Kage Riku 12/13
Thanks goes out to all those who
keep writing to me and telling me how they love the story. Thank
you all. And this is dedicated to each and everyone who wrote me.
And to all of those who have been waiting, oh how long for this
part, I am glad people didn't kill me or anything. . . Thanks
again. I wish I could list all the names, but every reply makes
me happy and thanks to the support!!! But going on, I want to
thank my friend for translating some things from the show for me.
Thanks to my friend for translating some of series for me. . .
Notes:
"<<speech in this denotes it isn't in
English>>"
//flashback//
**astral speaking**
<<lyrics>>
Special Note of thanks to
Cheshire-san ([email protected]) for beta-ing and proofreading!!
Kage Riku
[The Shadowed Lands]
By: Kc-chan
Chapter 12
~Pieces lay strewn about
the blood drowning the field.
And I have only one wish. . .
And that is to merely die
Completely and entirely happy
And only in your arms. ~
~~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Fighting in space was not going
to be, by any means, easy. Majik worked differently with
technology. . . Not something they were prepared for. And when
Meiren's few attacked, it came swiftly and harshly. They were
split in groups, some using their mobile suits and others not. .
.
Not that there was a choice. Duo
nodded and they headed towards the fight. Vrita held back to give
his lover a parting kiss before running off to fight. Sammael
sighed and brushed his fingers against his lips. They tasted of
his love. With a sad smile he extended his power to create a
maboroshi around their craft and the part of space they would
fight in.
All his generals had to do was
keep Meiren's bitches from attacking him. He would be vulnerable,
whilst trying to keep any damage of the fight from hurting any
surrounding Colonies and fighters. It didn't concern them. . .
This was personal.
~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Zechs felt the blackness of his
master's shadows engulf them all, pulling the fight into a pocket
dimension. It made it easier yet at the same time more difficult
to face their opponents. They weren't hindered by the mobile
suits and their majik worked normally. Which was also then true
for Meiren's crew. And they were the ones who depended upon an
atmosphere for their majik. . .
Wufei flapped a few last times
to land gracefully next to Heero. "Any attacks yet?"
The blue eyed boy shook his
head. "They seem to be planning something."
"Then we should be prepared
for anything. . . " He turned slightly to the other daemons
awaiting he and Asmodeus' plans. "Aka Manah?"
She stepped slightly forward and
nodded.
"I want you and your spells
guarding anything that dares to come within a hundred yards of
the craft," Wufei ordered, eyes steadily watching the false
horizon for Meiren's troops.
"I agree with Apaosa.
Dumah?" Heero asked. The angel of Death stepped forward.
"I want you and Moloch to handle Segomo and Fand."
A nod came from the duo. Wufei
sighed in thought. "We figure they already know who they are
going to attack, and we just want power in the right places. So
if someone else attacks you fight them off enough for the moment.
Fand and Segomo are the weakest in power and should be the
easiest to kill."
"Then we go to protect
Sammael as well?" Dumah asked his green eyes looking very
ancient as the air around him densed. Ancient powers began to
gather for the battle.
Heero glanced at Vrita who
quirked a slim black brow. With a nod of understanding Asmodeus
replied to the question, "You go towards their border of
troops and attack from behind. Moloch will join with Aka Manah
and barricade our Master."
"I am left with
Lilith?" Zechs asked. He figured, after all, he should be
able to handle her for a while.
"Until someone is able to
help out, yes," Asmodeus replied.
"Asmodeus and I will switch
back and forth between Exael and Neamhan. Conserve power and
remember that their troops will be easy pickings to
destroy," Vrita added.
~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Heero grunted as this child with
hellfire hair pushed him back again. The battle had started out
very well planned then this brat appeared. He had no recollection
of her from the past. . . And then, well, all the battle
strategies were null and void. It became, kill then protect.
"Play with me!!" She
giggled and aimed a fiery lance at him.
Scrambling, he barely had enough
time to avoid her blasts. "Who are you, creature?" he
snarled between gulping breaths of air. Sweat ran in streams down
his face, mixing with the burn marks and blood, stinging them
with their touch. He fired a wide beam of his light energy back
at her.
Mariemaia slid slightly and got
nicked slightly at the wide blast. "It looks as if we are
evenly matched, Asmodeus!" she called back with a deadly
smile.
A growl escaped his throat and
he launched his body at her. Claws and punches thrown back and
forth. Chests heaving for air as their bodies moved faster than
their lungs could keep up with. Back and forth, matching each
other punch to punch, majik to majik.
Small talons finally peeked
through his defenses and sliced slightly into his cheek. Another
glassy giggle echoed impossibly around him. "I do hope I
didn't scar you, what good would you be then, *whore*?" she
mocked him as her tiny fist slammed up against his ribs.
With that punch combined with
her power he flew back into a mass of soldiers. Ripping through
them, their blood and guts staining his skin, he stalked back
towards her. "For the last time, who are you?"
Bright blue eyes teared up
dramatically. "Me? Don't you recognize your own blood?"
Heero snorted. "I don't
have a child. It would be impossible."
"Given your preference,
yes," Mariemaia muttered under her breath. Then louder for
him to hear, "Not yours, but Exael's." She watched the
emotions of betrayal, shock, even hatred burn in those Prussian
blue orbs. "Surprised, huh? I knew you would be."
~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Dorothy snarled as claws ripped
past her again. It was a mocking game the brat was playing. He
slipped through the mass of mindless soldiers at her disposal and
would jump out at her suddenly. Usually he hit his intended
target and then would disappear into the masses again.
