To Comit a Crime Beyond Forgiving

Death, Shadows, Horror. It was all around her. Metal Heads were storming the ravaged city of Haven. Yet,Lyani didn't care in the least. Despite the warnings Torn had given her, she still chose to remain in the warring side of Haven City.
Metal Heads began to surround her, barking orders at eachother in a language she couldn't understand. Something began to pull at her. An odd darkness that wanted to be let out, and would shred her to pieces is she did not let it be so. This is what Torn warned her of.
Too much excitment would bring out the unharnessed darkness within her. Her eyes flashed open as two smaller metal heads lunged at her.
With inhuman swiftness, she jumped out of the way to a ledge uneasily reached by the vile creatures below her. She smirked at them as they roared their frustraitons, and began to find a way to get to her. Suddenly a dark tendril came out of a nearby pool of dark eco and lashed out at them, ripping two of them from the ground and into depthes of the pool.
It...was escaping her. She began to strum a dark tune from her weapon's strings, making the eco dance for her. This dark artifact was known as Evenlight, the light within all darkness.
As her song progressed, the Evenlight began creating a more complex tune that no ordinary strings could make. This resulted in more tendrils of dark eco lashing and ripping apart the metal heads.
Lyani was quickly becoming something...stranger than herself. Her eyes began to glow an eerie purple, and small arcs of dark electricity started to dance around her, making her hair stand on end.
Then, suddenly the world plunged into darkness! The Metal Heads that were left staggered around, blind in the pitch blackness of Lyani's music. She giggled maniaclly, her voice slighly altered by a dark entity.
"Looks like I've found some new toys to play with." she shrieked happily, strumming faster, ordering the surrounding darkeness to attack.
It did as commanded. Three dark figures morphed out of the dark everywhere, walking on powerful legs towards Lyani's attackers. The Metal Heads saw them as monstrous death, but it was hard to tell exactly what they were in the blackness.

(Just outside the front lines)

Torn listened to Lyani's disturbing tone over a communicator he gave to her. 'Damn! I knew this would happen!' he thought, unable to think of anything to do. He ordered his men on the lines to keep up the defense, then ran around the Slums to find Erol. He wasn't too hard to find.
Looking over the main area he quickly spotted his neon orange hair and ran towards him.
"Erol! You've got to hurry, Lyani's in trouble." Torn explained to him.
Erol didn't seem worried in the least. "This is Lyani you're talkin' about. I'm sure she's fine." he said, shooting two metal heads square in the chest.
"No, she isn't! She's gone Black. And she's in the hot zone you idiot!" he barked, handing him a syringe full of a mix of light and green eco. Erol's unconcerned face immediatly was replaced with one of worry."Damn it, why doesn't she listen to us! She knows this would happen." Erol hissed angrily.
He immediatly grabbed the nearest zoomer and sped off in her direction.
(At the Hot Zone)
A dark cloud of menacing energy was creeping it's way across the ruins of South Town.

Hidden inside was destruction. Hate. Death. Inside was all of the KG's nightmares as they were swallowed up inside of it, and obliterated.
Lyani was enjoying every moment of it. Insanity was slowly creeping it's way into her mind, corrupting her every thought, movement..even her own reality. The horror that she was witnissing seemed like a game. The guards blood curdling screams as their bones were stripped of flesh, and their minds were burned into nothingness. These guards watched her with nothing but sorrow and pain. Many of them had been her comrades. For months she had trained with them, gotten to know who they were,....and now she was ripping them to pieces without a second thought.
She turned her gaze to a younger new officer. His mind, and body had never been tainted by the horrors of war. She smiled maliciously at him.
"N..no. No! Leave me be, you beast!" he shouted, pointing the barrel of his gun straight at her.
She continued to walk towards him, the cloud of darkness and the other creatures following her, hungrily eyeing the young officer.

"I mea..n it! Stay away! Or...I'll have to kill you!"

She chuckled at his hopeless behavior. "Go ahead then, shoot me...if you can."she hissed.

Then entire gun shook in his hands, his true fear settling in. He had the face of wounded pray, as it's nightmare slowly prowled in for the kill.

*Crack!*

The gun fell to pieces in the officer's hands.

Lyani kneeled inches from his face. "I told ya to shoot me, didn't I?" she spoke darkly.
She then stood up, snapping her fingers sharply. "Kill him!"
The sounds of the guard's curdled screams, her creatures roars of delight, and the tearing and cracking of the guard's mangled body filled her ears. It was the most beautiful music she had ever heard.
The pure mania surrouding her was so wonderful. Of course, all good things must end.
A sharp pain stabbed into the base of her shoulder,burning sensations spreading throughout her entire body. She let loose a foul scream, signalling to the dark creatures that their master was in peril.

