Author's Note: Okay...wow. Um, so...yeah. Kinda awkward. It's been such a while after all, that I'm sort of beyond apologies, as I know those won't suffice. But it's here now, isn't it? Please, feel free to indulge in your reading pleasure, and feel free to think about the future court case in which you're tried for my gruesome murder. Nearly inevitable, isn't it? *sadness*

Disclaimer: Maybe through some converse time-space-causality loop, by being so infrequent in my updates, I somehow upturn a contradiction and make it so that I DO own Zelda and Inuyasha *starry-eyed*. The sarcasm, I hope, speaks for itself.

For several moments, Vamalia lay there amidst all the commotion and bloodshed, sprawled and confused, Ralek's slumped body pinning her to the ground.

Her nose picked up the scent of smoke, as well as something charred. She blinked, twice, and gazed down to observe that something indeed had fumes wafting from it.

To be precise, Ralek's marred back.

Never before had she witnessed him in such a state; the beams of energy had scorched right through his black cloak and undershirt, turning his back into a smoldering scarlet crisp.

Soldiers immediately swarmed the two from all sides, before Vamalia could shake herself out of the surreal experience. Her mind, for some reason, couldn't quite efficiently process what had just occurred.

"Captain Kazuma, our cannons have struck Ralek instead. He appears to have protected one of the enemy."

Said captain strode towards them, face impassive.

"Then it seems," he spoke, "that this is an act of insubordination against our Lord."

"What should we do with him, sir?"

Kazuma glanced at Vamalia for a brief moment, seeming to assess something, before swiveling back around.

"Take both of them in as prisoners. Hold them in our highest security facility."

"B-Both, sir? But what use could we possibly have for the girl?"

"She possesses the ability to utilize Anima. Her type are rare, so we should preserve as many of them as possible. It is a waste to extinguish them when there are so few left. She could indeed be of some use in the future."

The soldier saluted, before approaching Vamalia.

It was then that she finally realized her predicament.

"H-Hey! Stay the hell away from me, Dominion scum-"

But before she could react, she felt a sharp pain emanating from the back of her head.

Her vision wavered, and her dimming world became obscured by black.

Roused by the clinking and slithering of chains, Vamalia awoke. She groaned at the incessant pounding in her cranium, but made an effort to heave herself into a sitting position.

"You're awake?"

That voice she knew all too well. Blinking away the bleariness in her eyes, Vamalia took in her bleak surroundings.

On three sides loomed solid stone walls, their dismal presence dictating the very idea of freedom as something quite absurd. Facing the hallway outside was a set of thick metal bars, on which a vertical row of hinges could be seen. A latch was firmly fixed upon the door they created, barricading any conventional means of exit.

The sole lantern hanging from the low ceiling and what little light it provided allowed Vamalia to just barely make out the outline of Ralek's face. She also saw the two previous stab wounds that she herself gave him: one on his torso, and one on his shoulder, the latter being the injury that she had given to him just prior to being taken captive.

Immediately, by habitual tendency, she pulled her face into a scowl.

Her hand went quickly to her side, but she grasped at nothing but air.

"Huh? My dagger..."

"Do you really think they would allow a prisoner to hold weapons?" came Ralek's impassive drawl.

She shot a glare in his direction at once.

"And what are you, my warden?" she spat.

He raised an eyebrow, before pointing downwards.

Her gaze followed his finger, seeing the shackles that bound Ralek's right ankle. It was then that she noticed her own bindings, on her left thigh. The chains for both prisoners' shackles originated from separate walls, but were long enough so that either captive could comfortably reach the other.

"So what?" she said. "I don't weapons to-" She frowned, however, when her hand could not plunge into her chest as it had so many times before.

"They would have taken precautions against Anima-users as well, I hope you realize. This entire dungeon possesses a field that renders summoning Anima as a futile attempt. Prisoners are expected to remain prisoners, after all."

Vamalia growled in resentment at such a revelation.

At his words, however, the events prior to her imprisonment came rushing back to Vamalia, causing her to gasp.

"T-Turn around!" she demanded, glaring at Ralek once more.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me!"

He did as she asked, and she unwillingly cringed as she witnessed the dried blood clinging to his back. It still looked to be in bad condition; flecks of burnt and blackened skin hung off of the edges of the wound.

