Chapter eight
Flames
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It was before sunrise when they woke. Pallet was still dark and the sun showed no sign of rising. Instead, black clouds coated the sky. Ann stared out at the horizon with a void expression once she redressed. Gary dressed quickly and stood behind her, his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her against his chest.
'This is it; our lives will forever be changed by the end of the day.' He thought and smelled the haze of smoke.
"It has begun." Ann closed her eyes and her hands gripped his. "The others will wake when the chaos reaches their senses."
Gary nodded in understanding as he saw a red glow sprout from the bay. "We'll survive." He assured her and she slipped out of his embrace to climb down the ladder. Once she was at the bottom he followed. He flinched when his ears started to ring at the sound of screams and his head pounded.
Ann looked toward the bay and her eyes filled with sorrow.
He watched her for a moment before hugging her. "You don't have to go out there." Gary whispered, silently begging her to send him in her place.
"I can't hide; I must do what I can to help." Ann reasoned. "There's a safe room, Dawn and anyone else can hide in until this is over. There are a few weapons hidden in there that we'll need…"
Gary sighed and nodded. He felt the pounding in his head worsen. "Go on ahead; I'll be there in a minute."
Ann nodded and stepped outside. The second he heard the backdoor close he fell to his knees holding his head.
'Why now?' He hissed in pain and tried to ride out the pain.
"If you wish to keep her safe, do not let her fight."
Images came to his eyes; all were filled with a sea of blood. The only color on the ground that wasn't red was dark golden.
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"South Pallet is in flames." Brock gapped as he looked out the window.
Dawn curled in a ball and her tears of fear and worry stained the skirt of her gown.
"There's a hidden room and tunnel under the house. Anyone who doesn't want to fight can wait in there." Ann stated while folding a few blankets to carry with her to the safe room. "Rene, can you go and unlock the room?"
Rene nodded and ran off to the kitchen and then down the stairs.
Ash helped Dawn to her feet. "How are we going to fight those things?"
"I have several weapons that will help us." Ann explained and guided everyone to the hidden room in the basement. Rene already had moved the fake wall to reveal a spacious room. Instantly the blond went in the room and set the blankets down before dragging a chest out of it.
Gary walked down the steps slowly, lingering behind as he watched Ann. Dawn had already moved into the hidden room along with Rene and Delia. His grandfather and Tracy were next to join the group in the room.
"There's only two dragon forged blade, the others were forged with the bones of demons and aura." Ann explained and offered a sheathed sword to Gary.
Gary looked at the weapon in shock, when he looked at Ann she gave him a faint smile as she strapped a sword to her belt.
"It's only right that sword returns to its rightful owner." She commented then came closer, "What, you really expected that Eric's sword was still in the castle hall?"
He smiled at her and strapped the sword to his belt. "Thank you, love." Gary pulled her close and breathed in her scent. After a moment, after he saw Ash leaving the hidden room after speaking to Dawn and his mother and leaving Pikachu with Dawn, he pulled apart and kissed Ann with everything he had. Slowly, to avoid her protests, he lifted her off the ground and moved them closer to the room.
When they parted she was out of breath, he held her for a moment longer.
"Gary, what-"
"I promise to come back to you." He whispered then shoved her back into the hidden room. Silently he asked her to forgive him when she landed on her backside and as he pushed the heavy stone door into place. When it slid into place it automatically locked
"Gary, wait!" Ann shouted.
'Forgive me, but I can't let you endanger yourself.' Gary rested his head against the door for a moment before looking back at his friends. Ash gave him a look of understanding and thanks. Brock looked as if he understood, but he disapproved to some extent.
"Let's do this."
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"Gary!" Ann pushed against the stone wall. When she realized it was locked from the outside she slid to her knees.
"Ann, what is going on?" Prof Oak asked bluntly. The elderly man's voice held no room for argument or sidestepping.
