Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or the assassin known as Chaos/Kyle.
Quick thing, I finally got around to reading the full story of the Swords of the Ancients at www.unitedcutlery.com, I suggest you do the same. It's very informative for anyone who wishes to know what powers the ten swords possess.
*~*~* flashback
*~* dreamscape
The Assassin: Nemesis
Chapter 8
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kim couldn't get her head around this situation, nor could she get away from Esadis. Somehow with his massive muscles and heavy weapon, he was stronger than her, obviously, and insanely fast. She continued to dodge, but was losing ground fast. He raised the axe over his head and was about to cleave her in two, when she rolled between his legs. Before she could even get to her feet she had to roll to the side to avoid the axe.
"Stay still, I'll be sure to make it quick," he said shifting the axe from one hand to the other.
"Sorry, but I can't do that," she got to her feet and was about to run.
Suddenly she felt an intense pain in her back. Esadis had thrown his weapon, and had hit her with the blunt of the head, between the two blades. Holding out his hand, a cord shot out of his palm, wrapping around the handle and pulling it back to his hand. He advanced on the fallen heroine, muscles in his arms rippling as he raised the axe.
"Get away from her!" Shego yelled and threw one of her shotels, a chain attached the pommel extending as if by magic.
Esadis' arm became a metal plate, which deflected the shotel. But once he moved it aside to say something to Shego, another shotel caught him in his exposed chest. He looked down at it and wrenched it from his ribcage, which healed almost instantly. He then yanked on the chain, almost pulling Shego off her feet, but she held tight, bracing her feet against the stone.
Though he didn't have eyes in the back of his head, Esadis could sense Bonnie and Ron coming up behind him. He blocked both attacks with his axe, throwing the two teens to the ground. Luciender flew from Bonnie's hand, skidding across the pyramid to stop right in front of Quetzalcoatl. He was about to pick it up when it up and disappeared.
He turned and saw Nox holding the sword and smiling, her demon eye open. Then, just as quickly as she was there, she was gone. Quetzalcoatl wasn't sure if it was of her own power, or Luciender's power. He knew of the swords that the Ancients had commissioned the Dark Elves to forge. Luciender revealed what was hidden, while hiding the wielder. Morthoseth was its opposite.
"I wonder, is Anathar (sword of Power) here as well?" he wondered.
The sound of a gunshot rang out over the petrified trees, and Esadis' face exploded outward. The hole where his face had once been was a complete contrast to the small hole in the back of his head. Everyone turned to see Chaos standing there with his gun drawn and still aimed at the fallen body of the shape-shifter.
"That takes care of him," he holstered his gun and looked at the others.
*****
Nate looked down at Molotoch, the sword of the Slayer, contrast to Cinthorc. He had forgotten, in his years since receiving the ten swords from the Mithrodin (© Kit Rae). He had forgotten that there was a price to gaining such power. A price of equal value to what the sword was used for. This was bad, he had used Cinthorc to save Kyle, something that used a great deal of the sword's power. The wielder was never told what the price was, but he had a fairly good idea.
"You wanted to preserve order in the world of mortals, see what you've done?" he asked no one; he knew the ancients were gone from this place called Ammon (Ammon is © Kit Rae).
Then it his him, he had given Luciender to Bonnie, what had she used it for, what price would she pay. A prince had once used Luciender to save his kingdom, and lost his life in the process. He had been thinking of using Molotoch to defeat Quetzalcoatl, but that would most likely cost him one of two things, his own life or Bonnie, he didn't want to think of either one.
"I'll have to use it, though, they did lock it away for good reason," he said as he pulled out Ulmethar (© Kit Rae), the Key. "But there is no other choice, that is the only sword that requires no price."
He slashed at the air with Ulmethar, opening an instant doorway to his destination.
*****
A bright flash blinded the others atop the pyramid as Nate stepped through. He quickly surveyed the scene before him: Quetzalcoatl was looking somewhat irritable, Ron looked weary but alive, Shego was seeing to Kim, and healing her injuries, Bonnie stood next to Nox, taking Luciender back, and Aeris was just walking up the stairs with Tara.
