, the last of their darker thoughts were all but forgotten. And only the need to breathe separated them.
As Trent dried her tears, Peacecraft smiled warmly. "Thank you for seeing Zechs and Noin to safety," she praised softly. "They both told me of how you made a clear way for them to escape the thickest of the fight when they were injured."
Taken back to the sight of the blood coming from his King and Queen, the Fighter's chest tightened. While those injuries were not life-threatening, they had a profound impact on their personal guard. But that was the duty of a Fighter.
Shaking his head, Quince replied, "I was only doing my job-" Those words were cut off with another deep kiss that had his mind momentarily reeling before he was able to return it in kind until his and his lover were both breathless.
"Enough of that," Relena smirked when she collected herself again. "They would have been far worse off if you had not been there for them and we all know that. They both asked me to thank you on their behalves when I found you."
Rather than argue further over what was the right thing and that he hadn't done any more than what he expected of himself, the Fighter nodded shallowly with a slight blush to his cheeks.
The cold finally set back in, causing Trent to shiver from head-to-toe in a short lapse of his facade. "We better get back to the others," he suggested, adding, "I could really use some time alone with you as well."
Since that was the very thing she had been hoping for herself, Relena smiled brightly as her throat thickened from the emotions that caught back up with her. Simply being able to have the opportunity for that time was enough to have her eyes filling with new tears.
Leaving the arrows in their new permanent homes, the couple walked deeper into the clearing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sally sighed deeply as she fell back against the mattress beneath her. Bringing her hands up to rub her face, she murmured behind them, "That was better than any medicine Hilde could have ever conjured."
Collapsing beside her, Firion smiled, "I could not agree more." He turned onto his side to face the healer, pulling the sheets over their naked bodies. Running a hand through her damp, loose hair, he frowned in concern as he asked, "You attacked me before I had a real chance to see how you have been holding up. This is the only time that you've had away from our casualties since the attack began."
It was a fair question, Po realized, since the last time the White Fang had suffered a near fatal blow had sent her into a downward emotional spiral.
The aftermath of this last blow was no less devastating, but she was able to look her lover in the eyes and answer honestly, "I am fairing better than before. We did not know before that the Keepers are in play to fight for us. Knowing that we still have them on our side gives a good measure of hope for us."
She paused before shifting her eyes up to stare at the ceiling of their tent while adding, "I also have come to grips with the fact that the odds of us living long enough to see their arrival are more than against us." The gifted raised a hand when the Commander opened his mouth to protest when she looked onto him again.
"Even if that is the case," Sally went on, "I am content to stay here and continue to give Mariemaia's army as hard a time as possible in taking the rest of this world. That clearly is the same sentiment of the other survivors or they would have run as far as they could from this place. Our numbers were severely cut down and yet no one has so much as humored the thought of giving up."
Her words were true, Firion could not deny. In fact, when he had gathered every soldier and civilian that could be rounded up in the madness that was all too common for them only moments ago, he had offered them a chance to leave with nothing but understanding and a hope for their survival.
And yet no one budged. If there was a change in the demeanor around the encampment, it was the deeper sense of defiance against what had very near killed them all. The feelings of hatred and the desire for revenge was only greater. Should they be the demise of every last one of them, they were willing to accept that.
The voices rising to shout that they were where they belonged, the rigid backs of the unmoving and the smirks that promised nothing but horrible things for their enemies brought tears to the Commander's eyes as he stood before them in the flicker of the torch light in those early hours of the day.
Up until that morning, Firion could not help but hope that he would have the great honor of meeting the Keepers. Now, like Sally, he was convinced that he would not survive to see it. At the very least, he could make them proud by continuing to fight to his own last breath like the remainder of his fellow rebels.
Bending down, the Fighter pressed and held his lips against his lover's for a sound kiss. "Thank you for staying and standing by my side through this," he whispered, a sad smile tugging his lips. "Your presence alone will send me away from this world a happy man."
For a soldier, there could be no better words of appreciation or love. Her own mouth curling up in a glowing smile, Po shot a hand up to rest it against the back of her lover's head of silver hair. Pulling him back down, she initiated a deep kiss that said more than she would have ever been able to express with words.
Just when their bodies melded and shifted together beneath the sheets with the fervor of resuming their love making session, the low bellow of a scout horn hummed beyond the tent.
Like a wave of cold water splashed over them, the pair recoiled so quickly and violently that the Fighter nearly fell out of their bed. Wide-eyed, their eyes locked for a heartbeat before they sprung to their feet to scramble in throwing their clothes back on as another moan came from the horns. Voices shouted out everything from cries of despair to orders amongst the ranks in the cold world outside.
"We're under attack again!?" Sally had to shout over the commotion as she closed the front of her deep green robe, "This soon after the last strike?!"
Shaking his head, Firion finished pulling his boots on and yelled back, "Those bastards must be moving to finally wipe us out!" Fully dressed at the same time, the couple ran through the door and into the confusion of the encampment. All around, people were hurrying to either gather what meager belongings they had or to gather up as many able bodied soldiers around.
Then, a series of shouts from different corners of the clearing bellowing over and over, "This is not a warning! Everyone calm down!" It did not take long for the news to spread like a wildfire as more joined in passing the announcement along. Bewildered, the stampede of people slowed and eventually stopped as the rebels scanned their surroundings for answers to what was happening.
Hurrying through the crowd, one of the young scouts cried, "Commander Firion! Commander, our guests are asking for you."
Blinking in surprise, the silver-haired man spotted the child and bent at the waist when his little charge slid to stop himself at his leader's feet. "Guests? What guests are you talking about, Ian?"
