Disclaimer: I'm back, bitches, and this is my disclaimer. Star Ocean is not mine, but your soul will be soon.
Date Posted: Halloween, 2006
Author's Note: Hey everyone, Tolanya is back. Sorry for the delay, it's been since March or something since I posted anything. Everything's so damn chaotic in Tolanya's life! But in any case, I am able to write and this is the amazing, sexy, bloody, CHAPTER ONE. And hello to all my new readers, I luff you!
Chapter One.
In his hand, he held a newly sharpened steel knife. He clutched the knife tightly, his grip on the weapon that of a practiced expert. Keen ears heard a door slowly swing open somewhere in the distance. A man's voice hummed a quiet tune to himself, and footsteps grew closer to his hiding spot behind a kitchen counter.
Before the man even knew who was attacking him, the cold steel was buried in his chest, a river of blood flowing from the fresh wound. The smell of human blood heightened his senses, made him feel more aware of everything. He smiled at the man, the cruel smile of a murderer.
He got his first good look at his victim- a tall brown-haired young man with dull blue eyes. He clutched at the knife wound, grinding his teeth in pain. "It's a pity," the murderer whispered, "that you didn't lock the door. Didn't anyone tell you Albel's come to town?"
Blue eyes opened wider in revelation. "You're the serial killer!"
Albel smirked and pulled his knife out of the man, pressing it against his throat. "And you're next." He pushed the knife into the struggling man's throat, driving it further until the victim's shallow breathing stopped.
"You're one of the lucky ones," Albel whispered, looking down at a cross necklace the man was wearing, red drops of blood had landed neatly on its surface, reflecting it's shining silver color. Without another word, he dropped the body to the floor, staining the white tile a bloodier shade. In the deadly silence that followed, Albel stepped over the body and walked out of the house, leaving the lights on and the door open, a crimson trail of footprints following behind him.
Albel walked down the street into his car, parked on the street right outside his victim's house. He was confident he wouldn't get caught- Albel didn't make mistakes. Mistakes were a human thing. And Albel wasn't human. Albel was a demon sent from the darkest depths Hell for one purpose- to kill and to incite war.
But then, he thought to himself. I have made just one mistake. Fayt. As Albel started his car and drove off, he nodded to himself. Loving him is a mistake, but it's a mistake I'm willing to make. In the scheme of things, he means nothing. He's just as weak as any of the other humans I kill unless I protect him. But I haven't protected him for the last two weeks, have I? Albel bit his lip. Stupid church retreat. Stupid human family. I just hope he's ok.
The small, black car pulled up into a church parking lot. Albel parked neatly and climbed out into a cool fall night. The church loomed tall next to him, cryptic in outside appearance. Spotlights illuminated a wooden cross in the lawn in front of it, giving it an ethereal glow that by night could seem almost intimidating to a non-believer. Above, a sliver of a moon looked down at Albel from a star-speckled sky.
People were scattered about the parking lot; kids who had just come back from one of their camping trips- the kind Fayt's family made him go on so he could learn about the Bible. He spotted Fayt in the distance, looking up at him. Albel nodded at him, and Fayt ran up to him, throwing his arms around Albel. "Hey," Albel whispered softly, pushing Fayt away, "not here, remember?" He smiled sadly at Fayt and they both knew Albel was just as glad to see Fayt as he was to see Albel.
Fayt dropped his arms and nodded. "I missed you," he whispered, looking up at Albel. He was fidgeting with his hands like he was about to lose control of himself, and Albel took his hand and led him behind a row of bushes planted against the church, out of sight from the rest of the people.
Before Fayt could do anything, Albel had him pinned against a wall, tongue prodding at his lips. The tension that had been building up over the past two weeks was shattered like glass thrown to the floor. Fayt wrapped his arms around Albel, breaking their kiss to rest his head on Albel's chest, not even noticing that he was getting streaks of blood on his face. "Never leave like that again," Albel whispered, wiping the blood off Fayt's cheek. "I was… I mean, you were so far away, with all those religious people…"
Fayt smiled and stretched up to kiss Albel's cheek lightly. "Are you trying to say you were worried?"
Albel scowled. How should he know what I'm trying to say? But whatever Albel tried to tell himself, he knew Fayt was right- he was worried. And Fayt could only tell because he knew Albel for who he was and loved him. Fayt knew that Albel wasn't human, and was on Earth for one purpose- to kill. But it was something like love at first sight, and in any case, they managed to see each other secretly while Albel carried out his duty.
