Aisoku was having a dream. He knew it was a dream but found himself scared all the same. He was falling in this giant chasm and, as he neared the bottom, an enormous creature opened its mouth to capture his body whole, its white pupils gleaming against feverish blue. He jerked his head up with a start and winced as it smacked against the head of a chair. "I would say good morning, but I suppose it isn't for you."
Aisoku didn't bother looking up- he could tell by the voice just who was talking. He flexed his arms and realized that he was bound to the chair with leather strips. As he moved there was a disgusting flaky feeling around his neck and head and he noted that no one had taken the time to wash the blood off him.
He yanked at the straps, glared at Lenka and his lip lifted to show a canine that felt unusually long.
"Oho." He said quietly and leaned back in his own chair with his arms crossed, apparently unthreatened.
"I suppose you've got a little bit of your parent's fire in you after all."
Inessa cleared her throat and the grey-eyed man paused before asking in Russian, "What is it?" To his irritation she said in Japanese, "Sir. With all due respect. When the White and Black Wings have found out what you've done to him, added to the kidnapping…" He tapped his fingers.
"I was aware of the repercussions before, Inessa. I must get as much done as possible until they arrive."
He switched back to Japanese. "Actually I had every intention of letting you go boy, as long as the DNA in your marrow was able to be replicated. Imagine my surprise when I added a sample of your DNA to a normal human's blood. Would you like to know what happened?" Aisoku licked his dry lips and folded his wings closer to his back. "My name is Aisoku." They had been shoved in the empty space between the headrest and seat and the metal was digging at the feathery limbs. Actually, now that he thought about it he kind of didn't want to know. He'd been having a fairly good time being normal, or as close to normal as a bird-kid could get. He didn't bother saying anything though because he knew Lenka was going to tell him anyway. Instead he started working on the cuffs.
"I wouldn't bother." Lenka murmured smugly.
"I had my two assistants and Vlad remove every hairpin and lock picker they could from your person. It panned out to be quite a pile." Sure enough as he shuffled around he noticed the absence of all his usual gear. He looked around until his eyes settled on Vlad in one corner and gave him a pleading look. Lenka watched the little exchange for a moment. Vlad scratched the side of his jaw idly.
Lenka's eyes flicked away and Vlad tapped his cheek once before letting it fall to his side.
My mouth? He ran his tongue along his teeth and sure enough it bumped across a warm hairpin stuck low in his lip. Oh. It tasted nasty but he didn't care and nodded his thanks. "Well I suppose I'll tell you anyway. It disintegrated. Or actually, it attacked the regular human DNA and then itself." He put a hand on his chin.
"The ultimate idea is to give other people your abilities, so to solve that problem I'm going to need funding, and for funding I'm going to need as much footage of you using your powers as possible." Aisoku leaned down and pretended to scratch his nose as he moved the hairpin from his mouth to his hand. He didn't feel like talking with Lenka.
He could talk to himself all day for all he cared. With one jiggle his right hand was free. He kept it tight to his wrist and flicked the hairpin across his lap, just managing to catch the tip with his left hand. Lenka leaned forward and caught Aisoku's chin with his hand and his hot breath fanned across Aisoku's face. There was a glint around his white neck and Aisoku realized the controls to the collar rested between the man's collarbones.
"Do you think you can manage that, little thief? Before they come to get you- if they do."
The blonde yanked his head back and simultaneously broke free of the strap on his other wrist. Before the guards behind him could react he leapt out of the chair, the heel of his boot on the scientist's chest, and broke the thin cord holding the controls from Lenka's neck. He threw it to the right and opened his palm and the device was bathed in white-hot flames. It turned dark red, then light, going from orange to yellow and as it hit the ground there was a horrible hissing and a cloud of smoke. As he felt the thick arms of Lenka's two guards wrap around him he snarled,
"Maybe you should remember that I am my father's son, and once I get this-"
He indicated the collar, "Off, I will-"
Lenka, who had gotten to his feet, walked across the room and hissed, "You'll what, little hunter?" He snorted disdainfully.
"You aren't the killing type."
He glanced across at the smoldering controls and sneered in Aisoku's ear, "Good thing I made a spare."
As the two guards dragged him back in what he assumed was the direction of his room Aisoku said quietly, "They will come and you will get what you deserve."
He heard Lenkas soft dry laugh and the barked order, "Give him five hours. Then I want him back in here with me." as the darkness of the hall consumed him.
I should like to borrow your body now.
Kiryu's brow wrinkled. What? But I've only been awake for-
That doesn't matter. We're getting close and I am getting… antsy.
Kiryu sat up a little in the chair and muttered, it matters to me. Everything- my body hurts alright? He rubbed his wrists. Forgive me for not being overly-concerned with your welfare when my son is being detained and possibly …He didn't need to finish the rest of the sentence as Kiryu felt a rush of anger from his other half.
