Traditions
Chapter 13: Showdown (a.k.a. Ding Dong the Witch is Dead)
Celena's dreams were haunted by the name of Kimera. Over and over again that name was whispered in Celena's mind followed by a high-pitched cackle.
"Where have I heard that name before? I know I've heard it but where. Stop it!! Do you know how annoying that is?" shouted Celena at the voice in the empty void that she was standing in her dream.
"C'mon Dilandau-sama. You know you want to play with me," came the voice and laugh again as the void suddenly turned into a dimly lit room.
"I know this place," said Celena as she spun around on her heel to take in her surroundings. "This is Zaibach. But Zaibach is long gone. This must be flashback or something," commented the silver haired girl as she began to walk forward into her vision
After taking her first step, the oil lamps in the room were suddenly lit and she was able to see that she was wearing a dark red bodysuit just like Kimera's black one with her hair tied up in a French braid. "Well, well. When exactly did I get this?" Celena asked, as she looked herself over. "A little snug but it still feels comfortable." Then she noticed the sword on her right hip. Very carefully, she took hold of the hilt in her right hand and slid the blade out of its sheath letting the light reflect off of the shiny metal. Celena held the sword up to her face and ran her left hand over the smoothness of the weapon. It was light and felt like it was meant just for her to hold. She swung it around expertly like she had been trained with one for years…well, she was but as Dilandau. Celena began to practice with the sword like any swordsman would, performing each pose perfectly. Her movements were fluid as Dilandau's training resurfaced in her mind; sword fighting being second nature. It was like the warrior spirit had reawakened within her. She abruptly stopped mid-pose when she realized that she wasn't alone in the room.
Over in a dark corner, sat chibi-Dilandau playing with some building blocks. Celena gradually walked toward her former self to get a better look at what he was doing. As she got closer, she saw that Dilandau was spelling the word 'FIRE' over and over again with the blocks. 'Talk about a one-track mind." Bending over the small boy, Celena noticed that she did not cast a shadow, which meant she wasn't really in the room with Dilandau. 'OK, I was right. I'm in a flashback, but why? Am I supposed to see something that I had forgotten?' thought Celena, afraid that her voice would still be heard if she spoke. Almost as if to answer her questions, a tall bald man and a small girl entered the room.
"Dilandau Albatou?" inquired Kasumi as he stepped toward Dilandau. Celena had backed up out of the way so as to not interfere with what was going to happen. Dilandau redirected his attention from the toys to the Zaibach sorcerer looking up at him.
Kasumi smiled and continued, "Dilandau-sama, I'd like you to meet Kimera Kushrinada. She's going to be your wife some day."
All of a sudden the small redheaded girl jumped at the shocked Dilandau giving him an enormous bear hug. He winced at the sound of her screeching laugh into her ears.
"Get off me, you annoying brat!!" yelled Dilandau as the room and its inhabitants unexpectedly disappeared leaving Celena amazed with her hand over her mouth.
"That's it!! I knew I heard the name Kimera before," exclaimed Celena in joy at her realization, but suddenly calmed down. "If she's alive, then everyone involved in the Destiny War is in great danger. Oh, no. Allen. Hitomi. Merle. Van. Kimera hated everything and anything that wasn't Kasumi or Dilandau and definitely psychotic enough to seek revenge for their destruction. I've got to stop her."
Celena opened her eyes as saw the wooden ceiling of the Crusade. She pushed the bed covers off and found herself still wearing the red bodysuit. 'This is neat! Now all I have to do is find a way to land the Crusade somewhere and find the biggest clearing in the Fanelian woods. Knowing Kimera, she'd need a lot of space for the Saiod thing of hers. I just hope I won't be too late.' Quietly, she left her room and headed towards the Bridge.
When Celena arrived on the deck, she was surprised to see that Gaddes was the only one there. 'Oh, that makes this part easier. Hopefully I'll be able to persuade him to return to Fanelia without a fight.'
"Gaddes?"
Gaddes turned around to see who was looking for him and his jaw dropped to the floor. He just stared at Celena in her bodysuit. "C…Celena?" He shook his head a bit to rid himself of the impure thoughts that had just entered his mind. "What are you doing here? You should be resting in your room."
