There will be magic, chapter 79, RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita, UruhaxAsagi, Ni-yaxSakitoxHitsugi
Title: There will be magic
Author: yukigafuru
Chapters: 79/80
Pairings: RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita, UruhaxAsagi, Ni~yaxSakitoxHitsugi for now
Bands: Gazette, Naitomea, D... (and a surprise)
Rating: PG-15-PG-17 overall
Warnings: will be angst, yaoi, threesome, a bit of gore here and there, light mpreg
Genre: AU, Angst, Romance
Disclaimer:
I am not connected to the real persons. This is just a figment of my imagination and I don't make any money nor profit in any way out of this (well, except gathering your love that is).
Summary:
The age of magic and mystery is coming towards its end. But what if someone that has the gift to see the future can join forces with others who have the power to stop it? What will be born then? What will be found?
Chapter 79
The morning was cold and dark, with storm clouds hanging high above them, clouds that looked like huge dark masses of coal dust. The wind had picked up again, beating against the tower and crowing through the small cracks and fissures. The wind itself could have been an efficient waking up call, if they hadn't had an even more reliable one of those in the form of an owl. Cha had woken up too early for a nocturne bird of prey and had swiftly circled the huts and made a racket that managed to wake everyone up.
The sun had just barely begun to appear red beyond the horizons and they were already all huddled together around the tower, in the positions the prophet had instructed them to stand in. The pairings with the medallions took their corresponding cardinal places, while Uruha and Asagi, Ruka and Yomi stood next to Aoi, to help him unleash his magic better in the absence of Reita. It took all five of them together to form a web strong enough to sustain Aoi's magic in its search for its mate. It was obvious from the time You had instructed them regarding this scheme that they would be going after Reita first, and only after having recovered him, would they target the Necra. The truth was that they needed Reita, for as it was the web was only precariously balanced. They could make a jump, but they could not use it for more than that. Without Reita, aside from their own individual powers, they were quite open to any attack the Necra might throw at them and that fact made this jump even more dangerous, for they would surely land into a trap. Still, they had no choice.
You had drawn a diagram before hand with complicated markings and symbols, a circle that encompassed all of them, uniting and binding them together. He had made Gackt burn the markings on the ground, all around the watchtower. In his dragon form, it had been an easy task for the dragon king, who had skillfully copied the design. Moments later, he had landed on soft fragrant grass that smelled like green, wind and rain, turned back to his human self and wound his arms around his lover, whom he did not plan to leave out of his sight for a moment, considering the scare he had gone through last night.
Cha was swirling around the circle, in what could only be described as a spiral; drawing closer and closer to its center, which was also perpendicular to the origin of the circle they found themselves in. With each moment, he flew faster, until he came to look like a gray arrow piercing the sky, entirely too easy to lose sight of with the dark clouds as a background. Meanwhile, on the ground, You was chanting, in an old, unknown language, a language that he had told them preceded any ever heard on Earth, the tongue of the gods, the voice of life and magic. He did not truly know it, he explained, for no record of it had remained and not even a prophet could see into the past. But there was no need to know the words, for with all of them aligned for the ritual, they flew from his lips, like the first sounds a child makes when emerging from his mother's womb.
A refrain, a pattern, stood out from amongst the jumble of unknown sounds and the travelers, in sequence, North, East, South, West started repeating the same sounds that they could not understand. In the end, the same succession of syllables was repeated in a single voice, over and over again, till the wind stopped blowing, the clouds directly above their circle dissipated and the red sun, surrounded by a dark circle, dark as the night, shone straight above them. The air shivered then, as if filled with millions of bees in a huge beehive, the temperature grew a few degrees and the travelers felt as if their skin had suddenly become too tight for their bodies. Their hair stood on ends, their eyes took on the same deep red color and for a moment they all looked like specters risen from the grave to avenge some grave misdeed.
One moment they were on an isle in the middle of the sea, with nothing but blue, grays and greens surrounding them, the next, the image shifted, diluted - ink mixing with the reflected image in a pond, making the vision indiscernible till the point where the ink dilutes and seems to disappear amongst the waves - and then formed into another one: of a lake, surrounded by woods to the south, mountains to the North and an immense castle right in their line of sight, staring them down, from its gargoyled heights.
They only had moments to check that they were indeed there, to ascertain that everyone had arrived safely and to hear Aoi's cries telling them he could feel Reita inside the castle, before all hell broke loose. The forest quivered with the battle cries - howls - of wolves; birds of prey rose as one from the mountainous cliffs, so many that they covered the sun and turned the already dark day into night, while sea monsters remarkably similar to the desert worms they had fought before pierced the lake's surface and swirled in their direction. Not only were they virtually surrounded by legions of enemies, but they found with horror that their moves were restricted.
They still held the ability to morph and use their magic, but each time they tried to do that, it felt as if the weight of the sky suddenly descended upon their shoulders. In these conditions, they were forced to keep tight together, breaking the original circular pattern, protect each others backs, and use their weapons more than their magic. The blades and arrows might have felt like another limb to the kings, but for the others, even though they each had received weapons from the Abaian soldiers, bows were hard to draw, swords heavy in their hands and daggers had limited reach. The odds were more than unfair even when the worms in the lake had not been able to attack due to the distance between the travelers and the lake. In these conditions, reaching the castle alive and with all pieces attached, seemed as an impossibility.