Besides that, you are a Hikari. Satoshi's son. You should be no stranger to pain. He detected what was possibly a hint of regret in Krad's voice.
For a moment he considered not addressing it at all but found himself saying quietly; Well you don't have to… hurt us. Krad got so quiet it felt like his presence had completely disappeared. Dark had noticed the internal conversation going on between the two of them and was keeping an eye out. After a few seconds Kiryu began to get worried and asked,
…Krad?
He came roaring to the forefront of his mind with such force he lurched forward in the seat and his seatbelt locked.
What would you know of it you ignorant little pawn?
He felt the transformation begin and tried to repress it. "Dark- p-pull over…" He'd never felt pain this intense before- he could barely speak and hardly hear anything but Krad's thundering voice. Dark's eyes widened and he pulled over to the side of the road, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Kiryu?"
What's wrong with him? Kyo asked in Dark's mind and he replied hastily, I think…
Kiryu couldn't feel it over Krad's voice.
What do you know of anything? Your ignorance of your family's sins continues to astound me. Krad shoved inside his mind and Kiryu staggered with his hand clenching his chest.
… He's forcing him to transform. He pulled open the door and let himself out into the snow, his legs dropping him to his knees. As he did so Dark turned off the engine and went around the hood. Shit. Kyo, I'm sorry but I really don't want you to see this. With a small portion of his magic he pushed his tamer into unconsciousness and knelt down in the snow, holding the boy's shuddering form. "Kiryu! Oh god damn it…" His blue eyes were bloodshot.
Krad! Stop it please! I- I'm sorry! The White Wings was too far gone, lost in his own memories. All he wanted to hear were the sounds of a Hikari in pain.
Let me out. Let me out let me out- Kiryu shuddered forward, his hands in Dark's shirt like a desperate child and looked up into his purple eyes helplessly, red leaking from the corner of his eyes. "Make him stop…!" Dark was horrified- he couldn't reverse a transformation halfway through, much as he wanted was actually more dangerous for the tamer "I-" Kiryu gave little choked sound and pulled the thief close just as Krad screamed inside his head,
let.
me.
out.
NOW!
Kiryu couldn't help but scream. The phantom's head was over Kiryu's shoulder and he was given an up-close look at the undulating skin on his back, stretching, swelling and finally breaking; the new wing streaked blood across his cheek as it escaped from the prison of Kiryu's flesh. The boys screaming reached its peak and died in his throat as the blonde took over.
The other wing bloomed soon after and they flapped once lazily and blood dotted the snow like fresh raspberries on a white tablecloth. Dark felt Kiryu's shoulders widening and his hair tumbling past his shoulders, changing from a soft brown to a brilliant golden. The thief pushed the White Wings into the car with a fist, his temper barely contained.
His hand was shaking with the desire to beat the blonde into a pulp for what he'd just done.
"What the fuck was that?" Krad stared out at him from between his curtain of hair impassively, the yellow of his eyes accented with two vertical streaks of blood running out each corner. He looked paler than usual, if that was at all possible, and as he spoke Dark could see dark pink staining on his teeth. Krad snorted and his lip lifted distastefully. Strangely enough, the boy's screams hadn't stopped the darker memories of his past from bubbling up like a fountain of crude oil.
"What I do with my tamers is none of your concern."
Dark's grip on Krad's shoulder tightened. "Actually yes it is when you- "
Krad interrupted him and spat, "If they had wanted me to cut them slack their ancestors wouldn't have done as they did."Dark's wiped Kiryu's blood off his cheek with a sarcastic laugh. "So you're punishing him for something he didn't do, and something he doesn't even know about yet. How reasonable." The blonde stood and pushed Dark's hand off.
"What Satoshi does or does not choose to tell to his son is his own folly!" Dark pinned him against the side of the car and felt his own wings itching to be free from his heightened emotions. That was the last thing he needed right now.
"So it's 'not my concern' when you're forcing the Hikari so much past his limits he's bleeding out of his eyes."
Krad wrenched his shoulders out of the thief's grip."No its not. So keep your hands off me." Krad tried to move past the thief but he blocked his path. "You are so selfish don't you realize you needed that strength for later- for what we came here for?"Krad's eyes lit up in yellow fury and his hair lifted slightly even though there was no wind."Don't preach to me, thief. My patience of your barking is growing thin." Dark cracked his knuckles.
"And my patience of your torture is too. Get in the car."
The blonde raised an arm, his open palm at the level of Dark's ribs and it began to glow.
"No. You of all people should know I don't respond well to orders." He closed his fist and turned to face the other way. "Stay out of my way." Dark circled around him."What? God dammit Krad, we don't have time for this!"
"As if it's really your place to be telling me that."
Krad paused for a moment and his white wings twitched and ruffled as his anger heightened.
