Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible
*~* flashback
*~*~* dreamscape
The Assassin: Nemesis
Chapter 7
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Quetzalcoatl slowly walked up the steps of the pyramid, not wanting to rush his glorious victory. Behind him, Chaos walked slowly, even though he truly looked like he wanted to go as fast as possible. Nox and Aeris followed them, with Bonnie just behind them them. She was wearing something they gave her, since she wasn't wearing much of anything when Aeris and Chaos had taken her. Because she and Nox were similar in size, she was wearing one of the cadaver's (remember, she is technically dead) ninja outfits, minus the hood.
'Aeris, what are we going to do?' Nox asked. 'Neither of us want to fight him, but Quetzalcoatl and Chaos want nothing more than his death.'
'Don't worry, I have a plan. The contract I signed with them isn't valid because I didn't sign it with my own blood, and you weren't specifically ordered to fight, just to be an informant,' Aeris replied. 'We don't have to fight, we'll take care of Bonnie and the other girl.'
'Right, that is what we promised.'
At the top of the pyramid, Nate and the others stood, three of the five of them had their hands on their knees panting, and one was on the ground. Nate was unaffected to that form of transportation, since he had done it several times before. Beneath them was a strange symbol, a circle, with a square inside it. Inside the square was a slightly smaller square, with its corners slightly off from the center of the first square's lines. There was another square inside that one, and another, and so on to create a 3-D image of some sorts. I'll try to find a picture of this online, and put a site where you can find it at the end of the chapter. Anyway, at the very center of the final square, which only measured six inches across (the largest being 60 feet across) were four "keyholes."
"Nate, why didn't you take us here the normal way?" Ron asked while gently rubbing Tara on the back.
"Because that's the only way to get here," he quipped.
"Where is here?" Shego inquired while helping Kim to her feet.
"Another planet, in the constellation of Draco. This is where the Ancients now live, and where Quetzalcoatl and I used to make exchanges."
"No wonder...he chose...this place then," Kim said between heavy breaths.
"They're here," Tara pointed over at the stairs.
Indeed they were, the top of Quetzalcoatl's white hair could be seen, it bobbed and swayed slightly with his movement, but stayed spiked no matter how much he moved. His skin was darker than Nate's, being more towards the shade of Bonnie's skin. His hair was white as Sarah's but much shorter and more unruly, curving up over his head and shielding the upper part of his face (like I said, he looks like the Yu-gi-Oh card Harpie's Brother). He wore no shirt, only a white robe around his waist, held up by a gold belt. His neck was adorned by a jeweled necklace, with an archaic eye placed right at the hollow of his throat.
Right behind him was Chaos, who wore, instead of his usual, something like what Wesley Snipes wore in Blade, the armor over his chest, the pants and boots, the guns and the sword, sheathed along his back. All this with a sleeveless, black trench coat. The ever-present blue aura around his eyes was as strong as ever, though the aura around his body was still small, he wasn't completely enraged...yet.
Aeris was next, wearing, of all things, a pink dress that one of her victims wore. Given that the color was somewhat inappropriate, it did go with her sandals and short blonde hair. There were slits cut in the back, to allow her black wings to emerge through the fabric. The dress was cut very short, exposing almost three-quarters of her black thighs. Nox was at least dressed a little more respectively, wearing her black leather pants and blue tank top. Her long hair was in a tight braid down her back, and tucked safely into it was her lance. Both her eyes were "closed" at the time, not needing the demon's eye, or her normal vision. Behind them was Bonnie, eyes still looking blankly ahead, waiting to be told what to do.
"So good to see you, Kul," Quetzalcoatl said with a bit of a smirk.
Nate said nothing, his eyes moved from his brother to Bonnie, and back to Quetzalcoatl. She seemed to be doing fine, there were no blemishes on her body, no scents coming from her beside her own; the only thing that was wrong with her was the parts of her mind that had been extracted. He smiled, confusing his brother and Chaos, that wasn't supposed to happen, they were supposed to have him right where they wanted him, but he was smiling.
"I'm sad to say that this is the end of your balancing career, brother," he continued, not really phased by Nate's smile. If the fool wanted to smile, that was his own business. "To think, you actually thought that you could stop me."
"Us," Aeris corrected behind him.
"Be quiet," he snapped at her, but she didn't flinch.
"Well, I can't say I'm happy to see you, but it is good to see her," he had meant Bonnie, whose expression brightened a bit, as if she knew he was talking about her. "Now, can we just get this over with?"
"Very well, come here," he said to Bonnie, who walked over to him, and he handed her the soul jar. "Take this and go over there."
She nodded and started walking towards Nate, the jar clutched to her chest. Nate reached behind him and retrieved the pike handle from within his cloak, throwing it halfway between himself and Quetzalcoatl. The god swung his white-scaled tail out and snatched up the handle. When it reached his hand, Bonnie had reached Nate, and looked blankly up at him. A small smile crossed his face as he lifted the jar to her lips, and she drank the contents.
"Nate?" she asked, the blank expression lifting from her face.
"Yeah, I'm here."