Aoi gritted his teeth and fought harder. He knew he had to get to Reita, whatever it took, so for once he asked the help of the others, asked them to trust him and shield him while he performed his trick. He had not used this power since rescuing Reita from the underground maze and he had not expected having to use it again, for it required much of his own magical powers. Still, with no other option in sight, he gave out a signal, one that only he and perhaps the Abaia could hear, a call to all the water around him. What he was attempting to do was nothing like what he had done before, for there was water all around them now, on the leaves from last night's rain, in the clouds, in the lake, under the earth - and separating one source from another, manipulating it to his will was a Herculean task.
Under the heavy burden, he fell to his knees and did not rise again. You's hand on his shoulder, infusing him with strength, and the presence of his lover that he could feel deep down inside, made him keep going. With a roar and a whoosh, huge columns of water gathered on the surface of the lake, whirlpools that would have sucked the worms in if not for Aoi, who carefully guided them towards the mountains and not his enemies. There was less water in the granite than he needed so he used the pillars of water to rain down floods on the landscape, imbibe every square millimeter and every tiny nook, till the point the castle looked submerged. Then, the water became ice and ice became diamonds and sooner than later, the castle was sweeping towards them being pulled down by a landslide, precisely controlled by the mishepishu. By the time the lake had become no more than a puddle and all the worms had been squashed by the weight of rocks, dirt, trees and the Necra's fortress, Aoi had fainted, satisfied that he had brought Reita closer and confident that the others could take over for a while.
While the battle was raging on outside, inside the castle, the Necra himself was climbing the walls in frustration. He couldn't go out, not yet, couldn't risk taking on all of them, until Reita was out of the picture, he told himself over and over again, yet it was so hard to just stay still and let his minions keep them busy. The landslide came as an unexpected and very unpleasant surprise. It brought him down literally for even more attacks were to be expected. If only his other minion would hurry up...
Reita had felt Aoi's presence immediately, like a balm caressing his entire being and had known from the first minute of the battle that somehow, they would win. He had complete faith that good would prevail over evil. He therefore thought it nothing more than a confirmation of that belief when Ruiza slithered his way inside and talked him into his escape plan. At first, he had been resistant, so sure that he need only wait and the others would come for him, but when hearing the other's counter-arguments, he understood he had to act. And so, he took the pill.
“He'll demolish this entire castle, bring it down on our heads if it comes to that, before he lets your lover get to you.” Ruiza had said and his eyes glittered like a cat's. “Do you not trust me?” Reita did. “Take this. It will only simulate premature childbirth. The Necra will assume the stress is making you give birth before your time and since he desires your baby so much, he will be unable to help himself and will order a couple of women to come to your chamber and help with the delivery. One of them will surely be my sister. When they're here, I'll secretly hand you the antidote, to both the pill and the previous power-inhibitor. You'll then disguise yourself as one of the women, and the three of us will slip outside passing the guards.”
It sounded like a sound plan. Reita took the bluish pill, and its effects were already visible by the time the castle started moving, gliding down the mountain's slope. He clenched his teeth and bore the pain, although it felt as if his son were trying to claw his way out. He then noticed the blood reddening the sheets. He wished Ruiza would hurry, for the process terrified him more than he cared to admit. His son was kicking furiously, and Reita screamed. He was sweating and bleeding and tearing the sheets apart when the door opened again.
He meant to say “Finally” but only got past the first syllable when he saw who was coming through the door. Ruiza had returned indeed, only he wasn't accompanied by midwives, but by the Necra, a gleeful grin on his face.
“What?” He whizzed through parched lips and closed his eyes against the dizziness.
Ruiza could not even look him in the eye.
“You're about to give me a son, that's all, Reita.” The Necra said but Reita could not comprehend. He heard the words, but his world was filled with pain, anger and disappointment and he could not focus. “Ruiza here betrayed you, for love of course. I have never met an emotion more stupid and easier to manipulate. You see, I promised him his sister, swore a magical oath to release them both unharmed if he convinced you to take that little pill. The one you did take.”
“What was it?” He gasped.
“Just what he said. You're giving birth prematurely.”
“But my son, he's too small...” He whined.
“He'll live or die, I suppose. Either way, suits me just fine. What's important is that I kill you before those baboons you have for friends start barging in here. Once you abort, that is if you survive the abortion, it won't be hard to kill you, now will it?”
He tried to beg Ruiza, and even the monster he hated more than anything and anyone in the world, but the first would not raise his gaze from the ground and there was no mercy from the Necra.
The contractions started and the pain only grew. Just before fainting, he remembered calling out to Aoi, calling out with all his might, for his lover was now his and his child's only chance.
However, Aoi was unconscious and even though his medallion glowed bright red and burned his skin, with his magical reserves depleted, he could no more respond than he could end the Necra's life then and there. However, there was another that sensed the cry - truth be told- intuited it more than sensed it. Asagi took off his ring and let the visions assault him. It took him minutes of piercing headaches to sort through the incoming barrage of gruesome visions but finally, he settled on the one that was most relevant for the moment, the one where Reita lay dead, surrounded by his own blood, his and Aoi's son still-born beside him.
“Uru” he called and even though the Abaia had been in the midst of battle, with a quick swipe of his long, scythe-like sword, he cut down his surrounding enemies in a moment, before descending to Asagi's side.
“What is it, love? You sound distressed.”
“You have to get me to that castle! Now!” Normally, Asagi would not dare to command so, but there was little time left.
“But love, we're surrounded. How do you propose I do that?”
“Please, think. There has to be something. I had to be here and you had to be by my side for a reason. Please. Reita is dying and the babe with him.”