But, as her strength over Lyani's body dwindled, so did the potency of the beast's manifestations.

Her last shred of dominion over Lyani's body vanished, leaving the dark beasts to writh and burn outside of their protective dark sphere.

She fell limp in her savior's arms, her body drained of any strength by the darkness.
"Lyani! Lyani, come on wake up! You can rest later!" Erol shouted, helping her gain her balance.
As soon as she was fully on her feet, he grabbed her wrist and took off.
"E..erol. *cough* Wait.." she croaked.
He kept on running. "What is it?"
"Evenlight, it's still back there."
"Forget that damned thing, did you see what it did to you! What it made you do to your comrades. If Torn wasn't tracking you, it would most likely be me and him ripped to pieces back there!"
"I...I have to get it...so it won't fall into..the wrong hands." she whispered.
Erol seemed to contemplate her statement. 'Damn it! She's right..'he thought
He took a sharp turn back towards the cursed object, dragging Lyani along with him.

Erol nearly wrenched Lyani's shoulder from its socket as he sprinted along the muddy terrain of South Town. The buildings surrounding the two were scorched to the ground, smoldering in the pouring rain.
Erol was having trouble keeping his footing, the downpour stinging his eyes. Lyani struggled to keep up with his fast pace. She could sense them getting closer to the artifact.
The ground grew drier underneath their feet, permanently scarred by the dark eco that just moments ago marched across it. A high pitched shrieking sound erupted from ahead of them. Erol leapt behind a large chunk of stone that had fallen, pulling Lyani into his body so she dropped with him without making much of a racket. Her back slammed into his torso, knocking the wind out of him.
Before she could apologize like she always did, he slipped a hand over her mouth, while peeking around the stone.
Two queen metal heads and about 12 lesser ones stood watch. One of the queens, a flier perhaps, barked and hissed at the tiny metal heads below her. She stood about 25 feet tall, and 40 feet long from head to tail, her emerald scales shimmering as lightning danced across the sky. What was peculiar about her was her crest. Normal metal head Queens were simply larger versions of their offspring, but this one looked completely different. Her head looked almost reptilian, 8 horns branching out of her skull to form an intimidating frill. The other Queen seemed uneasy in her presence, her wasp-like head almost always bowed to the emerald Queen.

Erol watched silently as they chattered.

Lyani wrestled her way out of Erol's grasp, and peeked over the stone. Her eyes widened as she saw the emerald queen pick up Evenlight, seemingly a tiny purple jewel in her formidable claws.

She had to get it back. Sensing Lyani's new intentions, Erol pulled her back behind the large slab of rock. Another deafening shriek resounded through the area, as the Emerald Queen took flight. She circled around the area twice, then flew over the ruined walls of South Town. The much smaller queen stood watch behind, holding the priceless object in her claws. It was her job to safely get it back to their nest.
She barked orders at the many metal heads around her. Half of the lesser ones dispersed from the area, most likely to look for more artifacts of power.
"You ready?" Erol whispered, readying his gun.
"You bet." Lyani said. If she was still weakened by the darkness, she certainly didn't show it.
"3.."
The queen planted her limbs into the ground, and started to lay eggs.
"2..."
The rest of the metal heads dispersed, slinking away to scavenge for food.
"1!" Erol shouted, jumping over the slab of concrete, and into a fray of startled and confused metal heads.
Lyani followed quickly behind him, pulling her sword from its holster.
Erol shot from range, while Lyani cut down any metal head that dared step close to him.
With the Queen stuck laying eggs, it would take her sometime to get back out of the ground and ready herself for battle. As Erol shot the last of the lesser metal heads, Lyani charged in. She flourished her sword in three quick motions, cutting off the huge bug's limbs, then reposted the blade into the bug's forehead, shattering the sickly glowing gem on top. She reached for Evenlight from the Queen's dead twitching limbs, when suddenly the ground began to shake violently.

Moments later, the Emerald Queen crashed down two meters from her, screeching at Erol who was shooting at her head. The bullets glanced off of her thick scaled carapace, some bouncing back in Erol's direction. "By the Precursor's. They set up a trap." she whispered. She charged at the beast, not really caring about her own safety.

"Die, you cur!!" she screamed, jumping onto her barbed tail, and running straight up onto her back.

The huge bug reeled, trying to pry Lyani from her back. The bug beat her magnificent wings, her rippling muscles forcing Lyani from her footholds.
She fell, plummeting to the ground. Luckily, she had back up.
She crashed hard into Erol, who barely had time to catch her. The Emerald Queen shrieked again, charging the two. They jumped away from each other, hopefully lessening the chances of the other getting hurt.

