Disclaimer: there are various properties within this fiction that I do not own. They are used for my amusement and are not being written for money purposes. Those following properties include: Dragon Ball Z, Warcraft III, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the Korean manwha Priest. I also do not own any of Tool's music and lyrics. They, as well, are being used for my amusement and are not being used for money purposes.

Note: this will be a two-chapter trial run. The second chapter will be posted within the next two weeks. More chapters will come after completion of other stories and necessary feedback.

Proofing and consulting was done by Kodra.

Note: this story is rated R for the following: graphic violence and gore, strong language, and scenes of sexuality.


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ShaggyDiz presents:


A Violent Teddy Bear Production


Ides


Book One: Opiate
Chapter One: Sweat


* * *


Seems like I've been here before
Seems so familiar
Feels like I'm slipping
Into a dream within a dream


* * *


October tenth







When was the last time I told you that I loved you?

she trailed off. She was having a small amount of difficulty remembering the last time he said those words. It was hard to think though when her naked body was pressed up against his naked body. The touching of flesh led to many erotic thoughts.

Five minutes ago, she finally answered.

A pause. I love you.

Why do you keep doing that? she asked in curiosity. It was hard to get irritated by his somewhat childish (and naïve) antics.

Doing what?

She sighed. Telling me that you love me every five minutes you don't have to keep telling me that you do. She slid a hand down his side, letting it settle on his hip. I know that you love me.

And you? His eyes wandered down her body, taking in the full shape of her breasts (as much as he could see from their position against his body) and hips. They didn't bother with covering each other this time.

They would be making love again soon as it was.

You know that I love you. She reached up and kissed him on the lips.

Five minutes of silence passed.





I love you.

she trailed off. Despite what she said, she always liked to hear those words. What they did was proof enough, but to hear the words made her smile. Her stomach flipped every time as well.

Reassurance.

You want to do it again? he asked.

You know for a dork, you have surprising stamina. She smiled at the hurt look on his face. I'm just kidding.

I know.

She sighed. Hey, lighten up. None of my previous lovers could keep me up until four in the morning.

I thought you said I was the only one.

You are. She leaned up, whispering the answer to his statement in his ear.

His eyes widened in understanding. those lovers. A pause. You know, I have to work on wearing you out quicker if those things get you worked up better than me.

She smacked him lightly.

Not a dork, he raised a finger, though it came up parallel to the bed, a Saiyan dork.

She laughed.

Yeah Videl?

I love you.

A pause. I love you too.

Slowly, she took a hold of him, working his soft erection for a few moments. Afterwards, she slid back on top of him, reaffirming what they already said to each other so many times before.



* * *


Ides – the fifteenth day of March, May, July or October, or the thirteenth day of the other months in the Roman calendar



Lilith my lovely Lilith I think I've finally found what I'm looking for

Eyelids opened, revealing dark red orbs. They stared straight ahead for a moment before dancing their way around the massive marble hall before him. They settled upon a single round mirror off to the left wall, and that was wear he decided to walk to. He stood from his throne – a massive seat made of bones and skulls from mortal men – and slowly made his way to the reflective glass.

He slowly studied himself, taking note of his stiff black hair spiking off in many random directions, and also the two curled-in bangs coming down just below his eyebrows. He studied the rest of his body, adorned in a black silk dress-like gown. It was his leisurewear inside his palace, and he wore it outside only on certain occasions. Most of those occasions involved walking around the dead gardens with his wife and lover. His four black wings he didn't bother with though, knowing that they were always there.

Losing them would mean losing his immortality, but no one had gotten close enough to remove them.

He looked back up to his face though and noted how tired his dark red eyes had become. He forgot about the scar on his right cheek, instead focusing on the black forming just above it and underneath the other eye. I thought only mortal men got tired, he joked dryly.

I think that torture pit has gotten to you, Sammael.

He smirked. Lilith always had a sarcastic side to her.

It might have. It doesn't matter though. I can easily remove them. He spoke out loud, even though his wife wasn't there. Somehow, the sound of his voice calmed him. So did the voice in his head.

Then why have them? You know you need sleep.

The purebloods are too close to my door. That is why I haven't sleep in a week.