Uruha did think, long and hard and the moments passed them by. He controlled water and souls. How was he supposed to penetrate through the magical protections that surrounded the castle, not to mention get them inside the walls, while defeating the guards, without getting attacked by a swarm of angry harpies?
“I'm sorry, love, there's nothing I can think of. There is not enough water left around here and my influence over Abaian souls...” He abruptly stopped and Asagi knew he had it. Uruha had figured it out. He stretched his hands and Asagi pulled him tight against him, guiding his palms towards the nape of his neck. He then shimmered and Asagi screamed in agony for it felt as if every single cell in his body were being rewritten at the moment.
“I'm so sorry.” Uruha kept whispering in his ear and Asagi only nodded. If this was what it took... He tried to distract himself from the pain by asking for an explanation.
“This isn't me, love, it's you. That's why it hurts so much.” Asagi didn't understand. “Your ring, I told you it was formed from my blood in very special circumstances. Since I am the ruler of the Abaias, it ties me to you, but not only that, it ties you to every single Abaian soul out there. Including the ones that have been tortured and murdered inside those walls. Not just tortured, but denied the knowledge of their mates, denied rebirth for so long... Their souls are crying out to us, inviting us in, asking us to free them. And soul magic is a very powerful thing, if I'm right, more powerful than that protective web.”
It turned out that he was right. They were flying through the sky, advancing towards the castle, invisible almost for not one harpy from the storm of birds covering the sky, attacked them. And then they were passing through walls, avoiding the detection of the deformed guards patrolling the corridors, advancing deep within the fortress, towards Reita. Only when they were finally in the room, by his bed, did the magic seem to fade, and the Necra screamed a battle cry and attacked. A fierce battle of swords and magic ensued between the Necra and Uruha, but Asagi had no time to observe. He rushed to Reita's side, gently lifted the unconscious man up and did the only think that he could think of doing, he slit his right wrist over his chest, over the medallion, and then allowed drops of his blood to fall into the tiger's mouth.
“Soul magic.” He whispered. He didn't know what he was doing but he suspected he was somehow binding the two souls in front of him to his. As long as it prolonged their life, he didn't mind.
“No!” Uruha hollered and dealt a sharp blow, sending the Necra back into retreat. “Asagi, no!” But it was too late, the magic well underway. What Asagi did not know was that he had unwittingly performed very dark magic, blood and soul magic merged in one. Reita was already bound to Aoi and their son to them. Involving Asagi would break away pieces of their souls. They would be alive, but only as shadows of what they had been. Nevertheless, one immediate effect was that it forced the bond between Reita and Aoi to grow taut, to call one to the other, to draw them inexorably together. The tension resulted brought Reita's body to Aoi's, in the middle of the chaos of the battle field and in the midst of their friends, one of whom was a very powerful healer, another a wielder of an enormous amount of knowledge. Asagi collapsed.
Uruha was fighting his way to his lover's side, intent on not getting them killed, now that Asagi's magical force had been robbed from him. He was losing the battle, he knew. He had not anticipated such strength and in one so similar to his love. If not for the eyes... he shuddered to even think that he could mistake them for one another. He had been too engrossed in the battle and lost sight of Ruiza, who had stood shock still in one corner of the room, Ruiza who had undetected approached the bed, raised a dagger and...
Uruha screamed and fell to his knees. Asagi was dead and he could not survive without him. The Necra only needed that one blink of a moment to take advantage of and stabbed him through the heart. Uruha collapsed, his only thought that he may be allowed to reunite with his soul mate in the next lifetime.
The Necra was wiping his blade clean, when Uruha and Asagi's bodies disappeared as sudden as they had appeared and the walls of his castle started to shake.
“What the...” He had time to say before the ceiling came crashing down. Ruiza was crushed instantly, the Necra barely had time to raise a moderate protective shield, that still left him only partially protected. He bore the pain, happy at least in the knowledge that he would get out and with Uruha, Asagi and possibly Reita out of the way, victory was his.
What he did not know was that he could not have been more wrong. Reita had landed in the midst of his friends and as soon as Yomi gave the alarm, Kai and You were by his side, protected by the others while they attempted to bring him back to health. With Asagi's death, the dark magic used earlier had dissipated and Reita was in critical danger, but laid next to his love, surrounded by a healing cocoon weaved around him by Kai, while You chanted ancient healing spells, Reita had good chances of healing. He would heal faster if the magic were Aoi's and Kai and You could give no assurances regarding the babe, but Reita's life would most probably be safe.
The others were still fighting, protecting Reita and the others intent on saving the couple when the world slipped off its ax and time itself stopped. Now they were fighting a swarm of foes, growing tireder and more weary by the moment, and the next thing they knew, they had been moved to their initial positions, inside a carefully sketched circle, with Sakito and his lovers to the North, Kai and Ruki to the South; Reita and Aoi lay unconscious in each other's arms to the West and You and Gackt to the East. In the middle lay the bodies of Asagi and Uruha, painting the ground underneath red, with Ruka and Yomi on their left and right.
There was no question left in You's mind as to what it all meant and what he had to do. The sun had been completely eclipsed, black as night surrounded by a red band of fire, the clouds had completely dispersed, the forest and the wind were singing and the ground shook. It was time.
