L&DH: And now that I'm back from a convention, here's a new chapter hot off the hard drive!
Tegan: *laughs* Who would have thought that all you needed for motivation was some geeking out and money spending.
Angelique: Well, I find shopping to be very therapeutic.
Jade: I'm just surprised how she's still functioning. All that walking around in heeled boots and waking up before the crack of dawn? Good thing this is a once-a-year thing.
Salem: Uh, Light? Wasn't there an issue that you needed to address?
L&DH: Oh, right! It's come to my attention that because this is an anime that not everyone has seen, not everyone understands what's going on, or is just confused by things. I'm SO sorry about that you guys! I've been trying hard to explain things in the chapters so it makes sense with what's happening, and to avoid spoilers that will be revealed in later chapters, but it makes sense that it doesn't totally cover it. So please, if you don't understand something, let me know in a comment. I don't want anyone to be confused while reading my stuff, so I'm more than happy to clear up your questions!
Dante: *smirks* And now that Light's apologized for her idiocy...OW! *gets thumped in the back of the head* Fine, fine! Light doesn't own Kingdom Hearts or Fairy Tail. She's WAAAAY to poor for that! OW! *gets thumped again* Anyway, both of those things belong to Square Enix and Hiro Mashima. All she owns, unfortunately, is this non-profit fanfiction and us unfortunate lackeys. Read, review, and enjoy...*glares at Light* Happy, oh over-bearing master?
L&DH: Very. ^^
"And this little guy here is Plue. He's a Nicola—a Canis Minor Celestial Spirit."
A peculiar sound, like a high-pitched squeal mixed with a cooing sound, exploded out of Angelique. The white-haired Dream Witch clapped her hands together at the sight of Lucy's small Spirit. Plue, as he was named, was a strange-looking, oddly charming little white creature. Maybe around a foot and a half feet tall, his disproportionately large, round head sported a yellow nose shaped like a cone. A large, goofy grin stretched his mouth out and contradicted all the trembling his small, tiny frame was doing. He looked nothing like a dog, but Angelique couldn't deny that he was adorable.
After learning about the true nature of Wendy's magic, the wizard guilds and Heroes of Light went on full steam ahead to come up with a proper game plan. Tracking down their missing comrades, and the people who kidnapped them, was top priority. With Erza's wellbeing hanging in the balance, time was of the essence. Salem warned that he wouldn't be able to hold off the poison indefinitely. They needed the healing abilities of Wendy's Sky magic to completely neutralize it. So they split up into groups and divvied up the Woodlands accordingly, setting off on a full-scale rescue mission.
Lucy, Angelique, and Hibiki had volunteered to stay behind and monitor Erza. With lots of free time on their hands, the two girls were spending it getting to know the insides and outs of each other's magic. Angelique found Lucy's Celestial magic—the power to call out spirits from the stars by using special "Gate Keys"—fascinating. The bonds formed between Celestial Spirit and contractor reminded her a lot of her and her Dream Eaters. The contract system was different, but it made plenty of sense. It seemed quite fair, in fact After all, Celestial Spirits were independent creatures as well, and not extensions of their Summoners like Dream Eaters were. Creating summoning schedules together seemed like a fair compromise to her.
And Angelique's Dream Eater summons were just as fascinating the Earthland guild wizard. It took a bit of careful explaining to help the blonde understand what exactly the Dream Eaters were. But after Lucy got the concept, she was eager to see Angelique's Spirits up close and personal. That led the two girls to introduce their summons to each other. Well, Lucy could only summon a few of her Celestial Spirits, but the Dream Witch wasn't too disappointed.
Seeing the diminutive little creature gave Angelique a great idea of who to summon next.
"Oh, zere is one Spirit you simply must meet! Gabrielle! Come out, s'il vous plait!"
Angelique held her hands out. A puff of bright pink smoke appeared at her finger tips when one of her most trusted Dream Eater friends made her grand entrance.
Around the same size as Plue, this little Spirit had light pink skin with purple oval shapes under her yellow eyes that looked like blush marks. Yellow and pink hair fanned out around her head with two tufts spread out like a set of wings. Funnily enough, the Dream Eater had an actual set of wings, delicate and rose-colored, growing out of the back. Unlike other Dream Eaters, this one wore a white dress, one with a long skirt and sleeves. A magenta ribbon tied around her waist as a sash, holding a Spirit emblem up and displaying it proudly.
"And zis is Gabrielle," Angelique introduced cheerily. "She is my Bellaphim Dream Eater. Gabrielle, say 'ello to Lucy and Plue."
The Dream Eater blinked her eyes sleepily and waved a hand, her typical form of greeting. Gabrielle rarely ever spoke. She was one of Angelique's more silent Spirits, barely ever making as much as a peep. Whenever she was summoned, the small, cherub-like creature had a tendency to float around noiselessly, following her Summoner around like a ghost.