It was the week before where his main demon army, the Army of the Death, had suffered its most devastating loses, each of them being dealt by the Archangel Gabriel. It was where he also suffered his most humiliating defeat, receiving the scar that currently sat below his right eye. He was wounded through his stomach as well, and he was lucky to survive the attack. The Lich Wraith King, a devilish – and highly powerful – combination of the two monster breeds, had arrived with his Black Dragon and carried the Angel of Death to the safety of his palace.

In that week though, the lines of the Army of the Death were continually pushed back towards the eastern coastline where Sammael's palace stood. Several other Fallen Angels – Temozarela, Beliel and Asmodeus – were unable to send assistance to the Angel of Death with their respective armies. It took a massive charge of nomadic orcs, minotaurs and orge mages to hold the weakened lines. Their rushed had stalled the onslaught of the Archangel Gabriel's Army of the Light, though they had been inching forward slowly.

What troubled Sammael the most though was that, with his eyesight, he was able to see the front lines from the top of his palace. Those lines were only about twenty-five miles away.

Have your wounds healed Sammael?

They've scarred up. Damn that Gabriel only he can hurt me with that Lightbringer. The bastard had shattered Dragon Blood!

I'm sorry to hear that my love.

Yes, yes enough of that though. He smiled into the mirror as his plans danced around in his head. He was thankful for the powerful magicks that were used to hide his thought patterns from the pureblood Seers. Anyone who had dared to enter his mind would find it a maze of indecipherable patterns and jumbled words, and those who entered were forcibly thrown out after receiving any and all pain from the death trap. Most would become a vegetable after doing so. Only Belphegor, a former Fallen Principality, had entered his mind and not receive any sort of backlash, though he had yet to discover a way around the millions of miles of walls and dead ends that littered Sammael's head.

I take it your scouts have returned? Only Lilith was able to read his mind.

They have. One of them has found a truly remarkable item. He turned away from the mirror, making his way back to his throne.

What is it?

The doppelganger told me of an artifact that these Alternate Earth beings called 'Dragon Balls', Sammael explained, sitting down and producing a glass of blood wine in one of his hands. He told me of how the beings there gathered them and called a dragon into existence, granting them a single wish. They had vanished afterwards, and they were said to return in six months time.

Hmm that wish would have been made not too long ago Sammael.

Just over a month ago from what I remember taking from the doppelganger's mind. He paused, sipping the glass and relishing the thick taste it produced. His eyes closed and he tipped his head back. Tell me Lilith when is Zeruel going to be ready? he asked his wife.

Zeruel? He should be awake within the next three days. What do you have planned?

Slowly, he tilted his head down, opening his eyes and facing off into nothing and everything. His dark red eyes shined dully and sinisterly. Its light shone off around his face, including the scar, making the wound seem all the scarier. Then, at the same moment he was doing everything else, he cracked a dark and toothy smile. The tips of his upper incisors were hidden just behind his bottom lip. All of his other smooth white teeth were seen perfectly. It was all for one simple and effective word:





* * *


Third Regiment! Cover that right flank!

Archers! Fire at will from that hill! Move! Move!

Cavalry! Charge!

Those were the orders amongst the chaos on the battlefield. The main army of the Archangel Gabriel, the Army of the Light, had continued to throw wave after wave of attackers against the battle weary Army of the Death. Even with the tide of the battle shifting towards the purebloods and mortal men, Gabriel knew that his resources were running low. His men had been in battle for three straight days and nights without a moments rest, and he knew that he had suffered loses in the thousands.

His cavalry charge had been his last resort. They had been hidden – fifteen hundred horses in total – behind a small collection of hills a mere two thousand feet from the main lines. It was where Gabriel stood, on those hills, overlooking the battle. He had no need to fight, unless he spotted a few unwanted characters on the field. He had seen neither the Angel of Death nor the Lich Wraith King in a week's time though.

He didn't expect them again today.

All fifteen hundred horses charged from behind the hills, with the horse riders already having their swords drawn out and pointed ahead of them. The charge was led by the young Captain Terenas, who had won countless battles with and without the aid of the purebloods. His cavalry had been dubbed the Death Riders by Gabriel himself, a clear mocking of the Death Knights that ran unopposed at times in Beliel's army.

