A/N: Chapter 5...Yay! I would like to thank all you wonderful reviewers for
your time. But there is something I feel compelled to address regarding
reviews. Now don't gert me wrong, I love reviews. Keep sending them. But
please do not tell me what to do with my story because it is just that. MY
story. If you have a wonderful original idea, great! Write a story. Don't
tell me how to write mine. Thanks
Veronica: More will be made clear about Azriel and Rogue's origins soon. Please bear with me. But no they are not from Atlantis. That was the site of the last Tournament. I used it to illustrate the destruction the Tournament wreaked on a city.
Newayz...on with the fic!
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Shadow Rising Chapter 5: Guardian
Rogue groaned aloud and slowly opened her eyes. The harsh white lights of the infirmary greeted her swollen eyelids, so intense she promptly shut her eyes again. She slowly traced the muscles of her still sleeping lover. Sweat drenched his body and he felt almost hot to the touch. Azriel stirred slowly before opening his eyes, revealing familiar stormy gray eyes. She smiled as she studied his face.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself."
"Feelin' betta?"
"Thanks to you." Rogue blushed under his intense gaze.
"Ah didn't really do too much..." Azriel placed a finger on her lips.
"No, Rogue. You saved my life. You showed courage I have not seen in hundreds of years." His smile seemed to fade a bit under her questioning gaze. "Very few willingly give their blood to a vampire." Rogue drew her hand up to brush her neck. No marks at all.
"Will Ah become...lahke you?"
"No. You'd have to drink a bit of my blood for the process to be completed." Azriel chuckled. "Can you imagine if we had vampires pop up every time we drank someone's blood? It'd be pandemonium. We'd out populate humans." Rogue smiled as well.
"Well, y'all can drink mah blood anytahme."
"No." Rogue looked at him in surprise. "Never again." He locked eyes with her. "I could have killed you..."
"It felt so good..."
"Vampires emit a pheromone when they drink blood. It's an aphrodisiac designed to overwhelm the victim's senses and give them the most intense pleasure experience. It is our way of making sure the victim feels no pain as we...kill them. The more we drink, the more we emit." He dropped his eyes, almost too ashamed to continue. "You have no idea how close I was to drinking you dry. That's why it felt so good."
"But..."
"No. Please, don't ever ask me to drink your blood again. You're too important to me to risk losing you for a few moments of ecstasy." He leaned forward and kissed her slowly, languorously. "I couldn't bear to lose you." Rogue took his hand in hers. She had had always loved his hands. Long, thin fingers on a thin palm. Seemingly so fragile, they were in fact extremely powerful and dexterous. She placed his hand on her breast, over her heart.
"Ya haven't lost me. And ya nevah will as long as this heart continues tah beat." She kissed him passionately, longingly. With a wave of his hand, Azriel blasted the video camera watching them. With another wave of his hand, he overloaded the lights and blew them out.
"Better?"
"Much. Ah'd ratha not give Logan another thing to get mad at us about."
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"The feed's gone!" Logan swiveled in his chair to look at Beast. To his surprise, Hank merely chuckled.
"Perhaps, my friend, that is for the best."
"Why, what the hell could they be....oh." Logan's face purpled. "What if she gets...I mean...has to..." Hank cut him off with another chuckle.
"Don't worry about that. Azriel had the foresight to explain about dhampier physiology. Apparently, he can only impregnate a girl if he makes a conscious decision to do so. It is, in effect, his wisdom and prudence that create the most effective contraceptive. You should stop treating him like a child, Logan. He has seen and been through far more than we can even imagine." Logan didn't speak, merely continued to grumble. Hank smiled. He knew Logan well, and knew how fiercely protective of Rogue he was. Under all those curses, he was a good man. But nothing in the world could save Azriel from the Wolverine if he hurt Rogue in any way.
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Guardian...
Who...are you?
It won't be much longer now. One final battle.
Will it end?
Indeed. However, all hell will break loose in your last battle. Try not to destroy the city...like the last Tournament we had.
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The lone figure watched silently as Azriel slept, dreaming of what tomorrow would bring. A single tear fell from his face as he leapt from his perch on the tree and disappeared into the starry night.
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"Damn you, I have no intention of coming this far and losing to the likes of you!" The speaker hurled an energy ball at Azriel, who managed to duck under it and deliver a devastating kick to his stomach. Since Azriel had drunk Rogue's blood, he felt stronger, far stronger than he ever had before.
"Rafe, if you think for one second you can defeat me, you're wrong. You might as well give up now." Azriel easily dodged Rafe's hasty blows and dealt him a swift uppercut, sending him flying across the alleyway to slam into the dumpster.
This weakling is my final opponent? Something's not right.
To Azriel's surprise, the figure of Rafe suddenly disappeared. A mocking laugh echoed around his head. He whirled around, unable to pinpoint the source.
"Did you really think it would be that easy? That was merely a test. Now face my army." Rafe reappeared from view, spreading his arms out wide. From behind appeared hundreds of identical copies, each with a murderous gleam in their eye. Azriel backed up very slowly.
Oh shit.