“Turn!” You ordered in the ancient tongue and even though they did not understand the words, each one of them got the meaning. At once, all of them transformed, even Ruki and Sakito who had hid their forms till then, even Aoi and Reita, who were still unconscious and wrapped up in each other. That was when a light stronger than anything they had ever experienced surrounded them and surrounded the world and from the center of the circle, a swirling golden mist emerged, swirled around itself and grew, solidified and grew bigger still, till it revealed its true form: a great golden dragon, the ancient god of the tales, the creator of the world, the only being to become immortal and a god when once only a leader of nations. The dragon surged higher and higher towards the sky and in its climb, seemed to absorb all the heat in the world. Outside the protective field, the temperature dropped and became freezing. Enclosed in the circle of light, the friends could see snow starting to fall, glacial winds ripping apart the trees' foliage, the beasts that had so relentlessly attacked them freeze and shatter in the wind. And still the dragon flew higher, aiming for the eclipsed sun.
Out of that eclipse, out of what seemed to be the only darkness remaining in the world, emerged another shape, deformed, unrecognizable, a mass of smoke and death, brimstone and poison, and it lashed towards the light dragon. They plunged at each other, bit and lashed and collided so many times the friends lost count. They also lost count of the hours that passed, the snow gathering outside, the castle now collapsed into ruins and each other, their eyes and souls fixed on what was happening up above.
The fight between the two beings, one made of light and the other of darkness could have lasted ages or it could have lasted minutes, but in the end, the light grew dimmer and dimmer while the dark shape became fainter and fainter and the sun recovered its brightness and the beautiful pallet of the sunset. The force field that had protected them became obsolete and once all traces of the two aerial beings had disappeared, the world remained clouded in stillness.
And then, Aoi woke up and swiftly shifted, pressing closer to his wounded mate. The medallion glowed a warm blue color and Reita shifted, the pregnancy clearly visible through his tattered clothing.
“Rei?” The silence was broken successively by Aoi's whisper and Reita's groan. Aoi put his hand over his mate's stomach and cried when he felt the answering fluttering indicating that his son was healthily kicking his parents. The blinding smile he gave might just have been brighter than the yellow dragon's magic.
Successively, all of them switched back to their smaller, humanoid shapes and collapsed on the ground, out of breath and strength, their eyes riveted towards the middle of the circle, where movement appeared. First to stir was Ruka who immediately checked Yomi's status, before giving a nod to the others and turning towards Uruha and Asagi, still unmoving. Ruka bit his lip and shook his head. They were dead.
Yomi woke up and stared at the bodies of his friends, death-still next to him and felt tears overwhelm him. Everyone's eyes were red and here and there, sobs were heard. The only one that looked unaffected was Ruki, who instead of crying or shivering in Kai's arms, drew closer to the bodies.
“He said something about a sacrifice.” Ruki whispered. The others paid attention. “Before, when explaining his visions, he said something about a sacrifice. He thought that was him, not both of them... There should have only been one sacrifice, one life.” He shook his head. The others didn't understand, not even You. You had only known about the prophecy, and the ancient spells needed to unleash it; contrary to what the rest might have thought, he did not hold godly wisdom nor could he beat death. And in the prophecy, it only specified the existence of a sacrifice, not the number of beings needed. For all he had known, it could have been all of them.
“It was supposed to be tainted blood.” Ruki continued, as if in a trance. “ There was nothing tainted about them. Their love was pure and beautiful and soulful. This doesn't make sense.” Ruki mumbled.
Kai approached his mate, gathered him in his arms and tried to sooth him, wrongly thinking that Ruki was so affected by their friends' deaths that he was somehow in denial, trying to make sense out of a situation that could not be comprehended. But Ruki escaped from his arms, he shook him away and took his time gazing at every one of the others, his eyes begging them to understand, his powers taking his cue and sending to all of them the same memories and feelings he had.
“Something is wrong. The prophecy did not happen as it should have. There's still something we can do, surely.” He begged them to understand and even though they didn't see it like he did, they knew the feelings of helplessness, denial and hope. Ruki was frustrated with his inability to get them to understand, with the narrowness of their perceptions, with the way they kept or tried to keep their sorrow and hope hidden, behind masks. So he did what he had never done before, what only a god, the Golden Dragon had ended up doing: for only an instant, he merged their consciousnesses with his.
He pulled down all barriers he could find, tore them down in one immense show of magical strength and for that one instant, he had in his hands the greatest power ever known or would be known to the world. For an instant, he held in his hands the combined four elements, the combined strengths of ancient gods, and the power of life and death, his to wield in whatever way he chose. He could have destroyed the world or built it anew, but what he did was focus it all on the two beings of whom his memories were stronger than ever, right there within his reach, just behind his eyelids. And all that power, wielded by a Sumarg, was just enough to rip the veil of time and causality, to bring back two souls joined as one.
Ruki didn't even hear the chorus of surprised and angry voices surrounding him. He knew what he had done, better than any of them did. He had invaded their very cores, took advantage of his friends and gave himself away in the process, but at the moment, he could only care about Uruha and Asagi, about the two shapes in the middle that he could now feel again. They were alive and their stirring a few minutes later cut off all the indignant mutterings of his friends. Silence descended again only this time it was a comfortable, peaceful one, filled with awe and hope, gratefulness and love. They had somehow all made it to the end.
A/N: I started dabbling in photoshop recently, and wanted to do some pics for this. Let me know what you thought of them. I know they scream beginner, but well, trial and error, right?
I especially want to thank the people that r and r-ed last time and I hope to tempt you into it again with this chapter. Let me know whatever you thought or felt. It took a bit out of me, I have to confess and your hugs and comments are really helpful towards getting my bunnies back into gear.
