Resolve
Chapter 2
-X-
Gai and Goh were back at the village they had caught Shin and Rei leaving, sitting in a tree, watching the stars and moon. They were both silent, not saying a word about their other companions. Goh looked down to the ground and sneered. Cassandra and Pandora were standing underneath the branch, looking up at them. "Look alive Gai," said Goh jumping down. Gai looked to where Goh did, and jumped down after him. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh I don't know, does Zeus need to know that you guys didn't do what he asked?" Goh twitched. "I didn't think so."
"We know how to deal with our friends."
"Let's hope that you do. Zeus can be pretty impatient…"
"We'll deal with it!" yelled Goh pulling Gai away with him. Pandora and Cassandra stayed behind, watching them as they walked away. When they were a good distance, Goh dropped Gai to the floor, and punched a tree; he was really furious. "I can't believe this."
"Goh, what are we going to do? We can't fight them, and now Pandora is here to tell Zeus if we do other than what he said…"
"I know. We just have to look for them again, and convince them, or," he said looking straight into Gai's eyes, "we have to go to the source of their reasoning…"
Gai scratched his head. "You want us to talk to Judas and Luca if we can't get the others back?"
"That's the gist of it."
"How are you planning on doing that Goh; how can we even get to Hell?"
"I don't—" Just as the man was about to talk, they heard a scream coming from the village. Smoke had risen into the dark sky only adding to the dread that overcame the two as they hurried over to the area where the smoke was most prominent.
Shiva laughed loudly, commanding the demons from the shadows as they attacked the humans. The gruesome creatures took off from where they had marched into the village, surrounding it in a full circle, and then from there, laying waste. Houses were set on fire, burning brightly in the dark night. The demons continued to the next set of houses, and laid waste to those as well.
Goh dropped Gai, and they both went on their way to help all creatures that they could. Goh saw two of the demons flying up into the air, mouths wide open as more flames were about to leave their mouths. He jumped up into the air, extending his legs and kicking them into oblivion. Another pair had started to chase after him in the air; he fell to the floor, leading them away from the escaping humans so that he could get a better attack on them.
Gai ran around the village, hearing the cries of the animals and humans as the fires flames grew more out of control. The flames flickered in the night, taking even more earth and land with it. Two dogs were battling a demon that had already killed one of their pups. Gai's fangs grew, and he ran forward, attacking the demon. He told the dogs to get out of there, when he went on, looking for more victims.
Shiva smiled as the last four demons finished burning the last of the village, flames following after them as they met up in the middle of village. "Things are going as planned." The angel disappeared from the shadows, heading back to Judas.
Goh and Gai, had put out the last of the fires, and had saved the best of what they could've. Back again in the tree on the outskirts of the village, Goh couldn't help but to feel helpless. "We have no choice now… they had to have known…"
"But they said they weren't going to stop them, remember. They were only going to be beside them."
"If they are going to be beside, that means they are willing to fight for their safety. I fear we have no choice anymore Gai. We have to do what Zeus says, if anything, for the safety of the world."
Gai looked away from Goh, not able to even imagine trying to kill his friends if it truly came time for that. What were they going to do? he wondered as he looked back up at the sky.
-O-
Pandora entered Zeus's chamber, bowing deeply. "Zeus, I have news for you. I'm sure you already know, but Goh and Gai have chosen to go after their friends, in order to keep the world in peace."
"Good, now one last thing Pandora, before you leave. Find my son, and make sure, that he doesn't ever get near this chamber."
"Yes, my Lord, whatever you please." Pandora stood up, and left the room just as the Goddess walked in. "Afternoon Goddess."
"Good afternoon Pandora."
Zeus spoke once Pandora had left. "What do you want?" he asked irritably.
"Zeus, I have spoken with Heros, and he believes…"
"I know that you have spoken with the boy. He will not get this throne. I know you want to help him accomplish his goal…"
"Please hear everything that I have to say Zeus. Heros, your son, only wants what's best for the angels, Heaven, and the people on Earth. Things are not going to go your way if they continue like this." All throughout the conversation her voice had stayed steady and calm, unlike Zeus'. The moment it was his turn to talk, he grew angry, and full of rage.
