Ghost of Her
Author's Note: This is a little sequel to Halo I knew I'd make. It will be a single fic and the final part of the continuation of Halo. This story might have a bit of a disturbing touch to it, but I'll leave that for you guys to decide. Maybe not. Either way, I'll put the warning out there, just in case.
"Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity."
- Nelson Mandela
"No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness."
- Aristotle
By: VampireQueenAkasha
~O~
"We knew this day would come."
Imperius heard the words from Auriel when the message had been delivered. It had come from Maya on Sanctuary and an angel had delivered it to him directly. She had challenged him to combat. On Sanctuary. As was customary for the challenger to have the right to the battlefield of choice.
She learned well from him.
Of most humans, Imperius felt pure disdain, but Maya was once a student to his ways.
If he refused, all of Creation would see him as a coward. Not that he would refuse, but the ridiculous notion that a human would serve as a worthy opponent to him lingered in his mind. There was more to this, he just knew it. Rarely did he think on that fact. Humans were cunning in most ways.
"Will you be taking the challenge, Lord Imperius?" the messenger angel asked.
"Of course I will." Imperius said.
Auriel looked at him and he felt sadness radiate from her being.
"Inform Maya that I will arrive at the location of choice." he continued, "As soon as she delivers that location to me, we will fight."
"She already has, my Lord." the angel told him. "It is in a church outside of Westmarch. Home to human graves. This is the battlefield of her choosing."
The place where Thalia died. How sentimental... Imperius thought. But she also had a cruel sense of humor as well, it seemed. Wherever she learned that, he did not know.
"Very well." Imperius said, approaching a portal. "It will end there."
He stepped through it without looking back at the other angels.
Imperius stepped into the cold, dead world of Sanctuary once more, facing a towering chapel. The graves around him simply reminded him of the corpse that he had brought down. The one who had once been the smiling, happy form of Thalia.
The dead girl.
The chapel doors were pushed open and he entered. No one was inside as far as he could tell. But surely she would attempt something theatrical. Humans were that way for these sorts of things.
Just another factor that weakens them.
"Maya." he called, "I am here."
He heard a sound and looked toward the altar. Maya was standing there, with her back to him. She turned, retrieved her spear from the altar and faced Imperius. The look on her face was empty of emotion, but her eyes were filled with purpose.
A silence fell between the would-be opponents.
"It's good to see you again, Imperius." Maya said, softly.
Imperius nodded his head once. "Likewise, Maya."
They were silent again. Maya took a deep inhale, but did not speak.
"Are you ready?" Imperius asked her.
"I am. I have been. For a while."
Imperius turned his spear in his hands, pointing it at her. Maya raised a hand.
"But I am no fool, Imperius." she said, quietly. "Crossing weapons with you would be a death sentence. And I am not after a quick death."
She raised one hand and suddenly, a magical barrier surrounded the church. Thin ribbons of light blanketed the windows, doors and every available means of exit. Imperius looked around and just as easily as the barrier was set up, an electric current washed through him.
He screamed as it surged through his body, dropping him to his knees.
"What...is happening...to me?" he roared.
Maya watched him unsympathetically. "These barriers were created, with courtesy of the Hand of the Prophet. I'm certain you know of him. You condemned him to an eternity of suffering, after all." she explained. "They will allow no one to leave until blood is shed. By which I mean until one of us dies."
Imperius felt his angelic strength greatly diminished.
Damn you. This is what you planned!
"The barriers put us both on even playing ground," Maya continued to explain, "In other words...no flying. No magical energy in your spear. It is all between us, Imperius. Nothing else will interfere. I did my research well for this moment...'old friend'."
Imperius hissed sharply, gripping his spear tight in both hands. "You've done well, Maya. You will be a far worthy opponent than most."
Maya nodded, empty. "Your words do me honor. Now we fight."
And with that, she charged.
O
Maya held up better than Imperius had believed. Each move he threw, she would block, tuck and roll with precision. She had learned well from him. But her actions were unusual and flowed with a weight. A weight he knew well as madness. It showed briefly in her gaze - the fleeting stares of one who longed for something.
"Why do this?" he asked, between lunges.
"You know why, Imperius." Maya calmly replied, twisting and dodging a swing of his weapon.
The dead look in her eyes.
It was almost as if he wasn't fighting a girl, but a creature with nothing left to loose.