"You certainly always have enough time for those pathetic Niwa humans!" then turned on his heel, opened his fist and bathed the thief in electricity- Dark barely had time to dodge the attack. He held his singed bicep in surprise and anger, then dodged again as another ball was hurled at him."Gh- damn." The pain was waking Kyo up and he didn't want to use magic on him unless he had to. Luckily where they had parked was in the middle of a huge forest of larch trees and the thief immediately took cover in them, weaving until he was sure that for the moment he wasn't going to be assaulted. Krad wasn't exactly subtle as his wings scraped and bumped against tree trunks and the snow.
Dark started chanting a spell under his breath and pulled up his collar- it was so cold his lips felt like they were coated in thin ice. As he did he heard Krad let out a hiss of air between his teeth and banish his wings just a few trees away from him and switched to thought. ..Obscurum servo mihi…ignotus. (darkness protect me…obscure) The black-purple magic curled out of his hand and spilled onto the ground between the two halves, growing and stretching like vines.
As soon as it touched the cold ground it turned black. Krad couldn't see it and magic in hand, stepped directly onto one of the main branches. Dark felt the weight of his counterpart's magic in range and muttered, "…Evinxi."(bind) and the branch underneath Krad's foot shot up and twisted around his foot.
It yanked him to the ground before he could focus his magic enough to blast it from his ankle, "Agh!" and wrapped around his other ankle, his wrists and torso. The blonde struggled against it as it bound his hands face-down.
Dark emerged from behind the dull yellow leaves of the larch and his eyes glowed like purple flames as he finished the spell with a dry, "Adstringo."(tighten) Krad panted and clenched his jaw as the vines covered him further, snaking across his neck and up his body until he was bound quite tightly against the frozen dirt. "What is this spell?" White wings hissed and his arms seemed to glow golden from the inside as the magic built up in his human body. The magic in Dark's eyes flickered out and he said with a hint of disgust, "Something I borrowed from my 'other' self-not you."
He heard the buzz of crickets. "Are you coming back with me now?"
The cat-yellow in Krad's eyes indicated he intended to do no such thing. "Why should I. You never followed me."
This piqued his curiosity and despite himself Dark inched closer to the blonde until he was standing only a foot away.
"Per usual I have no idea what you're talking about."
Krad lifted a lip, baring a single canine. "All those years and not once did you attempt to stop them. If you were so concerned with how the Hikari's treated me-" His wings suddenly reappeared, glowing so bright they almost seemed to be on fire.
The fire began burning away at the vines and as Dark took a step back the limbs snapped open and Krad shouted,
"-Then why didn't you ever help me!"
Dark coughed, then choked and screamed before biting it back and winced again as Kyo's scream ripped across his mind.
His feet scrabbled for purchase on the hard slippery tree trunk he's been nailed to by a feather turned metal, deeply embedded in his right shoulder. Krad was upon him, balancing on two more metallic feathers he'd placed conveniently out of the phantom's reach. He grabbed the sliver of cold metal and twisted, earning another rich howl from the thief before he managed to clench his jaws together. He could feel the hot pain-induced sweat coating the inside of his ruined jacket. Dark! Kyo cried out and the phantom somehow found enough of his voice to snarl "... Our tamers-"
Krad sneered "Again with them. For once, I'd like for you to only pay attention to me." and as swiftly as he'd driven the spear in, he yanked it out, flipped Dark onto his belly and drove it back into the same shoulder. He made sure not to hit anything vital- he wanted Dark to stay awake for the entirety of this little lesson. Dark's boots kept sliding on the frozen bark and Krad plucked another one of his primaries and ran his hand delicately across its surface, turning the feather into solid iron before driving it through the leather sole of Dark's boots.
He winced again before realizing the spear hadn't actually gone through his foot; it had only pinned his boot to the tree to keep him from dangling by that one shoulder. It was bleeding quite badly and after Krad twisted it the injury had changed from feeble trickling into thick bloody gravy. It stung like a shot wound and was blurring his periphery vision. He threw his good arm over the iron spear to take some of the pressure off his right shoulder."You have... my attention, ...bastard." Dark panted, running through the usual list of spells in his head to find one that could get him out of here quick. "Good." Krad tapped his fingers against the iron feather pinning his other half to the tree and each vibration rattled his shoulder blade horribly.
"I'll show you a particular favorite of the second Hikari." Before Dark had finished the last part of a impressive spell Krad laid his hand between spread shoulders and whispered icily, "Očevidan krilo."(manifest wings)
"Augh-!" The thief suddenly felt enormous crushing pressure on his back and as his spine arched to relieve it his eyes widened as he realized what was happening. Somehow Krad was forcing his wings out. He rattled out a countercurse in his mind and relaxed as the pressure lessoned.
"Onda."(now) The blonde snarled and the hand lying against the phantom's back made a fist, then made a pulling motion- to his horror he felt the hidden wings follow, slowly at first then faster and Kiryu's soft skin tore easily as paper. His wings flapped once before coming back under his control and he slapped them up to the side of the tree, using the four-inch dewclaws hidden in the top of both curved limbs to relieve some of the pain. They were coated from root to primaries in his tamer's blood.
