Chapter 6

Mylam stood to attention in front of the human boy, breathing heavily and looking down at himself in confusion. A moment ago he had been dying, but now… "What happened to me?" he demanded.

T.K. affixed his eyes on the other and tucked the crest of Hope back beneath his shirt, though he started for a moment at how exceedingly hot it had become after channeling that much energy into the a'ladon boy's body. But it had done its work well, and Mylam was now totally whole and garbed in the impressive regalia of both a warrior and king. "You Evolved," he answered, stepping forward and to the other's side. "Quite well, too."

Mylam's sharp blue eyes drifted down to the human. He was so used to the other having been taller than he that it was not as simple an adjustment as one might have thought. "I haven't any idea what that means, Taker… er, Tekay"

"And it'd take too long to explain right now," the blond boy answered. The crest of Hope was iridescent against his skin and throbbing in time to the human's heartbeat. He became uncomfortably aware that Kari needed him, desperately... now, and that knowledge banished all fear of what might be waiting for the two of them behind the dark door just down the narrow hallway from them. "Are you ready?"

Mylam blinked away his bewilderment, then swiped the air in front of his body a couple of times with his new blade. "I really shouldn't have any idea how to use this, but somehow…" He trailed off as he saw the human looking at him urgently. He nodded, "Ready."

The two turned to go through the archway that led to the door, but then whirled about as they heard a savage cry from behind them. The Saurian king, who T.K. had knocked unconscious mere moments ago had stumbled to his feet and was now rushing at the pair. The human gripped his long rod tightly and Mylam raised his new, shimmering blade, but neither boy was forced to defend himself again.

An echoing howl came from another, darkened passageway opposite their position, and from it rushed another of the Saurian creatures. A long, wicked-looking blade was in his claws, and without even stopping to acknowledge the presence of the other two he lowered the weapon and charged his king, ramming the blade through the other's stomach. The deadly force of his momentum was so great and his weapon so sharp that his attack succeeded not only in killing his king, but also in impaling the dead body to the wall beyond.

T.K. and Myalm now turned to face this new threat, but oddly enough the creature simply dropped to his scaly knees beside the dead monarch and clutched at the other's claws, weeping. "For my s... son, majesty..." he murmured beyond the tears.

The two boys glanced warily at one another, then back to the newcomer. The creature had yet to rise or even acknowledge the two of them, and still cradled the claw of the dead king against his cheek. But after another moment their savior craned his neck around to the two of them, slimy tears falling from his reptilian eyes. "You... you are going to kill her?" he asked, a desperate plea in his voice.

Mylam glanced at T.K., who nodded once in response. "Who are you?" the a'ladon demanded, his voice authoritative and backed up by the deadly weapon in his fist.

"I am… was… the captain of my King's Own. And I am... was… a father. I beg of you both… destroy the creature that waits for you beyond that door. It is an abomination, a horror... a blight on our very world. It was at her word that my son... my only son... met his death."

Again the creature was keening in evident torment, any speech evidently too much for it. T.K. frowned, feeling a moment of pity. He would just as soon leave the tormented Saurian to his sorrow, but had first to ask the question that he was certain he did not want to know the answer to. "What did she say?"

The other looked up, a dazed expression on its face. "He was so young, and so proud. And I shared in that pride with him, and placed him in harm's way to bring him honor... And then he defied her. It was such a small thing, that he should want to serve his king. But her words... her words... 'Hades Thorn Barrage' is what she called down on my son. I... I was not even permitted to bury him afterwards..." And then the captain was on his feet again, bowing his head down to his chest and staggering away down the hallway from which he had come, the memory of his son's violent death too much for him.

T.K. bit his lip at the words, and wheeled back towards the black doorway. Kari's danger was even greater than he'd imagined, and now the crest of Hope began to understand so as well. The golden talisman in that moment spoke to him audibly for the first time, for in that moment the thoughts of the two were so close that it was impossible to tell where those of the boy ended and those of the living crest began. T.K. set his back and tightened his grip on the staff, then marched steadfastly towards the black door. Mylam wheeled on him in alarm, then scurried to catch up with his human friend. "What? What is it?" he asked hurriedly.

T.K. stopped at the door, then raised a foot and kicked it open. Or perhaps it was the crest of Hope that kicked the door open, using T.K.'s foot to do so. The human boy looked over his shoulder at the prince. "Hell has come to your world, Mylam," he answered.

*****

The air in the dark room was fetid, even more so than the rest of the fortress. There were several sources of light in the room, but almost all of the illumination that they cast was being scattered by the oppressively dark void in the center of the room. The light briefly flickered as if it would come to life, only to be brushed aside with disdain by the darkness.

