Loke glared at the four floating ahead calmly. They seemed to regard him silently, before The silver female spoke softly.
"Hades, what should we do? Who will face him?"
"You know that our lives are connected together, Hades." The older one agreed. "Yukino, I, Angel, Orga, and finally you, we will all end if any of us would be defeated. But only one of us can fight to make it fair. Who?"
"It is a hard question, my dear." The voice in red answered the voice in white. "As our powers differ. You see, young spirit." His bony hand swept over the four forms, as his gaze shifted to rest on the womanizer. "I am a spirit who uses the souls here to stab you like arrows. Orga, on another hand, uses them to zap at you until you wither into nothingness… And Angel and Yukino, they command them as tools, the former to shoot, the latter to swipe at your person."
"My magic is light of the stars." Loke answered. Answers for answers. He felt his hair stand on edge. "Regulus grants me power."
"May he grant it as much as he can, spirit." Yukino whispered. "I will fight."
"Yukino, don't. Your spirits die faster and we cannot afford such a big lose." Angel hissed.
"I am a better choice than Orga."
"May it be." Hades sighed. "Go forth, youngest."
The black spirit said nothing, glaring at the hourglass.
Loke gulped as he silver lady glided to stand in front of him. He felt a bit sorry that he had to fight with the nicest one.
The creature slowly lifted her bony hands and lifted the hood off her face, exposing delicate, pale skin of a lady. White hair cascaded down her back and shoulders as she pulled it from underneath the robes, and her icy blue eyes stared at his awestruck frame, mesmerized.
I am tired. A voice suddenly spoke inside his mind. Rather, I'm tired.
I don't understand. She inched away and moved her hands into a fighting position, the lethargic, shadowy spirits from the past-agony state floating around her in a ring of will-o'-wisps. The exact same number of diamonds shook in the hourglass and slowly floated up, passing though the small hole and resting in the upper part.
I don't want to live forever.
Eyes widening, he ducked the first wave of rapid lights, sidestepping as they changed their course and aimed for his back. Building power within himself, he eradicated all of them easily, Yukino just smiling sadly as a pulse of her own painted crimson every moving soul in it's wake.
Why?
Every time I kill somebody, I feel it. The flash of foreign warmth, the arms reaching out to cradle you close.
Heaven.
Yes.
The balls collided, creating a being of darkness that she commanded with a gentle move of her arm. It lashed out at him with sharp tentacles, cutting a piece of crystal behind him as he ducked. In a flash, the remaining cluster of souls living in the room attempted to escape though the crack, frantically floating around. Few of the unlucky ones fell into the force of darkness Yukino emitted, and had something free about them taken away in scarlet agony.
I want that warmth. I long for it. Even if we are one, I don't want to spend eternity entrapped here with those three. They are old and they can bear it. But I'm young and I just want to be free.
What is your plan, undead lady?
I want you to kill me. I want you to kill them. Kill us. Free the remaining souls from the Dragon massacre. Purify the lost ones with Regulus. Make everything right again.
How?
First the mirrors trapping the souls. Then the hourglass where they are stored when they fall. Without souls, we are powerless.
Loke regarded the incoming attack from another summoned creature. He ducked again, but now the force halted before it could open another exit. The lady wasn't going to expose herself.
Grinning, he lifted his hand and shot the summon in the stomach, giving a few more shots as he kept on dodging the other one. Three slabs gave out on his ricocheting, and the entire room from the unseen top to the dark bottom was filled with raging souls trying to flee into heaven's grasp.
This play was going to be a tiring one, he thought. But he was happy from the outcome. If Yukino was truly his enemy he probably wouldn't be alive anymore, or still wondering what was even going on. He thought softly that she really deserved to go to heaven.
The other spirits watched calmly as she summoned more and more creatures, making crystals fly up the hourglass like the time was running back and calling them down as she captured her next victims. Then, sending them lashing at Loke or digging into the platform to jump from under him. There were no words spoken, just the roars of dissolving beasts and cracks from the snapping pieces under his wet shoes. Loke dodged and fired beams and rings of light to ward off his enemies.
After some time, the attacks suddenly halted. Yukino still floated, staring at the empty hourglass.
What is the meaning of this? Hades bellowed in her head, causing it to spin. In that very moment, she felt Loke kick her, the purified hip burning as she felt the lightheadedness of happiness.
Nothing, dear. I am just playing with this spirit.
She outstretched her arms wide, sweeping her eyes over the arena. It seemed as though enough spirits fled from the great mother. Only few of the crystals and mirrors remained.
Loke was almost kneeling from exhaustion, sweat dripping down his face. Regulus was wavering. But she had to finish this once and for all, and to do this she had to keep her cover to the end. She just hoped that her partner wouldn't die on her.
Her energy build up, taken from her very core. All of the present souls screamed in her mind, taken over by the darkest force. They started hitting each other, mutating… But what came out was far more terrifying than any creature Loke saw before. It was enormous, breaking slowly the hinges of the platform under its size and weight. In a moment of free will, it slammed a mighty hand down on the metal and rock, creating a clear hole and shattering the remaining, fragile magnets.
Don't look at it, don't even listen! It's going to kill you, so aim straight for the hourglass! Yukino screamed in her mind.
"What did you just say?"
