"Hey, Fai!" Kurogane yelled, pulling on Fai's arm. The man still seemed to be in some strange trance, swimming quickly. Kurogane quickly caught on how to swim with the tail, but still would not let go of Fai. A city quickly appeared; it's people alive, moving around and going on with their daily lives. They rose with the moon, sleeping under the sun. Fai swam far above them, remaining unnoticed until he reached the doors of the largest building of all: the Palace. Rather than stop him, the guards at the door let him and Kurogane pass immediately. Kurogane tried to remain undistracted by the sights, but it grew to be difficult. The building had been greatly influenced by an ancient style and theme. The walls were covered in reliefs of merpeople, sea life, and humans. High ceilings with open windows and flying buttresses allowed the moonlight to flow in, but glowing rocks and coral also adorned the walls. They produced a color similar to a blazing fire; the same color as the ninjas tail. Suits of human armor gleamed eerily, tall pikes seeming to drip blood from their tips.
Fai swept past these, not paying any attention to them. He remained silent since returning to the sea.
"Mage!" Kurogane protested, tugging on Fai's arm. The man stopped for a moment, looking up to where the surface, and the human civilization, was. He sighed.
"Too bad Kurogane couldn't come." He muttered quietly. The man in question glared again.
"I'm right here. This is starting to get ridiculous. Not that you'd fight it off." He swam in front of Fai, staring into his face. Fai had a lost look in his face, but his eye was darting around, looking at everything. He locked his gaze with Kurogane, briefly gaining control over his mind and body. Fai's trapped arm twitched, and he quickly hissed out two words from behind clenched teeth.
"Help…me…!"
"What?" Kurogane leaned an inch closer, looking into his eye. Fai stared at him desperately.
"You can't escape, Fai." A voice called. Fai's back stiffened and Kurogane's head snapped towards the voice. Aithne swam out to them, her face grim. She glared when she saw Kurogane. She knew the face of every citizen; his face was new.
"How did you get here?"
"I followed this guy. Who the hell are you?"
"Sister, ignore the new man. Remember our task." Akitla said, joining her side.
"Fai, come with us now. The Queen wants to see you." She hissed. She held out a branch of coral in her hand. Ashura had given it back to her for the moment so she could deliver the prize. Gaining possession of another merpersons blood, no matter how small the amount, allowed the new owner control of the body it came from. Since Akitla had been the one to take it, she had the most control with it. With a twist, Fai freed his arm, joining Akitla.
"Aithne, take care of the intruder." Akitla commanded, leaving with Fai. Kurogane growled, unsheathing Souhi.
"You're not a human, so it doesn't matter if you die." The man said, removing his shirt so he could move through the water more easily. He drew his sword back, grinning before unleashing his attack.
"Hama Ryuuoujin!"
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Akitla could clearly hear the sounds of a battle. She swam away swiftly, but still slowly. The woman wouldn't admit it, but she was worried for her sister. True, Aithne was one of the only mermaids in the entire polis and most of the others who could wield a flame that water couldn't destroy. This would give her the upper hand over the man.
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Kurogane yelled as another arc of fire shot at him, throwing him into the wall. His first attack had left the woman wounded. Kurogane had burns across his chest and arms and a cut below his eye. He lay in rubble for a second, stunned, before shooting forward to retaliate. Aithne dodged with another flash of fire.
Kurogane crashed into another wall, but he was prepared this time. He braced himself, landing more delicately. His mind slipped back to a few nights ago, to when he first leapt into the sea to save Fai. The mage had gotten Maecenas to go away after kicking her in the face, after her face had already been cut open by Kurogane's blade. The first tactic was out of the question since he had lost his legs. Kurogane could do much better. He needed to hurry up though, the longer the fight took, the further away Fai and the Queen got.
"Tired already?" Aithne asked, smiling acidly.
"Hell no."
Kurogane sped towards her, preparing his sword for one final attack. Aithne screamed, she didn't see the attack coming.
A slice of steel cut the shriek abruptly off, leaving the room in a strange silence. Kurogane breathed heavily. His strength wasn't weakened, which was good, but he needed to stop and think. He looked over to the pink and red head.
Such a disgusting thought. But it may work.
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Akitla and Fai swam in to the throne room, stopping in front of Ashura. Fai floated above a large red tile set into the stone tiles.
"Here is the human, Highness."
"Clearly. Return to your post." Ashura commanded. Akitla nodded and swam back to the doors to guard them. The Queen turned her gaze to Fai, disgust in her eyes.
"To even think that you are to be the one to defeat me. Maecenas was wrong. It can't be you." She sighed. "Still you are quite valuable! Here you will stay, and even if you are my highest foe… You'll be easier to finish off." Ashura raised her mirror to face her prize.
"Compes. Relaxo."