T.K.'s eyes instantly sought out Kari, and found her bound to a stone wall on the far side of the room. A glowing nimbus of light emanated from her crest and surrounded her, but the radiant glow vanished as quickly as it appeared, consumed by the dark void and nourishing it. An urgent need filled his heart as his saw the brown-haired girl dangling limply by her wrists, her wearied eyes managing to glance up just long enough to throw a plea to the boy before they again sagged downward.

Mylam's eyes sought out Perrin. She too was bound, but closer to the center of the room where the void existed. The female a'ladon looked as if she would willingly pass out if given the chance, but for some evidently for some reason she could not.

"So…" a soft, methodical voice purred slowly at them from within the void. "The children have arrived… Have you come to save your beloveds, children...? What charming devotion..."

A gaseous cloud then drifted lazily from the void and silently up towards the ceiling of the room. And as it drifted it expanded and began to solidify, until eventually it began to take shape as the female angel that T.K. had seen briefly six months prior. The same angel, but now twice as large and with wings that were razor-sharp and metallic instead of feathered. Black armor of a leather consistency covered its entire body, leaving only a glistening crimson area on its shoulder uncovered.

Mylam licked the furry whiskers on his snout nervously. "Let them go, beast," he demanded, though his voice was stuttering as he directed his bright blade in the creature's direction.

The other gave a short chuckle, shaking her head so that her lustrous black hair spilled from beneath her ornate helm. "Else what? I can see that your friend has given you the power of a champion, but what I have now is unlike anything that either of you has ever imagined before. I am now… immortal! Watch now as I demonstrate my divinity to you, children! Hades Thorn Barrage!" she cried, leveling her hand at the spot where the two boys stood.

T.K., expecting the assault, dove out of the way and rolled to the floor "Mylam!" he cried a warning to his friend.

The a'ladon stood his ground and gripped his sword firmly, his teeth clenched together in anger. Then as the unholy lightning neared him he leapt forward and shouted his response. "Grand Cross!" he roared in a challenge, cutting the form of a 't' in midair with his bright blade. And with a golden flash that reflected the golden power from T.K.'s crest, the weapon tore through the dark energy that had been intended to end his life, dissipating it.

The dark angel was stunned into immobility as she watched the prince's technique render her own useless. "Tekay! Go!" Myalm cried, feeling almost sick to his stomach about the risk he had just taken, though in the end it had worked.

T.K. nodded as he rolled to his feet and sprinted towards Kari, his feet barely touching the ground he moved so quickly. "No!" hissed the dark angel. "Hades Thorn Barrage!" she cried again, hurling her dark power at the blond-haired boy.

T.K. again dove and rolled as the energy blasted a section of the slag floor behind him to bits. Minute bits of stone peppered his skin as he raised a forearm to defend his eyes, and then he leapt to his feet once again and shook off the pain; darting once more towards the imprisoned Kari.

Mylam's teeth were chattering in trepidation. He had to make himself a threat, if only to keep the monster off of Takeru while the blond boy reached Hikari. He stared up at the evil creature, trying to figure a way to reach her in order to bring her to battle. Then his eyes were drawn to the void. Directly behind it the tall throne of the Saurian king rose above his head, looking tall and sturdy.

I can't believe I'm doing this, the young a'ladon thought as he took off in a sprint towards the throne. Then with a new agility and strength born of his evolution he vaulted off of the velvet seat and towards the creature above him. "Grand Cross!" he again cried, twice whipping at the armored leg of the angel as he flew by.

Again the blade shimmered with his call, and again the golden power of the Crest of Heroes surged though the weapon. Mylam barely managed to nick the leg of their monstrous opponent with his attack, but even that glancing blow, powered as it, caused the creature to howl out in pain and fury.

"Damn!" cried Mylam as he plummeted from the air and crashed heavily to the floor, rolling in an attempt to lessen the impact.

"Fool! Child!" hissed the angel at the new injury, turning to loom over the a'ladon prince.

On the other side of the room, T.K. had finally reached the shimmering prison of light that encompassed Kari. He barely checked his speed he darted towards her and through the radiant curtain in which she was bound, but before he could reach the girl's side he was hurled away from her and crushed against the stone wall by the dazzling power of the nimbus. "Yeow!" he cried in pain, the field of power electrifying his body with an torturous shock that sent him reeling backwards and to the floor.