The blue-haired boy must have noticed then that Albel had just been busy murdering, because he pulled away slightly and ran his finger over a bloodstain on Albel's shirt. "Were you… killing again?" he asked softly, tilting his head, innocent emerald eyes staring up at Albel.
"Yeah," Albel whispered. "You know I have to." He leaned in, lips almost touching Fayt's. "I promise, I won't ever hurt you."
Fayt nodded, reaching a hand up to touch Albel's face. "I know you won't…"
"And neither will anyone else," Albel reassured him. "Or I'll kill them." Albel had always protected Fayt, going so far as to kill anyone he felt threatened Fayt in any way. If he was going to be in love with a human, no one was going to hurt him without paying for it with their lives.
Fayt smiled and kissed Albel. "I should be going home. I can sneak out tonight, alright?"
"Damn right you will," Albel whispered, hands tangling in Fayt's hair, passion flickering in his eyes.
Fayt raised an eyebrow at Albel. "Come on, let's get out of here." He slipped out of the bushes, followed by Albel, and instantly it was as if nothing had happened and they were just friends. Albel led Fayt to his car and they climbed in, taking off from the church.
Albel had a hard time keeping his hands off Fayt after two weeks, and was prone to driving one-handed, the other arm around Fayt's waist. They stopped at Fayt's house, not too far from the church, and Fayt leaned in, kissing Albel one last time before climbing out of the car. "I'll see you tonight," he whispered, lingering over Albel for a long moment, before stepping outside and closing the door.
With that Albel drove away, allowing himself a long sigh of relief. Fayt was still unchanged. Somewhere deep in his demonic heart he was always afraid going away with church people would change Fayt. He had heard stories about people who went to church and suddenly started believing- Albel was almost positive God did something different to them. If he did Albel hadn't figured out what, but the idea kept him on edge. What if God himself were to try to intervene in his relationship with Fayt? Now that Albel was on Earth, God could attack him or Fayt anytime he wanted. Damn Him, sitting up there all powerful and mighty. He doesn't know what it's like to be one of these people, or one of the damned.
The only reason Albel was even allowed to be on Earth was to kill. Because hatred and war would bring them closer to the end of the world. The end of the world… The implications of the words were huge. Should the world come to an end, all "good" beings would go up to Heaven and evil would inhabit the Earth.
As it should be, Albel thought, making a sharp turn, his face back to it's usual grim expression. We've been stuck in Hell too long. The Earth can give us what we need. With the Earth, no one will have to suffer in Hell anymore. Albel nodded to himself. Not too much longer.
He pulled up to the small blue house he was living in, parking the car on the side of the street and walking inside, throwing his keys onto a counter-top and walking out to a porch on the side of the house. Cool wind whipped in his hair and Albel leaned against the railing of the porch, looking out on the empty neighborhood.
And once the world ends, me and Fayt won't have to worry about getting caught. It was one of the smaller effects of the world ending, but in the last few years it had become important to Albel. Fayt's family was devoutly Christian. Even if they thought Albel was human, they wouldn't want Fayt to be with him, and it was a struggle for them to hide what they did. Fayt pretended he was dating a girl from school- a young, pretty brunette with soft green eyes and a constant smile plastered on her face.
Sophia. The mere name filled Albel heart with hatred and jealousy. Fayt had no feelings for her, but she believed they were in love. Albel was perfectly aware of all this, but he could still remember sneaking into Fayt's school, intent on murdering some kid who was violently trying to steal Sophia from Fayt.
As much as it had pained Albel to kill someone over Sophia, he couldn't let anyone hurt Fayt. But what had stuck so painfully in his memory was catching Fayt kissing Sophia between classes. It was nothing more than any other couple, but it was the image of them kissing that was a sharp bullet of jealousy driving straight into the center of Albel's heart.
And still, that wasn't the worst of it- it pained Fayt as much as it did him. He sometimes told Albel about how guilty and dirty he felt, even though Albel knew about Sophia and he wasn't really cheating. It was times like that when Albel hated himself for what he was doing to Fayt. Ever since we met, his whole life has changed. He was confused before, but now he's certain he's on the wrong side.
All Albel had to do some days was look in Fayt's eyes to know he was more confused than he had ever been. He doesn't know where he belongs anymore. Here he is trying to live a normal life on Earth, and he's in love with me.
And because of me, if the world doesn't end before he dies… he'll go to Hell. The humans who died and went to Hell went through everything the Christians claimed. They were forever burning, screaming in pain until they lost their voices, and then they shouted silently. Seeing Fayt like that would be too much for Albel to take. But there's nothing we can do to stop it, Albel reminded himself. A million times he had thought and re-thought the whole situation- God, the end of the world, Fayt and Sophia. And never once had he thought of a way for them to be together without the delicate balance between seeing each other and hiding what they had.
