Chapter Text
The window panes shook in their frames. The night sky shattered as the Guymelef roared past, smoke billowing from the damaged hull. With a shutter the Alseides disengaged flight mode, landing heavily outside the village. The pilot could feel the whole weight of the guymelef tugging against his ligaments. That damned guymelef… that stupid dragon. How many of his comrades had fallen this time? He shook his head, moving the mass of depressurizing metal further from the village.
There had not been enough pressure to fly all the way back to the floating fortress. He could only hope the rest of the Dragonslayers had. Cursing he made it to tree cover. The limbs of the Alseides began locking up as he put out a hand to catch himself against a large tree. The whole trunk creaked, the roots lifting slightly as Dilandau began the evacuation process. He dropped to one knee, the pilot chamber opening with a hiss as the internal chamber finished depressurizing. He gasped, cool night air filling his lungs.
The air lacked any scents from the battlefield. Had he really gotten that far? He growled, smacking his fist into the edge of the pilot chamber. How had the Alseides navigation system gotten him so far off course? Folken would have to answer for this. Something moved below him. His attention focused on it. A rabbit moved closer to the guymelef, eyes wide and shining in the moonlight. The young man snarled, looking up toward the foliage-rimmed sky. The pale moon hung full and low above him.
Static crackled behind him. The communication relay! He had been yelling into it since the battle.
“Gatti! Meguel! Folken! Can anyone read me? Respond now!”
He held his breath, his ears straining to hear anything through the popping static. Within the static, a small voice responded, “Hello? Do you read me? This is Ghost Bird. What’s your call sign? Over”
He stared at the speaker. “This is Lord Dilandau of the Ziabach empire! Captain of the Dragonslayers.”
The speaker crackled and the voice responded, “Message received Dragonslayer. Are you in distress? Over.”
Dilandau blinked. He had never communicated with anyone other than his Dragonslayers and Folken via this system. Who was he talking to? “Who are you? Where are you?” The night around him was still. Not even a breeze. Just the sound of the rabbit behind him.
“I am in Chiba ken. Repeat, Dragonslayer, are you in distress? Over.”
Chiba ken. It was no nation he had heard of. His heart was racing. This was too confusing. He ran a hand through his hair, a finger lingering on the scar left by that cursed Van of Fanel.
The intercom barked with static, “Dragonslayer, I repeat, are you in distress? Over.”
“My name is Dilandau! Who are you?! Are you on a floating fortress? I must speak with Folken Strattigo right away!”
He panted, shaking slightly. Who was he talking to? He had thought it was maybe one of his Dragonslayers but… this, what had they called themselves, Ghost Bird? He glanced around himself. The night air was cool, and his leather armor did not offer much warmth. He turned his back on the cockpit as the silence stretched on. Maybe he had been speaking to no one. Who had ever heard of someone named Ghost bird?
He looked up again, staring at the moon, and the mystic moon beyond. He growled to himself. He did hate waiting. He sat down, his legs dangling from the cockpit. Where on the map had he landed? He had seen a village when he exited flight mode. Those bumpkins should be honored to help a captain of the Zaibach empire.
There was a soft crackle behind him. “Ghost Bird to Dragonslayer, do you read me Dragonslayer?”
He sighed. This was growing tedious. “Yes, I read you.”
“Ok. Dragonslayer, can you tell me if you are on land or water?”
He stared at the speaker, one pale eyebrow arched. “What kind of question even is that? Land of course!”
The speaker went quiet before the same voice, much quieter said, “Listen, I am trying to help you. Can you stop screaming at me? I have no visual of you. My radio just started making noise and it was you. Yelling.”
Dilandau blinked. This was not one of his Dragonslayers. It did not sound like anyone from the Zaibach army. He began to shake. He was… alone.
“Can you hear me Dragonslayer? Are you still there?”
“I…” He exhaled a shaky sigh, breathing slowly, “I can hear you. I am here.”
“Ok,” the voice said. There was a funny buzzing “Are you hurt?”
“… No.” Dilandau looked up at the pale moon, frowning. He could see a shape there he had not seen before. An... eye? He squinted, turning as the radio crackled again.
“That is good. Now tell me, what can you see?”
“I see trees. I see the moons. I see a rabbit.”
There was a long silence this time. “The… moons?” the voice crackled the radio chirping. “I think I miss heard you. Did you mean moon?”
Dilandau snorted, looking up at the moons again. “Don’t be stupid. The mystic moon is visible tonight.” Whoever was on the other end of this radio wave was a fool. “Can you not see it where you are?”
The radio was silent, a soft popping coming through the speaker before the voice returned, fainter than before. “Oookkkkk. What about buildings? Can you see any buildings?”
“I passed a farming village to get here.”
“Ok. Did you know your last recorded coordinates?”
“My what?” Dilandau turned, his brows furrowed at the speakers.
“Did you have any readings from your instruments?” There was a loud pop and whine before the speaker roared with static. Through the onslaught of sound Dilandau heard, “Can you read me? Dragonslayer? Can you read -–” before the sound ceased. Then, nothing. Not even static. The voice in the speakers had gone.
The Dragonslayer sat, motionless. He was alone.
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“Come in Dragonslayer, do you read me? Over. Over.” The ham radio whined while Jess adjusted the nob. Nothing. Nothing was coming through on that frequency. She sighed, removing the headphones. This has been such a weird night.
The ham radio had been an impulse purchase at a secondhand electronic shop near the start of the summer. It had been fun to communicate with other friends and club members, and some of her neighbors with the short-wave spectrum. But this… this had been on the long wave. She leaned back, looking at the ceiling. Two moons. Dragonslayer had said two moons. What the hell did that even mean? It was most likely just some university student messing with her. Or drugs. The guy could have been on drugs.
She glanced at her bed, the red numbers on the clock reading 3:37 am. She had plans for a day trip later today. She rubbed her face before standing. Getting up, she put the piece of paper on the desk. She had written down some of the information she had been given by Dragonslayer… two moons, something called at Bachie… not much information really.
Jess suppressed a yawn, crawling back into bed. Maybe this was all a dream. She would wake up to her alarm at 7 and this would just fade.