Dazil

The climate difference from being in a forest to suddenly being in a desert was quite a shock physically to Fei, although it didn't seem to affect Citan as much.

"Have you been here before, doc?"

"A few times, yes. The climate shift caught me off guard the first time, too, but it will pass."

"How far is it to Dazil from here?" Fei asked as he tried to adjust to the new climate.

"Only about twenty minutes," the doctor replied then saw a small girl running in their direction.

"Hey, what's the rush?"

The child turned to Fei and Citan then said, "I gotta hurry to the town because the travelling entertainer is going to be singing soon...and I heard that this time it'll be in the center of town!"

"A travelling entertainer? And I thought only Lahan had those once in a while," the younger of the two men said.

"Perhaps while we look for parts for Weltall, we can see the performance," the older one replied with a strange, unreadable look on his face.

The child nodded and said, "Yep! Yep! She's got a really good voice. Come on, follow me!" then ran off again, with the other two following close behind.

Citan and Fei stood close to the outer gate into the city, looking at all the people moving about, buying and selling things or just chatting.

"This is Dazil?" the latter asked.

"Yes. This is the desert city, Dazil."

Fei looked about him then said in amazement, "This town's active."

"Dazil is the center of all excavations in Aveh. Soldiers from both Aveh and Kislev come here to dig in the various ruins here. We should be able to buy the parts for Weltall that we need."

"Not to mention your own reason for coming here, eh doc?"

The doctor simply nodded and walked through the gate with Fei close behind him.

Close by, there seemed to be some kind of stringed instrument set that was tuning up and a crowd was starting to gather in the north.

The little girl they had met in the desert saw them, grinned and said, "We made it just in time. She's about to start. I hope she starts with a song that has quickly become Dazil's favorite."

Some of the people quickly cleared a path to close to where some people were tuning the instruments. A second after Fei and Citan arrived at where the path was cleared to, a tall woman took the center spot of the makeshift stage.

All around them, the people started cheering, seemingly in welcome. The woman turned to the people with instruments and quickly nodded.

The players quickly started playing. Now that the two visitors could see them, there appeared to be flutes as well as stringed instruments. The woman turned to the audience and started to sing.

Once when I was a little child;

I would look up into the sky...

Do people live there as here?

In the air do they fly?

One fateful night, I saw fire in the sky...

I saw you standing before me...

Citan's eyes widened at this point.

"Doc? You okay?" Fei asked.

"I know this song. It is called The Ground and the Sky," the doctor replied.

"Why does that shock you?"

"Well...the person that taught it to me and the one singing it now are the same person. It is such a surprise to see her now...I thought for the longest time that she was dead."

Fei looked at her closely. Her hair, blood-red, was wrapped around her head as well as a ponytail, making it look much shorter than people realized. Her eyes were a type of blue that seemed to be sky-bue as well as crystal blue at the same time.

"Doc...is she the same woman from the dreams?"

"Yes."

"Well, what's her name?" Fei asked, frustrated by the doctor's crypic way of talking sometimes.

"Aireel. Aireel Belsanas."

"How do you know her?"

Citan sighed and said "I met her when we were both children."

Fei nodded and turned back to the stage, listening to the strange song that seemed to connect her to the doctor.

A few minutes later, during a instrumental interlude, the woman turned in their direction, smiled happily then nodded to the little girl standing beside them.

"She's gonna do it! She's going to sing that part!"

"What part?" Fei asked.

"A few years back, she wrote a new set of verses but she said that she would not sing that set unless the person in them were present. This means that whoever it is, the person's here!"

Indeed the woman continued to smile in their direction then sang the part that everyone from Dazil had been waiting for:

So many years have gone by;

Seeing you, a sweet surprise;

It's been so long, I wonder if you;

Remember me, I remember you...

Citan listened carefully, wondering if she really foresaw this day so many years before.

I look to the sky, merging with the ground and you...

Hyuga, I love you...

At those words, the doctor felt a strange stirring from within his heart...one that he couldn't describe or understand.

Now the Ground and the Sky are one again;

Citan, can you hear the voices in air?

What happens now that you are here?

What now, you and I...

One from the ground, one from the sky...

Fei was alarmed by this verse and thought, How did she recognize him? If what doc said is true, they haven't seen each other since they were little kids.