"Satisfied?" Ralek exclaimed, before shifting back to face her, only for his expression to twitch in slight surprise when he beheld Vamalia biting her lip.

"...I had thought that you were the one who desired me dead. Signs of concern are hardly ever directed towards me, and if they were, I certainly would expect you to be the last person to exhibit them."

Vamalia blinked, before her cheeks dusted red.

"O-Of course I want you dead! You'd be an imbecile to think otherwise! I don't care about your well-being, got it? It's only that if anyone were to kill you, it'd be me! No one else will have the privilege, if I have anything to say about it."

And then Vamalia was taken aback, because for the first time in the seven years she'd known the assassin, she saw him smile. Even if it was purely out of amusement.

"So," he chuckled. "It's a privilege to kill me, is that it?"

She blushed profusely.

"That's not what I meant, you...you..." she trailed off, unable to form the words sufficient enough to express her frustration towards him. "Dammit! I should just finish you off right now."

He shrugged.

"Bare-handed? You might as well, I suppose. Perhaps you can use the chains our legs have been bound with to strangle me. It doesn't really matter anymore, whether I live or die."

Vamalia snarled.

"Just like it didn't matter when you mercilessly slaughtered my parents? Like it didn't matter when you annihilated my home, my entire village? I see you still have that same disgusting disregard for life as you did back then. Tell me, how many people have you destroyed? How many families have you ripped apart, placed in turmoil?"

He stared steadily back at her.

"It is not my job to keep track of such things."

She gritted her teeth in restrained fury, before she bit back her violent retort and slumped backwards, against the wall.

"Forget it. It's not worth it to even argue with you."

Silence reigned in the cramped prison cell.

Vamalia looked at Ralek, who seemed indifferent to their plight.

"...At least...Can you at least tell me why? Why did you do these things, for all these years? I can't expect myself to understand a murderer's way of thinking, but...how could you just end lives in cold blood like that? Is the value of life really so meaningless to you?"

He sighed, before imitating her and slumping back against the dreary wall.

"Mine is an existence which does not allow for such sentiments. From the very beginning, I was taught how to kill with the utmost speed and precision. It has been ingrained into my head to follow no will but my Master's."

"That's just...so stupid," Vamalia couldn't help but interject.

He glanced at her, but otherwise showed no sign of acknowledging her remark.

"I am nothing," he continued. "Except as his weapon. He pulls the proverbial trigger, and I am the bullet which strikes a target. It was strictly clear, from the onset, that there would be no room in my soul for any other purpose."

"So why has the Dominion you've so dutifully obeyed turned against you now? You've been tossed unceremoniously into a jail cell, as if they couldn't care less of your fate."

He nodded.

"My period as a tool is no more. I am of no more use, so I am to be thrown away. They cannot utilize a soul that wavers, after all."

"Your soul...wavers?"

"Ironic, really, that a former assassin like me would ever risk his tainted, albeit meaningless, life to save another."

Vamalia glowered at him.

"I've been meaning to ask you about that. What in holy hell would possess you to do something like that? To save me, when I thought your mission was to kill me. Not to mention that I've been attempting to do the same to you for the past several years."

She tapped her finger impatiently on her elbow when he did not reply.

"Well?" came her irritated demand.

"...I don't know," he admitted.

She blinked incredulously.

"What?"

"I have no idea why I saved you. All I know is that it doesn't matter, since we're to die soon, anyway. Or perhaps we'll merely rot slowly away in this cell."

This prompted Vamalia to stand up with renewed vigor.

"So that's it then? You're just going to give up? Coward. Life isn't something to be squandered, and I'll never forgive those who look down it. I, for one, am not letting them walk all over me without a fight. I'll escape, and you're going to come with me."

She glared down at him, as if daring him to suggest otherwise.

"I'm not gonna settle for some half-assed revenge against some pathetic shell of a human whose resigned to his fate. We're going to get out of here, and when we do, I'll fight you on even grounds. Wish for death after that all you want, bastard, because I'm going to be the one to give it to you."

Ralek stared curiously at her, as if finding her suddenly fascinating.

