And here's the second part of chapter 8, technically chapter nine now, lol. Enjoy, everyone
Chapter 9: Grounded In Defeat
"Ophelia, put me down, now…"
"Now way, Lord Silver said to take care of you and that's what I'm going to do." Ophelia smirked. She knew that if Silver were around to hear her say that, she'd have seen those cute silvery eyes flare up with annoyance. Though she was getting pretty annoyed herself at the moment. Anna had been squirming atop her back almost like a little pup refusing to be carried by her mother. She had half a mind to just drop Anna right then and there, but Silver's orders were absolute—regardless if he planned to force her or not.
"I want to stay here with my son." Anna protested.
"And do what? Get in his way? Worry him because we're still here even though he clearly told me to get you out?" Ophelia shot. Anna opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. Ophelia probably didn't have pups. What would she know about a mother's worry? How would she know what it felt like to sit around while her only son rushed off to what could be his death?
"You're worried, I get that." Ophelia looked at her, "But we're no use to your son if we become things he has to keep protecting."
"I know that…" Anna sucked her fangs. She looked down to her forepaws. Had they not gone completely dead on her, she probably would have ran after Silver anyway. Ophelia turned for the pathway leaving from the room.
"He's going to be fine. He has her after all. A man will do anything when he's in love—" Ophelia suddenly stopped. Footsteps. She could hear footsteps coming form the other side of the corridor she was about to leave through. All the grunts were gone out of the bastion, so it couldn't have been them. Ein was dead, and the only person she could think of who was left made her knees tremble. Not him, she thought, anyone but hi right now. Ophelia swore under her breath; if they had just left when Silver said so, they may have gotten out without a hassle. He slowly stepped out from the shadows, the air of authority he exuded practically suffocating Ophelia. Koda approached the two females with all the frightening calm in the world. Ophelia felt the fear activate Silver's mark, a soft gale twisting around her body. If there were anyone more loyal to Garnet, it was Koda. Which meant that under Garnet's orders, the two of them would only get out over Koda's dead body.
"Koda…" It was Anna who broke the silence first. She wasn't trembling. She wasn't scared in the least. Instead, she looked almost surprised. It didn't strike Ophelia as unusual, though. Anna had been forced into Koda's care the entire time she was captured. The fact that he hadn't broken her nearly like he had done Ophelia when she was first recruited probably meant Anna had no real clue as to how cold and nerve-racking Koda could be. Koda turned his gaze to Ophelia's leg almost immediately, as though he could sense treachery to Garnet a mile away. She grimaced. He already hated her, and now, he had pure reason to kill her. Koda stepped up to Ophelia—and then walked right past her.
"Uh…?" Ophelia blinked, "Hey! What's your problem?" She stupidly asked and whirled around. Oh why couldn't she just shut her mouth and run? Koda slowly came to a stop, though he didn't turn around. His eyes closed.
"This is about to become a place unfit for you. You need to get out of here."
The words hit Ophelia like a punch to the jaw. That was it? No confrontation, no blowing them up with extreme prejudice? She hesitated. Turning her back on him after saying something like that couldn't end well. But Koda only continued to walk up the stairs, as though they were nothing important.
"Koda, wait," Anna struggled off of Ophelia's back, but quickly found that to be a bad idea. Her forepaws immediately gave way and she was tumbling towards the ground. Koda moved very fast, almost as fast as Silver had moved when he noticed Eve about to be burned to a crisp. His body was underneath Anna's, breaking her fall, carefully and gingerly laying her on the ground as though she were some precious, fragile thing. It was enough to make Ophelia's jaw drop. Sure, he looked like the Koda who would have incinerated her within a blink for betraying Garnet, but his actions were totally opposite.
"Where are you going…?" Anna asked.
"Go home, Anna. What's about to happen isn't something you need to be here for." Koda said as cold as ever. He rose to walk away from Anna, whose look of worry had…increased?
"But what about you?" Anna pleaded. At first, Koda did not answer her. He made his way up the stairs and to the landing high above them. He was about to go through the threshold when he stopped without turning once again.
"Win or lose, I am bound to my master. I will not leave his side even if it means I have to die. Anna, you know that."