"I hear you out and this is what you have to say to me! I will have Heaven okay, and no one will take it from me. If they do, or try to, it will be on my deathbed."
"Zeus," said the Goddess walking out with sympathetic eyes, "your son is ready for that. I hope you are too."
-O-
Judas and Luca moved Rei and Shin together on one bed as they sleep soundly, peacefully. "So what did you gather from them," asked Judas looking back at them; Luca was able to tell people's deepest feelings by touching them.
"Nothing that they didn't tell us. They truly only wanted to see us, and that's it. They are willing to face betrayal so long as we are by their sides." Luca faced them too, sighing. "What are we going to do? They can't handle what we do… they are pure…"
"I know, but we'll be in Heaven soon enough. They'll choose their path when they see just how far we are willing to go to keep our ways true. So long as Zeus is on the throne, we will keep fighting him." Judas looked toward the small hole that appeared on the wall and waited until Shiva had fully stepped inside of Hell. "So how did it go?" Luca walked away from the two.
"It went well Judas. Just like you said, the engraving is set and we are ready to go into village at your orders."
"Good work Shiva," said Judas patting him on the shoulder. Shiva smiled and blushed a little before turning red with anger. Shin had stepped up behind Judas, waiting for the two to finish their conversation. Shiva watched Judas' eyes turn soft as he turned to the blue haired angel. Shiva moved away from the two of them, hating Shin with all of his being.
Shin looked up into Judas' mysterious eyes, and broke. He hugged the angel, clutching onto the man tightly as he cried his heart out. "Judas…" he said sadly. The red-haired angel held him close, listening to the voice he hadn't heard for the longest. How he missed the gentle touches of the angel, the beautiful music that would be played for only him. He felt Shin lift his head, and he did too, looking him straight in the eye.
"Judas…" Shin knew, if anything, that this was the time that he told Judas what was on his mind. Their reunion had not gone as planned. The angels had only told them that they weren't able to do anything about their plan and they had never talked about what had happened yet. Shin wanted to know; he needed to know. "Why did you just leave us behind?"
Judas looked at the gentle angel, trying his best to keep his emotions intact. "Shin, please understand..."
"No," yelled Shin, grabbing Judas's garments even tighter, "I can't understand. You know how I felt about you, but even so… you still left, didn't even include us in whatever you decided!"
"Shin, we couldn't have!"
"And why not?" said another voice. Judas looked over to the bed and saw Rei, clutching the sheets tightly, trying his best not to burst into tears. He looked from Judas to Luca, waiting for one of them to answer his question.
"Rei, we did what we knew how to," answered Luca.
"And what was that?!" yelled Rei, "that you guys knew how to fight?"
Judas looked at the both of them, shaking his head. "No, it wasn't like that. We knew whatever we planned would put us out of Heaven and we didn't want to involve you guys, any of you."
Shin hugged Judas tighter, and Rei got up and ran to Luca. The men stood there holding their loves as they cried out their deepest feelings.
"Judas…" said Shin.
"Luca…" said Rei, looking the man in his eyes. Judas and Luca looked at the men in their arms.
"Don't ever do that again." Judas and Luca smiled as they pressed Shin and Rei closer to them.
It was later that night and Judas walked back in forth in front of Luca, staring out at their minions as they got ready for the next part of the plan. "What are we going to do Judas?" asked Luca.
"You know we can't just stop the plan. We have to save the angels from the oppression of Zeus and his despicable ways." They looked back to the demons and nodded. Yes, whatever they were planning had to be done, and it would be done, very, very soon.
-O-
Shiva walked away with a malicious look on his face, still unable to comprehend why Judas would waste his time with that useless angel, especially when he, Shiva, was a better fighter than Shin. Shiva walked along a trail that he had recently discovered, and continued on all the way to the end of it. He saw a cavern, and he entered it, slowly, calling out to the inhabitant.
