I cringe when I read my old writing. I first began this about... in the beginning of 8th grade, and two years later I read over this... :flinch: So I'm doing some major re-editing and reposting these chapters. I hate to think of how many people gave up reading this after the first chapter, because frankly, it wasn't very good at all. So here's to something better.
For those reading this for the possible first time, some introductory notes:
First, DK's not mine. Second... this is RathxCesia, very light RathxKaistern, ThatzxKitchel, RunexTintlett, RuwalkxAlfeegi, RaseleanexLykouleon, and TetheusxDelte. Meaning there's shounen-ai as well as het. And this thing gets heavily angsty in later chapters.
Possessed by a Memory
"Whatcha doing Rune?" asked Thatz, placing his elbows on the desk in Alfeegi's room, behind which sat the Water Knight. Rune lifted his head from the papers in his hand.
"I'm helping Alfeegi while he changes, again," Rune answered looking at Thatz pointedly.
"Well, hey, it wasn't me! Rath was the one who did it," whined Thatz.
"And who helped him by getting the water when he was grounded?"
"Um... He said he needed to wash his hair."
"Since when does Rath care about his personal hygiene so much he can't put it off until after he was grounded?" said Rune sighing as he corrected another incorrect form.
"Right, good point, but I'm tired now, so I'm taking a nap," said Thatz, trying to find an excuse to go, but Rune beat him to it.
"No way, you're helping out too," 'Aw man, I should have gone away quicker,' he thought. He reluctantly picked up a stack of papers and began working.
Alfeegi walked in minutes later, straightening his fresh, dry shirt. He rubbed his head sorely.
"Thanks Rune, I really have to finish that paperwork, and I'd be done by now if Rath hadn't dumped that water on me. Second time I've had to change..." he grumbled.
"Well, at least this one wasn't too bad, he's played worse tricks," Thatz offered as consolation. All three of them sighed and sweatdropped.
OoO
"That first one was really funny though," said Ruwalk, finally letting out the laughter he'd been holding in since Rath had played his second joke.
"Well, I was bored," said Rath resting his head on his hands as he lay on his bed.
"We can tell, but you were grounded."
"Cernozura shouldn't have come in at that moment."
"How would she know that opening the door would trigger the catapult and cover Alfeegi in paint?"
"She should have asked someone," Rath said matter-of-factly. Ruwalk sighed good-naturedly and smiled,gettingup to leave.
"Well I have to go, Lord Lykouleon wants me to second him in a meeting. By the way, have you seen Kitchel?"
"How would I know? I've been grounded all day!"
"I'll tell Cesia to bring Crewger," chuckled Ruwalk. Rath sighed. 'I wanna hunt demons.'
OoO
Somewhere in Dusis, a scream fills the air. It is promptly hacked off, quite literally. But not before a death chorus of what seemed like a whole city. A fire begins to burn, spreading quickly, consuming all in its path. Blood spatters windows and walls. A trembling of the Earth could be felt periodically. A figure, eerily illuminated from the fires below it, tramples the city, blood covering it like a sticky, couagulated blanket. Bodies dropped on the streets, lifeless, bloody. Farther up a hill, a child makes his way to the nearest town. He reaches it, hours later, and tells of the approaching danger, before he too collapses in a never-ending sleep.
OoO
"Lord Lykouleon! We have reports of a city destroyed by a demon, and another one on its way to complete destruction. They're asking for help!" Tetheus announced, his voice always calm and contained, though the note of urgency in his voice was obvious.
"What?" exclaimed Lykouleon, his face clouding, "How did it happen?"
"The plea for help only states that a never-before seen youkai appeared and began a complete upheaval of the city. We don't have any causes or people behind it."
"It seems too simple to have come from Nadil's Army..." Lykouleon muttered, chin resting on folded hands.
"So we should conclude that it's a simple case of a demon gone berserk?" the Black Officer raised an eyebrow.
"It could easily be a distraction from Nadil's army... but for what? I can't find any reasons why they would go through such an... obvious tactic, if one at all."
Alfeegi, who'd been watching with a quite frown the whole time, finally spoke up, "Should I call the Dragon Knights?" he asked, heading towards the door.
"Yes."
"Tell them to head west of Chantel," said Tetheus, "The carnage will be easy enough to find."
OoO
"What happened here?" asked Rune horrified as the three of them picked their way through the chaotic remains of the city, avoiding the large fires and waving away the smoke, penetrating their lungs with a dull sting. The town before them was now nearly as destroyed as well as the one before.