The queen's claws caught Lyani in the arm, ripping deep furrows into her flesh. Erol was lucky enough to save himself from the same attack, but left himself open.

With lightning speed, the queen stabbed her tail at him, the huge barbed tip burrowing itself in his calf, pumping burning fluids into this leg.

He screamed, the incinerating pain spreading into his hips. The Queen seemed to grin, as she ripped the barb from his leg, and swung it around to land in his torso. Lyani grasped her sword, sprinting in front of him. She caught the barb with her sword, causing it to bounce off. The Queen roared her frustration, charging them both. Lyani quickly grabbed Erol's pistol, slashing the barrel off of it and pulling out the red eco core that made it work. She tore off a piece of her shirt and hurriedly wrapped it around the tiny red core, then slammed it into a nearby slab of rock. A resounding crack was heard as the core fractured. Only two seconds till it burst.
She swiftly threw the small core at the Queen. It exploded in the queen's face, charring her stunning green scales, and cracking the carapace around her face. The queen reeled back on her hind legs, scratching at her face as the liquid eco began to melt her scales. In a final attack, she took in a deep breath, her throat expanding. Lyani pulled herself and Erol behind the chunk of stone once again, praying it would shield them from the deadly blast. The attack never had a chance to finish.

The sounds of gunshots filled the air, as three Hellcats' flew in, all firing at the gargantuan queen. She quickly oriented on her new targets, letting lose her deadly breath weapon. The huge torrent of hot yellow acid bathed one of the hellcats, eating away at its engines, causing it to explode. The other two continued to fire at her. Soon she took flight again, hoping to retreat. "Akal jul, Narak!!" she screamed, disappearing into the night.

Lyani breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Erol.

She gasped as she realized how bad his wound was. The barb had penetrated deep into his calf, the hot acid charring the inside of the wound, puss and acidic blood oozing out onto his uniform.
Out of instinct she tore her other sleeve off and began to wrap his wound. He yelped as she pulled tight on the make shift bandages to seal the wound.

"Sorry, I suppose I should have warned you." she said apologetically.
"Don't worry about it. You don't need to apologize about everything you do." Erol said, swallowing the pain in his leg.
She pulled his arm over her shoulder and helped him limp over to their fellow KG comrades.

They seemed to ignore them, until Lyani took hold of Evenlight.
All of them pointed their rifles at the pair.
"H-Hey! The hell are you guys doing?!" Erol barked, confused.
"Don't worry Lieutenant, just hand over that little artifact and you can go home unscathed." Baron Praxis explained.
Lyani grasped Evenlight tightly.
"Last time I checked Praxis, you weren't high enough rank to issue orders to the Krimson Guard. Only Damas rules over us!" Lyani retorted, showing her KG badge.
"Huh! You're still just as rebellious as you were when you were a child little Lyani, but I'm afraid that Damas has abandoned you. He saw the metal head onslaught and ran. He left us behind to die."
"That isn't true! Damas would never do something so thoughtless. He is a wise and virtuous man, far more respectable than the likes of you!" Erol hissed.
"Bite your tongue Lieutenant! Or I'll have these officers fill you with bullets before you can blink." the Baron threw back. "Now, I have seen your abilities Lyani, and how you cannot control them. It is because the very artifact you hold in your hands now that you have been cursed. I'm sorry to tell you this, but you must now be kept in containment." he explained, faking a sad tone.
Lyani knew exactly what was going on. The Baron had never been a very good liar, especially not now. With the attacks of the metal heads, and the sudden disappearance of Damas. The only answer could be that the Baron was behind it all. He let the metal heads through to attack the city, and used his rogue guards to drive Damas out, so he could assume power.

Fear began to settle in her gut, as she realized just how much danger she and Erol were in. She wasn't terrified of giant Queen metal heads, and the immense darkness within her. Yet, what the Baron had done shook her to her very core.

"Lieutenant, I suggest you come into the new Krimson Guard. You will serve as my Commander. You do this, and I will keep Lyani alive inside my prison."
"You won't lay a single finger on her, you monster!" Erol shot back venomously.
"Lieutenant...I really don't like your tone."
"Heh! You don't like my tone? I suppose you won't like my bullets either then!" he said, pulling his spare gun out of its holster. The KG all pointed their guns at him at once.
Lyani threw Evenlight to the side, it didn't matter anymore. She grabbed Erol's wrist and yanked him along, sprinting away as fast as she could. Luckily, the new bandages supported his wound enough to let him run at a fair speed. KG began to come out everywhere. Every turn she took there were two or three. Eventually she became flustered, and Erol took the lead. He knew this part of the city much better than she did, even if over half of it was a burning heap of wood and bodies. He evaded countless guards, until finally they both came to a dead end.
Death surrounded them, a pool of dark eco on one side, and the Baron and KG on the other ready to kill them if necessary.

