Summary- Tetheus is being bombarded with a tirade of Tai-made demons. Tai herself is in the process of trying (that's the key word ladies and gentlemen) to get Kitchel to hand over Diolasis. Will Tetheus get there in time? And if so, what will Tai do to him?

Disclaimer: Don't own Dragon Knights. Wish I did

Update: 9/4/06. I have cleaned up the Diolasis story a little. By that I mean less grammatical errors (hopefully) and less confusing (possibly). Plotline is still same!

Enjoy.

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Diolasis chapter six:

White Flag

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As in practice, Tetheus was dead on with the slashing of his blade. In fact, it was probably a good idea that he always practiced. He probably wouldn't have survived otherwise. Everything was swirling around him; black demon blood flew around him from the monsters and splattered onto his clothing. He hadn't gotten slashed or even cut yet, but this was just the beginning of a long, precarious fight. Tetheus dreaded to be sliced by the black blade of a yokai. Not only because of the pain, but also of the humiliation he felt within himself that his blood would be as black as theirs. Filthy creatures, but again, one can't spit upon the grave of their own kin.

Tetheus' eyes flickered around the circle of demons that was around him. The almond orbs glittered with malice and a newfound spark of hatred. His chest heaved up and down, sweat rolling down his cheek as he looked around at the grinning yokai. They did exactly what they intended! Just tier him out enough so their master could deal with him. Tetheus swore harshly as he too realized their intent.

'Don't hurt him too much' as Tai commanded. But the demons did not care, and truthfully, neither did Tai. Who cared, really, if her yokai spawn finished this Officer off? One less lovesick pest to deal with.

She had cackled at the thought.

As usual.

Suddenly, a yokai lunged at Tetheus, his fangs dripping, his sword posed. As the exact moment, another yokai across from the first one rushed the figure before them too. Tetheus was able to fend of the first attacker with a parry and a right twist. Unfortunately, the second yokai was more successful. Tetheus arched his back and his mouth stretched open in a silent scream as a cold blade dug deep in-between his shoulder blades. He felt the snapping of sinew and muscle and was just able to jerk out of the hold before the blade reached his spine.

The yokai were surprised as not crimson, but black, blood bubbled up and dripped from the deep wound in this strange intruder's back. He was not human! They all murmured warnings to each other in scratchy and high pitched voices of demon dialect. Tetheus, however, could understand them.

"That's right." He rasped through the pain. "Your dealing with someone whose blood also runs through Shydeman's and Shyrendora's veins." He watched, with a slightly bemused expression as the yokai who had struck him screeched as his blade seared and hissed as though acid had touched it.

"Be careful with this one." A tall green yokai said. "This is that Black Dragon. Shydeman and Shyrendora's older brother." None could say anything more. They had been careless, letting Tetheus regain some of his strength. A whirlwind seemed to engulf them, as with a death cry, Tetheus stood and wield his silver blade. He was soon a blur as he charged headfirst into the pack of demons.

They all flew at him, drawing more blood. Cutting deep into his toned muscles. He didn't cry out. Tetheus didn't care. He must keep going. For Kitchel. His head started spinning and his blood pressure rose.

No! Tetheus thought angrily. I must not over strain myself! I must not loose my temper. He stopped so suddenly that his boot dug into the ground. This made every yokai look at him strangely. This brother of hell was strange. Unlike his siblings, he kept a cool head about him.

Three yokai were on him before he was even able to draw a breath. The green yokai's heavy sword crashed against Tetheus' at the same moment that a teal-clad demon slashed at Tetheus' back. He twisted, faster than any of the other Officers could hope to, and his blade sliced the teal demon across the face. The yokai clutched at his eyes, staggering, his sword clattering onto the ground.

Tetheus tried to parry and dodge a blow from a female yokai who swung a spiked ball at the end of a chain, but he was to slow. The spikes dug and cut into his right shoulder so hard it hit bone, and splintered it.

Tetheus staggered back, gasping from pain, sword lying on the ground limply from his right hand. He trued to swing it, but it was too heavy for his broken bone. Thus, resulting in the blade making a crescent moon shape in the earth and nothing more. Heaving with all his strength he was able to stab the green yokai in the chest. The demon fell, blood bubbling from a small hole in his armor, but he was dead all the same.

He turned on the last few yokai but quickly changed his focus to the female. Tetheus and the female yokai circled each other, exchanging stilted blows that did nothing to the other attacker. This was a futile match. His blade to slight, her ball and chain too cumbersome and slow. She lunged forward swing the chain at his knees. Tetheus dodged, but this caused his next attack to miss the demon's head.

Blood darkened the cloth of Tetheus shoulder in a disturbingly wide stain. Even as he slashed at the female hard enough to bring her too her knees, ten more demons were upon him. He took the sword and quickly struck the female in the temple of the head, her blood-curdling shriek adding to the confusion around him.

