Shad stood, leaned against the nether portal. Esmund's descendent - it seemed - was sprawled on the ground, defeated easily. There was a large bang, and he rose his head. The door slammed open, and Irene collapsed in. He unconsciously tugged at his shirt, straightening it. "Garroth!" She screamed, not noticing Shad at first. She ran towards the injured adult, but her legs gave out before hand. She collapsed to the ground, but her hands blocked it partially. She leaned off the ground slightly, her arms holding her up. She turned back to face her legs, which were covered in burns. "Darn it, come on," She mumbled, reaching back for them uselessly. At the touch, her fingers glowed a bright light, and her skin returned to its normal completion. So she did have her powers. "There we go," She mumbled, standing up swiftly, and kneeling by Esmunds - thats what Shad is calling him - side. "Garroth, darn it," She growled, lifting him up slightly. Her legs gave out again though, and Shad felt a small urge to help her in her predicament. He didn't act on it though, because he didn't really notice it. That was, until she started to cry.
Even after all these years, her crying still effected him. He scratched his neck slightly, trying to hide his emotions, which worked. "Garroth!" She screamed, this time, lying him on his back and scooting next to his chest, still on her knees. "How do I heal you?! I haven't learnt that yet!" She screamed, and Shad's mind clicked. She had no memories, there for, no way of knowing how to preform her spells. He scoffed internally, knowing hers were the hardest to preform. "No no no!" She screamed, touching his chest slightly. When she pulled away, blood was on her palm. "Who?" She muttered, and Shad took a step away from the portal. "That would be me," He said confidently, and she looked up in horror. "No.." She mumbled, not removing her eyes from him. He examined her face. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and her eyes held a strong orange. Emotion, he noted. "Hello Irene," He said happily. As if he could be happy with her in front of him. "I am not Irene! How many times do I have to tell-" Her voice lowered as she mumbled the last word, and she dropped her head,"you." She said quietly.
His ears perked. Him? She had told him something? "What was that?" He asked, annoyingly. Her eyes shot back up to join his, fury in her eyes. "Yes you!" She shouted, her voice hoarse. He unconsciously flinched at the tone. He had experienced it before, when she had cracked from stress all those years ago. Right before.. "Irene.." He murmured, yet she continued,"You! As in Aaron!" She finished, yet he knew it was a lie as soon as she said it. He sighed,"You should know by now Irene, you can not lie to me, as I will know," He said, stepping down from the portal, and walking up to her slowly. She backed away, but as soon as pressure was put on her left arm, she collapsed into the ground. She screamed, grasping it. He was now leaning over her,"How I have waited for this," He stated loudly. "ME, leaning over, YOU," He said, anger rising through his blood stream. Then his mind switched somewhere else.
"Aaron stop it!" She screamed playfully, yet Aaron didn't listen. He continued chasing her, laughing himself. "You stop it!" He shouted back, and Aphmau took no heed. "Alright mr. I'm so lonely!" She snorted back, kicking up her speed. He huffed a laugh, and closed in on her. After passing a tree, Aphmau grabbed it and pulled herself around it, turning directions. Aaron did the same, his sharp reflexes kicking in. "Nice try!" He said, now on her tail. "Noo!" She screamed woefully, and Aaron grabbed her, tackling her to the ground. He proceeded to tickle her, almost everywhere. "Aaron! Stop!" She huffed out between giggles, but he didn't listen. She flung her left arm out, and connected with his forehead. He fell back instantly, and she leaned up, surprised. "Aaron, I'm so-" She leaned over to him, patting his forehead carefully. He looked at her while she worked, not speaking a word. Then she stopped suddenly, glancing down at him. "What?" She huffed her cheeks, which burned a light red. He smiled, success. He grabbed the hand held to his forehead gently, and she stopped. She looked at him,"Aaron.." She asked, but he took his chance. He lowered the hand to the grass, and leaned in. He kissed her.
Shad jerked back, holding a hand to his head. What was that. He felt the nagging of success in his brain. His descendant… Aaron had snuck in a memory. He felt his knees go underneath him suddenly. He fell, his back hitting the pavement,"Are you surprised? three divine warriors lying on the battlefield?" Irene asked sarcastically, and he leaned up. She held out her right foot, which had knocked him over, but she was no longer on the ground. "Don't look surprised, you deserved it," She said, standing. He stood too, and they were facing each other. Irene looked up at him, and he looked down. He was right in front of her. He could just reach out and- his eyes rolled back suddenly.