Ann looked up at the man, half of her face covered by the lantern. "A war of mythical level is starting out there. In a manner of hours the one largest prophecy ever gifted to man will have started."
Dawn gasped and tears of worry pooled in her eyes as she glanced at the door. She held Pikachu tighter in her arms.
"I don't understand…" Prof Oak stared at the woman.
"The world is on the start of being reborn. The last time it was reborn funeral pyres never went out and the land never healed. Lots of people will die." Ann continued.
Tracy looked at Ann, "How is it that you know for sure what will happen?"
Ann looked at them before standing. "Ho-oh's messenger was given visions and full memory of the first rebirth. In fact, the soul of the first messenger was reborn in the second. The messenger's birth was the sealed fate of what was to come: Living only to do one task, to witness the evil's first actions in the war and to set the world's heroes on their path and give those heroes guidance when lost."
Everyone, minus Dawn and Rene, stared at her in shock and disbelief.
"We'll have to talk about this later." Ann said while pushing back the pain in her mind, "Right now we have to make it to the end of the tunnel."
"Ann, they will survive, won't they?" Dawn asked her friend.
"They will. I won't let anyone here die today." Ann assured her friend and grasped the lantern. Starting the long walk to the exit.
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Chaos and death littered the streets. Houses burned and the owners of the flaming homes were in pools of their own blood on the street in front of it. Several houses had dead and living people inside.
"Go for survivors first, once we've saved as many as we can we'll go after whoever's in that ship in the bay." Ash directed and his two friends nodded.
Gary listened for the attackers. "Be careful, those beasts aren't the only ones doing the killing and burning."
With a nod the three men split up, each took a street and searched for survivors.
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Ash couldn't keep his fear from consuming him. The horrid scenes each street portrayed turned his stomach. He wasn't good at using Aura, but he knew enough to search for life. To use Sight to see what was actually there. It sped up the search and told him that Brock found several survivors while Gary was fighting what looked like a beast and a man.
'Dawn's safe, she and our baby are safe.' He chanted over and over again in his mind as he searched.
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Gary grunted as he swung his sword once more. He shook the blood from the blade when he was sure that his two foes were dead. The scarlet R on the dead man's jacket tested his self-control.
'Giovanni was behind this.' He then listened for any cries for help or heartbeats. After his headache numbed all of his senses were heightened. The section of Pallet he searched had no survivors but had plenty of Team Rocket looters and beasts. He'd listen and search them out only to kill them in his blind anger.
'Only a monster could do this.' Gary looked at the massacre and his heart throbbed as he recognized the faces of several people who now were dead in front of their homes. His blood boiled at the sight of what the beasts had done to the women before leaving them to bleed to death.
Gary bit back the bile as the sight got worse and worse as he walked closer to the bay. His self-control snapped when he saw a familiar brunette lying in the street. Her body was mangled and her dress was shredded.
He gripped the building as he heaved. 'Giovanni…I don't give a damn what your involvement is, but when I'm through with you- there won't be anything left to bury.'
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Her heart hammered in her chest as she stared at what felt was a never ending tunnel.
'They'll all be safe at the shrine.' She reasoned with herself as she led the way in the dark tunnel. 'I'll beg Suicune to take me to Pallet. I will barter with any of the Legendary Pokémon if I must.'
"You're seeing what will happen, aren't you?" Dawn asked from beside her.
"Not easily. I can't see but I feel that something is off, that something very bad has just entered the fray." Ann explained.
Dawn glanced at her friend then back at the others, who followed behind with their own lantern from a further distance. "You know who's behind this, the person who will start this war."
Ann nodded, "I've known for a few years now."
Dawn gapped at the woman. "Years?"
"Why do you think I went after Giovanni with urgency?" Ann stated calmly, "Yes, I've known who would raise evil for three years. I've spent four years trying to find a way to void the prophecy and it was to no avail. Now all that's left is follow the path that fate carved out."