"Wh-What? You have some sort of problem with that?"

Abruptly, he broke out into laughter, startling her once more.

"None have followed me back along the path of destruction so determinedly as you, Vamalia. You really are the oddest victim I have ever seen."

She bristled angrily.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

He shook his head as he stood up as well, his chains clattering beside him.

"Nothing at all."

He turned his face towards her, a look of contemplation on his visage.

"Very well," he finally said. "I'll help you escape. Along with myself. It's not as if I have anything better to do, is there?"

"Hmph. About time. Well, you were on the side of the Dominion up until now. D'you have any idea of how we're supposed to get out of here?"

"Hmm. The issue is that we've been placed in the Dominion's highest security prison. It is known for being the strictest enforcer of rules and authority anywhere. I said before that you might as well kill me, but truth be told, they are so strict in their duties that they probably would not have allowed it. Prisoners are to stay in this prison until further orders are given, no matter what. It is an iron dictation."

"Tch. Well, it sounds like it's gonna be a pain in the ass to escape."

Ralek's brows furrowed in thought.

"Perhaps. But perhaps...we can use their nothing-may-deviate tendencies against them."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Just then, however, she heard two distinct sets of footsteps from the edge of the hallway outside. From how close they were, she estimated that they were about to round the bend that led into the hall stretching straight across the outside of her and Ralek's cell.

"The guards' hourly patrols," Ralek whispered. "Alright, there's no time to explain. Just play along and trust me. I have a plan."

"Plan?" she inquired, as the footsteps became louder. "What do you mean by play alo-mmph!"

In one fluid motion, Ralek had made his way over to her before she could react and mashed his lips onto hers.

Her eyes widened and she turned ten different shades of red, before shoving Ralek off.

"What the fuck do you think you're-"

"Do you want to get out of here or not?" he interrupted. He then kissed her once more, and held it.

As the pair of guards reached their door, meticulously scrutinizing every detention cell along the way, the one nearer to them glanced in their direction. Vamalia saw out of the corner of her eye that both of them were equipped with some sort of javelin which constantly emitted bright sparks of energy at its tip.

"Hey!" a gruff voice rang out. "You two, break it up immediately!"

While Ralek pointedly ignored him, Vamalia was becoming literally and emotionally suffocated. It was all she could do to hold her mouth in place for the entire duration while not attempting to murder Ralek at the same time.

"I said to stop at once!" barked the same patrolman.

When he was paid no heed once more, he strode angrily to their cell door and thrust his javelin through one of the gaps in the bars.

Ralek immediately swiveled to face him, and grabbed the pole of the javelin before the point could strike him. Before the guard could react, he yanked the weapon out of his grip, twirled it around so that the cusp of the javelin was directed towards the guard's chest, and, without pause, stabbed it through his armor.

The sharp end made contact with the guard's flesh, and he cried out as his body was electrocuted. Ralek did not relent, and kept the javelin poised there until the guard ceased all movement and toppled backwards, his entire frame singed and smoking, from head to toe.

However, while he was concentrating on his target, the other guard leapt forward and drove his weapon towards Ralek through the bars.

He winced as it lanced through his ankle, goring through to the other side. However, he disregarded it a moment later and kicked upwards, causing the javelin still embedded in his leg to swing upwards, striking the guard's chin with the pole end. He grunted, and succumbed to a second's hesitation, which was all Ralek needed to impale him as well.

As the second patrolman fell, Ralek withdrew the weapon, causing it to dislodge itself from the body, emitting a noise akin to a plunger's.

He staggered backwards from the momentum and slumped against the wall, breathing heavily.

"Y-You idiot!" gasped Vamalia. "I'd never have guessed you could be so rash. What the hell was all that for, anyway?"

The corner of Ralek's lips twitched as he momentarily grinned.

"These spear-like weapons are imbibed with a sort of...synthetic Anima. They're manufactured, but they're still..." he paused for breath. "...they're still powerful enough to shatter the bars."

Vamalia grimaced as she viewed the javelin still stuck through Ralek's leg.

As he made to get up, she shouted, "Wait! Don't move, dimwit."

She kneeled down to his level and examined the spear.

"Alright. Grit your teeth for a second."