'Good, they're all safe and sound,' he thought and then looked towards the glowing center square. "I'll need Luciender."
He walked over to Bonnie and she gave him the sword, not even needing to be asked. They shared a silent embrace before he asked her something.
"Bonnie, what did you do with Luciender?"
"I cut off Raven's arm," she said then saw his look of urgency. "Why?"
"No reason, forget it," he said and walked to the center square.
After placing his hand over the center, that seemed to be pulsing, but he didn't feel the presence of the sword. He didn't understand, this was where Salek told him it would be. Salek being one of the Mithrodin who had known where Anathar was hidden. Unless he had lied, just in case he had been speaking to Quetzalcoatl.
'Well, I don't blame him,' he thought as he stood up.
He grabbed the shoulder of his cloak and threw it off him, revealing himself to be wearing a harness around his chest, that held the sheathed Molotoch and Cinthorc. Around his waist was a belt that held Morthoseth and Luciender. Strapped to his left boot was a dagger, the Shadowslayer (© Kit Rae). He unsheathed Molotoch, and unhooked the harness, throwing Cinthorc behind him, to be caught by Shego. He left the other two at his waist, they would get in the way much. Reaching down, he removed the dagger from around his ankle and tossed that to Shego as well.
About to take a step forward, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kyle was holding him back, an unreadable look on his face. His eyes were closed, so there was no point in reading those, and his thoughts were racing a mile a minute. Despair was clenched in his right hand, the blade's point just and inch above the floor.
"Nate, let me have the first shot," he said in a deathly calm voice. "You may have saved me from that life, but that doesn't mean I'm not guilty. I have to atone for my sins."
"Yes, dying an honorable death will do that," Nate replied. "You'll be with Lisa soon, Kyle."
"Thank you," he stepped around Nate and held his sword at ready.
"Oh, you want to try your luck," Quetzalcoatl said with a smirk from ear to ear. "Well come on then."
A second later Despair clashed with the pike, causing sparks and lightening to fly in all directions. Nate had no need to shield himself, and left Shego to shield herself and the others. The two combatants continued to do battle. Kyle slashed again and again, but the god he was fighting never even moved, except to block with the pike. After a few minutes Despair wasn't fairing too well; the edge has nicks and dents in it, and a hairline fracture had started to form. It wouldn't be long now.
Finally Quetzalcoatl was tired of playing, and went on the offensive. He struck Kyle's sword with the pike at full power, causing the crack to spread. With the next attack Despair shattered, the pieces falling to the ground. After ditching the sword, Kyle punched Quetzalcoatl, not even phasing him. The next strike of the pike was straight through the center of Kyle's chest. The blood-soaked blade punched through its victim's back, dripping the blood to the floor. He yanked the pike out and kicked Kyle in the face, sending him sprawled at Nate's feet.
"Well, I...guess...(cough)...this is...(cough)...goodbye," he said in a broken voice, coughing up blood as he spoke.
"Goodbye," Nate said as Kyle's body simply faded away. 'Like dust in the wind.'
He stooped down and picked up the only thing remaining, a small locket on a golden chain. The inscription on the back read 'Kyle and Lisa', and opening it he saw Kyle, with his arms around Lisa from behind, with his head on her shoulder. He closed the locket and slipped it into his pocket, later he would put it on Lisa's grave, if he could find it. Looking up he decided to try a little something.
"Ah, the brilliant lights of the sky, how they flicker," he said in a low voice.
"What?"
"When was the last time you looked at the stars, Quetzalcoatl?" Nate asked looking his brother in the face.
"The day you put me in that god-forsaken abyss," he said while shifting to pike to a better position.
"That was the same day I last looked. Kinda funny."
"How is that funny?"
"I'm not talking about the stars, I was just thinking about how our colors are reversed. Me with the dark colors of green and black, while you've been giving the colors of good, white and gold. It's kinda funny really."
"Hm, I guess it is a little funny when you think about it."