"Come out, you brat, and
fight me!" Segomo screamed, eyes glowing red with intense
anger and hate.
"I'm right here," the
soft alto replied back. She shifted her eyes, ready and waiting
for the strike that never came.
"Here in the open, brat
child! You *owe* me that much, bastard!" the blonde girl
hissed, trying to narrow in on that mocking tone of his.
"I owe you that? Really?
What ever for?" Moloch asked and seemingly melted out of a
group of soldiers who instantly fell down dead.
Inferno fires burned in her
eyes, "You killed her you wretched child! You killed the
light of the world! *My* world!"
She almost swore his eyes grew
tender. He walked forward slowly, no hints of any attack.
"Segomo. . . Dorothy. . .
Why are you fighting me?" he asked, soft voice washing over
her, yet achieving an echo in her mind.
"Because you deserve to
die!! You deserve a horrible end for all the pain you have
cause!" she retorted, clenching her fists in rage.
Moloch sighed, he didn't lower
his defenses, but steadied his battle aura slightly. "True,
I do horrible things, but I am a daemon. I am not an angel, nor
do I claim to be."
Tears bubbled to surface in the
corner of her eyes. "You are an evil, vile creature!! I
*will* kill you for hurting Relena!"
The blonde Arabian cocked his
head to one side to give her a strange look. "I never said I
wasn't evil. Where are you going with this, Dorothy? Other than
berating the obvious, this conversation has gone no where."
Though in his heart, he was feeling the true weight of her words.
. .
Fury burned through her mind. A
haze of rage and hate. Snarling, she lunged through her own
soldiers. Arms, limbs, human bodies flying about her. It didn't
matter. . . none of them did. Just her dead love and the revenge
she would extract when her hand pierced through the bastard.
Eyes the colour of the calm seas
watched her rip through her own men. A small rush of sympathy
bubbled up in him. Would he be any better if he were revenging
Trowa? He pitied her for that. But, it had to have been his
lover's guilt washing over him. He didn't feel remorse. He pushed
his mind to suppress these useless ideas and called out through
the barricade of her men, "Come out and get me! Come out and
play, Dorothy!"
The forked eye-browed blonde
lunged at his right and with an easy move, he side stepped her
running his talons over her back. She passed him with a hiss of
pain and landed with a thump upon the black ground.
~~~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~~~
Cool green eyes watched
dispassionately as a figure rose from the inky ground. Tresses of
raven and chocolate drifted about her hear as if she was floating
in water. "Dumah, Angel if Death, Mercy of God, and General
to Sammael," she greeted with a misty voice.
A slight nod of acknowledgement
and his reply came, "Lilith, lost wife of the Earth of the
old legends. I. . . greet you."
Clear and icy eyes narrowed at
his proclamation. "Jesting, my dear Dumah? This is not the
time nor the place. . ."
The silent angel held true to
his name. Nothing more was uttered as he merely looked distantly
at the woman who was once so strong. . . so independent. . .
"Silent as ever, Angel
Dumah. Only your lover can loosen your tongue?" she mocked.
Through auburn bangs he looked
at her. He closed his eyes for a moment and let his ancient
strength surge forth.
Wings uncurled from his back,
sending shreds of his shirt fluttering about. Light shimmered
across aqua, blues, and sea struck greens. Contrasting the blacks
of the feathers themselves, who danced in colours when light
glittered on them. Lifting his arms, talons extended from his
fingers before an electric blue streak cut the air creating his
weapon.
Rosebud lips cracked a smile.
"A battle in ancient blood and form? Agreed." Black
leather streaked out from behind her and her eyes glowed in
hellish hues.
Streams of ancient power swirled
about them. This wasn't an easy battle for either of them. Dumah
looked upward and asked silently to his creator, "Ancient
Mother, please grant me the power to defeat her, not for myself,
but for my Moloch. My love. Let me release Lilith from her pain.
. ." Focusing on the battlefield again he granted her a nod.
"Then let us begin."
~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~~
Aka Manah's armies of the
undead., her familiars and beasts, were called to her fingers.
Streams of haze curling about those graceful fingers as if
caressing their master.
In the distance she watched the
mind and soul dead soldiers charge towards her. Men and women who
normally would have been frightened now simply were running with
only one command, seek and kill.
That was all they were. Bodies.
It brought her some relief knowing that they possessed no soul.
Not anymore. That made it easier to kill them. Mass slaughter of
soulless corpses.
"Veniro Spirito de umbrae
terra!" a calm and collect voice called. The majik circle
flew about Aka Manah, showering her with a radiant blue-white
light. The invoking star slashed into place. <1>
"Yod He Vau He, Adonai,
Eheieh, Agla, Yod He Vau He! I invoke thee!" Winds branched
and around her appeared ofuda with the ancient text scrawled on
them representing the seals of her beasts.
"Exsistero acciti!"
They neatly filed themselves into her outstretched palm. Her
circles powered down. <2>
Blue eyes danced as the soldiers
clamored towards her. She extended a paper between her fingers.
"Shaytan!" she cried. The ground shook and the seal
erupted before the waves of bodies. With a howl, Shaytan rose
from the ground. The tremendous creature of nightmares, its seven
serpent's head with each two contorted faces. Spreading open wing
after wing, till all twelve were open. Cold, yellow eyes
glimmered and its whole body stood tense. Waiting her order.