"I told you what happened!" Imperius spat, watching as she performed a few spins and twists to avoid his attacks. "That was truth!"
"No. My family told me the truth. Why would I believe a being who judges all mercilessly, but never sees himself fit to judge himself?" Maya said, "Who will judge you, mighty Imperius? Who?"
Imperius found this idea foolish. "Would they not lie, Maya? Wouldn't they?"
Maya hesitated briefly at his words - as split second in her attack, but it was enough for Imperius to thrust the end of his weapon into her abdomen, sending her tumbling through the air with a thick, wet groan. Imperius advanced toward her, pointing his weapon down at the woman. She shook as she sat up onto her knees.
"You were young, naive. Those of such are easy to bend, to manipulate," Imperius said. "But they lied to you. The truth was there. And you will see it."
Maya started laughing. It was a low giggle that resonated faintly with insanity.
Imperius lowered his spear somewhat.
"You don't want to believe me." he confirmed.
Maya swung her spear with a fierce shout, scraping the tip across his chest armor. He had leaned back when she had before raising his own weapon, blocking her next attack.
Physically, he was superior, even without his magical abilities and eventually, Maya was slowing down. Her human body was weakening and he managed to deliver blows that drew blood from her mouth and cut wounds in her flesh. But Maya seemed determined, even then.
You will not stop. I see that now. Even when I've ripped you to pieces, you will keep coming. Something other than vengeance drives you, Maya. I can feel it.
Exhausted, she leaned on her spear a little, her legs shaking as she struggled to maintain her balance. Blood gushed from her mouth and splattered onto the floor.
"I am impressed, human," Imperius told her, "You have shown great strength and skill, but that is where your limits are reached; in your human body. You are no Nephalem. Though worthy in spirit, you cannot hope to best me. I will make your death quick."
Maya looked at him, as if utterly stunned he would think to speak such words. Then, a smile lit her face. It was the first time she had actually smiled in so long. But it carried with it not only indignant fury, but anguish as well.
"Such an ourtrageous lie..." she whispered. "You...honored by us? You would DARE LIE TO ME YET AGAIN?! YOU! An angel of the High Heavens!"
She spat a little blood from her mouth before reaching behind her.
"Fighting for good... Fighting for evil..." Maya whispered, her voice going to a darker place now. "Whether we are pure of soul or corrupted by the shadows... In the end, it doesn't matter. We are all still monsters. All human beings are abominations. Nothing more than squirming monsters on the surface of a dying world..."
And then, Imperius felt it.
A change in the air. A frigid sensation of death and darkness coming from her. She brought something from behind her back and it was a sliver of stone.
No.
By the Arch, it was impossible.
In her hands, she held a sliver of the Black Soulstone. It was shaped into a point; sharp enough to pierce flesh. But Maya didn't seem afraid of it as most humans were when contacting dark magic. She did not react with that chilling shake either. Nor did she tremble before it.
"This shard... This last remaining fragment of Zoltun Kulle's madness... Guarded by the Horadrim." she said, softly. "Tyrael showed me what it was. What I thought I was protecting. But the voices... they did not stop. They always spoke to me. Every second. They called to me and gave me a purpose. Unlike you."
Maya...what have you done?
She raised it far away from her, pointed directly at her chest.
"MAYA, STOP!" Imperius roared.
She did.
"Do you know of the thing you will become?!" Imperius shouted, his voice carrying an unusual desperation to it. "Do you have any idea what it will do to you? You will become a demon! It will rip you apart! Do not succumb to this evil! I know you better than that! You are not one of those humans!"
What am I saying? She's just a worm like the rest of them.
(Imperiussss...)
The voice.
From the sliver.
Maya regarded him calmly; his words seemed to confuse her. "But you never knew me, Imperius. You had no desire to know any of us. And to that end, what is the point in trying anymore?"
"That thing you hold in your hand. That...filthy, evil shred of Diablo's lingering essence is all that stands between us and a worthy end. Would you really go this far, Maya? Would you really become a hellbeast just to end me? Are you truly so filled with hatred and despair that you would go at such lengths?"
Maya lowered the shard somewhat, but her features did not change.
"All I wanted in my life was happiness," she said, quietly. "To know the true joys of life. To understand that there is hope for something better. I lied to my aunt. I wasn't happy. But I pretended to be, for her sake. She had done so much for me, it didn't seem fair to burden her. But I was filled with so much hate. Can you imagine what that was like, for a girl my age? To be fueled with so much hatred...? Knowing that angels could kill us whenever they chose. Us. Those who did no harm to them. But then I met you."
