Angel and Stealth
Chapter 6: Escape
Disclaimer: see chapter 1
Seraphim felt altogether wretched and hopeless when a new day dawned and she was no closer to escape than the night before. She thought of Seto. 'I wish he were here,' she mused half-heartedly. If he was, it would only lead to his capture. After a few more hours of thinking fruitlessly for a plan, Seraphim hung her head and gave up. The sun had just passed overhead, making it about one in the afternoon.
Seto, in the meantime, had begun re-doing his plans to accommodate Seraphim's supposed memory loss. He decided it would probably be best if he stuck to the original plan and tried to lure her away after Pegasus had gone. Seto would pretend to forget the precious talisman in his car, give Pegasus the keys, and tell him to get the talisman himself. His excuse would be he wanted to see the girl before her mind was 'enslaved.' He was sure Pegasus would allow it because Pegasus NEEDED that talisman, or so the stupid fool thought. Seto snickered.
Placing the now-finished talisman in a black box lined with burgundy velvet, Seto sat back to figure out how to get Seraphim away before the loony returned.
His thoughts, however, were masters of themselves. His self-control was soon whittled away until he was not thinking of rescuing Seraphim, but of Seraphim herself. He missed seeing her face; she was so beautiful. He missed her laugh. He missed everything about her, their silly arguments, the way she would laugh at him every morning because his hair was messy when he woke up, and the way she would insist on not accepting his help, saying she could do it herself. Whatever IT happened to be.
When he got her back, he supposed he would have to tell her. He wanted to tell her. He wasn't sure if he loved her, it was too soon for that. But he at least liked her...a lot. So much that he was risking his life for her.
Seraphim, on the other hand, had been summoned to Pegasus. She stood quietly, decided she would hear him first, rant and swear later.
The silver-haired man regarded the ex-assassin curiously. "Well," he began, "I am sure you are unaware of your fate for the upcoming full moon." He smiled wickedly. "So, being as you cannot escape and I wish to make you miserable, I will tell you."
"Keep your secrets you foul a-" Seraphim was jerked back sharply by the guard that held her.
"Now, now, none of that," said Pegasus. "I will tell you what I want, when I want, if I want." He concluded. "Now I will tell you your fate."
Seraphim turned her head stubbornly.
"You will listen, whether you want to or not," Pegasus reprimanded. "On the following full moon, the twenty first to be exact, a young man will deliver to me that last talisman that I need. Then, I will place the talismans in special slots on the central pillar of Stonehenge. The ritual which I will then read shall transfer their power into your body, driving out your soul and making you my slave."
Seraphim wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You're a bastard," she spat. "And a jerk! And if you even try that, I'll find a way to kill you I swear!" she bellowed.
Pegasus just laughed at her. "And before that, I shall have to fill a crystal vial with your blood to fuse you to me, allowing me to control the powers that will flow through your veins."
Seraphim turned her head away. "Never."
Pegasus grabbed Seraphim's chin, tilting it so she was staring straight into his eyes. "My dear, you don't have a choice," he sneered.
"Shut up and get the hell away from me!" Seraphim screamed, trying to push Pegasus away.
Pegasus waved to the guard to take her away. "Know this sweetheart, you can't escape. That Seto Kaiba isn't nearly as faithful as you or I thought. You'll be a slave for the rest of your life, no mind and just doing my bidding every day," he laughed; it was a cold and cruel laugh. "Enjoy your last few days! For soon you won't be able to enjoy anything."
Seraphim bit her lip and followed the guard out. When they had once again secured her and left, she burst into tears.
'Damn it Seto!' she thought. If it weren't for him she wouldn't care. But she wanted to see him. She had nothing to do all day and he would dominate her thoughts. His smile, his laugh, his voice; they haunted her all day.
She sighed pitifully. Since when had one of the world's best assassins been reduced to a sniveling piece of trash? Since she fell in love. Cursing her fickle heart, Seraphim turned to look at the sunset. She wished she could just grow wings and fly away...
Days past, soon it was the night for the ritual. Seraphim was forced into a long silver strapless dress and made to walk barefoot. She was very unhappy because she kept tripping over the long skirt of the dress and with her wrist shackled behind her back, she couldn't lift up the hem.
Cursing bitterly as she tripped again, Seraphim tried to think of a way to escape. That was, of course, fruitless since she had done it a thousand times before and not succeeded. Sighing and giving up, she turned her thoughts to Seto. Looking up at the stars she wished, figuring it couldn't hurt, that she would see him one last time before her mind was driven from her body by 'the fucking asshole', as she had taken to calling Pegasus behind his back.