The silver spirit squeaked, fear creeping up her being and the chill of rage from the remaining three immobilizing her.
They heard her. She screamed too loudly and their connected mind heard her.
Angel teleported in front of her, suddenly large and exploding with hellish energy. "Yukino! Traitor! You will pay dearly for this!"
Orga said nothing except for the hard grinding of his teeth, his own energy sparking in murderous waves. Hades outstretched his arms. "How could you…" But his words faded and he just stared grimly at her. He sensed something was wrong, but this was unforgivable.
Then he opened his mouth and instead spoke coldly and with great disinterest. "Lullaby was already cast and there are no means of forgiveness. We will subject you energy to the hourglass instead-"
A dry crack resounded thorough the arena.
In the moment where their focus was on the girl, they forgot about Loke completely.
His fist was alit with the force of life, and it was pushed over the elbow into the glass surface, shining like rainbow through the diamonds.
Yukino offered a smile.
Everything after that happened in a flash.
The hourglass exploded into pieces, withering into dust and sending the male flying in a haze of shimmering diamonds. The four beings underneath screamed as their lives were eradicated, exploding with black energy that splattered over the arena like buckets of ink. Lullaby yowled as it met the same fate, little white balls slowly resurfacing from its leftovers and vanishing in their journey to eternal rest.
The platform screeched, jumping up as it was freed, only to crack the hinges completely and fall together with the man, the crystal shining in the red light as it was lit by the scarlet moon. Gathering up the last remains of his energy, The womanizer aimed shakily for the powering larcyma and fired with all his might, slowly disappearing into thin air.
The last thing he saw was an explosion of black and purple, and the chime of thousands splinters hitting the granite underneath the machine.
Then he disappeared back into the spirit world.
As on cue, every bloodthirsty creature roaming the machine allowed themselves to fall limp on the ground and cease working, forever.
Dracolich screamed in pain, rage clouding its senses as he started to pound it's arms on the ground and set the bony wool on black fire. Within the flaming cover, Lucy exchanged Virgo for Aquarius, and the dragon floated over the tidal wave that answered his attacks a minute later, sending rain of spikes on the distracted blonde.
Lucy screamed in pain, a wool bandage swiftly making its way up her shoulder and newly hurt stomach, the dress soaking up the water and blood and halting her movements. "Try purifying arrows now, Sagittarius!"
"Milady!" The Spirit looked distressed. He should focus on her protection first.
"Don't worry!" Lucy yelled back at him, screaming and throwing herself on the ground as a new wave of spikes followed her statement. How could they be so plain and annoying but at the same time so dangerous? Her stomach was bleeding badly. "I… Still have Holorogium!"
"V-Very well, Moshi Moshi!" The arches mumbled, reading another arrow and sending it at the enemy.
Lucy watched, amazed, as the arrow seemingly flied through the colossal body, only to follow with a ray of light, leaving dissolved holes in the ribs and bone. "It worked!" She cried out in happiness, only to scream and cover her ears as a wild roar almost busted her eardrums.
Now she really agitated it.
Screaming as another wave of pillars rapidly moved closer to their position, she felt Pyxis yank her away and squeak as this time it was pierced in the stomach. Dissolving quickly, the compass looked at his shocked owner with affection.
"Pi… rincess… Pi… lease… Be more careful next time…"
With that, it was gone.
The seemingly smooth surface cut her hands and dress as she tried to stand up in the cluster of the attack. She heard her centaur grunt somewhere near, possibly hurt. Maneuvering out of the forest and scratching herself everywhere, Lucy stared at the shadow on the sky, tears starting to gather in her eyes and sliding down along the few wrinkles on her face. The last few minutes drained her a lot.
If only she could hit it in that crystal heart…
Zero laughed. Banging his fists on the controllers, turning the light on and off, he laughed hysterically as he grasped the idea of Leo winning against four purely undead. Slowly, the laugh turned into a mad scream of rage, and Zero screamed in turn, because how in the world could he lose one of his precious lacrymas! His babies!
"Not so funny anymore, huh?"
Whipping his head, he stared at the little fire bug as he stared back at him. How dare he that Ignir pup, that fire scum, mock him in his own domain? Two cats rested on each of his shoulders, but he shooed one away into a corner. Weren't they his experiments? His experiments should kill him! Or they had a deadly flaw on them!...
"Shut up!" Zero bellowed, standing in between the young man and a perfect triangle in the centre of the control room. "You should be dead by now!"
"Well, I'm not." Natsu answered calmly. Then, his expression formed into that of a bloodthirsty animal, fists igniting to point at him. "But you will soon be. I'll turn off that laser and destroy the engine. There won't be another accident like the before."
"You can't turn it off anymore! Unless you beat me, and destroy all of my babies!"
"It seems like one already said goodbye to you." Natsu offered a shit eating grin.
That was too much. In a flash, A dark rondo was fired at him, something that a pair of wings of the blue cat avoided easily.
"SHUT UP! SHUUUUUT UUUUP!"
"Oooops, Touché." The Fire dragon mocked, before he too got serious and raised the temperature of his infernos until they were white.
Time to handle the mad bastard the prize he should have obtained from his father.
Running up at each other, an exchange of black and white blows followed.
~HeartGold12