Devil May Cry: Vergil x Lucia [Alpha]
Title: Paradiso
Fandom: Devil May Cry
Pairing: Vergil x Lucia
Theme set: Alpha
Rating: PG-13
Note: My jumping board for my favorite crack pairing, huzzah! (Maybe now I can actually write a story about them...)
#01 - Comfort
The eldest son of Sparda was what he was, inscrutable, loyal only to his own sense of right and wrong (often very different from everyone else's) and perhaps not the hero his father had been, but perhaps that wasn't the point, Lucia thought, consoling herself in the wake of his coldness, perhaps it was only that he was himself.
#02 - Kiss
The first kiss she ever gave him was on his hand, a kiss of reverence, and, in its own way, mocking, reminding him that only great kings and lords recieved such respect, but frankly, he's far less like his father than he'd prefer.
#03 - Soft
Vergil did not live a life fit for gentle things, full of swords and bloody death, mercy crushed beneath his boot, but now and then he allowed himself indulgences, and the silk-soft press of her skin was one of them.
#04 - Pain
A halfling's body was not meant to bear this much power, this much demonic corruption, it was excruciating, agony beyond imagining; the only thing that saved his sanity was Lucia's arms around him as he writhed.
#05 - Potatoes
She was going to make him eat something, damn it, no matter how invincible he thought he was, and she ignored the cold look he gave her when she shoved the forkful of lukewarm potatoes at him, saying softly, "You'll eat or I'll kill you, those are your options."
#06 - Rain
Lucia laughed at him when he suggested, sourly, that she open an umbrella before she drowned, but then, what priestess wouldn't have an appreciation for nature and all that it offered?
#07 - Chocolate
The summer had been unusually harsh on Dumary, and she spent much of it on the shore, allowing the sun to darken her skin to a deeper brown, streak her hair an even brighter red, blood and chocolate, an unusual and somehow enticing combination, and he had to force his gaze not to linger too long.
#08 - Happiness
Nearly, and almost, and not quite, this was the best way to summarize what they had, each with their own loyalties (a brother who needed him, a people who needed her), often half a world apart despite their best intentions, so perhaps no amount of trying would make it right, but joy was best found in little moments, with little thought to tomorrow.
#09 - Telephone
"No, I don't know when I'll be back..." Lucia trailed off, painfully aware of how far away Matier's voice sounded over the old-fashioned payphone in Moscow, but a glance at Vergil, leaning against the booth, patiently waiting for her to finish, strengthened her resolve enough to finish, "but I promise to keep in touch."
#10 - Ears
Lucia couldn't believe it when she heard it, just had to see it for herself, and there he was, against all belief, sitting next to his brother, the two of them talking like civilized beings, and she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding since the day she met him - finally, a step in the right direction.
#11 - Name
They were both people who had two names, one given in love, another in ownership; she had chosen the name Matier had given her, and he still had yet to choose, but whatever his decision, it wouldn't be out of servitude to any desires but his own.
#12 - Sensual
The entire ritual dance was provocative, so by the end of it Vergil thought he had seen it all, but he still had to make an effort not to gape like a fourteen-year-old boy when Lucia completed the performance with a swivel of her hips that would have put Salome to shame.
#13 - Death
"How many times have you died?" Lucia whispered that night, arms around him and lips warm against his throat, and he told her it didn't matter if he died again and again, he would keep fighting his way out of the abyss, and now, not just for his own sake.
#14 - Sex
It probably shouldn't have surprised him that a pagan priestess was also a free-thinking hedonist, but considering he was her first, she really shouldn't have been the one teaching him things.
#15 - Touch
Suitable for the creatures that lurked here, it was impossibly dark in this place, so much so that she couldn't see anything at all even with her devil-enhanced senses, which made it even more surprising when Vergil reached back to touch her bare shoulder and make certain she was all right.
#16 - Weakness
"Having anything at all is useless without the power to defend it, Lucia - what would your people have done without the gifts given to them by their gods, without my brother to come to their aid, without their protectors, their priests; you and I both know morality would not have stopped Arius from destroying you all."
#17 - Tears
On the night her mother, safe in her bed, breathed her last, Lucia did not cry, because it was not something to mourn, Matier's soul was free to move on to her next life; Vergil recalled the night his own mother had died, remembered that he hadn't cried either, but for very different reasons.
