Note: The inspiration for this came in a very sad way. A friend of my family passed away last week, and I went to his funeral. We went back over 20 years, so of course we were all very emotional. Death makes you think about things you don't normally think of. And even admit to things you would normally never admit to. So, today, I thought of this…
=x=x=x=
Everything happened in a second. When he looked at her, she was being thrown against the rocky wall. Her small body flew through the air, and smashed hardly against the stone. His heart pounded heavily.
A cry started forming inside his chest. He could feel every fiber of his being burning from the horror and despair. His voice tore violently through his throat. Yet, in all his helplessness, all he could scream was her name:
AMELIA!
The Demon's brute strength was overwhelming. With one single blow you could feel like every bone in your body was being smashed, every vein and internal organ exploded, every muscle torn apart… or worse… it was like your very soul was being crushed… like it could waste away with every drop of blood until the very last aching breath. "Painful" was too gentle a word to describe it.
She lay there, fallen to the ground, like a lifeless doll. And yet, she was still so beautiful and delicate. Oh, GODS, that was a horrible wound! The vivid red color of her blood, which flowed from that wound, was all the more terrible as it bathed the contrasting bright white cloth of her tunic. She was so small…
He cursed himself over and over. She was unarmed! Her magic hadn't affected Gaav. Why did he leave her unprotected? She was vulnerable, and the terrible beast had struck… One strike was all it took… He couldn't save her! He couldn't save her and now she was…
Don't close your eyes… Please, don't close your eyes…
His mind screamed in despair. Stripped of all the rational reasoning, his repressed feelings ached inside of him.
My Amelia… My little, beautiful princess Amelia…
I love you … I love you so much... please don't die… You can't die!
PLEASE, don't die! Don't die…
=x=x=x=
She had seen them all fall. She had held each one of them in her arms, her terror growing as the Hellmaster claimed them. Their life force was drained and they were imprisoned by his horrible spell. Trapped forever in his tomb-like crystals.
Then she looked at the swordsman one last time. He was not wearing his big goofy smile. He was not scratching the back of his head, telling her he didn't understand a thing. His bright blond hair was not flowing carelessly in the wind. He was just there. His expression was painful. His skin was painted with a cold gray hue. He was painted with the sad colors of death.
- Seems you won't compromise until I kill someone… Hmmm… let's see… Who shall I begin with?
He looked at them like a kid in a candy store, choosing his most delicious treat. His smile was twisted. She was very scared.
- Should I start with the chimera man? AH! I know… Let's start with THIS ONE! If you don't do something, he's about to die!
GOURRY!
The ice started to crackle. No, this was not happening! Her heart was on fire. She was the only one who could stop it. She was the only one who could save him. He was more important than everything… More important than her own life… She had to do it!
Well, I don't care who I get it from! Just give me the power to kill Phibrizzo!
If I can succeed, I don't care what happens to me!
DARKNESS BEYOND THE BLACKEST PITCH,
DEEPER THAN THE DEEPEST NIGHT
If I loose control of this energy, I can destroy the entire world.
KING OF DARKNESS WHO SHINES LIKE GOLD
UPON THE SEA OF CHAOS
But, right now, I choose him over the entire world!
I CALL UPON THEE! SWEAR MYSELF TO THEE!
LET THE FOOLS WHO STAND BEFORE ME BE DESTROYED
If you're not in my world… I too don't want to be in the world.
If you're not in my world… I don't want that world…
If you are no longer there… then I should just… stop being.
BY THE POWER YOU AND I POSSESS!
As the black spiral of chaos enveloped her body, she felt herself be pierced by the souls of the dead. The energy engulfed her, she started losing herself inside of it. She felt her mind waste away.
Gourry… I give you my life to save you… I love you, Gourry…
=x=x=x=
It was her… but also… it wasn't her. She had Lina's form, that small slim body, those strong features that had become so familiar and so dear to him. But she was surrounded by a strange golden light. And her eyes…The Lina he knew had a warm fire in her eyes, full of life and energy. Those eyes were… cold and void.
Where is Lina?