As he watched, her expression changed, from being overjoyed to extremely sad. She started to cry, burying her face in his shoulder. Slowly he raised his arms to encompass her slim shoulders, and hold her to him. As she cried she sobbed inane and unimportant nothings into the black cloth.
"It's not your fault, Bonnie, don't cry," he whispered hoping it would help some. "Can you do something for me, Bonnie?"
"What?" she asked looking up at him.
"Take this and protect Tara."
She felt the pommel of a sword lightly touch her abdomen, and reached between their bodies to retrieve it. The sword in her hand was Luciender (© Kit Rae, picture at bladeclub.com), the sword of Light. She just stared at it for a few seconds, before looking back up at him.
"You can't trust me with this," she said trying to push it back to him. "I've messed up enough already."
"Who told you that, him?" he glared over her shoulder at his silently rejoicing brother, who just stared at the pike. "Bonnie, none of this is your fault, it's mine, so stop blaming yourself."
"Alright," she nodded and took the sword from him, slipping it in the sash that was tied around her waist.
"Good, now go."
She nodded again and stepped in front of Tara. He stepped forward, and looked down at the four holes in the middle of the symbol. Stooping, he ran his hand over it, a feeling of relief ran through him, it was still there.
"Well, I guess the only thing left to do is kill you, Kul," he stood hearing Quetzalcoatl say that.
The next moment, Chaos had rushed forward, unsheathing his sword and angling straight at Nate's head. He raised his dragon hand from beneath his cloak and blocked it. Unfortunately, the force of it the his right off the pyramid and into the forest below. The sound of cracking branches could be heard as he made his way to the ground.
'So, he was holding back on that tree,' the white-haired god thought.
"Shadow, Esadis, Raven, take care of the rest of them," Chaos said before jumping off the edge after Nate.
Three men appeared from nowhere and eyed the four women and Ron. One of them, with twin sickles attached to his belt licked his lips when he looked over at Bonnie and Tara. Another one, floating a few inches off the ground, looked Ron up and down with a slightly odd look in his eyes. The last one, with a large axe strapped to his back, looked on with disinterest.
"I call the two on the right," Shadow said quickly, meaning Bonnie and Tara.
"Nu-uh, Shadow, they're ours," Aeris said stepping up behind him.
"Yeah, we called them ages ago," Nox agreed with a few nods.
"But...but I..." he tried to argue but didn't get to finish as the two women leapt at their targets. "Fine, I'll take the chick with the shotels."
"I want him," Raven said quickly before Esadis picked Ron.
"Looks like I get the puny one," the burly man said grasping his axe, "again."
As they advanced upon their quarry, Quetzalcoatl took the time to examine his prize, the balance pike. He was still somewhat disbelieving that it was now his. As if this were a dream, and he was still back in the abyss. But that thought was pushed from his mind when the pike extended in his hands, he had more important things to think about. He actually felt like doing a little jig to celebrate, but wanted to retain his regal composure, so he settled with a wide smile.
Aeris and Nox had moved forward swiftly, and grabbed Bonnie and Tara, carrying them over the edge of the pyramid, into the forest. There they set them down and stepped back, looking thoroughly pleased with themselves. Both then looked the blonde up and down, having already gotten a veeery good look at Bonnie. They looked at each other, as if having a silent conversation.
"Come along, we'll keep you safe," Nox said holding out her hand as a symbol of friendship.
"Why are you helping us?" was the first thing out of Bonnie's mouth.
"We made a promise, now come along," Aeris said planning on taking them by force if need be.
"Think we can trust them?" Tara whispered to Bonnie.
"Yeah, we can," she whispered back, then said, "Okay, where are we going?"
"Follow me," Aeris said and began walking.
*****
Out in the woods, where Nate had crashed through the petrified trees, he had landed in the large clearing. In front of him was long gouge in the ground where he had touched down. Quickly he was on his feet and prepared to fight. Through the trees came Chaos, sword held at ready and aura flaring. Nate smiled again, he was finally going to end his fellow assassin's torment. Slowly his arms raised and removed the cloak, revealing his clothes beneath (like I said, what Darth Maul wore in Episode 1).
"So, here we are," Chaos said moving forward at a leisurely pace, wanting to take his time.
"Yeah, I guess so," Nate reached for the hilt of the sword on his belt.
Chaos charged, and Nate drew his sword, knocking away Chaos' slash with his newly drawn sword. Molotoch seemed to vibrate and hum with the expectation of battle, not just the contact of the swords. Chaos charged again and was thrown back, again, his sword humming a tune that was most sad. He hadn't expected Nate to have so much strength, but then he thought that must surely come from the sword.
"What was that you blocked my sword with up there?" Chaos asked wanting to know what the hell Quetzalcoatl and the others were always making reference to.
"What, this?" Nate asked as his free hand transformed to its dragon form. "Just my arm."
This time, Nate took the initiative and charged, raising Molotoch with one hand, the other poised for a follow-up attack. When his sword made contact with Chaos' blade, he didn't stop, he kept pushing Chaos back unto his slammed into a petrified tree, cracking it. His hand then came forward, ramming itself into the right side of Chaos' chest, and it came out through his back, destroying the tree behind him. He removed his blood-covered fist and leapt back from the healing Chaos.