Imperius said nothing. He watched the hand that held that shard. One wrong move, and it was done. No trying to reason with her.
Why was he even doing such?
Why indeed, Imperius?
"You who made me smile for the first time in so long. One who showed me more to life than just hate. And I found it. I found something wonderful in you. And it made me happy. And I know it made my aunt happy as well." A smile touched her face; a peaceful look that was merely fleeting. "It gave me hope. Hope that perhaps I was wrong. I was wrong about everything."
Her fingers tightened.
"I sought joy and found its illusion. This shard will give me peace." Maya promised, closing her eyes.
"NO!" Imperius shouted, moving forward as she plunged the shard into her chest.
Maya's mouth fell open, her body shook and she was thrown upwards by an unholy force, moments before Imperius could end her.
She fell onto a balcony above and he stood there, his spear raised. He was on edge, surely facing his ancient enemy once more through a woman who had once held him in such high esteem. It was Diablo. It had always been Diablo from the very beginning of this. He had corrupted Maya as he had done Ramiel.
"Imperius..." Maya's voice was throaty and sounded as if she was choking on her own blood.
Smoke filled the air from the place she had landed. A hand appeared over the railing, the flesh smoking and cracked. Slowly, the long-haired head of the woman appeared, her eyes hidden by the black locks.
"Maya, you fool!" Imperius shouted, "You damned fool!"
Maya jumped down from the balcony with all the grace of a marionette and Imperius had a good look at what the shard had already done to her. Her eyes were no longer human, but the irises were stretched lengthwise, resembling that of the Khazra. Her mouth was still dripping of blood, but it was no longer red.
It was black.
"Come then, Imperius," she whispered, through blood-soaked lips. "End it now."
Smoke escaped her body, her fingertips bleeding as she dove at him with her hands. He backed away and raised his spear, her entire arm colliding with it. He watched as claws began to work themselves rapidly from her hand. Claws made of her very bone...
"Kill me." Maya hissed, her words snarling out of her like a rabid beast. "Kill me, Imperius. Why hesitate? This is unlike the mighty Aspect of Valor..."
Imperius watched as her features began to morph somewhat into a demonic, terrifying visage. It bore an eerie resemblance to Diablo's face.
"Death is all there is." she whispered. "All that will be for us."
"You want death?" Imperius snarled, softly. "You like killing things? Then let me give it to you!"
There was a glimmer of pleasure in her eyes when he said this. A look of absolute content that came and went as quick as lightning. Imperius suddenly realized that it was what she wanted.
She wanted her death.
She knew he would give that to her. That was the whole purpose of this challenge. She sought no other way to end the madness. Maya had long but given up in her life. Yet she still had a faint spark of pride left in her and perhaps even fear of taking her own life.
But there was one thing he was willing to give her before he granted her peace.
"Kill me." Maya repeated, suddenly chanting it like a madwoman, spitting blood and saliva, "Kill me. Hurry up. Kill me. DO IT! DO IT NOW! KILL ME!"
Imperius swung his spear. "Prepare to receive me!"
Maya dove to avoid it, but instead of an attack, he grabbed her wrist with his free hand. Maya's eyes widened. She tried to swing her other hand, but he blocked with his arm, holding her back.
"Give me your hand." he ordered, "Take my hand! Don't - TAKE IT!"
Maya's transformed eyes seemed to revert back to their human shape and she watched, confused and annoyed when he attempted to link their fingers together. But his hands were so large and hers so small, it was difficult.
"What are you doing?" she asked, a demonic hiss escaping her lips.
"Showing you the truth."
He was going to do something he had never done with a human. He was going to Light Share with her. No pleasure would come out of this. It was for righting a wrong. Correcting a lie that had been fed into a mortal he had grown to appreciate. To expel Diablo's influence from her once and for all.
Granting her one final boon for proving to be a powerful opponent.
Maya's eyes widened when their hands connected.
Then came the screaming.
He didn't expect her to scream the way she did, though it should have been obvious; that raw, throaty keening that followed was not pleasant either. Nor did he anticipate the harsh smacks, scratches and punches to his chest armor, shoulders and head as she tried to free herself from him. Her knuckles were broken by the blows, split wide to the point that her blood sprayed across his armor and helmet.