"Aaaaahh-g-god dammit you son of a bitch!" Dark let go of his grip on the iron feather long enough to put an arm under his chest and send a bolt of purple-black fire at the angel. He heard a sizzle but didn't bother to check if it had made impact. As he'd shifted the feather nailing him to the tree took on more of his weight and dug into the wound upward, and black spots had appeared in his vision.
"haa... ahh..." He moved his arm back over the feather and adjusted to the position he was in before. His vision slowly cleared. Just in time to see golden hair spilling over his shoulder, slighty burned, and see the outline of his cursed other half in his periphery vision.
"That certainly was close." He heard a electric crackle as Krad produced another spear, and shuddered as he nailed the object into the bark less than a half-inch from his right ribs. He heard it creak as it took on the weight of the White Wings and let out an embarrasing yelp as Krad roughly grabbed hold of the roots of both his wings, his nails digging in to the new raw skin and feathers. He felt Krad place his knee high up on the thief's back and adjust his hands so his thumbs were facing in... and he realized just what he was planning to do.
Oh no. Weakly in the back of Dark's mind Kyo asked what Krad was going to do but instead of answering he summoned up enough of his energy to put Kyo into a sleep only Dark's magic could bring him out of. Sorry.
"Oh." Krad suddenly seemed to have forgotten something and moved his hands to Dark's right wing.
"I almost forgot he liked it one at a-"
"Krad... Aisoku-"
He felt the blonde flinch and tighten his grip so much he began to lose circulation in his wing. "Silence! It's your fault he's in this mess in the first place! If we had just stayed with him and raised him instead of giving him to a group of useless humans..." His voice trickled down from its hysterical peak and ended in an almost defeated tone, "None of this would have happened."
"Our tamer's bodies would have wasted away by now." The thief muttered. "We could have never raised him. It was impossible." Krad's grip on his wing was so tight he could feel the cartilage straining. "Shut up. Just..." Dark wrenched his head around just enough so Krad could see a glittering purple eye.
"You do know no amount of shit you do to me, the Niwa's, or every Hikari descendant hereafter will be able to sate your thirst for revenge on the first seven...don't you...?"
The blonde shuddered and Dark watched his pupils shrink and stretch until they were nothing but vertical black needles embedded in yellow fire. With a cry of rage Krad dug his knee into the thief's back and then threw all of his weight back. The wing didn't come off cleanly.
It peeled away- first the skin and feathers,
then the long muscles, snapping like oiled wires and finally the crunch of hollow cartilage and a disgusting sucking sound, like pulling a boot out of thick mud.
And then it fell.
Dark couldn't remember a time when he'd screamed so much. So loud it hurt his own ears, so long every time he took a new breath in it was merely to fuel the next cry. With his eyes pinched shut and his forehead pressed against the cold bark he found the strength for a single, final attack. As Krad balanced perfectly on the iron spears he thought he heard a gravelly word- though he wasn't quite sure what it was. His curiosity got the better of him and against his own judgement he leaned down next the the irritatingly still form of his other half and chirped,
"What? I didn't quite catch that."
"'abyssus pas.'"The thief repeated, the wine color swirling in his eyes. From below the tree, something was making noise, a kind of flapping and thudding. Krad glanced down at it and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. It was the wing, he was sure. He glared back up at the phantom. "What did you-"
The thief gave a humorless breathy laugh and answered, "Heh... it means 'hellhound'."
Couldn't have pulled it off without you. Dark thought sarcastically. That particular attack could only be used if one of his 'true' wings had been forcibly removed against his will. He'd actually never used it before and wasn't sure what kind of creature would manifest.
Underneath the tree, everything went silent. Krad froze on his perch and the wind tugged at his loose hair. The sound of large scrabbling nails jerked him out of stillness and he summoned his pearly wings, their long arches flaring up in fear as the nails came closer. Their was another long pause in sound and the feathers on Krad's wings smoothed as he entertained the idea that the thing had simply given up climbing the enormous tree.
" Graaaaaa-" It exploded out of the darkness below them and snapped up the white angel around his waist, his slavering jaws accomodating his slim body easily. As it dug its claws back into the tree Dark was able to get a better look at it- it appeared to be made out of either black fire or mist, the limbs and tail slightly transparent. Its jaws were lined in loose black lips and filled with yellowed teeth. Saliva drew lines down its thick black pelt and its eyes were an uncomfortably neon mix of purple and red. On its back was Dark's old discarded wing as well as another newly-formed one.