"But where does the path lead?" Dawn asked absentmindedly.
"Through the worsts of hells and over time it will arrive at a paradise that has things we can't even imagine." Ann replied and glanced ahead. "Storms and fire are the first to strike. Blood, famine, and illness are the second. And blood and tears are the third. Then the sun will return to its normal spot in the sky."
Dawn stared at the woman. "The sun will disappear?"
"Not fully. Prophecy states that the sun's light will diminish, covering the land in a red hazy glow at night and with the shadows of a fire during the day." Ann explained.
Dawn placed a hand over her abdomen. Her fear spiked and Pikachu patted her shoulder in comfort.
Ann paused in walking. She glanced back at the others and saw that they were inspecting the inscriptions on the walls. "Dawn, you and the little one will be safe. The path you and Ash are taking is harder than the others that were at the crossroads, but the joy that you two will feel in a time of darkness is something to be treasured. New life is the only thing that will distract from what's at hand."
"How do you know for sure that's true?" Dawn asked.
Ann smiled and placed two fingers on her friend's forehead before closing her eyes.
Ash stood next to her with the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face.
Dawn smiled at him and lay back against the pillows. She felt horribly tired but couldn't fall asleep yet. She smiled at the two bundles that were resting against her chest.
"Thank you," Ash kissed her damp brow and touched the exposed face of one of the twins.
Dawn gapped at her friend and Ann merely smiled.
"Let's go raise a lil hell to throw at those monsters." She winked and Dawn smiled before nodding.
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Everyone stared at the valley in awe. All of the Pokémon had gathered around the shrine and stared up at the sky. On the cliffs, the profiles of the Legendary Pokémon were shadowed by the scarlet red light that came with dawn.
"They've all gathered." Tracy stared at the massive number of Pokémon. The whole valley was filled with the forest's Pokémon.
"Not quite," Ann commented as she glanced toward the huge cave on the other side of the lake. "Ho-oh isn't here and Lugia is in the bay."
"Ho-oh!" Prof Oak looked at the Pokémon on the cliffs.
Ann sighed and walked out of the cave's opening. She caught sight of Suicune. "I ask for a boon!"
The Pokémon glanced away but the one standing next to it leapt from the cliff, running across the sky before landing on the ledge. Entei stood tall; his very aura pierced the air and heated it.
"Take me to Pallet. I will complete this task at the sea." Ann requested.
"Do not do what you are planning." He warned.
Ann stood strong, "I was told to do this task. It is my choice on where. I won't be doing this in isolation overlooking the massacre. Either you take me to the center of this battle or I will find other means of getting there."
"The others won't permit you to leave here."
"Do not forget to whom you speak." Ann warned sharply in a tone that spoke of her royal lineage. Instantly a ring of silver light appeared at her feet. "I've done enough, sacrificed enough to be owed a boon. After knowing what is expected of me you dare refuse?"
Entei stared at the woman; her bravery caused those with her to falter. "I dare not; though I do not approve of your choice of location."
"I am not running from fate, I'm running to it." Ann stated bluntly.
Entei paused for a moment before kneeling. "Then I will not stand in your way."
Ann nodded in thanks and the light died. She looked back at her friends. "When the battle is over I'll send word if I'm unable to come personally."
"Be careful," Delia hugged the younger woman.
"I will," Ann mounted Entei and gave Dawn thumbs up. "That vision won't change, so don't worry."
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A second later Entei took off; he was running so fast his feet barely touched the ground.
"He's down there, isn't he?" He wondered.
Ann watched the flames that consumed Pallet's south and east side. "He is,"
"You're afraid for him to fight alone."
"How can't I?" Ann mused. "He's no different than the one before him. He'd live and die for me. All he asks in return is to never have a single regret. Our future is so unclear…it scares me."
"If he truly is like Eric, then his character is stronger than before. His loyalty, justice, and vows would be doubled in strength."