She grasped the handle, and tore it loose from its fleshy confines. Her face became peppered with blood.

Ralek grunted, but otherwise displayed no sign of the pain.

Vamalia used her teeth to tear a bolt of cloth away from Ralek's cloak, before using it as a makeshift bandage. The black of the cloth immediately tinted a darker crimson color as the bloodstain crept slowly from the center outwards.

"...That should hold it for a bit. But," she chewed her lip. "You're in pretty bad shape."

He chuckled.

"Believe me, I've been in worse. I'm more struck by how odd this situation is. My self-appointed executioner, caring for my injuries?"

She blushed.

"L-Like I said, you jerk! I'LL be the one to end your life!" Flustered, she attempted to change the subject. "B-Besides! You're acting weird, too! Especially with that..."

She could not bring herself to mention the word directly.

"That...that...you know what I'm talking about!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"The kiss?"

"Yes, the fucking kiss!" she seethed, still blushing. "Pray tell, why in the nine circles of Hell would your stupid plan require you to paste your damn mouth over mine?"

"Well, it was just to get their attention. I had to get them riled up, you see. I told you, didn't I? That the guards here are enforcers of the highest caliber. They let nothing be led astray, and will not tolerate misconduct within the cells of any kind. Whatever shouldn't happen will not happen, is their creed."

"Then couldn't you just...I dunno, insult them or something?"

"They would not have responded to insults. Those aren't deviations, and they wouldn't have spared me a second glance. Something must diverge from the norm within the cells for them to notice it."

"Then we should have staged a fight or something! If we started fighting, that certainly would've caused a disruption! We didn't have to kiss."

She spoke the word as if it was venom in her mouth.

"Yes, I suppose a fight would have sufficed."

"Wh-then why did you...?" she trailed off, perplexed.

He shrugged.

"I thought this would be less of a hassle. I'm tired of always fighting you."

She gaped at him, as if she didn't properly hear his words.

"I don't believe this," she sighed.

Ralek merely stood up slowly, wincing once more as weight shifted onto his wounded ankle, and stepped towards the cell door.

With a bellow, he swung the shaft of the javelin at the bars. The point, still glowing white, crackled as it impacted the thin, metal cylinders.

Ralek gritted his teeth as he strained himself, continuing to press the weapon against the bars. Eventually, through persistence, the energy seared indentations into the formerly smooth steel surface, and Ralek finally managed to demolish the rods at the middle. Fragmented, they collapsed inward, towards Ralek, before clattering to the ground.

The endeavor left a section of space just wide enough for a person to sidle through.

Sweat dripped from the end of Ralek's nose as he gasped for breath.

Vamalia glared stonily at him, before snorting.

"Give that to me."

Ralek gave her a sidelong glance, and obliged.

Weapon in hand, Vamalia grasped it with both palms and pointed it downwards. With precise stabs, she severed the chains binding both her and Ralek.

She paused her movement to gaze at its pulsing tip.

"You're absolutely certain this is a 'high security facility'? It seems awfully incompetent of them to have guards walking around with the very tools that could be used to escape."

Ralek smiled wearily.

"You overestimate the average detainee, Vamalia. These guards are about on par with the highest ranking officers among Dominion troops, in terms of being highly trained. There really aren't many who exist that are able to overpower them."

She pursed her lips.

"...And yet, you did so almost effortlessly, with a scorched back and an bleeding shoulder. Without the use of Anima, even."

She shook her head.

"You...really are a monster."

He laughed weakly.

"Tell me something I don't already know."

Vamalia noticed that, as he said that, his eyes glazed over with a forlorn look. His mouth was smiling, but remained tight while doing so.

"...Hmph."

She bent down and grabbed his right arm, slinging it over her shoulder with a grimace on her face.

When he glanced towards her quizzically, she replied, "Not even you can move about freely in this condition. Like this, you won't be as much of a burden."

As she supported his weight, the pair of them exited their holding cell and continued along the hallway. Escaping from the dungeon went smoother than Vamalia would have first expected. There was a clear route among the hallways which lead to stairs that stretched up toward what must have been the ground floor of the facility.

As soon as their heads emerged from the stairwell, Ralek spoke.

"From here, Anima restrictions are not present. It is a simple matter to blow away a section of the wall and sneak out."