#18 - Speed
Step for step, Lucia could outlast him, her energy leaning towards long-term endurance, but all he needed to defeat her was one mercilessly quick move that broke her defense each and every time; she was learning, though, and looked forward to the day she knocked him flat on his back for once.
#19 - Wind
A sudden swirl of air, a burst of feathers and white, and he was surprised at her form - what he considered her true form - its elfin grace and terrible power, hollow-boned, so she flew farther and faster than he did, glowing blades in hand, slicing into their adversary with force as merciless as a tornado.
#20 - Freedom
"To do as you wish, without need of interferance from others, that is true power - autonomous power, what the Vie du Marii have fought for all of these centuries - and we would not have a son of Sparda, or Mundus, or Arius, even our gods, subjugate us for that power, Vergil, because there is no gracious form of slavery."
#21 - Life
"It doesn't matter what you say, the willingness to destroy is not what makes one strong," Lucia panted from where she stood across from him, somehow still able to function despite the wounds he had inflicted still fresh, soaking crimson into her torn clothes.
#22 - Jealousy
There were times, watching him oil and fine-tune and practice with that katana of his, admiring its precision and beauty, that Lucia believed he adored it more than he ever would a woman.
#23 - Hands
Her hand, lined with strength that could only come of sword use, similar to Vergil's own,
trailed from one book spine to another with careless grace - when she finally found the tome they needed and gave it to him, he allowed their fingers to brush, just for an instant.
#24 - Taste
The silk robes parted easily, too easily, and she was so eager and pliant underneath him, touching everywhere she could, kissing him hard enough to leave him breathless, and never uttering a word or giving him a single sign that he should stop, but he would, he told himself he would, that right now just a taste would be enough.
#25 - Devotion
He had given her his ultimatum, knowing full well that she would have no choice but to refuse, that her loyalty was always to her clan, and really, there was no more painless way to end this - whatever it was - before it got out of his control; so one could imagine his surprise when she narrowed her eyes at him and said, evenly, "All right, I'll go with you."
#26 - Forever
The mark on her arm, Χ, was more permanent than any tattoo or blemish, unfading, an eternal reminder of what someone who despised her had intended her to be, what she still refused to become; Vergil traced it with the tips of fingers, told her she was fortunate that what she was fighting against was visible, tangible, and not bone-deep, as all of his scars were.
#27 - Blood
In the right light, her hair was a deep, rich red that humans could not boast, beautiful, but sifting through his fingers, he wished it reminded him a little less of blood - or perhaps that was only so because the thought of blood drove him to distraction, as it always had.
#28 - Sickness
He shook, his eyes glowed, his form twisted, claws sprouting from his hands and his skin phasing into armor and darkness erratically, and when he snapped, "Stay away!", she stopped just short of touching him, just short of saving him from himself.
#29 - Melody
Vergil didn't play the violin for any reason since he had played for his mother, hadn't touched an instrument in years and hadn't planned to, but Lucia called it part of the recovery process, yet one more bit of his human half lost to the pursuit of power; the Stradivari was too familiar in his hands, Bach's sonata in G minor too smooth, and it was almost as if he never stopped.
#30 - Star
Nothing lived forever, not a devil, not a god, not even the stars, but if they had to burn out eventually, they could at least try to do it together.
#31 - Home
"This can be your home," she insisted, gesturing at the pristine shore of Dumary, knowing it was futile, knowing he would leave again no matter what she said, ever the solitary, wandering knight.
#32 - Confusion
Lucia stood on one side, eyebrow arched; Vergil stood on the other, both eyebrows raised; neither one of them was quite sure what to do about the Larva that had somehow managed to swallow a streetcar and was currently lying in the middle of the track, choking on it, but someone was going to have to do something.
#33 - Fear
Strong, too strong, far too powerful for her or any of them, his father's blood pulsing within him, he could kill her, he would kill her if she didn't get out out of his way, no, no, she wasn't going to let him do this, he was better than this, to hell with life or death, she would stand her ground, breathe deep and don't be afraid.
#34 - Lightning/Thunder
There was a violent ripple across the sky, gutteral, shaking the ground under their feet, crackles of light in the distant clouds; Lucia said, "We should find a place to stay tonight," and Vergil agreed for once - they would go to an inn and wait out the storm, complete the hunt at dawn.