When he landed he opened his hand and saw a small crystal in the center. It was blood red, hexagonal in shape, and had sharp barbs sticking out at each corner. It seemed to be alive, what with the way it pulsed and all. A scale poked through his skin, directly beneath the crystal, holding it up for closer inspection.
Chaos shook his head, dazed from the feeling of his head being slammed against the tree. He felt strangely empty, like a piece of him was taken, but he couldn't figure out what piece. Looking himself over, he saw that the armor over his chest had been punctured, a six-inch-wide hole was over his right pectoral muscle. He undid the clasps at the shoulders and the sides of the armor, discarding it to the ground. The object of his rage seemed to have retreated for a time, and was examining his hand.
'He must have injured himself on my armor,' Chaos thought in a mildly amused manner.
"So, this is Chaos' immortality?" Nate asked himself while looking deep into the depths of the crystal. It was an amazingly complex piece of technology and physical mana (the magical essence that exists in all living things). "Seems a little small."
"What are you waiting for, are we going to fight or not?" Chaos yelled from the other end of the clearing.
*****
CRASH!
Lightening struck as Raven took to the air, snapping his whip again and again at Ron who duck and dodged. He hadn't unsheathed his cutlass yet, and wasn't going to till he could get Raven to be at ground level, but how to do that. The flying assassin seemed to thoroughly enjoy whipping at Ron over and over, since his smile never faded even once.
'Dammit, how am I supposed to get him down here?' Ron thought as he dove to the right. He would have shot at his enemy, but had neglected to grab the Beretta when he left the house. 'Nate didn't tell me about this.'
*****
Shego was fairing just as well as Ron, since there were plenty of shadows Shadow had plenty of places to hide. Every few seconds he would pop up and slash at her with his sickles. She was quick enough to dodge, but he was getting closer with every strike. It wasn't long before one of his sickles caught her across the arm.
"Ah, dammit!" she clutched her bleeding arm, but felt it heal when she concentrated.
*****
Esadis had no need for his shifting ability, all he had to do was swing his axe. All Kim had to do was dodge, but Esadis was faster than his size would make him appear. She, like the others, hadn't counted on these three showing up, and wasn't at her best.
"Woah," she jumped to the side as Esadis' axe slammed into the stone.
When he removed it, the crack closed up and looked as if nothing had happened. But something had happened, the moment Esadis' axe hit the pyramid Quetzalcoatl felt a sharp sting of pain in his chest, almost causing him to drop the pike. He couldn't understand why this had happened, but he did understand that if it caused him pain, then it must have caused his brother pain as well.
*****
Nate felt the slight twinge of pain in his chest, but didn't let it stop him. With the crystal clenched in one hand and Molotoch in the other, he battled with Chaos. The petrified grass beneath them cracked and snapped under their feet. Unlike his brother, he knew exactly what the pyramid was, and why it affected them both. What is it? You'll find out later.
"Do you think this is what she wants for you, Kyle?" Nate asked deciding the play the "Lisa" card.
"I don't care anymore," his opponent shouted back, "AND DON'T SAY THAT NAME!"
His next slash had some extra force behind it, pushing Nate back again. This didn't surprise the god, most, if not all people gained extra strength from rage. He also knew that it came from being cornered, which Chaos, at the moment, was. The only way to exorcise the demon inhabiting Chaos' mind and body was the bring it to full strength, then lay the smackdown on it, and the only way to do that was to enrage it.
"Do you know why she was killed Kyle?" he continued not really caring that Chaos hated his real name. "She was just another piece of meat to them, a bargaining chip to get you."
"What do you mean?" Chaos asked while still charging.
Nate blocked the first charge and slashed back, pushing Chaos to the ground. He quickly recovered and returned to the battle. They were moving faster now, faster than before. With Chaos' increased rage came increased speed, and Nate was all too happy to oblige. He continued using one hand while Chaos' used two, slashing, thrusting and cleaving at every opening that presented itself.
"I mean, it was all an elaborate plan to get you as their assassin," he replied as the two swords were thrust against each other, edge grinding against edge, Molotoch humming and pulsing grew stronger. "The council you so willingly serve sent your three lackeys, disguised as students, into your school to start a shooting. They spotted you with Lisa, and decided to have a little fun."
"You LIE!" Chaos' aura flared into greater prominence and he pushed harder against his sword, but it didn't budge.
"You're living a lie Kyle, after the trial, Shadow came to you and offered you a chance for revenge," he smirked as Molotoch's humming grew stronger. "Like a fool you agreed, without even thinking of the consequences."
"Stop talking and FIGHT!" he pushed harder, spurned on by the words being fed to him.
"Do you think I'm using my full power, Kyle?" Nate asked with a wink.
He began to push, claws ripping through thin boots to grip the stone ground. Chaos couldn't understand it, just a second ago he was winning, his power had redoubled itself in rage and he had been pushing Nate back, now...
With one push, Nate sent Chaos flying across the field and against the already broken tree, finishing it off. In less than a second he was on Chaos again, ramming his knee into the dark assassin's face. Feathered wings sprang from his back and he powered into the air. Sheathing Molotoch he clawed his hands, readying them to do their work. He cut off the power under his wings and dropped like a stone towards the disoriented enemy.