Everyone applauded, including Citan while the woman on stage bowed and smiled to them, then quickly and quietly walked off it and towards him and Fei.

"I knew! I knew you'd come," she said and gently grasped the doctor's hands, then seemed puzzled for half a minute, adding, "It's real....it's really happening this time."

"Of course it's real," Fei snapped, confused by her statement.

Citan gave him a glance, saying in a slightly reproaching tone, "Fei," before turning back to the woman in front of him and replying with a smile, "It is so good to see you again. I see time has treated you well, Aireel."

Aireel laughed and said, "Still the polite one, eh? Come on, it's me, Aireel, not some Gebler officer!"

"I know that," he replied, shaking his head ruefully.

"It's been what, twenty years? You've become even more handsome than I remember," she remarked and then blushed, "Oh, dear. I shouldn't have said that."

He replied with an amused smile and a laugh, "It is quite all right. You have not changed a bit, blunt as ever."

The little girl that stood beside them asked, "Are you leaving us soon, Aireel?"

She thought for a moment and said, "Yes."

"Oh? Leaving so soon?" Citan asked, sounding a little sad, "Where are you going?"

"That," she replied with a grin, "Is up to you two. I'm coming with you."

"Aireel, you don't even know where we're going," Fei cut in, "It's way too dangerous for an entertainer."

"I'm not just an entertainer. I can take care of myself."

"No offense but you do not look like the fighting type," Citan agreed.

She simply raised an eyebrow and said to Fei, "Come here."

The young man nodded and walked towards her.

"Now attack me."

"What? No way, you're Citan's friend--" Fei objected.

"I said attack me," she said, letting go of Citan's hands.

"O-kay..." Fei said reluctantly and sent a punch towards the chest.

Aireel suddenly became a whirlwind in motion with flurries of punches and kicks.

Citan watched as Fei did his best to try to defend himself against her. However, in a short amount of time, she had the young man pinned to the ground.

A minute later she got up and asked while helping Fei up, "You were saying?"

"Rather impressive," the doctor admitted.

"I haven't exactly been sitting around these twenty years. I was trained in not just martial arts, but also in the bow and firearms."

"So I see," Fei replied, wincing, "I'm gonna feel some of this for a while."

Citan asked, "Why do you want to come with us, and decided that so quickly?"

"Why do you think I came here in the first place? Call it fate."

Both raised an eyebrow at that statement and the doctor replied, "Normally, I would try to talk you out of it."

"Why don't you, doc?" Fei asked.

"Because he knows I'm as persistant as he is," was the answer from Aireel, "So...I know you two didn't just come here to find me. Why else?"

"We are also trying to find an Ethos workshop so that we can buy parts needed for a Gear," the doctor replied.

"Oh, no. Not that Gear? The one that took out Lahan?"

"How did you know that?" Fei asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Well, the night that it happened, I had a strange dream and in it, he," she said, nodding to Citan, "told me about it. I saw the Gear, too. I think I saw a large dome-like building on the far end of town. It has a symbol on it that looks like it might be them."

Both nodded and Fei gestured for her to lead the way.

Both Fei and Aireel looked about them in wonder as they and Citan walked into the dome-shaped building.

All around them, people were seen working on large Gears, although they looked nothing like the one Aireel had seen in one of the dreams.

"It's rather loud," Fei nearly shouted, "How come it's not bothering you, Aireel?"

"I'm used to this."

One of the workers that stood near a tool shelf saw them and asked, "Hello. What can I do for you today?"

"Sorry to bother you. Our Gear has broken down near the edge of the desert and we were hoping to buy some replacement parts," the doctor replied.

"Tough luck, eh? Can you tell me what make the parts are?"

"Yes. We would like to buy an X-29 injection bypass circuit."

The repairman raised an eyebrow and said, "X-29 injection circuit? That part's only in the military Gears. We only service civilian Gears. If you want that part, you'll have to place an order at Ethos headquarters."

He nodded and said, "I see. Sorry to disturb you."

"Sorry we couldn't help you all."

Aireel went back to the inn, saying that she "had to get into travelling equipment", giving Fei the chance to ask, "Uh, doc...can we talk?"

Citan nodded and walked towards one of the bridges that overlooked the city, then asked, "Now, Fei...I believe there was something you wanted to ask me?"

