Disclaimer: In no way do I claim any rights to the characters of the Suikoden series. I do not own them, nor did I have any hand in creating them. Please don't sue as I don't have any money and just want to write a fanfic.
Only in Dreams
By: Chibi Nataku
Author's Note: Speech that starts with ' instead of " means mental talking. If a conversation is going on between Yuber and the Rune, it is purely in his mind, and assume that no one else is aware of the conversation, but can see any emotion that is displayed openly by the Rune-bearer.
Chapter 5 - Parting Dreams
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Mia let out a soft, contented sigh, snuggling closer to her bed partner. She found herself drifting in the space between sleep and wakefulness, merely lying quietly in the moment and warmth of her lover. She could not remember when he came back from checking into the armoury, probably because she had fallen asleep soon after he left, but she was happy to have his body beside hers once more.
Slowly, she entered the world of the wakeful and lifted her cheek off of Yuber's muscled chest, looking up into the blonde's sleeping face. She smiled as he appeared to be smirking in his sleep, probably trapped in a dream of his liking as he only smirked when amused. She found him looking so peaceful in sleep, all of his features relaxed to show just a small piece of what her lover was really like. Still, behind the lax muscles, she could see tension that went much too far below the surface. Her lover was troubled in some way.
She lifted a hand and stroked Yuber's cheek, her fingers running over the smooth flesh of his face before moving downward to his neck, stopping to feel the soft, steady pulse of life. Smiling, her fingers moved lower, running over dense muscles that hid such strength, even she could only describe it as inhuman. She brushed stray locks of gold from the blonde's flesh, moving it back to the bed; she sometimes wondered how it kept its luster and beauty in all the mud and rain that Yuber rolled around in. No scar marred his features, something that surprised her. He had been cut several times, yet it always healled fully, leaving no sign of injury afterwards. The smooth silken flesh felt so alive beneath her fingertips, more so than she remembered of him. Perhaps he had found a new sword that caught his attention?
Mia looked up when Yuber groaned and swifted beneath her, the blonde coming to life to greet a new day. She smiled when her lover mumbled incoherantly and rubbed his eyes of sleep. She drew back from him and up as one eye opened to regard her, shocked to be staring into a demonic golden orb and a smirk crossing his features. "Yuber..."
"Morning love." Was his only reply as he too sat up, reaching a hand towards his lover. The voice that spoke was not that of Yuber, but of something completely different, like nothing Mia had ever heard before.
Mia would have screamed had Yuber's hand not wrapped around her throat tightly, slowly squeezing. She struggled to break his hold on her flesh, desperate to breathe once more, but the blonde's grip was like iron. All she could do was stare into those golden demonic eyes, terrified more so than any other time in her life that she could still remember. She let out small choking noises, hoping to silently persuade Yuber to release his hold on her; she eventually became desperate enough to start clawing at his arm, watching in complete horror as any blood that slipped from her lover's flesh transformed into a small spider that immediately moved to wander on her flesh. She let out a whimper, the best sound that she could currently produce, still drowning in those evil eyes that suddenly seemed more like eight than two.
She stopped moving altogether when her vision faded, and she was sitting in utter darkness, alone save for the giant black spider that looked more demonic than Yuber had. She pushed herself back when it advanced towards her, screaming in terror when it lept and pinned her down, strength too much for any sort of real spider. She felt tears of terror slipping down her cheeks as she stared up at the giant monster. "Please...!"
'Please what, darling?' The Eightfold Rune chuckled to itself, staring down into yet another terrified face. No matter how many times it saw such an expression, it never lost its amusement value. 'You are much more beautiful in mind than you are in body. Perhaps when I have nothing to do, you and I can have some fun, hm?' It drew back and shook its head when Mia let out the most shrill shrieks the Eightfold Rune had ever heard. It quickly covered her mouth with one front appendage. 'Alright, alright, it was just a sick joke. I don't do such things anyway. I have blood to spill and that is my hobby, not fine maidens such as yourself now stop screaming.'
Mia tried to shove the spider off of her, without success, but did stop screaming. She shook in fear, the feeling of crawling skin of disgust forcing a new batch of tears down her cheeks. "Wh-what do you want from me? What did you do to Yuber?"
