((A/N: Spiritua Masquerade: Whee, not long left. This'll be 30 chapters at the very most, and likely more like 27. But... First, I gotta get through this chapter. I'm horrid at action scenes. Xx Ah well, I'll do my best. ON WITH THE FICCAH!))

Chapter Twenty-Five (Kratos's PoV)
The Battle.

My chest heaved with effort as I threw myself backwards, lungs crying out for air. In the moment before my two-headed beastie threw itself my way, I sucked in a ragged breath, only to choke as my tense and overstrained muscles readied to roll out of the way. With the feeling of suffocation sending my instincts into panic, I scarcely moved in time to avoid a massive red talon aimed to spear through my heart. I misjudged the strength of my roll, however, and ended up with my face to the dirt. Rolling myself over, I came face to face with the other clawed forelimb. My eyes widened in horror as it came in heavy impact with my chest.

"Guardian!" I gasped as the air was driven from my lungs and at least one of my torso bones snapped with a sickening crack.

"KRATOS!" I heard Yuan cry, but it seemed far away. Was I dead? Surely I couldn't hear Yuan if I was dead.

And I was right. The distance of the sound was due to the barrier of the Guardian as it expanded forcefully from my body, shoving the dragon foot from my chest and sending it recoiling in alarm. It snarled in defiance, snaking a head at my leg, the closest appendage, with teeth bared menacingly. I swung Spatha hastily in that direction, and the head dodged back, hissing furiously. It was obviously getting frustrated with my determination to live.

"Kratos!"

At Yuan's call, my head whipped around, just in time to see Muris flying my way with unearthly speed and accuracy, his reaper-like scythe poised to rip out my throat. Yet I found I couldn't move. My eyes widened as I struggled, but it was as if I was paralyzed from the neck down. There was nothing I could do but close my eyes tight against the death sure to come. But rather than the deadly hiss of the scythe in motion, a roar of fury split the air, and my eyes snapped open, in time to see a blue and black blur ram into Muris from the side.

Yuan!

At once I felt my body released from Muris's control. The pair were sent rolling to the side, wrestling for the upper hand. I leapt to my feet, ready to leap to my companion's aid, but a horrific hiss of triumph sounded from behind me, less than a second before four serrated claws tore down my back, and a blinding pain sent me tumbling to the ground in agony. I heard a scream of pain, the agony so clear in the tone that if I wasn't already near immobile, I would cringe away with the force of it. Yuan! I have to get to Yuan! I forced my eyes open against the pain, and staggered to my feet, only to find him looking on in horror.

I realized it wasn't the half-elf that had screamed, but myself.

The way he looked at me, the utmost torment and terror in his eyes, it was as if I were dead. That's how I felt, quite honestly. I couldn't even breathe, what little air I could draw into my lungs past the pain making me even more asphyxiated. It tasted rancid, acidic. Smoke! My gaze swept the surrounding area, to find that we were surrounded in a ring of fire. Yuan was still gazing at me, that look still frozen on his face, Swallow lowered to his side, the battle all but forgotten.

Muris, much to my surprise, didn't take that chance to slice him down. He was instead floating up casually to rest on the dragon's right head, a smirk on his face. I gazed at him a moment, eyes narrowed. Hah. Despite his cocky façade, I could see the strain in his eyes and the way he held his muscles. He was bleeding several places, though none serious, so I'm guessing it was the strain on his mana after hanging around without using it for so long that fatigued him so. By the looks of it, we had a few moments.

I tried to take a step toward the bluenette, but the dizziness overwhelmed me and I fell to one knee, lurching precariously to the side, and still barely holding myself up even when I placed a hand on the ground for balance. The world spun before me, half from the pain and half from weariness. But I had to keep going. Keep trying. Forcing myself to my feet, I staggered toward Yuan, and he jogged, far more steadily than I, to meet me halfway. Then, the momentum that had held me somewhat upright came to a halt, and I staggered once more. He hesitated, unsure of where to touch that wouldn't cause excruciating pain, before placing both hands on my shoulders. I winced in pain, and he winced as well, sharing my discomfort.

"Are you alright?" I demanded, though my voice was slurred with exhaustion and blood loss. He laughed almost silently in incredulity, shaking his head slightly.