"Why do you come here again? Didn't I tell you to stay away?" Shiva bowed to the man, sitting on the rock, staring up at the ceiling. He had found the man some months ago in the dark confines of the cave. He was surprised to see him here, but Shiva could tell why he had gone to Hell and not Heaven; animals and animal spirits usually went straight to Heaven. His hatred and his lust for revenge only made him a good candidate for the underground world, and even to this day he could only wait and hope to get the angel back for what he did to him.
"I'm sorry, but I was going to ask a favor of you." The man turned around, his golden eyes shining through the darkness.
"Go on."
"Well, I wanted to know if you were ready to get your revenge on Judas yet?" Kamui looked at the small angel, almost growling at him.
"You found Judas?" Shiva looked at him and smiled. Kamui may have been a great wolf spirit, but because of the way Hell was built and where he was imprisoned, he couldn't really find Judas.
"Yes, and if you follow my mark, I'll let you have him."
"How long will I have to wait? Not too long Kamui, not too long." Kamui went back to his spot looking back at the ceiling. "I've waited this long already, I doubt a few more days would be a problem."
Shiva bowed as he walked out of the cavern and back onto the trail to his own room. It was littered with paintings of his favorite red- headed angel. Now one would wonder why Shiva would want Judas to be in danger from someone who wanted nothing more than to destroy him. Simply put, if Shiva could save the man before Shin could, he would be able to get back in Judas' good graces, possibly even get him to forget about Shin altogether.
-O-
The night was cold and stale, the stars and moon illuminated the man as he walked about the mansion. He stopped in front of the wanted room, and waited to make sure that he was in fact alone. Pandora touched the cold knob and twisted, opening the door and entering the dark room. Pandora tiptoed from the large living room and into the chamber that stood directly to the right of him.
The bedroom was adorned with all types of beautiful gold, only fit for the son of god of course. Pandora continued into the quarters, stepping onto the soft plush rug underneath his feet, nearing the bed where Heros was sleeping soundly. The beautiful angel was snoring ever so lightly, and his deep exhales sounded so loud compared to the silence of the room. The intruder tiptoed even deeper into the room until he was right above Heros' head. He produced a vile from inside of his robe and looked at it in the light only to shake its settled contents. After the concoction was righted, Pandora tilted the vile, allowing a slow downpour of purple serum to make its way into Heros' mouth. The serum was certainly a sleeping poison, forcing the drinker into a deep sleep for only god knows how many weeks, months, or days. Pandora smiled as his serum closed onto the target.
While Pandora was making his way into Heros' chamber, Heros was busy fighting the demons in his head. He kept going back to the fact that his father would have him killed in order to keep his rightful place on the throne, and he would put all of Heaven in danger just to accomplish that goal. He was becoming restless, he noticed, and it wasn't part of anything that went on in his head; it was from something outside of his body. He opened his eyes in time to meet a purple stream about to enter his mouth. He moved away, and saw the man responsible. Without a thought, Heros took Pandora by the hand and threw him onto the bed. He hovered on top of the green haired man, daring him to try to escape. Pandora could only smile wider at Hero's apparent rage.
"What are you doing here?" Heros asked, snatching the vile from the man.
"Nothing really…"
"What is this?" Pandora smiled again, enjoying the game they were playing. He looked into Heros' deep dark eyes and caressed his cheek.
"Why don't you find out my prince?" Heros looked about ready to throw the advisor into the wall when he too, produced a wicked smile.
"Why not Pandora." He tilted the bottle, inching it ever so slightly to produce the smallest of drops. Pandora did not flinch; Heros tried with a fuller drop but still, Pandora wasn't going to react to anything that Heros did with the vile. "I can only guess who sent you after me," he said after putting the vile on the nightstand. Pandora wouldn't have been able to reach it if he wanted; his hands were pinned under Heros, who looked down on him from above. "I guess I have to let you go." He got off from the man under him and watched as Pandora waved him goodbye.
