CHAPTER 2

s I was awaiting Iron Angel's return, I was given the shock of my life. Sephiroth had been reborn! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I still had strong feelings for him, still had a tender place in my heart for that first love of mine. He was not able to stay, however and disappeared as we were speaking. The sorrow & helplessness I felt as I saw him fade away was so painful I fell to my knees in anguish. At that most inopportune time the blade struck out at me. Caught unawares and already weakened by the pain of loss, I nearly succumbed to the Dagger entirely. Somehow I managed to make it to the Inn, lurching through the doorway like some kind of drunkard.

Even though Durak sprang to his feet along with the others, It was Iron Angel who insisted on picking me up and carrying me to a tabletop. As usual, I had no memory of what had transpired while inhabited by another. But this time the effect was so bad that I did not even recognise any of the people around me. I opened my eyes to a silent room full of questioning eyes. I lept to my feet and raced outside, followed closely by Iron Angel. I did not know him until he pressed a faded red rose into my hand...it was then that we shared our first kiss.

We knew it would be difficult, this romance, with the blade still tormenting me, and he constantly at war. I saw him off bravely, my insides wrenched with longing.

No longer could I live like this, a thrall of this dagger. Thanks to Durak Brujah, I had discovered a way to control an aspect of the Souldagger's curse. Through experimentation I was able to expand upon this until I began to garner more and more control over it. Soon I was able to change forms at will, using the Dagger as a retainer for my soul. However I still could not remember what happened when another soul was in my body. I could only listen in wonder as the people around me told me of things that "I" had done while possessed.

Ladyhawke was one of them. All I knew about her is that she is some kind of warrior maiden with a pair of what can only be described as birdwings, of all things. She doesn't seem to be a bad soul, and has taken a distinct liking to said Durak. There are a few more "regulars" that spend time in my body, mostly good ones, I'm glad to say. At least I had that much control.

Through Iron Angel's unquestioning devotion, I had begun to regain some of my old inner peace. We shared a room at the Inn and lived there while he worked as the resident "bouncer". We grew closer with each passing day, until to my joy he proposed to me. I agreed, and we eagerly began to plan for our future. But Durak refused to let go. In spite of Ladyhawke's attentions, he still desired to be with me. One day things got out of hand. Suddenly I was engulfed with Ladyhawke's memories, but kept my own body. Reeling from this strange combination of personalities, I collapsed. Both Durak and Iron Angel were at my side instantly. They glared at each other and began to argue. I looked up at them both in consternation. Ignoring me completely, they becan to fight over me. I grew more and more angry by the moment, until finally I could bear it no longer.

I drew the ring off of my finger and handed it to Iron Angel. Turning leave the room, I looked back at him for one last time. I was greeted by the terrifying vision of my beloved performing Seppuku. I screamed and went to him, begging him not to die. But it was too late.

Suddenly his katana began to glow, and floated up into the air. It sliced into Iron Angel's body and laid inside of him, sealing the wound behind itself. Then he began to glow with the same light and spoke to us an the otherworldy voice. It called itself Muramasa, the blade of darkness. It lent its power to Iron Angel, bonding itself to him in order to let him live. He awakened and looked for me, but I'd already left.

The next time I saw him, I did my best to ignore his burning gaze as I entered the Inn. He tried to speak to me, to turn my head with talk of his love for me to no avail. It was better this way, I thought, and went outside. He did not follow. Perhaps our tale would have ended then and there, if not for my dear elfriend Kurzert Windwood. He urged Iron Angel to follow me.

I had begun to shift into the form of Ladyhawke, vowing to myself never to become Demonica again. Then I saw him. He was following me. When he saw me transform he cried out in sorrow and plummeted to the earth. Even though I was all but absorbed into the persona of Ladyhawke, I remembered him. I remembered our promise, the one we'd made in the rainstorm he'd made for Demonica. I could not let him go. No, I could not let us go. I landed beside him on the ground. How I loved him! I touched my wingtip to his face and smiled, placing the ring back on my finger. He looked at me uncertainly, then smiled back slowly as understanding dawned on him. We threw ourselves into each others arms.