Meanwhile, Seto was standing at the meeting place he and Pegasus had decided in. He fingered the eight-millimeter pistol hidden at his waist, just in case, impatiently. The moon was rising. It was time.
Seto could see Pegasus walking towards him; this was it. He would have Seraphim back, safe, soon. Clenching his fists, Seto stepped forward to meet Pegasus.
Pegasus did not recognize the ex-assassin. He had dyed his hair black instead of reddish-brown and donned green contact lenses. He wore thinly rimmed glasses that kept slipping down his nose. He was wearing a black button-down, silk dress shirt and black slacks. All in all, he looked very dark. But Seto smiled as warmly as he could and shook Pegasus' hand, though he felt revolted at the other man's touch.
"How nice to finally meet you!" Seto exclaimed, trying to sound happy.
"Likewise," replied Pegasus. "Have you got the talisman?"
Seto pretended to search his pockets. "Oh! I've forgotten it in the car! Do you think you or one of your men could get it for me? I'm anxious to see the girl before the ritual to get the before and after effect," he replied.
Pegasus nodded. "Where is your car?" he asked.
Seto pointed a little way off near to where the tour buses stopped. "Over there," he replied, beeping the car to unlock it and turn on the lights.
Pegasus looked at the car, and back to Seto. "I'll have my men fetch it. What does it look like Mr...." it was then that Pegasus realized he didn't know the stranger's name.
"My name is Darius, Darius Stone," said Seto, extending his hand.
Pegasus took it; he did not suspect a thing. "Well, nice to meet you Mr. Stone. One of my men will get the talisman, what does it look like?"
"It should be on the dashboard, a little black velvet box," Seto replied.
"Alright," Pegasus replied. "Kemo," he said into a walkie-talkie, "go down to the car with the lights on and get a small black box off the dashboard."
"Right sir," a voice crackled from the tiny device.
Seto cursed inwardly, he needed a new plan and he needed it now. "Thank you Mr. Pegasus, may I go see the girl?" he asked.
Pegasus nodded. "Follow me," he said as he led Seto to the middle of the altar where Seraphim was chained. Pegasus then took out a small box containing the rest of the talismans.
"Now, you may take a seat there," Pegasus pointed to a few chairs, probably for whoever was helping him that night.
Seto nodded and went to sit down. Seraphim happened to look his way, and she started. She recognized him perfectly. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, allowing her mouth to form a perfect 'o'.
Seto glared at her, trying to tell her with his eyes that he was trying to figure out how to free her. Thankfully, Pegasus was speaking to a guard at the moment and didn't see the exchange of soundless words. They had no need for words; they had accomplished the feat of speaking volumes through their eyes, a feat usually only reserved for intimate lovers.
Seraphim averted her eyes to the ground as Pegasus walked around the base of the pillar, seemingly looking for something. Moving aside some grass, he found seven holes near the ground. This puzzled him because there were eight talismans he possessed.
"Darius, a word," Pegasus called Seto over.
Rising from his seat, Seto walked over. "Yes?" he asked.
"There are only seven holes here, but there are eight talismans, explain please," Pegasus stated tersely.
"Seven of the talismans go in the holes," Seto explained, making everything up on the spot. "The soul talisman is held by the offering, the talisman locks her soul away so the powers flow easily through her without getting caught up with her soul."
Pegasus thought for a moment. It was very logical. His doubts diminished and he was reassured. "All right, I believe you, you may return to your seat," said Pegasus.
Seto nodded and sat down again.
Taking a crystal vial veined with gold, Pegasus proceeded to make a small cut on Seraphim's upper arm and fill the vial. Taking an IV tube, he attached the vial to the plastic tubing, which was attached to his arm, and completed the blood transfusion.
Pegasus then forced the soul talisman into Seraphim's hands and secured them shut with some duct tape. He then proceeded to read from the slip of paper with the incantation on it. He had modified it a bit to account for only one 'host' body for the 'power.'
"From the shadow may the light appear,
And thunder shall rain from the heavens,
It is now that the chosen one arises,
Take her purity and grant me,
That which was lost to the ages."
A low rumble was heard as the moon shone through dark clouds, a single shaft of light illuminating Seraphim in her plight. The talismans began to glow (except for the fake one but Pegasus couldn't see it so it didn't matter). Seto began to be frantic, searching for a plan.
"Let her blood run crimson in the sand,
On the eve of the defeat,
The loss of the angels,
In the place as old as time."
Seto decided that the only thing left to do would be to jump up in front of her, wrench her out of the chains with super-human strength and run like hell...but that was fruitless wasn't it?
Let her writhe in pain,
The beautiful twilight soul,
Trapped in the pits of hell."