The boy lay on the floor, writhing in agony as the crest of Hope throbbed in time with his heart to ensure that it did not fail after such a horrific injury. T.K.'s muscles were convulsing wildly and uncontrollably in pain, and if the angel had turned on him in that moment then the battle would have been lost. But the demonic creature, certain in her trap's ability to keep the boy from Kari's side, had her entire attention focused on Mylam for the present.

Slowly but certainly, T.K.'s muscles ceased in their wild convulsions and left the boy motionless on the floor, struggling to breathe. The blast that he had just absorbed would have killed most mortal men twice the boy's side, and would have left those who survived crippled for life. But T.K.... T.K. had not been gifted with the Crest of Heroes without reason, and with a valiant effort the boy fought off the staggering injury, pulled himself to his feet and slowly stumbled back to Kari's side. His fingers hesitantly brushed against the energy field before he quickly pulled them back and shook off the sharp pain that the contact brought to his hand. The brown-haired girl was limp now, her skin wan and her eyes closed. "Kari," the boy whispered gently.

The girl gave no response, nor any indication that she had heard.

"Kari," the boy whispered again, gently, and now pressed a full palm against the blazing curtain that shrouded the girl. The pain was there, but with the aid of the golden light on his chest the boy fought it back down. "Please, Kari. Help me. Please, I can't see you like this. It… it hurts. Kari… I love you."

The girl's brown eyes fluttered open briefly and gave the boy a glimmer of recognition. T.K. held her gaze until he was certain that she understood, then gave a nod and stepped boldly towards, then through the bright, shimmering curtain. Though he could again feel the light-energy course through his body, this time it did not shock him and he was able to gather the limp girl into his arms as he undid the clasps which held the girl's wrists. With the utmost care for Kari's condition he stepped through the light field with her frail body.

"No!" screamed the dark angel, still looming far above their heads. She could feel the power that she'd stolen from the girl bleeding from her body as the human boy removed its source. Without the strength that the girl was providing her she could no longer fully sustain her assault… it was all that she could manage just to keep herself aloft and away from the a'ladon.

"Kari," whispered T.K. urgently, holding the girl's head in his lap and stroked her sweat-matted hair. "Kari please, wake up." The boy looked to her wrist, where the crest of Light was bounded tightly against her pale skin. It was beating a weak rhythm in response to what T.K. hoped was the girl's pulse, but he could not be certain... and still, she did not stir.

No! the dark angel thought in a panic. That could not be allowed to happen. He could not be allowed to bring the girl back to consciousness. As if in an angry reminder of what the consequences of such an act would be, the burning pain in her shoulder flared into existence again. It meant her life... the two could not be permitted to combine hope and light into faith again.

But how could she stop him? She no longer had the strength, without the girl's life-force at her disposal, to throw yet another Hades Barrage. She had other techniques that she could administer without the extra power, but against him? There was something impossibly strong about this boy, something inexplicably sublime in his manner..

But then she paused as something occurred to her, and a wicked leer slowly coalesced on her face. This strong, rather sublime boy. Human, adolescent, boy...

"Haze of Seduction," she whispered, then pursed her lips in an ugly parody of a kiss and blew a bit of her cloudy essence from her outstretched palm towards the human pair.

T.K. was still urgently, though gently, trying to revive the girl in his arms as the dark mist reached him and began to swirl about his head. The boy was breathing heavily in exertion and was quite unmindful of the approach of the dark cloud, and in another moment, inevitably, a good portion of it was drawn into his lungs.

The boy's bright eyes suddenly became quite expressionless, and were drawn upwards from Kari's face to the suddenly alluring form of the dark angel which hovered at the ceiling of the room. Thoughts and emotions that he had never experienced before started to take hold of his mind as he gazed at the creature; thoughts and emotions that his young body was still not quite prepared for yet.

With alarm Mylam dragged himself to his feet from his fall and watched the effect that the black fog had on his human friend. He gaped in horror as T.K. rose to his feet, allowing Kari to slip to the ground as the blond boy stumbled heedlessly towards the outstretched arms of the dark figure reaching down for him. "Tekay!" he shouted to the boy.

The other paid no attention, enraptured by the evil creature's mesmeric technique. His heart was beating rapidly and his skin burned with thoughts of what he would do with the vision of passion before him upon reaching her embrace. The crest of Hope continued to beat in time with the boy's heart, but now the object's golden radiance was as obscurely muted as the look in the boy's eyes. His purity suddenly compromised, it had become as useless to him as any mundane talisman.

Mylam looked about frantically. He could not reach the creature to attack her again, but knew that he needed to act before his friend could walk into the arms of the deadly beast that was drawing him in.