Did she cast that big spell? … Why did she…
- I appeared in this world because the one called Lina willed me to. She sacrificed all that she was to save that man's life.
NO! Do you mean… DO you mean that Lina… WHERE IS SHE?
- The chaos that exists within me has consumed her. She is no more.
All of a sudden everything stopped. He could no longer hear anything or anybody around him. This wasn't right. This just wasn't possible.
I don't really understand anything, but… if Lina isn't here anymore, I want it all undone! ALL UNDONE, DO YOU HEAR?
She was there, somewhere inside. He knew so. He was going to get her back.
LINA! WAKE UP! LINA!
You belong here with me!
I'm not gonna let you take Lina like that. I'm gonna SAVE you Lina!
The cold wind blew stronger. The weird golden light engulfed the little sorceress' body. The great power emanating from that light ripped off pieces of the ground and rocks around it as it ascended into the skies.
NO! YOU CAN'T GO! I'LL SAVE YOU!
He wielded his sword, striking every obstacle before him. He kept climbing and climbing, without reason, without a plan. He was just reaching for her. Strong and desperate.
Lina…
Maybe you're stubborn and sort of mean
Maybe you trick people with your charm
Maybe you look down on people who are weaker than you
But I NEED you!
Lina, don't leave me…
He reached inside the golden light. He reached for her… For a moment he could feel her cold skin and grab her by the arms but… she was going… she was slipping away… she was fading… No…
No… don't leave me… Lina…
I love you
=x=x=x=
He couldn't believe he was about to do something so pointless.
He had his enemy cornered where he wanted him. As he hurt him with the sharp end of his staff, thrusting it into his flesh and bone, he could taste his pain, feel his misery… Oooh how sweet it tasted!
But then it happened. The spell that Valgaav held in his hand went out of control. It hit the nearby rocks under which SHE stood. They were going to crush her. He wasn't facing her, but he could feel it.
My, my, what awful timing!
The rational thing to do, of course, was to let her be crushed under the rocks, and proceed to kill his adversary. He had him pinned down to the floor, it was a sure kill, right? But then something inside of him, something close to a survival instinct, screamed: SAVE HER! His reason resisted: WHY?
I CAN'T LET HER DIE!
That's stupid, what possible use could a silly dumb dragon have?
SHE'S GOING TO DIE, I CAN'T LET HER DIE!
But she's just a weak, selfish, naïve girl, and a sorry excuse for a priestess! Her existence is meaningless to me!
I HAVE TO SAVE HER, I CAN'T LET HER DIE!
The rocks were shaking in their edge for a moment. He had to act quickly… The rocks were going to fall…
She's not even running from it. Stupid dragon! She saw the spell, and she's not even running from it! She just has to sit there and play the victim, doesn't she? Stupid Stupid STUPID Filia!
WHY, oh WHY couldn't he just let her be crushed under those rocks? It would make things so much easier… It was POINTLESS, really!
But then he remembered. All at once he remembered the small twitch of her eyebrow when she started to lose her patience… How the sharp tips of her fangs would show up when she started screaming, making her look so adoringly bestial… How her tail adorned with that ridiculous pink ribbon would pop up from time to time… How deliciously sweet her rage tasted... How devastatingly beautiful her eyes were… How her golden hair shone brightly in the sunlight… All of those things, he felt, made his rather dull dirty work much more enjoyable… Could he ever have so much fun and fulfillment than when he was by her side, annoying her and witnessing her rage, the loveliest rage in the world? Could he ever have a more abundant source of wicked pleasure? Could there be a world without that silly dumb selfish STUPID dragon priestess? No, there couldn't! SO, it wasn't like he was helping HER… He was helping himself, right?
I need her alive… I NEED her alive…
And as he held her gently in his arms, her soft hair brushing his face, he felt… relieved. He phased out of reality and back in, and then…
Valgaav is escaping… What unfortunate turn of events… Hmmm... Maybe I can turn this to my advantage?
=x=x=x=
I want to see them die! Die! DIE! ALL of them!
I AM the HELLMASTER! And I SHALL win!