#35 - Bonds
Dante called him out on it the first chance he had, laughing, accusing Vergil of always having a "thing" for redheads, and Vergil could have strangled him, but this was something brothers did, it was just another sign of the beginning of reconciliation between them . . . however irritating.
#36 - Market
They stared at him everytime he ventured into public spaces, especially the plaza, and he was just self-possessed enough not to care, so the Dumarians freely whispered among themselves how uncanny it was, that he resembled the renditions in the history books and art displays so closely; it was almost as if he was the legend reborn - and some of them conveniently forgot about his much less dignified brother.
#37 - Technology
Native Dumarians, ever conscious of the natural world, never really took to the concept of motor vehicles, and Vergil was building all sorts of leg muscle he didn't want while Lucia pranced on for days without losing a breath; he was starting to resent her for it, too.
#38 - Gift
He looked at the oblong box dubiously, not taking it until Lucia insisted with a simple, "Go on, it's yours," and when he did look, his shock could not be measured, because it was Yamato, intact and as perfect as the day he'd given it up; he would find out later that Dante had given it to her, told her to "wrap it up pretty, make sure Verg knows he's got a place here".
#39 - Smile
Lucia clapped both hands over mouth and her shoulders convulsed, but no amount of stifling could stop the laughter that erupted, and he didn't appreciate being laughed at with these infernal Dumarian children - who had no concept of personal space - clinging to him like leeches.
#40 - Innocence
All things considered, and especially in comparison to him, she was naive to the darker aspects of the world, as she was neither traitor of kin nor kind; really, that was a form of knowledge he didn't feel she required, and he was selfish enough to want to bask in her purity as if he could ever retrieve his own.
#41 - Completion
When the power-stripping ritual was over, Vergil would let no one near him, not even her, as he stumbled out of the temple on his own two (human) feet, stopped on the shore to stare out at the ocean, wondering if there was even a point without power to give him a purpose; eventually, Lucia came to his side and stood there with him, quietly, to watch the sunset - the end of one day, the end of one chapter of his existance.
#42 - Clouds
Sometimes, she spread her wings and flew as high as she could, deep into the atmosphere, beyond even the clouds, surrounded by silence and gasping the thin air, just to know that she was still alive, and when she returned, Vergil asked her why she needed to keep reminding herself.
#43 - Sky
Vergil stirred when she said his name, opening his eyes to look at her, and Lucia thought that even in repose his irises were the color of the ocean reflecting the sky just before a storm, sharp and molten, alive with machinations roiling just beneath a calm and even surface.
#44 - Heaven
There were conflicting theories when it came to the existance of a heavenly plane, and Vergil fairly doubted it himself, since in all of his years he had never seen an angel, and on the brink of Death glimpsed only damnation; perhaps his deeds had barred him from ever witnessing such a place, but that was fine - he would be his own judge, and in her arms, find his own bliss.
#45 - Hell
Dante went on his own, out of some vague need to protect her from the worst of it, but Vergil was not nearly so kind as his brother and when Lucia demanded, he let her follow him in; by the time she followed him out, it was all she could do to still believe in any good god that could let such a place exist.
#46 - Sun
Sun gods were among the most popular of all gods worshipped among her people, popular around the world really, the most likely to descend from above to take human brides, and frankly, looking at Vergil, she could see why many of the women didn't put up a fight.
#47 - Moon
The world was stark as death, black and white and blue, moonlight on snow, and, as Lucia moved across the barren field to where Vergil knelt in full demon form, her fingers tight around her swords, she prayed to the sister of the sun that there was something left of a man in him.
#48 - Waves
Sand, gritty on his skin and even in his mouth, the sun hot on his back, he didn't know how long he'd been there, but he was steadily starting to remember, coming to life to the sounds of the ocean somewhere behind him and a soft voice saying in French, "Gods above - he looks just like . . ."
#49 - Hair
Casual physical contact was no easy thing for the two of them, at first, a hurdle for both his pride and her reserve; Lucia was the first to attempt it, gently sweeping a few loose white strands from his eyes as he read his book, and Vergil pretended it was nothing, though it suddenly became more difficult to focus on the pages in front of him.
#50 - Supernova
True power, true purpose, it was an explosion of energy, the sudden illumunation of understanding, as they stood there, swords drawn, determined that if this world she had fought so hard for and he now owed so much had to end, it would be in a bang, and never a whimper.