One more chapter left!
Author: yukigafuru
Chapters: 79/80
Pairings: RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita, UruhaxAsagi, Ni~yaxSakitoxHitsugi for now
Bands: Gazette, Naitomea, D... (and a surprise)
Rating: PG-15-PG-17 overall
Warnings: will be angst, yaoi, threesome, a bit of gore here and there, light mpreg
Genre: AU, Angst, Romance
Disclaimer:
I am not connected to the real persons. This is just a figment of my imagination and I don't make any money nor profit in any way out of this (well, except gathering your love that is).
Summary:
The age of magic and mystery is coming towards its end. But what if someone that has the gift to see the future can join forces with others who have the power to stop it? What will be born then? What will be found?
Chapter 79
The morning was cold and dark, with storm clouds hanging high above them, clouds that looked like huge dark masses of coal dust. The wind had picked up again, beating against the tower and crowing through the small cracks and fissures. The wind itself could have been an efficient waking up call, if they hadn't had an even more reliable one of those in the form of an owl. Cha had woken up too early for a nocturne bird of prey and had swiftly circled the huts and made a racket that managed to wake everyone up.
The sun had just barely begun to appear red beyond the horizons and they were already all huddled together around the tower, in the positions the prophet had instructed them to stand in. The pairings with the medallions took their corresponding cardinal places, while Uruha and Asagi, Ruka and Yomi stood next to Aoi, to help him unleash his magic better in the absence of Reita. It took all five of them together to form a web strong enough to sustain Aoi's magic in its search for its mate. It was obvious from the time You had instructed them regarding this scheme that they would be going after Reita first, and only after having recovered him, would they target the Necra. The truth was that they needed Reita, for as it was the web was only precariously balanced. They could make a jump, but they could not use it for more than that. Without Reita, aside from their own individual powers, they were quite open to any attack the Necra might throw at them and that fact made this jump even more dangerous, for they would surely land into a trap. Still, they had no choice.
You had drawn a diagram before hand with complicated markings and symbols, a circle that encompassed all of them, uniting and binding them together. He had made Gackt burn the markings on the ground, all around the watchtower. In his dragon form, it had been an easy task for the dragon king, who had skillfully copied the design. Moments later, he had landed on soft fragrant grass that smelled like green, wind and rain, turned back to his human self and wound his arms around his lover, whom he did not plan to leave out of his sight for a moment, considering the scare he had gone through last night.
Cha was swirling around the circle, in what could only be described as a spiral; drawing closer and closer to its center, which was also perpendicular to the origin of the circle they found themselves in. With each moment, he flew faster, until he came to look like a gray arrow piercing the sky, entirely too easy to lose sight of with the dark clouds as a background. Meanwhile, on the ground, You was chanting, in an old, unknown language, a language that he had told them preceded any ever heard on Earth, the tongue of the gods, the voice of life and magic. He did not truly know it, he explained, for no record of it had remained and not even a prophet could see into the past. But there was no need to know the words, for with all of them aligned for the ritual, they flew from his lips, like the first sounds a child makes when emerging from his mother's womb.
A refrain, a pattern, stood out from amongst the jumble of unknown sounds and the travelers, in sequence, North, East, South, West started repeating the same sounds that they could not understand. In the end, the same succession of syllables was repeated in a single voice, over and over again, till the wind stopped blowing, the clouds directly above their circle dissipated and the red sun, surrounded by a dark circle, dark as the night, shone straight above them. The air shivered then, as if filled with millions of bees in a huge beehive, the temperature grew a few degrees and the travelers felt as if their skin had suddenly become too tight for their bodies. Their hair stood on ends, their eyes took on the same deep red color and for a moment they all looked like specters risen from the grave to avenge some grave misdeed.
One moment they were on an isle in the middle of the sea, with nothing but blue, grays and greens surrounding them, the next, the image shifted, diluted - ink mixing with the reflected image in a pond, making the vision indiscernible till the point where the ink dilutes and seems to disappear amongst the waves - and then formed into another one: of a lake, surrounded by woods to the south, mountains to the North and an immense castle right in their line of sight, staring them down, from its gargoyled heights.
They only had moments to check that they were indeed there, to ascertain that everyone had arrived safely and to hear Aoi's cries telling them he could feel Reita inside the castle, before all hell broke loose. The forest quivered with the battle cries - howls - of wolves; birds of prey rose as one from the mountainous cliffs, so many that they covered the sun and turned the already dark day into night, while sea monsters remarkably similar to the desert worms they had fought before pierced the lake's surface and swirled in their direction. Not only were they virtually surrounded by legions of enemies, but they found with horror that their moves were restricted.
They still held the ability to morph and use their magic, but each time they tried to do that, it felt as if the weight of the sky suddenly descended upon their shoulders. In these conditions, they were forced to keep tight together, breaking the original circular pattern, protect each others backs, and use their weapons more than their magic. The blades and arrows might have felt like another limb to the kings, but for the others, even though they each had received weapons from the Abaian soldiers, bows were hard to draw, swords heavy in their hands and daggers had limited reach. The odds were more than unfair even when the worms in the lake had not been able to attack due to the distance between the travelers and the lake. In these conditions, reaching the castle alive and with all pieces attached, seemed as an impossibility.