Then one by one she called her
legions to her. Baal, the spider-like daemon, Tawrich, and
others. Creatures lurking in old legends and myths, growling and
screaming in pleasure to grace this plane of existence.
Sweat pearled on her forehead,
weaving their way down her face. Her concentration at its peak.
Watching. . .
Waiting. . .
Then the charge.
~~~'~~@@~~'~~~
It was over for Fand before any
chance or fate would grant her an attack. Her goddess had
abandoned her. . . Forgotten. . . So cold. . .
Burningly beautiful ice eyes
looking down on her, skeptical but satisfied with the easy kill.
"You were stupid to fight," he simply stated sitting
next to her.
"Overly confident, aren't
we fairy?" she spat at him, sending a glare his way.
"Do you think you can
really hurt me? Your arms are a good hundred meters or so away,
m'dear. . ." He smirked. Not cruelly, just stating it as a
fact.
"Why do you fight for
them?" she asked quietly. Her eyes had long since stopped
the fight of focusing.
"Because." A casual
shrug.
"Because?" she
questioned with a slightly forlorn sigh.
"Many reason."
A long pause and her breathing
began to rasp. They were removed from the battlefield. Too far
away to be concerned with the legions. "Tell me them. . .
Where did I go wrong?"
A slim brow raised up. He might
as well assume her in her last few moments. "I wouldn't
know. I never had a great revelation. Nothing that rendered me a
single moment of divine or hellish insight. Moloch had his
moment. . . My lovely Aka Manah had her day, even our precious
and bratty Apaosa had the struggle."
"Ah," she replied.
"Wish I had been so lucky. . ."
"In a way you lead
yourselves to destruction. Once you tried to repress Vrita as
soon as Mai Ran took her control. These events are mere
reflections of what has been. Mai Ran, or Meiren, was always a
power hungry bitch, using anyone and anything she could to
maintain her power. Your precious goddess and her purification
peace war was nothing more than the senseless battles we fought
not five thousand years ago."
"The proverbial circle of
life speech?" she coughed.
An assumed snort. "Hardly.
But history repeats itself. People will always hate, that is a
guarantee, and there will always be hardships, repression and
war. We learn and still repeat. But every time we learn something
and it will never repeat itself. . ."
Fand was silent thinking and
every thought rolled back to Vrita. "Tell Vrita. . . no. . .
tell Wufei that he's a good kid. . ."
"Huh?" Zechs blinked
and looked over at her prone body next to him. He had believed
her already dead.
"Tell him. . . tell him to.
. . to be happy. . ." Then with no fight she died. Eyes
facing the heavens.
Mephistopheles kneeled down
beside her and gently closed her lids. "I will." And
standing for a moment, he offered up a prayer. It was respect
that made him do such a thing. The passing into the other realm.
. . He knew she would find her happiness there. . .
~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Heero glared balefully at her.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
She giggled and summoned her
majik to her palm. Streaming out, it formed a light energy sword,
cracking with a white glow in her tiny hand. "Pity. . . I
was hoping you would have been. . ."
Electricity splintered the air,
weaving its way around his arms. His Holy Majik forming his
blade. "Shocked? Slightly."
Mariemaia pouted. "They
made me-"
Asmodeus cut her off with a
snarl. One blood drenched talon pointing in the direction of
their mother, Lilith. "Made you? Don't be a fool. Lilith.
That Lilith is not my mother, not anymore. Exael raped her in
mind and body during the Roman Order Wars among our people. She
has not been Lilith for millennia. Nothing more than a mere
concubine for Exael to fuck. You were nothing but a fucking
toy-"
She hissed threateningly.
"A toy? I am more than you could ever hope! I am Exael's
pride and joy! I am what he wanted his child to be! I am the
stronger one! He had me, because you failed to be half of what he
wanted. You failed at being his child. Unlike you, I do not fail
our parents. They love me."
"Omae o korosu," he
growled. Passion and fury and sibling rivalry leaping to new
heights. Brandishing his weapon in one hand he charged at her
with all his speed.
Laughing with superiority she
leaped to meet him in their battle.
A flurry of white and blurry
figures was all one could see. Sparks crackling when weapons met.
Electricity slapping the maboroshi, exploding from the force of
the weapons crossing. Inside the wind about them was screaming.
"Why are you fighting
me?!?" Asmodeus shouted, blue eyes burning, pushing with all
his might against the smaller child's weapon.
Emma-O grinned. "No reason
other than to fight!"
"That is not a
reason!" the boy screamed back, infuriated at her notion.
"Fighting doesn't need any
reason! I fight to survive! I fight to live! And I live to
FIGHT!" and with that said she pushed through his defenses.
White light exploded, sending Asmodeus soaring backwards. Blood
rushing out from several large wounds. Prussian blues starting to
glass over.
"Aka Manah. . . Zechs. .
." he managed to whisper before harshly slamming onto the
black ground.
Looking up, across the
battlefield the blonde king started in shock. His lover. . .
"HEERRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" bellowed across the blood
spattered fields.
~~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Noin gasped as her power
extended itself further and further away from her and still she
called her creatures to the battlefield. So many were drawing
their energies from her. . . How could she possibly and single
handedly fend off all these bodies from her master?
The creatures ripped through the
masses, shredding the human carcasses to pieces of nothingness,
releasing them from Meiren's control. She could feel the
beginnings of her systems shutting down. . . Sweat poured from
her body. She paused slightly to wipe some from stinging her blue
eyes.