Together they laughed, but not a fake laugh, a real laugh. But, even though they were smiling and laughing, their eyes never lost the burning hatred for each other. The others looked on, confused, except Aeris, who couldn't help but smile. The reason they were confused was because the two gods, without thinking, had reverted to speaking their own language.
All of sudden the laughter stopped, and the two were simply gone. They couldn't be seen until a loud sound of metal on metal filled the air. In the air they had connected, Molotoch and the pike, Molotoch's blade being blocked between the two blades of the pike. Both had their wings out, tails whipping all over, trying to grab and trap the other. Nate finally broke the stalemate by kicking Quetzalcoatl in the stomach, hard, causing him to lurch and lose his position.
Sparks flew as the two blades slid passed each other, and Nate, taking advantage of his position, swung full around in mid-air and was about to deliver the finishing blow. He was thwarted, though, when Quetzalcoatl smacked his arms with his tail, causing Molotoch to shift and only hit him with the blade turned sideways, making it more like a paddle. It may saved his life, but that doesn't mean that no damage was done.
The next moment they were gone again, and every few seconds the sounds out metal on metal, or scales on scales would be heard. In a brilliant flash of white lightening, Nate was thrown back and into the forest again, taking out a few of the trees on his way. Quetzalcoatl leveled the pike and was ready to fire after him. In a flash of light, his target was gone, having used Ulmethar to escape. The white-scaled god whipped around and the two weapons clashed as Nate appeared.
"Told you I've improved," Quetzalcoatl growled.
"Not from what I can see," Nate said as he pulled himself fully from the portal he created.
Nate's tail whipped out and finally hit its mark, Quetzalcoatl's tail, the forked tip wrapping around it. He held it there, keeping his brother from going anywhere. He then took one hand off of Molotoch, invoking its power to allow him enough strength to hold him off with one hand, and grabbed the pike. White and green lightening flashed out all around them as he tried to pull it away. So long as he had his hand on the pike, and being the pike's true owner, he would be able to stop its power from flowing.
'I hate to do this, but it must be done,' he brought Molotoch up and slashed down, through the pike.
The energy released was enough to throw them apart, Nate losing grip on Quetzalcoatl's tail and being thrown down to the pyramid, while his brother was thrown up into the sky. When he landed he impacted the stones hard enough that they cracked and the stones that were forced out of the way curled up and fell on him.
Bonnie ran up to it and began trying to pull boulders out of the way. Nox stepped up and gently pried her from the rocks, then pulled out her staff. With a whip sound the end split open and a small bolt of energy blasted away a part of the rock, but not a lot; it did expose a scaled hand though. The hand moved, reaching out and grabbing the rocks on top of him and throwing them off. He stood and turned to watch as the stones reformed themselves to be exactly as it was.
"Nate?"
He didn't look at Bonnie, at her face, or at her hands, which were covered in dust. He looked up at the sky, waiting for Quetzalcoatl to get back. His wings twitched uncomfortably, and a slight pain stabbed in his back. Looking over his shoulder he saw that one wing was bent at an odd angle. It repositioned itself and healed. Molotoch, he looked at and then rammed it into the stone.
"Bonnie, tinn hik wen fe sanna ru," he said watching the ball of light in the sky. "Kanni shulu gapsha."
"What?" she looked at him with a confused expression.
"He said go stand over there, it's not safe here," Aeris said and led her and Nox back to the group.
While their backs were turned a wind whipped around them, blowing their hair all about. Bonnie turned around and saw Nate with his arms crossed in front of him, while Quetzalcoatl, in the air and looking to have just hit with incredible speed, was pressing against him. The white god drew one arm back and slashed at Nate's chest with his claws. He did it again, and again, but, even though he was bleeding profusely, Nate didn't budge. His ribs and sternum were exposed through the large hole in his shirt, but there didn't seem to be even a hairline fracture on the bones.
"You fool, you just broke your own weapon!" he yelled and slashed Nate across the shoulder. Now, not only did he have three scars going down, but three scars crossing over them.
"Better it be broken then let you have it," Nate growled back, more from anger than pain. "Besides, that's the price I had to pay."