Ann shut her eyes as she heard screams. Every fiber in her being damned those who were on the enemy's side. "That is why I fear."
'Eric had strong self-control, so much so his emotions barely showed. And Gary, his emotions are tied to his composure.' Ann felt a shiver go down her back. 'He'll lose it. He'll go mad with rage and go into a battle with a fogged mind. He may die…'
Ann gripped at her abdomen. 'Please,' She prayed as the fear set in. 'If death takes him from me, please at least gift me with more than a memory.'
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The docks were abnormally quiet despite the beasts that paced back and forth.
"Boss," A grunt spoke up while two others dragged a young man several feet away. "We caught him cutting the lead line to the engines."
Steely black eyes glanced at the bound man. The grunt stood out with his badly dyed orange hair, his natural hair color-black- had already started to show.
"Such a disappointment," He mocked, "Kaz, perhaps you didn't understand me the first time. One wrong move and your family dies."
Kaz glared at Giovanni. "Ann is going to rip you apart."
"Continue on like that and you won't have a son." Giovanni warned.
"You wouldn't dare." Kaz stated despite his fear.
"No son of mine would disobey me." Giovanni kicked the man.
Kaz struggled and coughed up blood. "A bastard like you couldn't be my father."
Giovanni motioned for the grunts to let go of the man. "If your faith in Carvanha is so strong, run. See how far you can make it."
Kaz gripped his side, silently cursing when he felt a cracked rib. "Forget ripping, you're going to get burned alive, you sadistic bastard."
Kaze didn't bother looking up after he was hit over the head with the butt of a gun. He only smirked as he saw two figures running toward the docks with swords in hand.
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Gary felt thankful to have backup, Ash, once he reached the docks. He was already covered in the blood of those he had killed and his rage hadn't lessened.
When he spotted Giovanni he didn't think of the best course of action, he just ran head first to attack. Kaz, Ann's adopted cousin, was a bloody-living- mess several feet away with a gun pointed at him.
Gary put all of his strength into his first attack, managing to catch the man off guard and slice through the tacky business suit.
Ash was quick to knock out the grunts and join him.
"So, she ran and left you two to fight her battle." Giovanni eyes the two.
Gary gripped his sword, "As if I'd give a monster like you the chance to kill her."
"Ah, so you hid her away." Giovanni aimed, "Give me Carvanha and I might let you live."
"No way in hell." Gary spat and lunged.
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"This is as far as I can take you."
Ann nodded in thanks and slid from Entei's back. "You have my word that I'll complete my task once I reach the docks."
"See to it that you do not delay. The sun will be past the horizon soon, your task must be done before then. You must awaken our final brother before you enemy does. The one who awakens him first has her allegiance."
"The second I step onto the docks I'll start the ceremony." She assured him and headed toward the docks. Using Sight to avoid any conflict: She sensed Brock guiding the survivors to the forest to hide and ahead of her was Ash and Gary.
'Kaz?' She felt his Aura and sped up. 'Damn it you fool. You told me that you wouldn't do anything after we found out that Giovanni was your father.'
The second she took a step onto the docks she summoned her power. Fear ate at her when she saw Gary, covered in blood, swinging at Giovanni. But she couldn't stray from her task.
She grasped her knife in one hand and clenched her other hand around the blade. In a quick pull she withdrew her hand, quickly she added Aura to her blood.
"Heed my command and awaken from your slumber. Grant me with your allegiance and bring forth this new era." Ann raised the scarlet hued orb toward the sky. "Answer my call! I summon you, Dyre!" She shouted and released the orb.
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Time stood still as the black sky parted with the scarlet light. The shadowy creature that stood in front of the light let loose a roar. Violet eyes were framed by black scales. The dragon hovered in the cloud break. It drew in a deep breath and released a wave of Aura. Instantly the landscape changed, everything looked older. The forest grew. Paved streets turned back to dirt. Technology failed. And the dead turned to dust.