The Rune chuckled again, releasing its hold on the ebony-haired girl, moving off a short distance to a web that it conjured up. 'You my darling, have just seen the final form of your sweet, charming, loving, and let me say, very demonic Yuber.' It waved a arm in the air, bringing forth a picture of the future, Yuber laughing manically drenched in the blood of the mounds of bodies around his feet. 'That my dear, is chaos, the ultimate embodiment of pure insanity, hatred, bloodlust, and other such fun terms for evil.' The Rune climbed up its web, eventually turning to regard the young woman. 'That's right, love, you are currently sleeping with a demonic child of the 27 Runes, one of two children. The other you know quite well too, as you lived with him.'
"...Pesmerga...?" Mia asked breathlessly.
'That's right, dear. That story of your brother falling from the sky...' The Eightfold Rune met Mia's terrified pools of emerald green. 'Well, it wasn't just a story; it was the truth. Your parents knew about him, but refused to tell you.' The spider stepped from the web, walking slowly towards the young woman who appeared to be absorbed in her own thoughts now. It reached out a arm and grabbed her ankle, forcing her attention back on it. 'By the way, it was Pesmerga that butchered your family.' It watched her eyes widen considerably. 'Just thought you would like to know, darling. Reality can be so cruel...that's why I love it!'
Mia looked away from the spider, covering her mouth in the horror that it seemed so clear that her own brother had killed her parents. They didn't get along well as he grew older and began hiding more and more of his features beneath armour and cloth. Still, she shook her head, disbelieving. "No, I don't believe you! My brother would never do that! He was a nice boy!" She felt strength in her words, sitting up more, despite her still obvious terror. "I took care of him, and I know in my heart that he is still a good boy! When I find him again, we will talk of our adventures, laugh under the moonlight, and become happy together. Pesmerga is my brother, and I will not stand for you, whatever you are, to be bad-mouthing him!"
The spider withdrew its presence by hiding behind its web, watching the young woman silently. Eventually, after some thought, it walked forward again. 'Very well. I will speak no more of the brother you raised. However, tell me, who do you love more, Pesmerga or Yuber?'
Mia was shocked by the question, sitting still for a few moments as an image formed between her and the giant spider, one of Pesmerga and Yuber facing each other in a forested area. She thought that they were talking to one another then let out a small cry when they attacked one another, charging with broad swords again and again. "Stop! Stop them! They aren't supposed to fight!"
The Eightfold Rune jumped and pinned the screaming young woman to the ground again, snarling. 'Wrong! They will fight again and again. The fates have entwined those two together, much like brothers. They will hate each other for the entire time that they are on this retched planet!' The spider withdrew, returning to its web slowly.
"You're lying! They won't do that! I won't let them!" Mia screamed back at the spider, angry now. She refused to believe that the two people that she cherished most in her life were going to be enemies for all time. She had promised herself that they would be friends and enjoy one another's company as she did. She never wanted them to fight like that vile image showed. "No, you're lying." She stated matter-of-factly to the black spider.
'My darling, we 27 Runes are incapable of lying, especially when it is this amusing.' The spider moved more comfortably in its web, gaze still on the sitting young woman. 'Everything that has been spoken between us has been the truth or the most probable truth. How does it feel to be talking to a True Rune, love?'
Mia glared at the spider and climbed to her feet, hands clentched at her sides. She ignored the question directed at her, instead, she replied with a question of her own. "Why are you telling me all of this information? I love both Yuber and Pesmerga so why are you giving me information that could potentially break us all apart? The 27 Runes crave order."
The Eightfold Rune snorted. 'Don't lecture me about the purpose of the 27 Rune, darling. I tell you all this information for two reasons.' The spider began rubbing its legs together, almost grinning were it possible. 'One, if you leave dear, sweet Yuber, it will be quite fun to hunt you down. And two, well, I'm evil.' The spider broke into a deep, sadistic laugh, nearly rolling itself over on the black ground like a playful puppy. It had been a long time since it had managed to get THAT kind of look from anyone.
It could rarely get such wide-eyed shocked expressions out of the people that it choose as bearers, mostly because it didn't allow for it. It hadn't existed for a few hundred years not to have found a way to gain control of emotion and the minds of its carriers. Part of the reason that young Yuber accepted its suggestions with only a shrug of the shoulders was because it blocked out any further reaction. The boy listened to it and would probably react with much more free-spirited emotion had those emotions been accessable, but it refused for its bearers to make fools out of themselves. It kept little Yuber on a short leash, making sure the boy listened to its every word as if it were the most common thoughts on any human's mind. The more the boy listened, the easier he was to train. Already, the boy had been encouraged to kill for no reason, which was only one large step in the boy's final fate. Soon, the spider knew it was be reveling in the blood of the innocent more and more until all the boy could think off of slaughtering humans. It knew it had a great existance.