He quickly pushed Quetzalcoatl back and thrust one hand at him, claws forward, only to have it caught. He planned this, though, and slashed his brother across his chest, ripping off large pieces of flesh. Both of the claws on the index fingers of their free hands extended into what looked like short swords, like a wakizashi. Those claws connected again and again between them, sending sparks and small flecks of the claws every which way.
"Last time we ended this with the pike, now how will we end it?" Quetzalcoatl asked with a sneer.
"Easy," Nate said simply and let go of his brother's hand, again throwing him off balance.
His other claw grew and slashed at Quetzalcoatl's arm, severing it above the elbow, where there weren't any scales. He then grabbed his brother's claw/sword and broke it at the base, taking some of the finger with it. His hands then grasped his brother's head and brought his back, bringing it forward to slam against Quetzalcoatl's forehead, disorienting him. Then he grabbed his arm and flung him into the air, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the half of the key to the abyss (almost forgot about that, didn't ya).
'Thank you, Aeris,' he thought and had the other half dropped into his hand by his tail. "NOW GO BACK WHERE YOU BELONG!"
He slammed the two halves together. Winds the likes of which would usually signal a massive hurricane kicked up, and grew in strength, actually swaying the petrified trees. In the sky, behind Quetzalcoatl, was what looked like a distortion in the very fabric of reality, which was technically what it was. It finally exploded outward, becoming something like the portal from the Hot Wheels: Highway 35 thing (don't get me wrong, I saw it on CN, pretty cool). Long tentacles whipped out and wrapped around Quetzalcoatl's arm, legs, tail, and his wings, pulling him towards it.
"WHAT?! NO!" he struggled, of course, but absolutely no ground was gained, the abyss' grip is inescapable, without help (I believe I explained that).
Once Quetzalcoatl was fully inside the vortex, more tentacles came out and headed for Aeris, seeing as how her sentence wasn't finished. But Nate wasn't going to have this, Aeris had proved herself to be fully reformed, besides, Sashna had complained how it got lonely at the temple. He pulled the two halves apart and the portal closed, severing the tentacles, which dissipated.
The key fell to the ground and Nate's body soon followed, shrinking down to his full human form. The wounds he'd suffered from the battle didn't automatically heal themselves. This is what Bonnie, who had run up to him with tears streaking her face, was wondering now. Slowly she lifted his body and turned him over, cradling his upper body on her lap, not even caring about the blood. She ran her hands through his hair and pulled it away from the gashes in his cheek.
"Those wounds were inflicted to him by another god," Aeris said crouching next to her. "They'll take awhile to heal, but the scars will remain."
"I don't care about that, I just want to know if he's going to live?" Bonnie snapped holding Nate tighter to her, almost possessively.
"Bonnie, uy bok myu," he said softly.
"He said he'll be fine," the jet black demoness translated.
Shego came over and placed a hand on Bonnie's shoulder, causing the girl to shiver slightly. She struggled to her feet, trying to drag Nate up with her; she had to step in to help her. Nate may not have looked like he weighed anything over 150 pounds, when he actually weighed about 190. Right now, with them all very worn out, he felt like he weighed a ton. Bonnie was able to support him with Nox's help, seeing as how Shego went to tend to Kim. Ron followed with Tara, and Aeris stood by the center of the pyramid, waiting.
They gathered around her, realizing that with Nate near unconscious, she was the only one who could take them home. Shego's eyes seemed to glaze for a moment, then she took all of the swords, Molotoch, Cinthorc, Luciender, and Morthoseth, and walked over to the center. She unsheathed them and placed them in the four holes around the circle in the middle. The swords were absorbed into the stone, the glow from the stone increasing because of it.
'Now they'll be safe,' Aeris thought. "Time to go."
*****
A month later, Bonnie's eyes opened to the sound of the door closing. When her eyes focused, she could see that Nate, who she had her arm curled around, was gone. Getting up, she saw that the gauze and bandages were in heap next to the bed. She pulled the sheets off the bed and wrapped them around herself, stepping out into the hallway. The sound of another door closing alerted her to his leaving the house. Making her way down the stairs, she one hand on the sheet, and the other on the rail.