"Gaddes, please take me back to Fanelia. I have something very important that I have to do there but there's no time to explain. Please," pleaded Celena as she stepped closer to the wheel where he was standing.
"I can't. I promised your brother that I would return you safely home back to Asturia," stuttered Gaddes never taking his eyes off of Celena's lithe form, his cheeks turning rosy. He had never seen Celena wear anything so revealing before. She was breathtaking. He had always thought of her like a sister since she was Allen's but now those thoughts were changing.
"Please Gaddes. You don't understand. Allen and the others are in danger and I have to help them. I'm giving you one last chance or else I'll have to use force."
"What kind of force?" asked Gaddes in a sarcastic tone. He found it amusing that this gorgeous girl was going to use force to turn this ship around.
"This," said Celena as she grabbed the wheel from him and tried to turn it completely around so that they would head back in Fanelia's direction. Gaddes was shocked at what Celena was doing and grabbed her arms from behind to stop her.
Taking her chance as Gaddes stumbled off balance from the ship's sudden movement, Celena pushed up on the side of the wheel with her foot to perform a back flip completely catching the Sarge off guard. By now, the other crew members of the Crusade had made their way to the Bridge to see what was going on to cause the abrupt change in its course. There were stunned to see what was going on.
"AN ASSASSIN!!!!" shouted Kio as he charged forward to try and save Gaddes. He skidded to a halt when he realized who was actually holding the Sarge. "Lady Celena?"
Celena grabbed her sword and held it up against Gaddes' neck. "Drop the sword, Kio. I don't want to hurt any of you. I just need to go back to Fanelia."
Kio smirked at the sight. Defenceless, weak Celena was holding Gaddes hostage with a sword. "Do you really think I'm going to disobey your brother's orders?"
Celena tightened her grip on Gaddes. "Do as she says, Kio," commanded Gaddes as he stopped struggling against Celena's grip.
"You've got to be kidding, Sarge."
"Do it, Kio!!"
"Yessir!" saluted Kio as he began shouting orders for the rest of the crew to do in order for them to return to Fanelia.
"Thank you," whispered Celena in Gaddes' ear and kissed him lightly on the cheek causing both of them to blush furiously. Gaddes said nothing as Celena loosened her grip a bit but still kept him nonetheless in a headlock for insurance until they landed. He just stared in amazement at his beautiful captor.
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When Allen got back to the castle, he decided not to tell anyone where he was going for their safety and his. The woods were dangerous enough as it is and he didn't need to be watching over someone as well. After gathering the needed supplies, Allen retraced Hitomi's steps down the stone path through the garden and into the woods. 'Going on foot is the best bet, since that's how Hitomi went.' Sure enough, Allen soon found Hitomi's shoes lying on the ground. He picked them up and placed them into the bag he was carrying. 'Well, I don't think she should've gone very far without these…but then again this was Hitomi.'
Upon reaching the edge of the forest, Allen lit the torch he had brought with him to help him see. Holding his sword in his right hand and the torch in his left, Allen began slashing his way through the dense Fanelian forest following the scraps of silk Hitomi's dress had left behind. 'Well, it looks as though she ran a straight line. Shouldn't be too hard to find her…I hope.'
The gallant swordsman steadily ploughed his way deeper and deeper in to the woods using the different sized scraps of magenta fabric much like a trail of breadcrumbs. Twigs and leaves prodded and poked Allen entangling themselves in his soft blonde hair but he could care less. The life of his dear friends were at stake and he had to do something quick. After what seemed like he had walked for kilometres, Allen found himself in the clearing where the wooden shelter stood. Waving the flame from the torch close to the ground, the Knight of Caeli searched for more silk fragments but found none. Instead he was glad to see footprints leading to the doorway of the shack. 'Please Gods, let Hitomi be safe and sound inside that hut,' prayed Allen as he prepared to enter the wooden structure.
Cautiously, Allen pushed the door open trying to avoid alerting the inhabitants of his intrusion with any squeaks and what not. He peered around the corner making sure that he wasn't walking directly into a trap. Once Allen was sure that the coast was clear, he stepped into the entrance way and started looking around being careful not to disturb anything. To his dismay, there was no sign of Hitomi anywhere. Not even a trace of magenta silk. The only objects that he could see were a stool and a small table. Allen was about to leave when he noticed a slight movement in the far corner.