Mia stared into those cold, calculating red eyes, red like blood. She knew that the Rune had caused much death and only craved more. Though she had never heard of the Eightfold Rune itself, she was fearful of what it was saying to her. Her sweet, innocent Yuber would never do the acts that it had showed her. She simply couldn't believe that the boy that she had raised would turn to spilling blood, certainly, not on his own accord. The more that she stared at the spider, the more she began to understand fractions of Yuber's strange behaviour. "You..."
'Me...? You have something to say to me, darling?' The Eightfold Rune asked, mocking.
"Leave Yuber alone!" Mia screamed, sounding more childish than she had intended, but she refused to take the words back.
The spider growled softly. 'Dear maiden, should you try to get in the way of the boy's ultimate transcention, I will remove you personally. It would give me great pleasure to have a little fun while sweet, not-so-innocent Yuber slept so do not tempt me. The True Runes have already decided his fate, and not even you can stand in its way. All you need to do, darling, is to stand by, give him a little love, and wait for him to come around to killing you...opps, did I say that?' The cold mockery of those words made the Eightfold Rune chuckle more to itself than anyone.
Mia swallowed the lump in her throat and shoved back the tears that were beginning to form; she had cried enough today. So, her fate was already determined as well. She snarled with more intensity than she knew from herself. "No!" She screamed at the Eightfold Rune. "Everyone can change their fate! 108 stars can gather under a common leader can break the chains of fate. My fate is to protect Yuber, to love him no matter what he does!" She jumped to her feet as the spider snarled with equal anger and started to advance towards her. "I will break your hold over him, or I will die trying!"
'So glad you volunteered to die, darling!' The spider waved an arm in the air, conjuring up a spell of webs to grab the young woman, chuckling as she screamed more in anger than any other emotion. 'You can't defeat a True Rune, my dear. We control everything, especially here in the mind.'
"Yuber!" Mia screamed in desperation, surprised when the darkness parted to reveal her lover tied equally in a web, his body sagging heavily in the sicky, thick strings, arms forced above his head and also sagging. A single movement looked to be enough to have the webbing cut into his flesh, but she screamed at his unconscious form again. "Yuber, wake up! You must get out of here! Yuber!" She laughed in relief when he slowly stirred and raised his face to look at her, gasping as she once more stared into demonic, yellow orbs. "Yuber...no...."
'Face it, darling. You cannot win, not with him or me. He is mine for all of time, and you, well, you are just an obsticle to reaching the final goal.' The Eightfold Rune smirked cruelly, content with this small victory. Its victory didn't last as long as it wanted as it felt something shift within the blonde, eight eyes moving to where the boy was held firmly. 'No...You can't. You aren't even awakened yet...but...' It growled when golden eyes shifted to blue briefly and rolled its eyes in exassperation. 'Boy, stop fighting reality and give in. You can't win either.'
'...M...Mia...' The word left Yuber's mouth in a quiet gasp. His eyes suddenly shifted back to the light blue as he once more gained control of himself. 'Mia!' He was unaware that the same symbol that had appeared during the slaughter of his village reappeared on his forehead, but the Eightfold Rune's expression was enough to indicate such. He yelled angrily and felt raw energy explode around him, only Mia's fading scream reaching him as well as the spider's mutterings of 'Stupid, stubborn boy! You'll destroy us both!' He felt his world fade to white quickly after that moment.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Yuber groaned softly, shifting to an upright position before opening his eyes. He grabbed his head and attempted to shake away the intense headache that made white spots appear before his eyes. He gasped when arms wrapped around his waist and Mia was suddenly against him, sobbing into his bare chest. Gently, he shifted his arms around her in a comforting hug, unsure of what he was suppose to say to her. He knew that she was now aware of the True Rune in his right hand and probably of some of the destiny that he might be undertaking. So, he remained silent, searching his mind for the Rune's presense and was a little miffed when it appeared to have hidden itself completely from him.
"Yuber, you can't do the things that it says that you will. I don't want you to do such horrible things to people. You are a sweet young man, and I don't want to lose you." Mia sobbed softly into the blonde's chest, taking comfort in the fact that he was holding her as he normally would. She tightened her hold around his waist, unwilling to lose him now. She had spent too long in his company to lose him now.
Yuber lifted his right hand and stared at the palm before sighing heavily. "Mia...I could hurt you if I stay. You are the last person that I want to hurt, so...maybe it is best if I go off on my own for awhile and figure things out." He looked away when Mia shifted back in his arms to look him in the face. He was much too ashamed of the actions that he had already undertaken, though he dare not tell Mia about them. He was too much of a danger to Mia to stay close for too long. Besides, he needed time to think.
