Hey, everyone! Well, the story is almost over. This chapter was originally one chapter, but for the sake of length and whatnot, I split it into two, but they'll be uploaded at the same time. Again, I can't thank everyone enough for their continued support of this story. Tell your friends, family, or anyone who you'd think would be interested in Silver Snow. And so, without further delay, enjoy the next chapter!
Chapter 8: Out In A Blaze of Glory
"Snow….SNOW!" Silver's body reacted; his wings flared from behind his back, and he found himself launching directly towards Garnet and Snow.
Garnet turned his head to Silver sharply; a wall of flames roared from out of nowhere, crashing into his brother in a blaze of heat. But Silver's thoughts had become one-tracked, and though the flames pained him, he tore his body through them with his claws and aimed out for Garnet's throat. For a moment, the two brothers' paws clashed; wind whipped from Silver's body, trying to reach and strike his brother, whereas the flames from Garnet's form desperately went towards the midnight wolf. As a result, the forces crackled and flashed in wild, uncontrollable stalemates that sent energy flying everywhere. Stray winds tore into the ground, turning up the stone and fragmenting the floor; deflected steams of fire crashed into the pillars and damn near incinerated the plant life while shattering parts of the structure. Snow gasped and tried to move back, but then suddenly felt a sharp, intense burning in her shoulder. Bestill, she felt Garnet's will imposing in on her own, forcing her to stay and watch the two complimentary forces of nature clashing in fierce opposition. So Snow gazed in horror, knowing that Silver hadn't seen his brother's grin behind the fury; knowing that the wolf was just waiting for him to get close. The only thing she could do was shout out his name.
"Silver!"
BANG! The air in front of Silver exploded with such force that the midnight wolf was thrown back like a sleek, black bullet. He crashed into the wall with a loud thud that shook the room, and the spot where he made contact cratered so deep that it acted like a cradle to the repelled wolf. Snow clasped her paws over her mouth, eyes wide and trembling. Silver coughed, pain racking his trembling body. Since when had Garnet gotten so strong? Up until now, they had been fairly evenly matched, but now, there was such a difference that Silver felt the fear gripping his chest.
"And it's nice to see you again too." Garnet slowly sat up. Hs gaze turned down to Silver with a flicker of his ears. "You look tired. I guess someone couldn't follow orders. I trust you made him pay for his insubordination, yes?"
"D-don't patronize me!" Silver spat. He dropped down from the wall and shakily back on his paws. Debris rolled off his back where he knew the skin under his fur was already starting to turn purple. Yeah, running head-on was a very stupid idea indeed. "Just let Snow go."
"Let her go? Why, can't you see that she is the key to everything, brother?" Garnet slowly rose to his paws. He stepped over Snow and then casually made his way down the long staircase. "Tell me this, Silver. Do you know why are you here, standing before me again?"
"I'm here to save Snow." Silver snarled, "And to stop you."
"Interesting," Garnet came to a halt in the middle of the staircase. Silver hadn't noticed the cold winter air that was wafting through the archways from the outside, until a particularly strong draft blew Garnet's headfur from his face. His eyes were calm, but indignant as he gazed straight at Silver. "You still think this is as cut and dry as that—as it has been before with us, Silver?"
"I don't care about anything else except saving Snow and my family, Garnet." Silver said.
Garnet grimaced. His eyes reflected something of utter disappointment. "How nice it must be…to be able to have such single-minded, ignorant conviction like a child. Silver, you are unfit to hold the same position of power as I." And then, Garnet's paw split the air, and Silver found himself rolling to the side from a pillar of flames that crashed into the wall. Garnet leapt from the stairs with all the grace of a swan, and all the deadlines of a tiger, landing just inches before Silver. The two snarled and began lashing out at each other, claws missing or connecting to hips and cheeks; fangs brandishing against shoulders. Fire and gale burst around them in radical explosions that literally tore at the beauty of the room. Snow wanted to move; she wanted to run every time she winced from a string of flames that whizzed just inches from her cheek; every time a slice of wind split yet another stair closer to her. But Garnet's hold on her was ironclad, and all she could do was watch as the two supernatural wolves fought.
Silver panted slightly. He couldn't pretend that his fight with Ein hadn't taken a toll on him. Aside from that, the usual level of evenness he felt with Garnet was definitely skewed in his brother's favor. But why was that? What made him so much stronger now than before? Or was it that Silver had just gotten weaker? It was a possibility; time spent suppressing who he was may have finally caught up with him. Still, he forcibly shoved any idea of losing out of his head.
"This is no longer about you and I, Silver." There was a loud banging sound as Silver's and Garnet's shoulders slammed together in a gale and burning force that shook the room. The two trembled as they went into a struggle to overpower the other, shoulders grinding and bursts of their power flying dangerously into the air.