Fandom: Devil May Cry
Pairing: Vergil x Lucia
Theme set: Alpha
Rating: PG-13
Note: My jumping board for my favorite crack pairing, huzzah! (Maybe now I can actually write a story about them...)
#01 - Comfort
The eldest son of Sparda was what he was, inscrutable, loyal only to his own sense of right and wrong (often very different from everyone else's) and perhaps not the hero his father had been, but perhaps that wasn't the point, Lucia thought, consoling herself in the wake of his coldness, perhaps it was only that he was himself.
#02 - Kiss
The first kiss she ever gave him was on his hand, a kiss of reverence, and, in its own way, mocking, reminding him that only great kings and lords recieved such respect, but frankly, he's far less like his father than he'd prefer.
#03 - Soft
Vergil did not live a life fit for gentle things, full of swords and bloody death, mercy crushed beneath his boot, but now and then he allowed himself indulgences, and the silk-soft press of her skin was one of them.
#04 - Pain
A halfling's body was not meant to bear this much power, this much demonic corruption, it was excruciating, agony beyond imagining; the only thing that saved his sanity was Lucia's arms around him as he writhed.
#05 - Potatoes
She was going to make him eat something, damn it, no matter how invincible he thought he was, and she ignored the cold look he gave her when she shoved the forkful of lukewarm potatoes at him, saying softly, "You'll eat or I'll kill you, those are your options."
#06 - Rain
Lucia laughed at him when he suggested, sourly, that she open an umbrella before she drowned, but then, what priestess wouldn't have an appreciation for nature and all that it offered?
#07 - Chocolate
The summer had been unusually harsh on Dumary, and she spent much of it on the shore, allowing the sun to darken her skin to a deeper brown, streak her hair an even brighter red, blood and chocolate, an unusual and somehow enticing combination, and he had to force his gaze not to linger too long.
#08 - Happiness
Nearly, and almost, and not quite, this was the best way to summarize what they had, each with their own loyalties (a brother who needed him, a people who needed her), often half a world apart despite their best intentions, so perhaps no amount of trying would make it right, but joy was best found in little moments, with little thought to tomorrow.
#09 - Telephone
"No, I don't know when I'll be back..." Lucia trailed off, painfully aware of how far away Matier's voice sounded over the old-fashioned payphone in Moscow, but a glance at Vergil, leaning against the booth, patiently waiting for her to finish, strengthened her resolve enough to finish, "but I promise to keep in touch."
#10 - Ears
Lucia couldn't believe it when she heard it, just had to see it for herself, and there he was, against all belief, sitting next to his brother, the two of them talking like civilized beings, and she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding since the day she met him - finally, a step in the right direction.
#11 - Name
They were both people who had two names, one given in love, another in ownership; she had chosen the name Matier had given her, and he still had yet to choose, but whatever his decision, it wouldn't be out of servitude to any desires but his own.
#12 - Sensual
The entire ritual dance was provocative, so by the end of it Vergil thought he had seen it all, but he still had to make an effort not to gape like a fourteen-year-old boy when Lucia completed the performance with a swivel of her hips that would have put Salome to shame.
#13 - Death
"How many times have you died?" Lucia whispered that night, arms around him and lips warm against his throat, and he told her it didn't matter if he died again and again, he would keep fighting his way out of the abyss, and now, not just for his own sake.
#14 - Sex
It probably shouldn't have surprised him that a pagan priestess was also a free-thinking hedonist, but considering he was her first, she really shouldn't have been the one teaching him things.
#15 - Touch
Suitable for the creatures that lurked here, it was impossibly dark in this place, so much so that she couldn't see anything at all even with her devil-enhanced senses, which made it even more surprising when Vergil reached back to touch her bare shoulder and make certain she was all right.
#16 - Weakness
"Having anything at all is useless without the power to defend it, Lucia - what would your people have done without the gifts given to them by their gods, without my brother to come to their aid, without their protectors, their priests; you and I both know morality would not have stopped Arius from destroying you all."
#17 - Tears
On the night her mother, safe in her bed, breathed her last, Lucia did not cry, because it was not something to mourn, Matier's soul was free to move on to her next life; Vergil recalled the night his own mother had died, remembered that he hadn't cried either, but for very different reasons.