The hound adjusted its grip on Krad and tilted its head as Dark ordered, Don't kill him. It huffed and the inside of its nostrils glowed with red fire. Please. It launched itself back towards the ground and Dark waited for a few minutes, his mind toying with the idea of shutting down completely, before calling it back with Come get me. He didn't remember riding the hound back down but clambered off of it when he came to just the same, using its side for balance before getting on his hands and knees to confront Krad. The White Wings was pinned with a spell Dark neither recognized or cared to. All he knew was that the blonde wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
As he approached Krad opened one eye a slit but said nothing. Their were bite marks encompassing his entire waist but none were as severe as the wound in Dark's shoulder and back. He placed a hand across the blonde's white forehead and muttered angrily, "So you don't remember? well let me...nng..." He winced and held his shoulder before placing the now-bloodied palm back onto Krad's head. "...Refresh your memory."
Krad threw his head back but it was too late. The damn thief was flooding into his memories, going back to the ones Krad kept closest to his being- the first seven, each 'tamer' more horrible than the last. The first one liked fire. Specifically he liked trapping Krad in an artwork that for all purposes kept him in a perpetual state of burning. Not charred, but definetely third degree. He remembered being in there for the longest he'd ever been-three days, when out of the blue the first one, Okibi(fire) had suddenly yanked him out of the painting.
He fell onto the floor whole and laid there, eyes closed, what was left of wings tight against his body. Okibi had stared at him for a moment before whispering, "Pathetic." and leaving him there, tamerless and burned beyond recognition of anything beautiful. His magic had been ground down to almost nothing and he lingered on the border of death, listening to one voice in particular. Dark's memory collided with his and showed him the phantom's perspective of Krad's body when he'd found him. The phantom had spoken soft words, healed him, and destroyed the Hikari painting beyond repair. That was me. Krad remembered waking up beneath the ruined painting and wondering what had happened. ...Lies.
Yeah? Dark showed him a memory of the third Hikari, who trapped Krad within a mirror of hallucinations. All the blanks in Krad's memory were filled by Dark' phantom thief had been there too, coming to his aid and disappearing before the Hikari's caught a whiff of him.
Her was also at the fourth, who preferred water torture.
And the the sixth and the seventh, who was the worst of them all- Krad jerked his head and for a moment their connection broke but Dark's slapped his hand firm against his forehead once more. Stop. Stop. I will kill you for this.
I won't. Otherwise you'll never believe me will you Krad?
Krad threw his head once more in an attempt to get the thief out of his mind. Show me. It was useless-he was back and with a shove of magic he forced Krad to reveal the one memory he least wanted the thief to see.
He's been in the tower for so long he'd forgotten what it felt like to be within the body of a tamer. His wings were fully stretched and almost encompassed the entirety of the round room, tiny as it was. Their was one extremely narrow window, barely more significant than a slit and occoasionally cold air or snow would dust that side of the room.
And a door, but that hardly mattered as it was so laced with barriers he could feel their magic from here, crawling along his skin. It was the same magic that laced through the five fist-sized screws embedded in each of his wings. Since he was not human he did not need to eat, sleep or engage in any other activities they required. Unfourtunately his tamer had seen to it that he felt pain, hunger and the need for sleep as intensely as any other human via the wings in his back-which he'd made real specifially for this punishment.
Krad had forgotten what he was being punished for-but then, he'd forgotten a lot of things. He cracked an eye open and glanced out at the two end screws near the very tips of his wings. They had long ago stopped bleeding and now were nothing but metal embedded in bone.
The one's nearest to him were in the worst condition- nearly every wound was infected and a few of them were so bad long black strips of his flesh had fallen off and onto the wall, staining the stone greenish-purple. Also, their were maggots. They were itchy and if he looked close enough he could see them writhing around, patiently devouring all the dead flesh. At least that kept gangreen from settling in. He closed his eye. Now, he'd been trying to remember something- he only had a few minutes before the screws sank in again- what was it?
Something about his other half. Dark.
He hadn't seen him since they were first 'born'. Surely... He had heard the blonde's screams through their connection, his suffering. But he wasn't sure. ...Dark? If you're there... It was the thing he least wanted to do in the world, asking for help.
But a few more days in this tower and he would surely lose whatever sanity he posessed. ... help me.
Although... Krad certainly had never helped him with anything. Why should he come? They didn't owe each other anything, aside from being from the same artwork. Dark didn't owe him anything at all. Was that phantom thief really the only one he had as backup, outside the Hikari's?
How pathetic. At least he'd given this Hikari quite a fight before being screwed into the foundation of the tower. Suddenly he felt the magic buzzing around him and cursed softly. It was no use tensing up- that usually only made it worse. One by one they twisted, rotating stained white feathers, skin and muscle. Krad screamed and found that after a while it had turned into a choking crying session, complete with tears. They dripped off the end of his nose and the sides of his face and he could taste their disgusting saltiness on the corners of his lips.
I will kill them for this.
The two nearest to his back began to rotate and out spilled fresh blood, bright red and beautiful.
I will kill their children, and their children's children. Slowly, as I have suffered.
On through all eternity.