"You mean what is happening," said Thatz, disgusted as he kicked aside something that looked like the charred remains of an animal.
"I don't know, but that demon is behind it!" said Rath, the hatred in his voice belied by anticipation for the kill. A scream erupted nearby, and with a beckoning nod from Thatz, they rushed over. A girl lay propped against a crumbling wall, clutching her mangled legs, bloody and torn muscle gleaming wetly in the fire-tinted light.
"I'll take care of this," Rune murmured, immediately kneeling to place his hands on the girl. They glowed a ghostly argent before fading, and the slashes on her legs had completely disappeared, leaving pale scars in their place.
"Can you tell us what's going on?" asked Thatz bending next to the girl.
"The demon... it's looking for someone... and it killed my family! It's destroying everything!" she cried, tears rolling down her distressed face.
"We'll deal with him," Rath assured her, looking about him, and Rune agreed.
"Wait, Rune. There's a lot of injured people here, I think it's better for you to heal them," Thatz interrupted them as they turned to continue through the city. Rune blinked. It was true, it looked like an infirmary, all wounded and dying, and he had the Faerie powers to heal them. He nodded and wordlessly turned to the nearest person. Thatz left him there and turned to find Rath gone.
There he is, already fighting with the demon, Thatz rolled his eyes. Running over, he clapped Rath's back, "You ready?"
Rath almost scoffed, "Of course," he glared at the demon, a huge Minotaur-like creature, with a mane and stripes, his skin smoldering and glistening with the shine of clumps of gore lathered over his body. His angular head slowly turned to the two Dragons standing beneath him, dark eyes narrowing.
"Who are you? What are you doing?" Rath's sword, unsheathed, pointed up at him.
"Killing all the humans I can find, Dragon too," the demon's distorted voice was like gravel ground on glass.
"Why? You just decide to release a little pent up frustration on these cities?" the Earth Knight said coldly.
The demon smirked, "My master's orders were very clear."
The two knights exchanged a glance. There was one piece of information they hadn't expected, but they had been told to gather as much as they could.
"Care to tell us who your master is?" Thatz grinned. The creature lurched forward, and a long red cord lashed out of nowhere nearly striking Rath.
"Gross, that's his tongue!"
"I think he needs to brush his teeth," Rath waved his hand in front of his face. The mood was quickly spoiled as another lash attack from the demon's mouth ensued. They both dodged all of them, but the onslaught kept them from attacking the monster.
OoO
Rune was getting to all the people as fast as he could, but there were too many. Blood had seeped into his clothing, a permanent stain, and the trail of dying people seemed to be never-ending. Standing up determinedly, he reached a girl and couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath at the sight of her body. Her whole side was ripped, the blood draining into the ground, tainting it a horrible red. Her pale face, almost transparent, announced her coming passing. Rune's heart wrenched. She wasn't faerie, but… his heart lurched. She looked so much like Tintlet… he couldn't bear to see her like this. Her delicate face was drawn in pain, the clear eyes dazed.
"Don't worry, I'm going to save you… Tintlet," he said, knowing it wasn't Tintlet, but yet… it was almost as if this girl, with her flowing golden hair and blue eyes, and gentle face, was an exact replica of his beloved soulmate. He placed his hands on her side, and poured all the energy he could into closing the wound. It began to close, but the blood didn't return, and he wasn't going fast enough.
No! This wound is too serious for me to heal it quickly, but she doesn't have time! I have to save her…
The wound finally closed, and he was sure the organs had healed too, but when he looked at the girl, she was no better off. She smiled faintly at him, her face even paler than before to Rune's horror.
"Thank… you…It doesn't hurt anymore…" she said, her voice barely audible over the crackling of the fires and the moans of other injured. Her eyes closed, and her chest stopped its regular heaving up and down. Rune's eyes widened, horrified. It wasn't Tintlet, but watching this girl die was almost like watching Tintlet die. He leaned over the body, bitter tears dropping like points on the still warm corpse. His mind cried out Tintlet's name repeatedly, and he desperately wanted to see her again, if only to make sure she was still alive and safe.
A fresh cry of pain finally reached his dazed trance, and he got up with renewed determination, and a heavy burden on his heart. He picked the body up, and looking around, placed it on what used to be a rose bed.
"Rune!" the faerie whirled about, and his eyes widened at the sight of the humongous monster standing over Thatz and Rath's small figures. Thatz was waving his arms, and Rune could just hear him.