Suddenly there was a bright flash of light behind Albel. He spun around to face its source, crouching slightly into a fighting position. A white, glowing cloud descended from the starry sky. Standing atop the cloud, glowing just as brightly, was a being that was unmistakably an angel. He had long, flowing blonde hair, a glowing halo, huge white wings, and soft golden eyes that to any human would seem kind.
But it wasn't the angel that put Albel on edge. It was Fayt standing next to him, a rusted chain tied firmly around his neck, the end of it held in the angel's hand. His head was hanging down, and it was obvious he hadn't been taken willingly. Albel tried to stayed cool, kept his eyes off Fayt. "What do you want?" Albel asked the angel sharply.
"I'm taking him," the angel answered, his soft, kind voice in sharp contrast with the words he spoke. "You've become attached to this boy- don't think the Lord doesn't notice these things. You are a demon, and when you are in love it is powerful in all the wrong ways. Without this boy you won't be able to go on."
Shit. Albel still kept cool and smirked at the angel. "You think you can stop me? We all know the end of the world will come soon with or without me."
The angel frowned disapprovingly and gave Fayt's chain a tug, causing him to jerk his head up and look at the angel for a moment. "Do you not love this boy? Don't you see, demon, that if we take him he will never come back to you, whether the world ends or not?"
Albel bit his lip. "Maybe I do have some feelings for him. What do you want from me?" He dared to cast another glance at Fayt. His face was painted with the dark shades of fear, eyes not holding a trace of hope as he looked down at Albel.
"You will never get him back so long as you serve Satan," the angel answered firmly. "Convert demon, and corrupt him no more! Come into the light and repent!" The angel finished, shouting, pointing an accusing finger at Albel.
Crimson eyes filled with pure, unbridled hatred and Albel spat at the angel's feet. "Never," he answered bitterly, and with that he let loose and attacked like only a demon from the darkest depths of Hell could.
Albel grabbed the angel's ankles and pulled him off his cloud, catching Fayt with one arm, aware of the fact that the angel held the end of his chain. Whipping out a knife, he sliced the chain in half while pinning the angel to the ground with his foot. "Run, Fayt!" he yelled as the angel leapt up and engaged in a fast-paced fistfight with Albel.
Fayt started to run away, and Albel smiled in satisfaction, punching the angel firmly in the nose. Beings that came from Heaven never could fight as well as those from Hell- it wasn't in their nature. But the angel must have known that too, because he snapped his fingers and two more angels appeared around Fayt.
Cursing under his breath, Albel ran to Fayt, abandoning his fight with the first angel. He slammed a hand into one angel's shoulder, heard a crack, and used the hand to flip himself over the angel. Albel landed neatly, and pulled Fayt in towards himself, hugging Fayt against his body while holding the knife out.
"Any of you fuckers wanna come after him, you better be ready to kill me," he threatened.
One angel, a younger man with blonde hair that fell around his face in layers, stepped forward. A bold, serious look was plastered across his features, hazel eyes offering a challenge. "You don't scare us, demon," he declared, voice unwavering. "Sin all you want; you can't stop God's angels."
Albel smirked at the boy. "You sure about that?" he asked. In one swift motion, Albel pulled out a throwing knife and tossed it right into the heart of the angel. He felt Fayt's breath catch at the sight of blood pouring from the angel and remembered he had never seen Albel kill before.
Another angel ran at Albel, leaving the wounded one lying on the ground gasping for breath. He pulled a sword out from a sheath Albel had failed to notice and narrowly missed Fayt. Albel hissed and sliced the angel's arm open with his knife, one arm still around Fayt.
Suddenly Albel felt a sharp pain in his back, sharp enough to make him drop Fayt and fall to the ground with a shout of pain. Albel turned his head and saw an angel standing above him, a bloody knife in his right hand. He caught his breath for a moment, just looking at the angel. The angel smirked, and Albel looked up at Fayt, the boy's eyes wide with fear. I won't give up, I don't care if it kills me; I'll just go back to Hell. Fayt's more important.
"Damn mortal body," he muttered, rising slowly, eyes blazing with hatred. "I'm still not letting you take him," he declared, pointing his knife at the angel, his outstretched arm shaking with pain. He could feel blood dripping from the wound, felt the gaping hole in his back, and chose to ignore it.
The angel laughed. "You'll be in Hell any minute now, don't bother trying to save him." He stepped forward to take Fayt.