"This has gone far beyond being about reclaiming our former glory. Why can't you see that?" Garnet continued.
"You're talking nonsense." Silver grunted. The two heaved as hard as they could, and there was yet another forceful explosion that sent the both of them flying backwards. Garnet slid on his paws, threads of flames spiraling around his body, while Silver did the same, strong winds billowing from his fur. To the eye, it looked like a stalemate. To Silver, it was one-sided. His shoulder felt burned and numb, and even his wings began to droop low on the floor from fatigue. It pained him to think it, but if things kept up like this, he would die.
"Is it nonsense to right a world that has wrong you?" Garnet stated, "Is it nonsense to want to change a world that shuns beautiful things—that creates an asinine balance that turns on what it's sworn to protect?" He frowned and turned his look away from Silver. Instead, his gaze went up towards the skylight windows. It was so strange; the sun had been streaming endless pools of light through the glossy panes earlier. Now, there was no light—at least, to light from the sun. The sky had gone abnormally black beyond their notice, and they could even see a few stars flecking the surface. Was it already night? But how was that even possible? Silver rubbed his eyes—discerning his sanity—before taking another look.
"The ones who split us," Garnet spoke, "The spirits who preserve the balance—who tore you and I apart in the name of that balance—do you think they deserve to carry on like this?"
"We have no one to blame but ourselves." Silver said.
"Do you really believe that? You and I sought to better this world." Garnet, for once, showed the first signs of his true anger. His fangs were clenched and his claws had long-since dug holes into the hard, marble floor. "You and I sought to preserve the beautiful things in this world, and what do the other spirits do to us? They snatch our power and damned us to an endless cycle of fighting; they pit us against each other, brother against brother, to preserve what they call peace. Well, if this is their version of peace and beauty, then I shall defy it!"
"You're insane!" Silver's fur stood on end and his wings suddenly gave a very quick and swishing movement; a sharp, speedy gust of gale—the same kind of wind that had killed Ein—whipped right towards Garnet at sickening speed.
Garnet sighed. "Snow,"
Snow's ears perked up and before she even knew what was happening, she was up on her paws. It was as though her brain had suddenly been disconnected from her body and all control had gone to Garnet. But she could still feel; feel the presence of a strong, foreign power building in every muscle in her body. She could feel heat as hot as fire surge through her, flaring and raging, practically begging the snow-white wolf to release it. The feeling was almost exhilarating, and she was ashamed to admit it. Snow's body moved a lot faster than should have ever been possible; within a fragmented second, she was in front of Garnet. Flames flickered from her mouth before pouring out in a blazing stream that almost instantly clashed and blocked the on-coming wind in a loud, room-shaking burst.
Silver felt the grip of horror choking him. Even as the smoky debris from the stalemated power cleared the room, he was still struggling to realize that he hadn't gone crazy. Snow stood before him, between him and Garnet, embers flickering from the corners of her mouth like bright-burning fireflies. The flame insignia on her shoulder—now in plain sight—was smoking ever so slightly. It was hard to read her expression at first; her eyes were alive, but almost vacant. Silver's legs felt like jello. He had promised to protect her. He had promised to make sure that nothing dangerous had ever happened to Snow ever again. And yet, Garnet had marked her; doomed her to a fate worse than death.
"Garnet…you…" Silver's voice cracked, as if the realization of his marked mate was still being beaten into his brain.
"Yes, I gave her my mark." Garnet placed his paw on Snow's head. She wanted to move; to run to Silver and tell him how sorry she was; to get as far away from Garnet as she possibly could. But she couldn't. Snow could only stand there while Garnet pet the top of her head like some lowly dog.
"So I'd be careful about your next move, Silver. I'm sure you're more than capable of ending my life, however, it wouldn't be the only one should you go through with it." Garnet continued, walking around Snow almost protectively. "Snow is a key part in all of this and I can't have her leaving away from me…just yet."
"You bastard!" Silver spat. Sadness, frustration, and anger surged within him like a burning star. His lips were rolled back, showing every one of his sharp fangs that were more than eager to rip Garnet to pieces. He felt his claws digging into the ground, once again crippled to fight by the love of someone close to him.
"I don't think you have room to talk, Silver." Garnet unwrapped himself from around Snow, but his unspoken order told her to stay put, "for your mark is on her too."
"What?"
"Oh yes, Silver. You were the very first to ever mark Snow, when you were pups."
"Shut up! I'd never do that to her!" Silver barked, poised to leap at Garnet and weighed down by the risk it entailed.