No choice! Seto did it. Just before the incantation was completed, he ran, jumped up on the pillar and tried to pull Seraphim off. In the process, he was caught in the aura of the spell. Fortunately for our heroes, this created a slight glitch in the spell. Seraphim promptly fell off the pillar, landing on her ass in a rather compromising position, but Seto seemed to be held in the air by some mysterious force or the other. As he was wondering what the hell was going on, a venomous shriek was heard from one Maximillion Pegasus.
"Get away from there!" he shouted vainly, it was already too late.
Seto, who was still floating in midair, looked down and around him. He seemed to be surrounded in a glowing light. Things would have gone directly according to planned if not for one crucial detail: Pegasus had taken Seraphim's blood instead of Seto's, meaning that he could only control HER body infused with the mystical talisman's power. Now that Seto was going to be infused with the power, he could bend it to his will. But they had no idea if or how long the power would last because Seto acquired the power by a different way that was normal for most other 'pure ones.'
Seto was set down on the altar, and the seven original talismans released themselves to circle around him. They whirled faster and faster, always getting closer to him, until they fused with him completely. In a brilliant flash of light, the green contacts melted away and the black hair dye vanished. There stood, in place of the fictitious Darius Stone, Seto Kaiba.
Seto, thinking fast, decided to do a little sniping. While everyone was still frozen, he took out his pistol and began having a hell of a lot of fun shooting all of Pegasus' guards. He had shot all but three, which he couldn't exactly find, when he turned on Pegasus. The older man looked frightened at the prospect of being shot for a moment, and then he smiled smugly.
"What's so great about being shot?" asked Seto. "Cause you know that's what I'm going to do to you."
Pegasus shook his head and looked over Seto's shoulder. Kemo had one arm wrapped around Seraphim's neck and held a gun to her temple. "Just give me a reason pretty boy," Kemo grinned at Seto.
Seto felt his blood run cold as he froze. One wrong move could result in Seraphim's death. She was white as a sheet, trying vainly to look and see where her attacker's weak point was.
"Now Kaiba, since the tables have turned and we have your little friend again, let's say we play a little game?" Pegasus chuckled; it sent shivers down Seraphim's spine.
"What did you have in mind?" asked Seto, trying to look calm, pretending he didn't feel like he was about to have a heart attack.
"You will be blindfolded," began Pegasus. "We will hold Seraphim at this altar, and you will begin on the opposite edge of the field. Surely with your new powers you can get to her and save her from my...clutches before my men shoot you right?" He grinned and walked over to Seraphim. "She really IS a beautiful prize," he mused, bending slightly to kiss her neck, slipping one of his hands to her chest.
Seraphim looked at him with horror and disgust, spitting at Pegasus' feet when he pulled away.
Seto looked from Seraphim to Pegasus and back to Seraphim again. Slowly, he nodded in agreement.
"Seto!" Seraphim exclaimed, "You can't do this!"
Seto didn't answer her.
"You'll be killed! Don't be such an ass and think the stupid fucking 'power' can save your life!" she pleaded. "Be SENSIBLE! SETO!"
Seto shook his head. "I am being sensible. And I'm going to save you."
He wouldn't speak to Seraphim after that.
Seto allowed himself to be escorted around the place he had parked his car and then blindfolded. He had counted beforehand that he failed to shoot and kill about four of the guards. One of which was Kemo and who had Seraphim in a death grip at that very moment.
Pegasus was to prod Seto in the right direction when it was all right for him to begin.
Sweat ran down Seto's forehead. Just before the push, a dark cloud passed over the moon (courtesy of the 'dark' talisman), obscuring the shooters' vision.
Seto began to run in what he hoped was a straight line. Unbeknownst to him, the fire talisman had created a barrier between the shooters and himself while the water talisman flooded the grass around him so the flames would not touch him.
Then, the light talisman did its part, illuminating so brightly that all but Seto were blinded. Then the flames from the fire talisman jumped to the blindfold, and without touching Seto, burned away the offense.
Now Seto was even with his pursuers.
Through the flames, he gunned his opponents down, his small pistol seemed to not run out of bullets and every bullet hit a mark. Seto vaguely wondered if it was the work of one of the talismans.
As Pegasus saw Seto getting closer, he began to panic. Grabbing a spare gun from one of his fallen guards, he began firing at Seto.
Seto, using speed and skill of years of training, dodged all but the final one, which caught him in his upper left arm. Muffling a yelp of pain, Seto wrenched the gun out of Pegasus' grip and proceeded to aim and kill Maximillion Pegasus J. Crawford with his own fucking gun.