"We need you over here!"
Rune took off, quickly joining his friends' rank.
"It might take the three of us to take him down," Thatz muttered.
"That's what you think," Rath dove in again, but his sword was no more able to injure the creature than a fly irritated an elephant.
"I'll have to try something else with three of you now…" the creature shook his mane and black dust roiled everywhere. Rath and Thatz began coughing violently, but Rune remained unaffected.
"I… can't… move," Thatz struggled, his muscles straining with effort, but to no avail. Rath was no better off either. Farther, some Dragon Fighters who'd just joined them were immobile too. Rune wondered why he wasn't affected, but figured it was probably because of his faerie blood. In any case, it meant he was the only one who was able to do anything.
"Oh, so we have a little faerie elf unaffected," the Minotaur sneered. He breathed in heavily, and then exhaled. Rune saw what looked like a force field of some kind spread around them, "Let's play a little game. I want to see the little elf get mad."
Rune gasped. The creature walked out of the force field and headed over to the immobile Rath and Thatz. Dread filled with adrenaline ran coldly through his body, making Rune's stomach knot as he ran to the edge of the field, pounding on it in vain. It wouldn't budge; he was trapped in there, and he knew what would happen next. With horror, he saw the creature lash out its tongue, piercing Rath's shoulder cleanly. Rath screamed out, and his paralyzed body fell to the floor, not being able to turn or move, or reach up and fix the wound. Blood flowed from the wound like a river.
"Rath!" Rune screamed. Fearing what was next, what he knew would come, his mind spun in shock. He looked at Thatz. His eyes, the only thing able to change in his immobile features showing terror. The demon knocked him over, as easily as one might a doll, and then lifted a foot over Thatz's legs. Rune mouth couldn't find the air to make a sound as he watched, feeling sick and helpless. The demon placed the foot down and the cracks could be heard, then a grinding sound. Rune almost cried at the scream that burst from Thatz's mouth as his blank eyes stared at nothing. It finally dwindled as he passed out, a lake of blood flowing from unrecognizable legs.
"Thatz! No! Come over here, you bastard, I'll make you pay for this!" Rune shrieked, uncharacteristic anger and hatred coursing through his body. He pushed as hard as he could against the shield, applying all the force and magic he could, feeling the shield give. He strained as hard as he could, his body resisting the pain. Meanwhile the creature laughed and looked around. Something seemed to catch his eye, and he bent to pick something up. Rune froze.
There, limply hanging from its hands was the corpse of the little girl that so reminded Rune of Tintlet, and had so hurt to watch die.
"No... Don't, please," his strangled voice whispered. First Rath, then Thatz, he was afraid he'd break. The demon laughed.
"Looks like I touched a sensitive spot. She's already dead, her body isn't worth anything," the demon laughed again. He lifted the body, and fire immersed his hand, crackling slowly. Rune's body was shaking, bile rising into his throat, burning, and his unbelieving eyes unfocused.
The fire dwindled, and left was only a pile of ashes. The demon picked something from the charred remains of the body, "Oh, what a pretty necklace, I think you might want to have it, if you can break out of the shield." He tossed the necklace away. Rune's stupor snapped suddenly, giving way to a wrath unlike he'd ever felt before. Never had he been in a situation quite like this one, where his friends lay dying, and the one thing closest to his heart maimed so painfully.
He pushed on the shield with strength he didn't know he'd previously had, and finally, with a crack, it shattered and disappeared. The monster looked at Rune, surprised, and even pleased to have a worthy toy. Without giving it a second thought, Rune charged, calling on Water to come forth. A swirling mass of blue showed the forthcoming of what looked like a water tornado, the ground rumbling and breaking under the pressure. It rushed towards the demon, a looming wall of spinning water, at least thrice its size, engulfing it complately. The youkai monster gargled, unable to breathe. The water splashed everywhere, washing the dust off and quenching the burning fires.
Rath twitched and groaned as the movement sent dizzying waves of pain from his shoulder, and slowly sat up. Thatz remained unconscious. Rune let the other Dragon Fighters take care of the demon, and rushed over to Thatz first. Rath stood over him, grave and silent.
"Can you…?" he left his wavering sentence unfinished, looking at Thatz's pale face, and Rune swallowed hard. He hadn't been able to save that girl, but he really would die if he wasn't able to save Thatz. He placed trembling hands on the crushed legs, loathing the feel of the warm blood. The legs remained crushed, but the blood stopped flowing. He was able to straighten them out, and after the third healing the broken bones fused. With a sigh, he turned to Rath, who was now swaying slightly, his clothes soaked with the crimson liquid.