It was then that Vamalia noticed their surroundings. They were in a grand hall of sorts, except there was no hanging chandelier or extravagant ornaments or majestic stairs. There were merely lengthy wooden tables, rough around their jagged edges, and torches set in dreary stone walls.

"Where are we, exactly? How far did they take us?" she whispered, as if afraid that speaking too loudly would violate a taboo within this eerily silent hall.

"Not far in the slightest. The Dominion headquarters are located right in front of the security facility. I would hazard a guess that your companions are still caught up within the throes of battle just outside of this building."

Vamalia set her mouth in a tight line.

"Fine, then. I'll get us out."

She shuffled towards the wide expanse of wall on the east side of the building, and used her free arm to extract from within the depths of her chest a pulsing white orb.

She hurled it at the wall, which immediately burst outwards, the rock shattering upon impact. The explosion left wispy smoke behind, blurring the outline of whatever was behind it.

"Tch. I guess I wouldn't expect them to build a prison with thin walls. I dented it, but there's still a sheet of rock blocking our way."

"Try again," came Ralek's soft voice.

Vamalia was slightly alarmed by how weak he sounded, but nevertheless heeded his words, and threw another compact sphere of energy at the crippled wall.

She did this twice more after that, before the final, flimsy portions finally gave way and revealed to them the outside.

A trifle blinded by the sun, Vamalia shielded her eyes while continuing to drag Ralek with her.

As they stepped across the threshold, a voice trickled down from above.

"Well, well. What do we have here? A couple of lost little caged canaries."

Vamalia snapped her gaze upwards to see a young woman with a head of violet hair sitting daintily atop the facility's terraces.

"Eve," she heard Ralek speak, "The Master's primary tactician."

Eve's tinkling laugh reminded Vamalia of bells.

"Lord Braelhei was most displeased by your rebellion, Ralek. But I think he was more disappointed that you were idiotic enough to believe that we would let you get away."

She waggled her finger, as one would to scold to a child.

"Ah, what to do, what to do...well, only one thing to do, really."

She motioned behind her, and it soon became clear why when several people emerged from behind her, silent as shadows, and gazed down at them with listless, vacant looks.

Vamalia felt a tug at her side, and met Ralek's gaze.

"Run," he said while nodding.

She did so, but it became more of a plod along the way because of the extra weight that Ralek bore.

"Well, that won't do," pouted Eve. "How 'bout we let one of our most seasoned puppets handle this? Midna? You there?"

From Eve's side emerged someone with excessively tanned skin. Her features, although beautiful, carried no indication of her having a mind of her own. Her eyes were misted over and her pupils were dulled behind her half-lidded stare.

She suddenly leaped out over the terrace, before landing silently on the ground. Giving chase, she reached inside her chest and coated her fingers with a dark smoky substance. She pointed one such finger at Vamalia's retreating back, and fired a thin beam of black, one which streaked forward in an instant.

Vamalia furrowed her eyes and threw herself and Ralek to the side, narrowly avoiding the cylindrical spike of darkness.

"Vamalia," Ralek murmured. "Leave me behind. You'll never outrun them whilst carrying me."

"Shut up!" she retorted. "I'll damn well make sure we both escape! You're not wriggling out of this one that easily."

She hauled him up by his arm, which she once more slung over her shoulder, and continued to stride ahead.

She was startled, however, when a tree just to their left exploded when struck by a yellow cone of energy. She swiveled around to see that others had joined Midna in her attempt to kill the both of them, all of whom appeared to be under Eve's control.

She gritted her teeth, and set off at a faster pace than before.

All around them, bundles of flames erupted, emitting thick fumes into the atmosphere as Anima rained down mercilessly from the sky.

"Don't worry!" Vamalia breathed desperately. "D-Don't worry. We'll not get stopped...by something like this..."

Suddenly, Vamalia witnessed, out in the distance, a cloud of trampling feet rushing. With Sesshoumaru at the fore, and his brother trailing just behind, a sea of determined faces, Link's, Zelda's, and Kagome's included, bloody and battered but still alive, washed relentlessly towards them.

A relieved expression encompassed Vamalia's visage.