Like now. Once they'd been introduced, Gabrielle fluttered around in deceptively drowsy state. Plue followed after as the Dream Eater made her way over towards the other end of the small glade Angelique, Lucy, and Hibiki had converted into their "home base". She turned in small circles and loops, like a feather on a gust of wind, until she came up to Erza's unconscious form. Blank, daffodil yellow eyes stared long and hard at the injured young woman as she circled above her head. Eventually, the small Dream Eater dropped down on the ground next to the Requip wizard's ear and pushed Erza's long, scarlet locks around until they formed an odd little nest. Nodding slightly, Gabrielle settled down in Erza's hair.
"What's she doing?" Lucy frowned, unsure of what to make of the little Dream Eater's strange behavior. Angelique smiled, a little giggle bubbling up out of her.
"Gabrielle is kind of like ze 'guardian angel' of my Spirits," she explained. "She is watching over Erza to make sure zat nothing bad…'appens to…'er…"
The young witch stopped as she caught the worried look that crossed the Fairy Tail wizard's face. Lucy stared at her friend, eyes darkened by anxiety and worry.
"Please everyone…Hurry…"
Angelique put a comforting hand on Lucy's shoulder and leaned over, touching shoulders with the blonde. "Do not fret, Lucy," she said softly. "Erza will be alright. You shall see."
Their captured friends would be rescued and Erza would be cured, she was sure of it. Then they would all go stop the Oracion Seis and the Organization together.
"Everyone's made it into the forest," Hibiki announced. The Blue Pegasus wizard stood not too far off from the girls, monitoring the others' progress through his Archive magic. He glanced over his shoulder towards them.
"You sure you don't want to go too?"
Lucy sat back on her heels and shook her head. She hadn't left her injured guild mate's side since Erza collapsed. It was painfully obvious that she didn't want to leave her friend's side. The problem was that Angelique could see something else was eating at the girl. The bittersweet smile on her face said it all. It wasn't just the poison running through Erza's system that worried Lucy…
But if not zat, what is troubling 'er?
"We can't just leave Erza alone, can we?" she asked. "And when it comes to fighting, clearly I'm going to be the least useful."
Angelique blinked. Least useful? That wasn't right. "Now zat is just silly. You are a wizard, non? Of course you would be useful."
"Easy for you to say," Lucy replied glumly. "You haven't seen me in action. I'm easily the weakest in the group." Lucy shook her head and sat down on the ground.
The white-haired witch remained standing, a frown creasing her face as she shook her head in denial. That didn't make sense at all. There was no weak magic, let alone summon-type magic. And even if there was someone who was the "weakest" in a group, that didn't mean that they were completely weak. A lack of physical strength could be overcome by substituting it for another strength. Quick wit. Agility. Intelligence. And if a person considered themselves weak, that just meant they lacked the proper confidence
"Well, what about you two?" Lucy looked expectantly to Hibiki and Angelique. "Shouldn't you go with the others?"
Hibiki shrugged. Although he was one of his guild's more famous wizards, he wasn't known for his fighting ability. The Blue Pegasus wizard's strengths laid in intelligence gathering and strategy. Archive was a strange magic, strange and a little unorthodox. It collected and stored information, making it easily accessible to the user at the wave of a hand.
It was funny. Archive actually reminded her of a computer. There was one in the study back in her house in the Realm of Sleep. Angelique never really used it, but she used to watch her parents work on it all the time when she was younger. Jean-Louis, and Marie Versailles were always balancing his scholarly work with her writing. Hibiki's Archive was pretty much a portable, magic-powered version of a computer.
His strength didn't come from fighting. Angelique, on the other hand, was a different story. Being born into one of the oldest and most powerful Dream Eater families, she had more than just potential. Her Dream Eaters and Heavenly Light magic were both equally suited for defense and offense. Extensive training had honed her skills with spell casting and fighting with her lance. Realistically, she would have been pretty useful out in the Woodlands. So…Why wasn't she out there?
Oh, that's right. She was scared.
In all honesty, she hated fighting. Violence had never been Angelique's cup of tea. It wasn't like she was squeamish or anything. She understood full well that sometimes, negotiating things out just didn't cut it. Sometimes, you needed to fight to protect yourself or others. But she was like her mother; she didn't have the heart for it. It was only on account of her father that she even knew how to fight in the first place. He insisted that she knew how to defend herself. But every time she participated in a fight, it hurt her. Hurting others was horrible. She could force herself to engage in skirmishes with creatures like the Heartless and the Nightmares, but she still had a hard time bringing herself to harm any person. Nobodies were even a challenge, even more so now that she was friends with one.
And then, there was the issue with her brother…
"Angie…?"
Fingers waved deliberately inches away from her nose. Startled, Angelique's head shot up as she snapped out of her daze. Lucy and Hibiki were staring at her, both looking a little perplexed. She flushed bright red immediately.
"O-Oh, um…Yes?"
Lucy's head tilted slightly to the side as she regarded her. "Are you alright, Angie? You seem a little…distracted?"
Well, distracted wasn't too far from the problem. With everything that had happened, distracted was an unfortunate bonus. An unwanted job hazard. If only distraction was the only thing keeping her mind occupied…
"It…It is nothing. Please, do not worry."