"Kratos... How are you not dead?" He breathed in disbelief, and I laughed dryly.

"Well, I think I'm breathing, somewhat at least," I managed to joke dryly, though my words were nearly incomprehensible. "And I'm talking, so..."

"No, I mean... Kratos, it crushed you, then it ripped you in half." He accentuated each reason as if to make a point. I half-shrugged, mustering the energy to speak again.

"People... They do the impossible... When they're in love..." I murmured, and his eyes widened, before narrowing mutinously.

"Now you listen, and you listen good, Kratos Aurion," he hissed, his grasp on my shoulders tightening. "If you start getting all sappy and mushy and disgusting, I'll feed you to that son-of-a-bitch myself."

I blinked appreciatively at his defiance, as it raised my spirits slightly, even in the face of certain doom. The dragon snorted impatiently, and both of our gazes shot to our opponents, but Muris still sat in recuperation. When our gazes met, his grip on my shoulders loosened, and, not expecting the change in balance, I collapsed slightly to the side, too weak to keep upright on my own. His eyes widened in helplessness, and he gazed deep into my eyes, searching for some sort of hope, some sort of sign that I wasn't gonna quit on him now.

"What do we do now?" He asked softly, his voice on the brink of breakdown. "We can't run, they'll hunt us down and kill us all the sooner..."

I brought my gaze up, a fire of defiance alight in my eyes. "Who said anything about running?" I growled with as much ferocity as I could muster with my slowly waning strength. Yuan's eyes widened ever-farther, this time in surprise and disbelief rather than helplessness.

"Surely you don't intend to-"

"Keep Muris out of my way. The dragon's mine. I'll show that bastard what Hell's like." I cut him off, forcing myself to my feet as steadily as I could manage. With a forceful flap of my wings, I was lifted into the air, Spatha in my right hand and Flamberge in my left. Muris rose to his feet, a hint of surprise in his features.

"Well, you sure are persistent, I'll give you that," he sighed nonchalantly, as if attempting to disparage our continuing to survive. "Alright, if you want to get killed quickly, rather than dying the slow death you're headed for as you are, your wish is my command. And pleasure, I might add." The dark seraph smirked, and I glared in return. "Ha. Do you really think you stand a chance?"

All of a sudden, I felt renewed. Refreshed. Re-energized. It was as if my body's mana had doubled, tripled. The pain from each of my wounds remained, just as excruciating as before, but it was dulled by this new sense of vigor and adrenaline that coursed through my veins.

Surprised, I glanced down at Yuan. He stood below me, palms raised toward me, and a white mist of mana flowed from his palms to envelop my body. In his eyes were a mixture of triumph, and the faithfulness a soldier shows his captain. His Captain.

Captain Obvious strikes again.

I couldn't help it; I grinned down at the half-elf, and a grin spread on his face in return.

Don't die, Kratos. His voice whispered in my head. I gazed at him in surprise a moment, before half-smiling.

I won't. Wewon't. Stories like this, they always end good. I thought in return. He seemed surprised as well, but didn't question either our mental connection, nor the fragile and easily contradicted hope my words held. In the face of potential doom, it was nice to have some sort of unquestioned hope.

After a moment, I tore my gaze from the bluenette's, raising it to the dragon and its master and readying the swords. I'm not sure if Muris gave some unseen command, or if the dragon just grew furious with impatience, but it let out a thunderous and malevolent roar, flames shooting from its mouth. I dodged to the side, and they flew into the tower of flames behind us. If we don't finish this soon and get the hell out of here, I realized, there won't be any island left to battle on. But there was no time to think. I flapped my wings and shot up into the air, swinging my sword at the beast threateningly. It roared once more, though this time flames only sparked from its nostrils, and within seconds it had unfurled its massive wings.

It took the beast one mighty flap to ascend as far as three flaps had sent me, I realized. This dragon could outfly me in speed, AND strength. But I had mana to my advantage, and maneuverability. With this in mind, I charged, and it flew to meet me. One head lashed out to bite me, and I fought it off forcefully with Flamberge, only turning in time to release a hasty Icicle spell at the other one before it clamped around my head.