Mia stared at Yuber's profile, studying the intricate details of his face, every line, every contour, every fleeting expression that spoke a million words. She knew, just by looking at him, that his decision had been made and that no matter what she said to him, he would still go. Perhaps he was as confused about their new predicament as much as she was, but she knew Yuber well enough to know that he would return to her. Still, she was reluctant to let him leave her side. "Yuber, we can figure things out together. I don't believe that you would hurt me, not of your own free will. I love you for who are and what you have always been. Nothing will ever change how I feel. Please, just stay."
"You already know that I won't. You have been with me long enough to know that I will still go to protect you from myself. I will be gone for as long as it takes for me to think and figure things out." Yuber finally turned to gaze at Mia, a warm smile tugging at his lips as he lifted a hand to stroke his lover's cheek softly. "I promise that I will return to you, though. We will be together again. Nothing can separate us, not even death itself." He bent to kiss her, a silent seal to his promise.
Mia felt one final tear slip down her cheek as Yuber kissed her simply, a pledge of his word to her. Still, she couldn't help but feel a pang of regret that she would be unable to help him sort through this problem. However, she would wait for him to return, even if it took for the rest of all time.
She opened her eyes when they parted, running fingers over the silky warm flesh of the blonde's cheek and up into his golden locks of silk. "Stay with me until we reach Rockaxe, then do as you will. I'll be fine from there." She smiled when Yuber nodded silently, pulling him in close for another hug. "I suppose...we should get packed and head out towards the Capital then."
Yuber silently shook his head, wrapping his arms around Mia's waist. "Let's wait for a little while." He held his lover to his chest as he lay back down, pulling her on top of him before sighing contently. He smiled and ran his fingers through her loose strands of ebony waters, feeling each lock that passed between his digits.
Mia gave herself completely to her lover, living for the moments between them. She did her best to memorize his smell, feel, taste, and even his very essence. She threw herself into their love-making as if it would be the very last moment of her life, taking nothing for granted nor fully losing herself to the pleasures, rather, she took these moments to capture what Yuber was like with her. When they had calmed their bodies down in the after-glow, she spoke her love to him, smiling when he exchanged equal feelings.
And then, it was over. They silently dressed, packed and headed from the door, from the life that they had onced lived in joy together. They trudged the long road the Rockaxe in almost complete silence, each in their own thoughts of reflection of the past and hopes for the future. They lost themselves in past-times of old such as staring up at the stars and telling old stories of one another's funniest moments. However, upon reaching Rockaxe, little was said aside from brief farewells as they had both reserved themselves to refusing final good-byes.
Yuber felt his heart heavy as he walked from the great stone gates of Rockaxe, glancing back once at where Mia was waving at him. He forced a smile on his face and waved back half-heartedly, suddenly worried that he had made the wrong decision. Still, he forced himself to turn back and walk down the road that would lead him to the Maltida/State border. He walked swiftly until he was out of sight of the Capital then dodged into a nearby patch of forest, flopping down beneath a tree. He sighed heavily and lost himself in the clear blue sky.
'What do you plan to do with yourself now, boy? You've officially run away from your old life, something which pleases me.' The Eightfold Rune surged forward when Yuber was not as guarded, taking over most of the blonde's consciousness.
'I don't want to talk to you. What you did to Mia is unforgivable.' Yuber replied as heatedly as he could currently muster.
The Rune chuckled to itself. 'Well, it is no worse than what you did in her name.'
Yuber cringed slightly and tore his gaze away from the sky, now looking at the green grass. 'Just don't talk to me.'
'Oh? Why should I when we have so much time alone to get to know one another again?' The spider stepped forward fully into the blonde's consciousness, cold mockery in every whisper of its voice. 'I have so much to tell you.'
'...' Yuber winced as his reply was silenced by the Rune, grabbing his head as the headache from a few days before returned full-force.
The Rune did its best to smirk. 'Its just you and me, boy. I owe you for the damage you caused a few days ago. Not many filthy creatures can wound a True Rune, but then again, you are not really a human. Still, we are going to have a very, very long talk, starting right now....'
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Okay, I'm sure that everyone is bored of reading my thank you to them for reading, so I have something different to say this time. I must apologize profusely to everyone who wanted to write a review and could not. In my settings, I must have accidently hit the box where it didn't allow for anonymous reviews so it is my fault. I am very sorry about that, and please, anyone feel free to review if they wish to.