It was dark in the area where Allen saw something twitch, not even the light from his torch reached far enough to reveal the source of the movement from where Allen was standing. Being in unfamiliar territory, Allen hesitated going further into the shack but his instincts were telling him to go ahead. Trusting in his gut feeling and worry for Hitomi, he inched closer to the wall holding the hilt of his sword ready for anything that might appear.
"Merle?" gasped the knight as he approached the injured feline. Allen immediately dropped to his knees and cradled Merle in his free arm examining to see if she had any serious injuries. "Merle, speak to me."
"Allen?" sighed Merle, her eyes opening to tiny slits. "Hitomi…"
"Have you seen Hitomi, Merle?" asked Allen urgently. The frail girl nodded, not having enough strength to speak. "Do you know where she is?"
"Kimera…"
"I knew that girl was behind all of this. Do you know where she took Hitomi?" interrogated Allen only to realize that Merle had fallen asleep again. He held her closer to his body and lifted her up. 'Oh Merle. I can't leave you alone, but I can't take you with me. You need a healer desperately. But what about Hitomi? Hitomi, I hope you can hold out until I find your,' decided Allen as he carried Merle back to the castle.
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It was a quiet trip for the Crusade back to Fanelia. Nobody dared say anything that may cause Celena to hurt the temporary commander. Meanwhile, Gaddes relaxed in Celena's arms almost to the point of falling asleep. Celena also enjoyed having Gaddes in her embrace and was quite disappointed when Kio announced that they had arrived back at the Fanelian dock and headed back downstairs. The crew had now all gone to bed leaving Gaddes and Celena alone on the Bridge.
"So what exactly do you have to do in Fanelia that's so important?" questioned Gaddes as Celena finally let him go out of curiosity.
"It doesn't concern you," replied the silver haired warrior as she placed her sword back in its scabbard.
Gaddes grabbed Celena's arm as she started walking away. "If you don't tell me, I'm not letting you go," stated Gaddes in a serious tone of voice.
Celena stared directly into Gaddes' beautiful eyes and saw the worry that he had for her. "I have to stop Kimera from hurting the people of Fanelia."
"What is she planning to do?" asked the Sarge as he released his hold on Celena.
"See. You have no idea what's going on and I don't have time to explain. I need to find Kimera before she kills every one."
"What?" Gaddes exclaimed astonished. "It doesn't matter if I know what's going on. I'm going with you." He grabbed his sword and began to follow Celena towards the door.
Without any hesitation, Celena turned around and punched Gaddes hard in the stomach effectively knocking the wind right out of him. He stared at her with his mouth open and eyes wide. "I'm so sorry Gaddes, but I can't risk you getting hurt. I hope you can forgive me," whispered Celena in to his ear as he passed out. Slowly, she lowered his body to the ground and kissed his forehead. "Thanks for your help…you need to lay off the pastries for a while." She playfully poked his stomach and then ran off into the night.
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Van rode desperately into the night on Excalibur, determined to find Hitomi before Kimera could lay a claw on her. He knew exactly where he had to go but the lack of paths in the forests made it impossible for Van to reach the Dragon's Graveyard as fast as he wanted to on horseback, which is why he and Excalibur had to take an alternate route.
Excalibur was Van's personal horse, which Hitomi had helped him name…well, indirectly that is. Van had remembered the story that Hitomi had told him before she left about King Arthur and his magical sword, Excalibur. He wasn't about to name his royal sword so that people would think he was a complete nut case, so he decided to name his black stallion Excalibur. The name suited the horse well too. His hair was sleek and shimmered in the light like a calm lake at sunset. He ran like the wind and was full of grace, every bit the Royal horse. It was this and Excalibur's ability to manoeuvre on almost any terrain that Van need right now the most.
The new route that Van had chosen to take involved a steep climb through the rolling hills to Fanelia's immediate right, followed by a trek through the fields on the other side of the graveyard, and then across a rickety old bridge connecting the two sides that had been in existence since before Van's own father, Goau, was born. Van was counting on Excalibur's sure footedness to get him across the overpass since he wasn't too confident about his flying abilities with the weakened state of his mind. It took immense control to fly and Van's head was still a mess from whatever Kimera had done to him.