#18 - Speed
Step for step, Lucia could outlast him, her energy leaning towards long-term endurance, but all he needed to defeat her was one mercilessly quick move that broke her defense each and every time; she was learning, though, and looked forward to the day she knocked him flat on his back for once.
#19 - Wind
A sudden swirl of air, a burst of feathers and white, and he was surprised at her form - what he considered her true form - its elfin grace and terrible power, hollow-boned, so she flew farther and faster than he did, glowing blades in hand, slicing into their adversary with force as merciless as a tornado.
#20 - Freedom
"To do as you wish, without need of interferance from others, that is true power - autonomous power, what the Vie du Marii have fought for all of these centuries - and we would not have a son of Sparda, or Mundus, or Arius, even our gods, subjugate us for that power, Vergil, because there is no gracious form of slavery."
#21 - Life
"It doesn't matter what you say, the willingness to destroy is not what makes one strong," Lucia panted from where she stood across from him, somehow still able to function despite the wounds he had inflicted still fresh, soaking crimson into her torn clothes.
#22 - Jealousy
There were times, watching him oil and fine-tune and practice with that katana of his, admiring its precision and beauty, that Lucia believed he adored it more than he ever would a woman.
#23 - Hands
Her hand, lined with strength that could only come of sword use, similar to Vergil's own,
trailed from one book spine to another with careless grace - when she finally found the tome they needed and gave it to him, he allowed their fingers to brush, just for an instant.
#24 - Taste
The silk robes parted easily, too easily, and she was so eager and pliant underneath him, touching everywhere she could, kissing him hard enough to leave him breathless, and never uttering a word or giving him a single sign that he should stop, but he would, he told himself he would, that right now just a taste would be enough.
#25 - Devotion
He had given her his ultimatum, knowing full well that she would have no choice but to refuse, that her loyalty was always to her clan, and really, there was no more painless way to end this - whatever it was - before it got out of his control; so one could imagine his surprise when she narrowed her eyes at him and said, evenly, "All right, I'll go with you."
#26 - Forever
The mark on her arm, Χ, was more permanent than any tattoo or blemish, unfading, an eternal reminder of what someone who despised her had intended her to be, what she still refused to become; Vergil traced it with the tips of fingers, told her she was fortunate that what she was fighting against was visible, tangible, and not bone-deep, as all of his scars were.
#27 - Blood
In the right light, her hair was a deep, rich red that humans could not boast, beautiful, but sifting through his fingers, he wished it reminded him a little less of blood - or perhaps that was only so because the thought of blood drove him to distraction, as it always had.
#28 - Sickness
He shook, his eyes glowed, his form twisted, claws sprouting from his hands and his skin phasing into armor and darkness erratically, and when he snapped, "Stay away!", she stopped just short of touching him, just short of saving him from himself.
#29 - Melody
Vergil didn't play the violin for any reason since he had played for his mother, hadn't touched an instrument in years and hadn't planned to, but Lucia called it part of the recovery process, yet one more bit of his human half lost to the pursuit of power; the Stradivari was too familiar in his hands, Bach's sonata in G minor too smooth, and it was almost as if he never stopped.
#30 - Star
Nothing lived forever, not a devil, not a god, not even the stars, but if they had to burn out eventually, they could at least try to do it together.
#31 - Home
"This can be your home," she insisted, gesturing at the pristine shore of Dumary, knowing it was futile, knowing he would leave again no matter what she said, ever the solitary, wandering knight.
#32 - Confusion
Lucia stood on one side, eyebrow arched; Vergil stood on the other, both eyebrows raised; neither one of them was quite sure what to do about the Larva that had somehow managed to swallow a streetcar and was currently lying in the middle of the track, choking on it, but someone was going to have to do something.
#33 - Fear
Strong, too strong, far too powerful for her or any of them, his father's blood pulsing within him, he could kill her, he would kill her if she didn't get out out of his way, no, no, she wasn't going to let him do this, he was better than this, to hell with life or death, she would stand her ground, breathe deep and don't be afraid.
#34 - Lightning/Thunder
There was a violent ripple across the sky, gutteral, shaking the ground under their feet, crackles of light in the distant clouds; Lucia said, "We should find a place to stay tonight," and Vergil agreed for once - they would go to an inn and wait out the storm, complete the hunt at dawn.