I also apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I got a full-time job so it will be taking me a bit longer to get chapters posted. I will do my best though, so please be patient.
Only in Dreams
By: Chibi Nataku
Author's Note: Speech that starts with ' instead of " means mental talking. If a conversation is going on between Yuber and the Rune, it is purely in his mind, and assume that no one else is aware of the conversation, but can see any emotion that is displayed openly by the Rune-bearer.
Chapter 5 - Parting Dreams
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Mia let out a soft, contented sigh, snuggling closer to her bed partner. She found herself drifting in the space between sleep and wakefulness, merely lying quietly in the moment and warmth of her lover. She could not remember when he came back from checking into the armoury, probably because she had fallen asleep soon after he left, but she was happy to have his body beside hers once more.
Slowly, she entered the world of the wakeful and lifted her cheek off of Yuber's muscled chest, looking up into the blonde's sleeping face. She smiled as he appeared to be smirking in his sleep, probably trapped in a dream of his liking as he only smirked when amused. She found him looking so peaceful in sleep, all of his features relaxed to show just a small piece of what her lover was really like. Still, behind the lax muscles, she could see tension that went much too far below the surface. Her lover was troubled in some way.
She lifted a hand and stroked Yuber's cheek, her fingers running over the smooth flesh of his face before moving downward to his neck, stopping to feel the soft, steady pulse of life. Smiling, her fingers moved lower, running over dense muscles that hid such strength, even she could only describe it as inhuman. She brushed stray locks of gold from the blonde's flesh, moving it back to the bed; she sometimes wondered how it kept its luster and beauty in all the mud and rain that Yuber rolled around in. No scar marred his features, something that surprised her. He had been cut several times, yet it always healled fully, leaving no sign of injury afterwards. The smooth silken flesh felt so alive beneath her fingertips, more so than she remembered of him. Perhaps he had found a new sword that caught his attention?
Mia looked up when Yuber groaned and swifted beneath her, the blonde coming to life to greet a new day. She smiled when her lover mumbled incoherantly and rubbed his eyes of sleep. She drew back from him and up as one eye opened to regard her, shocked to be staring into a demonic golden orb and a smirk crossing his features. "Yuber..."
"Morning love." Was his only reply as he too sat up, reaching a hand towards his lover. The voice that spoke was not that of Yuber, but of something completely different, like nothing Mia had ever heard before.
Mia would have screamed had Yuber's hand not wrapped around her throat tightly, slowly squeezing. She struggled to break his hold on her flesh, desperate to breathe once more, but the blonde's grip was like iron. All she could do was stare into those golden demonic eyes, terrified more so than any other time in her life that she could still remember. She let out small choking noises, hoping to silently persuade Yuber to release his hold on her; she eventually became desperate enough to start clawing at his arm, watching in complete horror as any blood that slipped from her lover's flesh transformed into a small spider that immediately moved to wander on her flesh. She let out a whimper, the best sound that she could currently produce, still drowning in those evil eyes that suddenly seemed more like eight than two.
She stopped moving altogether when her vision faded, and she was sitting in utter darkness, alone save for the giant black spider that looked more demonic than Yuber had. She pushed herself back when it advanced towards her, screaming in terror when it lept and pinned her down, strength too much for any sort of real spider. She felt tears of terror slipping down her cheeks as she stared up at the giant monster. "Please...!"
'Please what, darling?' The Eightfold Rune chuckled to itself, staring down into yet another terrified face. No matter how many times it saw such an expression, it never lost its amusement value. 'You are much more beautiful in mind than you are in body. Perhaps when I have nothing to do, you and I can have some fun, hm?' It drew back and shook its head when Mia let out the most shrill shrieks the Eightfold Rune had ever heard. It quickly covered her mouth with one front appendage. 'Alright, alright, it was just a sick joke. I don't do such things anyway. I have blood to spill and that is my hobby, not fine maidens such as yourself now stop screaming.'
Mia tried to shove the spider off of her, without success, but did stop screaming. She shook in fear, the feeling of crawling skin of disgust forcing a new batch of tears down her cheeks. "Wh-what do you want from me? What did you do to Yuber?"
The Rune chuckled again, releasing its hold on the ebony-haired girl, moving off a short distance to a web that it conjured up. 'You my darling, have just seen the final form of your sweet, charming, loving, and let me say, very demonic Yuber.' It waved a arm in the air, bringing forth a picture of the future, Yuber laughing manically drenched in the blood of the mounds of bodies around his feet. 'That my dear, is chaos, the ultimate embodiment of pure insanity, hatred, bloodlust, and other such fun terms for evil.' The Rune climbed up its web, eventually turning to regard the young woman. 'That's right, love, you are currently sleeping with a demonic child of the 27 Runes, one of two children. The other you know quite well too, as you lived with him.'