"Hey Aaron!" Aphmau shouted, wandering into his little camp. He perked up,"Aphmau!" He shouted, stopping his wood carving. "Have you?" He started, and she humphed triumphantly,"Brought the strawberry puffs you liked? Yes I did," She said, holding up a small box. He felt like a child then, and leaned over, sitting down in his lap. "Yeah," She said nodding," That's what I thought," She said, sitting across from him, holding out the box. He hesitated, yet took them quickly, and opened it. 3 small strawberry buns sat inside, and he took one immediately," I know you don't eat as much as you should out here, and there weren't many left so, I got as many as I could," Aphmau said nervously, fiddling with a strand of hair and blushing slightly. He stopped immediately, and looked up. He had won again. He put the box to his side, and pushed the ground. He scooted next to her quickly, and she didn't have time to notice. He cupped his hand under her chin and pulled her to face him. She looked up at him surprised and he leaned in. "Your cute," He whispered to her, and he kissed her again.
Shad blinked, examining his surroundings. Irene was still in front of looking up. He focused on her for the time being. His features softened slightly when he noticed it. A tint of concern hid behind the anger in her eyes. He was just one of the lucky few who had ever gotten close enough to see it. He growled, and her eyebrows hardened. "And to think," She said, pushing him away. "To think?" He asked curiously, straightening. "You weren't a monster," She mumbled, but he heard it. "You calling me a monster, gee," He said, turning to face her. Her hair covered her eyes, and tears streamed down her face. He hesitated, he hadn't seen her cry in 700 years.. She collapsed to the ground, grasping her head tightly,"I don't remember!" She screamed suddenly. "I know you don't have your memories," He mumbled annoyingly, but she continued,"I don't remember what I did to make you so heartless!" She screamed.
He froze, and turned back to face her immediately. His eyes widened. His hand rose suddenly, as if another force was controlling it, and he looked to it. Aaron. "Aph," He said, but he didn't say it. Irene's head rose instantly,"Aaron?" She asked hopefully. He nodded, but he didn't nod. "Yeah," He said,"But only for a while," He explained, and her features dropped. "How.. are you?" She asked awkwardly. He sighed,"Seriously?" He asked and she gulped. "No?" She asked,"Too soon?". He rubbed his temples,"Get Garroth out of here, Shad is pretty heartless," He said, knocking the side of his head. "So he is a monster," Irene finalised and looked away. "No," Aaron said suddenly. WHAT! Hey! "He cares about you, sort of," Aaron then said, and he was instantly regretting keeping his descendent around. "What?" Irene asked, turning back wide-eyed. "What do you remember about him?" He asked suddenly, knowing some of Shad was in the question.
"Only one thing," She said, sprawling her feet out in front of her. He didn't move, he just stood there a few feet away. Aaron knew if he stepped closer he would scare her. "Killing him," She said blandly, her voice devoid of emotion. "You killed him?" Aaron asked. He felt the memory return, yet Shad forced it down. "Not me exactly, but Esmund," She said, curling her legs. "Go on," He asked, and she silently nodded,"We were in the Irene dimension and Shad was in front of me," She said, and Shad listened carefully, interested slightly in her point of view. "Esmund was coming up from behind. Without Shad's power added to that of the team, we couldn't share a mind link. I thought I was getting through to Shad, yet before I got a chance to test, Esmund had stabbed him through his centre," She explained, and Aaron's mouth hung open. "I think I was meant to be the distraction," She finalised. Yeah, she was.
"Esmund's sword had the ability to split Shad's relic some how," She said. "But I don't want to do that again," She said, squeezing her legs tightly. "Every time I think of it, it hurts," She said,"its a weird pain, and I hate it," She said, her hair covering her eyes. "Aph," Aaron tried. She shook her head, her eyes turning hard," I'm not going to be Aphmau if I can't move on," She said standing. She suddenly held a sword in her hand. Shad's eyes locked with it,"My sword," Aaron muttered. She huffed bravely and skipped up to him slightly. He flinched. If only Aaron would get out of the way. Suddenly, she did something unexpected. She stood in front of him, and dropped her head, holding her blade out in front of her. "This time, Esmund won't stop me," She said suddenly.