By the time Van and Excalibur had made their way to the bridge, the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon; a tiny sliver of gold pushing away the darkness of the night. Van narrowed his eyes, straining to see across the gap for any signs of Kimera and Hitomi by the large tree that towered over the cliff. Nothing. This could be good or bad. Good would be that Van would reach the other side before Kimera could hurt Hitomi; bad being that he was wrong about where Kimera would be taking his beloved. Whichever it was, Van couldn't just wait there to find out.
Slowly, the black stallion carried its master one step at a time on to the ancient wood boards. Dust floated up into the air from the ropes as their combined weight stretched them for the first time in decades. A light wind causes the bridge to sway and Excalibur pauses to maintain his balance jolting Van awake. All was quiet at this time of day, the only sound coming from Excalibur's hooves meeting the wooden panels of the bridge lulling Van to dozed in and out of slumber. He was exhausted from the night's events but continued to push himself forward in order to protect his angel, Hitomi. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Van and his horse reached the other side of the dragon cemetery.
"Good boy," commented Van as he hitched his horse to a nearby tree. "You've served me well and lived up to your namesake. You will be sure to get a treat once we get home." Excalibur neighed softly in response to Van's gentle touch.
The sun was now half way up allowing warmth and light to shower down onto the land revealing what the night was hiding. Van could see the contents of the canyon now and shuttered at the site. Jagged rocks of all sizes covered the bottom, obviously the result of some sort of quake that created the gorge itself. But that wasn't the scariest part. Among the rocks and vines that grew below were the remains of thousands of dragons. Bones, scales and teeth taller than Van himself were littered all over the chasm floor, sharp enough to penetrate even the strongest of armour. Van was reminded of his dream and fell to his knees.
"I won't let that happen. I won't let my nightmare come true," Van told himself as he got back on his feet and scanned the area for signs of the witch and her prisoner.
Suddenly, a sharp pain began in Van's head causing him to collapse to the ground again holding his head. Looking up slowly, Van saw Kimera drag Hitomi out of the dense forest and to the tree.
"Hitomi…" murmured Van into the ground. The immense pain in his head was indescribable; it felt like his brain was being branded with a hot iron and stabbed with pitchforks. He tried to get up but he couldn't move. All he could do was watch as his fiancée prepare to torture his soul mate as he lay there in agony.
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Hitomi's eyes fluttered open as she felt herself be thrown against something rough and hard. Blinking a few times to clear her blurry eyes, Hitomi realized that she was no longer in the wooden shed but outside near a very large tree and a steep cliff. Hitomi tried to speak but found herself still gagged and bound to the stool. She saw Kimera a little ways away humming to herself and doing a little dance. 'Oh God. She really is insane,' thought Hitomi as she tried to sit up, which also effectively caught the sorceress' attention.
"Oh good, you're up. Now I can finally kill you," greeted Kimera as she pulled Hitomi up and over to the other side of the tree trunk. "It's really no fun using the Saiod attack on a sleeping victim. You don't get to see the suffering and pain in their eyes and well, that's pretty much all of the fun in killing."
Fear spread throughout Hitomi's entire being as Kimera finished positioning the stool that Hitomi was tied to in front of the tree. Was this it? Is this how she was going to die? At the mercy of a psychotic, delusional Zaibach sorceress.
A few metres away, Van could see everything that had happened and he knew that Kimera would attack Hitomi any moment now. It was now or never. He needed to do something or everything he had done so far in life would be in vain. With every ounce of will power that Van could muster up, he stood up and pulled his sword out of its scabbard. Van knew that his attack on Kimera would pretty much be pointless considering he could barely stand or see straight but at least it would buy Hitomi more time. He was willing to die for her and that was what he was planning to do. Taking a final deep breath, Van charged at the witch in the black bodysuit.
Kimera was standing a small distance away from Hitomi facing her with her eyes closed and arms spread out. She seemed to be chanting or summoning her powers, which would inevitably exterminate the girl from the Mystic Moon. Hitomi struggled with the ropes tying her to the stool in the hopes of loosening them enough for her to at least slide out of the way of Kimera's blast, but it was pointless. There wasn't anything Hitomi could do but close her eyes and accept her fate. It was then that she heard it, someone crying out her name.