Landing hard against the ground, it caused a deep depression, into which Chaos slid. One clawed hand grabbed his neck, the other reared back, and balled into a fist. The crushing blows to Chaos abdomen were swift and relentless as they pounded away. The sound of ribs cracking echoed in both of their ears as the punches continued. He finished it with an uppercut to Chaos lowered chin, so it propelled him up, over Nate's shoulder, instead of just straight up.
He landed outside of the depression in a heap; his sword was lost to him, embedded in the tree that he had collided with. Slowly, the haze lifted and he saw Nate standing over him, but it wasn't the Nate he had ever remembered seeing. His hair raked back over his head in the form of blades and spines, and his pants were ripped to reveal his lower legs to be that of dragon, his arms had also changed. He then felt some wrapping around his waist; it was a tail, Nate's tail.
"How?" he asked weakly as he was lifted off the ground.
"You'd be surprised how much you can injure someone without killing them," Nate mocked as he flung a rapidly healing Chaos across the field. "Right now, I'm at half my power, so you better give me your all."
"Bastard!" Chaos yelled as he stood, fully healed.
In an instant a clawed hand covered his vision and slammed into his face, smashing him back against another tree. The hand left his face and grabbed his arm, holding it still. The twin tail tips wrapped around his other arm, and one foot held both his feet still. He struggled, of course, but the grip was unbreakable, and he looked on his horror as he saw Nate draw a new sword, Cinthorc (© Kit Rae), Sword of Justice.
"Kyle, time for you to wake up," he said as he plunged the sword into Chaos' heart.
Black blood began spurting from the wound, and Chaos' body writhed and screamed in unholy torment. Light welled up in his throat, and he began to choke, still Nate kept the sword inside him. He knew it was just the demon attempting to save itself by killing its host, but that wouldn't happen with Cinthorc where it was. The blood slowly changed from black to red, and Nate knew it wouldn't be long.
With a burst of light, the demon within Chaos exploded from his mouth, unable to withstand Justice. It landed behind Nate, who quickly pulled the sword from Kyle's body, letting him heal. Slowly, deliberately, he turned to the demon, which seemed to be just scribbled of light, swirling around an obvious shape of some spawn from Hell. The draconian wings were very evident as it breathed heavily. It didn't have long, as Nate moved forward and easily sliced its head off with just a tiny slip of his wrist.
"Wha...what happened?" Kyle asked as he stood, feeling his chest heal. "Nate, what did you do?"
"So, your memory wasn't damaged?" Nate asked hesitantly.
"No...No, I remember everything," the young man said with disgust for himself.
"The demon controlling you is dead now," the god said as he returned to his normal, human form. "It's good to have you back, my friend."
"It's good to be back," he said and looked over at the pyramid. "I need to repay them for all they did for me."
"Then get going, I'll catch up with you," Nate said and made sure that Kyle was out of sight before taking the crystal from his pocket and crushing it. He then turned to where he sense Bonnie and the others, sending her a message, 'Bonnie, unsheathe Luciender, spread its light.'
*****
"Right," Bonnie said as she gripped the hilt of the sword, which pulsed.
"'Right,' what?" Aeris asked glancing back at her. "Oh."
As soon as Luciender was unsheathed all shadows were banished as rays of brilliant light engulfed the area. The blade gleamed with an unnatural light in itself, it was almost licked by the flames caused by its aura. The four women stared at it, and only Aeris knew what this meant, she alone had seen Luciender's blade before, and knew of the power that it held.
"Quick, up these stairs, get to the top and help them," the black-skinned demoness said pushing Bonnie towards a large staircase.
"Okay," she said and ran up the stairs, he clothing shifting slightly as the power of Luciender coursed through her.
*****
"Well, ready to give up?" Raven asked as he playfully snapped his whip again.
"AAAARRRGGGHHH!" Shadow screamed as Shego cleaved him into four neat little pieces with the shotels. Luciender's light had banished all shadows giving the assassin no more opportunities to use his namesake.
"YAH!" a war cry was heard as an armored Bonnie leapt up from the top of the stairs, Luciender's aura flaring as she did so. "Take this!"
With that she brought the sword down and through Raven's arm, severing it, and the whip, from his body. She landed and ran over to Ron, helping him up.
"You little bitch, I'll get you for that," Raven threatened while shaking his fist.
"Doubt it," she quipped and Luciender's aura flared again, sending out another flash of light that blinded Raven. "Now Ron, get 'em."
"Right," he ran forward and pulled out his cutlass.
He rammed his shoulder into Raven, who had drifted down to the ground to try and avoid the light. But that was to be his downfall as Ron brought the cutlass cleanly through his neck, taking his head off. It rolled a few feet before falling over the edge.
"That got 'em," Ron high-fived Bonnie.
TBC
Just wanted to cut it off there, this chapter is getting too long, even by my standards. Anyway, I hope you guys like reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh, before I forget, I updated my other story "The Mutant", how come nobody's reviewed, do you not like the chapter? If you don't like it, don't be afraid to tell me. Even I don't really like that chapter. But enough of my rambling, don't forget review on this chapter. One more thing, I'm supposed to come up with a senior quote for the yearbook, any suggestions?