Angelique tried to smile, but she was sure it looked just as strained and forced as it felt. She'd never been much of an actress. Whenever something was bothering her, something always gave her away. She had no poker face. Even her voice sounded unconvincing. There was no way anyone would by that there wasn't anything wrong with her.
"Really, I am just…fine…"
And no surprise, Lucy wasn't convinced in the slightest. Heaving a heavy sigh, she moved closer towards the white-haired girl and stared hard at her. Angelique flinched back from that unblinking brown-eyed look.
"Angie, come on," the blonde Celestial wizard pressed. "What the matter? Are you worried about Salem? He seems capable enough to deal with the poison."
Angelique sighed, shaking her head. "No, it is not zat…It is nothing…It…"
Hibiki, who had set Archive on standby mode just minutes before, took up a sitting position on the other side of her. The ever present, easy-going smile had dimmed a bit and the Blue Pegasus guild member contemplated Angelique seriously. When he spoke, he did so with carefully measured words.
"Is it your brother, perhaps?"
Angelique started. How did he…?
Her face must have given her away, because Lucy caught on quickly. Her unrelenting stare softened as the proverbial light bulb went off above her head.
"That kid with the red hair and the scythe…That was him, right?" Angelique nodded dumbly and Lucy grimaced. "Wow, and he was really going after you, too. How in the world did that happen?"
An odd, bitter laugh—something very unlike Angelique—came out of the witch before she could help herself. "Zat is exactly what I would like to know…"
Angelique couldn't count how many times she had wracked her brain, trying desperately to come up with an answer. For the life of her, she could not figure it out. What had caused her little brother to run away from the Realm of Sleep two years ago? That wasn't just something normal ten-year-old boys decide to do, just out of the blue and without any word of warning. And for that matter, what could have possibly caused him to break one of their people's most powerful taboos? Nightmare magic was extremely dangerous for their people to practice. It had severe consequences, life altering ones! Dante knew that.
And to join the ranks of such an unscrupulous bunch of villains like the Organization. It was completely unlike Dante. Those people were putting the lives of everyone in danger. Her brother wasn't like that. Or at least, she thought so…
How could he worry them like this? What was he thinking? Did he really hate his own family so much that he'd risk everything for this?
Those questions plagued the Versailles family ever since their youngest member vanished. So many sleepless nights considering those questions over and over again. So many anguished tears and frustrated screams for lack of any answers. Countless hours exhausting every idea and lead they could think of to bring him home.
For two, long years all of that stress built up inside Angelique, bubbling and eating away at her. While others back home had given up on Dante, Angelique refused to do so. When people threw in the towel, she doubled and tripled her efforts to find him. She even shocked everyone by declaring her intention to leave the Realm of Sleep to bring him home once they finally found him.
Dante was her little brother, her family. Family had to stick together and stand by each other. Hope was what kept her going, pushing her to keep going, but everyday she felt the strain weigh down on her more and more. Every day that passed was another day that Dante kept stewing himself in Nightmares, and with the horrendous things he'd been up to as of late, it was getting harder to keep faith in him.
And that both sickened her and terrified her.
"I never could understand it," she moaned. Tears sprang up in the corners of her eyes and she scrubbed them away furiously. "Dante was never abused back 'ome. We 'ave everything we could ever want. Mother and Father and I love 'im so much. Why would he just leave…?"
She was almost at a breaking point. All Angelique wanted was her little brother back the way he was. Before it was too late…
"Zis will be your duty, zen. Prove to us zat 'e can be redeemed. Or else we will 'ave no other choice…"
Her stomach twisted into a tight and painful knot. Her hands clenched so hard that her nails dug deep into the flesh of her palms. The sharp little pains jolted Angelique.
"I must 'elp Dante," she breathed. "Before it is too late…"
Lucy and Hibiki started at the odd tone of the witch's voice. A grim note of worry tinged her voice, eliminating its characteristic cheer. The girl pulled her legs up to her chest, burying her face in her knees.
"Angie…?"
"What's wrong?"
Lucy put her hand on Angelique's back. "Talking about it will make you feel better," she said gently. "What's going to happen to your brother if you can't save him?"
Before she could stop herself, Angelique found herself telling the two wizards about Xehanort's plan for his Vessels, word-for-word of what she heard from Vanitas and Tegan. If made her sick to think of some evil old man taking over her brother—only a young boy of twelve years old with his whole life ahead of him. Should Xehanort succeed, everything that made Dante himself would be wiped out, possibly even gone forever.
"You can't be serious?!" Lucy's jaw practically hit her lap. "That's insane!"
Hibiki nodded. "I can't believe something like this could be going on right under the nose of the Magic Council…Why haven't you reported any of this, angel?"
Angelique faltered. That had been a mistake. In her anguish, she forgot to be careful of what she said. These people couldn't know that there were worlds besides their own. The World Order had to be upheld.