And then, he was gone. Ophelia looked to Anna. She looked more hurt than ever, probably wishing she could pound her lame paws against the stone floor. Ophelia couldn't help but wonder what had gone on while Anna was in Koda's care. Or more so, what the hell could have gotten into Koda so much that he wouldn't bother killing a traitor.
"Let's go…" Anna mumbled under her breath, leaving a dumb-struck Ophelia to come and pick her up once again.
-()()()()()()()()()()())()()()()()()-
"Snow! Snow! Goddammit, Snow, don't close your eyes!" But it was too late. Snow's eyes had slammed shut despite all of Silver's yelling and screaming. He tried shaking her, lightly slapping her face, and even a fairytale kissing approach, but nothing would seem to make Snow stir. What had happened? Snow seemed just fine a few moments ago. Now, she lay in almost a lifeless heap in his arms. Her fur was still glowing like a shining star in correlation to the moonlight above, Garnet's and Silver's marks standing out like a sore thumb.
"Don't worry," The look on Garnet's face had lost the final traces of his collectiveness. It was now fully twisted with dark excitement. His wings flared to life from his back and he took a single step towards the shimmering moonlight. "She won't stay like that for long. At least, not until I'm done with her…" At that, Garnet's symbol on Snow glowed the brightest. Silver almost jumped as the snowy white wolf practically leapt out of his arms, landing on her paws. Silver's heart leapt as well; she wasn't dead; he hadn't killed her by complying to Garnet's psychotic demand.
"Snow…" Her name rolled out of Silver's mouth automatically and he quickly made his way over to her. And then, he stopped. Snow's eyes were definitely open, but the vibrant emerald color was damn near gone. She looked blank, as though she were a body without a soul. It didn't even look like she was breathing. Just standing there, silent and motionless as death. "Snow…what's wrong…?" Silver's voice came out like a lump.
"She can't hear you." Garnet said, "Our power has completely taken her over, and now, she has become a key." He slowly raised his paw up towards the sky. "And now, Snow, I command you to open up the gate to the Valley of Kings! Open the gate and bring my vision closer to fruition!"
"…." Snow said nothing. Instead, two pairs of wings—one pair white as the moon and the second as black as the night—shot from her back with such force that a flurry of feathers blew around the room. Silver could feel the ground below his paws suddenly start to rumble, light at first, only noticeable by the shaking of the debris scattered around. The magnitude quickly rose in octaves, going from a simple tremble to a mighty quake. The entire room was shaking, violently enough to drive cracks through the many pillars that were still standing; strongly enough to fracture the archways, shift the stairs, and turn the glass of the windows into a rain of glistening shards. Silver's stomach lurched; the kind of feeling one would get if something was lifting or moving. It was slow at first, but quickly came to the point where he felt his balance shifting. Silver gave a quick glance outside one of the archways. The stars were moving downwards and misty wisps of cloud started to gloss the ground as a loud breaking sound echoed into the sky. If there were ever a chance for Silver and Snow to escape, it was now literally floating away with the clouds.
Snow's body slowly lifted up towards the skylight, her headfur swaying as though an invisible wind were blowing across her. Her eyes—still utterly lifeless—closed and her paws clasped together in a prayer position. She looked like a shimmering white angel, her beautiful wings stretching out to the tips, yet too majestic to need to flap to fly.
"Snow!" Silver didn't think. He wasn't even sure why he did it. His body forcibly pushed him off the ground, propelling him towards Snow. His paws reached out, as if all he had to do was touch her; grab her and bring her down back to earth so that everything could be alright. Silver never got that chance. The moment the midnight wolf got within inches of his beloved, a sharp, pulsing energy suddenly began to shock and rattle through his body. The power was familiar—his own power long ago before he had become just Silver, turned against him in cruel irony. The force exploded and shot Silver back with all the intensity of a myriad of brick walls. He flew into one of the pillars and there was a sickening, unmistakable snap from his left forearm. The entire pillar crumbled and he fell with it in a heap on the floor.
"Well now, I hope you won't be doing that again." Garnet stated, "I'm not quite ready for you to die just yet."
