Chapter 10: Epic

Jen-Jen stared right into the horse's black eyes, while it balanced on its hind legs, looking for the right place to hit. The horse threw itself at Jen-Jen, attacking him like Noche had attacked Gaspar, but the adult-sized duende didn't let the horse get the better of him. No sir! He drew his whip and swung it around the horse's neck, tying it and pulling back, making the horse retreat in anger. It shook its neck and head, trying desperately and furiously to escape, but in one painfully swift pull, the horse was decapitated; turning into dust and returning to the ground it had come from.

Jen-Jen laughed, and then groaned from the sting in his shoulder, when a fear creature grabbed his ankle and another jumped on his shoulder, biting hard on the stab.

"Aargh!"

"Jen-Jen!" a voice yelled. A punch from a fellow Guardian managed to get the creature on Jen-Jen's back off and flying away. He turned back to see Balto, with his own weapon, throwing at his ankle and destroying the Fearling hanging from it.

"Balto!"

"Didn't Gaspar tell you to use your whip? Duck!" Balthazar lowered Jen-Jen by the head, throwing at an incoming Fearling with his fling. It was a very infantile weapon, indeed, but it was incredibly useful for the teenager. He shot three rocks at the inky black creature, disintegrating it immediately with three blasts. Jen-Jen nodded at Balthazar, running towards Elizabeth's cage, leaving the boy to deal on his own. The boy is capable enough, Jen-Jen thought.

Meanwhile, Maria tried with all her strength and wit to break open Elizabeth's cage. She kicked, she punched, she pulled on the bars, she pushed on a wall and she tried her powers, but nothing worked! The cage was as hard as stone! Elizabeth's shrieks and cries broke Maria's heart every time, but there was nothing she could apparently do!

"Maria, get me out of here!" Elizabeth cried, stretching her hand out the bars, frightened at all the monsters pulling on her pajamas and scratching at her legs. Maria took the girl's hand, still searching for some crack along the cage walls with the other.

"I know, I know, Elizabeth, just…"

"I'm scared! I'm really scared, Maria, help!" this time, Elizabeth only cried in fright, looking at Maria with the most desperate look a child could bring up. It was pure torture for Maria. She took a deep breath, and passed her hand through the bars, placing her hand in Elizabeth's cheek to try and comfort her, if she couldn't open the cage.

"Sh, sh, sh, don't worry. I promise I'll get you out, you…you just have to believe in me." Maria said, forcing a smile, though inside she just wanted to cry with her.

Elizabeth had actually smiled hearing that. All children do when words of safety reach their ears in a crisis. But the sinister chuckle that followed only made the little girl's smile disappear, foiling Maria's small victory.

"When have I heard that phrase before, hm? Oh yeah! All Guardians say that when kids are about to DIE." Daniel said, standing on top of the cage with his arms crossed and his sword floating just next to him. Elizabeth yelped at the mention of death, but Maria only shook her head softly.

"You're nobody to be saying those things, Daniel. Don't say what you don't know."

"Hm. You're right. I'm not a Gardian. Oh, but my father told me all about it! Special creatures, special people, chosen to protect the world and its children from spirits like me. Spirits of fear. But! Fear is made to protect! Did you not know? That's the Boogieman's job! But you guy shave squished us aside, changing protective fear with all those stupid fairy tales about you. Imaginative feats to cover dangerous habits and terrible sins…"

"What are you…?"

"So, I ask you, Maria, that you are new to the business and don't know enough for your own good: who are the real Guardians here? Protecting fear spirits, that give nightmares about lighting matches and falling off roofs like me; or ignorant, novice angels, who can't even open cages to set free little girls, like you?"

"Shut up!" Maria was up to her nose in Daniel's smooth talk. With her powers, she created a pair of sai and threw one at Daniel in fury.

Daniel narrowly managed to avoid getting sliced by the sai, but when he did, he didn't hesitate in grabbing his sword and jumping off the cage, clashing his sword with her remaining sai. Now Elizabeth was really scared!

"Stop it!"

"Listen to your child, Maria! And surrender."

"Never! You're no Guardian, Daniel; you just use your powers for satisfaction, not protection! You should be ashamed of having real Guardian blood running through your veins!" Maria spat, her hands trembling under her grip of her sai and the pressure Daniel had against it.