"Here," he stood up and placed his hands on the wound, making Rath wince. With the same glow as always, the gash healed, and Rath stretched his arms out, testing it. He suddenly gasped.
"Hey! Wait, I wanna kill the demon!" Rath immediately rushed over to the Dragon Fighters, who were about to deal the final stab.
"Uh, sure. You can finish him off," they said, eyeing him oddly. Rath drew out his sword and cleanly cut off the demon's head. He twirled around gleefully.
"Yay! I killed the demon!" his antics were further stared at. Thatz sat up, groaning and rubbing his legs, his eyes still dazed.
"…Thanks. I though I was a goner when that thing stepped on me," he said, shuddering in unwanted horror. Rune sighed, and gave him a relieved smile.
"So did we," he helped Thatz up and placed him back down to rest on a wall, letting him slide down unsteadily.
"You should rest Thatz, I couldn't heal it completely. I have to go mend the villagers now..." But he leaned on the wall a moment longer, a hand on his head.
"You okay Rune?" Thatz frowned, "You look really tired."
"I'm okay," he said. He caught a glimpse of something shining in the earth. It was the girl's necklace. He swallowed and picked it up, wrapping it around his neck. Rath watched him from far off, sheathing his sword. Rune continued, walking over to the next batch of injured, continuing to heal them. How many are there? Rath and the other Dragon Fighters set to fix and rebuild the city, or at least clean up the mess, while Thatz slept.
OoO
Rune stood up, leaving the now healed baker on the ground. He was nearly finished but there was at least another hour's work left. Thatz had gotten up after and hour of resting and spent the next hour helping Rath and the Dragon Fighters help the villagers rebuild the city. Taking a momentary break, they came over to Rune, who didn't notice their approaching. He only walked mechanically to the next person, healing them in a daze, stroking the silver necklace that hung from his neck.
"Thank you," said the elderly lady, hobbling off. Rune didn't even respond. He was tired, he'd never had to use his powers so extensively. His knees suddenly gave out, and he staggered. To his surprise, he was promptly caught by Rath and Thatz.
They frowned at him, "Rune… you look tired, I think you need a break," Rath's eyes were anxiously looking him up and down, and Thatz had a deep frown. Rune wriggled out of their grasp, but gratefully accepted the bread and beer that Thatz handed him, though he'd much prefer water.
"Thank you, but I can't, there are more I still have to heal," he said tiredly.
Thatz clapped Rune's back and grinned, "I think the city doesn't need us to help the rebuilding. We can help Rune-boy now," he said, trying to lighten up the mood. Rath nodded, taking his lead.
"Yeah, we'll bring the villagers to you Rune, that way you don't have to waste your energy walking to them."
Rune smiled gratefully, "Thanks."
As Thatz walked off, Rath turned to Rune, "Who was the girl?"
Rune turned away, his eyes clouding, "…She looked so much like Tintlet, and I couldn't save her..." Rath's crimson eyes softened at the pain in Rune's voice. He turned and went to bring back some villagers, touching Rune's shoulder briefly as he walked past. Moments later, Thatz arrived, bringing two young girls with him, and set them in front of the Water Knight.
"Thanks, this really does help," Rune said, wiping his forehead of the sweat that had formed as he finished. Thatz watched him worriedly, turning his head at Rath's direction as he approached. They brought people, one after the other, until half an hour later everyone had been healed.
Rune was shaking as he stood up, Rath grabbing him by the shoulders just before he collapsed. Thatz jumped over, and they lowered Rune to the scorched ground. Rune moaned slightly and Rath brushed his golden hair out of his face, glistening with sweat.
"Oh man, he doesn't look good," Rath muttered, and Thatz sighed, running a hand through his hair, "I knew he was pushing himself too hard!"
"Is sir Rune all right?" asked one of the Dragon Fighters. Rune sat up, waving his hand dismissively.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just really tired," he looked up at them, "Can... Can we go home now?" he asked weakly, and his friends nodded. They helped him onto Water, and then sped off back to the castle, night beginning to dawn on them.
The next chapter is how this chapter was originally written, so any people who're interested, can cringe at bad writing and see the difference between original and edited. Edited though, means I took out the worst and replaced it with something better, not completely rewritten.
Anyway, thanks a lot to all my reviewers!