"HITOMI!!!!" yelled Van at the top of his lungs and jumped into the air to strike down at Kimera, however, this action also gave the sorceress enough warning to move out of the way before Van could do any damage.
Van landed on his feet perfectly and turned to face his opponent with anger and rage burning in his garnet eyes and sword ready to fight. Kimera's reaction to all of this was a sneer as she too grabbed her machete and fell into a battle stance.
"Why won't you just die like a good little boy?" scoffed Kimera as she attacked Van. All Van could really do was block Kimera's blows since he was in no condition to fight.
"I'll never let you hurt her, you bitch!!" roared Van as he deflected another one of Kimera's swipe of the machete sending sparks into the air as steel met steel.
"Fine! I'll just have to kill you first just like I've always planned," retorted Kimera as she lunged at Van slicing his shirt open and just slashing his chest. Van winced at the pain but didn't stand down.
Again Kimera lunged at Van but this time he blocked it and tried to make a swipe at the sorceress. He missed dropping his sword next to Hitomi, who was stunned at what was happening before her, allowing Kimera to pin Van to the tree trunk with her right forearm.
"My, my dear Van. It looks like you've dropped your sword. How are you going to protect your girlfriend now? You were a much better sword fighter while you were under a woman's control," taunted Kimera bringing her head closer to Van's as she spoke. Van tried to wriggle of her clenches but she was much stronger than he was right now rendering him helpless. She cackled at the sight of a defenceless king as she kissed Van on the lips sending tremendous pain through his entire body and head. When Van had stopped struggling and passed out from the pain, Kimera stepped back letting Van's unconscious body fall to the ground.
"VAN!" shrieked Hitomi through her gag at the sight of him hitting ground. She tried to reach out for him but again the stool prevented her.
"It seems to me that your head has been causing you some problems lately," tormented Kimera as she raised her machete high above Van's neck. "What do you say we chop it off? After all, no head should equal no pain," giggled the silver haired maniac bringing her blade down. Everything now suddenly began to run in slow motion.
Hitomi screamed in terror knowing what was going to happen to the King of Fanelia. She pulled herself closer to the stool and shut her eyes as tight as she could letting her tears rain down praying for a miracle or Allen or anyone to come to their rescue. Kimera's battle cry was heard and Hitomi knew that there was nothing that she could do to save her love now and anticipated the horrible sound of metal against flesh…but it never came. Instead, Hitomi heard the scraping of steel scratching against steel snapping everything back to normal speed. She looked up and saw a mysterious figure holding a sword standing between Kimera and Van's body while Kimera stumbled back a few steps.
After leaving the Crusade, Celena ran aimlessly towards the heart of the Fanelian forests hoping to find some sign of Hitomi or Kimera but found none. Picking up speed, the lithe warrior began leaping from branch to branch to get a broader view of her current surroundings. That's when she heard it; Van screaming Hitomi's name. Looking towards the direction of the yell, Celena caught sight of movement by the canyon a few metres to her right. As fast as her slender legs would carry her, Celena rushed to the aide of her friends. 'Somehow, I wish I had a guymelef right now. Alseides would definitely make this easier.' She arrived just in time.
"Dilandau-sama?" gasped Kimera as she stared at Hitomi and Van's rescuer dropping her machete from attack stance to holding it against her side.
'Dilandau? It can't be. He's gone. He turned back to…Celena?' wondered Hitomi as she strained her blurry eyes to confirm the identity of her saviour.
"Once, but he no longer exists. I am Celena Schezar and I will not let you hurt my friends," declared Celena as she took a step closer to the astounded Kimera all the while maintaining her battle stance.
"Oh, Dilandau-sama. Aren't you proud of me? I've managed to capture both Van Fanel and Hitomi Kanzaki. I know you wanted to kill Van with you own hands but unfortunately he was weaker than I thought so I accidentally killed him with the mind control but I there's still the Mystic Moon wench here that you can kill," replied Kimera completely ignoring what Celena had just said.
"Did you not hear what I just said?! Dilandau is no more. He's dead. Gone forever. Never going to come back. Get it through that thick skull of yours!" yelled Celena trying to get her message through again.
"I know you're confused, Dilandau-sama, but I can make everything better for you again. Just let me help you," answered Kimera calmly as she tried to place her free hand on Celena's forehead but Celena slapped it away.