Nearly collapsing over himself, the dark-haired boy of eleven years panted for air. Smiling brilliantly, his dark blue eyes dazzled with just as must excitement as he managed, "H-hurry, sir. You have to... see for yourself."
Howard rushed into view as Firion nodded and followed the scout towards the southern edges of the clearing that was lined with trees.
Both Sally, the Elder and more than a handful of both Fighters and gifted stayed close behind the Commander in preparation for whatever was waiting for them. Before they came to a halt, a tall and gruff man bearing only the hair of his thick, dark beard and wrapped in a thick cape of fur stepped out into the open.
Hands gripped the hilts of weapon or raised in readiness to release spells when the guest eyed his welcoming party in shock and awe. "Well, my most sincere apologies for arriving unannounced like this," he greeted with a sheepish smile. "All things taken into account, I should have expected that your nerves would be on edge."
A sharp gasp rose from Howard as his jaw dropped. "King Nathaniel," he breathed, arms falling at his sides. "I hardly recognized you with your changes... not to mention the absence of your crown." In hearing their guest's name, Sally and the others standing by looked on in disbelief at the man that they only knew by word of mouth to be the lord of Tzen, one of the most southern realms in Gaia.
Chuckling deeply, the Sovereign rubbed the beard that he had grown with one hand and ran the other over his smooth head. "Yes, in these dark days, I thought it best to blend into a crowd easily." His warm smile growing, he shared, "My Fighters and advisers have been beside themselves for it."
Half stumbling forward, the Elder gripped the King's hand in both of his own to shake it repeatedly. "You have traveled all this way to find us?" he asked, the wonder of it all thick in his voice. "You have never left your homeland since you were born, let alone willingly walked into harm's way in being this close to the darkness."
Nathaniel squeezed his old friend's hand, nodding firmly, "I was not about to sit back and allow Abaddon's control to slither through my homeland's walls. Along the way, my men and I have brought in the armies of other lands into our ranks as well. We have come to reinforce the White Fang, as your rebellion's name continues to spread and give hope to all of Gaia."
Every bit as shell-shocked as Howard, it was with a profound numbness that Firion neared the Sovereign. "I... I do not know how to tell you this, but there is little chance that we are going to survive out here," he frowned deeply. "If there is any hope for our world to make it through this war, it very well may be in having your recruits turn and run for as long as you can until the Keepers finish what we have started as they are the only ones who may be able to send Abaddon's reach back where it belongs."
His chest puffing, the King replied firmly, "We are well aware of what we are up against. We have watched how the darkness has pushed your forces back for dozens of miles at every turn. And not one of us is about to turn and run, especially since we just arrived here. Yes, the Keepers are the only beings that can use their powers against the Devil and his Sorceress of a gatekeeper, but we are going to give them as wide a berth into Paramecia as we can."
Smirking at the blank expressions watching him, Nathaniel spun on his heels and ordered in a friendly tone, "Come. You really should see this." Not waiting to make certain that he was being followed, he disappeared into the thick of the trees.
Frozen where they stood, it took a moment for Firion and Howard to meet their gazes. Trent, Mueller and even Alex with the sleeve of his sweater that no longer covered an arm flying freely on the breeze were all present and pressed tight behind the Commander when they all took to jogging so that they could keep the Sovereign in sight ahead of them.
Many yards were passed over before they all broke into another clearing that they had not known existed. And the sight that greeted them brought the soldiers to lock their knees in place as their eyes grew with sharp gasps.
The field stretching out for miles was filled for as far as they could see in an arrangement of tents and stations in a newly established encampment. Amidst the sea of people, a shock of colors in every hue shone from the armors of the Fighters representing the dozens of new lands joining the rebellion to easily multiply the original White Fang by tenfold.
Quickly, the masses noticed their honored guests and abruptly stopped everything that they were doing to right themselves smartly and salute the silver-haired man with a fist over their hearts until the gestures had reached to the distant edges of the reinforcements.
Closing his open mouth Firion murmured, "I have never seen such an army. This many are still willing to join us?"
"A wide mix of humans, talent weapon makers and gifted. We have all of these with many more still on the way," King Nathaniel grinned. Giving the officer a slap on the back, he added, "And seeing how you have been the organizer of the White Fang, we are all ready to follow your lead, Commander."
Sharp tears stung the Paramecian's eyes as a wide smile spread across his face. Never taking his stare from the faces greeting him, he responded quietly, "I am deeply honored. Now we have a chance to give the Keepers the time that they need... and for once we may actually take Abaddon himself by surprise."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Wufei really said that this is the end of the road?" Anna blinked in surprise, fresh from returning to her body after what felt no different than a deep sleep. Rising to her feet, she stared out to the end of the 'cave'.
Their weapons firmly in hand, the redhead's brothers also kept their full attention on the wall of earth blocking their path as Heero informed, "He said that he could feel the world open up from on the other side of those rocks and thought it best that you be the one to open it up."
Picking up on what she needed to do, the thief nodded firmly walked towards the barrier.
She looked down at her anxious lover and smirked as he wagged his tail and peered up with his liquid, onyx eyes. Dropping her hand down to bury her fingers in the thick black fur at the top of his head, she winked. "Thank you for the privilege of getting this started for you, Fei." A low grunt came from the wolf and he nuzzled the side of her leg.
Anna reached back to ready her bow as she peered back to the rest of the Alliance, asking, "Ready?" Her brothers nodded back. "Alright," she affirmed, turning back to the wall and resting a hand over the thick rock to send her fire into it.
The brown-and-gray wall turned to brilliant red, orange and yellow before it literally melted away to open up what was waiting for them on the other side.
Eyes widening with sharp gasps, the Alliance froze at the sight that was revealed to them.
TBC...
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