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Ann reached to wrap her blooded hand and was mildly surprised to see the wound already healed. She looked up at the powerful dragon. Dyre didn't budge from where it hovered, its long tail swayed back and forth.
'So, you want to see the power of the ones who wish for your allegiance.' She glanced toward where the fight was and sighed in defeat. Ann looked back up at the dragon. 'I pray your power worked on the guns as well.'
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Gary froze when he felt the changes the dragon had caused. Everything looked as if it went back in time. The sword in his hand looked less aged and felt lighter. He glanced back at Ash to see if his friend noticed. He froze when he saw Ann calmly walking toward them.
'No, don't come near here.'
The woman looked calm yet, at the same time looked down right pissed. She held an Aura orb in her hand and glared at Giovanni.
"Leave." Ann commanded. Her command wasn't clearly directed at a single person, yet.
Giovanni smirked. "How kind of you to join us."
Her hand turned ever so slightly. "You've lost, now leave."
"Lost?" Giovanni laughed, "Whose town is burning?"
Gary jumped back and landed near Ann. "What are you doing?" He demanded.
"You should have researched the legend more. The one who's first to summon the dragon is its ally." Ann stated fearlessly. Her hand continued to turn; the orb now was directly pointed at Giovanni.
"Hey!" Gary protested when he was ignored. Ann gave him a glance and he followed her gaze go from him to the shadows. 'There's more.' He realized and glanced around them. Instantly he took up a defense position. 'We're out numbered.'
"Damn," Ash breathed when his Sight picked up on the beasts that surrounded them.
"Kill me and they kill you and your friends." Giovanni stated.
Ann's lip curled into a snarl. "Not if we're faster."
'She knows something we don't.' Gary glanced at her.
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In a second all hell broke loose. The beasts lunged at the same time they were attacked from the rear. Instantly Ann tossed her sword to Kaz and fired the orb. The four fought alongside the Legendary Pokémon who had joined the melee.
Despite Gary attempting to keep her back, Ann went straight for Giovanni. Her orbs of Aura singed the man's clothes and hair.
The pair was attacked right and left. While Ann fought Giovanni, Gary covered her back by attacking the beasts that tried to hit her.
Though they weren't attacking the same enemy, the pair used the other's movements to distract both enemies. The sway of Ann's skirt aided Gary in knowing where to aim and Gary's swings, the sound of the blade slicing through the air, told Ann which side to dodge in addition to dodging Giovanni's attacks. The guns still worked and each of the four were dodging the bullets.
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"Ann," Gary hissed in disapproval when he saw her arm bloody and her palms raw from using so much Aura in such a short period of time. "Make a run for it."
Ann glanced at him while their backs were pressed. Her gaze turned worried at the cuts on his clothes and skin. The worst was a shallow wound that went across his abdomen. "I'm not leaving you behind."
"I won't allow you to stay here and die." Gary argued while turning his attention to the beasts and grunts that surrounded them. Giovanni managed to escape the fray and watched from a distance away. 'Coward,' He gripped his sword from a different angle to avoid aggravating his shoulder wound.
Ann summoned more Aura; wincing as her raw palms stung. "Will you be right behind me in the retreat?" She asked. When he didn't respond she sighed. "I though so."
"Please, Annalisa, run." Gary begged.
Ann stared out at the battle, while her and Gary's foe were waiting for them to attack- Ash and Kaz weren't getting a moment of rest. "You'll make this your suicide once I do." She stated sadly.
Gary stood perfectly still and did not respond as he thought of ways to clear a path.
"Gary," The hand that wasn't holding Aura sneaked behind her and gripped the back of his tunic. "I can't do this alone." She confessed.
He closed his eyes and drew a breath before opening them. "And I can't let you die." He replied before attacking.
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Ann drew a breath and turned her attention to the beasts that were in front of her. She knew that she didn't have much Aura left to use before it would start to kill her.