"Oh, really?! I wasn't the one who let my little sister die splatted by a Jeep on Christmas Eve!" Daniel spit back, overpowering the angel easily. Maria hesitated on her next move, shocked at hearing the memory of her death. Daniel took that hesitation as opportunity and swung his sword through her stomach, scratching it deeply. She gasped in pain and fell backwards. As soon as her body hit the floor, the sand and shadows that made the ground they stepped on began to swirl around her ankles, legs and arms, preventing any escape.

"Ugh! Let me go!" she grunted, but then let out a frightened gasp, watching in heart-stopping fear the malice in Daniel's eyes. It was clear what was going to happen now: Daniel was going to kill her. But all villains like to make their victims suffer a while, so Daniel smirked and began to speak in story-teller mode.

"Remember the time, Maria? You tried so hard for the Jeep to stop before it hit little Lucia, but, tsk, tsk…it was all for naught. They didn't listen. So you put yourself in the front to receive the bump instead of the girl. Aw, how sweet of you!" he laughed, toying with his sword as he spoke. Maria's breathing was becoming faster, her chest going up and down in fear. She remembered; she remembered clearly, she'd even replayed the scene in her mind when the first Fearling had appeared at the library a few days ago.

"Stop it! Shut up, I don't wanna hear!" she shrieked, tears escaping her eyes. Daniel merely chuckled at the sight.

"Big sister Maria died saving her little sister. But do you know what happened after the lights went dark that night? The Jeep splatted her too! None of you survived! The damages on her little three-year old body were so severe the lid on her casket was down the whole funeral!"

"That's not true! It can't be true!"

"It is so! But I'm a merciful man, Maria…" he smiled. Elizabeth squeaked pathetically in her cage, watching the whole scene before her with wide opened eyes. The monsters in her cage didn't matter to her now. Her Guardian…was in front of her, suffering. And she could do nothing. Daniel raised his sword high in the air, blade down, and finished,

"Now you can see her again!"

"NO!"

"Sweet dreams, Maria!" he yelled, stabbing her heart without the mercy he had promised. Maria choked on a scream; the strands letting her go all of a sudden.

The damage was done: the only way to kill an angel is to stab it in the heart.

"Maria!" Elizabeth screamed in terror, the monsters in her cage definitely not mattering anymore. The storm outside roared and rumbled louder, breaking the protective shield that prevented the rain from coming in. So, above all the fighting, all the grunts, all the sword clashing, whip smacking, war screams, fear screams, blood, tears and sweat…now there was thunder, lightning and rain.

Maria's eyes went blank, her head collapsing on the floor, her breathing becoming raspy and slow. Daniel chuckled and picked his sword from her chest, making her gasp and cough some blood. He kneeled next to her, whispering in her ear,

"Say hi to Lucia when you see her." then placed a kiss on her neck and stood up again, raising an eyebrow at the devastated child in the cage. Elizabeth thought she wasn't going to sleep ever again. But the fight was barely beginning!

"Oh, now you did it, bastard!" Daniel heard behind him, and looked back, greeted by a rope tying around his neck and pulling him away from Maria's body. Elizabeth gasped too, but because she was so glad Jen-Jen was gonna beat the fluff out of Daniel.

"You know that promise I told you before Pitch threw an arrow at my shoulder? I think I'm going to do exactly that!" Jen-Jen snarled, pulling tight on his whip, choking Daniel as hard as he could. Daniel grabbed at his neck, choking and ack-ing, but had a different idea and punched Jen-Jen on the mouth, the dust whip disintegrating mysteriously. The duende fell on his back, giving Daniel time to breathe and stand his guard.

Jen-Jen spit out some blood and stood up too, stumbling a little with his fists at the ready.

"Bring it on, Danny!" he yelled, nodding his head up once. Daniel growled and lunged forward, turning the once "weapon only" fight into an all-out man-to-man war. It was obvious: they wanted to rip their heads off.

"Die already, miserable duende!" Daniel grunted, grabbing his father's neck and squeezing it tight, giving him a piece of his own medicine. Jen-Jen did a raspy sound from the bottom of his throat, something like an "arck!" before taking a hold of Daniel's shoulders.

"Look who's talking, xanas boy!" Jen-Jen threw Daniel to the side, inverting their positions and giving him the advantage. Daniel let his neck go, Jen-Jen grabbing his shirt collar with one hand and punching his face with the other.