Aka Manah faltered slightly.
Blood starting dripping from her side. It looked as if one of her
babies had snagged a hit. That was the other downfall she started
to realize.
With her power dragged out over
the huge battlefield, every hit her creatures and beasts took,
she took as well. Hundreds of her legions were out there, and
that left her oh so vulnerable. . .
Suddenly, a coldness drifted
across her consciousness. Knocking her from her concentration
long enough to realize. . . "Heero. . .."
The word fell from her lips as
blood gathered in her own mouth. The chill of death. . .not of
hers but. . . "Goddess. . .no. . ."
Tears began mixing with the
blood and the sweat. Her mind was falling into the cold abyss. .
. She couldn't get there in time. . . "Oh gods. . ."
she kept repeating. "Gods. . .no. . . oh . . .please! NO!
PLEASE!! Gods PLEASE!!!!!"
Her breaths became shorter and
shorter. Abilities caught between reaching out to one of her
lovers or retaining and holding concentration on her creatures.
"GAHHHHHHHHHH!!" she
screamed looking up in fright. Shaking, she saw her worse
nightmare hovering above her. Hands felt the intestines slipping
through the hole created in her stomach. Fingers sliding into the
goo and hoping to retain them in her body to be healed. . . Gods
she could *feel* them sliding in her fingers. . . Scrapping
against her nails. . ..
"Salutations. . . Aka
Manah." the looming voice greeted. "Feeling well, one
could only hope?"
~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
He grunted in agony as he hit
the blackness. It wasn't supposed to end this way. . .. They were
supposed to win. . . They were suppose to. . . "Zechs. .
." he whimpered. . . The cut had been deep. . . Too deep to
heal. . .
Emma-O cackled in sheer rapture.
Eyes burning in delight watching the incubus squirm as his own
acids ate him apart from the inside and out. His once beautiful
skin, marred by the liquids of his innards.
Sizzling as it gnawed through
the organs surrounding the wounds, mixing into his sweat and
blood. Hissing he tried vainly to stand, rupturing the wound and
watching in sheer horror as his skin was eaten before his eyes. .
.
"Not good looking now,
oniichan!" Mariemaia chortled, giving her dear brother a
good hard kick in his wound.
Heero hissed in outright pain.
Her kick had ruptured more of the acid and another wave poured
out onto his already eaten flesh. Tears curled in the corners of
his eyes, pouring over with no effort. He didn't bother to
contain them.
"Asmodeus!!" Heero
tried to focus his fading eyes. He dared not reach out, doing so
would hurt his master's concentration. . . His lover's voice
echoing through the war filled plane and battle cries.
~~~'~~@@~~'~~~
Dumah looked to the side while
fending off Lilith's attacks. He heard the blonde prince's cries.
. . Had Asmodeus already fallen? To that child? He had hoped that
this day would have not carried the blood of their own. . . Why
did history repeat itself? It was merely a few millennia since
the battles of the ancients had incurred. . . Why could they not
realize that their races were all dying? That they were a dying
race? A dying species?
"Do you hear that, angel of
death? Those are the cries of your comrades falling. . ."
Lilith hissed in fury as Dumah struck back another of her
attacks.
"We knew the consequences
of fighting, Lilith. Obviously the centuries have not made us any
smarter than the mortals we tend to play with," he retorted
swinging his black scythe to split the power attack from her
hands.
She scoffed at his statement
readying another volley of majikical spheres to attack. "We
have always been smarter than the mortals whom we break!"
And sent that volley towards the angel.
With a swift movement he slashed
the spheres into oblivion. "Then you are as stupid and
useless as any mortal, Lilith. We are more than a dying race. We
are dying, Lilith. Day by day now. We aren't living in the grand
old days of our glory. Our majik has weakened. . . Elves and
fairies have long departed from this plane, retreating into the
ancient lands of our goddess."
He advanced on the frightened
daemon. Lilith was shaken to the core by the truth of his words.
"We will retain our former glory!! We will show these
mortals who is the superior race!"
He sighed and kept advancing
upon her. He started feeling so old now. . . "We are trapped
in the endless spiral of death as long as we fight. We are
disappearing into the skeptical world of new gods and new majik.
We can not thrive in the old ways. We must change-"
"To change is to accept our
fate. I will not fade away! I will not be forgotten!!"
Lilith screamed, tears cascading down her cheeks. Redness
swirling in her eyes as she recklessly let her emotions dictate
her attacks.
Trowa easily dispelled the fury
of the majikical attacks with unprecedented ease. Where had he
heard that phrase before. . . Aa. Moloch. Moloch had often said
those words. That he was not going to fade away. . . Was not
going to be forgotten. . . The horror those turquoise orbs beheld
when Quatre was brushed against the word sealment. The mere
thought of being sealed drove his lover to hysterics. . .
He narrowed his green eyes
slightly, tilting his head to the side and approached her.
"We are not immune to time, Lilith. You said that to me
once."
She halted her attacks to
listen. "What?"
"We are not immune to time.
You said that to me once. You said that we are always caught in
the drifting sands of time, that we had to follow time, because
there was no other option that we knew."
She did remember those words. .
. Long before her betrayal by Exael. The man she loved, the man
who betrayed her. . . Who used her to create that child who. . .
"Oh Goddess. . ."
Green eyes followed her now
sober gaze to the fallen Asmodeus. Tears pricked his eyes. . .