Garnet scratched his cheek. By the look on Silver's face, it seemed he truly had no clue. "That's awkward. I was told for sure that you had regained all of your memories, yet you don't remember marking her at all?" Snow couldn't remember either. If Silver's marking was anything as physically violating as Garnet's (of which, by now she was starting to believe he did just to mess with her), she'd had definitely remembered it, if not enjoyed it. But the only such memory she had of Silver showing his power was the night she feared he would kill her.
Silver frowned. His mind tried desperately to assess the situation, but kept stubbornly returning to what Garnet had said. It had to be a lie. Surely if he ever did mark Snow, he'd had known it himself; felt it like how he felt a significant hold over Anna and Ophelia. But with Snow, he felt no such hold. Sure, there was a connection between them, but it was more like a mutual pull than an overpowering grip.
"You aren't making sense." Silver responded to his brother. Garnet's expression transitioned to one of annoyance. But only for a fleeting moment. He really seemed more interested in the still night sky showing through the skylights above. By now, the moon was high, shining like a silvery circle in the air and putting the stars to shame. Garnet looked back to Snow. She had regained her meager hold of herself and was now looking down at her paws in shame.
"The fact that you don't remember marking Snow won't change what's about to happen. You see…" Garnet then turned his gaze to Silver, "My plan to reshape the balance of this world has already been set forth, and the moment Snow arrived, everything was realized." He began pacing the floor. "For years, I've spent my life tracking down the spirits who condemned you and I to this hell. I hunted them down one by one, attacking them and tearing them away from this world. But there is a problem." Garnet's pacing became more agitated. "I don't have enough power to fully kill them. No, no, they are much too strong for that. The only thing I've achieved is to tear them away from their physical bodies away from this world. In order to kill them, I need a much stronger power—our power from when we were whole. This entire time, you thought it was just about us becoming whole again for the single purpose of being so. But Silver," Garnet returned his gaze to Silver so sharply that he jumped, "Think clearly. I have been so close to you since we were pups; since I let you float like a lifeless heap down that river. Don't you think I'd have killed you right then and there? It'd have been easy…"
Silver sucked his fangs. He had thought of that. The conversation with Bianca had all but confirmed that Garnet had purposely let him live.
"So why didn't I kill you, Silver? What do you think would happen if I killed you now? That I'd win this struggle? That I'd regain the former glory you and I had before all this?" Garnet spat on the ground. "The guardians were not so gracious. They wronged us, Silver. They saw us as a threat to their precious balance. And so not only did they split us, but they damned us to fight not so we could re-earn our powers, but so that when one finally kills the other, he remains just as he is now. They made it to where we could never be whole again. If I were to kill you now, nothing would change. You would die and I would gain absolutely nothing."
"Then why all this?" Silver exclaimed, "Garnet, if nothing can be gained by one of us killing the other, why go through all this? Why put my love—my family—in the middle of something so senseless?"
Garnet sat down and stared hard at Silver. His eyes were now more agitated than ever with a flame so furious that nothing would put it out. If looks could kill, Silver would have been dead ten times over.
"I had mentioned earlier that I couldn't kill the guardian spirits on my power alone. Instead, what happens is that when their bodies are destroyed, their souls return to the Valley of Kings. With my full power, I could go there; I could break down the door to the Valley of Kings and finish what I started. I can't regain my power by killing you, and for us to stalemate and both die again would ruin my plans for good. But Snow…" Garnet reached out to touch Snow's cheek, ignoring Silver's warning growl or Snow's want to move away. "She now has both our marks. Having both of our marks means she has both of our power. Her body has been turned to a living conduit of spiritual energy and through her, not only will I barge into the Valley of Kings, but I will also permanently destroy every guardian spirit whose soul rests within. With them gone, this asinine balance can finally be destroyed."
"She can't be marked by both of us, Garnet." Silver stated angrily, "If she were, our wills would conflict and she'd have died the moment yours appeared on her."
"Which is where your memory loss plays in." Garnet stated, "I believe your repressed memory also repressed your power, which in turn made your mark on Snow lay dormant. So instead of our wills clashing, her body has had ample time to adjust as a host and hold the two within her. And now—" Garnet nudged Snow harsh enough to make her slide forward. She fell in front of Silver's feet, who quickly scooped her up in his arms. The hug was tight and she eagerly grasped onto him, as though finally uniting with a part of her she had lost. The two of them muttered sad apologies, both wishing that it was all a bad dream that they would wake up from any moment now.
"It goes without saying Snow's life is mine. If you want to do something for her, cooperate." Garnet said, then held up his paw slowly. "Otherwise…"
And then, Snow was suddenly gasping. The moment Garnet's paw had clenched tight, her throat felt blocked off, like a massive hand closing around her windpipe. She sputtered and coughed, grasping for the invisible hand only to get nothing. Snow rolled onto the ground, wheezing and trembling as her lungs burned for air.