Heros sighed and sat back on the bed. There was no way he would stop trying to get rid of him (if that was in fact what Pandora was trying to do), thought Heros. He was a loyal subordinate, and that only meant that in order to put a stop to his own death, Heros knew the time was now for him to seize the throne from his tyrant of a dad.
-O-
Gai and Goh were still upon the giant tree on the outskirts of the village. The night still shadowed the sky, and even after the events just hours earlier, there was a sense of serenity about the air. Though, in a second, the serene peace was gone. In the centre of the village, there was a loud sound that disturbed the sleeping villagers. Soon enough, the sound had become deafening, and the ground had begun to crack upon in only certain areas. Gai was sleeping soundly, waving away the animals that had been yelling so loudly. "Shut up," he yelled irritably, "I'm trying to sleep." He mumbled a few more unintelligible words until finally the screams of the villagers woke both of the sleeping men up.
"Goh," said Gai, looking at the village. It was like a picture of déjà vu, the way the fire and the screams occurred; it was just like what happened only moments ago. They jumped off the tree, and hurried into the village. It was worse than they could have ever imagined.
Huge gashes, and cracks appeared under every abode, only expanding as it engulfed the entirety of the houses and the people screaming for help under them. Goh and Gai got to work, helping the people get to safety. Deep dark tunnels opened up in huge numbers, and it wasn't until the men flew high above the village did they realize what was occurring. They looked at each other.
"Gai, do you see this?" Goh asked already knowing the answer.
"Yeah, Goh." Gai was silent, and he had every right to not have anything to say at this moment; this only proved that they had to stop their former friends and allies, no matter what past they had.
Surrounding the village was some sort of engraving, and even though the immense number of portals to the underworld had obstructed the general form of the symbol, Goh had already guessed that the plan had called for some kind of sacrifice, and this village had been chosen as that one thing. Goh clenched his eyes shut hard, holding back both the anger and the disappointment that met him. If Judas and Luca went as far as killing, he knew there was no hope for them. He regained himself, and along with Gai, proceeded to save all that they could before the village was taken over.
As the huge cracks and upturned earth grew more frequent, demons started to enter. They came from out of nowhere, each of them taking a place on the edge of the symbol. Gai and Goh hurried, trying to save even more humans as they possibly could, before the plans of those in Hell came to life.
Finally, as the last of the hundreds of demons exited the openings created by the holes in the village's ground, Judas and Luca looked back at their loves and asked them for the last time. "Shin, Rei," started Judas, "this is your last chance…"
"Hey," said Rei, smiling at the both of them, "we made our decision and we will stick to it." Luca walked to both of them and patted their shoulder, touching the part of their neck that was bare.
"Then you go first, we'll be right behind you." Rei and Shin obeyed what the angel had told them. Luca waited until they were out of sight before he turned to his old time friend, Judas.
"So what did you pick up?"
"They both speak the truth, but I fear they will falter… they are conflicted with staying with us, and choosing between what is right or wrong."
"Is that so…?" spoke Judas turning to leave the cave that had held him captive all this time. "Well, I guess we see how things go then," he said. "Let us go, come on Shiva." The angel excitedly ran up to Judas and stole a place right beside him as the three of them headed out to Earth.
Judas, Luca, and Shiva stepped out into the dark night, turning dawn, and walked straight to the middle of the engraving -where Shin and Rei were waiting- that all the other demons had traced with their bodies. Some words were said, and giant flames arose from around the circular symbol. Judas and Luca looked at each other, and then to the men around them. A few more incantations were heard, and just as the final words were spoken, Goh had seen Judas. They looked straight into each others eyes, both of them having some sort of internal turmoil at seeing their "friend" after such a parting. Judas moved his eyes away, and went back to Luca, speaking the final word. Goh and Gai raced to them, but the flames rose higher, blinding them with their intense brightness as they grew larger, and reached further up into the sky. The village was lifted up, the humans screaming out as they were burned alive by the intense heat. Further and further the village floated into the air, until they reached the boundary that was the clouds. A few seconds later, they had all fallen onto Heaven, and within seconds, the battle had begun. The angels who had witnessed such an event watched as the demons attacked their brethren.