"Grave Blade!" I commanded, swinging my swords at the head that wasn't occupied with the icicles. I didn't hesitate more than a second, using the distraction to zoom underneath the beast, slicing along its underbelly as I did so. The beast let out a screech of pain, and before I could react, I was struck in the side of the head with something very hard, while it at the same time impaled my shoulder. Though my vision blacked out with the pain and the force of it, I knew at once that I had come into range of the dragon's spiked tail... It was a wonder the spike that had dug into my shoulder had missed my head or throat.

I felt myself plunging toward the ground many hundreds of feet below, but was unable to do anything more than gasp in pain. I clawed through my brain, searching for the place from which I draw my mana, the place from which I use my seraph wings, yet I couldn't find it. I was stuck, wingless and plummeting toward the ground nearly twice the speed I could dive there of my own accord.

My body struck the ground, this I now know, but I didn't realize it then. It had struck with such force that there was a small crater where I landed, Yuan later told me. I don't remember. I must have blacked out. The next thing I myself can recall is standing, watching Muris and Yuan struggle desperately for the upper hand. The dragon was still above, this I could tell from the pained roaring and heavy drops of blood falling like rain, but I didn't think even once about its dangers. My eyes were locked on my comrade and my enemy, and their fierce death-struggle. I had both swords drawn, but I was frozen to the spot.

Muris... I watched him, and I couldn't help but feel a sort of awe. He wasn't trained, nor four thousand years old, nor even a true seraph, yet he was fighting with an almost effortless grace, despite the visibility of his strain. Not that Yuan wasn't strained either; no, sweat ran down his brow and he looked ready to pass out. Though I doubt he looked a fourth as bad as I did, I was angry at Muris for doing this to him.

"Thunder Blade!" I roared, and by the time Muris leapt to the side, it was already atop him. Wait... NO! YUAN! I realized my dire mistake only seconds too late. Yuan was there, right there! And he was unsuspecting as well! And he was so weak... I prayed with all my strength that I hadn't hurt him, or worse.

Yet, to my surprise, and apparently his as well, I saw him standing amidst the lightning, unfazed by even the slightest pain.

"Yeah!" He crowed in triumph, "Take that, you bastard!"

Now that he had the upper hand, I reached into myself and drew forth my wings, lifting myself up in the air once more. The dragon was watching me, and I could almost see its raw, unbridled fury in its eyes.

In the words of Yuan... Bring it, bitch.

And he brought it, diving at me as if my words had been aloud. I was ready though, dodging to the side as his gaping jaws soared past my head. I didn't dodge quite far enough, however, and the side of the jaw struck my shoulder. All of a sudden, there was an excruciating pain in said shoulder, though nowhere near the place the jaw struck. I felt my hand muscles strain open in pain, but not of my accord, and to my dismay, I saw Spatha slipping away, falling toward the turf. Toward Yuan and Muris.

"YUAN!" I roared, and he glanced up, leaping to the side just in time, much to my relief. Yet that still left me one-handed and one-sworded against a pissed off two-headed dragon. With claws. And a tail.

It lunged, and this time, I let it come straight at me, as Muris had done when I'd attacked him. Rather, I swung my sword to the right and my other arm to the left. Acquiescing my 'dodge', a head went left and a head went right. Yet I remained in the middle, my mouth muttering words so fast no crystal-less human could comprehend a single syllable. This was all in preparation, so when I swung Flamberge up and plunged it into the crook of the two necks, I could make my command:

"Holy Judgment Storm!" I bellowed, and before I could even comprehend the possible consequences of my newly combined spell, I heard what could only be described as a sonic boom, and an orb of raw, unharnessed mana surrounded both myself and the dragon. I dove for the bottom of the orb, toward Yuan, out of harm's way, but I had only made it three fourths of the way before there was a flash of blinding light, followed quickly by another, and another and another. It was Judgment, times nearly a hundred in frequency... And, judging by the pleasant tingle in my spine and my wounded areas, it had healing aspects as well.

Not for the dragon, however. I continued diving, but behind me, I heard an unearthly screech, unmistakably the screech of death. Yet it cut off, just as another boom sounded. The dragon was no more.