"They're here! See, Ralek? I told you, we're going to-"

Her next words were cut off as she felt a slight shudder emanating from right beside her.

She looked down to her side and saw Ralek, wide-eyed, his heart run through by a single arrow, composed solely of dark energy.

Behind them, Midna slowly lowered her twilit-manifested bow.

For an eternity contained within a moment, time seemed frozen, and Vamalia could not exactly believe her eyes nor register what had happened.

Ralek hacked and coughed up blood, painting the ground crimson. He slipped from Vamalia's grasp and fell backwards.

The scarlet liquid now seeped from the sides of his mouth as he choked it out.

"Wha...Wha..." Vamalia babbled.

"I...suppose...my obligation to you...will...regrettably remain...unfulfilled, hm?" He managed to disjointedly wheeze.

Tears leaked, unhindered, from Vamalia's eyes, as if by some automatic response. As if her soul had dictated it that way. She could not fathom or understand it. Regardless, they dropped down in droves and blended with Ralek's blood.

"No," she whispered hoarsely, as she bent low over his body. "No, you can't...you're not allowed to...your life-" she hiccuped.

"Your life was supposed to be in my hands!" she spluttered.

"I'm the one who'll kill you. Nobody else but me..."

She continued to weep, even as both sides of people drew closer and closer.

Water droplets blurred the specks of blood as they fell upon Ralek's face.

"Don't..." Her gaze was downcast, and her voice intoned despair. "Please don't die..."

Ralek gave a smile that cleaved through rivers of red.

"Remain...resolute, Vamalia. I'm not...sure what drove me...to come along with you...but it is an irrevocable force...nonetheless. Anima is...the vigor of one's soul. Never...forget...to embrace...and reign in...that vigor."

His breaths came out sharper and more labored than before, but he continued to smile regardless.

"Without you..." Vamalia whimpered. "Without you, I..."

"Come on," Ralek coaxed, with the remaining vestiges of his breath. "You can...carry on fine...without me. Right...? Don't be such a...shortsighted...mortal."

Even as the word escaped from his sanguine lips, Ralek's eyes widened, and an iota of life returned to them.

Vamalia, too, stared at him in wonder.

Moments passed with them merely gazing at one another, as if truly seeing other for the first time.

Sitting on the terrace, Eve turned to look at a figure beside her, one easily several times her size, cloaked in shadow.

"It would seem, my Lord, that your plan to deter them has failed."

"...It indeed appears that way. I've...underestimated them rather harshly, I believe."

"Excuse me for my impudence, my Lord, but trust me when I say that you really should never do so, whenever dealing with him."

"I suppose you would know him better," he answered.

She smiled sadly.

"Ghosts from years past are all I can draw from, I'm afraid."

She did not stop crying in the least. Rather, the tears dripped down as intensely as ever. But now she, too, smiled at him.

Through her watery gaze, she could see him sighing, whether in irritation or serenity she could only guess.

"Ral-" she paused and shook her head. "No. Do you...remember?"

"As fervently as I ever did, Lia."

A sob wracked her body, and she covered his hand with her own.

"Dan..." She wailed. "Dan...Dan..." she repeated, over and over.

Her muttering slowly died down and gave way to more sobbing.

"Real?" was the only word she could make known to him amidst her mess of tears.

"Entirely separate lives devoted to it..." he responded. "But no less real."

She couldn't take it anymore, and flung herself down and embraced him with all her might, even as storms approached from either side and blades flashed and arrows glinted and glaring light swallowed the world from the ground up and infinite cosmoses were ripped apart at the seams once more.

Author's Note: I actually like this chapter quite a bit. Plus, it signals the conclusion of this particular arc, so I tried to make its ending as sensational as possible. More shamelessly, I just love "character-regains-lost-memory-of-separate/past-life" situations. And with this, the story is nearing its end; Feral Souls will soon reach its epic finale! If all goes according to plan, anyway. I hope the chapter was enjoyable. Even if extremely delayed in its release, it's at least long, right? A whopping over five thousand words, even! Reviews are most heartily welcomed!

Random Quotation of the day:

"A fair price ... is nothing to be trifled with."

Tsubasa Chronicles is SO awesome. Epic to the highest degree, one might say.