With a tremendous yell, the copies fell upon Azriel, who leapt back to the very back of the alleyway. He knelt down on the ground and placed his right hand on the concrete. His left hand curled into a fist and lifted up to his mouth, where he placed two fingers. Lightning began to flash under his right hand, two small streams touching his raised left fingers. Rafe began to laugh uncontrollably.
"What good will one lightning strike do against my army?" Azriel smiled.
"Who says it's only one strike?" Azriel suddenly moved his arms in a hyperbola, bringing his hands close together. A bright flash ensued, blinding Rafe. He roared and shut his eyes. When his vision had cleared, he saw Azriel standing serenely, both his hands covered on glowing motes of lightning.
"I could keep this up all day." He raced forward and punched one of Rafe's clones. It promptly exploded in a cloud of smoke. To Rafe's horror, Azriel's hand continued to glow as he began to dismantle the army. Within seconds, every clone had been vaporized, leaving Rafe trembling in the alleyway. Azriel lunged forward, slamming both palms into his chest, burning two deep holes through him. Rafe choked as his life swiftly ended.
"Most impressive, Guardian." Azriel whirled around, but could not find the source of the voice.
"Show yourself!" Out of the shadows emerged a young man with bright blond hair. He calmly dusted off his white robes and gazed at Azriel through crystal blue eyes. Recognition flickered in Azriel's gray orbs.
"I know you...don't I."
"I would hope so."
"San...zo?" Sanzo smiled happily.
"You DO remember." Out of the shadows stepped three other figures. One was dressed in a forest green kimono with gold inlay that matched both his hair and his eyes. The second was covered in thin black armor. He casually ruffled his black hair and grinned. The third and final was a young boy with red curls and curious blue eyes. He wore a brown tunic that would not have looked out of place in a medieval pageant. "I see your memories have returned."
"Yukimura...Valder...Arthur..." Azriel grinned. "Good to see you, my friends. It's been too long." The four warriors also smiled.
"I take it you are ready to resume your duties as a Guardian?"
"Yeah. I had a nice vacation. And it's high time I had an energy sword in my hand." Azriel flipped out his dagger, which had become ebony on one side and ivory on the other. "The Dragon Talon. All this time I had it with me and never even realized it." Azriel withdrew Tetsu no Kage Ryu and held the two blades close together. An intense light suddenly erupted as the weapons fused together to form a long thin hilt, decorated with serpentine dragons. He willed the blade to appear and a glowing katana blade of pure energy erupted out of the hilt. "It feels good to wield an energy blade once again." Azriel's smile faded on his face.
"What?"
"Becoming a Guardian means...leaving Rogue.
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A/N: One more chappie to go! I'll try to post ASAP but APs are coming up so I will be sooooooo fucking busy. As soon as they're over, I promise to update. Until then...
Sayonara,
Dark Merlyn
Veronica: More will be made clear about Azriel and Rogue's origins soon. Please bear with me. But no they are not from Atlantis. That was the site of the last Tournament. I used it to illustrate the destruction the Tournament wreaked on a city.
Newayz...on with the fic!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Shadow Rising Chapter 5: Guardian
Rogue groaned aloud and slowly opened her eyes. The harsh white lights of the infirmary greeted her swollen eyelids, so intense she promptly shut her eyes again. She slowly traced the muscles of her still sleeping lover. Sweat drenched his body and he felt almost hot to the touch. Azriel stirred slowly before opening his eyes, revealing familiar stormy gray eyes. She smiled as she studied his face.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself."
"Feelin' betta?"
"Thanks to you." Rogue blushed under his intense gaze.
"Ah didn't really do too much..." Azriel placed a finger on her lips.
"No, Rogue. You saved my life. You showed courage I have not seen in hundreds of years." His smile seemed to fade a bit under her questioning gaze. "Very few willingly give their blood to a vampire." Rogue drew her hand up to brush her neck. No marks at all.
"Will Ah become...lahke you?"
"No. You'd have to drink a bit of my blood for the process to be completed." Azriel chuckled. "Can you imagine if we had vampires pop up every time we drank someone's blood? It'd be pandemonium. We'd out populate humans." Rogue smiled as well.
"Well, y'all can drink mah blood anytahme."
"No." Rogue looked at him in surprise. "Never again." He locked eyes with her. "I could have killed you..."
"It felt so good..."
"Vampires emit a pheromone when they drink blood. It's an aphrodisiac designed to overwhelm the victim's senses and give them the most intense pleasure experience. It is our way of making sure the victim feels no pain as we...kill them. The more we drink, the more we emit." He dropped his eyes, almost too ashamed to continue. "You have no idea how close I was to drinking you dry. That's why it felt so good."
"But..."
"No. Please, don't ever ask me to drink your blood again. You're too important to me to risk losing you for a few moments of ecstasy." He leaned forward and kissed her slowly, languorously. "I couldn't bear to lose you." Rogue took his hand in hers. She had had always loved his hands. Long, thin fingers on a thin palm. Seemingly so fragile, they were in fact extremely powerful and dexterous. She placed his hand on her breast, over her heart.
"Ya haven't lost me. And ya nevah will as long as this heart continues tah beat." She kissed him passionately, longingly. With a wave of his hand, Azriel blasted the video camera watching them. With another wave of his hand, he overloaded the lights and blew them out.