"Come with me and your friend's life will be spared." the Baron shouted.

Erol was glaring at him coldly.

"Erol...please...go.." Lyani whispered, desperately.

Erol ignored her, standing protectively between her and the Baron's battalion of rogue guards.

"Erol, go now!" she shouted, her voice cracking. He looked back at her, a bit unsure of her words.
"Listen to her Erol, she seems to know what is best." the Baron said darkly.
Lyani nodded at him, showing him it would be ok. He closed his eyes, and exhaled slowly. Then, surrendering, he dropped his gun and walked towards the Baron.

"FIRE!!" The Baron roared. Lyani closed her eyes, expecting this to happen, and only urged Erol to leave so he wouldn't get hurt. But, the bullets never came. Instead, she felt a warm liquid splash onto her neck and shirt.
She opened her eyes. She tried to scream, but her horror choked her.
"No..."she rasped.
Erol stood in front of her, his arms spread wide to form a human shield for her. There was blood spilling out of his back and shoulders. His wounded leg had received two bullets. She could see his blood spreading throughout his uniform.
"I had a feeling...that he was going to do that." he choked. Blood began to trickle out of his mouth.
Lyani didn't understand any of it. Why would he do this.
"..why?.."she shuddered, tears were forming at the corners of her eyes.
"Hey...don't be like that. I'm not..worth your tears. Plus, what kind of crappy guy would I be to just leave you to die. I wouldn't be able to live with myself." he coughed.
She shook her head, trying to force back the tears. "No...no! You can't do this!" she cried.
"Just..remember. Never die alone. Okay?" he rasped, forcing himself to speak even as blood began to fill his lungs.
"Please...don't..." she whimpered
"Sorry...I have to go..." he said weakly.
Finally, he succumbed to his wounds and fell. Lyani caught him, falling to her knees. She held him tightly, as rain began to fall harder, the lightning more violent.
"Erol...please..." a horrid sadness began to settle in her heart as she didn't hear a response. The rain grew icy with his body.

"Erol don't...you can't die on me..." she sobbed.

Thunder began to roar, sending the sky reeling.
"EROL YOU CAN'T GO!!!" she screamed, desperation flooding her voice. She sobbed uncontrollably. This couldn't be happening to her.
Heavy footsteps became apparent to her, and her eyes flashed open. Three of the rouge guards stood in front of her, one of them chuckling.
"S-Stay away from me! You cannot take him!!" she shrieked, slowly losing her sanity.
"Get him! Take the girl as well. They will both suffice for my experiments!" the Baron barked.
Lyani clung desperately to Erol's cold corpse. "Go away..." she quietly pleaded.
They violently tore her away, the two of them keeping her restrained while the other hauled off Erol's body.
"Are you sure this will work sir?" the guard carrying Erol's corpse asked.
The Baron lifted up on of Erol's eyelids, then examined how cold his skin was.
"He's not dead yet. That makes things much easy, hurry him to the medic station!" he bellowed.
The guard did as ordered and ran for the nearest hellcat.
The other guards dragged Lyani to the Baron.
"Now, you and that little artifact are going to earn me the respect I deserve."
"I refuse.."she coughed.
"I am your ruler now, you will do as you are commanded. I will break you until you obey."
"You will never rule this city. Damas will come back and claim his rightful place upon the throne!" she spat.
He signaled something to the Guards behind her. They drove the metal butts of their guns into her spine, forcing her to kneel.
"If I am not your master, then why do you bow before me."
She screamed at him, lunging to rip out his throat.
One of the guards slammed her in the head with his gun, knocking her unconscious.
She landed in the Baron's arms.
"Was that so hard? Now to begin the Dark Warrior Project." he said, moving Lyani into a hellcat, while her guards retrieved Evenlight, and delivered it to the palace.
(Torn's P.O.V.)
Torn had followed the two into South Town.

He had seen everything they did, and hated the fact that he didn't help them.

After he saw the Baron the rest of his memories were just a blur.

First they aimed their guns at Lyani, then at Erol.

They shot him after his surrendered.

He heard the words he spoke loud and clear.

"Never die alone." he said. He wanted to run in and save them both, but he feared that if Lyani lost both of her friends that night, she would surely lose her sanity and destroy Haven City.

He had to leave her to the Baron. It was a risk he regretted, but had to take.