Judas and Luca, as well as Shin and Rei, followed the path straight to the palace, and Shiva stayed behind wanting to finish something. Up above, having finally recovered from the blinding that the flames had afflicted upon them, Gai and Goh gazed in terror as demons and angels alike fought to the death. Gai hurried down to help them, but Goh stopped him. "Gai," he said through clenched teeth, "we can't. We have to stop Judas so that the rest of these demons can be finished off. If not, we would be fighting forever, not able to even stop our former allies." Gai understood and jumping onto Goh's back, they ran toward the palace.
-O-
Shiva looked around the ground, and found the hole that he was looking for. Long before they went up into the opening to reach earth, Shiva had engraved a symbol so that another being could take the ride into Heaven with them. He jumped down, and smiled at the Kamui who had bared his teeth. "You are free Kamui, go and get your revenge." Kamui took a step forward cautiously, testing to make sure that what the young angel had told him was the truth. It was, and the moment he stepped foot outside of the cave he had been confined to because of Judas, he turned into a magnificent golden wolf and ran at full speed, following his nose to Judas. Shiva smiled evilly, hurrying to follow the grand wolf so that he had the perfect opportunity to save Judas before even Luca.
-O-
The four angels jumped into the sky, not long after leaving the ground. Shin was held by Judas, looking at the magnificent red wings the man sported. "When did you…?" started Shin. Judas smiled down at him before flying up higher into the sky. Shin's hair whipped around his face as he waited for Judas to answer him.
"Too long ago it seems… even if it only had been a short while."
The conversation was cut short and Rei (who was flying alongside Luca) and Shin focused on the trouble that was brewing underhand. All under them, apparently invisible to the eyes of the former angels, the angels were being defeated one by one. Some brutally, and others not as much, but all in all, it was still a horrid sight to behold. Tears flooded both their eyes, and they looked at each other with silent words. Their loves had gotten stone hearts; it was as if they weren't at all fazed by what was occurring down below.
Luca, who had always been observant, sighed and closed his eyes after witnessing the faces of his friends. He didn't need to touch them in order to guess what they were feeling; he knew what they wanted to do, and say, but they wouldn't. Even he, no matter how much he hated what he was doing, knew it was the right thing to do. Zeus was a menace to the angels in Heaven, and the spirits down below. If someone didn't stop him, then things would only get worse.
As the man was contemplating this, he sensed something strong and … angry? He looked back only in time to see a giant golden wolf jumping for Judas. He tried to stop him, getting himself into stance, but he was pushed aside easily. "Judas!" yelled Luca as he fell through the air. Judas looked back and saw the wolf closing in. The look that registered in his face was neither fear nor anger, but a sense of sadness. He threw Shin over to Rei, who flew Shin to the ground. Luca had already fallen hard, and one of his wings was badly bruised, but even with such an injury, he tried to help Judas. He flew back into the air, wobbling back and forth erratically, waiting for the perfect opportunity to help his friend.
"Stay back Luca, I have to do this… this is my responsibility." Judas looked back at the wolf and shook his had in sadness. What had come of the respectable wolf that he had fought those years ago? Was he so enraged that he became another being altogether? "Kamui, I do not have time for this. It is best that you forget about the revenge you promised me so long ago…"
"Oh, you don't have any time? You have created me, this angered wolfen spirit, and because I did vow to kill you, I will." Kamui jumped up and attacked Judas head-on. Judas dodged easily, already bringing a fist to the large wolf, flying straight into the beast's stomach and punching him with a brutal hit. Kamui howled, but grabbed onto Judas before he flew away, and threw him into the ground. Luca gasped loudly, trying to fly over to his friend, but again Judas told him to stop.
"No… Luca…" he said getting right back up. Kamui fell onto the floor, circling Judas as they both waited for the best time to attack.