"Stop it! STOP IT!" A horrified Silver exclaimed.
"You'll do what I want?"
"Yes, yes, just stop it now!" Silver snarled, but could only hold Snow in his arms, watching her suffocate right before his eyes. His anger had gone to such a fever pitch that he was beginning to lose control. Minute blades of air flowed from his fur, cutting grooves into the already damaged floor around him. But as it stood, he could do nothing. He was completely at the mercy of Garnet, and Garnet knew it; knew that Silver would give anything for his beloved even if she was fated to die. Garnet loosened his grip and Snow was gasping once again. Her chest heaved as she took in massive amounts of precious air until she felt sick. She felt worse than she had ever felt in her life. She thought that her misunderstanding of losing Silver to Luna was the worse feeling in the world, but she was so, so wrong. She was now a weapon of which he could never hope to win against. But when she looked up to Silver, expecting regret for ever falling in love with her; expecting hate and anger for allowing Garnet to use her like a sword against him, she didn't see it. Even now, feeling totally whipped and utterly helpless, the loving relief of seeing her breathing again was almost overpowering. If Snow had died at hat moment, Silver's full look of love was enough to make her content.
"What do you want me to do…" Silver breathed, talking to Garnet, but not taking his eyes off Snow.
"Reawaken your mark." Garnet said simply.
At first, Silver didn't move. If he reawakened his mark—provided there was one from him on her to begin with—what would happen to Snow? Would it really be as harmless as Garnet had been making it out to be? Or did all roads point to death not only for Snow, but for him too? Because surely after Garnet had no use for him, he would execute Silver if not both of them. However, if there was some small chance that Snow would survive after everything was said and done, then he had to act I her best interest.
"It's okay…" Snow placed her paws on Silver's cheeks, her emerald eyes looking into his. "I understand…do what you have to do, Silver." She closed her eyes. She knew he was fretting for her life, and would have preferred it if he had just ended Garnet now and stop the whole damn thing. Her Silver wasn't like that, though. Her Silver would have taken on hell and the devil himself for her.
Silver's maw was suddenly pressing down on hers. The kiss was indeed a bit rough, but passionately so, and Snow found herself gripping the fur on his back tight. She lay beneath him, bodies pressed, mouth and nose eagerly feeling right to be united once again. At first, nothing happened and time stopped while the two lovers made out in the light of the abnormally full moon. Snow was the first to feel it. Power sparked inside her like a star that had recently gone dead. It was light at first; a prick of energy every now and then in the pit of her body. But the longer she and Silver kissed, the more the sparks lasted until her whole body had erupted in a fierce gale that made the debris roll away from the floor. The two powers inside her were dancing, not fighting, slowly filling Snow with more of an adrenaline rush than what she had felt before. Silver's power was soft and soothing, and Garnet's power was hard and powerful, yet inside Snow, they mingled in supernatural harmony. As thought it had been there all along, Silver's symbol appeared through the fur of her left thigh. The moment Silver broke the kiss, the wind had ceased, but the surge between him and Snow still lingered. It was impossible to explain; the sense of familiarity in Silver's hold on Snow should not have existed. And yet, here it was, cropping up like something that had never truly left him. He could tell by the look in Snow's eyes that she felt the same way.
"Excellent," Garnet stood up to his paws. Snow and Silver snapped up abruptly out of their reverie. They had almost forgotten that Garnet was there, so lost in each other as they were. His expression was off; still in control, but no longer blindingly agitated. Anticipation marred his face and his eyes were wild with what looked like long-awaited excitement. "Almost…the time for me to rewrite this world is almost here."
It happened so suddenly. Snow was suddenly rolling onto the floor again, trembling. The white of her fur was getting brighter and brighter, until she was practically glowing very much like the silvery moon above the skylight. It wasn't so much pain she felt. Instead, Snow felt like she was slipping; like her soul was being poured out of her body and she was suddenly falling towards a vast, dark emptiness. The brighter her fur glowed, the faster she fell. Snow tried to call out, but if she did, she couldn't hear her own screaming voice. Sound washed away from the world around her, and then her vision began to blur. Snow felt a foreboding question form in the back of her drowning mind. Was this what it felt like to die? Endless slipping and falling from the world as she knew it until nothing was left? She hadn't had much time to ponder it, though. Snow felt the last of her draining away and the last thing she saw was Silver frantically calling out her name in a soundless repeat. Then, there was nothing but darkness.
Crap...Will the situation take a turn for the better? Find out in the next chapter of Silver Snow!