I SHALL control their LIVES… I SHALL control their SOULS… I SHALL control THEIR DEATH!
Wasted dreams… Broken memories… Lost desires… Scattered lives… I want them TORN! TORN APART form the anger and despair! I want to see DEATH! Their bodies consumed and their souls frozen… Oh, when their souls are shattered, it's so lovely! So beautiful!
But something wasn't right… He could FEEL HER… He could… SEE HER! So the spell was… the Giga Slave was a summoning spell?
- MOTHER! YOU ARE HERE!
A strong cold wind started to blow, and the blackened skies tore apart, revealing the terrible chaotic force of the Lord of Nightmares. As the Dead City of Sairaag and all the shadows and ghosts that inhabited it disappeared into the whirlwind of nothingness, he screamed desperately, like a frightened child. He couldn't have seen it happen. He never thought this would have happened. The little human sorceress was enveloped by his Mother's blinding golden light. A strong deep female voice echoed in his mind. A mother, a judge, an executioner, all at once.
- My mind is my power. My power is my mind. When uncorrupted by other elements, my mind is my full power.
My plan… My plan has failed… All my calculations… My perfectly set schemes… SO CLOSE TO ITS FULFILLMENT! MY PLAN HAS FAILED! SO CLOSED TO ITS FULFILLMENT!
I want to be destroyed…
I want to be destroyed…
I WANT TO BE DESTROYED!
destruction…
He then laughed maniacally. He could feel the power surrounding him. And the black waves of chaotic energy flowing from his body. It was such immense power. Such unbeatable power!
Destruction? Yes, destruction is the ultimate wish of any Mazoku… That is what we were created for… Isn't it? ISN'T IT?
The body of a small human child, with the cold gaze of a sadistic and ageless Demon. Insane. Out of control. Quivering and shaking amidst the endless flow of darkness.
THAT IS WHAT YOU CREATED US FOR! DESTRUCTION!
BUT THIS DESTRUCTION SHALL CONSUME ALL THINGS! IT SHALL CONSUME EVERY LIVING THING! IT SHALL CONSUME THE ENTIRE WORLD!
Mother, I beseech you! KILL them for me! Mother, KILL ALL for me! Kill ALL for us! Is this not your will? Is this not what we were made for?
IS THIS NOT WHAT YOU CREATED US FOR?
I WILL DESTROY THIS GIRL! SHE IS TOO SMALL A VESSEL FOR YOU! I SHALL SET YOU FREE! I SHALL SET YOUR POWER FREE!
LET THE WORLD BE DESTROYED WITH ME!
But he couldn't get through to her. He couldn't join her. She was too strong. Too whole, even for the Hellmaster. It was like being crushed under the weight of the universe. She was The Lord of Nightmares, and Hers was the only Will there was.
- Only my mind exists in this place. You, who so desperately seeks destruction… your wish shall be granted. You shall be destroyed.
He then felt all her power strike him. He could feel… for the first time he could taste… pain. Not human pain, which he savoured so eagerly. HIS pain… it hurt him… it was not what he had wanted…
NO… this is not what I wanted… I wanted to see THEM die… I WANT THEIR PAIN! THEIR SUFFERING! Not mine…
This isn't what I wanted…
He was engulfed by her golden light. He felt his spiritual being be dismembered. Felt it whither away. He never thought this could have happened to someone like him. He was the Hellmaster! HE was the master of Death. He himself could never die… It wasn't right… Even after destruction… He would have been there… He should have been there… One last shard… One last drop of consciousness… But now he could feel it slip away. And the PAIN. The consuming PAIN. This wasn't right… He couldn't fall into oblivion… He couldn't stop existing… He couldn't just… not be. He struggled until the last thought of him disappeared into the chaotic energy of the Mother of All Things.
I… won't die… I… i-i-i. . .
And the Hellmaster was no more.
=x=x=x=
PS: PHEW! Hard work! It is so SOOOO hard to write a foreign language! Hope I didn't make a big mess… bleah… Please, I would really appreciate some feedback from the native speakers... Is this too... "a-grammatical"?