"You bastard!" Silver roared with all the intensity of a lion, forcing his body up through the rubble. Even with his broken left forearm completely useless, he struggled to the best upright position he could manage, eyes locked hard on Garnet. His brother had gone too far, regressing Snow into nothing more than a lifeless puppet. He didn't care how strong Garnet had gotten; he didn't care if his leg was broken, or that Snow, now infused with his former power, could reduce him to nothing but an ugly stain on the floor. Garnet was going to die, even if it meant he dragged Silver down with him. A powerful wind spiraled around Silver, shoving the debris wildly aside.
"Sorry, Silver," Garnet said, reading the murderous intent in Silver's eyes, "I won't be dying today." And no sooner had he said so, the light shining from Snow's body suddenly arched off in two different directions. The first thread struck Silver with all the intensity of a punch to the face, staggering the wolf. The thread of light felt like millions of tiny hands, entering inside his body, picking at whatever supernatural power he possessed and channeling it right back to Snow. It was too much for him to balance on three legs and he toppled over, cursing. An identical thread of light hit Garnet in the same manner, but he hadn't budged. As a matter of fact, it didn't look like he was tired at all. He just stood there, watching Snow work with an almost maniacal fascination. The threads of light continued to pick and pull at the two until Snow had become a bright shining star floating in the air. And then, all the light suddenly collapsed in on itself and the threads snapped into the nothingness from Silver and Garnet. At first, there was nothing but cold, dead silence. And then, the air behind Snow literally split open down the middle, slowly opening wider and wider at the sides. It stretched out wide and distorted, wriggling like something that was alive and finally able to escape whatever had been confining it. Once it was done expanding, Silver realized that it now resembled a threshold, of which a very familiar, very comforting air seemed to waft from within. He knew that place; knew the world that lay beyond the darkness of the walkway before them. The door to the Valley of Kings; the resting world for the guardian spirits who had lost their mortal forms in the living world; the very place he, like the other spirits, had been born.
"The Valley of Kings…" Garnet breathed. He took a slow step towards the opening, as though rushing towards it would send the surreal image running away. "The world in which it all begins for us. I've finally opened your gates again at long last. Come, Snow, the new world order awaits." And then, Garnet was making his way forward, passing through the doorway. Snow drifted down, mindless and obedient, and followed him beyond the threshold. The two of them vanished beyond the darkness, leaving Silver all alone. He felt so helpless. Snow was now Garnet's mindless puppet. His family was doomed, and now Garnet was ripe to change the world as he saw fit. He had come so he wouldn't die, and now Garnet would surely kill him soon. He was tired, fatigued from the fighting. And yet, Silver found himself shakily struggling back to his feet. He could have easily given up; just rolled over and died right then and there. But despite it all, Snow was still alive, waiting on him. He had no plan to go on. All he could do was just go. Silver accidentally stepped down on his broken leg and winced sharply. It was times like this that he cursed his wings. They didn't really exist for the purpose of flying. They were only there to serve as a catalyst for his power and nothing more. So he dragged his feathers like small weights, hobbling on three legs towards the doorway. There was no quitting. He had already gone beyond the point of turning back. Silver pushed his way through the threshold.
The world around Silver was suddenly wiped away in almost an instant. Instead, it had been replaced with something torn right out of a page of a storybook. Neon blues, purples, and pinks comprised of a land that seemingly had no floor. Millions upon millions of stars embellished what looked like an eternal night sky, despite all the lustrous light reflecting towards it. Rivers of fuchsia snaked through grand busts of unearthly figures and glowing flowers speckled the landscape. The trees reached up towards the sky in long vibrant arcs, the leaves resembling long, glossy-fingered hands. And there sat Garnet. He was only a slight distance away, Snow standing idly by his side. His head was turned up, aimed towards a myriad of spiral staircases that met at a circular landing with no middle floor above. Seven towering thrones sat amidst the stone platform, each of which had it's own unique flag and crest flowing in an absent breeze beneath it. But it wasn't so much the architecture that had Garnet's attention, but rather what was seated in six of the seven thrones. A transparent Japanese Koi, almost infant looking, sat curled in a throne branded with a flag of waves beneath. Next to it, a newborn fawn slept with it, hoof hanging off the side, touching its tree-branded flag. A baby phoenix; an infant crane; a child sheep; and a juvenile monkey newborn all slept in a clockwise rotation around the landing. The only empty throne was one Silver easily recognized. The flag beneath it waved with the image of the moon and sun, interwoven in a yin-yang symbol beneath. His throne. The fact that his was the only one empty meant that he and Garnet were the only ones left alive.