"My friends and I," she said carefully. "We all come from a very far away land. We are only 'ere because zis is where we ended up in our search to defeat ze Organization. I do not zink any of my friends imagined zat zere would actually be Organization presence in your kingdom…"
"I guess that makes sense," Lucy said uncertainly. "But Angie, isn't there anything you could do for Dante? Does he even know what's going to happen to him?"
"I am not sure anymore," she admitted. "Dante knows full well what will 'appen to 'im should 'e continue to use Nightmare magic. If zat does not faze 'im, I do not know what will…"
For her people, even with their human appearances they were still Dream Eaters. While they may have been completely human once, long exposure to the Realm of Sleep over thousands of generations had caused them to gain Dream Eater powers. Angelique, Dante, and anyone else who lived in the Sleeping Realm was a human/Dream Eater hybrid. They were Spirits. Humans in the other realms referred to her people as "Incubi" and "Succubae"—sleep demons out of simple misunderstanding. A simple misconception, but there was some truth to the myths. Her people could interact with people's dreams, they just didn't do it in such an…unsavory manner.
In reality, her people were actually responsible for the protection of every sleeper's dreams. They were guardians. Protectors and saviors. They were the Dream Eater Spirits known as Chimera.
But by practicing Nightmare magic, a Chimera steeped their bodies with a Darkness so foul that it snuffed out all of the light in their bodies. It corrupted them and turned them into Nightmares. They lost all reason and humanity, turning instead into wild and uncontrollable monsters. Pureblood Heartless were vicious, yes, but they had nothing on a corrupted Chimera. If one of those poor souls were let loose inside people's dreams, nothing would be left but darkness, pain, and madness.
That was why Nightmare magic was strictly forbidden. That was why the Chimera hunted down and devoured Nightmares. And that was exactly why Angelique had to bring Dante back to his senses before it was too late. Because if she failed and couldn't get him to stop this, he would turn into a Chimera.
And he would perish.
…
…
WHAM!
"Augh!"
Jade felt the air leave her lungs in a rush as she slammed back into a wall of some sort. It had to be rock. Nothing else could dig into her back so painfully. Undoubtedly, her skin would be a mess of bruises later. What a joy…
What the bloody hell happened…?
"Eek!"
"Ahhh!"
WHAM!
"Ow!"
Oh, that's right. She, Wendy, and Happy just got bloody kidnapped by bloody Brain and the other bloody Oracion Seis wizards, AND the bloody Organization members. Now she had a bloody talking, flying blue cat and a blue-haired Dragon Slayer piled on top of her and they were surrounded by bloody bad guys.
Just bloody fantastic…
"Don't be so rough with them," she heard Happy shout angrily. "They're only girls!"
Despite the discomfort sweeping down her spine, Jade's reflexes were quick enough to snatch the feline out of Brain's reaching hand. Unfortunately, she went a little too far and got swept up in the moment. As her arm pulled back and her torso twisted, one leg shot out. Her heel connected with the back of the guild master's hand. Brain's entire arm jerked to the side.
Everything went silent. Jade gaped as her actions just sunk in. Did she…Did she really just kick a well-known, extremely dangerous criminal's hand? What was she thinking?!
The other members of the Oracion Seis looked on with mixed reactions. Angel and Hoteye actually looked shocked at what she did, sporting expressions Jade had no doubt that she sported as well. Hoteye's jaw hung completely slack and she was pretty astounded that his eyes were still in his sockets from how popped they went. Cobra looked mildly amused, thought she couldn't tell if it came from that fact that she had the gall to kick at his guild master or from how much her inner monologue was railing at her. Racer peered over the tops of his sunglasses. He was certainly amused, but wisely kept the bodily reactions to just his shoulders shaking ever so slightly. Laughing audibly would be just as foolhardy as Jade's kick. Midnight…Well, he was still fast asleep. Not that Jade minded all that much. She preferred that he still be sleeping. Much safer for everyone that way.
Brain's reaction, however, was the one that unnerved her the most. After she lashed out at his hand, he just froze in that position; arm lifted off to the side and completely still. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was statuary…
Jade flinched under Brain's unrelenting, blank stare. She wasn't normally this stupid. What had she been thinking?! Oh, of course. She hadn't.
Jaclyn, you complete and utter fool! This isn't like a video game, or an episode of Fairy Tail! This is reality now. You can't afford to act like a lunatic!
She had to remember that. She understood better than anyone else how dangerous these wizards were. Jade, who barely had any real fighting experience under her belt and a limited control over her cards, was badly outclassed here. Not to mention, completely outnumbered. Happy couldn't fight, and she was positive that Wendy would be too frightened to try. She had to play things smart for all of them.
She swallowed the thick lump in her throat. "Leave them alone…"
Wendy and Happy cowered behind her. Jade put herself in front of them. She spread her arm out in front of the two, a rather pointless gesture but one she hoped reassure them anyway. It took some effort, but she managed to force herself to look back up at Brain, throw on the fiercest scowl she could, and hold her ground.