Rage consumed Albel's dying body, and he drove the knife firmly into the angel, yanking it out to slash his throat open. The angel faded away, rising back up into heaven in a soft beam of light. "You think you can take him? No fucking way am I going to let your dirty hands touch Fayt." Albel's voice was harsh, his vision darkening as he felt himself slipping
The remaining angel smiled at Albel and again snapped his fingers. Five more angels came down and descended upon Albel all at once. Fayt looked around at them, a hint of fear creeping into his eyes- he was unarmed and surrounded by angels with knives and swords.
Albel would swear for the rest of eternity that he would have held off all the angels that got in his way that night if he hadn't been in a dying human body. He was mad; he had never had more cause to fight in his existence. Three angels fell and returned to Heaven before Albel became too weak to fight.
He fell to the ground, struggling to rise even as he did so. "It's okay," Fayt said softly, kneeling beside him. The fighting slowed, three angels crowding around the two lovers. "I know you have to go."
Albel tried to sit up, and fell against Fayt, staring up at him. "They can't… take you," he croaked. "Hand me my knife."
Fayt shook his head, tears filling his eyes. "Albel, please, don't fight it. Go back to Hell, and I'll go to Heaven with them."
"No!" Albel gasped for breath, lungs heaving up and down. "I have to try, give me the knife, I'll stop them." Everything was blurred, Albel didn't know if he could fight or not anymore, but he had to try; it was for Fayt.
Fayt ignored his request. "I know you tried Albel; I know you love me." He pushed hair out of Albel's eyes. "It's gonna be okay."
Albel blinked hard, trying to clear his vision. A knife lay next to him; he picked it up and held it out at one angel. "You bastards won't touch him until I'm dead."
Something flickered in the angel's eyes that even Albel noticed. He looked to his companions, then spoke slowly and deliberately. "Your dedication is admirable. I'll let you be with him until you die, but then we're taking him."
"You know I'll come for him, don't you?" Albel stared the angel in the eye. He nodded, and then fell into silence.
Fayt nodded gratefully and pulled Albel into his arms. "I love you," he whispered. "Even if I don't ever see you again, I love you." Fayt leaned in and kissed Albel as he closed his eyes and let the last of his breath fall onto Fayt's lips.
A second later, Albel was landing neatly on his feet, crouching against the hot jet-black rocks that made up the floor of Hell. The pain of his mortal body was gone; the warmth of Fayt still lingered on his lips. He breathed in deeply, cleared his mind.
He pushed himself off the ground and looked around. He was in the middle of Hell, one of the hotter parts. But Albel didn't mind the heat- demons could handle it. Besides, what was more important right now was finding Satan.
As if on cue, the devil appeared in front of Albel, probably to find out why he was back already. Satan was a tall, pale man with messily spiked black hair, and eyes the color of blood- he was admittedly good-looking. Despite having been around for eternity, Satan still had the appearance of a young man, maybe twenty years old. He was clothed in a long, black trench coat that suited him well, with black combat boots that made him just a little taller.
"Back so soon?" he asked, clearly annoyed, staring down at Albel.
But at that moment, the devil himself wasn't going to intimidate Albel. "Damn right, I died fighting," he snapped.
Satan shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment. "What the fuck did you do that for? You should've run if it was getting that bad."
"I made the worst mistake possible." Albel let out a long sigh and locked eyes with Satan. "I fell in love."
Silence fell over them. "With who?" Satan asked quietly, assessing Albel.
"This boy, Fayt. God thought it would make me weak not to have him. He captured him. Angels came down and thought they could just take him, but I fought until they killed me." He sighed, biting his lip. "And the truth is, it will make me weak. I need to get him back."
For a very long moment, Satan studied Albel's face, considering his words. "Are you sure you love him? And he loves you?"
Albel nodded. "I'm positive. He knows exactly what I am and what I was doing up there. He's fine with it, I need to get him back!" Didn't Satan understand? His expression was calm, not bothered by Albel's outburst- as if he had seen the same thing a million times.
"Have you ever heard of a demon falling in love?" Satan asked quietly.
After a second of thought, Albel answered, "The angel said something about when a demon falls in love…" He looked to Satan for confirmation.
Satan sighed again, as if this was all mildly troubling to him- never once had Albel seen Satan break his cool exterior, even when punishing someone. "It is time I shared with someone the true meaning of sin and love. Demons fall more deeply in love than any other creature. You love that boy more than he can even comprehend. Does that bother you?"
Albel shook his head. "No, not at all. He really does love me, even if it's not as much as I love him."
"Are you sure?" Satan asked, a hint of accusation creeping into his tone.