"Don't touch me!"
"Why are you being so mean?!" shouted Kimera, her eyes no longer the calm empty void but now a flaming pit of hurt and rage. She brought her machete back up ready to strike. "You've always been so mean to me!! I never did anything to you!!" shrieked the angry sorceress as she started swiping at Celena.
"OK, I think she's finally snapped," quipped Celena as she too began to swing her sword at Kimera in more or less self-defence
Hitomi was awestruck at the sight before her. Celena knew how to fight and she was good. Almost as good as Allen or Van. It was an amazing battle. Both females were skilled matching each strike with a counteractive one. Sparks flew all over the place as their swipes became harder. Parry. Thrust. Lunge. Duck. Kick. Swipe. Back and forth it went, neither of them maintaining the advantage for very long. It was a stalemate. At one point, Kimera held Celena in a headlock from behind but Celena managed to toss the sorceress over her shoulder to the ground. Kimera quickly got back on her feet and the standoff continued.
Hitomi was so wrapped up watching the exciting battle that she didn't even notice that Van had pulled himself up to her. Using what energy that he had left, he reached for his sword and cut the ropes tying Hitomi to the stool. Feeling that her limbs were no longer constrained, Hitomi looked down and saw Van looking back at her. She quickly pulled what remained of the ropes off of her ankles and wrists along with her gag and crawled over to Van.
"Van," whispered Hitomi as she lifted Van's head into her lap. She brushed away a few loose strands of his unruly hair and the dirt on his face. "Van," she said again tears streaming down her cheeks.
He smiled at her and lifted his hand to cup her cheek wiping her tears away with his thumb. "I'm sorry," breathed Van so quietly that Hitomi could barely hear his words. She held him closer to her body and brushed away the tears in his eyes. Suddenly, she felt his hand drop from her face. Pulling back slightly, Hitomi saw Van's eyes slowly close and his hand fall limply to the ground.
"VAAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!!!!!"
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Hitomi's screamed echoed throughout the entire forest sending sleeping birds flying out into the air. Everyone within a radius of five kilometres turned their heads in the direction of the forest and the dragon's graveyard, including Allen and Gaddes.
After Allen had taken Merle to Makusu's office, he was informed that Van had ventured off into the night on horseback after screaming the name Hitomi. He immediately went to the stables to retrieve his own horse and was amazed to find Gaddes there.
"What are you doing here, Gaddes? Shouldn't you be on the Crusade taking Celena back to Asturia?" asked a panicked Allen.
"I was but then she made us turn the ship around," explained Gaddes.
"What do you mean she made you turn the Crusade around? How could she make you disobey my orders?"
"It's a long story, Boss and I'll explain later. But right now we need to find her. She said something about stopping Kimera before she hurts the people of Fanelia."
"What?" exclaimed Allen but he was cut off by Hitomi's echoing shriek.
"The canyon!" agreed both Allen and Gaddes at the same time since that was the only place in all of Fanelia that could cause such a reverberation. Instantly, the two men mounted their horses and started racing towards the gorge.
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"Van!" cried Hitomi trying to shake Van awake again.
Celena turned her attention away from Kimera at the sound of Hitomi's yell to see what had happened. A bad mistake for Kimera instantly recognized her opportunity. Seeing that Celena was well distracted by Hitomi and Van, Kimera kicked Celena's sword out of her hand. Celena dove to get her weapon back but Kimera willed it just out of her grasp. 'Damn that bitch and her telekinetic powers. Well, at least she's weakened cause she was only to move it just out of my reach instead of off the cliff. I just need to hold her off until I can get it back,' planned Celena as she jumped out of the way of Kimera's blade, just millimetres away from her abdomen.
"Van," pleaded Hitomi again as she started rocking Van in her arms, not even noticing her pendant was glowing.
"He's not dead…at least I don't think he is," shouted Celena, this time not turning her view away from her enemy. "He's stronger than that. You know that and I know that," Celena continued just narrowly missing another attack by Kimera.
Turning her head back quickly, Celena saw her sword behind her. Thinking that Celena was distracted again, Kimera charged just as Celena was hoping. When the sorceress was close enough, Celena performed a back flip, kicking Kimera in the chin driving her back a few steps and sprung back once more for another flip retrieving her sword all in one easy step.