"Garnet!" Silver hobbled forward, but was going so slow, it seemed it would take ages for him to catch up with Garnet. Not that the identical wolf even bothered to turn at the mention of his name. A wild smirk spread across his maw.
"The great protectors of this world, bodies torn and souls reduced to but infants. And yet, the lot of you had the audacity to look down upon me; to damn me to this world and strip me of all my former glory; to take everything precious to me and then lock me out of my own home here in this valley. And I defeated all of you one by one." Garnet thrust his paw into the air. "Look at how mighty you are now, you filth! Gods reduced to dregs at my paw! You are all unfit to rule and shall now serve as my stepping stones to glory."
"You're crazy!" It was hard to muster, but Silver whipped his body, in turn, whipping his wings outwards. A strong gust of wind that would have been capable of cleaving even the mightiest structure in half like butter sped towards Garnet. Garnet turned his head back to Silver sharply, all the hate in the world reflecting in his suddenly furious eyes. He placed his paw down in the middle of Snow's back. She gasped and her fur began to glow again. Garnet raised his free paw, palm up towards the sky. It sparked, then suddenly became encapsulated with a roaring black flame with a bright, spiraling wind winding around it. Garnet gave a mighty swing, just mere moments before the gale from Silver reached him, and literally crushed it in a wild explosion as the two powers collided.
"Oh come on…" Silver panted.
"You've been a pain in my ass for far too long now, Silver. But I'll let you gaze upon glory as the last thing you'll ever see before you die." Garnet slowly let his paw drop from Snow's back; no sooner had he done so did the snowy white wolf slowly start to lift into the air again. Higher and higher she rose like an angel, her paws enclosed over the front of her muzzle, eyes closed as though she were merely sleeping. She drifted through the middle of the ring-shaped landing and stopped level with the thrones.
"Snow!" Silver dashed forward in protest, landed on his broken leg, and stumbled helplessly forward to the ground. "D-damn!"
"The beginning is now."
There was a loud strobe-like sound that echoed from out of nowhere as Snow's body suddenly became alit like a star again. Both Silver's and Garnet's symbols flared while light wafted around her wings, then shot off her body in six wild threads. Each thread latched onto one of the baby animals sitting on the thrones, but they remained motionless and undisturbed from their slumber. The world around them began to rumble. The water of the rivers shuddered, splashing and spilling over in wild octaves. The glowing flowers either withered or closed up and the leaves of the trees molted out into an absent wind and disappeared before they even got a chance to hit the ground. Every thread coming from Snow's body sparked violently, the current of which was channeled straight from her and down towards the slumbering spirits connected. They remained still. So obediently so that not even the face of death was enough to wake them. Their translucent bodies glowed, dimly at first. But the brighter the illumination became, the more distorted their bodies had become, until they had turned into nothing but multi-colored orbs of light. The world around Silver wailed as the threads whipped the lights around through the air in a dazzling array of bright-lighted colors. And then, like bullets, they shot right into Snow's own glowing body.
"Yes, Snow! Hear your master's final order! The power of every guardian—the power to change the balance of this world—deliver it to me! NOW!"
A tear, small yet clearly visible rolled down the side of Snow's cheek. Her eyes opened only slightly, but every trace of color or life in them was dead. The glowing in her body started to pool towards her paws, concentrating into one luminous orb that was so bright, Silver had to shield his eyes. The orb hovered for a few idle moments, then shot straight down to Garnet. Or rather, through Garnet, right into his body from the middle of his spine with such force that the ground beneath him cracked visible, leaving crooked veins of dim light in the non-visible floor. Almost at once, the rumbling and shaking stopped. The world had gone into a forced, nerve-racking calm. Silver strained to sit up, disbelief branding the expression on his face. Everything had gone completely wrong. He had believed he had a chance to fix everything, or at least part of everything. There was no chance of that now. No chance at all. There was a loud thunk as Snow fell to the ground, landing on her wings. She lay motionless, not responsive in the least.