Racer finally gave in to his humor and laughed. "Haha! Kitty's got claws, doesn't she? So Brain. Who are these girls?"
Jade tuned out all conversation that happened between the guild wizards in favor of examining her surroundings.
The cave that the Oracion Seis made into their base of operations was a lot narrower than it was shown in the anime with a much higher ceiling. The cave was more like a tunnel than anything else, one that had been used for some kind of spiritual practice, from the looks of it. The only sources of light came from some candles set up around an altar in the back of the cavern and from the entrance. Jade, Wendy, and Happy were currently huddled in front of said altar. All six of the Oracion Seis members made themselves obstacles in the way of a straight dash for the exit. And as she glanced around carefully, she could see Isa and the hooded Organization member standing even further behind the guild wizards. The two Vessels stood at the front of the tunnel's entrance.
She couldn't fight her way out. There were too many people who could overpower her in seconds. Her Heartless were out of the question. The small ones would get crushed and annihilated. And even if she managed to summon them, the stronger ones like her Pot Centipede and Parasite Cage were way too big for the cavern.
If Jade were just by herself, she might have taken the chance of just storming her way through the enemies, albeit a very small one. But she had two others to think about. There was no way she'd abandon Wendy and Happy. Jade would never be able to bring herself to leave someone behind to "save herself". The idea repulsed her. It was despicably selfish. And besides, as much as she hated to even think it, Wendy needed to stay here until the others came to rescue her. Too much depended on her staying and doing what needed to be done.
I just wish things didn't need to be so terrifying, she thought remorsefully. Wendy's just a child. She doesn't need this…
"You don't mean…?!"
Jade jumped when Cobra's shocked voice rose above all the chatter. She looked up just in time to see Brain nod his head and then turn towards them. Seeing his chilling, sinister smile form as he stared at Wendy made her stomach pitch.
"She will revive him…"
Wendy jolted. "I…I…! I won't help you people!"
Brain sneered. "But you will…You will."
The man took a menacing step forward, and Wendy pulled back. Another step, another few inches shuffled back. Finally, he stood directly in front of them. The little, blue-haired Cait Shelter wizard was pressed up against the alter, Happy clutched in her arms like a child's teddy bear. The dim light from the candles cast evil shadow across the man's face, highlighting his beady eyes and that sick, ghastly grin.
That was it. Jade shot to her feet, using all five-and-a-half feet of her to look as intimidating as possible. Cards appeared around her, spinning mad circles.
"Enough!" she roared. "Come any closer and I'll blow yer bleedin' head off! Piss off, you poxy bellend!"
Forget playing it safe. They were past that point now. Jade was not going to just stand by and let some bastard twat of an old man bully and intimidate Wendy. She already knew that Brain had no qualms about using brute force on people who got in his way, but would he use violence to coerce Wendy into doing things his way? Dear god, she hoped not. But if Brain tried anything, there was going to be repercussions.
"I swear to you," she growled, "If anything happens to Wendy or Happy…Guh!"
Cards dropped to the floor, bouncing off the stone and rock and shattering like glass. Fragments of black and white lights jumped around until they flickered out of existence. Happy yelped, with Wendy echoing him in a shrill scream.
"Jade!"
Brain turned, slamming the gray-eyed teen into one of the cavern walls. Jade gagged. The guild master held her up at arms length. Her feet kicked wildly from a foot off of the ground while she clawed with her fingers at the hand that wrapped around her throat in an iron grip. She could barely breathe, and getting smashed into solid rock didn't help in the slightest. The rough stone dug into her sore back, flooding her system with a sharp pain in the left side of her lower back. The shock made her cry out. Had something broken?!
"You are in no position to order me around, little worm." Brain tightened his grip around Jade's neck. "You are of no use to me. The Sky Maiden's powers will benefit us. You, however, are insignificant."
"Not exactly true, old man."
A cold, high snicker floated out over their heads. Jade focused on it and forced her eyes up. Lying stomach-down on a small ledge in the cavern's high walls was a young boy with red hair, wearing black clothing. His legs swung back and forth idly as two mismatched eyes—one red and one eerily glowing gold one—watched the scene play on with interest. A calculated little smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth.
That's…Angelique's brother…I wondered…where he…went…
It was getting harder to stay focused. Brain's grip on her windpipe only let a little bit of air reach her lungs. Jade was going to pass out soon; she recognized the symptoms. Tunnel vision was slowly creeping up on her. Her face felt like it was swelling a little. She wouldn't be surprised if her skin was starting to turn red at this point. She'd even stopped kicking, choosing to focus her energy on staying conscious instead.
Dante was staying something. Jade struggled to pay attention.
"…already have the little dragon girl, right?" he was saying. "Keeping this one around would do us all some benefit too. You know, a little game of 'Spider and Fly'. Set out some bait and your prey will come right to you."
"Dante is correct." From his spot at the cave's entrance, Isa leaned forward from the wall. "Now that you have one of their…friends…Not only will the Guild Collation come, but the other meddlesome 'heroes' as well. No doubt, they are combing the Woodlands as we speak. Why waste the opportunity to wipe them all out at once?"