*~* flashback
*~*~* dreamscape
The Assassin: Nemesis
Chapter 7
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Quetzalcoatl slowly walked up the steps of the pyramid, not wanting to rush his glorious victory. Behind him, Chaos walked slowly, even though he truly looked like he wanted to go as fast as possible. Nox and Aeris followed them, with Bonnie just behind them them. She was wearing something they gave her, since she wasn't wearing much of anything when Aeris and Chaos had taken her. Because she and Nox were similar in size, she was wearing one of the cadaver's (remember, she is technically dead) ninja outfits, minus the hood.
'Aeris, what are we going to do?' Nox asked. 'Neither of us want to fight him, but Quetzalcoatl and Chaos want nothing more than his death.'
'Don't worry, I have a plan. The contract I signed with them isn't valid because I didn't sign it with my own blood, and you weren't specifically ordered to fight, just to be an informant,' Aeris replied. 'We don't have to fight, we'll take care of Bonnie and the other girl.'
'Right, that is what we promised.'
At the top of the pyramid, Nate and the others stood, three of the five of them had their hands on their knees panting, and one was on the ground. Nate was unaffected to that form of transportation, since he had done it several times before. Beneath them was a strange symbol, a circle, with a square inside it. Inside the square was a slightly smaller square, with its corners slightly off from the center of the first square's lines. There was another square inside that one, and another, and so on to create a 3-D image of some sorts. I'll try to find a picture of this online, and put a site where you can find it at the end of the chapter. Anyway, at the very center of the final square, which only measured six inches across (the largest being 60 feet across) were four "keyholes."
"Nate, why didn't you take us here the normal way?" Ron asked while gently rubbing Tara on the back.
"Because that's the only way to get here," he quipped.
"Where is here?" Shego inquired while helping Kim to her feet.
"Another planet, in the constellation of Draco. This is where the Ancients now live, and where Quetzalcoatl and I used to make exchanges."
"No wonder...he chose...this place then," Kim said between heavy breaths.
"They're here," Tara pointed over at the stairs.
Indeed they were, the top of Quetzalcoatl's white hair could be seen, it bobbed and swayed slightly with his movement, but stayed spiked no matter how much he moved. His skin was darker than Nate's, being more towards the shade of Bonnie's skin. His hair was white as Sarah's but much shorter and more unruly, curving up over his head and shielding the upper part of his face (like I said, he looks like the Yu-gi-Oh card Harpie's Brother). He wore no shirt, only a white robe around his waist, held up by a gold belt. His neck was adorned by a jeweled necklace, with an archaic eye placed right at the hollow of his throat.
Right behind him was Chaos, who wore, instead of his usual, something like what Wesley Snipes wore in Blade, the armor over his chest, the pants and boots, the guns and the sword, sheathed along his back. All this with a sleeveless, black trench coat. The ever-present blue aura around his eyes was as strong as ever, though the aura around his body was still small, he wasn't completely enraged...yet.
Aeris was next, wearing, of all things, a pink dress that one of her victims wore. Given that the color was somewhat inappropriate, it did go with her sandals and short blonde hair. There were slits cut in the back, to allow her black wings to emerge through the fabric. The dress was cut very short, exposing almost three-quarters of her black thighs. Nox was at least dressed a little more respectively, wearing her black leather pants and blue tank top. Her long hair was in a tight braid down her back, and tucked safely into it was her lance. Both her eyes were "closed" at the time, not needing the demon's eye, or her normal vision. Behind them was Bonnie, eyes still looking blankly ahead, waiting to be told what to do.
"So good to see you, Kul," Quetzalcoatl said with a bit of a smirk.
Nate said nothing, his eyes moved from his brother to Bonnie, and back to Quetzalcoatl. She seemed to be doing fine, there were no blemishes on her body, no scents coming from her beside her own; the only thing that was wrong with her was the parts of her mind that had been extracted. He smiled, confusing his brother and Chaos, that wasn't supposed to happen, they were supposed to have him right where they wanted him, but he was smiling.
"I'm sad to say that this is the end of your balancing career, brother," he continued, not really phased by Nate's smile. If the fool wanted to smile, that was his own business. "To think, you actually thought that you could stop me."
"Us," Aeris corrected behind him.
"Be quiet," he snapped at her, but she didn't flinch.
"Well, I can't say I'm happy to see you, but it is good to see her," he had meant Bonnie, whose expression brightened a bit, as if she knew he was talking about her. "Now, can we just get this over with?"
"Very well, come here," he said to Bonnie, who walked over to him, and he handed her the soul jar. "Take this and go over there."
She nodded and started walking towards Nate, the jar clutched to her chest. Nate reached behind him and retrieved the pike handle from within his cloak, throwing it halfway between himself and Quetzalcoatl. The god swung his white-scaled tail out and snatched up the handle. When it reached his hand, Bonnie had reached Nate, and looked blankly up at him. A small smile crossed his face as he lifted the jar to her lips, and she drank the contents.
"Nate?" she asked, the blank expression lifting from her face.
"Yeah, I'm here."
As he watched, her expression changed, from being overjoyed to extremely sad. She started to cry, burying her face in his shoulder. Slowly he raised his arms to encompass her slim shoulders, and hold her to him. As she cried she sobbed inane and unimportant nothings into the black cloth.