"Don't think you're too smart!" growled the furious Kimera.
"Oh, but I am," Celena snapped back.
The showdown was on again as both warriors returned to their battle stances. Hitomi could care less this time. All of her attention was directed to the lifeless form of Van in her lap. She squeezed his hand tighter and tighter hoping to get some sort of response when she finally became aware of the pink light seeping through her dress. Hesitantly, she let go of Van's hand and held the pendant in her hands. Once again, she was engulfed in a bright light but this time it more like she was caught in a bubble. She could see the battle between Celena and Kimera outside but they were frozen in their positions. Glancing down, she realized that Van wasn't in her lap anymore.
"Van?"
All of a sudden, the bubble of pink light turned black. Hitomi looked around and saw nothing around her but then she began to hear a voice.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Over and over again the same two words repeated themselves getting louder each time.
Hitomi glanced around again and this time she saw Van lying on the ground curled into a tight ball. She immediately ran to him pulling him into her arms.
"Van?" asked Hitomi in an urgent tone of voice. There was no response from him. He just continued to mumble, "I'm sorry," over and over again.
"Van!" Hitomi demanded shaking his shoulders. He looked at her this time but his eyes were glazed over and blank. "Snap out of it, Van. Wake up. You can't just give up this easily. It's not your fault."
"It is my fault. I caused everything to happen," muttered Van.
"No it isn't!! Snap out of it Van!! Please," begged Hitomi as she started bawling. Running out of ideas, Hitomi slapped Van across the cheek and fainted in exhaustion.
Van blinked at the pain in his cheek shocking him out of his trance. He looked down at Hitomi's body, which lay in his lap now. "Hitomi…" he whispered.
Unexpectedly, the black bubble surrounding them began to rumble and crack revealing the light from the real world. Pieces started to fall down all around Van and Hitomi. He tried to cover her body with his to protect her but it wasn't enough. Protecting her head left her legs vulnerable and vice versa. Van pulled Hitomi closer to his body and closed his eyes. In a flash, Van's wings sprouted from his back enveloping them and sheltering them from the falling rubble. When Van opened his wings, he and Hitomi were back in reality under the large tree with Kimera and Celena fighting a short ways away. Van wasn't aware of his new surroundings. He just stared longingly at the angel in his arms until he too fell asleep.
Beads of sweat decorated Celena's brow now. Yes, she was a trained fighter but it had been six years since she had last fought and was out of practice. Meanwhile, Kimera had been training constantly since the end of the Destiny War and therefore much more experienced. Celena did pretty well in the defence department but was weak in offence. She had hardly placed a scratch on Kimera where as tiny slits were found all over Celena's body suit exposing her skin.
Exhausted, Celena carelessly trapped herself between the crazed maniac wielding a machete and the edge of the cliff. Slowly, Kimera managed to drive Celena right to the ledge. Celena was micrometres away from falling when Kimera abruptly stopped her attack in mid air. They stared at each other both with determination in their eyes panting. Celena wasn't about to give up even though she was in a disadvantage, but it seemed fate wasn't with her because the rocks underneath her boots gave way making her fall.
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!" yelped Celena as she tried to grip onto something…anything. When the dust finally cleared, the amethyst-eyed warrior was hanging on to dear life by the roots of the large tree a about a metre below. She tried to pull herself up or at least get a firm foothold along the side of the cliff but her muscles were too sore from all of the fighting.
"Dilandau-sama!!" Kimera cried out as she peered over the ledge. Before she could see that Celena was still alive, Kimera had turned around to glare at Van and Hitomi with rage and fury. "Look what you did to my dear Dilandau-sama!! You will pay greatly for what you have done!!!"
Tightening her grip on the hilt of her machete, Kimera charged at the sleeping lovers ready to slice them to bits. Just as she was about to reach Van and Hitomi, the bright bubble of light from the pendant again engulfed them radiating a strong pulse of energy catapulting the Zaibach sorceress into the air.
"What's going on?!! No!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Kimera shrieked as she flew through the air and slid down the jagged side of the cliff. Her decent was suddenly stopped when she was able to grab on to a tree root just like Celena.