Fai's back relaxed, until chains burst from the ground, wrapping around his arms and trapping him. He was still too stunned to fully notice. Shaking his head and blinking back dizziness, Fai looked up at his captor.
"Ashura?"
She's the Queen?
"I'm pleased that you know my name, human. You seem to want to ask me something."
"I do. What are you doing to the aqua polis?"
"You don't know? I am crippling it. I'll have an Empire, with myself as the Dictator, very soon."
Fai blinked. Her plan was pretty weak. She was the Queen already. Wasn't that enough? Ashura grinned sadistically.
"Or I could just kill everyone."
"What does this entire thing have to do with-"
"You? Hah! You think that you're the one to defeat me?"
Fai was bewildered. She had already killed thousands, or so said Maecenas.
"Anyway, I can't just leave you chained in my throne room. Imagine how my guests would react!" Ashura reached to her right, where a lever was located. Her webbed hand grabbed it, about to pull it back. Suddenly, Akitla screamed, distracting everyone.
The throne room doors were wide open, with a projectile soaring through them. A pike jammed into the stone floor, with Aithne's head speared through it. Akitla was quickly silenced with steel as Kurogane shot through.
"Kurogane!" Fai cried out, too surprised as grossed out to use a nickname. Ashura did nothing, but stare at her floor where the head was with a look of revulsion. She quickly recovered as Kurogane began to break the chains with his sword by pulling the lever. The red tile sprang to life and began to soar towards the side wall…
Right into a barricade of spikes.
"Kurogane!"
"Shit!"
Kurogane sliced at the chains again, trying in vain to free Fai. His blade was making no progress. The tile wouldn't break either, and there wasn't enough time to try and break the spikes. They'd just end up crashing into the wall behind them anyway.
"Fai! Use your magic, Dammit!"
"I can't!"
"You're going to let both of us die?!"
The spikes were gleaming, as if they were rejoicing at ending two more lives. Fai stared with horror. He didn't want to use his magic, didn't care if he died, but couldn't let Kurogane die! His hands were trapped though; he'd have to use a different type of magic.
"Hyuuuu!" Fai whistled, turning the chains to dust. He and Kurogane shot to the Queen and tackled her. Fai snatched the mirror away.
"Kuro-puu! Come on!" Kurogane nodded.
"Follow me!"
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They left the Palace as quickly as possible. Kurogane sighed and sheathed his weapon.
"That was interesting." He said, "What now? Go back in and kill her?" Fai shook his head.
"We have her weapon. We don't need to just yet."
"What's so great about it?"
"I saw her use it."
"You were in some trance. You sure you didn't just imagine it?"
"I'm sure."
Fai swam of into the actual polis, where the citizens were. Kurogane followed half heartily. He really wanted to be back up on the surface. The locket, embedded in his chest, was painful.
"Where are you going?"
"To Maecenas's house."
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Fai swam in the front door, and into the main room. Kurogane followed him in, looking around.
"Are you worried that Ashura will follow us to the surface or something? Is that why we're here?" He asked. Fai smiled.
"No, Kuro-silly! This was closer!"
"Hmph. Liar."
A knock at the front door broke the silence. Fai quickly answered it.
"Hello. Can I help you?" He asked sweetly. The visitor glanced up at him and at Kurogane.
"Uh, where is Maecenas?"
"She's not here right now, can we help you?"
"I'm sure as hell not helping anyone." Kurogane grumbled. The visitor ignored him.
"Well, she missed the meeting…"
"Mmm? What meeting?" Fai asked.
"I'll tell you, if you let me in."
"Of course, come on in!"
The guest swam in, quickly shutting the door behind her. She turned and smiled at them.
"Sorry about that, can't have people hear what I'm about to say. I'm Hokuto, by the way."
"My name is Fai, and this is-"
"Kurogane. Don't listen to him when he calls me by anything else."
Hokuto's eyes widened.
"I knew it! You're the human Maecenas brought to stop the Queen, right? Come with me!"
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Hokuto led them to a cave in the coral reef. Once inside, they met several new faces. Not really that new though. They'd met these people before on different worlds. Subaru waved to his sister.
"Everyone! This is Fai and Kurogane! Fai is the human Maecenas was talking about!"
"He has the Queens mirror!"
"How did you get it?"
Kurogane snorted.
"We just went in and got it."
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Ashura sighed angrily before swimming over to the corpse of Akitla; taking the coral from her lifeless hands. Until she got her mirror back, this would have to do. She was through with the thought of keeping the damn human prisoner.
Next time she got her hands on him, she'd kill him.
AN: k, so I got my dates mixed up… I'm leaving for vacation in three days! X3
I won't be writing or posting while I'm away, but I'll have a PSP with me and I can reply to comments and stuff via that