-O-
Heros walked out of his room, having his plan of attack fresh in his head as he went to his father's throne room. Before that though, Heros took a detour outside and the sight the he had witnessed caused him to jump into battle protecting the weak angels. Demons were running about, killing the angels without mercy. Some of the angels may have held off a good number of the demons but it was only a matter of time before they succumbed to the power the demons had. Heros fought off the first demons, throwing his sword through the air to stop a demon that was about to kill off a downed angel. He destroyed his demon, and went for the remaining ones that surrounded the palace gate.
"Heros!" The man turned around a saw his mother running toward him, her own guardian angel hovering around her. She was safe far inside of the palace, but he was sure she needed him to do something. He looked around the area, only catching a few glances of even more demons walking up to the palace. Luckily there were no more angels to help, so Heros ran to his mom, asking if she was alright.
"Heros," she spoke looking into his eyes, "it is time that you take over your father's throne."
"I know, I will use this diversion, and take Heaven back to its pure form. You go and stay safe okay mother?"
"I cannot, I have to go and help those that I can." She saw the look on her son's face and smiled. "It's alright; I have my guardians."
Heros nodded and ran away from her towards his dad's throne room. It all decided on this, as well as what the Saint's Beasts are still able to accomplish, thought the Goddess as she watched her son disappear.
-O-
"Gai, what are you doing?"
"I can't help it! They need our help."
"I guess you're right," replied Goh, "I was starting to feel bad not helping them down there." Goh saved a group of young angels that had gathered inside of a small house, trying to hide from the demons. After the angels had run away, and after the demons ganged up on the only two angels left in that area, Gai turned to Goh.
"Hey, Goh…" Goh looked at his friend, though still weary of the battle that could commence at any moment. A demon jumped at him, and he blocked them with much skill.
"What is it Gai?" A few more demons jumped up into the air, hoping to surprise the two of them, but both Gai and Goh attacked, killing them in their place.
"Go on ahead of me. You need to stop Judas." Goh stopped his movements, looking at Gai, who was trying not to look at him.
"What are you talking about? You know I wouldn't leave you behind!"
"I know, and that's why I'm telling you!" yelled Gai loudly. The sound of his voice had cause Goh to whisper his name. "You are the only one who could catch up to, and defeat Judas. If I went with you, I'd only be a nuisance."
"Gai… I'm not going to leave you… not with all these demons!" There were so many demons, and it seemed never-ending. They fought while they conversed, and as they did, it seemed to Goh that Gai was moving away from him. He had been trying to get a hold of Gai, so that he could see the expression that went with such sad words. He finally caught up to Gai, after Gai had stopped to catch his breath.
"Gai, why would I leave you here?"
"Because you should put Heaven before me Goh, and this is the only way. I can deal with these demons."
"I know that, but it's too much for you to handle."
"Goh!" Gai yelled again, looking at him seriously, "go. Just go." Gai turned around, waiting for the next batch of demons to attempt an attack when he heard Goh sigh.
"Alright Gai, you are right." Gai didn't turn around. "I still don't want to leave you here with all these demons, but if I must, you better come back alive."
Gai finally turned around, a big goofy grin on his face. "Of course I'll be alive. Do you doubt my powers?"
"No, it's just…" Gai looked up at Goh, wondering why the silence had been in affect when he felt the man's strong arms wrap around his waist.
"Goh… Goh… what are you…?" Goh closed the space between the two of them, taking Gai's lips with his own. Gai felt his heart race, and the smirk Goh had when his breathing got shallow. Gai pushed Goh off of him, baring his teeth to the dual-eyed angel, mostly angered by his smirk. "What was that?"
"An incentive. Don't die alright?" Goh turned around and jumped away from his love, on his way to stop Judas.
"Alright demons," said Gai, "let's go. I'm looking to blow off some steam right about now."
-O-
Judas and Kamui looked at each other, trying with all their might, to figure out the best way to end the fight. They knew each other in a battle sense; they would fight until one of them died, so it was probably best that they try to expose the weakness of their foe. Kamui was the first to jump back into the battle, extending his large claws at Judas. Judas sidestepped, uncurling his wings, taking the battle up in the sky once again.