There would be mourning later. . . But for now he watched and
endured as the crackling beam of Holy light jetted through the
elfin prince holding his fairy incubus lover and Mariemaia
laughed manically..
"I don't want to fight
anymore. . . Zechs. . .'topheles. . . I want to . . ." Heero
coughed out as his blood poured from the newest wound. He was
dying. . . Gods he was dying. . .
"Shhhhh. . .. I will be by
your side. . . I am always by your side. . ." Mephistopheles
cooed even in his own hazy world of pain. . . He was granted the
divine wish of dying while holding his little love. . .
Delirium had captured them both
and Heero whispered, "I see them. . . She and her puppy. . .
They are leading us to the ancient lands 'topheles. . . They
aren't mad at me. . ."
"Then we shall follow. .
.." And they slipped into eternal sleep to be wisped away to
the meeting lands of the ancient lands, where they could be happy
and wait for their master to return to them. . .
Mariemaia exploded into
hysterical laughter, eyes flushed with the glee of killing two
ancients. "Yes, follow them Mephistopheles and Asmodeus.
Good bye, little brother, may you rot in your starry
coffin!!"
Lilith gaped in shock, he mind
working through the haze of restraining spells Exael had placed
on her. . . That wretched thing called her brat daughter had
killed her son. . . Her beautiful son. . .
Tears glittered as they fell.
What could be said to the mother who would kill her own child to
revenge her first born? With the wrath of any forlorned mother,
Lilith launched herself at Emma-O.
With a shriek of cloth, flesh,
and fury Emma-O looked down in horror that her own mother's arm
was thrusted through her being. Small hands shakingly touched the
forearm in front of her, wide eyed asking, "Why?"
"We weren't meant to
be," Lilith replied and warped the majik back into them.
Sucking up the air for an instant and gaining in its power.
"Mother?!?!" the
frightened child screeched in terror. She didn't want to die. . .
"DADDDDDDDDDDYYYYYYYYY!!!!"
Her cries fell upon deaf ears.
Lilith turned to Dumah who had been watching with the ancient
understanding only he could really know.
"Please. Make it
swift," Lilith asked quietly. "Make my punishment
sweeter than I deserve. . . My punishment for my crime. . ."
Dumah nodded and beat his wings
to take to the air. His scythe radiated his ancient power and
with a final beating of his great wings, he drove towards them,
eyes staring at those baby blues of the child as she shrieked her
way to death.
The black power blurred his
weapon and as he struck, neatly slicing through them in three
motions. The heads fell, followed by the top part of the body for
their hearts, and the bottom for their souls. He had killed them
with his power of death, a power he hated to use, but that was
his gift.
Looking down at the lifeless
dead bodies he teleported the lovers to the ship for burial
later. Emma-O and Lilith burst into dust at his command, brushing
away on the remnants of majik. Then he turned to attack the
soulless creatures. Heaven would cry for the loss of its children
tonight, for the earth had not seen his deadly touch since he had
cleansed Egypt. . .
~~~'~~@@~~'~~~
Noin looked up in terror.
"You. . ."
The woman smiled. "I would
hate to think you were all they left to protect him. . . Sammael.
. . Sammael. . . What were you thinking?" She sent her blade
into the succubus's right lung.
Aka Manah managed to get a
gargle out through the pain in her body. Goddess. . . she could
*feel* the blood pouring into her lung. . . Was this how her
sister felt? Things always did come back to her, didn't they. . .
So much for being healed. . .
Meiren smirked with the pain the
general was in. "That was stupid of you to let your guard
down. . . Spreading your power out so much, Aka Manah. . . Now
even your master and his slut can't save you. . . Not that he
cared. Who did he run to, hm?"
Her words stung deeper than any
wound a sword or weapon could make. . . Alone. Wasn't she always
alone? She shivered and collapsed to the ground.
The master. . .
**Vrita. . .Someone. . . the
master. . . Forgive me. . . I. . . I have failed-** she reached
out to the minds of her comrades.
Meiren slitted her eyes.
"Enough. Time to die, Aka Manah and accept your
punishment." Then shoved her blade deep into the girls
heart.
Noin hissed as tears fell from
her eyes. . . Her lovers already had left. . . Left behind again.
. . Alone. . . So cold. . .
"What you waiting for,
sis?" a sweet voice called from the darkness.
Noin parted open one glassy blue
eye. Who would care for her now?
The blackness parted and Mastema
stepped towards her, happiness beaming from her face. She walked
merrily towards the fallen succubus and crouched down.
Noin shivered as cool fingers
pressed themselves against her skin and wove through her hair. **
Mastema. . . Hirde. . .** she thought out. . . It had to be a
trick of her dying mind. She had killed her sister and besides,
why would Mastema come to her now?
"Time to leave this plane,
Sis. . .Time to stop your pain. We're waiting for you. . . All of
us. . ." Hirde smiled, soft words rushing over the fallen
woman.
**Why would anyone one want to
wait? Why would you wait, Mastema? I killed you. . . I couldn't
even say what you wanted to hear before you died. . . I don't
deserve anyone's kindness. . .** Aka Manah sighed and coughed. .
. It was so terribly cold.
Mastema reached out and took her
sisters cheek against her palm. "Then say it now. . ."
Eyes locked with each other and
Noin smiled as the tears parted from her pained eyes. **Love you.
I love you, Mastema, and forgive me that it took me this long to
tell you**
The girl giggled and took her
sister's hand. "Shall we go then? The others await our
arrival. I would never have let you die alone. . ."