His tears dried. The night deepened and the light in the room was reduced to almost nothing. He could make out the outlines of his wings and the glow of magic but that was all. Obviously the Hikari must have put some kind of sound-blocking barrier around the tower too otherwise people would begin to wonder why it sounds like a pig being slaughtered up here.
Dark wasn't coming. He didn't know why that fact hurt him so much. The patches of feathers still intact ruffled at a sudden cold breeze drifting across the room. He felt naseous and hoped that it would get so bad he would pass out- a tiny respite from this. One of the screws rotated a tiny fraction, seeming to sense his oncoming unconsiousness and he swore again, louder. Somehow it made him feel better. The breeze was fiddling with the roots of his wings and from somewhere he thought he heard,
Goodness, you kiss your mother with that mouth?
Krad opened one eye again and noticed the figure of a man. A shadow man- working on the screws nearest to him. He sighed and closed his eye. I've done it. I've finally gone utterly insane. Oh well. At least now he'd have someone to talk to. For an illusion it was a pretty good one. He could almost feel the warmth in each finger and from his breath and soft wine-colored hair brushed between his feathers as the shadow-man worked. He wondered if it might be some kind of demon.
For your information demon, I don't even have a mother. The demon muttered something under his breath and all the magic in the room was neutralized, then Krad felt a gentle tugging, searing feeling as one of the screws was carefully removed.
I know that, I was just jerking your chain.
Then in the empty mutilated hole the screw had left he felt hot tingling and opened his other eye to observe purplish-black ribbons sewing it together, muscles first, then wiggling outwards and finally somehow, coaxing new downy feathers out of the skin. Have you come to take me to hell? Krad inquired, curious as to why the devil would send some lower demon who apparently had a sense of humor. The demon didn't answer for a moment and moved down the row of screws, removing and healing. His magic purged the maggots completely. Then he moved to the other wing and once every single bloody, feather-encrusted screw was removed from Krad the demon helped him to the ground. He was also strong, Krad noticed, or perhaps it was simply that he was so much weaker that it seemed so. His wings hummed from the healing magic and he slowly folded them against his back.
The stone was blissfully cool against his body, still hot from fever and pain and he curled up. If you'll just let me rest for a single moment... I will go without a fight.
Please. The demon crouched down beside him and for the first time he saw its eyes-they were the color of african violet petals. Bright, velvet. Certainly not what he expected from a demon.
Krad.
For some reason this word was spoken softer than the others and held so much pity he felt his chest constrict.
Hmm?
He felt little plops of water on the bare skin of his shoulder, between what was left of his white robes. He heard the demon sink to its knees and then felt a warm arm across his chest, puling him close.
My God, what has he done to you...
It registered in his mind that he should be appauled. It also registered that it was the most comfort he'd recieved from anyone in almost eighty years. It was at that moment his brain officially decided to shut down.
Dark pulled out of Krad's memories and brought them both back to the present, his hand finally lifting from a sweaty pale brow. The white wings was panting and his eyes were bright. His face was flushed from anger and humiliation. For a moment neither half said a word and the hellhound came up behind Dark and nudged his elbow to make sure nothing was wrong.
The thief collapsed to one side of the blonde with a frustrated, "It was always me. Do you get it? I was always there." and he pressed into his shoulder to try and stop the bleeding. "I guess it never occured to you that anyone would be on your side huh." It wasn't working very well- if he didn't staunch it soon-... Oh, right, He couldn't because Krad had done such a number on him he couldn't even use what little magic he had to heal himself. Damn and double damn. Looks like checkmate... "Call your dog's seal off." Krad ordered quietly. "Eh?"
"You heard me. Please." There was no fight in Krad's voice anymore. It was just a simple request. Dark indicated to the hound with a nod of his head and the curse sealing Krad to the ground disappeared slowly. As the blonde sat up the hound lifted his lips and growled lowly to assure him that if he was going to do anything to Dark, it would be stopped by his jaws. "Let me see your shoulder." Dark gave a hollow little laugh "Why, so you can finish it off? No, thanks." and his laugh turned into a deep throaty cough. Krad was close enough to see that flecks of blood colored the phantom's sleeve as he covered his mouth.
It looked like Krad may have nicked one of the phantom's lungs as well. "Actually, I was planning on healing you."
Dark blinked, then stuck a finger in his ear and rotated to make sure their wasn't a buildup of wax impeding his hearing. "Eh?-Excuse me?" The blonde sat next to him with his lips pursed. "Sit up. I'm not going to say it again."
The thief struggled to a sitting position and winced as the movement caused his wound to throb and new blood to leak out. How much blood could one person lose before they passed out? Unfourtunately he already knew the answer to that and it was 'not much more'. Black streaked his vision which was getting steadily blurrier. "Whatever your gonna do... hurry up." He panted. Golden eyes narrowed and in a single flick of his wrist he'd unzipped and removed the thief's jacket. Cold air assulted his warm skin and immidiately tan skin broke out in goosebumps. "Ack-" He crossed his arms, "It's fuckin' freezing..." and let the sentence die off as Krad wound his wings impatiently around him. Krad coaxed out two cat claws from his fingertips and cut away the thin black tee shirt around the wound, then picked out two tiny strips that had embedded themselves in the injury. It really looked terrible. He pulled Dark's shoulder closer so he could see where the right wing had been on his back. That wound was definetly worse. Hmm.