"What (punch) did (punch) I (punch) do to make you kill Maria, huh?! What makes you want to kill me?!" he asked, doing punch pauses between words.

"Nothing!" Daniel pushed him off of him, kicking him on the ribs and creating a new sad sword with his powers. Jen-Jen rushed to his bag, throwing some dust to the floor, making a sword of his own before Daniel sliced him open. Clang! The sword did the fighting for them now, but Jen-Jen wasn't done with his questions.

"Exactly! I did nothing wrong! Why are you doing this, Daniel?!" the boy remained silent, letting his rage blow against his father with every strike. Jen was frustrated by now, so he gave the boy one more strike before yelling,

"Answer me!"

"Because you did nothing!" the boy answered, his voice not the menacing tone it had been; his voice broke, and the sword blade touched the ground rather than his father's sword. Jen was about to strike him, but paused mid-attack, intrigued with the sudden change in attitude. Daniel took a deep, shaky breath and began screaming,

"You did nothing! You were never there, that's why! You…you never paid any attention, you never appreciated my existence! While I was at home, waiting for dad to play with me or at least pat my head, he was off DRINKING AND STEALING THINGS FROM KIDS!"

"That's not true, I left the drink, and..."

"Where were you when I had nightmares at night?!" Daniel yelled, interrupting him. Jen stumbled back, taken by surprise, his previous raising sins coming back to haunt.

"Where were you when I was sick? Where were you on my birthdays? Where the HELL WERE YOU when that bitch you call sweetheart beat the stupid out of me at eight?! You abandoned me to my luck as soon as I hit five! I don't even know why you even wanted a child like me around! You…you…" Daniel's cheeks were red, his eyes were watered up and he seemed so weak, so hurt and so, how to put it? LITTLE, Jen-Jen's heart broke. Did he really let all those things slip from his mind for 500 years? 18 years are bad for humans, 500 is worse for duende's!

Jen-Jen wanted so badly to forget all that and just hug him, he tried opening his mouth to say something, but Daniel wasn't finished.

"Then! You replace me with Elizabeth…" Ouch. That hit the spot. Jen-Jen shook his head at that and walked closer to the boy, but he just flinched back.

"Danny, no…"

"DON'T DENY IT!" that shrill scream from Daniel was scary. It sounded like a wild animal that wanted to rip him piece by piece away. But Jen was still in one piece, so he thought he was okay.

"Danny, I never replaced you, I-I just clicked with her, that's all…"

"No…no, it was more than that, more than just "Guardian business". You paid the attention that was supposed to be mine to her, all the time! And whenever other Guardians came to visit, don't think I don't know, you'd always send me somewhere else so they wouldn't know about me!" He took a deep breath to try to keep his cool, but he'd already lost it a second ago, so he just continued, "The night I tried my fear powers on Elizabeth, you ran to her room and sang her a lullaby in her sleep. She might not remember! But I do…"

"Well, she's my chosen child: I can't just leave her, I have to protect her…"

"You never sang ME a lullaby! I! I…was your first chosen child, dad…" Daniel said, voice so broken, it sounded like glass. Jen-Jen gulped, scratching the back of his head, unsure what to say. So he stuttered,

"I...I never thought that...I-I'm sorry..."

"Heh. You expect a sorry to make up for those 500 years you wasted?"

"I hoped so, but what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to DIE!" the conversation ended beautifully. Jen-Jen's hat got sliced in two with a swing of Daniel's blade. Awesome.

"Oh, now it's war, sonny boy! That was my favorite hat!" he growled, dropping his sword and jumping like a cat over the boy, attacking him with scratches, punches and bites.

Elizabeth shuffled to a side of the cage and looked with her eyes for the rest of her Guardians. But they were all busy. Gaspar was fightig Pitch, Melchior and Balthazar were trying to control the fear all over, Maria was dead (why-y-y-y?!) and Jen-Jen was fighting Daniel. But there was one missing...

"Perez!" she screamed, but the scream mixed with another sound.

The roar of a dragon.

A/N: Done! Finally, chapter 10! One day before Valentine's Day. If nothing happens today and tomorrow, I might have some nice fluff for the next chapter. Might, don't be surprised if I don't. Life just likes to poke its nose whe no one calls him. XD It's my first try at angst, violence, fights and all that hullabaloo that involves wars, so... What do you think? Am I going too quick? Or is it perfect? Cookies ad chocolates and Valentine's day goodies come with reviews!...:P