The young boy nodded and said slowly, "If we can't find the parts we need to fix Weltall...is it okay if we just don't fix him?"

"Do not repair Weltall? Why do you say that?"

"Well, it should be all right to leave it where it is...and besides, when things cool down, I was wanting to go back to Lahan and help rebuild."

Citan seemed to gaze at something in the distance for a moment, then said, "Well...if that is what you want, then fine. However, word of the failure has reached the capital by now...and Kislev will send troops to recover whatever parts of it they can find. The Aveh research groups will also be in the area...and if both of them find were we hid the Gear..."

Fei shuddered and said, "They'll fight over who gets him...and near Lahan, too."

"That is correct. So we have to move Weltall to a safe place as soon as possible."

"But if we can't get him repaired we can't move him at all!"

The doctor shook his heard and said, "I know, it will be a problem, but we should not let those fears holds us back!"

"Maybe...hey, doc! She sure looks a lot different now!" Fei exclaimed, pointing downwards.

Citan nodded and saw Aireel coming out of the inn, her attire completely changed.

Instead of a big, bulky outfit she wore when he had seen her, she was now wearing a pair of brown shoes, a blue top and skirt as well as brown tights, giving the impression of an outfit that was a fighter and musician mixed together. She kept her hair in the same style as before, probably out of covenience.

She waved to them and walked up the bridge, saying, "I had a feeling you two had to talk."

"You're right," the younger man replied, "Since the 'Ethos' is out, now what are we gonna do?"

"Aireel," Citan said, turning to her, "You have been here longer than we have. Where else could we obtain parts or a means to get them?"

She thought for a moment then said, "Well, there's a Gear store close to the Ethos workshop, but they only do civilian Gears as they're short on military parts. The only other place I can think of is an equipment rental place near the gate you two entered before."

"That may work," he replied.

"Okay, follow me," she said with a wide grin and took off.

As it turned out, it wasn't as hard to find as they thought. A large, strange vehicle was now parked outside the building, one that Citan recognized after a moment.

"That is it! We will get the parts we need by utilizing this sand buggy," he explained to them, although he guessed that she knew what one was.

Aireel nodded and asked, "Can either of you drive it?"

"Nope," Fei replied, a bit embarrassed by the question.

Citan nodded.

"What's a sand buggy?" the younger man asked.

"A sand buggy is a special vehicle used for the desert. Its tires will not sink into the sand, so it is ideal for long trips into the desert."

Fei nodded and they went inside.

Aireel, Fei and Citan immediately saw someone behind a stack of boxes.

"Hi there!" the young woman said with a smile.

"Well, hello there, Aireel! Heard your performance in the center of town today...never thought you'd pick today to sing that set!" the man behind the boxes said with a grin.

"Well, I left that up to fate," she said a bit sheepishly.

He nodded and looked behind her at the two men and said, "Never seen you two here before. What can I do for you today?"

Citan nodded and asked, "I heard that you rent out sand buggys. Do you have one available?"

"Yep, the keys are in the ignition. You can take it out anytime."

He nodded and said, "Thank you," then turned to Aireel and Fei, "I am going out in the buggy for a while."

"Doc, are you going to excavate some ruins or something?"

Aireel shook her head and listened as Citan explained about the constant battles that went on in the desert and the possibility of finding Kislev parts, since the broken Gear came from Kislev.

The Gear that took out Lahan...one of ours? she thought.

"Why not go kill some time in the tavern while I am out," the doctor added before going outside. A minute later, they could all hear the buggy's motor get started up, then the sound faded as the vehicle departed.

"Are you two gonna let him go out there alone? Lots of battles break out over the ruins. It's dangerous to be out there these days," the owner asked.

Aireel paled at this and asked Fei, "How well can he fight?"

"It won't matter since he's out there without a Gear," the rental owner replied.

"Now I'm really worried," Fei replied.

"Yeah, me too. Come on," she said as she opened the door.

Within a short time, Aireel and Fei were standing on the edge of the desert outside of town, carrying various small items, such as canteens and light colored cloaks.

"Aireel, you sure what you're wearing is okay?" Fei asked.

"Don't worry. It's specially made for all environments," she replied.

"Wonder where you came from," he muttered.

"We better go find him. I'm getting really worried the more I think about what that guy said," Aireel stated.

Fei nodded and said, "Let's go," then the two entered the desert.