"Better?"
"Much. Ah'd ratha not give Logan another thing to get mad at us about."
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"The feed's gone!" Logan swiveled in his chair to look at Beast. To his surprise, Hank merely chuckled.
"Perhaps, my friend, that is for the best."
"Why, what the hell could they be....oh." Logan's face purpled. "What if she gets...I mean...has to..." Hank cut him off with another chuckle.
"Don't worry about that. Azriel had the foresight to explain about dhampier physiology. Apparently, he can only impregnate a girl if he makes a conscious decision to do so. It is, in effect, his wisdom and prudence that create the most effective contraceptive. You should stop treating him like a child, Logan. He has seen and been through far more than we can even imagine." Logan didn't speak, merely continued to grumble. Hank smiled. He knew Logan well, and knew how fiercely protective of Rogue he was. Under all those curses, he was a good man. But nothing in the world could save Azriel from the Wolverine if he hurt Rogue in any way.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Guardian...
Who...are you?
It won't be much longer now. One final battle.
Will it end?
Indeed. However, all hell will break loose in your last battle. Try not to destroy the city...like the last Tournament we had.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The lone figure watched silently as Azriel slept, dreaming of what tomorrow would bring. A single tear fell from his face as he leapt from his perch on the tree and disappeared into the starry night.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Damn you, I have no intention of coming this far and losing to the likes of you!" The speaker hurled an energy ball at Azriel, who managed to duck under it and deliver a devastating kick to his stomach. Since Azriel had drunk Rogue's blood, he felt stronger, far stronger than he ever had before.
"Rafe, if you think for one second you can defeat me, you're wrong. You might as well give up now." Azriel easily dodged Rafe's hasty blows and dealt him a swift uppercut, sending him flying across the alleyway to slam into the dumpster.
This weakling is my final opponent? Something's not right.
To Azriel's surprise, the figure of Rafe suddenly disappeared. A mocking laugh echoed around his head. He whirled around, unable to pinpoint the source.
"Did you really think it would be that easy? That was merely a test. Now face my army." Rafe reappeared from view, spreading his arms out wide. From behind appeared hundreds of identical copies, each with a murderous gleam in their eye. Azriel backed up very slowly.
Oh shit.
With a tremendous yell, the copies fell upon Azriel, who leapt back to the very back of the alleyway. He knelt down on the ground and placed his right hand on the concrete. His left hand curled into a fist and lifted up to his mouth, where he placed two fingers. Lightning began to flash under his right hand, two small streams touching his raised left fingers. Rafe began to laugh uncontrollably.
"What good will one lightning strike do against my army?" Azriel smiled.
"Who says it's only one strike?" Azriel suddenly moved his arms in a hyperbola, bringing his hands close together. A bright flash ensued, blinding Rafe. He roared and shut his eyes. When his vision had cleared, he saw Azriel standing serenely, both his hands covered on glowing motes of lightning.
"I could keep this up all day." He raced forward and punched one of Rafe's clones. It promptly exploded in a cloud of smoke. To Rafe's horror, Azriel's hand continued to glow as he began to dismantle the army. Within seconds, every clone had been vaporized, leaving Rafe trembling in the alleyway. Azriel lunged forward, slamming both palms into his chest, burning two deep holes through him. Rafe choked as his life swiftly ended.
"Most impressive, Guardian." Azriel whirled around, but could not find the source of the voice.
"Show yourself!" Out of the shadows emerged a young man with bright blond hair. He calmly dusted off his white robes and gazed at Azriel through crystal blue eyes. Recognition flickered in Azriel's gray orbs.
"I know you...don't I."
"I would hope so."
"San...zo?" Sanzo smiled happily.
"You DO remember." Out of the shadows stepped three other figures. One was dressed in a forest green kimono with gold inlay that matched both his hair and his eyes. The second was covered in thin black armor. He casually ruffled his black hair and grinned. The third and final was a young boy with red curls and curious blue eyes. He wore a brown tunic that would not have looked out of place in a medieval pageant. "I see your memories have returned."
"Yukimura...Valder...Arthur..." Azriel grinned. "Good to see you, my friends. It's been too long." The four warriors also smiled.
"I take it you are ready to resume your duties as a Guardian?"
"Yeah. I had a nice vacation. And it's high time I had an energy sword in my hand." Azriel flipped out his dagger, which had become ebony on one side and ivory on the other. "The Dragon Talon. All this time I had it with me and never even realized it." Azriel withdrew Tetsu no Kage Ryu and held the two blades close together. An intense light suddenly erupted as the weapons fused together to form a long thin hilt, decorated with serpentine dragons. He willed the blade to appear and a glowing katana blade of pure energy erupted out of the hilt. "It feels good to wield an energy blade once again." Azriel's smile faded on his face.
"What?"
"Becoming a Guardian means...leaving Rogue.
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A/N: One more chappie to go! I'll try to post ASAP but APs are coming up so I will be sooooooo fucking busy. As soon as they're over, I promise to update. Until then...
Sayonara,
Dark Merlyn