With a nod, Noin closed her eyes
and parted with her last breath upon that plane. Opening her
eyes, she took her sister into a hug. "Then let us go to the
others in the ancient lands and pray for a better future and for
our friends."
Mastema nodded and curled into
her sister's arms. "We will pray that Sammael shall prevail.
That humanity will not end today."
"About time you listened to
your older sister!" Noin teased and then together they
departed from that plane into their new life.
~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
**Moloch?** Dumah reached out.
He hid from Meiren's view, but he needed to get someone to fight
her. She was above his power. . .
Dorothy's cries of death arose
and Moloch responded. **Dumah?**
**Moloch find your way to
Sammael. Dumah, get rid of the soldiers. . . Sammael will deal
with Meiren. I will fight Exael** orders blasted through their
minds.
**Apaosa?** Dumah asked
hesitantly.
**Please, just do as I say. . .
We are loosing more and more and I can not stand to loose anyone
else today. . .. Please!** Vrita cried out, half an order and
half a plea.
**I will get to our master,
Apaosa.** Moloch replied and scurried towards the ship where his
master dwelt.
**Indeed. I shall deal with what
I can of these soldiers.** Dumah replied, but he wasn't sure even
he could deal with them all.
**. . .Thank you. Dumah I will
help when I can. . .Exael is strong. . .** Wufei replied before
breaking from their link.
Dumah rose from his hiding spot
and swerved towards the crowds of mindless soldiers. He hoped
Moloch could reach their master before Meiren did. Green eyes
watched as their enemy left the body of their fallen comrade and
entered the ship. He prayed his Moloch would reach Sammael in
time. . ..
~~~-'~~@@~~'~~~~
Wufei gritted his teeth as his
shields warped slightly with another of Exael's seamlessly
endless attacks. The power the man was exerting was more than
equal to his own. . . No wonder his master had this man as one of
his generals. . .
He always knew Exael was strong.
. . Hell he had always admired the man whilst living in the
shadows of the Orders reign. . . But this was ridiculous.
"Getting tired, child?
Maybe we should rest, Vrita, and let you catch your breath. . .
You have cast a lot of majik in the last day or so. . . It has to
have taken a lot from you. . ." Trieze smirked and called
another volley of fiery red spheres around his being.
Black orbs narrowed and muscles
tightened. He was sick of this cat and mouse game he was playing
with the estranged angel. He hated being taunted. . . He hated
being weak! Gritting his teeth, he dropped his shields and called
his weapon to his hand. Flexing his leathery scaled wings to
their impressive full height.
Trieze grinned ferally. "Do
you really think you can face me, boy? You?"
The bronze skinned boy snarled
and powered up his scythe. The death around him would provide an
ample amount of power to show this man that he was more than what
he seemed to be. With merely a thought he granted that death and
carnage draw themselves into his realm of power.
Sharp blue eyes narrowed and
watched a small change occur in the boy. This mere brat wasn't
the same child he had taken down numerous times. . . But the boy
still didn't match him in strength. Sharp, bony claws jolted him
from his glaring contest with the boy. Starting down, he saw the
very arms of the dead on the field rise from the murky blackness,
ensnaring his limbs.
**More. . . more my children of
hatred. . . Hurt the one who lead you to this end. . .**
Trieze hissed in pain as bony
fingers rose even as he slashed more and more of them down. Arms
weighting down his attacking swings. Ripping feathers from his
radiant white wings. "Enough!" he shouted, white light
sphereing around him briefly and wiping out the attackers.
"Such a simple trick. Did you think-"
Wufei charged whilst Trieze
spoke, fists with raw energy, crackling and connecting with his
first hit.
Trieze flew back, electricity
coursing through his body, inching its way into his blood stream.
With a snap he landed and looked up. With disgust, he wiped the
trickle of blood from his lip. "It seems as if you have
drawn first blood, Vrita. . . Good for you. Let's see who draws
the end to the other, yes?"
Darkening black eyes glared.
"You will die, Exael."
"Harboring some grudge I
see. . ." The ginger hair man smirked. "Well, let's see
how well you can play." And launched raw energy cones at the
boy.
~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Moloch bit back a gasp and
slipped into the shadows as Meiren stormed past, in the opposite
direction of his master. Staying low and strictly to the shadows,
he sprinted down the corridors, hiding his trail as he race to
Sammael.
Twisting and turning and running
as fast as he could. He knelt down before the door that behind
held his master.
"So this is where he hides.
. ." Meiren mused out loud.
With a loud gasp, Moloch stood
and turned on his heels. "Meiren?!"
With a mock bow, she grinned at
him. "You got here faster, though not by much. Now step
aside, Sammael has a date with the land of the dead."
A warning growl escaped the tiny
blonde boy. Backing towards the door he hissed a warning.
"You will not kill him, not while I am still alive."
"Then you shall die."
Meiren growled and lunged at him with her sword humming to life
with her holy majik.
"Light!" He screamed,
flooding the room with majestic white hot light.
"Brat!" she hissed and
tumbled out of her attack trying to shield her eyes from the
blinding light.
With not another word he slipped
through the shadows of his master with ease. Once within the room
he wasted no time running to his master. "Master!"
Sammael blinked slowly, most of
his concentration held in keeping up the maboroshi.
"Moloch?"
"I will hold the shield. We
have lost-"
"I know. . ." Duo
whispered with a deadly grief in his voice.