Aoi gritted his teeth and fought harder. He knew he had to get to Reita, whatever it took, so for once he asked the help of the others, asked them to trust him and shield him while he performed his trick. He had not used this power since rescuing Reita from the underground maze and he had not expected having to use it again, for it required much of his own magical powers. Still, with no other option in sight, he gave out a signal, one that only he and perhaps the Abaia could hear, a call to all the water around him. What he was attempting to do was nothing like what he had done before, for there was water all around them now, on the leaves from last night's rain, in the clouds, in the lake, under the earth - and separating one source from another, manipulating it to his will was a Herculean task.
Under the heavy burden, he fell to his knees and did not rise again. You's hand on his shoulder, infusing him with strength, and the presence of his lover that he could feel deep down inside, made him keep going. With a roar and a whoosh, huge columns of water gathered on the surface of the lake, whirlpools that would have sucked the worms in if not for Aoi, who carefully guided them towards the mountains and not his enemies. There was less water in the granite than he needed so he used the pillars of water to rain down floods on the landscape, imbibe every square millimeter and every tiny nook, till the point the castle looked submerged. Then, the water became ice and ice became diamonds and sooner than later, the castle was sweeping towards them being pulled down by a landslide, precisely controlled by the mishepishu. By the time the lake had become no more than a puddle and all the worms had been squashed by the weight of rocks, dirt, trees and the Necra's fortress, Aoi had fainted, satisfied that he had brought Reita closer and confident that the others could take over for a while.
While the battle was raging on outside, inside the castle, the Necra himself was climbing the walls in frustration. He couldn't go out, not yet, couldn't risk taking on all of them, until Reita was out of the picture, he told himself over and over again, yet it was so hard to just stay still and let his minions keep them busy. The landslide came as an unexpected and very unpleasant surprise. It brought him down literally for even more attacks were to be expected. If only his other minion would hurry up...
Reita had felt Aoi's presence immediately, like a balm caressing his entire being and had known from the first minute of the battle that somehow, they would win. He had complete faith that good would prevail over evil. He therefore thought it nothing more than a confirmation of that belief when Ruiza slithered his way inside and talked him into his escape plan. At first, he had been resistant, so sure that he need only wait and the others would come for him, but when hearing the other's counter-arguments, he understood he had to act. And so, he took the pill.
“He'll demolish this entire castle, bring it down on our heads if it comes to that, before he lets your lover get to you.” Ruiza had said and his eyes glittered like a cat's. “Do you not trust me?” Reita did. “Take this. It will only simulate premature childbirth. The Necra will assume the stress is making you give birth before your time and since he desires your baby so much, he will be unable to help himself and will order a couple of women to come to your chamber and help with the delivery. One of them will surely be my sister. When they're here, I'll secretly hand you the antidote, to both the pill and the previous power-inhibitor. You'll then disguise yourself as one of the women, and the three of us will slip outside passing the guards.”
It sounded like a sound plan. Reita took the bluish pill, and its effects were already visible by the time the castle started moving, gliding down the mountain's slope. He clenched his teeth and bore the pain, although it felt as if his son were trying to claw his way out. He then noticed the blood reddening the sheets. He wished Ruiza would hurry, for the process terrified him more than he cared to admit. His son was kicking furiously, and Reita screamed. He was sweating and bleeding and tearing the sheets apart when the door opened again.
He meant to say “Finally” but only got past the first syllable when he saw who was coming through the door. Ruiza had returned indeed, only he wasn't accompanied by midwives, but by the Necra, a gleeful grin on his face.
“What?” He whizzed through parched lips and closed his eyes against the dizziness.
Ruiza could not even look him in the eye.
“You're about to give me a son, that's all, Reita.” The Necra said but Reita could not comprehend. He heard the words, but his world was filled with pain, anger and disappointment and he could not focus. “Ruiza here betrayed you, for love of course. I have never met an emotion more stupid and easier to manipulate. You see, I promised him his sister, swore a magical oath to release them both unharmed if he convinced you to take that little pill. The one you did take.”
“What was it?” He gasped.
“Just what he said. You're giving birth prematurely.”
“But my son, he's too small...” He whined.
“He'll live or die, I suppose. Either way, suits me just fine. What's important is that I kill you before those baboons you have for friends start barging in here. Once you abort, that is if you survive the abortion, it won't be hard to kill you, now will it?”
He tried to beg Ruiza, and even the monster he hated more than anything and anyone in the world, but the first would not raise his gaze from the ground and there was no mercy from the Necra.
The contractions started and the pain only grew. Just before fainting, he remembered calling out to Aoi, calling out with all his might, for his lover was now his and his child's only chance.
However, Aoi was unconscious and even though his medallion glowed bright red and burned his skin, with his magical reserves depleted, he could no more respond than he could end the Necra's life then and there. However, there was another that sensed the cry - truth be told- intuited it more than sensed it. Asagi took off his ring and let the visions assault him. It took him minutes of piercing headaches to sort through the incoming barrage of gruesome visions but finally, he settled on the one that was most relevant for the moment, the one where Reita lay dead, surrounded by his own blood, his and Aoi's son still-born beside him.
“Uru” he called and even though the Abaia had been in the midst of battle, with a quick swipe of his long, scythe-like sword, he cut down his surrounding enemies in a moment, before descending to Asagi's side.
“What is it, love? You sound distressed.”
“You have to get me to that castle! Now!” Normally, Asagi would not dare to command so, but there was little time left.
“But love, we're surrounded. How do you propose I do that?”
“Please, think. There has to be something. I had to be here and you had to be by my side for a reason. Please. Reita is dying and the babe with him.”