"...Pesmerga...?" Mia asked breathlessly.
'That's right, dear. That story of your brother falling from the sky...' The Eightfold Rune met Mia's terrified pools of emerald green. 'Well, it wasn't just a story; it was the truth. Your parents knew about him, but refused to tell you.' The spider stepped from the web, walking slowly towards the young woman who appeared to be absorbed in her own thoughts now. It reached out a arm and grabbed her ankle, forcing her attention back on it. 'By the way, it was Pesmerga that butchered your family.' It watched her eyes widen considerably. 'Just thought you would like to know, darling. Reality can be so cruel...that's why I love it!'
Mia looked away from the spider, covering her mouth in the horror that it seemed so clear that her own brother had killed her parents. They didn't get along well as he grew older and began hiding more and more of his features beneath armour and cloth. Still, she shook her head, disbelieving. "No, I don't believe you! My brother would never do that! He was a nice boy!" She felt strength in her words, sitting up more, despite her still obvious terror. "I took care of him, and I know in my heart that he is still a good boy! When I find him again, we will talk of our adventures, laugh under the moonlight, and become happy together. Pesmerga is my brother, and I will not stand for you, whatever you are, to be bad-mouthing him!"
The spider withdrew its presence by hiding behind its web, watching the young woman silently. Eventually, after some thought, it walked forward again. 'Very well. I will speak no more of the brother you raised. However, tell me, who do you love more, Pesmerga or Yuber?'
Mia was shocked by the question, sitting still for a few moments as an image formed between her and the giant spider, one of Pesmerga and Yuber facing each other in a forested area. She thought that they were talking to one another then let out a small cry when they attacked one another, charging with broad swords again and again. "Stop! Stop them! They aren't supposed to fight!"
The Eightfold Rune jumped and pinned the screaming young woman to the ground again, snarling. 'Wrong! They will fight again and again. The fates have entwined those two together, much like brothers. They will hate each other for the entire time that they are on this retched planet!' The spider withdrew, returning to its web slowly.
"You're lying! They won't do that! I won't let them!" Mia screamed back at the spider, angry now. She refused to believe that the two people that she cherished most in her life were going to be enemies for all time. She had promised herself that they would be friends and enjoy one another's company as she did. She never wanted them to fight like that vile image showed. "No, you're lying." She stated matter-of-factly to the black spider.
'My darling, we 27 Runes are incapable of lying, especially when it is this amusing.' The spider moved more comfortably in its web, gaze still on the sitting young woman. 'Everything that has been spoken between us has been the truth or the most probable truth. How does it feel to be talking to a True Rune, love?'
Mia glared at the spider and climbed to her feet, hands clentched at her sides. She ignored the question directed at her, instead, she replied with a question of her own. "Why are you telling me all of this information? I love both Yuber and Pesmerga so why are you giving me information that could potentially break us all apart? The 27 Runes crave order."
The Eightfold Rune snorted. 'Don't lecture me about the purpose of the 27 Rune, darling. I tell you all this information for two reasons.' The spider began rubbing its legs together, almost grinning were it possible. 'One, if you leave dear, sweet Yuber, it will be quite fun to hunt you down. And two, well, I'm evil.' The spider broke into a deep, sadistic laugh, nearly rolling itself over on the black ground like a playful puppy. It had been a long time since it had managed to get THAT kind of look from anyone.
It could rarely get such wide-eyed shocked expressions out of the people that it choose as bearers, mostly because it didn't allow for it. It hadn't existed for a few hundred years not to have found a way to gain control of emotion and the minds of its carriers. Part of the reason that young Yuber accepted its suggestions with only a shrug of the shoulders was because it blocked out any further reaction. The boy listened to it and would probably react with much more free-spirited emotion had those emotions been accessable, but it refused for its bearers to make fools out of themselves. It kept little Yuber on a short leash, making sure the boy listened to its every word as if it were the most common thoughts on any human's mind. The more the boy listened, the easier he was to train. Already, the boy had been encouraged to kill for no reason, which was only one large step in the boy's final fate. Soon, the spider knew it was be reveling in the blood of the innocent more and more until all the boy could think off of slaughtering humans. It knew it had a great existance.