It looked like he'd have to put his arms underneath Dark's since he didn't want the phantom making his injuries worse by more movement.
In essence, he'd be hugging Dark. Krad shuddered and ordered, "Don't. Ever. Mention this again." before very slowly slipping his arms around the thief's torso and placing his chin on his shoulder, in order to see the wound clearly. He summoned up thin golden thread between his fingers and got to work, interspersing the stitching with bursts of magic as some of the muscles needed to be rebuilt entirely. He felt Dark chuckling and hissed, "What?" the bursts of warm air on his ear and neck making him didn't like being this close to anyone. He especially didn't like the fact that the air around them was getting warmer, thanks to their combined body heat.
" Heh, its just... Its funny- you being all motherly even when Aisoku's not around." Krad had finished the internal work and was now pulling the torn tan skin gently back together. Dark felt Krad's chest vibrate with a little growl. "I am not- you..." As Krad struggled for a comback Dark patted him between his wings once and muttered,
" I wasn't mocking you. It's just nice to see a different side of you...and thank you, I guess." Well, this isn't awkward at all. Dark didn't much like being this close to Krad either. Hell, being hugged by Krad was ... kind of like being hugged by a pretty woman. It sort of gave him butterflies. Krad had finished with his back and was eyeing up the damage on his front. "Like what you see?" He teased and was rewarded by Krad's usually emotionless face going bright red. "No. Of course not." He produced the same golden thread and needle as before and stabbed it rather savagely into the thief's skin. "Aow!"
"Oops." Krad grinned evilly and Dark glared at him. "You hoe,you did that on purpose." Krad hummed happily as he worked. "Just to show you how much I care." He let the needle hang for a moment and spread his fingers wide and Dark felt a hot feeling inside the wound, then watched with a kind of gross facination as new muscles knitted across the old ones. It didn't hurt though. If anything it felt good, sort of like streching a limb that had gone numb. Dark snorted. "Hah. I know that underneath it all you are as loving and affectionate as a newborn kitten." Krad remained silent for a moment, flexing his hand. Healing Dark was taking more energy than he thought. "I... think not." He was back to stitching again, and they were small and accurate.
"So.." Dark ventured, knowing that it was a bit much to ask but still peeved that Krad had tore off his frikin' wing, asked, "I believe an apology is in order."
Krad finished stitching and, after wrapping golden gauze around the thief's two horrendous wounds, paused. "I..." He glanced away from the thief and swallowed. For once after one of their fights, he felt terrible. Most likely that tamer would carry scars from this day for the rest of his life. And Dark... He was still shivering and the gold gauze he'd wrapped tightly against the wounds was already being stained. And worst of all, he knew that the phantom was right. They didn't have time for this. Somewhere close Aisoku was still being held captive and the only thing this little episode had done was weaken both of them. Krad closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
Damn. Why is he always right? Why can I not... Why must I harm the only person who ever came to my call...
"I'm sorry." It had been a whisper, but it still counted. "If my tamer's had not been... so cruel, I could have grown into a being you could ...understand, and grow to care for." Dark sighed and to the blonde's surprise, poked a finger into his chest and held it there as he stated,
"In case you haven't noticed, there are two people in this world I care about most. The first I think you know, and the second you've obviously been thinking was my tamer. He's third." He removed the finger and the feathers on his single wing ruffled with anger as he snarled,
"If you ever forget that you're the second most goddamn important thing in my life I'll do a hell of a lot worse than that hound." He gestured in the direction where the hound still sat.
"Understand?" Krad's eyes widened. For a moment he didn't say anything. He remembered Dark had said something like this before but it hadn't really stuck. In fact it still didn't...not really- Because who could hold a monster like him close to their heart?
But... he seems sincere. How strange.
You... may not know it, but it is the same for me. The memories Krad held closest to his heart... were Dark's reactions as their baby grew within him, and the first time he'd held Aisoku, and their petty domestic squabbles over when he would start smiling, and laughing, and ... Krad gave a small genuine smile, "You always have an interesting way of expressing your affections, mousy." Still, their was a warm feeling in his chest now that he didn't aknowledge, but wouldn't deny. Dark huffed as Krad helped him pull his jacket and gloves back on. "Same could be said for you, blondie. Now help me up." Krad put an arm underneath Dark's shoulders and together they walked back to the car, which seemed much farther away without the use of their wings. As they reached the edge of the line of trees Dark froze and Krad nearly tripped over him. "Eh?" Dark pointed with an expression of both irritation and disbelief. "Please tell me that's not our car." Krad winced as his human body urged him to take on his tamer's form and looked in the direction Dark was pointing. A tree had fallen directly on the hood of their rented car and smashed it down to tire level. Gas formed a huge black puddle in the snow around it.