Kamui growled loudly, jumping up, and grabbing the angel. Judas pushed him off, bringing his hands together and dropping them with much force right onto the giant wolf spirit's spine. Kamui cried out, but rather than detracting from the pain inflicted onto him, he turned around and caught Judas' arm before he could take them off.
Down below, Shin was looking up at the battle with dread. "Oh no, Judas," he said out loud. He was about to run up to him, but Rei had held him back.
"Shin, you can't. Judas won't be able to protect you too…" As much as he didn't want to say it, Shin knew Rei was right. If he got caught, he would certainly only be a burden to Judas, and things would only get worse.
"Shin…" he said silently relaxing in Rei's arm. Luca was standing beside Rei watching the battle with just as much worry.
Shiva had walked back from where they had landed onto Heaven. He was watching as the fight progressed, almost mad that Shin didn't run in to try to save Judas. If he had done that, he was sure things would be easier for him. He decided to begin his plan. Shiva ran from behind the trees, making sure to yell loudly at the two in the air. "Judas!" Shiva yelled. Everyone turned to the man, and Judas grimaced.
"Shiva, don't! Stay away!"
"I will save you Judas!" said Shiva. Kamui had taken this chance and started to spin really fast. His body was still in pain from the blow he received from Judas, but in order to enact his long-awaited revenge, he would have to deal with it. He spun faster and faster, gaining so much speed that the wind was visibly encircling around him. Judas saw Shiva continue to run forward to attempt to save him, but he would only be making things worse for himself.
The force of the wind had been so formidable, that Judas was having trouble staying in his place. His wings were aching as they flapped back and forth to keep from entering the twister. Shiva was inadvertently pulled into the twister, yelling and grasping for Judas' hand as he passed by the angel. Judas moved forward, but he was powerless to do anything, not to mention he now had to defend against Kamui who started to attack him again.
"Shiva!" said the other angels on the floor. There wasn't much that they could do in any attempt, but even so, Shin started to move toward the battle. Shiva was already unconscious; he was spinning back and forth around Kamui's body as if it held such a strong gravitational pull. Shin walked into the raging winds, blocking the flying objects that Kamui's winds brought with him.
Judas yelled at Shin, telling him that he would save the other angel, but Shin disregarded him. Too many times he would have to rely on them, the stronger angels, and he was done sitting and being told what to do. Shin wanted to help people and he was going to help Shiva, no matter what happened to him.
Shin, as soon as he got closer to the wolf, who was also moving about sporadically, he extended his hands and pulled Shiva once he got a hold of him. Judas yelled out once again for Shin, and Kamui was getting tired of the man's distractions. He stopped where he was and growled loudly at Shin. He rammed his head right into the angel's stomach, causing him to fly out into one of the trees that were surrounding them. Judas had completely lost it now. When Kamui turned back to his foe, he saw a completely different Judas.
Before, Judas hadn't wanted to kill Kamui, not really having a problem with him. The vengeance that Kamui had was justified, and he understood that completely. Though, when the beast had deliberately attacked his friends he couldn't accept that. Judas looked at him, tension and hatred in his eyes so thick and hard, that he couldn't help but to flinch. The inner animal in him had told him to run, to escape from the gaze of this dangerous angel, but the human pride of himself told him to fight until the death; after all, that's what they were there for.
Judas flew slowly toward Kamui, hatred flowing about his body. "You will pay for that Kamui." The man attacked without so much of a warning, that everybody had been surprised. In one moment, Kamui was in the sky, and the next he was on the ground, laying on his side in pain. Judas flew down, in rapid speed, and hit Kamui dead on from his earlier height. Kamui coughed, blood now reddening the green grass. Judas only had to hit him one more time and he was sure he would die.
"Finish me off…" said Kamui out of breath. It took all of his strength to say that.
"You don't have to tell me that Kamui. I had respected you, and you let your hatred consume you."