#35 - Bonds
Dante called him out on it the first chance he had, laughing, accusing Vergil of always having a "thing" for redheads, and Vergil could have strangled him, but this was something brothers did, it was just another sign of the beginning of reconciliation between them . . . however irritating.
#36 - Market
They stared at him everytime he ventured into public spaces, especially the plaza, and he was just self-possessed enough not to care, so the Dumarians freely whispered among themselves how uncanny it was, that he resembled the renditions in the history books and art displays so closely; it was almost as if he was the legend reborn - and some of them conveniently forgot about his much less dignified brother.
#37 - Technology
Native Dumarians, ever conscious of the natural world, never really took to the concept of motor vehicles, and Vergil was building all sorts of leg muscle he didn't want while Lucia pranced on for days without losing a breath; he was starting to resent her for it, too.
#38 - Gift
He looked at the oblong box dubiously, not taking it until Lucia insisted with a simple, "Go on, it's yours," and when he did look, his shock could not be measured, because it was Yamato, intact and as perfect as the day he'd given it up; he would find out later that Dante had given it to her, told her to "wrap it up pretty, make sure Verg knows he's got a place here".
#39 - Smile
Lucia clapped both hands over mouth and her shoulders convulsed, but no amount of stifling could stop the laughter that erupted, and he didn't appreciate being laughed at with these infernal Dumarian children - who had no concept of personal space - clinging to him like leeches.
#40 - Innocence
All things considered, and especially in comparison to him, she was naive to the darker aspects of the world, as she was neither traitor of kin nor kind; really, that was a form of knowledge he didn't feel she required, and he was selfish enough to want to bask in her purity as if he could ever retrieve his own.
#41 - Completion
When the power-stripping ritual was over, Vergil would let no one near him, not even her, as he stumbled out of the temple on his own two (human) feet, stopped on the shore to stare out at the ocean, wondering if there was even a point without power to give him a purpose; eventually, Lucia came to his side and stood there with him, quietly, to watch the sunset - the end of one day, the end of one chapter of his existance.
#42 - Clouds
Sometimes, she spread her wings and flew as high as she could, deep into the atmosphere, beyond even the clouds, surrounded by silence and gasping the thin air, just to know that she was still alive, and when she returned, Vergil asked her why she needed to keep reminding herself.
#43 - Sky
Vergil stirred when she said his name, opening his eyes to look at her, and Lucia thought that even in repose his irises were the color of the ocean reflecting the sky just before a storm, sharp and molten, alive with machinations roiling just beneath a calm and even surface.
#44 - Heaven
There were conflicting theories when it came to the existance of a heavenly plane, and Vergil fairly doubted it himself, since in all of his years he had never seen an angel, and on the brink of Death glimpsed only damnation; perhaps his deeds had barred him from ever witnessing such a place, but that was fine - he would be his own judge, and in her arms, find his own bliss.
#45 - Hell
Dante went on his own, out of some vague need to protect her from the worst of it, but Vergil was not nearly so kind as his brother and when Lucia demanded, he let her follow him in; by the time she followed him out, it was all she could do to still believe in any good god that could let such a place exist.
#46 - Sun
Sun gods were among the most popular of all gods worshipped among her people, popular around the world really, the most likely to descend from above to take human brides, and frankly, looking at Vergil, she could see why many of the women didn't put up a fight.
#47 - Moon
The world was stark as death, black and white and blue, moonlight on snow, and, as Lucia moved across the barren field to where Vergil knelt in full demon form, her fingers tight around her swords, she prayed to the sister of the sun that there was something left of a man in him.
#48 - Waves
Sand, gritty on his skin and even in his mouth, the sun hot on his back, he didn't know how long he'd been there, but he was steadily starting to remember, coming to life to the sounds of the ocean somewhere behind him and a soft voice saying in French, "Gods above - he looks just like . . ."
#49 - Hair
Casual physical contact was no easy thing for the two of them, at first, a hurdle for both his pride and her reserve; Lucia was the first to attempt it, gently sweeping a few loose white strands from his eyes as he read his book, and Vergil pretended it was nothing, though it suddenly became more difficult to focus on the pages in front of him.
#50 - Supernova
True power, true purpose, it was an explosion of energy, the sudden illumunation of understanding, as they stood there, swords drawn, determined that if this world she had fought so hard for and he now owed so much had to end, it would be in a bang, and never a whimper.