*Wanted to clear something up for anyone who was wondering the same. Gomen nasai I didn't explain it better. Okay this is how the whole Umi/Nori relationship on earth worked. He knew about them, but they didn't know about him because she didn't want questions asked about where they live and such. So they never met, and she didn't want to hurt Hikaru's and Fuu's feelings about the whole thing so she kept it quiet to them. So they were dating for two years but Hikaru and Fuu didn't know, but Nori knew about them. Um…that's about it, hope that clears everything up ^.^ Thanks to bluedragongirl for pointing out that I had left that out hope that fixes stuff for everyone!*
Chapter 5: Nighttime Warriors
My palms were sweating as I gripped the sword tight in my hands and nodded at Clef's words.
"Ready?" Hikaru asked, and we could see the normal anticipation grow on her face. The excitement rushed with blood into her cheeks with every fight. We both nodded, Fuu and I, and were about to rush from the castle, but Ferio and Lantis stopped Fuu and Hikaru and pulled them into their arms.
"I swear on anything Fuu-chan, if you don't come back…" Ferio was cut off when Fuu put a small finger to his lips, blushing as she did.
"You don't need to worry Ferio; you're always with me, to protect me," she kissed him softly, and he nodded and gently released her.
With Hikaru and Lantis there were no words, only a few tears and a protective hold that Lantis was forced to let up when Hikaru pushed herself close to him in a kiss, and then surged away and turned from him. Both looked back wistfully as we headed from the palace.
"Umi!" I turned and saw Nori; he looked stunned and nervous. "What's going on?"
"We're going to war Nori," I answered with a rush and passion in my voice.
"What?"
"Don't you pay attention?" Ascot snapped, and I hushed him with a soft glance. He turned and calmed. "Gomen."
"War? You're three twenty-one year old girls! What do you mean war?" he looked outraged and stunned. I was surprised to find that worry wasn't present there. That made me step back.
"Nori, no time to argue, I'm stronger than you think," I ran from the door, and knew that Clef had seen his expression too, because he called after me.
"Don't get yourself killed out there Water Knight; you're important to this mission!" That meant more to mean than anything he had ever said, because I knew that he cared. He had seen my pain, and he wanted to help; however insensitive he may have sounded. I didn't turn to look, but I knew that somewhere he was watching out for me, he always was.
The sky was dark when we walked outside, and we were wary. There was an unnatural cloud forming in the sky, storm and fire.
"What is this magic?" Hikaru muttered under her breath, and we pulled close to each other, back to back, in a tight triangle.
"It's dark, evil," Fuu whispered.
"Thank you captain obvious," I mumbled, and it brought a hesitant laugh from us all. In this eerie dark we were just searching for some kind of comic relief. It reminded me of being in a scary movie right before the villain came out, and the main character stumbled. And the whole theatre burst out in laughter, because there was something in it that would release the tension of that blade and blood in his eyes as he jumped from the shadow. This was no movie though, and we weren't guaranteed that the good side was going to win. We weren't actors, and we would really shed blood if cut with that blade, those many blades.
"Wait a sec." Fuu's breath was shortened and labored. "Isn't it kinda quiet?"
And then we realized it was and came to the chilling facts, they had been howling a moment before. They were approaching the kill, right on top of us.
Quickly, Fuu slung her bow from her shoulder, and pulled an arrow from the quiver and pushed it on the nock. She shot into the distance, and we heard a thud, followed by many angry howls. And then like a swarm they came, a huge mass of black creatures running toward us. And some came on creatures as black as night with leathery dragon wings, but they were neither dragon nor any other creature we had ever seen. We just stared in shock, and then Fuu drew back and shot once more. One more fell to the ground, screaming. The others surged over him, back for his body when they had run out of meat and flesh. Hikaru and I drew our swords and waited, our palms began to sweat with the anticipation; they were nearing and now we heard them clear as crystal.
"This is it guys," I raised my sword and charged. I barely saw the battle around me; it was a blur to me. I barely saw the creatures that I was fighting. I just struck out at darkness. My sword dug into flesh, and I ripped it out, my blue hair flew wildly around me. It blinded me for a minute, and one of the creatures hit me in the side with a knife. I fell to the ground, writhing in pain. The blade was like fire and acid boiling into my skin. I touched the wound and looked horrified at blood.