Terenas covered the short distance in less than thirty seconds, leaping over the line of mortals and coming into a short clearing in front of them. He was quickly surrounded by orcs and orge beasts, all grinning and drooling with bloodlust, and all of the baring their yellow shredded teeth and various assortment of blades and clubs. Terenas smirked in spite of the situation before raising his sword high and shouting out a wild battle cry. He charged forward into the demon lines a full two seconds before dozens of his fellow horsemen leapt into the foray, dropping orcs by the tens and crushing the main lines behind Terenas.

Terenas came around the back of the lines, turning around and calling the cavalry to his sword. Only a few dozen heeded the call, as the rest were still overflowing the main lines of the demon army. He was ready to head back into the battle again when he heard a rumble coming from behind him. Turning his head, he saw a charge of kodo beasts – some two hundred in number, and all with hobgoblin riders – coming his way from nearly a thousand yards.

Reform the line! Reform the line! he shouted left and right. He took a quick estimate of his new line – seventy horses total. Aim for the riders! he shouted before raising his sword up high. In unison, the men along the line raised them as well, heeding the call to one final charge. Another three dozen horsemen joined the lines after breaking from their battles and joined the headlong rush into the mass of kodo beasts. As one, the line rushed forward, though all of them were hard pressed to keep up with Terenas, as he once again took the lead and clashed head first into the enemy line, dropping nearly ten beasts before the rest of the cavalry had even two kills.

He turned to face the kodo beasts again, grinning in triumph as he saw the highly disrupted lines of both the beast riders and the main demon army lines. He charged forward back into the beasts, assisting his horsemen in taking down the few remaining beasts. Several dozen more of his riders had joined him from the lines and they made short work of the beasts, either killing them or letting them retreat.

Let them go! Terenas shouted. They will cause us no further trouble this day!

Terenas!

Gabriel? What is it? he asked after hearing the voice of the Archangel in his head.

The right flank has fell! Take whatever cavalry remain and strike at them until the gryphon riders come.

Damn it! He turned back to his horsemen. Riders, to the right flank! He didn't bother with reforming the lines this time, as he knew that they had to move there rather quickly. Several riders did manage to keep with him this time, for which he was grateful. He knew he couldn't be the only one to drive back the demon army. He knew he was losing his horsemen though, but their loses would have to be pushed to the back of his head for now.

Terenas reached the rear of the enemy flank with a dozen other riders, clashing with them and holding them there until the infantry were able to reform. The rest of the riders available – nearly three hundred in size – clashed into the lines and slowly drove them back. Terenas jumped off of his horse, opting to fight on the group. He easily hacked his way through the orcs, never stopping for a breath.

Terenas! A manticore! a horseman shouted before getting stabbed. Terenas looked over briefly to see the man being pulled off his horse and slowly ripped apart of his limbs. He quickly ran to where the fallen rider was and hacked through the orcs that surrounded him. It was too late though, as the horseman had been dead long before he could reach him.

He heard a screeched though, and immediately remembered what that soldier had said. Terenas turned his head, just in time to duck from the manticore that had just passed overhead. It had taken a few other troops with its claws before swooping around and taking its sight onto the captain. It landed several feet in front of Terenas, not caring who had stood on the ground before.

You want me, huh? the captain asked to the winged beast. He had only seen one of these before but had never faced the beast. Its wings were that of a demon, though its body was that of a lion or tiger, and its mouth, chin, back and tail were laced with razor sharp spikes. Its tail was especially deadly, as it held much weight to it with its club-like appearance.

The manticore stepped forward and growled before rapidly stepping around and swinging its tail at Terenas, nearly taking his head off. He ducked at the last moment, but several of the spikes grazed across his back armor, slipping parts of it off and causing it to become loose. The captain took a mere second to dodge back and slip out of the constraining metal plating before lunging forward to stab his sword at the beast's head. It ducked the attack and swung its tail back at Terenas again, though this time he was able to block it easily before retreating back.

He circle strafed the manticore, keeping the whole creature within his sight as he moved. The beast did the same; slowly shuffle stepping while growling lowly in the back of its throat at Terenas. It was the first to act, curling back on the balls of its paws before springing into an attack, leading with a clawing strike. Terenas parried the attack and slid in, pulling out a hidden dagger from his cloak and swinging it up into the breast of the beast. It shrieked wildly, trying in desperation to hold its wounded self together. It struggled to stay on three feet, though it was quickly reduced to two as its supporting front leg gave out when the damaged collarbones and breastplates snapped under the pressure. It fell to the ground, looking up one last time to see Terenas step forward and drive his blade straight between the manticore's eyes.