At that, Aaron knew to back down. Shad took over instantly, and dropped his head back,"That annoying little brat," He said and her head rose. He looked at her with a grin. One of her eyes poked through the dark shade that hid her eyes. "Was I supposed to feel pity?" He asked mockingly. She didn't say anything, just stared. Her hand started to get tired, and it jolted to stay awake. His eyes caught it, and he examined the sword,"My sword," He said. She didn't move,"I know," She said firmly. She refused to speak, and he reached for it. He grabbed the handle, his hand just above hers. His hand skimmed hers for a quick moment, and his heart leapt. Damn it. He removed it from her hand forcefully, and it dropped to his side. She then reached for her wrist and removed a red bandana. She held it out with her right hand this time,"What's that?" Shad asked, eyeing it curiously. "For Aaron, He'll know," She said calmly.
Shad believed her, for some stupid reason, and he took it. "Sure," He said quietly. He noticed Garroth's head rise in the distance. "Aphmau, be careful," He stuttered,"Shut up Garroth," She snapped back, although it wasn't out of anger. Garroth grasped his side, and watched on, although he fell half asleep. "What are you doing?" Shad asked her, looking back to her. She hadn't moved,"Your not moving," He said blandly,"I know, thats the point," She stated matter-of-factly. "Idiot," She said mockingly. She put her hands to her hips and tilted her head to her side, her left cheek puffed out. "What?" He stuttered. "Seriously, Aaron isn't this dumb!" She shouted like a house-wife. So she wanted to place this game,"Well im not Aaron!" He shouted back. "I noticed, he is way cooler!" She replied. "Oh yeah?!" He asked annoyingly. "Yeah!' She shouted back, crossing her arms over her chest. Shad froze, remember how they played this game in the past. Did she remember? Or was it out of routine?
"What do you think your doing?" He asked breaking the awkward silence, and he rose his sword to her. "Darn it, that didn't work," She muttered to herself, yet he heard again. "Aphmau!" Someone shouted suddenly, and Irene jolted. She turned instantly. "Zane!" She screamed and Shad looked around her, noticing the young shadow knight. "You know him," Zane shouted back, pointing to Shad. "I wouldn't if you hadn't killed Aaron!" She screamed back. "That does not matter now, what matters now is Garroth," He said. "Since when did you care?" She asked, her voice calm. "He is my brother," Zane said, dropping his head. "I had a lot of time to think when I was reborn," He said, glancing over to his brother. "That dosen't make you a good guy!" Irene shouted,"I know!" He snapped back. "We need to get out of here, more shadow knights are coming!" He then shouted. irene didn't turn back to face Shad, instead running over to Esmund who had long since gone unconscious. "Go!" She shouted, and Zane lifted the adult onto his back.
As they ran, Shad's throat tightened, and he lunged. He went for the shadow knight, yet Irene got in the way. "Because he is the reincarnation of Esmund, you feel its your duty to take revenge?!" She screamed at him. "What do you know! You don't remember!" He screamed back. She stopped suddenly, and her hands dropped. "I don't want to remember," She said sadly, and he saw her eyes turn glassy. "Why not?" He asked straightening. "Because if I do, I might start hating myself, or loose my emotions again, I don't want to be that venerable again!" She screamed, Her shoulders rising. "You're spells are the hardest to preform, if there is any hope of you succeeding against me, it is by your memory," Shad said. Irene looked at him, then at the door. "Hurry up!" Sounded from the hallway. No one in sight, just the two of them. He looked away from the door and back to her, but she was now right in front of him.
She grabbed his hand and pulled him close, kissing him. He froze, but didn't pull away. She did after a while, and panted. She then turned away, heading for the door. He just stood there, frozen. The sword in his left hand clashed loudly against the floor as it slipped from his hand. Irene turned back and he noticed his form of weakness. She let out a successful smile, and turned away but she didn't move. "See you soon Shad," She said starting up her running,"The divine warrior," She said finally, slipping out of the door. His heart jumped, and the memory flashed in his head.
They sat on the cliff, Irene in her long cloak, and him in his shirt with golden bracings. "What did you do today?" He asked her, and she smiled happily. "Enki taught me this really cool magic spell," She said simply, curling her left arm around his right. She leaned on him and looked up at the stars. He let her. "What type?" He asked and she puffed. "So nosey," She said straightening. She then turned to face him, and put her hands on his chest. Her eyes glowed a bright white and her finger tips surged with electricity. He jolted. "Haha! See!" She said,"Why you," He mumbled. She was still on his lap, laughing away. He grabbed her waist and pulled her in. They faced each other, their noses touching. "You may be good with magic, but I have you under my spell," He said pulling her closer. "Is that so?" She muttered playfully,"I always thought you were my little divine warrior," She said, and he kissed her.