Maya's mental defenses were helpless to the onslaught of his power. He could see through the red haze of demonic influence that Diablo had shadowed her the entire time he had been gone. She had done unspeakable things in the name of finding peace. But such was the lie the demon had fed her.
I was always afraid. That was how he found me.
Please, make it stop. I can't take it.
I will. he sent.
She had been broken. So easy to mold.
A perfect puppet for Diablo.
Maya started crying, overwhelmed by the sensations and emotion flooding into her. Her claws cut into his armor, drawing glowing, white blood from the wounds. Tears streamed down her face as she fought the link, but her blows were slowing, the strength in them gradually diminishing.
Then, she saw it.
Through his eyes, she saw him facing her aunt. She was undead and lumbering toward him. And she watched as he drove his spear through her. She felt his confusion, his anger and his anguish. All of these emotions for a human - a member of a species he had loathed.
Maya's eyes widened and she stared up at the angel. He seemed unfocused, looking ahead of her than at her. His grip on her hand had tightened and her claws sliced through the chain mail of his armor, drawing blood from their enclosed hands.
Imperius heard another change come to her voice. A soft moaning.
"Gods...is this what it's like?" she whispered. "It's...so wonderful."
She had her head leaning against his chest. Her eyes were closed.
Imperius raised his spear now and Maya met his gaze. For a moment, he thought he saw that child again. That young, naive child who had loved him.
Her eyes held peace. A smile touched her lips.
Imperius drove his spear through her.
Maya's eyes widened and her body shuddered on that weapon. The hand not joined with his shook over the spear through her. She stared down at it, blood gushing from her mouth before looking up at Imperius.
"Thank you..." she gurgled.
Her body crumbled, cracked and split to pieces, as if she was made of stone. Imperius watched as the shard that had remained embedded in her flesh fell to the floor. He retrieved it in his hand and stared down at the pile of ash that had once been Maya.
O
Tyrael was an old man.
Imperius felt no real concern by this. He had made the choice to be mortal and knew of what it would bring him. But at the same time, there was some measure of sadness to this.
He set the shard down in front of him.
Tyrael reacted with shock at the sight.
"Maya had this." Imperius told him. "It corrupted and twisted her into a beast of what she once was. I put her down."
Tyrael's joints seemed to crack when he straightened. The armor he wore suddenly felt heavier.
"This is what your precious mortals bring." Imperius said, though the sanctimonious tone he normally possessed for this subject was no longer there. "Death. Destruction..."
He was silent and seemed distracted now.
"Despair..."
Tyrael closed his eyes.
"She was at peace then." he said.
Imperius considered this. "Yes. Peace was what she wanted."
"I am happy then." Tyrael murmured, staring out into the world through his window. His wrinkled features twisted somewhat. "Humanity must find peace."
"Even after all this time?" Imperius couldn't believe what Tyrael had said. "You still see them in the light, even after what you have seen?"
Tyrael nodded his head. "I do."
Imperius hung his head somewhat.
"I will die, Imperius." Tyrael continued. "My life is ending soon. I am old. You must protect the humans for me in my stead. I beg of you."
"WHAT?!" Imperius couldn't believe him. "Why in the name of the Arch would I do that?!"
"For me. Please. Do what I couldn't."
Imperius snorted and turned, his wings shaking somewhat. Tyrael saw this; read the conflict in his brother's motions. He smiled a little, his eyes filled with sadness.
"I'm sorry, Imperius."
"What for?"
"This. What happened. Everything."
Imperius relaxed his shoulders. "You were not at fault. It was them."
"We have argued for so long - "
"As I told you, we also saved one another on the battlefield many times." Imperius told him. "You are still my brother above all, regardless of your transgressions."
"I see the experience with the humans has helped you in many ways."
Imperius snorted. "We're having a moment. Do not ruin it."
Tyrael laughed a little.
"Maya was a human who understood." Imperius said, staring down at his hands. "I saw into her mind and knew why she did it. Why she didn't want to believe me."
"You Light-Shared with her."
"I did."
Tyrael let out a sigh. "You gave her peace. She is content now."
"How do you know?"
"I have a feeling."
Maya walked through a field of wheat.
She found her mother and Thalia waiting for her.
A grin touched her face and she rushed into their waiting arms.