Both seraphim below were gazing up at me, awestruck. I glanced to Yuan pointedly, and he caught on at once, whirling on Muris with his hand around the archangel's throat before the enemy could even lift his weapon. Two cerulean eyes widened in horror at this change in power, yet Muris said nothing. I landed behind Yuan, stepping up behind him, yet not beside him. Muris was his.

"Yuan... You do not truly wish to kill me, Yuan," Muris murmured, his voice nearly a purr. The half-elf narrowed his eyes.

"And why the hell not!? You-, you-," he was nearly too furious to speak, but he realized this weakness and paused a moment. "You nearly killed me, and even worse, you nearly killed Kratos! And let me tell you something, you bastard, I would torture you in the cruelest and most excruciating ways possible, if I could. So I'll just settle for finishing you here and now," he hissed in rage.

"Yuan, Yuan, Yuan..." Muris laughed slightly, humorlessly. "I was trying to kill you as a gift of gratitude. I was giving you your deepest and strongest, to be with your precious Martel." Muris slowly reached out, touching Yuan with the slightest of touches on the side of the temple, his hand shaking with fatigue. "She wouldn't have wanted me dead, Yuan... She whom you promised to let me live."

Yuan's eyes widened in horror and he gasped as if struck in the stomach, but before another word could be said, he plunged Swallow through Muris's chest.

The dark seraph's eyes went round with fear, and he gasped in pain, falling to his knees. His black wings went limp behind him, and his hair fell over his face to obscure his eyes.

"There will not be a moment when you will not regret this, Yuan..." He whispered, his voice cold with the very essence of death. "I will always be there, Yuan, watching your every breath... You will wait, Yuan, you will expect me to come for you, but when I don't... You will drop your guard eventually, Yuan. You have to sleep sometime... And when you do..."

Yet he didn't finish his sentence. A horrible gasping was heard, and Muris collapsed to the ground. His body disappeared, claimed by the shadows.

"You will be dead..."

The voice was in my head, in my ears, all around me. I whirled around, trying to pinpoint the bastard's location. But all was silent. All was peaceful. Even the fires had gone out, upon Muris's demise. Yet a shiver still ran down my spine.

The half-elf sank to his knees beside me. His muscles were rigid, and his eyes were wide with shock and horror. Swallow was dropped to the ground, forgotten.

"Yuan?" I prompted, yet his gaze was fixed on something in the distance, though I knew he wasn't really seeing it, and his head was shaking slightly. I sank to one knee, grabbing him by the shoulders, and cringing in the pain it caused my entire body.

"Yuan!? Are you alright?" Yet he didn't seem to hear me. Suddenly, a memory flashed to the front of my mind, of a young blonde half-elf with bright blue eyes doing this exact same thing when his beloved sister had died. Mithos.

His breathing was rapid, almost hyperventilating-speed, and every muscle in his body was tensed to its limit.

"Enough!" I growled under my breath, grabbing him roughly with one hand on each side of his head and none too softly bringing his head forward so our foreheads met and he had no choice but to look me in the eyes. "Yuan, stop this!"

The bluenette blinked, startling slightly, yet obviously no longer in the state he was before. His muscles all went lax, and he collapsed against my chest, heaving deep breaths of recovery. I wrapped my arm around his back, half to comfort him and half to support his weight, hissing slightly in pain. My cheek rested softly on the top of his head. After a few moments of silence, his deep breathing grew less urgent, and when I was sure he'd for the most part recovered, I lifted my cheek and tilted my head so I could see his face.

"What was that?"

He looked up at me with wide eyes, as if he'd previously been unaware of my presence, though I know that's impossible, given our current position. Shaking his head helplessly, he struggled for the words.

"Martel..." He rasped, his voice labored.

"What about her?" I prompted, softly. His hand drifted protectively up to the side of his temple, resting in the exact spot Muris's had, and his eyes were almost glazed in pain.

"I saw her, Kratos... She was calling to me, telling me to join her," he choked out in torment. "She... She was so real, and I couldn't help it... I couldn't escape..."