Kamui laughed. "Like you… are any different… You… angry now…"
"I have my anger under control Kamui, and because of that, I will let you die yourself. I will not kill you." Kamui could do nothing but sigh and accept the man's terms. It wasn't like he had the strength for another attack to make sure Judas killed him. He looked up in the sky and smiled. He would have never thought that he would have died in Heaven. Kamui closed his eyes and his body dissipated, leaving behind golden rays of light that took to the sky.
Judas ran over to the angels that were surrounding both Shiva and Shin. Shin was worse off than Shiva was, and Shiva had already awakened. He saw himself sitting next to Shin, and Judas looking at Shin with such sad eyes. Shiva got angry, standing up quickly, but not yet regaining his strength. Judas helped him steady himself as he wobbled back and forth.
"Why do you help this man? He didn't even try to help you!" Judas looked away from Shiva. He kneeled and slowly undid Shin's buttons. He removed the clothes away from the way of the man's stomach, looking at the giant bruise on his fair white skin. He brought his lips to Shin's stomach and lightly kissed it. He kissed away the pain and the bruising that the man had received from Kamui. "Shiva, Shin was the one to save you from Kamui."
Shiva looked at him disbelievingly. "Why would…? I don't…" he started.
Judas took his hands and ran it through Shins long blue hair. He kissed the man's forehead, watching as his eyes slowly opened. "Judas," he said, "how is Shiva?" Shiva could not believe it! After everything he had done to make Shin look bad, in the end nothing would work. Shiva watched as Judas pulled Shin into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Judas…" he said.
"Don't ever make me worry like that ever again." Shin smiled and wrapped his hands around Judas.
"I'm sorry Judas."
Shiva looked away, holding back both his anger and his sadness. Shin may be the number one in Judas' heart, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't end up as number one in the future.
-O-
Zeus looked at the crystal sitting on the small desk beside him with such anger that he would have been able to shatter it into tiny pieces by just looking at it. He gritted his teeth, glaring at the orb until Pandora entered the room. Pandora looked at him. "You called sir?" he spoke bowing.
"I see that you have not fulfilled what I sent you out to do…" Zeus paused. "What do you have to say?! Heros will be here at any moment I presume…"
"My Lord, I'm sorry, but Heros… he is far more formidable than I had originally planned."
"And what are you going to do about that Pandora?"
"Well my Lord…" As Pandora was about to propose his idea, they both turned to the door. It was pushed open slowly, as if with a weary caution. There was a thick silence in the room, as Heros walked inside of Zeus' chamber. "Heros…" said Pandora with the hint of a smirk.
"Father, I know you know why I am here…"
"Heros, don't think that I will let you get this throne so easily."
There was an unspoken hatred building in the room with every second that passed and soon, as the men both stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move, Pandora was able to feel the immense power that they both contained leak out from their bodies. "Prepare yourself Heros."
The movement made by Zeus was too fast to be seen. He was standing next to his throne, and then the next moment, he was right beside a painting on the wall. The painting's subject was of a sword only told through folklore, and passed on to the angels as mere fairytale, as one would say. Heros gasped, not at all liking the look on his father's face.
"What is going on?" asked Heros.
"You know about this sword right? It was the very sword that was said to have given my father, and his father before him the upper hand in the war for Heaven all those millennia ago… well this, my son, is not just a fairytale…" Zeus turned away from Heros, taking his hand and placing it firmly on the painting. "Come to me Sword of the Ages." As soon as he had called out the sword's name, Zeus clenched his fist and then started to pull away from the picture. A bright light began to shine, and as soon as that had passed, Zeus was standing in front of his enemy, with a giant sword. He pointed it to his son. "Now the fight begins."
-X-
A/N: Hey peoples! I know, this feels like the most detailed work ever! Almost, or maybe more than my Inuyasha's Wish (cool, free advertising LOL) anyways, yeah. I think we are almost done with the story… sadness, I know, but you can always review! I really like knowing what you readers think. Why? Cause if you are an author you should know no? You tell me! Anyways, I'm going to go on with the story now. Bye for now!