"It's not your fault, Bonnie, don't cry," he whispered hoping it would help some. "Can you do something for me, Bonnie?"
"What?" she asked looking up at him.
"Take this and protect Tara."
She felt the pommel of a sword lightly touch her abdomen, and reached between their bodies to retrieve it. The sword in her hand was Luciender (© Kit Rae, picture at bladeclub.com), the sword of Light. She just stared at it for a few seconds, before looking back up at him.
"You can't trust me with this," she said trying to push it back to him. "I've messed up enough already."
"Who told you that, him?" he glared over her shoulder at his silently rejoicing brother, who just stared at the pike. "Bonnie, none of this is your fault, it's mine, so stop blaming yourself."
"Alright," she nodded and took the sword from him, slipping it in the sash that was tied around her waist.
"Good, now go."
She nodded again and stepped in front of Tara. He stepped forward, and looked down at the four holes in the middle of the symbol. Stooping, he ran his hand over it, a feeling of relief ran through him, it was still there.
"Well, I guess the only thing left to do is kill you, Kul," he stood hearing Quetzalcoatl say that.
The next moment, Chaos had rushed forward, unsheathing his sword and angling straight at Nate's head. He raised his dragon hand from beneath his cloak and blocked it. Unfortunately, the force of it the his right off the pyramid and into the forest below. The sound of cracking branches could be heard as he made his way to the ground.
'So, he was holding back on that tree,' the white-haired god thought.
"Shadow, Esadis, Raven, take care of the rest of them," Chaos said before jumping off the edge after Nate.
Three men appeared from nowhere and eyed the four women and Ron. One of them, with twin sickles attached to his belt licked his lips when he looked over at Bonnie and Tara. Another one, floating a few inches off the ground, looked Ron up and down with a slightly odd look in his eyes. The last one, with a large axe strapped to his back, looked on with disinterest.
"I call the two on the right," Shadow said quickly, meaning Bonnie and Tara.
"Nu-uh, Shadow, they're ours," Aeris said stepping up behind him.
"Yeah, we called them ages ago," Nox agreed with a few nods.
"But...but I..." he tried to argue but didn't get to finish as the two women leapt at their targets. "Fine, I'll take the chick with the shotels."
"I want him," Raven said quickly before Esadis picked Ron.
"Looks like I get the puny one," the burly man said grasping his axe, "again."
As they advanced upon their quarry, Quetzalcoatl took the time to examine his prize, the balance pike. He was still somewhat disbelieving that it was now his. As if this were a dream, and he was still back in the abyss. But that thought was pushed from his mind when the pike extended in his hands, he had more important things to think about. He actually felt like doing a little jig to celebrate, but wanted to retain his regal composure, so he settled with a wide smile.
Aeris and Nox had moved forward swiftly, and grabbed Bonnie and Tara, carrying them over the edge of the pyramid, into the forest. There they set them down and stepped back, looking thoroughly pleased with themselves. Both then looked the blonde up and down, having already gotten a veeery good look at Bonnie. They looked at each other, as if having a silent conversation.
"Come along, we'll keep you safe," Nox said holding out her hand as a symbol of friendship.
"Why are you helping us?" was the first thing out of Bonnie's mouth.
"We made a promise, now come along," Aeris said planning on taking them by force if need be.
"Think we can trust them?" Tara whispered to Bonnie.
"Yeah, we can," she whispered back, then said, "Okay, where are we going?"
"Follow me," Aeris said and began walking.
*****
Out in the woods, where Nate had crashed through the petrified trees, he had landed in the large clearing. In front of him was long gouge in the ground where he had touched down. Quickly he was on his feet and prepared to fight. Through the trees came Chaos, sword held at ready and aura flaring. Nate smiled again, he was finally going to end his fellow assassin's torment. Slowly his arms raised and removed the cloak, revealing his clothes beneath (like I said, what Darth Maul wore in Episode 1).
"So, here we are," Chaos said moving forward at a leisurely pace, wanting to take his time.
"Yeah, I guess so," Nate reached for the hilt of the sword on his belt.
Chaos charged, and Nate drew his sword, knocking away Chaos' slash with his newly drawn sword. Molotoch seemed to vibrate and hum with the expectation of battle, not just the contact of the swords. Chaos charged again and was thrown back, again, his sword humming a tune that was most sad. He hadn't expected Nate to have so much strength, but then he thought that must surely come from the sword.
"What was that you blocked my sword with up there?" Chaos asked wanting to know what the hell Quetzalcoatl and the others were always making reference to.
"What, this?" Nate asked as his free hand transformed to its dragon form. "Just my arm."
This time, Nate took the initiative and charged, raising Molotoch with one hand, the other poised for a follow-up attack. When his sword made contact with Chaos' blade, he didn't stop, he kept pushing Chaos back unto his slammed into a petrified tree, cracking it. His hand then came forward, ramming itself into the right side of Chaos' chest, and it came out through his back, destroying the tree behind him. He removed his blood-covered fist and leapt back from the healing Chaos.