Jade grit her teeth. Fat chance…you slimy, traitorous rat…! For once, you have no bloody idea what you are…dealing with!
Her head began to pound now. Each attempted breath turned into a harsh wheeze, punctuated by a sharp pain in her side. It wasn't the familiar burn of breathlessness. She tried to think back to all of those failed attempt by her father to teach her about medical sciences. It was highly likely that she had at least one broken rib. It hurt like hell, but she didn't think it had punched a hole in her lung at least. Hopefully none of her other organs were damaged…
Brain paused, contemplating. "…Excellent point. Racer, go fetch the coffin. The rest of you will go and find your flies. Go and feast while you search for Nirvana."
The wizards of the Oracion Seis grinned maliciously. One by one, they exited their base and headed off into the woods. All that was left were the three Organization members, Brain, and Midnight.
Nine enemies down to just five. That was good. If only Jade could get free…
"As for you…Trouble me no further, trash!"
Before she knew it, Brain pulled Jade away from the wall. Like a baseball pitcher throwing for a strike, the old man whirled around and hurled her across the cave. Jade slammed into stone with an agonized shriek, her head cracking painfully on the hard surface. Black filled her vision as everything went fuzzy. The pain in her side was fading, but so was her consciousness with it. The last thing she was aware of was two voices yelling her name.
Wendy watched on, horrified, as Jade's body slumped to the ground. Her arms and legs splayed out limp as her head lolled to the side. Candlelight revealed a small trickle of blood dripping from her nose and made her already pale skin sickly. The young Dragon Slayer trembled. Happy rushed over to her, shouting the girl's name and begging her to wake up.
"Hey…What's the big deal about this Nirvana thing, anyway?" Dante rolled over and hung his head off the end of the ledge. "Why're you guys after it?"
Brain chuckled, and Wendy was beginning to hate that laugh. What was wrong with these people? How could they be so cruel?!
"An ancient magic to make Light and Dark change places with each other…"
"Really, you don't say? How does it…"
"Perhaps this should be discussed away from prying ears," The man with the blue hair cast a blank stare at Wendy. The girl flinched under that cold, lifeless gold stare. "Let us discuss this outside. My associates and I needn't risk our necks when we do not know the full details."
Brain conceded to that fact. It made Wendy wonder what these three in the black coats were doing. These "Organization" guys were working with the Oracion Seis, but they didn't know about Nirvana?
When Brain led the two older Organization members out, she noticed the blue-haired man turn back. Gold eyes went up to Dante's ledge.
"You stay here and watch the prisoners, Number Twelve," he ordered.
She could see the boy stiffen. "Why do I gotta be the babysitter?!" he exclaimed in outrage. "That's so boring! Come on, Isa…Let me go mess with the losers!"
"Dante!"
Isa's voice came out in a harsh snap, not particularly loud, but sharp enough to cut off the boy's whining. Dante's mouth shut with an audible snap as he glowered down at his team mate. Some kind of unspoken conversation (or judging from the glares, an argument) went on between the two. It was like a staring contest and each boy was trying to beat the other down into submission. Finally, Dante sighed. Slouching down, he crossed his arms across his chest and pouted childishly.
"Fine, fine, Isa," he grumbled. "Just bring me back a souvenir if you go anywhere. Spiders, fungi, or rats would be preferable."
Wendy blinked. What could he possibly want with those things?
Isa rolled his eyes and went off to join Brain and the other Organization member. Once she was sure they were gone, and ignoring the (somehow) still sleeping Midnight, Wendy rushed to Jade's side. Happy wisely hadn't moved her so the young medic wizard could do a quick once over of her injuries.
"Wendy, can you help her?" the blue-furred cat asked nervously.
Jade's bloody nose had left a small puddle of red liquid by the side of her face, which smeared onto her cheek. The long blue scarf had come loose around her neck, showing off a thick handprint on her skin that was already starting to bruise. Wendy tried to remember what her foster parent, the Sky Dragon Grandine, told her about injuries. Besides a small cut on the inside of her lip, there wasn't any blood in Jade's mouth. No severe internal injuries (she hoped). A lump on her lower back made her muscles spasm when gently prodded, so she might have a broken or bruised rib; she couldn't tell. And she couldn't tell since Jade was unconscious, but that blow to her head could have given her a concussion, too.
"Wh-What do I do…?"
She didn't know what exactly was wrong with Jade. What if she used one of her spells and it didn't work? Or if she just made things worse?!
"…Well, she got pretty beat up…"
Wendy and Happy screamed, both of them leaping about a foot in the air. Dante was there next to them, crouched on the balls of his feet and arms still crossed over his chest.
"Get away from her!" Happy reached into the green sack on his back and pulled out a large fish. The talking cat then jumped in between the boy and Jade and started waving it around menacingly. Well, as menacingly as one could when brandishing a foot-and-a-half long trout at someone…
Dante cocked his head and scowled slightly. As Happy waved the fish at him, the Nightmare mage snatched it with one hand and pulled. Both fish and feline lifted off the ground as Dante pulled Happy up to eye-level. "Uh, you know that isn't really intimidating, right? Fish isn't scary, unless it's one of those ugly angler fish…"
"W-W-What do you w-want?"