Just as Seto was about to pull the trigger, Kemo, who still had Seraphim in his stranglehold, had removed the barrel of the gun from her temple and had now pointed it vaguely at Seto.
"Seto!" Seraphim screeched.
Seto and Kemo fired at the exact same moment, and both bullets found their targets. Pegasus slumped to the ground; Seto had shot him right between the eyes. Kemo's bullet had embedded itself to the right of Seto's lower back. Another shot found its way to his calf. Grunting and clutching his side, Seto released a few bullets, one hitting home and driving Kemo to the ground, who brought Seraphim down with him.
Seraphim, finding herself freed for the moment, grabbed Kemo's gun and finished Seto's job. It was quick, a couple bullets penetrating the overgrown bodyguard's skull and he was pudding.
Gazing grimly at Seto who was on his knees, clutching the bullet wound in his side, Seraphim ran to help him. She dragged his upper body off the ground and, flipping him over, laid him on his stomach.
"Seto?" she asked tentatively, "Are you going to be alright?" She sounded so afraid.
Seto winced as she touched his wound, testing it to see whether she could get the bullet out. "Ouch! It hurts like hell!" he shut his eyes tightly. "How bad does it look?"
"I don't know."
"I don't think I'll be dying anytime soon but," Seto paused to suck in a breath, "damn, it hurts."
Seraphim contemplated how she would get her fallen friend back to wherever it was they were going to be staying without being here the following morning for the tour buses to find about twenty dead bodies for apparently no reason at all. Just as she was about to pick Seto up and literally drag him to his car, something incredible and strange happened.
Seto thought it was Seraphim jarring his body, and Seraphim believed it was the setting of the full moon, but the power of the soul talisman was unlocked. Thousands of tiny blue streaks of lightning shot out through Seto's wounds. Seraphim gasped, she could actually SEE the tissue knitting back together as the three bullets in Seto's side, leg, and arm were forced out.
In a matter of five minutes, Seto was feeling healed enough to stand and walk, only wincing when he pressed his side wound. Also, with the setting of the moon, the talisman's powers were finished. They were expelled from Seto's body into his two fists. When he opened them his right hand held the fire, water, wind, and earth talismans. His left held the soul, dark, and light.
"That...was one of the freakiest things I've ever seen," Seraphim stated after a few minutes. "But it was really cool."
"Er...yeah," Seto replied, "come on, we have to get out of here, the police will be here tomorrow and we have to get away from here."
Seraphim blinked a couple times, "Right, where're you staying?"
"A hotel a couple miles from here, I have all your stuff. We can be packed, checked out, and half way around the world by the time the cops get here," Seto grinned.
Seraphim felt a small blush creep up to her cheeks, she was thankful for the dark of night. "That'd be good," she replied.
"Okay, let's go, the car's this way," Seto took Seraphim's hand and led her to the car.
Beeping the car open, Seto and Seraphim got in the car. After the doors closed, they sat there for a few minutes in silent contemplation.
Finally, Seraphim spoke. "Seto, why did you save me?" she asked.
"Because." Seto replied. He couldn't tell her it was because he had somewhat less-than-friendly feelings for...could he?
"So it wouldn't have mattered to you if Pegasus had used me as a tool for world domination and then raped me?" she asked monotonously.
Seto started. "Well.no, yes, maybe, I...it would have mattered," he replied softly, looking at the steering wheel.
Seraphim brushed Seto's cheek with her fingers, making him look sharply at her. "Then why?" she asked, her voice pleading.
"Because..." Seto's voice failed him. 'Damn that girl and her eyes,' he cursed to himself.
Their noses were almost touching. "You can tell me the truth Seto Kaiba," she said softly.
"Because...I..." Seto didn't know what to do. To tell or not to tell? That was the question for him...
"Fine if you won't tell your secret then I'll tell you mine," Seraphim stated in a mock-huff. "I have feelings for you. I've broken my Ra be damned solemn fucking rule and I like you, romantically. Okay? And I told myself when I realized I was captured, I was going to slap you for endangering yourself for me," Seraphim had tears in her eyes. "But that's not all."
Seto gulped, there was...more? She was so close to him, her eyes blazed. But she didn't look mad, she looked...almost...seductive. Seto swallowed a different kind of lump in his throat.
"I told myself I was going to slap you AFTER I kissed you for being so damn brave," she said tenderly, closing the gap between their lips.
And...yeah. End chapter 6. Probably one chapter after this and the end. then i can get started on cherryblossom's fic! ^-^ oh.question for cherryblossom: What rating do you want? (G, PG, PG-13, R) thank you! I'm going to get started on the storyline thinger now!