When he landed he opened his hand and saw a small crystal in the center. It was blood red, hexagonal in shape, and had sharp barbs sticking out at each corner. It seemed to be alive, what with the way it pulsed and all. A scale poked through his skin, directly beneath the crystal, holding it up for closer inspection.
Chaos shook his head, dazed from the feeling of his head being slammed against the tree. He felt strangely empty, like a piece of him was taken, but he couldn't figure out what piece. Looking himself over, he saw that the armor over his chest had been punctured, a six-inch-wide hole was over his right pectoral muscle. He undid the clasps at the shoulders and the sides of the armor, discarding it to the ground. The object of his rage seemed to have retreated for a time, and was examining his hand.
'He must have injured himself on my armor,' Chaos thought in a mildly amused manner.
"So, this is Chaos' immortality?" Nate asked himself while looking deep into the depths of the crystal. It was an amazingly complex piece of technology and physical mana (the magical essence that exists in all living things). "Seems a little small."
"What are you waiting for, are we going to fight or not?" Chaos yelled from the other end of the clearing.
*****
CRASH!
Lightening struck as Raven took to the air, snapping his whip again and again at Ron who duck and dodged. He hadn't unsheathed his cutlass yet, and wasn't going to till he could get Raven to be at ground level, but how to do that. The flying assassin seemed to thoroughly enjoy whipping at Ron over and over, since his smile never faded even once.
'Dammit, how am I supposed to get him down here?' Ron thought as he dove to the right. He would have shot at his enemy, but had neglected to grab the Beretta when he left the house. 'Nate didn't tell me about this.'
*****
Shego was fairing just as well as Ron, since there were plenty of shadows Shadow had plenty of places to hide. Every few seconds he would pop up and slash at her with his sickles. She was quick enough to dodge, but he was getting closer with every strike. It wasn't long before one of his sickles caught her across the arm.
"Ah, dammit!" she clutched her bleeding arm, but felt it heal when she concentrated.
*****
Esadis had no need for his shifting ability, all he had to do was swing his axe. All Kim had to do was dodge, but Esadis was faster than his size would make him appear. She, like the others, hadn't counted on these three showing up, and wasn't at her best.
"Woah," she jumped to the side as Esadis' axe slammed into the stone.
When he removed it, the crack closed up and looked as if nothing had happened. But something had happened, the moment Esadis' axe hit the pyramid Quetzalcoatl felt a sharp sting of pain in his chest, almost causing him to drop the pike. He couldn't understand why this had happened, but he did understand that if it caused him pain, then it must have caused his brother pain as well.
*****
Nate felt the slight twinge of pain in his chest, but didn't let it stop him. With the crystal clenched in one hand and Molotoch in the other, he battled with Chaos. The petrified grass beneath them cracked and snapped under their feet. Unlike his brother, he knew exactly what the pyramid was, and why it affected them both. What is it? You'll find out later.
"Do you think this is what she wants for you, Kyle?" Nate asked deciding the play the "Lisa" card.
"I don't care anymore," his opponent shouted back, "AND DON'T SAY THAT NAME!"
His next slash had some extra force behind it, pushing Nate back again. This didn't surprise the god, most, if not all people gained extra strength from rage. He also knew that it came from being cornered, which Chaos, at the moment, was. The only way to exorcise the demon inhabiting Chaos' mind and body was the bring it to full strength, then lay the smackdown on it, and the only way to do that was to enrage it.
"Do you know why she was killed Kyle?" he continued not really caring that Chaos hated his real name. "She was just another piece of meat to them, a bargaining chip to get you."
"What do you mean?" Chaos asked while still charging.
Nate blocked the first charge and slashed back, pushing Chaos to the ground. He quickly recovered and returned to the battle. They were moving faster now, faster than before. With Chaos' increased rage came increased speed, and Nate was all too happy to oblige. He continued using one hand while Chaos' used two, slashing, thrusting and cleaving at every opening that presented itself.
"I mean, it was all an elaborate plan to get you as their assassin," he replied as the two swords were thrust against each other, edge grinding against edge, Molotoch humming and pulsing grew stronger. "The council you so willingly serve sent your three lackeys, disguised as students, into your school to start a shooting. They spotted you with Lisa, and decided to have a little fun."
"You LIE!" Chaos' aura flared into greater prominence and he pushed harder against his sword, but it didn't budge.
"You're living a lie Kyle, after the trial, Shadow came to you and offered you a chance for revenge," he smirked as Molotoch's humming grew stronger. "Like a fool you agreed, without even thinking of the consequences."
"Stop talking and FIGHT!" he pushed harder, spurned on by the words being fed to him.
"Do you think I'm using my full power, Kyle?" Nate asked with a wink.
He began to push, claws ripping through thin boots to grip the stone ground. Chaos couldn't understand it, just a second ago he was winning, his power had redoubled itself in rage and he had been pushing Nate back, now...
With one push, Nate sent Chaos flying across the field and against the already broken tree, finishing it off. In less than a second he was on Chaos again, ramming his knee into the dark assassin's face. Feathered wings sprang from his back and he powered into the air. Sheathing Molotoch he clawed his hands, readying them to do their work. He cut off the power under his wings and dropped like a stone towards the disoriented enemy.