Then came the rending of the Inn. What an awful time that was for all involved. Iron Angel had his wings shattered by one of the Inn's owners. I watched helplessly as he burned down our booth and began to pound on the wall in anger until his knuckles began to bleed. Ignoring my pleas, he still insisted on attempting to help the very people who were responsible for destroying his wings. He claimed he had loyalty to them. Too bad they repaid this loyalty so violently, I thought. I tried to hold back his arm from the wall to forestall any further damage to his hands, and got thrown against a table for my pains. In anger I told him to go to his friends, if he was so willing to die for them. I turned my back on him and left. I'm not sure what happened then. I don't know why I did what I did next to this very day.

I drew the Dagger and I began to chant, beginning an ancient ritual of unbecoming. Iron Angel watched in confusion as I raised my arms to the sky and flew up into the darkness. Suspecting something was amiss, he attempted to follow me as I flew faster and faster towards heaven. But his broken wings would no longer support him, and he crashed to the ground shouting my name. I watched him fall sadly, meeting his eyes for the last time just before he vanished from view.

I raised my head to look at the sky, at the endlessness of night. I lifted the Souldagger to my bared throat and plunged it in, smiling. I remember falling to the ground like a dying bird. I remember thinking, "Why wouldn't they let me in?" Then I remembered no more. Iron Angel somehow dragged his broken body next to mine and wept, begging me to return to him. He blamed only himself in his grief. Taking up the Dagger that had landed beside me, he plunged it into his own throat.

Another winged man by the name of Skylar found both our bodies and flew us back to the Inn as fast as his wings could carry him. The demon Omnimus healed us of our wounds and revived us quickly. Then he attempted to use the Souldagger, but it would not return my soul to me. I flew out the window and took to the sky ,screaming. Iron Angel & Skylar followed in pursuit, managing to stop and contain me. I struggled madly while Iron Angel brought the dagger up to my chest reluctantly. He met my hateful gaze with one full of love and stabbed me in the heart. This time, though, it wasn't enough. I was struggling an inner battle now. For my spirit to survive I had to have something to live for. I cried out in pain as I felt the pull of oblivion tighten around me. With Skylar holding me up, Iron Angel spoke of his love for me, that he needed me to live so that he could go on living. From somewhere deep inside my heart, I was listening. And remembering. I opened my eyes into Iron Angel's loving gaze and began to weep helplessly. I loved him so much. It was then that I knew that he was my life; my last and best reason for living.

We left the Red Dragon Inn that night, never to return again.

My poor Angel...His wings were little more than broken bones and bloody plumage. I wept bitter tears at the sight of such beauty destroyed. My anger was so great, my self~assurance so firm, I made a foolish decision. I used the blade to call forth the soul of Lanfear.

I had needed to heal Iron Angel, and she was the one with the powers to do it. I wasn't nearly strong enough to control her, however and she took me over, residing within my body for a time. I watched from within the Souldagger with mounting horror as she attempted to seduce Iron Angel to her side. Upon his refusal she attacked him and they fought a fierce battle of magics. Both he and I grappled with her will to survive; to no avail. In the end, it was the Dagger itself that saved me. She had attempted to use it in order to amplify her powers. The serpents on the hilt rejected her and returned her to its depths. It then released me back into myself, leaving me Lanfear's elemental powers permanently.

Now we were in need of a place to live. Fortunately, Mercy Mirtanna, the barmaid at the Red Dragon Inn came into her inheritence of her family's manor house. She turned it into a combination boarding house/restauraunt and offered Iron Angel the same position he had before. We moved in directly, taking the same room number. To my delight, my beloved fiancee had taken a corner booth and emblazoned it with the words, "Demonica & Angels' Booth". This wasn't the only thing that remained the same. Many of our old friends from the Red Dragon had already taken up residence there, and things soon resumed nearly identical to what they had been before.

Things went veritably smoothly until Sephiroth came around once more. But this time he was different. He was now a cruel man, attacking people for no reason and sneering at me. I did my best to ignore the pain I felt at watching my former love act this way. What had happened to him? Or was this perhaps the way he'd always been, and only just now was I able to see this? I knew not. When he left again, Iron Angel and I breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The event with Lanfear had inspired the Souldagger to make its own kind of choosing; to have me as its Guardian. I am a prisoner of it no longer. I can now absorb the powers from any soul within it and combine it with my own temporarily. But with power comes responsibility; and I must learn how to control certain~aspects of my personality. Namely, my temper. It was due to this fault that Iron Angel was wronged by my other self, the angelic Justicar once known as Firebyrd. She is the soul that was lost so long ago when I fell from grace. She still thinks the way I used to; only right and wrong with no compromise.