When she entered the kitchen, she could see him through the windows, standing with his arms slightly spread, and palms up, head facing the morning sun. His hair had returned to its original five foot long braid, with the silver ring at the end. As she watched, long slits opened in his back, and his wings unfolded, stretching from fence to fence, almost seventy feet. The wings then shrunk down till each was just ten feet.
Slowly he turned around, the wings folding around his shoulders. His now permanently scarred body was mostly exposed, since he was only wearing a pair of mesh shorts. He noticed Bonnie watching him through the window, and smiled a little, pulling the wings fully into his back. Walking in he saw that she had the comforter from his bed wrapped around herself.
"Did I wake you?" he asked.
"Yeah, but I was about to get up anyway," she said then remembered the other thing she had wanted to say. "I guess you're finished healing?"
"Told you all I needed was a month," he said flexing a bicep. "Good as new."
The moment though was spoiled when Shego came into the kitchen, blurry eyed and just in a bra and panties. Nate averted his eyes respectfully, but she didn't even seem to notice the two as she got a cup of coffee and walked back upstairs. Nate's hair had covered his face, but through the strands Bonnie could see just a hint of a blush on his cheek. There was a question she wanted to ask him, but wasn't sure if the answer was one she wanted to here.
"Nate, is there any way that I can be...like you?" she asked somewhat unsure how to phrase the question.
"How do you mean?" he asked confused.
"You know...the dragon thing," she said with her eyes on her bare feet.
"Well, I suppose it is possible, it would be easier to do with the pike. But I have one question, why do you want this?"
"I can't explain it, since I've known who and what you are, I've wanted nothing more than to be like you. I don't fully understand this feeling inside me, but it keeps driving me to become more than I am. Does that make any sense?"
"Not really, but most things in life don't."
He watched her for a few minutes, waiting to see what she would do, if anything. She just stayed where she was, leaning against the sink with the comforter pulled tightly to her. His eyebrow cocked slightly as he could see every detail of her body. He was stuck, to say the least; the power of the gods was meant for the gods, not for mortals. A human with that kind of power was never meant to be, but, well, there he was standing there.
'That's different, I was chosen to carry the pike, and now it's gone. So that means I shouldn't have these powers anymore, I shouldn't even be able to contain the dragon within. Yet I can, and am. How can I grant her that power when I don't understand it myself?' he debated internally.
Bonnie's eyes continued to be on her feet, but could see his in her peripheral vision, and they hadn't moved a millimeter. She wanted an answer, but had changed enough to respectful, and not be an obnoxious bitch. She could wait, and would wait as long as she had to for an answer. Finally, she moved, stepping by him and going back upstairs.
"I'm going to get dressed."
"Alright."
Once she was gone, he slumped into a chair, thinking back to simpler times. The time he had spent with Natsumi, no matter how short it had been, had been one of the best times of his life. She had known he was an assassin, in fact it was her father who had hired him for the job, him being the head of a sect of the Yakuza. From the moment he walked into his office and saw her, he had been in love. He couldn't help but wonder, had she known he was immortal, would she still be of the living? More importantly, would she have still been with him?
"It can be done, but I'm not sure if she's far enough advanced to be able to control it," he though aloud while moving to the couch in the living room. "Will her body even accept it?"
That was the main question at this point, would her body accept that kind of change? He had been thirteen, barely into puberty, when his body was changed. Seeing as how he was still growing the transition came much easier than it would have had he been at the age he was at now. Bonnie was a fully-grown young woman, so two things could happen, it could either make her, or break her.
The sound of feet on the stairs alerted him to someone's approach; turning he saw it was Kim. She was fully dressed in her usual green tank and blue short pants. She yawned as she collapsed into the chair next to the couch, and picked up the remote.
"Long night?"
"Well, I'll say one thing for Shego, she is insatiable," Kim smiled as her thoughts turned to the previous night (and that's where I'm ending this train of thought).
"I really didn't need to hear that."
"Hey, you asked the question," she had him there, and she knew it by his silence.