Uruha did think, long and hard and the moments passed them by. He controlled water and souls. How was he supposed to penetrate through the magical protections that surrounded the castle, not to mention get them inside the walls, while defeating the guards, without getting attacked by a swarm of angry harpies?
“I'm sorry, love, there's nothing I can think of. There is not enough water left around here and my influence over Abaian souls...” He abruptly stopped and Asagi knew he had it. Uruha had figured it out. He stretched his hands and Asagi pulled him tight against him, guiding his palms towards the nape of his neck. He then shimmered and Asagi screamed in agony for it felt as if every single cell in his body were being rewritten at the moment.
“I'm so sorry.” Uruha kept whispering in his ear and Asagi only nodded. If this was what it took... He tried to distract himself from the pain by asking for an explanation.
“This isn't me, love, it's you. That's why it hurts so much.” Asagi didn't understand. “Your ring, I told you it was formed from my blood in very special circumstances. Since I am the ruler of the Abaias, it ties me to you, but not only that, it ties you to every single Abaian soul out there. Including the ones that have been tortured and murdered inside those walls. Not just tortured, but denied the knowledge of their mates, denied rebirth for so long... Their souls are crying out to us, inviting us in, asking us to free them. And soul magic is a very powerful thing, if I'm right, more powerful than that protective web.”
It turned out that he was right. They were flying through the sky, advancing towards the castle, invisible almost for not one harpy from the storm of birds covering the sky, attacked them. And then they were passing through walls, avoiding the detection of the deformed guards patrolling the corridors, advancing deep within the fortress, towards Reita. Only when they were finally in the room, by his bed, did the magic seem to fade, and the Necra screamed a battle cry and attacked. A fierce battle of swords and magic ensued between the Necra and Uruha, but Asagi had no time to observe. He rushed to Reita's side, gently lifted the unconscious man up and did the only think that he could think of doing, he slit his right wrist over his chest, over the medallion, and then allowed drops of his blood to fall into the tiger's mouth.
“Soul magic.” He whispered. He didn't know what he was doing but he suspected he was somehow binding the two souls in front of him to his. As long as it prolonged their life, he didn't mind.
“No!” Uruha hollered and dealt a sharp blow, sending the Necra back into retreat. “Asagi, no!” But it was too late, the magic well underway. What Asagi did not know was that he had unwittingly performed very dark magic, blood and soul magic merged in one. Reita was already bound to Aoi and their son to them. Involving Asagi would break away pieces of their souls. They would be alive, but only as shadows of what they had been. Nevertheless, one immediate effect was that it forced the bond between Reita and Aoi to grow taut, to call one to the other, to draw them inexorably together. The tension resulted brought Reita's body to Aoi's, in the middle of the chaos of the battle field and in the midst of their friends, one of whom was a very powerful healer, another a wielder of an enormous amount of knowledge. Asagi collapsed.
Uruha was fighting his way to his lover's side, intent on not getting them killed, now that Asagi's magical force had been robbed from him. He was losing the battle, he knew. He had not anticipated such strength and in one so similar to his love. If not for the eyes... he shuddered to even think that he could mistake them for one another. He had been too engrossed in the battle and lost sight of Ruiza, who had stood shock still in one corner of the room, Ruiza who had undetected approached the bed, raised a dagger and...
Uruha screamed and fell to his knees. Asagi was dead and he could not survive without him. The Necra only needed that one blink of a moment to take advantage of and stabbed him through the heart. Uruha collapsed, his only thought that he may be allowed to reunite with his soul mate in the next lifetime.
The Necra was wiping his blade clean, when Uruha and Asagi's bodies disappeared as sudden as they had appeared and the walls of his castle started to shake.
“What the...” He had time to say before the ceiling came crashing down. Ruiza was crushed instantly, the Necra barely had time to raise a moderate protective shield, that still left him only partially protected. He bore the pain, happy at least in the knowledge that he would get out and with Uruha, Asagi and possibly Reita out of the way, victory was his.
What he did not know was that he could not have been more wrong. Reita had landed in the midst of his friends and as soon as Yomi gave the alarm, Kai and You were by his side, protected by the others while they attempted to bring him back to health. With Asagi's death, the dark magic used earlier had dissipated and Reita was in critical danger, but laid next to his love, surrounded by a healing cocoon weaved around him by Kai, while You chanted ancient healing spells, Reita had good chances of healing. He would heal faster if the magic were Aoi's and Kai and You could give no assurances regarding the babe, but Reita's life would most probably be safe.
The others were still fighting, protecting Reita and the others intent on saving the couple when the world slipped off its ax and time itself stopped. Now they were fighting a swarm of foes, growing tireder and more weary by the moment, and the next thing they knew, they had been moved to their initial positions, inside a carefully sketched circle, with Sakito and his lovers to the North, Kai and Ruki to the South; Reita and Aoi lay unconscious in each other's arms to the West and You and Gackt to the East. In the middle lay the bodies of Asagi and Uruha, painting the ground underneath red, with Ruka and Yomi on their left and right.
There was no question left in You's mind as to what it all meant and what he had to do. The sun had been completely eclipsed, black as night surrounded by a red band of fire, the clouds had completely dispersed, the forest and the wind were singing and the ground shook. It was time.