It brings me great shame to tell you that I lost my temper horribly over a trifling matter with my love, and allowed Firebyrd to take over. Of course she did the only thing she knew~she Judged him. As he is an intrinsically good soul, he found favor in her eyes and she forgave him...straight up to heaven. Placing the mark of "Absolution" on him, she spirited him away. Now, forgiveness was one thing, but this...He fought the changes that flooded his body as the mark of heaven began its work, transforming his black wings to white. Even though he was completely cleansed of his demonhalf, he held back at the Holy Gates until Firebyrd had to force him through. Firebyrd looked at him as though he was mad. She could not understand why he didn't want to be there. She would not understand that she had been wrong. All he could think of was getting back to earth, and he threatened to destroy all of heaven to do it.

It was decided that he was to become a Guardian Angel, since he was so good at helping people. For the safety of heaven they thought it best to let him begin his work immediately. He was renamed Seraphim and was sent down with Firebyrd to assist him. The minute he set foot on earth again he headed towards the Manor. He then demanded that he be let free, willing his demonhalf back to him. Firebyrd felt obligated to fight him. She was convinced that she could make him see the light. Little did she know that I, buried deep inside her psyche, was trying to make her do the very same thing. As she fought Iron Angel she suddenly heard my voice in the back of her mind whispering to her, "In all events and respects, love is the eternal truth." She fell back in surprise. In this moment of weakness, I was able to reassert myself easily. Iron Angel and I were reunited once more.

I felt sorrow for this Angelchild, this self of mine that had never blossomed into her full potential. I vowed to assist her in any way I could, given the chance. I got that chance soon enough. The child broke free a few days later and began to streak towards heaven. Iron Angel and Skylar raced to catch her, and a fantastic aerial battle was fought. She very nearly made it to the gates, when Gabriel appeared before them. Iron Angel fought against him valiantly, but in the end, it came down to one thing. Another choice. Gabriel asked Firebyrd what she wanted to do, silencing Iron Angel with a glance. Even though I was there, watching behind her eyes, I said nothing. This was her choice to make. She deserved it. She looked from Iron Angel to the Archangel in a state of confusion.

Remembering the way that he'd refused heaven for his love, she began to feel shadows of doubt cloud her once~clear decision making. "I cannot judge what I do not understand", she whispered, and turned from Gabriel sadly. And so she began to see the error of her ways. She decided to merge with me in order to understand a foreign concept..."love". This merging left me with multiple sets of wings and her ability to transform into a Phoenix. The Phoenixsword once again is at my disposal, and once summoned, all should know to fear it.

On February 14, Iron Angel and I were happily joined in wedlock in before our many friends. We held the reception at "The Shadow Manse", a large mansion that he'd inherited. Even this did not pass uneventful, for Sephiroth appeared unexpectedly and kidnapped me. I almost stayed with him...almost. But I could not bring myself to hurt my Angel in such an ignominous fashion. Sephiroth vanished once more, mourning our love and leaving me full of regrets. I went back alone to the party, in a black mood for the larger part of what should have been a happy day. Ignoring my new husband's loving concern, I walked out the door and leapt into the sky blinded with tears. I needed to go somewhere to think.

I sat alone on the roof of the Red Dragon Inn for a few hours, trying to make sense of it all. Finally I realised I had to come to grips with the truth. Kroza had given me the best advice of my life on that dark yet joyous day of parting and rebirth, so similar to this day. I smiled to myself, for is not all life as such? There is pain, and loss; but there is also compassion and love. The eternal truth~I wore a symbol of it on my finger.
I returned to my husband's open arms. He is my Inti, the sun in my sky and the warmth in my life. I love the Iron Angel, and he loves me. No sorrow can overshadow that joy.

Our futures were secure...or were they? For there was always the past, lurking behind us both with its many unresolved questions...

On to Chapter 3

Back to Chapter 1

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