A tremor racked his entire body, and he closed his eyes tightly, apparently fighting off... something. I wrapped my arm around him tighter, though I admit, I was still new to this whole 'comfort Yuan' thing. After a few moments, his eyes slowly opened once more, a pain incomprehensible to me in the depths of his eyes.

"When I stabbed him, I heard her scream. I killed her again, Kratos..." His voice was unsteady, and I could tell he was on the brink of another mental breakdown.

"Get a hold of yourself!" I commanded roughly. "You didn't kill her, you killed the one that tried to kill us, now if you're not going to pull yourself together and act like a man, then, goddammit, I'll beat it into you!"

He blinked up at me in alarm, too stunned to speak. I admit, I was surprised with myself. But I couldn't let him fall to pieces like that. It's just... not right. I don't know how to explain it, but... Yuan's not supposed to fall to pieces. I'd fall to pieces before he would, normally. Alright, I got frustrated. But... It seemed to have worked.

"Kratos..." He found his voice, quite obviously, though only barely.

"Yes, I know. I've a brilliant way with words, and I'm none too bad at this 'kickass' you find your pleasure in either." I smirked, and after a minute, he made a disgruntled 'feh' noise. My attempt to lighten the mood seemed to have worked.

"Arrogant bastard," he grumbled, a half-hearted attempt at anger, and I snorted in amusement.

"You love me anyways," I shot back, the one comeback I knew he couldn't deny. The bluenette seemed surprised a moment, before he narrowed his eyes mutinously.

"You can't even begin to fathom how lucky you are that you killed that dragon," he hissed, "or I'd make good of my earlier threat."

"Hah, I doubt it," I brushed off his half-hearted hostility, releasing my grip on him to allow him to fall unceremoniously in a heap in the dirt and rising to my feet.

Or at least halfway.

Then a horrible pain seized my entire body as strongly as Muris's levitation magic, and for a moment, I blanked out. Suddenly, my vision was swimming, and Yuan was above me.

"Either my directional senses have taken a drastic turn for the worse," I murmured, slightly slurred from dizziness and slightly labored from the pain, "or for some reason I'm on the ground."

He laughed nervously, apparently relieved by my attempt at dry humor.

"You collapsed," he offered, extending a hand to help me to a sitting position. "I think we've found your hidden talent."

"It's what happens when I'm stuck fighting both of our battles," I shot back, eyes slightly narrowed. He snorted indignantly, but chose to remain silent, stepping around to my back. "What are you doing?" I demanded quickly, cringing as the slightest of breezes sent my shoulder wound stinging.

"Shut up, you baby, I'm gonna help you," he grumbled, as if somewhat opposed to the concept. I knew it was just his bruised ego, however, and I didn't take it personally. At the metallic whoosh of Swallow being drawn, I cringed away, reflexively whirling my torso to face him. Sensing my disquiet, he drew back slightly.

"Trust me. I know that may be too heavy a concept for your brain to comprehend, but-"

"I got it." I cut him off, somewhat icily.

"Then turn around and for goddess's sake, shut up and let me work. I need to concentrate, unless you want to trade your health for your arm." He demanded, and I obliged, much to my own surprise. He was about to try and heal my wounds, when he couldn't even manage to seal a scratch in our cave practice, yet... I trusted him. He wouldn't hurt me, somehow I knew it.

So I sat as still as possible as he sliced the tattered and blood-stained shirt from my back, despite the wave of agony the crisp air inflicted upon it. I felt him hesitate a moment, the tips of his fingers brushing gently along one of the deeper wounds, so light that, if it wouldn't have caused an excruciating pain along the entire radius of the wound, it would have sent a tingle down my spine. Instead, the feeling that raced down my spine was more of a pained shudder, and I felt him withdraw hastily upon realizing the torment his fingertips were inflicting.

There was a moment of silence and still, where nothing moved and not a sound was made.

"First Aid!" I heard him murmur forcefully, and this time, when his fingers met my back, there was a pressure behind the touch. Yet it didn't hurt for more than an instant, and I slowly felt my wounds closing up, the blood veins and nerves rewiring themselves into proper function. Within two minutes, he'd healed the entirety of my back, and was slowly brushing over the wound where the tail spike had impaled my shoulder.