Chapter 6: Escape
Disclaimer: see chapter 1
Seraphim felt altogether wretched and hopeless when a new day dawned and she was no closer to escape than the night before. She thought of Seto. 'I wish he were here,' she mused half-heartedly. If he was, it would only lead to his capture. After a few more hours of thinking fruitlessly for a plan, Seraphim hung her head and gave up. The sun had just passed overhead, making it about one in the afternoon.
Seto, in the meantime, had begun re-doing his plans to accommodate Seraphim's supposed memory loss. He decided it would probably be best if he stuck to the original plan and tried to lure her away after Pegasus had gone. Seto would pretend to forget the precious talisman in his car, give Pegasus the keys, and tell him to get the talisman himself. His excuse would be he wanted to see the girl before her mind was 'enslaved.' He was sure Pegasus would allow it because Pegasus NEEDED that talisman, or so the stupid fool thought. Seto snickered.
Placing the now-finished talisman in a black box lined with burgundy velvet, Seto sat back to figure out how to get Seraphim away before the loony returned.
His thoughts, however, were masters of themselves. His self-control was soon whittled away until he was not thinking of rescuing Seraphim, but of Seraphim herself. He missed seeing her face; she was so beautiful. He missed her laugh. He missed everything about her, their silly arguments, the way she would laugh at him every morning because his hair was messy when he woke up, and the way she would insist on not accepting his help, saying she could do it herself. Whatever IT happened to be.
When he got her back, he supposed he would have to tell her. He wanted to tell her. He wasn't sure if he loved her, it was too soon for that. But he at least liked her...a lot. So much that he was risking his life for her.
Seraphim, on the other hand, had been summoned to Pegasus. She stood quietly, decided she would hear him first, rant and swear later.
The silver-haired man regarded the ex-assassin curiously. "Well," he began, "I am sure you are unaware of your fate for the upcoming full moon." He smiled wickedly. "So, being as you cannot escape and I wish to make you miserable, I will tell you."
"Keep your secrets you foul a-" Seraphim was jerked back sharply by the guard that held her.
"Now, now, none of that," said Pegasus. "I will tell you what I want, when I want, if I want." He concluded. "Now I will tell you your fate."
Seraphim turned her head stubbornly.
"You will listen, whether you want to or not," Pegasus reprimanded. "On the following full moon, the twenty first to be exact, a young man will deliver to me that last talisman that I need. Then, I will place the talismans in special slots on the central pillar of Stonehenge. The ritual which I will then read shall transfer their power into your body, driving out your soul and making you my slave."
Seraphim wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You're a bastard," she spat. "And a jerk! And if you even try that, I'll find a way to kill you I swear!" she bellowed.
Pegasus just laughed at her. "And before that, I shall have to fill a crystal vial with your blood to fuse you to me, allowing me to control the powers that will flow through your veins."
Seraphim turned her head away. "Never."
Pegasus grabbed Seraphim's chin, tilting it so she was staring straight into his eyes. "My dear, you don't have a choice," he sneered.
"Shut up and get the hell away from me!" Seraphim screamed, trying to push Pegasus away.
Pegasus waved to the guard to take her away. "Know this sweetheart, you can't escape. That Seto Kaiba isn't nearly as faithful as you or I thought. You'll be a slave for the rest of your life, no mind and just doing my bidding every day," he laughed; it was a cold and cruel laugh. "Enjoy your last few days! For soon you won't be able to enjoy anything."
Seraphim bit her lip and followed the guard out. When they had once again secured her and left, she burst into tears.
'Damn it Seto!' she thought. If it weren't for him she wouldn't care. But she wanted to see him. She had nothing to do all day and he would dominate her thoughts. His smile, his laugh, his voice; they haunted her all day.
She sighed pitifully. Since when had one of the world's best assassins been reduced to a sniveling piece of trash? Since she fell in love. Cursing her fickle heart, Seraphim turned to look at the sunset. She wished she could just grow wings and fly away...
Days past, soon it was the night for the ritual. Seraphim was forced into a long silver strapless dress and made to walk barefoot. She was very unhappy because she kept tripping over the long skirt of the dress and with her wrist shackled behind her back, she couldn't lift up the hem.
Cursing bitterly as she tripped again, Seraphim tried to think of a way to escape. That was, of course, fruitless since she had done it a thousand times before and not succeeded. Sighing and giving up, she turned her thoughts to Seto. Looking up at the stars she wished, figuring it couldn't hurt, that she would see him one last time before her mind was driven from her body by 'the fucking asshole', as she had taken to calling Pegasus behind his back.