'One attack will wipe them all out.' Ann summoned as much Aura as she could. The beasts felt the power and made moves that showed they were going to try to run. The grunts, who were more effected by the Aura than the beasts, had already started to run- Blindly firing their guns as they filed into the vans for their retreat.
The attack killed all of the remaining beasts and the few grunts that weren't fast enough to join their boss in the vans.
Ann released a sigh of relief as she held her bloody shoulder. When she heard someone fall she instantly turned. "Gary!"
The man had fallen and was far more a bloody mess than before. He hissed in pain when Ann rolled him onto his back. The front of his vest and tunic were torn. His chest and abdomen had several wounds, but a single wound spouted more blood than the others. The wound was shy of hitting his heart and was clearly a bullet wound.
Ann instantly tore her skirt and held the cloth against the worst of the wounds. Gary shuddered, though barely conscious, his eyes fought to stay open. But the pain soon knocked him unconscious.
Ann cursed low as her free hand moved to check Gary's pulse. 'Only fainted from the pain.' She assured herself and moved quickly to make the torn cloth into a makeshift bandage.
She looked up at Ash and Kaz, neither were in good shape but they did not have life threatening wounds. Ash returned her gaze with worry for his friend.
When a rainbow feather landed in front of the group, none of them bothered to look up as Ho-oh disappeared into the black sky.
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Dawn was frantic when they got back to Ann's house. When Brock came to get them they all assumed the worst. Then when the man explained what happened she almost went into hysterics. Brock was the only one who was the least injured and his injury was a cut on his upper arm and small burns on his hands from pulling people out of burning houses.
She was relieved to see Ash sitting in the kitchen, badly attempting to tend to his own wounds while a man who looked just like her boyfriend sat on the other side doing the same- But unlike Ash, he knew how to tend to his wounds and sew the gash on his forearm.
Dawn didn't know how many, or how bad, Ash's wounds were but she couldn't help herself from hugging him.
"Easy, Dawn." Ash smiled and pulled away with a small wince.
"Sorry," She sat down and picked up the bandage in his hands. "Where are Ann and Gary?" She asked just as Prof Oak and Rene walked in.
Ash glanced down the hall that led to the spare bedroom. "Back there," He sighed and a weary expression appeared on his face. From down the hall everyone could hear groans of pain. "He passed out after getting shot. Ann's been back there since we got back trying to get the bullet out without causing more damage."
Prof Oak looked down the hall with worry and fear. "How bad?"
"Bad, there's hardly any patch of skin on him that isn't cut, burnt, or bruised. He got shot once but another bullet grazed his shoulder. We were scared to move him because of how bad it was." Ash sighed and ran his free hand over his face to keep awake.
Rene looked at the two men at the table then rushed upstairs, when she came back down her arms were full with a huge first aid kit.
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The girl gathered everything she could- bandages, needle, thread, antiseptic- then moved to the back room, vaguely aware of Prof Oak behind her. The spare bedroom was filled with light from candles and lanterns. Rene moved to the other side of the bed, opposite her sister, and saw how bad it was.
Gary's chest was a mess, but the small bowl next to Ann showed that the bullet was out. The bullet wound was refusing to clot and Ann was pressing against it in vain. The woman wasn't as injured as Gary, but her clothes were soaked with blood.
"Here," Rene offered to hold pressure on the wound. Ann nodded in thanks and fell back on her knees- Thankful for a few seconds of rest.
"How is he?" Prof Oak spoke up when he finally found his voice.
"Better than he was thirty minutes ago." Ann reached for a cloth to clean her hands. "It's still bad though, but at least the bullet is out."
Prof Oak looked away from his grandson to look at Ann. "You're wounded."
Ann glanced at her makeshift bandage, seeing the green cloth fully stained scarlet. "I'm fine. I'll sew it up as soon as Gary's wounds are dealt with."
The elderly man faltered. "If it's that bad then go take care of it."