"Ack!" Garnet coughed. He slammed his forepaws onto the ground hard, inciting more cracks to the ones that already existed. His body was trembling. His eyes were dilated. He leaned over and slammed his head on the ground, loud and hard, wrapping his arms tight around himself. And then, he let loose a howl; an ear-splitting opus that screamed pain out into the infinite distance. Wings; six pairs of long, beautiful wings erupted from his back and sprayed the room wit a sheen of feathers. They weren't any one color, nor did they look completely solid, as Silver could see right through them. Garnet gasped, every strand of fur in his body was standing on end. It was power; too much power flowing through him and forcing his body to change to accommodate it. Silver watched in horror as Garnet's body grew two, then three, then five times its normal size until Silver had to tilt his head up a ways to gaze upon the now towering wolf. Garnet's muzzle and body became etched in markings that Silver could not decipher and his eyes had turned crimson like newly spilled blood. There was a pulse of power that whipped from his body, enough to send Snow careening into Silver and knocking the two of them back into a wilted tree. Silver shook in pain, but eagerly wrapped his arm around Snow. Even in the face of death, Snow always came first.
"Snow…Snow, my love, wake up…" Silver said. Snow did not move. He reached over to touch her cheek, but almost drew his paw back immediately. The skin under her fur was so cold. He bit his lip and gave her a nudge. Snow didn't wake. Silver lightly slapped the side of her muzzle. Snow as motionless. He cold feel ice creeping up to his chest, now shaking her till her head lulled over, her headfur moving from her face. Slowly, very slowly, Silver lowered his head; pressed his ear up against her chest. There was no breath. There was no heartbeat. There was no life. Silver felt everything slipping away from him. Garnet, the world around him, everything just seemed to jumble up together in a void that he had no care of what became of it. Everything in his body felt stiff, except for the taunting of his heartbeat, telling him he was still alive; telling him that yes, this was really happening. Silver tried to call out to her, in the vain hope that she would respond. No sound, just air, escaped his mouth. All he could do was sit there, holding the dead snowy wolf, feeling every emotion in his body numb completely.
"…." Garnet looked at his paws. He had really done it. The guardians were gone and dead, their powers surging through his very own body. It was a sickeningly wonderful feeling. He brandished an outstretched paw; the water from the rivers gave a mighty leap, crashing down into one of the trees with such overwhelming force that the wooden structure wailed before splintering to the ground. A sick smile spread across Garnet's face. He brandished his other paw. The splinters on the ground stretched like long, spear-like tendrils that skewered through the landing and tore into one of the thrones; flames and wind licked the air around his body, and when he clasped his paws together, light and darkness—wispy in form—closed around the elements and dispersed them to nothing.
"This is it…" Garnet breathed. "Everything has finally—FINALLY—come together to this single moment. H-heh…ha-ha-ha-ha…." And then, he threw his head back and laughed. Hard. It was that kind of dark laughter of realization that someone would imitate in a story book, only ten times worse. His laughter rang out across the land, as devoid of life as it now was.
"The time of this world has come to a close. And so, Silver," Garnet dropped his head, his deadly crimson eyes locking on Silver, "Your usefulness here has officially ended." The tree he had knocked down trembled before the splinters transformed upright into another sharp, wooden tendril. It took aim—right between Silvers eyes—before cutting through the air with such sickening speed that it whistled.
Silver did not move. He didn't care. His world had been snatched away from him. What did it matter if he was led to follow it? What did it matter if the world was rewritten? What was a world without Snow? He would have given anything for Snow's life. But his 'anything' wasn't enough. And now, all he could do was sit there. All he could do was die.
All he could do was die…
Things just aren't looking good for Silver and Snow right now. With everything seeming to go wrong, will Silver and Snow pull through? Or will this be the end of a gallant try for our two heroes? Tune in to the next chapter of Silver Snow!