Then, a high-pitched scream.

He turned.

"Kitchel!"

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"Now girl! Do as I say! AH! Little wench!" Tai clutched her bleeding hand as Kitchel turned tail and ran. "On no you don't!" Kitchel froze in mid stride, a glowing surrounding her.

"No! No! Stop! Please!" Tai's blood stained Kitchel's teeth where she bit her hand. Her eyes were wide and Diolasis was clutched safely against her breast. "Don't! I won't let you!" She struggled against the yokai magic as she was lifted up off the ground. "Let go! I won't let you have Diolasis!"

"Shut up girl. Its futile to resist me." Tai strode forward and clutches the girl's hand. "Give the pretty little dragon eye to your Aunty Tai, come now, you're a good-oof!" Tai was kicked in the stomach and her magic faultered.

Kitchel was dropped hard on the stone ground of the ruin, stars twinkling in front of her eyes as her head knocked against the hard surface. It was a Grecian looking thing. Huge pillars that were broken, statues, some walls of old buildings. She use to come here and think. Just think by herself when she was sad or angry. Kitchel never would have guessed that here favorite place in the world was the one location that would be splattered with her blood. Kitchel was no dummy; she knew she would never make it. There was just this one spark of peacefulness in her mind. At least she would die thinking of him.

"I want you to feel my pain for that!" Tai spat blood from her lips. "You will suffer girl!" With that, the white light surrounded Kitchel and lightning like electricity began to spark her from all sides, growing in energy and mass. She was soon being shocked so hard she tasted a tinfoil like substance in her mouth and she could smell her hair being singed. Kitchel coiled up, her eyes shut tight, and screamed.

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Tetheus' almond eyes went wider then any thought possible for him to do so. He stumbled back. He was so stunned at the sound of Kitchel's pain that he missed the parry as another yokai rushed him. He turned, almost too late, and the demon's small curved blade sunk deep into his thigh.

Tetheus' eyes flashed in fury. He seemed to channel the anger into his sword because his next blow slit open a golden-eyed yokai's throat.

Tetheus was pulling through the crowed of flashing blades. Black blood splattered onto the dirt where it curdled and pooled. He gasped at another scream and began to run.

He was hearing the yokai disappearing with shrieks of delight. The yokai woman was portably gathering up all her energy to kill Kitchel! She needed all demons that were not dead yet, to rejoin her in body so she could be at full strength.

All Tetheus could hope was that when he got to the ruin that Kitchel would be alive and that he might actually keep the monsters at bay.

Until he realized that he was one of the monsters.

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"I'll reason with you deary." Tai leaned forward to the tree Kitchel was pressed against with magic. "That love of yours is trying to save you." She sneered at Kitchel look.

"Love? No, no one is coming. I have no one, I'm alone here- wait, Tetheus?" Her eyes widened. Glassy tears started to form from her already red eyes.

"That's right dear! And I'll kill him too." Kitchel struggled to get up. "UNLESS!" Kitchel stayed still, waiting for Tai's recommendation.

The yokai women stood with her left finger jutting into Kitchel's stomach, the other hand resting on her own hip. "Unless, you hand over Diolasis to me! Now." She took a step back and released Kitchel from most of the magic restraining her. Kitchel stayed suspended for a millisecond then dropped with a sickening crunch onto the ground.

"F-fine." Kitchel coughed, the taste of blood in her mouth. She forced it back down. "Don't hurt Tetheus, please. Kill me if you like, just don't hurt him." She stood on shaking legs. Her head throne back in a sudden wave of pride. She would die with dignity! With shaking hands, Diolasis glimmering against the moonlight of the star'less night. Her arms stretched out to Tai as the yokai greedily licked her lips and also stretched out her hand to take the treasure. Diolasis started to fall out of Kitchel's grasp when-

"Stop!" A black blur ran forward and though the two. Knocking Tai's hand away, and knocking Kitchel back against the ground. Unseen by anyone of the three, Diolasis landed with a dull thump, unharmed, onto a patch of grass and rolled under a bush.

Tetheus stood over Kitchel, his back to her and his sword in his right hand. The sword hilt was at his chin as the blade rested at a slant across his body. Tai shrieked in rage.

"HOW DARE YOU! TRATOR!" She pointed an accusing finger at Tetheus. "YOU!" Tetheus seemed different to Kitchel as she looked up at his back with hazy eyes. He's hurt! She thought frantically. She tried to sit up but she was unable too and slumped amongst the brush once again.

"Step away from her." His voice was cold and deathly. It made Tai and Kitchel both shiver. He was quivering too. With concentration and rage. He held his sword in a white knuckled grip. Tai took a step forward and he twisted into a defensive crouch.