Meanwhile, Seto was standing at the meeting place he and Pegasus had decided in. He fingered the eight-millimeter pistol hidden at his waist, just in case, impatiently. The moon was rising. It was time.
Seto could see Pegasus walking towards him; this was it. He would have Seraphim back, safe, soon. Clenching his fists, Seto stepped forward to meet Pegasus.
Pegasus did not recognize the ex-assassin. He had dyed his hair black instead of reddish-brown and donned green contact lenses. He wore thinly rimmed glasses that kept slipping down his nose. He was wearing a black button-down, silk dress shirt and black slacks. All in all, he looked very dark. But Seto smiled as warmly as he could and shook Pegasus' hand, though he felt revolted at the other man's touch.
"How nice to finally meet you!" Seto exclaimed, trying to sound happy.
"Likewise," replied Pegasus. "Have you got the talisman?"
Seto pretended to search his pockets. "Oh! I've forgotten it in the car! Do you think you or one of your men could get it for me? I'm anxious to see the girl before the ritual to get the before and after effect," he replied.
Pegasus nodded. "Where is your car?" he asked.
Seto pointed a little way off near to where the tour buses stopped. "Over there," he replied, beeping the car to unlock it and turn on the lights.
Pegasus looked at the car, and back to Seto. "I'll have my men fetch it. What does it look like Mr...." it was then that Pegasus realized he didn't know the stranger's name.
"My name is Darius, Darius Stone," said Seto, extending his hand.
Pegasus took it; he did not suspect a thing. "Well, nice to meet you Mr. Stone. One of my men will get the talisman, what does it look like?"
"It should be on the dashboard, a little black velvet box," Seto replied.
"Alright," Pegasus replied. "Kemo," he said into a walkie-talkie, "go down to the car with the lights on and get a small black box off the dashboard."
"Right sir," a voice crackled from the tiny device.
Seto cursed inwardly, he needed a new plan and he needed it now. "Thank you Mr. Pegasus, may I go see the girl?" he asked.
Pegasus nodded. "Follow me," he said as he led Seto to the middle of the altar where Seraphim was chained. Pegasus then took out a small box containing the rest of the talismans.
"Now, you may take a seat there," Pegasus pointed to a few chairs, probably for whoever was helping him that night.
Seto nodded and went to sit down. Seraphim happened to look his way, and she started. She recognized him perfectly. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, allowing her mouth to form a perfect 'o'.
Seto glared at her, trying to tell her with his eyes that he was trying to figure out how to free her. Thankfully, Pegasus was speaking to a guard at the moment and didn't see the exchange of soundless words. They had no need for words; they had accomplished the feat of speaking volumes through their eyes, a feat usually only reserved for intimate lovers.
Seraphim averted her eyes to the ground as Pegasus walked around the base of the pillar, seemingly looking for something. Moving aside some grass, he found seven holes near the ground. This puzzled him because there were eight talismans he possessed.
"Darius, a word," Pegasus called Seto over.
Rising from his seat, Seto walked over. "Yes?" he asked.
"There are only seven holes here, but there are eight talismans, explain please," Pegasus stated tersely.
"Seven of the talismans go in the holes," Seto explained, making everything up on the spot. "The soul talisman is held by the offering, the talisman locks her soul away so the powers flow easily through her without getting caught up with her soul."
Pegasus thought for a moment. It was very logical. His doubts diminished and he was reassured. "All right, I believe you, you may return to your seat," said Pegasus.
Seto nodded and sat down again.
Taking a crystal vial veined with gold, Pegasus proceeded to make a small cut on Seraphim's upper arm and fill the vial. Taking an IV tube, he attached the vial to the plastic tubing, which was attached to his arm, and completed the blood transfusion.
Pegasus then forced the soul talisman into Seraphim's hands and secured them shut with some duct tape. He then proceeded to read from the slip of paper with the incantation on it. He had modified it a bit to account for only one 'host' body for the 'power.'
"From the shadow may the light appear,
And thunder shall rain from the heavens,
It is now that the chosen one arises,
Take her purity and grant me,
That which was lost to the ages."
A low rumble was heard as the moon shone through dark clouds, a single shaft of light illuminating Seraphim in her plight. The talismans began to glow (except for the fake one but Pegasus couldn't see it so it didn't matter). Seto began to be frantic, searching for a plan.
"Let her blood run crimson in the sand,
On the eve of the defeat,
The loss of the angels,
In the place as old as time."
Seto decided that the only thing left to do would be to jump up in front of her, wrench her out of the chains with super-human strength and run like hell...but that was fruitless wasn't it?
Let her writhe in pain,
The beautiful twilight soul,
Trapped in the pits of hell."