"Then listen. Apaosa is
holding off his own with Exael, Dumah is cutting back Meiren's
mindless soldiers and defense. . . I will take over maintaining
the shields so you can defeat Meiren," Quatre quickly
blurted out.
"You can't hold the shield,
especially one of this size for long. . ." Sammael started.
"I can hold it at this size
stabile for ten minutes, at the most. . . Then it will begin to
shrink. . ." Moloch defended.
"That gives us fifteen
minutes or so to defeat them, and you thought this was a good
idea?" Duo asked exasperated. "At best it is
foolhardy!"
Aqua eyes pleaded with hope.
"You can easily defeat Meiren, Master! Once she falls, call
Dumah to the ship and help Vrita defeat Exael! We can do
it."
A dark sigh. "Indeed, it
seems to be our only option. . . Agreed. Ready to take on the
shield Moloch?"
Steadying the shield to
transfer, Moloch sat down and powered up his majik. It would take
all of his strength and concentration to maintain it. Locking
eyes with his master he smiled. "Ready."
Sammael literally dumped the
shield over to his general, watching the Arabian blonde wince
before he struggled and after a moment retained the shield.
"Go!" Moloch stated
then said no more, devoting his entire being to the shield. They
were depending on him and he would not fail. He would prove his
usefulness.
Duo nodded and rushed through
his shadows. "Well, fancy meeting you here, Meiren!" he
grinned in his lovable manner.
"You-" she growled.
He meandered closer. "Look,
I would love to sit and bicker and all. Catch up on good times
and such, but I am on one hell of a time table, and, whoops, I
didn't take the time to allot you anything! So you'll just have
to go!" He was back and she was going to die.
"You can not defeat me,
daemon!" she hissed and recalled the holy sword to her hand.
"It is time for you to die!"
Violet eyes twinkled and his red
braid glistened. "You? Don't make me laugh, girl!" and
with the flip of his wrist he produced an orb. "Do you know
what this is, Meiren?"
Black eyes glared at him.
"No? I wouldn't think so.
This is your soul." He chuckled.
"Impossible Sammael! I am
not some mere mortal. I am Neamhan reborn. I will deliver
salvation and justice to this world!" Meiren hissed, her
aura crackling with energy glows of white.
Duo burst into an amused laugh.
"You? Meiren who the hell are you kidding? I thought for a
while you might have had her power. . ."
"I nearly killed you
once-"
His fingers tightened on the orb
and she gasped in pain falling to her knees. "Merely because
I had powered down, Meiren. I allowed you to attack me. You
aren't so fortunate now."
"Masaka. . . It can't end
like this. . . I was so close. . . So damn close. . ." she
whispered in terror.
"Say good bye, Meiren. You
never had the right to lay claims to justice or salvation. You
are a warped, power hungry whelp who has hurt me and my generals.
. . Killed those closest to me, and hurt *my* Vrita too many
times. This is *your* salvation. Say good bye, Meiren," he
hissed, violet orbs glowing eerily in the blackness of the ship.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" she
screamed , reaching forward to stop him.
With a malicious smirk, Sammael
crushed the soul of the mortal known as Meiren Chang. Watching
her burn up from within, fires of hell engulfing her and searing
her into nothing.
Satisfied with her death, though
wishing he could have drawn it out longer, he teleported to
outside the ship. "Hang on, Vrita. . . I'm coming. . ."
~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Sweat beaded on his forehead. .
. Four minutes he had been holding the shield. . .
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
A steady rhythm to keep his
focus. He promised to stay alive for his love. . . He was not
going to fail. Never again. He wasn't scared of his power. . . He
was stronger than he believed himself to be. . . he could do it.
. .
~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Wufei barely had the time to
snag his blade against the older and taller man. With a severely
painful grunt, Vrita pressed with all his strength to keep
Exael's blade from slicing off his head. . .
Exael purred in delight.
"You know, I never did get to share a deep dark secret with
you, dear little Vrita."
Black eyes widened as Exael's
other hand burst through his shoulder, causing him to cry out in
pain. Relishing in the mere fact that victory was on its way,
Exael leaned forward and chuckled. "Would you like me to
tell you that secret, pretty little Vrita?"
"Stop mocking me!" the
daemon gritted out between clenched teeth.
"Vrita!" Sammael cried
out, racing towards his fallen love.
Exael turned his head slightly
to the side, then bared a fanged grin. "Why if it isn't your
one true love to save you, Vrita!" Grinning maliciously he
turned his hand within Wufei's shoulder wound causing the boy to
shriek in pain.
"Pity he couldn't save you
from your grief and strife the first time. . ."
"What are you going on
about, Exael?" Sammael demanded, eyes darkening, waiting to
strike. The shadows curled about him, dancing to the beat of
death. . . Livid and sharp and deadly.
Ignoring his former master,
Exael returned his attention to the brat below him. "You
see. . . I used to serve Sammael. . ."
~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
His breathing was hardening. . .
Panting and gasping for air. . .
Ten minutes. . . He had to hold
on, but he could feel it begin to eat him from within. . .
"Master. . ." he wheezed out. Focusing more and more of
his energies on maintaining the maboroshi. . .
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
". . .Hurry. . .. Please. .
.." he rasped.
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
Eleven minutes. . ..
He had to let it shrink. . . it
was going to kill him otherwise. . .
~~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Sammael valiantly tried to hide
his fears when the maboroshi trembled slightly, pulling itself in
slightly. He hoped Moloch could hold on. . . **Dumah?**
**Master?** came the shocked
surprise.