Suddenly, an eagle-like call came from the northwest, and all the battle's participants looked over, seeing a massive contingent of gryphon riders and eagles flying towards them. They've finally arrived, Terenas said in a half-whisper, pulling his blade out of the dead manticore's head. He looked around for a moment before rushing back into battle against several orcs, killing them before they had even turn their heads away from the sight in the sky.

Gabriel himself let out a sigh of relief, thankful for the help that had finally arrived. He flew straight up, meeting with the dwarf called Grom. He was the leader of the gryphon corps and part of the dwarf community who helped to raise and train the four-legged flyers for combat.

What took you? Gabriel asked him.

We had some trouble in the north, Grom responded, his voice deep and thick like most male dwarves. That, and your eagles didn't want to fight today. He laughed out loud after saying that.

No time for jokes Grom. Tell the flyers to scare them off to their city. We've won the battle.

Very well Gabriel. I ride off! With that, he flew off, crying out for battle and leading several dozen of the winged beasts into battle. They easily killed many orcs that dared remain in the field, and chased a few others that looked like they were easy pickings. The mass of remaining troops in the Army of the Death had decided to flee after a few of the generals running the army sent the call out for retreat. The ground troops that escaped the battle ran the full four miles back to Khaz Thalas, the final city before Sammael's palace.

Terenas tell the men to hold their ground.

Yes Gabriel, he responded, nodding. He, for one, was glad for the battle to be over. He knew that their toughest lied ahead in the city of Khaz Thalas though.

For now though, they had a brief reprieve. They had time to rest and to bury their fallen brethren.



* * *


The final count?

Over twenty-three thousand casualties, my Lord, said a soldier selected to take a head count. It had taken the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening to finalize the final casualty count for the battle.

that leaves only fifty thousand for the battle against Khaz Thalas then. Gabriel rubbed his blonde bearded chin, contemplating various strategies and concerns for the upcoming battle. You're dismissed. The soldier bowed before leaving the Archangel's tent.

that isn't enough to take the city. We're going to need twice that number at least!

It'll be a tough fight Gabriel. Your men are worn out from the days of constant battle.

I don't need your sight to know how my men are, Belphegor, Gabriel spat over his shoulder. He walked over to his cot, taking a seat on it and finally releasing his hand from Lightbringer, which had never left his side in the past three days. He cast his eyes over to the Fallen Principality, beginning to wonder why he was forced to accept his help.

It's because I know --

Yes, I know! Stop reading my mind, will you? You're supposed to be concentrating on Sammael's mind, right?

A little break from time to time won't harm us in any way, Belphegor stated.

That little break can possibly lead us to defeat.

The Fallen Principality stood from his wooden chair, coming into the dim light of the tent for the first time. He stared, if he could, at the Archangel. His eyes were removed as punishment for serving under the dark magicks of the demon world. He was turned into a Seer and designated to Gabriel. A cloth covers his dark sockets and his wings have slowly turned gray after being black for so long. If you care to know, Sammael is sitting in the luxury of his white bone throne sipping blood wine with hmmm I believe that is Arthas that is with him.

Arthas? What is that Death Knight doing this far south? Gabriel asked.

I cannot tell. The conversation between minds is shielded, as well as the conversation with mouths. I can only see the scene. It was an honest answer, though Gabriel was only half inclined to believe otherwise.

Very well. I need to speak with Grom about possible reinforcements. Let me know of any change. Gabriel got up and left the tent, grabbing Lightbringer as he did and not bothering to look back once at Belphegor.

Meanwhile, the Fallen Principality had sat back down in his chair, resuming his silent watch over the meeting between the Angel of Death and the leader of the Death Knights. While it was true that he could not gather anything from the conversation, he was, however, able to pick up one word that had leaked through the shields:

Invasion.

* * *

The sun is burning hot again
On the hunter
And the fisherman,
And he's trying to remember when,
But it makes him dizzy.


* * *