“Turn!” You ordered in the ancient tongue and even though they did not understand the words, each one of them got the meaning. At once, all of them transformed, even Ruki and Sakito who had hid their forms till then, even Aoi and Reita, who were still unconscious and wrapped up in each other. That was when a light stronger than anything they had ever experienced surrounded them and surrounded the world and from the center of the circle, a swirling golden mist emerged, swirled around itself and grew, solidified and grew bigger still, till it revealed its true form: a great golden dragon, the ancient god of the tales, the creator of the world, the only being to become immortal and a god when once only a leader of nations. The dragon surged higher and higher towards the sky and in its climb, seemed to absorb all the heat in the world. Outside the protective field, the temperature dropped and became freezing. Enclosed in the circle of light, the friends could see snow starting to fall, glacial winds ripping apart the trees' foliage, the beasts that had so relentlessly attacked them freeze and shatter in the wind. And still the dragon flew higher, aiming for the eclipsed sun.
Out of that eclipse, out of what seemed to be the only darkness remaining in the world, emerged another shape, deformed, unrecognizable, a mass of smoke and death, brimstone and poison, and it lashed towards the light dragon. They plunged at each other, bit and lashed and collided so many times the friends lost count. They also lost count of the hours that passed, the snow gathering outside, the castle now collapsed into ruins and each other, their eyes and souls fixed on what was happening up above.
The fight between the two beings, one made of light and the other of darkness could have lasted ages or it could have lasted minutes, but in the end, the light grew dimmer and dimmer while the dark shape became fainter and fainter and the sun recovered its brightness and the beautiful pallet of the sunset. The force field that had protected them became obsolete and once all traces of the two aerial beings had disappeared, the world remained clouded in stillness.
And then, Aoi woke up and swiftly shifted, pressing closer to his wounded mate. The medallion glowed a warm blue color and Reita shifted, the pregnancy clearly visible through his tattered clothing.
“Rei?” The silence was broken successively by Aoi's whisper and Reita's groan. Aoi put his hand over his mate's stomach and cried when he felt the answering fluttering indicating that his son was healthily kicking his parents. The blinding smile he gave might just have been brighter than the yellow dragon's magic.
Successively, all of them switched back to their smaller, humanoid shapes and collapsed on the ground, out of breath and strength, their eyes riveted towards the middle of the circle, where movement appeared. First to stir was Ruka who immediately checked Yomi's status, before giving a nod to the others and turning towards Uruha and Asagi, still unmoving. Ruka bit his lip and shook his head. They were dead.
Yomi woke up and stared at the bodies of his friends, death-still next to him and felt tears overwhelm him. Everyone's eyes were red and here and there, sobs were heard. The only one that looked unaffected was Ruki, who instead of crying or shivering in Kai's arms, drew closer to the bodies.
“He said something about a sacrifice.” Ruki whispered. The others paid attention. “Before, when explaining his visions, he said something about a sacrifice. He thought that was him, not both of them... There should have only been one sacrifice, one life.” He shook his head. The others didn't understand, not even You. You had only known about the prophecy, and the ancient spells needed to unleash it; contrary to what the rest might have thought, he did not hold godly wisdom nor could he beat death. And in the prophecy, it only specified the existence of a sacrifice, not the number of beings needed. For all he had known, it could have been all of them.
“It was supposed to be tainted blood.” Ruki continued, as if in a trance. “ There was nothing tainted about them. Their love was pure and beautiful and soulful. This doesn't make sense.” Ruki mumbled.
Kai approached his mate, gathered him in his arms and tried to sooth him, wrongly thinking that Ruki was so affected by their friends' deaths that he was somehow in denial, trying to make sense out of a situation that could not be comprehended. But Ruki escaped from his arms, he shook him away and took his time gazing at every one of the others, his eyes begging them to understand, his powers taking his cue and sending to all of them the same memories and feelings he had.
“Something is wrong. The prophecy did not happen as it should have. There's still something we can do, surely.” He begged them to understand and even though they didn't see it like he did, they knew the feelings of helplessness, denial and hope. Ruki was frustrated with his inability to get them to understand, with the narrowness of their perceptions, with the way they kept or tried to keep their sorrow and hope hidden, behind masks. So he did what he had never done before, what only a god, the Golden Dragon had ended up doing: for only an instant, he merged their consciousnesses with his.
He pulled down all barriers he could find, tore them down in one immense show of magical strength and for that one instant, he had in his hands the greatest power ever known or would be known to the world. For an instant, he held in his hands the combined four elements, the combined strengths of ancient gods, and the power of life and death, his to wield in whatever way he chose. He could have destroyed the world or built it anew, but what he did was focus it all on the two beings of whom his memories were stronger than ever, right there within his reach, just behind his eyelids. And all that power, wielded by a Sumarg, was just enough to rip the veil of time and causality, to bring back two souls joined as one.
Ruki didn't even hear the chorus of surprised and angry voices surrounding him. He knew what he had done, better than any of them did. He had invaded their very cores, took advantage of his friends and gave himself away in the process, but at the moment, he could only care about Uruha and Asagi, about the two shapes in the middle that he could now feel again. They were alive and their stirring a few minutes later cut off all the indignant mutterings of his friends. Silence descended again only this time it was a comfortable, peaceful one, filled with awe and hope, gratefulness and love. They had somehow all made it to the end.
A/N: I started dabbling in photoshop recently, and wanted to do some pics for this. Let me know what you thought of them. I know they scream beginner, but well, trial and error, right?
I especially want to thank the people that r and r-ed last time and I hope to tempt you into it again with this chapter. Let me know whatever you thought or felt. It took a bit out of me, I have to confess and your hugs and comments are really helpful towards getting my bunnies back into gear.
One more chapter left!