"And the winner of this match is Kayin Amoh!" The announcer blared over the loudspeaker.
The crowd cheered, Kayin stepping back, his blade shining with his opponent's blood. The man with the quarterstaff was standing outside the ring, holding his arm, the blood seeping down between his fingers.
Ellis, Eiji, and Sofia were watching this match, the sun setting in the horizon. It was the last match of the day and Kayin had won, to the chagrin of his opponent. Kayin left and headed to the elevator. He shot one look in Eiji's direction, the three friends having followed him to the bay of elevators and Kayin stepped in one, nodding to them once.
He put the keycard in the small slot provided and pressed the button for the tenth underground level. The elevator started with a bone-jarring shake, descending for what seemed like hours. The trip actually lasted thirty seconds, and Kayin was happy when the doors opened to reveal the same man that had kidnapped Allouette.
"I am Nimbus." The man said, bowing. "It is better to see you in your clothing."
Kayin growled and lunged for him. Nimbus stumbled back and put up a hand.
"Temper, temper. Unless you care nothing for Allouette's life."
Kayin took a step back, his voice almost a growl, "Take me to her."
Nimbus smiled in a way that made Kayin check over his shoulder before following him deeper into the level, the walls soon giving away into rock. They were now traveling through caves that dripped cold water, but felt heated. Kayin felt the overwhelming urge to get out Excalibur, but he knew Nimbus would take it as a threat and would give the order to kill Allouette.
"Just so you know, you're a dead man after this is over." Kayin said.
Nimbus smiled confidently, "I could say the same thing about you."
The caves began to get larger and the torches were more abundant. The rock walls dripped water over strange markings that must have been over several thousand years old. Kayin continued to walk forward, seeing a ray of light distinctly in the distance.
"Enjoy." Nimbus said, before disappearing into the darkness.
Kayin stopped for a moment, listening to the silence. He pulled out his sword and continued forward, towards the ray of light. He came out of the caves at the edge of a stone bridge over several hundred pointed, deadly stalagmites. At the center of the bridge he saw Allouette, her hands over her head in chains.
Her head was bowed, her eyes closed as he approached cautiously. He kneeled down in front of her and touched her cheek.
"Allouette?"
She looked up, groggy. Kayin reached up and gently undid the manacles, bringing her hands down on his shoulders. She leaned forward and laid her head on his shoulder.
"How long have you been chained like that?" He asked her.
"Since I was brought here." Her voice was quiet and struggled to escape her throat.
Kayin stood, furious. He lifted her with him onto shaky legs. "Can you walk?"
"That won't matter. You're not leaving."
The voice boomed from every side of the cave and almost shook the bridge.
"Atyon." Allouette whispered, her head still against Kayin's shoulder.
"Come out and fight if you have a problem with me!" Kayin shouted, holding Allouette gently with one arm, his other hand holding his sword.
"I think not. Only one of you is leaving that bridge. Make the decision before it's too late."
Kayin was about to ask what Atyon was talking about when the bridge started to shake. At both ends, sections of the bridge started to disappear, dropping away to reveal the stalagmites. He held Allouette to his body tightly until she pulled away with strength he didn't think she had.
"Kayin, this is all my fault. I'm sorry you got pulled into this."
Kayin shook his head, "This isn't your. . ."
Allouette stopped him with a kiss, more and more of the bridge falling away. In a few seconds there would be only enough for one person to stand on. Allouette leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on Kayin's mouth, touching his body one more time.
"I love you."
Kayin cried out something inaudible as Allouette walked the short distance to the ledge and stepped off. He ran to the ledge, noticing it was no longer disappearing in bits when there had been two on the bridge. He looked over the edge and peered into the darkness trying to see where she had fallen.
"Allouette!" He screamed, hoping, straining to hear a response.
"Kayin, don't move."
Kayin turned and saw Eiji standing on the other side with Ellis and Sofia. The bridge was rapidly re-appearing, and soon connected both sides of the cavern again. Eiji took the first hesitant step, and then was followed by Sofia and Ellis. Kayin looked back at them for a moment before continuing forward to the other side. When he reached the solid rock floor, he grabbed a torch and stormed forward, silently.
"Kayin, where are you going?" Eiji asked when the three companions caught up with him.
"I'm going to find Atyon Seraph and I'm going to kill him." Came the cold, steady response.
They followed him silently, wandering through the caves. Finally Kayin turned and pointed to where they had just come from, "I don't know how you followed me, but you need to go back. Atyon is mine alone."
"Kayin, we're here to help. You can't take him on your own." Ellis argued.
Sofia nodded her agreement, "After what we went through to get here, we're coming. We had to knock out several guards to get this far."
"Fine." Kayin said, cutting off Eiji before he could speak, "But stay out of my way."
The three followed him, trying to keep up with his rigorous pace. Kayin's eyes burned with rage and he showed it by moving faster. He could hear Atyon's laughter echoing in his head. Maybe it was a trick of the caves and his aching heart, but it drove his hatred, it built his anger.
The cavern opened up into a room with a stone alter on it. Draped on the alter was Allouette's body, looking more like a sacred sacrifice than a dead woman. The light from the wall sconces almost made it seem like she was breathing. Kayin walked slowly to the alter, Eiji and the two women watching as he took Allouette's hand.