The creature above me laughed, and I saw its deep red teeth staring back at me. Its breath stank of the meat of its own kind, and I cringed. That grin was wide and merciless as he raised the curved knife above my head. I reached for my sword, but it was far out of reach by now. Presea's sword…Presea! My mind jumped, and I threw my hand down to my boot as the knife came down upon me. The dagger struck it in the stomach, a liver wound, and it fell backwards as I pulled my dagger from its body, and it fell to the ground. I panted heavily but didn't have time to regroup. I jumped up and searched blindly for my sword.
"Umi!" someone nearby called and pointed to my sword. I looked around for the person I had received it from and saw a giant white beast rear in the sky, flexing its feathery wings.
"Dear God," I whispered softly, but something struck out at me, and I blocked and was once more in the heat of combat.
A flash of white caught my eye as the Pegasus pulled its diamond, sparkling hooves down upon one of the creature's dragon creatures. It screamed and reared its head in pain, but there was no struggle for the Pegasus, only bloody hooves.
"Jesus did you see that thing?" Hikaru's breath was near me, and I felt Fuu closing in on my other side.
"Yeah," I mumbled. "Who is it though?"
"You don't know?" Fuu demanded as she strung another arrow. Both of their faces were covered in dirt and blood.
"No," I ripped my sword from one of the monster's chests as it drew too near.
"It's Ascot, he couldn't sit and watch you be killed," Hikaru answered, and tears welled in my eyes. I didn't know that he still cared; I wish he didn't.
"Ascot!" I called out to him, and he and the Pegasus hovered above us, dodging those creatures as they took off into the air.
His eyes darted from me to the animals that swarmed around him; he nodded, unable to speak.
"Arigato! This is not your battle though! Go back or I'll make you!" He grinned and shook his head. "Someone's got to make sure you don't screw up, Clef said so!"
I glared and heard Fuu's bow twang behind me. "Ascot, please!"
He wouldn't budge though, so I stopped the futile fight. There were more important things to worry about.
They hissed as they approached, spreading blood and foul smelling things around us, and we tried to back away, but there was nowhere to go. There were hundreds of them around us.
The Pegasus reared, neighed in fury and charged, silver wings outstretched. As it did, they began to glow a fiery blue, and they cut through all oncoming opponents. Left and right dragon-like creatures were falling from the sky, throwing their riders into the ground. All around us the black swarms that were once some kind of animal began to consume the flesh of those who fell, dead or alive.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Fuu choked and drew her sword, replacing her bow.
"I think this would be a good time to use magic," Ascot called down to us, and we nodded, but before we got a chance a shrieking eagle fell from the sky and pulled him and the beautiful horse to the ground.
"Ascot!" I heard myself scream, and ripped through the crowd, getting torn and hit and cut everywhere. "Ascot," I reached his cold body and stood, protecting him from further harm. My sword began to glow a bright, cold, blue, and the clouds began to crack and scream their terror as they fled. As the unnatural red clouds moved more deep blue
and purple clouds took their place. Lightning fell from the sky, and sleet and hail, and still the strength of my sword grew beneath my fingers. The creatures were backing away now, slowly, and then running, but I heard Hikaru and Fuu nearing.
"Akai Inazuma!"
The twang of Fuu's bow accompanied Hikaru's spell, and arrows wreathed in flame were falling around us. Hail and sleet along with fiery arrows fell from the sky, but that was not enough. They still swarmed, fleeing or not, and they had still to pay for Ascot's injury.
I raised my sword to the heavens, and the Water crashed in my ears. A bolt of lightning fell from the sky and through my sword, and a fissure in the ground opened. Out of the fissure came a roaring wave, a tsunami. And it fell upon the fleeing creatures, taking out many of them, all of them. The rushing Waters pounded in our ears, and their screams were all but drowned out by the wave. Then, when the debris had subsided and the wave had calmed there was a sickening silence, and we were left with the decay of rotting and half-eaten flesh.
"Someone fetch Clef, quickly," I found myself instructing, but I was weak and battered and could not go myself.