Dante turned and caught the fierce stare thrown at him by Wendy. Rolling his eyes, he shoved Happy into her arms and started to dig around in his jacket pockets, muttering and mumbling to himself.
"Where the heck did I…Ah, gotcha!"
The boy withdrew a small bottle made of blue glass. A green star glowed on the surface. Dante shook the bottle a little and some liquid inside sloshed around against the sides of the glass. Wendy frowned.
"Wh-What is that…?"
Dante ignored her, which did bug the Dragon Slayer a little. Instead, he pulled a small cork stopped out of the top. A peculiar smell wafted out of the bottle and made Wendy crinkle her nose. It was a sweet sort of smell. Not floral sweet, but sugary sweet. Maybe it was just her overly developed Dragon Slayer sense of smell, but the scent nauseatingly overwhelming.
The red-haired boy set the bottle down on the ground and rolled Jade onto her back. He frowned and her scarf off. Wadding it up into a pile, he shoved in under her head, so it was propped up a little bit. A makeshift pillow. Then he picked up the bottle again.
"Right…Past lips and the gums. Look out stomach, here it comes." Wendy's hand shot out and snatched Dante's wrist as he tried to pour the liquid down Jade's throat.
"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed. Dante gave her a droll stare.
"What does it look like I'm doing? This is a potion, girlie. I'm healing her."
Happy scoffed. "Yeah, I bet you are. You're one of the bad guys! I bet that's poison in there! You're gonna kill Jade!"
"I'm not going to let you hurt Jade more than she already is," Wendy exclaimed. "No way!"
The boy stared at the two of them, almost astonished. Slowly, his face broke out into a grin and he began to laugh uncontrollably. His shoulders shook as his laughter bounced off the cave walls until the boy was red in the face and tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Wendy and Happy both bristled.
"See, I was right!" Happy lunged for the potion bottle, aiming to smash it into smithereens.
Dante must have seen it coming, because he stopped laughing in an instant. Growling, he caught Happy by the tail and yanked. The poor cat fell forward, smashing his face into Jade's ponytail. Twisting, he tossed him back at Wendy. While the two fumbled, he forced Jade's mouth open and dumped the potion in. A small portion of it spilled out of the corner of her mouth, but Jade ended up swallowing the rest. Dante sat back on his heels and smirked. He glances back at them and held his hands out in a carefree shrug.
"See?" His multicolored eyes glittered with smug arrogance. "Told ya. Healing."
Timidly, the two captive approached their fellow prisoner. The blood stopped leaking from her nose and all but evaporated from her face before their eyes. The bruises around her neck faded away too, and Jade's skin returned to its normal ivory shade. Wendy couldn't believe her eyes.
"What…?"
Dante huffed and got to his feet. Stretching languidly, he sauntered away from them and perched up on the altar. "Hey, I may be pretty twisted, but poison is Cobra's thing. It isn't part of my repertoire. If I'm going to fight someone, I want them at one hundred percent before I kick their butts."
Wendy didn't believe it. He healed Jade's injuries. That didn't make any sense. They were enemies, weren't they? And he didn't even step in once to stop Brain when he was hurting Jade. It completely baffled her.
"Why would you do that? You're our…"
That golden eye glittered mischievously as a cat-like grin descended over Dante's face. A shiver ran down the young Sky Maiden's spine.
"An enemy? The bad guy perhaps?" Dante laughed. "Man, girlie, you're a riot! Of course I'm the bad guy. We wouldn't be working with that pack of losers otherwise. But come on, even I have a few morals hidden away in this black little heart of mine. Besides, Bain's a total…What's the word I'm looking for…? Oh, right. He's a total senile, old jackass."
The boy glanced around the cave, looking over everything. Wendy realized that the boy must have been one of those mercurial types. His moods switched so often within a matter of moments that it was difficult to keep up with them. Merely a minute ago, he had this smug little expression of satisfaction, like a spoiled child who had just gotten his way. Then it shifted from complete boredom and veered off into something akin to aggravation at the drop of a hat. It was the most peculiar thing she'd ever seen.
"I actually kind of agree with the loudmouth. It's really annoying when adults think they can bully us kids into doing what they want, you know?" Dante's mood darkened as he glared sternly down his nose at Wendy. A strange, reddish-black aura formed around the boy. "Don't read too much into this though, girlie. I am not one of you goody-two-shoes light wizards. I'm a Nightmare wizard, not some wimp like my dopey sister. Everything I do here is to further my own group's goals and agenda."
Wendy backed up as the young wizard's aura spread out. It was like a black cloud of stifling smoke, consuming all air and suffocating everything around it. The candles closest to his body blew out simultaneously, choked out by his imposing aura. His gold eye flared bright in the gloom like a demonic flame, the pupil a tiny black dot drowning in gold.