No choice! Seto did it. Just before the incantation was completed, he ran, jumped up on the pillar and tried to pull Seraphim off. In the process, he was caught in the aura of the spell. Fortunately for our heroes, this created a slight glitch in the spell. Seraphim promptly fell off the pillar, landing on her ass in a rather compromising position, but Seto seemed to be held in the air by some mysterious force or the other. As he was wondering what the hell was going on, a venomous shriek was heard from one Maximillion Pegasus.
"Get away from there!" he shouted vainly, it was already too late.
Seto, who was still floating in midair, looked down and around him. He seemed to be surrounded in a glowing light. Things would have gone directly according to planned if not for one crucial detail: Pegasus had taken Seraphim's blood instead of Seto's, meaning that he could only control HER body infused with the mystical talisman's power. Now that Seto was going to be infused with the power, he could bend it to his will. But they had no idea if or how long the power would last because Seto acquired the power by a different way that was normal for most other 'pure ones.'
Seto was set down on the altar, and the seven original talismans released themselves to circle around him. They whirled faster and faster, always getting closer to him, until they fused with him completely. In a brilliant flash of light, the green contacts melted away and the black hair dye vanished. There stood, in place of the fictitious Darius Stone, Seto Kaiba.
Seto, thinking fast, decided to do a little sniping. While everyone was still frozen, he took out his pistol and began having a hell of a lot of fun shooting all of Pegasus' guards. He had shot all but three, which he couldn't exactly find, when he turned on Pegasus. The older man looked frightened at the prospect of being shot for a moment, and then he smiled smugly.
"What's so great about being shot?" asked Seto. "Cause you know that's what I'm going to do to you."
Pegasus shook his head and looked over Seto's shoulder. Kemo had one arm wrapped around Seraphim's neck and held a gun to her temple. "Just give me a reason pretty boy," Kemo grinned at Seto.
Seto felt his blood run cold as he froze. One wrong move could result in Seraphim's death. She was white as a sheet, trying vainly to look and see where her attacker's weak point was.
"Now Kaiba, since the tables have turned and we have your little friend again, let's say we play a little game?" Pegasus chuckled; it sent shivers down Seraphim's spine.
"What did you have in mind?" asked Seto, trying to look calm, pretending he didn't feel like he was about to have a heart attack.
"You will be blindfolded," began Pegasus. "We will hold Seraphim at this altar, and you will begin on the opposite edge of the field. Surely with your new powers you can get to her and save her from my...clutches before my men shoot you right?" He grinned and walked over to Seraphim. "She really IS a beautiful prize," he mused, bending slightly to kiss her neck, slipping one of his hands to her chest.
Seraphim looked at him with horror and disgust, spitting at Pegasus' feet when he pulled away.
Seto looked from Seraphim to Pegasus and back to Seraphim again. Slowly, he nodded in agreement.
"Seto!" Seraphim exclaimed, "You can't do this!"
Seto didn't answer her.
"You'll be killed! Don't be such an ass and think the stupid fucking 'power' can save your life!" she pleaded. "Be SENSIBLE! SETO!"
Seto shook his head. "I am being sensible. And I'm going to save you."
He wouldn't speak to Seraphim after that.
Seto allowed himself to be escorted around the place he had parked his car and then blindfolded. He had counted beforehand that he failed to shoot and kill about four of the guards. One of which was Kemo and who had Seraphim in a death grip at that very moment.
Pegasus was to prod Seto in the right direction when it was all right for him to begin.
Sweat ran down Seto's forehead. Just before the push, a dark cloud passed over the moon (courtesy of the 'dark' talisman), obscuring the shooters' vision.
Seto began to run in what he hoped was a straight line. Unbeknownst to him, the fire talisman had created a barrier between the shooters and himself while the water talisman flooded the grass around him so the flames would not touch him.
Then, the light talisman did its part, illuminating so brightly that all but Seto were blinded. Then the flames from the fire talisman jumped to the blindfold, and without touching Seto, burned away the offense.
Now Seto was even with his pursuers.
Through the flames, he gunned his opponents down, his small pistol seemed to not run out of bullets and every bullet hit a mark. Seto vaguely wondered if it was the work of one of the talismans.
As Pegasus saw Seto getting closer, he began to panic. Grabbing a spare gun from one of his fallen guards, he began firing at Seto.
Seto, using speed and skill of years of training, dodged all but the final one, which caught him in his upper left arm. Muffling a yelp of pain, Seto wrenched the gun out of Pegasus' grip and proceeded to aim and kill Maximillion Pegasus J. Crawford with his own fucking gun.