Mia stared into those cold, calculating red eyes, red like blood. She knew that the Rune had caused much death and only craved more. Though she had never heard of the Eightfold Rune itself, she was fearful of what it was saying to her. Her sweet, innocent Yuber would never do the acts that it had showed her. She simply couldn't believe that the boy that she had raised would turn to spilling blood, certainly, not on his own accord. The more that she stared at the spider, the more she began to understand fractions of Yuber's strange behaviour. "You..."
'Me...? You have something to say to me, darling?' The Eightfold Rune asked, mocking.
"Leave Yuber alone!" Mia screamed, sounding more childish than she had intended, but she refused to take the words back.
The spider growled softly. 'Dear maiden, should you try to get in the way of the boy's ultimate transcention, I will remove you personally. It would give me great pleasure to have a little fun while sweet, not-so-innocent Yuber slept so do not tempt me. The True Runes have already decided his fate, and not even you can stand in its way. All you need to do, darling, is to stand by, give him a little love, and wait for him to come around to killing you...opps, did I say that?' The cold mockery of those words made the Eightfold Rune chuckle more to itself than anyone.
Mia swallowed the lump in her throat and shoved back the tears that were beginning to form; she had cried enough today. So, her fate was already determined as well. She snarled with more intensity than she knew from herself. "No!" She screamed at the Eightfold Rune. "Everyone can change their fate! 108 stars can gather under a common leader can break the chains of fate. My fate is to protect Yuber, to love him no matter what he does!" She jumped to her feet as the spider snarled with equal anger and started to advance towards her. "I will break your hold over him, or I will die trying!"
'So glad you volunteered to die, darling!' The spider waved an arm in the air, conjuring up a spell of webs to grab the young woman, chuckling as she screamed more in anger than any other emotion. 'You can't defeat a True Rune, my dear. We control everything, especially here in the mind.'
"Yuber!" Mia screamed in desperation, surprised when the darkness parted to reveal her lover tied equally in a web, his body sagging heavily in the sicky, thick strings, arms forced above his head and also sagging. A single movement looked to be enough to have the webbing cut into his flesh, but she screamed at his unconscious form again. "Yuber, wake up! You must get out of here! Yuber!" She laughed in relief when he slowly stirred and raised his face to look at her, gasping as she once more stared into demonic, yellow orbs. "Yuber...no...."
'Face it, darling. You cannot win, not with him or me. He is mine for all of time, and you, well, you are just an obsticle to reaching the final goal.' The Eightfold Rune smirked cruelly, content with this small victory. Its victory didn't last as long as it wanted as it felt something shift within the blonde, eight eyes moving to where the boy was held firmly. 'No...You can't. You aren't even awakened yet...but...' It growled when golden eyes shifted to blue briefly and rolled its eyes in exassperation. 'Boy, stop fighting reality and give in. You can't win either.'
'...M...Mia...' The word left Yuber's mouth in a quiet gasp. His eyes suddenly shifted back to the light blue as he once more gained control of himself. 'Mia!' He was unaware that the same symbol that had appeared during the slaughter of his village reappeared on his forehead, but the Eightfold Rune's expression was enough to indicate such. He yelled angrily and felt raw energy explode around him, only Mia's fading scream reaching him as well as the spider's mutterings of 'Stupid, stubborn boy! You'll destroy us both!' He felt his world fade to white quickly after that moment.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Yuber groaned softly, shifting to an upright position before opening his eyes. He grabbed his head and attempted to shake away the intense headache that made white spots appear before his eyes. He gasped when arms wrapped around his waist and Mia was suddenly against him, sobbing into his bare chest. Gently, he shifted his arms around her in a comforting hug, unsure of what he was suppose to say to her. He knew that she was now aware of the True Rune in his right hand and probably of some of the destiny that he might be undertaking. So, he remained silent, searching his mind for the Rune's presense and was a little miffed when it appeared to have hidden itself completely from him.
"Yuber, you can't do the things that it says that you will. I don't want you to do such horrible things to people. You are a sweet young man, and I don't want to lose you." Mia sobbed softly into the blonde's chest, taking comfort in the fact that he was holding her as he normally would. She tightened her hold around his waist, unwilling to lose him now. She had spent too long in his company to lose him now.
Yuber lifted his right hand and stared at the palm before sighing heavily. "Mia...I could hurt you if I stay. You are the last person that I want to hurt, so...maybe it is best if I go off on my own for awhile and figure things out." He looked away when Mia shifted back in his arms to look him in the face. He was much too ashamed of the actions that he had already undertaken, though he dare not tell Mia about them. He was too much of a danger to Mia to stay close for too long. Besides, he needed time to think.