Hikaru went sprawling off in the direction of the palace as fast as her weak feet could carry her, and Fuu crawled by our side. I had collapsed on his chest, weak and unable to move any further. The Pegasus laid by his side, breathing heavily, its muscles flexing and wings pulsing with energy and lost magic.
Fuu tried to raise her hands, but her magic was spent with Presea, and she was barely physically strong enough to raise her own arms. I weakly reached out and pulled her hands down, "Wait for Clef, he's not going anywhere," I told her, and she nodded, grateful for the relief and sat beside my tattered body to wait.
I lay on Ascot's chest mainly because I wasn't strong enough to move elsewhere, but also because it was safer being able to hear his heart beating, however faintly. It was beating still, and he was alive.
My armor was cold; it was cold and gripping my chest. I wondered why, Presea's words didn't even register to me then. I wondered why my armor would be cold when I had just fought so hard with those creatures.
What seemed like ages later Clef fell next to me and pulled me up and off of Ascot. "Sh…" he whispered when I protested with a quiet whimper. "He'll be okay."
I shook my head and tried to reach the Palu, but Clef's gentle grip kept me away until I calmed and fell back to wait.
Clef closed his eyes and let his hands hover over the Summoner. Carefully he stood and raised his staff; a green and golden beam of light fell from the staff and cloaked Ascot in its gentle, healing warmth. It breathed life into the boy and his Pegasus, and their breathing was stabilized, and the Pegasus rose first to its knees, and then, seeing its stability, to its feet. It stretched its brilliant wings like new and bent down to nuzzle Ascot gently.
Ascot reached up and brushed the Pegasus away, slowly sitting up. He looked around him and put a hand to his forehead as everything hit him at once. "Where…" he stopped, and his vision was coming into focus we could tell. He was trying hard to concentrate on one thing. "Umi?"
I took his hand and held it to my face, letting him know I was alive and well. He smiled and embraced me.
"You are okay then."
I nodded, "And you are as well, thanks to Clef."
"Arigato, Guru," Ascot stood and bowed, and Clef nodded solemnly.
I grinned and tried to stand, but my legs folded underneath me, and I fell to the ground. I looked at my feeble legs and tried again, to much the same effect. "What?"
"Jeez Umi-chan," Hikaru whispered softly and touched my legs. "What happened?"
I looked down and stared, horrified. My legs were scarred and bloodied beyond any recognition. They were covered in filth and blood, most, I was sure, was not mine. There were slash marks from knives and swords alike, some shallow, others…not. "I…I don't know."
"Well that's a lot of I don't know," Clef remarked and shook his head. "This is not going to be fun Umi."
I winced and tried to hide the fear in my eyes.
"If you didn't hurt yourself," he was ranting to himself. "I wouldn't ever have to hurt you; you know."
"Well if you didn't always expect me to save the world then I wouldn't hurt myself," I answered back and laughed. This caused me to gasp in pain, which made me curious. I lifted up my shirt to find a large gash in my side, one that was rapidly growing.
"What happened here?" Clef explored the wound with his fingers.
"I was cut, with a blade," I answered, and he shook his head.
"That might be what you thought, but Umi, this is no blade mark," and I looked at the wound again with his words, and saw two small puncture wounds. "This is a bite mark, and a very poisonous one at that. We have to get you back to the palace, quickly. These are rare and hard to cure."
I nodded and tried to stand, but Hikaru and Fuu held me down.
"Take her Clef," Ascot nodded to the Pegasus, and Clef thanked him and picked me up.
The Pegasus took off into the sky with a gentle word from Clef, and I looked up; the night sky was perfectly clear.
*I hope everyone had a good Christmas, Kwanzaa (um…sorry about spelling), Hanukah (very belated), or any other holiday that may have passed under my nose. And also I hope everyone has a great New Year, I know I plan to! Until next chapter ja ne!*
Tori Amos, Scarlet's Walk, Can't See New York
"From here
No lines are drawn
From here
No lands are owned
13,000 and holding
Swallowed in
The purring of her engines
Tracking the beacon here
"Is there a signal there
On the other side, on the other side?"
What do you mean, side of what things?
And you said and you did and you said
You could find me here
And you said you would find me even in Death
And you said and you said you'd find me
But…"