The Cait Shelter wizard stood frozen in fear. She couldn't move, despite how much her muscles begged for her to run. Cold sweat built up on her forehead. The hair on the back of her neck rose as goose bumps formed on her arms. Her heart hammered like a humming bird's wings, crashing inside her chest so hard she could swear that she heard the noise echo in the air. Her hands turned cold and clammy.
She was scared. Terrified.
"Scared? I guess this is the part where I say something stupid like 'You should be', shouldn't I?" Dante sighed and the aura around him dissipated, his own countenance returning to nonchalant detachment. "But that's pretty lame too, not to mention seriously clichéd."
He jumped off of the alter and strutted past Wendy. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he sized her up. Wendy gulped. Her knees wouldn't stop knocking, and she was sure she'd fall down any moment now.
So when an object was tossed her way, Wendy promptly, and unashamedly, freaked out. Fumbling, she just barely caught a blue glass bottle with a green star before it shattered on the ground, spilling its miraculous contents on the ground. What a waste that would have been. She stared at the small potion, and then at Dante. Her mouth opened and shut like a fish as she tried and failed miserably to form words.
"Consider it a freebie, from one kid to another, but remember this," he announced. "In this game, everyone's got their part to play. But I play by my rules. Not anyone else's. And I play to win every time. So do the smart thing, girlie, and play your move wisely."
Wendy nodded dumbly and slipped the potion into a small pocket inside her dress. Dante nodded slightly, satisfied, and went over to the cave entrance. Taking up a place by Midnight, he sunk to the ground and stretched out against a rock in the sunshine, bending one knee up while placing his arms behind his head. Those red and gold eyes disappeared behind closed eyelids.
"And next time we meet, try not to get in my way…Okay?"
Angelique: As nice as it was for you to 'elp, zat still was not very nice, Dante. You did not need to bully poor Wendy...
Dante: BULLY?! Are you kidding me?! I didn't bully anyone, you dope! That aura's got a mind of it's own!
Jade: *staring at him suspiciously* You better not have poisoned me, you little brat...
Dante: I didn't!
L&DH: Well, I know why he really did it~! *grinning like a fool* Hehehe!
Dante: Light, you better not say anything or I swear...!
L&DH: My lips are sealed...For now.
Heart and Soul Trivia: Making Angelique and Dante human/Dream Eater hybrids was a spur of the moment thing that happened after the "Corpse Bride/First Steps" arc. I realized around that time that I needed to explain why there were humans living in the Realm of Sleep, and since the Dream Eaters were already there I decided to expand on it. Calling their species the Chimera was a recent development. It's both a reference to the mythological monster (Chimeras are creatures made up of multiple animals, where the Dream Eater ones are made up of human who have become part Dream Eater), and the fact that another word for chimera is a "daydream".
Reviews:
*Luna Lillyth: Oh, it wasn't the explosion that caused Tegan's unusual reaction. It's much more complicated than that. But you'll just have to wait a bit for that answer. Thanks for leaving a review and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
*bubblegum bxtch: I'm so sorry! Please, let me know what's confusing you, and I'll be more than happy to clear it up. But yes, Xiggy is the BIGGEST of ass-hats here. I'm the worst for making him Salem's dad, no? u^ Tegan/Vanitas fluff moments are on their way, so I hope I can write them up to your expectations. And look, here Jade is! Unfortunately, she did get kinda banged up, but she'll pull through with enough spunk to knock a couple of heads in return. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter too!
*CatLoverx33: Yeah, Salem has his moments. Just you wait, his dysfunctional relationship with Braig will just keep getting crazier and crazier. As for Tegan's little moment, you'll see later. I'll give you a hint though: there's a clue inside one of those journals Salem was holding onto. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter!
*DoctorWhovian18: Oh, just you wait. Isa is in for one major butt-whooping later. XD And no, not at all! I thought Xigbar was pretty interesting before DDD too. The snark, nicknames, and his overall sneakiness made him stand out from the others. Like Demyx and his cowardliness. But nope! Tegan's strangeness had nothing to do with the explosion. You'll find out later. And I'm glad that you like the Scottish bits! It's so much fun writing the little things for Tegan and Jade whenever they fall back on their racial quirks, so you can expect a lot of them throughout the story. No need to apologize for long reviews. I don't mind them at all! Thanks so much! Oh, and have no fear. Fluffy bits for everyone will abound. XD
*Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Thanks! I was actually a little on the fence about the moment between Salem and Braig, but from the looks of the reviews, I think I'm going in the right direction after all. As for Gray's comment, it wasn't meant to be a "low blow" comment, but more like a blunt, no thinking comment. I figure if anyone in the FT team is going to make a comment like that, it makes more sense with Gray. After all, Gajeel wasn't put in this ark, so I set the Ice Stripper up as tribute. XD Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter!
Well, that's it for now. See you guys in the next chapter, when we see how Tegan, Vanitas, and Salem are doing with their new comrades.
BYE!