Landing hard against the ground, it caused a deep depression, into which Chaos slid. One clawed hand grabbed his neck, the other reared back, and balled into a fist. The crushing blows to Chaos abdomen were swift and relentless as they pounded away. The sound of ribs cracking echoed in both of their ears as the punches continued. He finished it with an uppercut to Chaos lowered chin, so it propelled him up, over Nate's shoulder, instead of just straight up.
He landed outside of the depression in a heap; his sword was lost to him, embedded in the tree that he had collided with. Slowly, the haze lifted and he saw Nate standing over him, but it wasn't the Nate he had ever remembered seeing. His hair raked back over his head in the form of blades and spines, and his pants were ripped to reveal his lower legs to be that of dragon, his arms had also changed. He then felt some wrapping around his waist; it was a tail, Nate's tail.
"How?" he asked weakly as he was lifted off the ground.
"You'd be surprised how much you can injure someone without killing them," Nate mocked as he flung a rapidly healing Chaos across the field. "Right now, I'm at half my power, so you better give me your all."
"Bastard!" Chaos yelled as he stood, fully healed.
In an instant a clawed hand covered his vision and slammed into his face, smashing him back against another tree. The hand left his face and grabbed his arm, holding it still. The twin tail tips wrapped around his other arm, and one foot held both his feet still. He struggled, of course, but the grip was unbreakable, and he looked on his horror as he saw Nate draw a new sword, Cinthorc (© Kit Rae), Sword of Justice.
"Kyle, time for you to wake up," he said as he plunged the sword into Chaos' heart.
Black blood began spurting from the wound, and Chaos' body writhed and screamed in unholy torment. Light welled up in his throat, and he began to choke, still Nate kept the sword inside him. He knew it was just the demon attempting to save itself by killing its host, but that wouldn't happen with Cinthorc where it was. The blood slowly changed from black to red, and Nate knew it wouldn't be long.
With a burst of light, the demon within Chaos exploded from his mouth, unable to withstand Justice. It landed behind Nate, who quickly pulled the sword from Kyle's body, letting him heal. Slowly, deliberately, he turned to the demon, which seemed to be just scribbled of light, swirling around an obvious shape of some spawn from Hell. The draconian wings were very evident as it breathed heavily. It didn't have long, as Nate moved forward and easily sliced its head off with just a tiny slip of his wrist.
"Wha...what happened?" Kyle asked as he stood, feeling his chest heal. "Nate, what did you do?"
"So, your memory wasn't damaged?" Nate asked hesitantly.
"No...No, I remember everything," the young man said with disgust for himself.
"The demon controlling you is dead now," the god said as he returned to his normal, human form. "It's good to have you back, my friend."
"It's good to be back," he said and looked over at the pyramid. "I need to repay them for all they did for me."
"Then get going, I'll catch up with you," Nate said and made sure that Kyle was out of sight before taking the crystal from his pocket and crushing it. He then turned to where he sense Bonnie and the others, sending her a message, 'Bonnie, unsheathe Luciender, spread its light.'
*****
"Right," Bonnie said as she gripped the hilt of the sword, which pulsed.
"'Right,' what?" Aeris asked glancing back at her. "Oh."
As soon as Luciender was unsheathed all shadows were banished as rays of brilliant light engulfed the area. The blade gleamed with an unnatural light in itself, it was almost licked by the flames caused by its aura. The four women stared at it, and only Aeris knew what this meant, she alone had seen Luciender's blade before, and knew of the power that it held.
"Quick, up these stairs, get to the top and help them," the black-skinned demoness said pushing Bonnie towards a large staircase.
"Okay," she said and ran up the stairs, he clothing shifting slightly as the power of Luciender coursed through her.
*****
"Well, ready to give up?" Raven asked as he playfully snapped his whip again.
"AAAARRRGGGHHH!" Shadow screamed as Shego cleaved him into four neat little pieces with the shotels. Luciender's light had banished all shadows giving the assassin no more opportunities to use his namesake.
"YAH!" a war cry was heard as an armored Bonnie leapt up from the top of the stairs, Luciender's aura flaring as she did so. "Take this!"
With that she brought the sword down and through Raven's arm, severing it, and the whip, from his body. She landed and ran over to Ron, helping him up.
"You little bitch, I'll get you for that," Raven threatened while shaking his fist.
"Doubt it," she quipped and Luciender's aura flared again, sending out another flash of light that blinded Raven. "Now Ron, get 'em."
"Right," he ran forward and pulled out his cutlass.
He rammed his shoulder into Raven, who had drifted down to the ground to try and avoid the light. But that was to be his downfall as Ron brought the cutlass cleanly through his neck, taking his head off. It rolled a few feet before falling over the edge.
"That got 'em," Ron high-fived Bonnie.
TBC
Just wanted to cut it off there, this chapter is getting too long, even by my standards. Anyway, I hope you guys like reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh, before I forget, I updated my other story "The Mutant", how come nobody's reviewed, do you not like the chapter? If you don't like it, don't be afraid to tell me. Even I don't really like that chapter. But enough of my rambling, don't forget review on this chapter. One more thing, I'm supposed to come up with a senior quote for the yearbook, any suggestions?