Sammael frowned, Dumah was
reaching his limit. . .. **Get back to the ship.**
**What?!** Dumah exclaimed with
shock fairly evident.
**Get back to the ship. Now.
That is an order.** Sammael commanded while watching the ginger
haired angel loom over his love. . . His everything. . .
**But. . .** Dumah started.
**NOW,** Sammael commanded with
a tone that left little to question.
**Understood. I am withdrawing
from the soldiers and will retreat back to the ship,** the green
eyed angel acknowledged and closed the link.
Wufei struggled, but his arm was
pinned by the stronger man from above, both gravity and weight on
Trieze's side. "And this former master of mine wanted me to
infiltrate the Orders. I did and twisted them around my little
finger. . ."
"And you betrayed us. Yes,
Yes. I understand this as does Vrita, get on with it,
Exael," Sammael spat out, his patience long gone.
The ginger haired man cracked a
smile that froze Sammael's blood. "You see Vrita, I knew too
much. I ordered and lead the attack on the Unseelie. . ."
"No. . ." Vrita
whispered, black eyes shrinking to pinpoints, shaking as if he
were living it again. . .
// "Shhhhh. . . it's okay
baby. . ." she whispered. Hands gently stroked his silky mop
of black hair.//
His mother. . . queen. . . Queen
Siobhan . . .
"I lead them straight to
them. . . No one knew. . . No one expected it. . ." Exael
purred, watching the child below him quake and live in sheer
nightmarish hell.
Bodies. . . Running. . .
Elathan. . . Bress. . .. The blood. The blood. . .. Memories
flooding his senses, rushing through the gate Exael had opened. .
. He was remembering and how he wished he wasn't. . ..
~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
He was wheezing now. . .. His
head was pounding with every beat of his weakening heart. . .
Fourteen minutes. . . They
weren't here yet. . ..
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
He had to keep the shields up. .
. He *had* to. . ..
~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
"You fucking bastard!"
Sammael hissed, violet eyes widening, swirling in hazes of
hatred. "You mother fucking ass licking BASTARD!!!"
Vrita was breathing harder than
he had ever done in his life since. . . *then*. . . He had to
survive. . . He was going to repay his people. . .
Exael turned to focus on the
irate Prince of Daemons. "Didn't ever see it coming, did
you? Little old me. . . It was such an easy kill it was
practically pathetic. They fell so much easier than anyone could
have ever imagined. . .
Vrita struggled, discreetly
calling in his powers. . . The maboroshi was shrinking rapidly. .
. though it would quiver, as if trying to maintain its great
expanse. . . He knew Moloch couldn't hold it forever. . .
Violet eyes locked in with dark
Prussian orbs. Staring each other down. . . Neither one noticed
nor expected Vrita to make his move. . .
Exael noticed too late. . . A
tingling sensation ripped through his arm, eroding its way into
his flesh and drilling itself into his blood. . . His very being.
. . Yanking himself away from the daemon, Wufei shakily stood,
feeding the majik into the man.
Sammael rushed forward, wrapping
his arms and support around his lover. "Vrita?" he
asked while eyes were fixated on the power that was literally
shredding Trieze apart. . .
~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
Breath in. . ..
Breath out. . .
Twenty minutes. . .
"Please. . . someone. . ." he chocked out.
Suddenly strong arms securely
tightened themselves around him. "I am here. . . Let me
help, my little one. . ."
He knew that voice better than
he knew anything else. . . "Du. . .mah. . ."
"Its me. . ." and
Dumah pushed his power into his love, together trying to buy time
for their comrades. . .
~~~'~~@@~~'~~~~
"What. . . What did you do
to him?" Sammael managed to ask.
Wufei leaned his entire weight
against his master. "Finish him. . .Please. . . I don't have
the strength. . ."
Duo nodded and commanded his
shadows to destroy Exael. They swirled and swooped down like a
bird of prey. . . Screaming and twisting in agony as Wufei's
diseases and plagues coursed through his body.
Then it was over.
The shadows had eaten him till
he was nothing. . . Destroyed forever. . .
Sammael wasted no time
teleporting the exhausted Vrita back to the ship, commanding the
instant they touch down in the metal corridors for Quatre to drop
the shield. . .
Moloch released them and
collapsed into unconsciousness in his lover's arms. . . The
blackness expanded for an instant before sucking in upon itself,
destroying all life that was not in the ship. Consuming the
mindless armies and releasing them from the undead into the gate
ways of the afterlife. . .
Silence stretched its cloak over
them until Dumah broke it with a softly whispered question,
seeing the violet eyed boy enter the room. "Its over?"
"Its over," Sammael
replied.
"Such a hollow victory. . .
We lost so much. . .." Vrita whispered from the sanctity in
his master's arms.
Sammael lingered over the
collapsed, barely breathing form of the Arab boy, held close in
Dumah's arms. . . His love, resting after using up so much. . .
And his other three. . . They were now waiting for him in the
ancient lands. . .
"What happens now?"
Dumah asked, raising his greens eyes towards the star filled
window.
". . .We return to Earth. .
." Sammael muttered in reply.
"And then?"
Sammael didn't answer, he just
turned his eyes to the window looking out over the dark, cold
space. Empty and alone. Silent as starry sentinels. . .
Life itself was a hollow
victory. . .
To be concluded in the last
part.
Kc-chan
Notes:
<1> <Come to me my spirits of the shadow world!>
<2> <Arise to my calls!>
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