Ann glanced at Gary and shook her head as she stood. "Don't worry about me professor, I've had far worse." She stated while moving an oil lamp to the bedside table and picking up a knife. "I understand why you're worried, but right now I have to make sure that Gary pulls through. Rene, can you tell Brock that I need his help again?"
Rene nodded and left the room, almost instantly Ann pressed the wound two more times before cleaning it. Once clean she kept one hand on the wound while holding the knife to the lamp's flame.
"Professor, unless you're here to offer help, it might be best for you to go outside for a while." Ann stated solemnly.
"What can I do?" He asked.
"I need to close this wound. He's going to jerk violently when it's burned close. I need you and Brock to hold him down." Ann explained and saw Brock and Rene. "Thank you, Re, go help Kaz for a while. In a few minutes you can come back in here with burn treatment."
Rene nodded and glanced at Gary before leaving.
"You sure about this, Ann?" Brock wondered as he moved to the head of the bed to hold down Gary's arms.
"The wound won't clot and it's too deep to just bandage and pray it clots. The tissue is too mangled to sew; burning the wound shut is the only other option." Ann checked the blade to see it was red with heat. "Hold him down tight."
Both men grunted okay when they were ready, in a second Ann removed the bloody gauze from one hand and pressed the flat part of the blade against the wound. Gary jerked and screamed, long after the blade was removed his body shuddered under the pain.
After the burn was treated Ann fell back to rest.
'Now it's all up to your stubborn will.' She sighed and left Rene in charge to go get cleaned up.
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Kaz looked at his cousin when she sat down at the table: hair dripping, tired, and clad in tights and a loose fitted shirt.
"You should sleep." He stated with concern. His friend and cousin had spent five hours treating Gary's wounds before taking care of her own.
"Like you look worse for wear," Ann commented and nursed the cup of coffee in her hands.
"Seriously, get some sleep. Rene knows just as much about healing as you do. Between the two of you, he's in good hands." Kaz insisted. Dawn, who was also sitting at the table, nodded.
"We don't need two people on bed rest." She commented.
Ann glanced up, in the firelight it only made her gaze more menacing. She sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I will, just not now."
Dawn watched her friend for several minutes. "Ann, how will Gary feel when he wakes and sees you like this?"
Ann shut her eyes. "Hopefully feel guilty enough to never be that reckless again."
"More than that, he'll feel guilty because you worrying over him is going to make you sick and weak. If something happened to you he'd feel responsible." Dawn added.
"He'd feel responsible either way. What he did is proof of that." Ann rubbed her eyes. "He felt as if I was in danger and tried to lock me away. Look where that led. He went into a blind rage after seeing the dead bodies of those he knew. Revenge and a twisted sense of justice hijacked his mind from making rational choices. He went into battle expecting to die."
Kaz sighed. "That doesn't make him more of a monster than the ones he killed."
"We all have our moments of darkness." Ann opened her eyes to slits. "It is a trait of humanity that we all have to overcome in our own way."
"Sister"
Ann sat up straight and looked at her sister. Instantly, she got to her feet.
"I'll help," Dawn offered and followed her friend to the spare bedroom.
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Ann glanced at Gary the moment she entered the bedroom. His breaths were strained and unsteady.
"It started several minutes ago." Prof Oak informed her. "First thought was that infection started in his abdomen wound."
Ann nodded and felt for Gary's pulse. Fear ate at her when she felt how weak it was. 'Come on, you have a stronger will to live than this.'
"Dawn, can you hand me the bag on the dresser?" Ann asked and she moved to reach for the water bottle on the nightstand.
Gary drew a harsh, rasping breath while his muscles seized up. When the breath was released a shudder went through his body.
Everyone was still, all eyes were on the man on the bed as silence over powered the room.
'No…'
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A.N.
Happy Easter (yes another update before going back to weekly Friday updates.) ;) Hope everyone likes this chapter and the next one.
R&R