Mia stared at Yuber's profile, studying the intricate details of his face, every line, every contour, every fleeting expression that spoke a million words. She knew, just by looking at him, that his decision had been made and that no matter what she said to him, he would still go. Perhaps he was as confused about their new predicament as much as she was, but she knew Yuber well enough to know that he would return to her. Still, she was reluctant to let him leave her side. "Yuber, we can figure things out together. I don't believe that you would hurt me, not of your own free will. I love you for who are and what you have always been. Nothing will ever change how I feel. Please, just stay."
"You already know that I won't. You have been with me long enough to know that I will still go to protect you from myself. I will be gone for as long as it takes for me to think and figure things out." Yuber finally turned to gaze at Mia, a warm smile tugging at his lips as he lifted a hand to stroke his lover's cheek softly. "I promise that I will return to you, though. We will be together again. Nothing can separate us, not even death itself." He bent to kiss her, a silent seal to his promise.
Mia felt one final tear slip down her cheek as Yuber kissed her simply, a pledge of his word to her. Still, she couldn't help but feel a pang of regret that she would be unable to help him sort through this problem. However, she would wait for him to return, even if it took for the rest of all time.
She opened her eyes when they parted, running fingers over the silky warm flesh of the blonde's cheek and up into his golden locks of silk. "Stay with me until we reach Rockaxe, then do as you will. I'll be fine from there." She smiled when Yuber nodded silently, pulling him in close for another hug. "I suppose...we should get packed and head out towards the Capital then."
Yuber silently shook his head, wrapping his arms around Mia's waist. "Let's wait for a little while." He held his lover to his chest as he lay back down, pulling her on top of him before sighing contently. He smiled and ran his fingers through her loose strands of ebony waters, feeling each lock that passed between his digits.
Mia gave herself completely to her lover, living for the moments between them. She did her best to memorize his smell, feel, taste, and even his very essence. She threw herself into their love-making as if it would be the very last moment of her life, taking nothing for granted nor fully losing herself to the pleasures, rather, she took these moments to capture what Yuber was like with her. When they had calmed their bodies down in the after-glow, she spoke her love to him, smiling when he exchanged equal feelings.
And then, it was over. They silently dressed, packed and headed from the door, from the life that they had onced lived in joy together. They trudged the long road the Rockaxe in almost complete silence, each in their own thoughts of reflection of the past and hopes for the future. They lost themselves in past-times of old such as staring up at the stars and telling old stories of one another's funniest moments. However, upon reaching Rockaxe, little was said aside from brief farewells as they had both reserved themselves to refusing final good-byes.
Yuber felt his heart heavy as he walked from the great stone gates of Rockaxe, glancing back once at where Mia was waving at him. He forced a smile on his face and waved back half-heartedly, suddenly worried that he had made the wrong decision. Still, he forced himself to turn back and walk down the road that would lead him to the Maltida/State border. He walked swiftly until he was out of sight of the Capital then dodged into a nearby patch of forest, flopping down beneath a tree. He sighed heavily and lost himself in the clear blue sky.
'What do you plan to do with yourself now, boy? You've officially run away from your old life, something which pleases me.' The Eightfold Rune surged forward when Yuber was not as guarded, taking over most of the blonde's consciousness.
'I don't want to talk to you. What you did to Mia is unforgivable.' Yuber replied as heatedly as he could currently muster.
The Rune chuckled to itself. 'Well, it is no worse than what you did in her name.'
Yuber cringed slightly and tore his gaze away from the sky, now looking at the green grass. 'Just don't talk to me.'
'Oh? Why should I when we have so much time alone to get to know one another again?' The spider stepped forward fully into the blonde's consciousness, cold mockery in every whisper of its voice. 'I have so much to tell you.'
'...' Yuber winced as his reply was silenced by the Rune, grabbing his head as the headache from a few days before returned full-force.
The Rune did its best to smirk. 'Its just you and me, boy. I owe you for the damage you caused a few days ago. Not many filthy creatures can wound a True Rune, but then again, you are not really a human. Still, we are going to have a very, very long talk, starting right now....'
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Okay, I'm sure that everyone is bored of reading my thank you to them for reading, so I have something different to say this time. I must apologize profusely to everyone who wanted to write a review and could not. In my settings, I must have accidently hit the box where it didn't allow for anonymous reviews so it is my fault. I am very sorry about that, and please, anyone feel free to review if they wish to.
I also apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I got a full-time job so it will be taking me a bit longer to get chapters posted. I will do my best though, so please be patient.