"How dare you try and thwart my plans!" She turned heel and walked back to the ruin. Her hands flew up to the sky, the gathering clouds swirling more ominously. "I will have my children DISTROY YOU!" Her eyes were wide and insane with the pleasure of a fight and the anger of not being aloud a kill. Suddenly forked lightning reached out and touched several places on the ground. The soil buckled and a dozen yokai, like the ones Tetheus fought with before, rose up out of the ground.

Not these again. Tetheus groaned and dug his foot into the earth. He could hear Kitchel stumble and scrape her hands against the ground in vain to get away from the advancing troops of demons. Tetheus had to lead them away from Kitchel. He jumped to the right and the group of demons turned toward him. He raised his arm and let the sword touch his forehead, blessing it.

A moment of hesitation, and then he smiled. It was a dark, horrible smile, the most terrible the yokai had ever seen. Without warning, he jumped forward into the crowd, sword swinging. Other yokai that Tetheus weren't slaughtering were surging forward, too many to count. They overpowered him, but a quick slash brought three yokai demons to their knees.

One demon, who was strange for his flowing red hair, was able to cut a deep slash in Tetheus' chest. The demon was never able to take another breath as Tetheus grabbed the demon and pulled his shoulders into his sword with the sickening sound of metal and blood.

Over Kitchel's incessant whimpering and Tetheus' battle cries, Tai spoke. "I see that you are fighting your own kind, monster." She watched him grunt with the stain of battle. "I grow weary of you toying with my creations! I think I shall like to fight you myself." With a snap of her fingers, the yokai's disappeared.

Tetheus stood, again in between Tai and Kitchel. His shoulder was dislocated, his arm hanging loosely by his side. One of his legs was broken, kneecap shattered. His arms were broken in two different places and he was suffering a mild concussion. He watched, with unfocused eyes as she moved towards him. His chest heaved up and down and winced with pain as Tai sent sparks of electricity to shock him.

"Girl!" She called out to Kitchel, who looked up dimly. "You do not know of who you love, do you?" Tetheus looked ready to kill...again. "Your knight is not human as expected of him." This made Kitchel sit up fast.

"What do you mean?" Her voice was quiet but was clearly heard over the silence. Not even the crickets chirped.

"Have you not noticed why this man's blood is black like a demons and not crimson like a humans? He is yokai. He is a demon. This...traitor is related to Nadil's henchman. Shydeman and Shyrendora!" She grinned with delight as Kitchel's eyes became wide with shock.

Tetheus? The Black Officer who had put so much on the line for her? The one who guarded Nadil's head just like the others? It was not true. She couldn't think anymore, for at that moment Tetheus screamed out a loud cry and lunged at Tai.

A huge flash of light blinded the clearing as Tai; in a counter attack shot a huge ball of white electricity at the oncoming blade. Added with Tetheus' natural yokai power, the two stood at a stand still. Tetheus stood, against the light, his sword digging into the force field around Tai. Tai stood; barricading herself in a white bubble as lighting forked around them and the other lightning she had in her hand engulfed her and her attacker.

The clearing erupted with a huge blast of light and sound. Tai's death cry hung in the air as her own lightning, redirected by Tetheus, hit and killed her. "I'll be back! Just you wai- AAAARRHHH"

Kitchel sat up when everything went quiet. She saw Tetheus stagger over to her. His body was trembling lightly, unsheathed sword dangling limply from one hand. The blood soaking his arms and thigh looked utterly ghastly. Kitchel stood up shakily. "Tetheus?" Her words were soft and full of concern.

He let out a sigh of relief and fell forward onto the ground. Kitchel ran over and skidded to a stop next to him. "Oh my god! Oh my god! Someone help!" Her prayers had been answered. Not but a few seconds later did Ruwalk, Alfeegi, and the three Dragon Fighters ran into the clearing to see Tetheus passed out on the ground and Kitchel weeping. "Is he dead? Oh god! Is he-?" She backed off as Alfeegi and the Fighters helped him up.

"No." Alfeegi whispered. "He is breathing, but barely. We must get him back to the castle."

Ruwalk went over to Kitchel and tried to sort things out. Asking what had happened and what the light was. They soon sprinted out of the clearing with Tetheus being carried between the fighters and the aqua haired Officer.

With Ruwalk supporting Kitchel, who was still crying out of confusion, they made their way back to the Dragon Castle. Not before Ruwalk had seen a black glimmer among the green and pocketed Diolasis without anyone seeing.

"I- he can't be dead!" Kitchel moaned into Ruwalk's shoulder as maids rushed out and hauled the bleeding yokai to the infirmary. "We all do." Ruwalk patted her back awkwardly as he helped her up the steps.

"We hope not."

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A/n- long' ness! Pleasey review.