The icing on the cake was the tree had been obviously knocked down my one of their magic blasts.
Snow was beginning to fall again and although their car appeared to be ruined, it was still shelter. Luckily the impact hadn't broken any of the windows or doors.
"Fuck! Damn damn son of kenny chesney justin beiber oprah sienfeld two and a half..." Dark's trail of odd insults died down as they approached the car and ended with, "Let me get the map." They both slid into the car and Dark called the hellhound in too, who deposited himself in the blonde's lap. The hound was taller than a great dane and wider than a mastiff and Krad had some difficulty seeing the map himself. "It looks like..." Dark was still panting from the walk and he realized both of them would need a few hours rest before continuing their journey. "It'd only take an hour to fly there from here. Assuming the weather clears up after we rest." Krad banished his wings and muttered, "You should set your watch then, otherwise I'm sure I could sleep for a few days." Dark chuckled and did just that,"Your telling me." then went around the car to join him in the back seat.
"What are you doing." He snarled as the phantom streched out on the demon dog's back, trying to get his legs under the dog as best he could.
"No gasoline, no heat, blondie, so snuggle up or ice up." The hellhound spread the wings as best it could over both of them and Dark transformed, letting Kyo get some well-deserved rest. Krad couldn't see the thief but could tell from his change in breathing that he had transformed and fallen asleep, so he followed suit.
Outside the snow continued to fall and the car's windows soon fogged from the warmth of two slightly less than human, humans.
It felt like only two seconds since Aisoku's head had hit the pillow when the same men who had shoved him into his bedroom were dragging him out again. At least they had let him wash the dried blood out of his hair and get something to drink, but no food. This time he was brought to a much larger room that was obviously deeper in the ground judging by temperature alone. As he walked in he noticed an enormous magic seal.
It was easily half as big as a football field and as he crossed it Lenka stood up, a small container in his right hand and a black marker in the other. "Ah, there you are." The magic made his skin tingle but was not unpleasant and as he walked across, the spaces where his boots had touched the intricate writing glowed a soft greenish-yellow.
"Hikari seals are very irritating." He said and to Aisoku's surprise, took a scalpel out of his jacket and slit a cut into his own finger, holding it out so it dotted over one of the inner circles.
"They don't really work unless the person drawing them either has magic power to draw from, or sacrifices a bit of themselves in return. A bit like all their other works really."
As the blood hit the black lines the greenish-yellow spread like a virus and lit up underneath them, making the room three times brighter and giving them both a sickly hue. "How do you know of these things?" Aisoku couldn't keep the words in. He thought the Hikari's were the only family and kept all their secrets within members of said family only.
"You didn't think that the Hikari's didn't want their art to die out do you? They were like all other great artists- Da Vinci, Leonardo, and taught others- students. Ones that they thought would be able to replicate their art. My great grandfather was one of them." The other vial was blood as well and he leaned down to make sure not a drop would go to waste.
Seeing the question in Aisoku's eyes he added, "Your blood. Obviously mine wasn't enough to stop you before, so-"
His words were cut off a dull roar suddenly sprang up from the seal and the air began whipping, picking Aisoku up off his feet and throwing him across the room like a paper doll. With his wings splayed he hit hard and slid down the wall and stared with his eyes wide open. The seal had transformed- it was now a bright blue and curled up and around in a swirling protective dome, Lenka placed in the very center and staring up at the swirling writing with something like wonder. The blue color made his skin glow and as Aisoku watched the colors swirled on the surface, a billion different shades of blue, like the sky made into a roiling liquid. Aisoku didn't feel wonder so much as fear.
"You see-" Lenka somehow managed over the noise, then quieted as the noise finally died to a soft murmur.
"I needed decent protection in order to get film of some of your better attacks. Amazing what a little drop of your blood can do, isn't it?" He glanced to the left and Aisoku noticed those same diamond-lens cameras he'd fiddled with before. Only these were a bit sturdier, judging by the protective cages around them. "I've managed to turn your own power against you and incidentally enough, your parents too- since this barrier and the one surrounding this entire compound are connected. Now, what can I say to elicit a really decent attack out of you?"
The blonde stood up shakily and walked over to the edge of the half-bubble, his hair rising in strands and his magic buzzing through his body. Everything felt strangely simple to him now. Or maybe that was the concussion speaking. "Nothing. You can't say anything to make me waste any more of my power for you and those cameras."
Then Lenka gave the most terrible grin he'd ever seen on the face of a human being, his silver eyes cold and flat
snake's eyes
and he pulled out the controller to the collar, letting it rest gently in the palm of his right hand.
"I can't say I wasn't hoping you would say that."
Oh noes! Will they get there in time? Will it take me 2 months to update! Find out in the next chappie of AU!