Now that the sharper, more excruciating pain was fading, I was suddenly aware of a horrible ache in my head and my mid chest. My hand raised to my temple, massaging it in hopes of relief, yet it only worsened the pain. This was now at least twice the size of the average migraine, plus the pain of my two or three broken ribs.

"There. Your back and shoulder are all healed... Though your back wounds were deep. It's pure luck that you made it..." The half-elf's voice was slightly grieving at the thought, but he shook himself out of the distress moments after. "They look pretty bad now, but hell, I'm new at this. Your skin'll probably be good as new, when it heals over." I could tell Yuan was proud of his newfound healing art, though I hoped he didn't intend to gloat on it for long. Almost immediately upon sitting back, he noticed the pained look on my face, asking, "what hurts?" His hand was ready, glowing with mana.

"My ribs..." I gasped slightly in response, "and... my head's none too happy either."

Obliging, he came around and crouched in front of me, examining my ribcage area. I couldn't help but look away, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed by his scrutiny, though I'm pretty sure it was in a merely professional way. That's one thing I dislike about sharing feelings: the awkwardness that follows.

He pressed his hand to my mid torso, fingers splayed to cover the most area, and I felt a tingling sensation creep beneath my skin.

"You're getting better at this," I complimented reluctantly, but rather than his usual cockiness, he merely seemed surprised a moment. Then, a devious smirk crept across his lips. I opened my mouth to demand to know what was so funny, but by the look on his face, the answer was soon to come anyways.

"First Aid," was the only response he offered, yet his eyes were hinting at some sort of hidden amusement. I thought a moment... He had put emphasis on his 'first aid' command, hadn't he? Wait... If he was healing it now, what was that tingling sensation before?

Eyes widening slightly, I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, and I turned away with a 'hmph', a layer of auburn bangs shielding me from what was undoubtedly the biggest smirk I'd seen in a thousand years.

All of a sudden, there was a curious yet very invigorating tingle in my, um, lower torso. Wide eyes shot to Yuan in alarm, to find his hand hovering about a foot above said area, First Aid mana forming a path from his hand to my pants, and an impish smirk pasted on his face. I let loose a growl of frustration, and within moments, I had him on the ground, a knee on his chest to hold him there, and my hand around his neck threateningly. His eyes were wide with surprise, yet he didn't struggle.

"I don't care how I feel about you, if you do that ever again, I'll kill you," I snarled angrily, quite obviously meaning it, or at least quite obviously acting like I meant it. I know this may seem a little harsh, but wouldn't it piss you off, if someone were trying their very hardest to humiliate you? Well it did me. Hmph.

To my great disbelief, he slowly started to smirk again.

"You can't kill me. I control you." He asserted, and I tightened my grip on his neck, though not so much as to restrict his breathing.

"How so?" I hissed, almost daring him to try it. Rather than speaking again, however, the bluenette slowly extended a hand and placed it on my chest. Immediately that tingling sensation returned, and I gasped slightly, jumping back out of his reach.

Having been released from my grip, he raised himself up off the ground, brushing the dust off his clothing, the smirk still present.

"Will you effing stop that?!" I growled, my tone gruff to hide the embarrassment slowly creeping once more across my face.

"I control you," he repeated, having proven his point sufficiently enough for his liking. I snorted noncommittally.

"Damned seraph senses," I grumbled under my breath after a moment, rising to my feet and brushing myself off as well. Standing so I faced away from the half-elf, I waited for the redness of my face to fade under the pretense of surveying our surroundings.

Things were silent for a while, as he as well gazed around. After a few minutes or so, his voice broke the silence.

"So... is it time to go?"

I glanced down at him, a wave of disappointment washing over me. He had his Renegades. Surely this would mean we would have to part ways...

I refused to let that happen just yet.

"No... No, I think we should check into Muris's base, see if there's anything of use that we can salvage for our own purposes," I offered, a pretty good plan for thinking on my feet. It seemed a pretty acceptable plan to him, for he nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Then it's off to the center yet again."

((Spiritua: Sorry this took so awfully long. Xx Our band is preparing to go play in Disneyland, so we have practices like every other day. Ugh. I hope it's good enough. :D))