By this time, Allen and Gaddes were about halfway across the bridge with Gaddes and his horse in the lead. As soon as Gaddes saw the figure with the red bodysuit fall, he gave a swift kick to the horse's flanks sending it galloping across the remainder of the link in tremendous speed. Allen was dumbfounded but followed suit completely trusting the instincts of his Sarge.
Once the two swordsmen reached the other side of the dragon's graveyard, they were blinded by the pendant's light. Both men hid their eyes from the flash with the cuffs of their sleeve and ran toward the large tree immediately after it faded. When they arrived at the clearing, Allen instantly rushed to Hitomi and Van while Gaddes went to rescue Celena.
A few minutes had passed and Celena's arms and hands ached. Again she tried to get a foothold in the crevices along the rocks but none of them were stable and only caused Celena to pull down on the tree root harder. She had seen and felt the power of the pulse but had no idea that Kimera was hanging below her to the left. Just when Celena thought her muscles were about to yield, she felt someone grab hold of her arm. Looking up, her eyes locked with Gaddes'. Without any strain, he lifted the slender girl up and held her in his arms.
"Gaddes…" whispered Celena as she returned his embrace never wanting to let go. Suddenly, Celena saw a glimpse of something black moving out of the corner of her eye. Hesitantly, she let go of Gaddes and peeked over the edge to see Kimera dangling to a tree root. Without a single thought, Celena outstretched her hand down to where Kimera was.
"Celena?" inquired a curious Gaddes. What was she doing?
"Give me your hand, Kimera," instructed Celena reaching her hand further wiggling her fingers.
"Dilandau-sama," uttered the Zaibach sorceress as she took hand off of the root and began extending it up to Celena's outstretched one. There hands were mere millimetres away when Kimera abruptly stopped. She looked into Celena's lavender eyes and saw nothing but love and caring, nothing like Dilandau's. Tears formed in Kimera's eyes finally realizing that Dilandau was gone; a sad realization. A smile began forming on Kimera's lips as she completely let go of the tree root plummeting down into the gorge.
"No," Celena called out as she attempted to catch Kimera but Gaddes grabbed her waist pulling her back to safety. She buried her head in his chest to avoid the sound of Kimera's death. Gaddes responded by crushing her closer to him.
After a few seconds, Allen walked up to where Gaddes and Celena were sitting. He had found Hitomi and Van resting peacefully in each other's arms with only a few minor injuries here and there. A look of calming relief was painted over his face at the sight, a look that had disappeared from the Knight of Caeli's face since this whole ordeal began.
Celena loosened her embrace around Gaddes and turned to look down into the chasm. There Kimera's body lay impaled on two of the larger dragon bones that littered the graveyard floor -- one through the head and one straight through her heart. She hung there with her dark red blood dripping down her limbs and seeping into the dry ground. Her silver hair was now drenched in blood and her eyes were wide open with her lips curved into her crazed smile. The monstrosity that was Kimera Kushrinada was finally no more.
When Celena detected her brother's presence, she let go of Gaddes and gave Allen an enormous bear hug, which he happily returned. "It's finally over," she whispered. "All of Zaibach is finally gone for good."
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Woo hoo!! Kimera is finally dead!!!! Let's all celebrate!!! Well, I hope you all liked this chapter. It took long enough to get to this point and I'm so glad that it's over. I hope you don't find the action/fighting scenes too stupid or lame but hey, I'm a lover, not a fighter so I absolutely suck at writing these scenes. I prefer being a visual director. I'm sure you all would enjoy seeing what I had in mind. Please be kind about the action sequences. I tried really hard to make them interesting. I even went to see The Musketeer tonight just to get some more ideas for the swordplay. Well, now that Kimera is finally out of the picture it time for….you guessed it…FLUFF!!! Unfortunately, since school starts for me in like 2 days, I'm going to have to cut down the number of chapters of fluff that I had planned. I'll probably just be writing 2 so that'll end my story off with 15 chapters, one being the epilogue. But hey, this chapter was like six thousand plus words long so I can just make Chapter 14 a super long fluff chapter. I better shut up now cause I'm really tired and it's 3AM. Please review and check out the story "The Heart Never Forgets" by Shunkashuutou Kanada, the group project that I'm working on with Phantom Angel, Marilyn N., and Oki Miya. Until the fluff, ta ta.