"I'm positive," Albel answered firmly. "If he didn't love me, he would have left me a long time ago." He smirked at Satan, silently letting him know they had been through more than enough to confirm their love. And they had- each had risked everything for the other, and neither had a shred of regret about it.
Satan understood and nodded. "You've heard of the Seven Deadly Sins?" he asked, and Albel nodded. "Love drove all of them to become what they are. Albel, when a demon like you is in love, the results are never good. Love drives us all to the brink of insanity, and few return. I know you will want to get the boy back, but you aren't strong enough. Can you give up, just this once?"
Could I give up Fayt? I've worked so damn hard to stick by him, no matter what happens. To give him up now would be impossible, I need him, I couldn't go on without him, it would be impossible. Albel stared into Satan's eyes, not a trace of fear in his expression. Without hesitating, he asked Satan, "Can a human give up breathing?"
Satan smirked at him. "Then I hope you're ready for war. It's been a long time coming; a war on Heaven, but if I let you go up there, you know there'll be a fight."
"Then we'll have a god damn war with them, if that's what it takes to get Fayt back on Earth." Albel was ready to fight with everything he had, even if it meant he would have to take on all the angels in Heaven by himself.
"I know you want to go up there and wreak havoc on them," Satan began slowly, "But you aren't ready. I want you to wait seven days. You must meet each of the Deadly Sins. They will each tell you their stories and show you how their love made them sinful. You will use your love as a weapon, because love is the reason you're fighting."
"A week?! I can't leave him for a week! Let me go, I don't need-" Albel silenced himself as Satan put his hand up.
"A week," he said firmly. "It will do you good. Albel, you're by far my most powerful demon. But you're young."
"Two thousand years-" Albel began, and was stopped by Satan again.
"Is young in the scheme of things. This war is about a rivalry that's been around for millions of years." Satan shook his head. "I know we don't age in appearance, but you have a lot to learn. Physically you're strong, but you're hotheaded. Combine that with love… No, you can't go just yet. You need to learn how to use love to your advantage. It can be done at times like this."
Albel sighed. "Fine. I'll go visit your Sins, but it better be damn well worth it."
Satan chuckled. "I assure you, you'll get your boy back. Go back to your house tonight, it's been awhile. Tomorrow morning I want you to visit Wrath. It'll be the easiest for you. When the sun sets, come find me."
Silence filled the space between them for a moment, the impact of their decision settling in. "Yeah," Albel said softly, "I'll do it."
He turned around, eyes scanning the familiar landscape of Hell. It was a city built of crumbling black stone with flames leaping up from the ground; the whole thing was illuminated by a red sun. Buildings were scattered about it, demons, vampires, and other creatures of Satan living in them. Satan himself lived in a castle in the very middle of Hell where the flames were the highest.
For nearly two thousand years Albel had lived here. Just five years on Earth, just three years with Fayt, and everything had changed. All it had taken was one boy, one cold winter, and suddenly Albel was ready to charge into Heaven and incite a war beyond any the humans had ever dreamed of.
Heaven
They put Fayt in his own room in one of Heaven's hotels and told him everything was going to be okay. It was a beautiful city, he had to admit even as shocked and beaten and angry as he was. Clouds of light pastel colors surrounded tall silver and white buildings. People walked slowly, enjoying the cool evening. Children laughed and played in the greenest grass Fayt had ever seen. Flowers of such great beauty the people of Earth wouldn't dare to dream they existed grew everywhere. Waterfalls gently cascaded down rolling hills, their shining surfaces reflecting all the colors of the clouds.
And yet, Fayt looked upon the scene from his window with tears streaming down his face. Albel was gone and he was in Heaven, alone. He'll come for me. I know Albel, he won't leave me alone. He loves me, he always will. It was some comfort to Fayt to think about Albel, to imagine he was there with Fayt.
Green eyes looked over the room. He would be leaning against the wall, smoking and telling me the evils of the people in Heaven. And then he would throw the cigarette out the window and get me over to the bed. A small smile tugged at the corners of Fayt's mouth. Not much of an emotional person except when he needs to be, but I love him for it.
"Albel," he whispered the name softly and let the breeze carry it away. "Save me."
Author's Note: Ah, the drama, the angst, the yaoi, the blood. For sure, this is a Tolanya fanfiction. Now, I had two plans of attack going into the next part. One: Write seven short chapters and post them really fast. Two: Write one long chapter that would take perhaps more than two weeks. I'm going with option two, even though you'll see less of each Sin. It means you won't have seven short chapters that will somewhat throw off the focus of the story. We must focus on saving Fayt!! Happy Halloween, people! Make sure you review, and encourage small children you're giving candy to read and review!