Just as Seto was about to pull the trigger, Kemo, who still had Seraphim in his stranglehold, had removed the barrel of the gun from her temple and had now pointed it vaguely at Seto.
"Seto!" Seraphim screeched.
Seto and Kemo fired at the exact same moment, and both bullets found their targets. Pegasus slumped to the ground; Seto had shot him right between the eyes. Kemo's bullet had embedded itself to the right of Seto's lower back. Another shot found its way to his calf. Grunting and clutching his side, Seto released a few bullets, one hitting home and driving Kemo to the ground, who brought Seraphim down with him.
Seraphim, finding herself freed for the moment, grabbed Kemo's gun and finished Seto's job. It was quick, a couple bullets penetrating the overgrown bodyguard's skull and he was pudding.
Gazing grimly at Seto who was on his knees, clutching the bullet wound in his side, Seraphim ran to help him. She dragged his upper body off the ground and, flipping him over, laid him on his stomach.
"Seto?" she asked tentatively, "Are you going to be alright?" She sounded so afraid.
Seto winced as she touched his wound, testing it to see whether she could get the bullet out. "Ouch! It hurts like hell!" he shut his eyes tightly. "How bad does it look?"
"I don't know."
"I don't think I'll be dying anytime soon but," Seto paused to suck in a breath, "damn, it hurts."
Seraphim contemplated how she would get her fallen friend back to wherever it was they were going to be staying without being here the following morning for the tour buses to find about twenty dead bodies for apparently no reason at all. Just as she was about to pick Seto up and literally drag him to his car, something incredible and strange happened.
Seto thought it was Seraphim jarring his body, and Seraphim believed it was the setting of the full moon, but the power of the soul talisman was unlocked. Thousands of tiny blue streaks of lightning shot out through Seto's wounds. Seraphim gasped, she could actually SEE the tissue knitting back together as the three bullets in Seto's side, leg, and arm were forced out.
In a matter of five minutes, Seto was feeling healed enough to stand and walk, only wincing when he pressed his side wound. Also, with the setting of the moon, the talisman's powers were finished. They were expelled from Seto's body into his two fists. When he opened them his right hand held the fire, water, wind, and earth talismans. His left held the soul, dark, and light.
"That...was one of the freakiest things I've ever seen," Seraphim stated after a few minutes. "But it was really cool."
"Er...yeah," Seto replied, "come on, we have to get out of here, the police will be here tomorrow and we have to get away from here."
Seraphim blinked a couple times, "Right, where're you staying?"
"A hotel a couple miles from here, I have all your stuff. We can be packed, checked out, and half way around the world by the time the cops get here," Seto grinned.
Seraphim felt a small blush creep up to her cheeks, she was thankful for the dark of night. "That'd be good," she replied.
"Okay, let's go, the car's this way," Seto took Seraphim's hand and led her to the car.
Beeping the car open, Seto and Seraphim got in the car. After the doors closed, they sat there for a few minutes in silent contemplation.
Finally, Seraphim spoke. "Seto, why did you save me?" she asked.
"Because." Seto replied. He couldn't tell her it was because he had somewhat less-than-friendly feelings for...could he?
"So it wouldn't have mattered to you if Pegasus had used me as a tool for world domination and then raped me?" she asked monotonously.
Seto started. "Well.no, yes, maybe, I...it would have mattered," he replied softly, looking at the steering wheel.
Seraphim brushed Seto's cheek with her fingers, making him look sharply at her. "Then why?" she asked, her voice pleading.
"Because..." Seto's voice failed him. 'Damn that girl and her eyes,' he cursed to himself.
Their noses were almost touching. "You can tell me the truth Seto Kaiba," she said softly.
"Because...I..." Seto didn't know what to do. To tell or not to tell? That was the question for him...
"Fine if you won't tell your secret then I'll tell you mine," Seraphim stated in a mock-huff. "I have feelings for you. I've broken my Ra be damned solemn fucking rule and I like you, romantically. Okay? And I told myself when I realized I was captured, I was going to slap you for endangering yourself for me," Seraphim had tears in her eyes. "But that's not all."
Seto gulped, there was...more? She was so close to him, her eyes blazed. But she didn't look mad, she looked...almost...seductive. Seto swallowed a different kind of lump in his throat.
"I told myself I was going to slap you AFTER I kissed you for being so damn brave," she said tenderly, closing the gap between their lips.
And...yeah. End chapter 6. Probably one chapter after this and the end. then i can get started on cherryblossom's fic! ^-^ oh.question for cherryblossom: What rating do you want? (G, PG, PG-13, R) thank you! I'm going to get started on the storyline thinger now!