He pressed it to his lips, then paused if shocked. He pressed two fingers to her throat and almost fell backwards when he felt a pulse.
"Yes, she's alive, though she shouldn't be. That silly little fool, she was supposed to toss you over, but I guess her heart has gotten the better of her common sense. I had to teleport her in midair to save her life."
Atyon stepped out of the shadows and placed one of Allouette's hands on her body. Kayin dropped her hand and brought Excalibur to his front.
"Now you die, Seraph. It's too bad I can't turn you in like I did your brother. I hear he's doing four consecutive life sentences that you can't bribe his way out of. What a shame. Nimbus should have killed me when he had the chance."
Atyon smiled and pulled out a katana, the handle made of ebony that was wrapped with black leather. "Come get me, Amoh."
Kayin growled and tossed the torch aside. Atyon looked past him for a moment and shook his head.
"Dear me, I believe I told you not to bring your little friends."
Atyon raised one hand and ki glowed at his palm. All three rose into the air and slammed against the cave wall, knocking the wind from all three. The points of ki that lifted them into the air now held them captive against the wall.
"Now it's just you and me."
"I don't have a problem with that." Kayin snarled. "But you're going to regret hurting them and ever laying a finger on Allouette."
Atyon laughed, "I doubt that."
Kayin brought his sword forward and leapt into the air, "SHOULDER CRUSH"
Atyon easily dodged the attack and came forward, letting his ki build around the katana before he brought it down across Kayin's sword. Kayin was blown backwards into the wall, his head cracking against the stone with a sickening thump. He felt along the back of his head, pushing his ponytail aside, his fingers dipping into something warm and wet from the back of his head.
Pulling his fingers away, Kayin saw it was blood running from the back of his head. For the moment he was relieved thinking at first the liquid was gray matter. Fighting vertigo, he stood and brought his sword back to ready. Atyon smiled and charged forward, slipping his katana under Kayin's defenses before the Scot could even realize what had happened.
Atyon brought the pommel of his sword up and delivered a blow to Kayin's chin that snapped his head back while sweeping his legs out from under him with a fast kick. Kayin fell to the rocky ground hard, his head hitting the stone floor. He looked up to see Atyon standing over him before the world went dark.
Allouette's eyes flickered open in time for her to watch the end of Kayin and Atyon's fight. She watched in horror as Kayin fell with a combination of attacks and didn't move to get up. Atyon stood over him for a minute before raising his sword for a killing blow. Allouette pulled her stiff body off the stone alter, ignoring the question of how she got there, and slammed into Atyon, throwing him off balance for a moment.
She dove over Kayin's body, pulling Excalibur out of his hand. Atyon turned, his eyes blazing with rage. Allouette lifted the sword and thrust it into Atyon's chest up to the hilt. Blood seeped from around the imbedded blade and onto her hands before he fell to the ground in a heap.
She let out the breath she had been holding and pulled Excalibur out of Atyon's body slowly. The corpse shuddered, then the youthful skin and muscles began to fade. Allouette watched in horror as the face of her father appeared where Atyon's had been. The illusion was completely gone, and she stared at her bloody hands a moment before lifting his body and pressing it to her chest, wailing.
Atyon smiled and came out of the shadows, the air in the cavern around the alter wavering, the hiding place of the Ittou No Okibi becoming more obvious. He stepped to Allouette's side and viciously grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet.
"You monster!" She screamed, struggling from his grasp. Her hand came back and struck his face, causing him to take a step back. Atyon smiled, then grabbed her hair and pulled her close to his face.
"I hope you live through this, I will enjoy making you my personal slave." He said to her, dragging her to the alter. The air of the chamber sweltered like a summer day in Australia as Atyon pulled a curved knife from his belt. He forced Allouette over to the alter, holding her hand palm up over the stone table.
He lifted the knife and dipped it in the still wet blood from her father, spreading it on the stone. Atyon then used the tip to slice her wrist open, pressing her arm to the alter where he had painted it with the blood of the innocent sacrifice.
She watched helplessly as she began to slowly bleed to death. The air sweltered more and the alter shook, tossing Allouette to the floor next to Kayin. Atyon stood behind the stone table, the knife in his hand dropping to the ground. The sweltering became more concentrated and the ground trembled when the alter cracked, a surging pillar of ki the color of blood rising out of the fracture.
Allouette pressed a piece of her own skirt against her wrist and threw her body protectively over Kayin's when the stone table blew apart. He moaned with the impact her body made, but she ignored it and gathered his body against her own, hoping to keep him from further harm.
Atyon pushed his hands into the red pillar, wincing as it burned with an intense heat. When they emerged, they weren't even charred, and they held a spectacular sword. Allouette shielded her eyes with one hand as the blade of the Ittou No Okibi glowed with an impenetrable light that burned around the blade, an inferno paying homage to her sacrifice.
Atyon stepped away from the alter and the pillar of ki faded, as did the halo of flame around the sword. The air stilled and everything was silent for a moment. He stared at the blade in his hand and smiled. The smile grew and laughter pealed from his throat, ringing on the stone walls, threatening to bring the cave down around them. Atyon looked up from the sword with a look of a man on the brink of insanity.