He briefly though of tackling T.K., then dismissed that idea. That would leave his back open to another of the creature's assaults, and if both he and the human boy should fall there would be no one left to battle this creature. In desperation the young a'ladon recalled looking in the other's eyes the day before when he had mentioned his companion, Lady Hikari, and with a determined nod the a'ladon rushed to the female human's side.

"Lady Hikari! Lady, please!" he whispered urgently into the girl's ear, shaking her shoulder. "Please, you must wake. We need you!"

Nothing.

The human boy was almost in the angel's embrace.

"Lady Hikari! We need you!" The a'ladon paused with a thought, then continued, "Lord Takeru… Tekay! He needs you!"

At the mention of the name of the dearly loved boy, Kari's brown eyes flickered open briefly... and then closed again. But now the crest of Light strapped to her wrist became empowered, and slowly began to add strength to her heartbeat. The improvement was hesitant and gradual at first, then became stronger and faster as the girl stirred in her coma-like state.

T.K.'s thoughts were still on the vision of dark beauty in front of him, his expressionless eyes still mute and glazed over with desire. Then he stopped, confused, as an uninvited figure intruded on his most private thoughts of what he would do with this creature, this vision of dark lust.

This newcomer was a simple and brightly shimmering speck of light, and T.K. was tempted for a moment to swat it away. But something, he was never certain what, held him back. For while the newcomer did not have the erotic lure of the dark temptress, it was in some strange, wonderful, and confusing way much more attractive to him. He could not put a name to it but there was something… something that bound his soul to that small speck of light that could not be undone by any lustful human desire or want.

"T.K.," he heard a tender voice whisper, the sound easing his troubles and enfolding his wounded body with a gentle, healing balm. A warm feeling caressed his skin, and soothing ripples of peace coursed through his veins. "T.K.... Takeru. My Takeru, I heard.... I love you too, T.K…" The soothing grace of the benediction echoed in his brain again, and again, and again.

"Kari."

The human boy's blue eyes quickly snapped open, and to exalt him further the crest of Hope flared anew, again enveloping his eyes with the royal aura. With a sudden and unexpected alacrity born of purity the boy leapt away from the outstretched hands of the dark angel, then struck her once on the knuckles with the crown of his rod.

"No!" the other cried in terror and great pain, then glanced with alarm back at Mylam and Kari as the a'ladon helped the human girl to her feet. "Not you!" the fallen angel hissed, reaching for the pair with her deadly claws.

"Grand Cross!" Mylam shouted, his blade drawing another "t" in midair that nearly severed the angel's hand from her arm. A cloud of the dark haze dispersed from the deep wound as the a'ladon's weapon pierced her flesh, and the creature howled a banshee cry of pain in response.

"T.K.!" cried Kari, rushing to his side with the crest bound to her wrist almost blinding in its radiance as it called to its counterpart that rested beneath the boy's shirt.

"Kari!" the boy answered, taking the crest of Heroes in hand. And then, at long last, she fell into his grateful arms once again. With immaculate and faithful smiles adoring each of their faces the pair clasped their hands and crests together, and once again the pink nimbus of faith and innocent love shone forth from the two.

"No!" howled the angel, as whatever power she'd had was dissolved in that instant. Soon the creature's body followed, as her flesh rapidly lost whatever color it'd had before. Then it turned a rather gray, lifeless color, took on a grainy texture, and finally crumbled into a small pile of ash at the foot of the throne on which she had stood.

An aura of peace and love from the holy light overwhelmed the young a'ladon prince, and quickly he rushed to Perrin's side and sliced the leather bindings from her wrists. Almost self-consciously he realized that in his new body he was more than twice as large as his intended fiancée, but then just gave a contented sigh as he gathered her unconscious body into his long arms and buried his face into her soft fur.

Then T.K. and Kari were at his side, the pair still surrounded by the aura of the unity of faith as they firmly grasped one another's hand. Together the three of them looked at the pile of ash which had been the dark angel, the creature annihilated by its inability to exist in the light of faith and pure love. When the human boy was finally certain that the danger had passed he released his grip on the Kari's hand, but it was only so he could gather her into his arms. Kari smiled in evident relief and contentment as she rested her cheek lovingly against his chest, then wrinkled her nose and looked up at the boy with a teasing glimmer in her eyes. "Phew! T.K., has anyone mentioned to you that you smell like dead fish?" she asked.

T.K. and Mylam glanced at one another, then suddenly burst out laughing for some reason which the brown-haired girl did not entirely understand.