They sat in silence amidst the mass of weapons that lined the walls of the living room. Having been asleep for most of a month, Nate hadn't had time to return them, and even now he was reluctant. He just had a feeling that there was something else out there that would require him to keep these weapons. The council was not that something, it was them who were keeping the balance of good and evil, without them the world would be doomed to destruction.
'At least the scales are balanced,' he though looking over at the scales on the mantle.
TBC
Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, I had an idea for a different fight scene, but realized it was going to be much too long. Anyway, if you want me to rewrite the chapter, starting just after the pike was broken, vote on it. If you feel that this is adequate, tell me, and if you want the extended version, tell me. Naturally the most votes wins, and no, you cannot vote more than once, unless you have more than one ID on ff.net, then I guess you have a way around it. Well, that's all, I gotta start updating my other stories now, there's someone who seems very adamant about reading the next chapter of "The Mutant".
Quick thing, I finally got around to reading the full story of the Swords of the Ancients at www.unitedcutlery.com, I suggest you do the same. It's very informative for anyone who wishes to know what powers the ten swords possess.
*~*~* flashback
*~* dreamscape
The Assassin: Nemesis
Chapter 8
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kim couldn't get her head around this situation, nor could she get away from Esadis. Somehow with his massive muscles and heavy weapon, he was stronger than her, obviously, and insanely fast. She continued to dodge, but was losing ground fast. He raised the axe over his head and was about to cleave her in two, when she rolled between his legs. Before she could even get to her feet she had to roll to the side to avoid the axe.
"Stay still, I'll be sure to make it quick," he said shifting the axe from one hand to the other.
"Sorry, but I can't do that," she got to her feet and was about to run.
Suddenly she felt an intense pain in her back. Esadis had thrown his weapon, and had hit her with the blunt of the head, between the two blades. Holding out his hand, a cord shot out of his palm, wrapping around the handle and pulling it back to his hand. He advanced on the fallen heroine, muscles in his arms rippling as he raised the axe.
"Get away from her!" Shego yelled and threw one of her shotels, a chain attached the pommel extending as if by magic.
Esadis' arm became a metal plate, which deflected the shotel. But once he moved it aside to say something to Shego, another shotel caught him in his exposed chest. He looked down at it and wrenched it from his ribcage, which healed almost instantly. He then yanked on the chain, almost pulling Shego off her feet, but she held tight, bracing her feet against the stone.
Though he didn't have eyes in the back of his head, Esadis could sense Bonnie and Ron coming up behind him. He blocked both attacks with his axe, throwing the two teens to the ground. Luciender flew from Bonnie's hand, skidding across the pyramid to stop right in front of Quetzalcoatl. He was about to pick it up when it up and disappeared.
He turned and saw Nox holding the sword and smiling, her demon eye open. Then, just as quickly as she was there, she was gone. Quetzalcoatl wasn't sure if it was of her own power, or Luciender's power. He knew of the swords that the Ancients had commissioned the Dark Elves to forge. Luciender revealed what was hidden, while hiding the wielder. Morthoseth was its opposite.
"I wonder, is Anathar (sword of Power) here as well?" he wondered.
The sound of a gunshot rang out over the petrified trees, and Esadis' face exploded outward. The hole where his face had once been was a complete contrast to the small hole in the back of his head. Everyone turned to see Chaos standing there with his gun drawn and still aimed at the fallen body of the shape-shifter.
"That takes care of him," he holstered his gun and looked at the others.
*****
Nate looked down at Molotoch, the sword of the Slayer, contrast to Cinthorc. He had forgotten, in his years since receiving the ten swords from the Mithrodin (© Kit Rae). He had forgotten that there was a price to gaining such power. A price of equal value to what the sword was used for. This was bad, he had used Cinthorc to save Kyle, something that used a great deal of the sword's power. The wielder was never told what the price was, but he had a fairly good idea.
"You wanted to preserve order in the world of mortals, see what you've done?" he asked no one; he knew the ancients were gone from this place called Ammon (Ammon is © Kit Rae).
Then it his him, he had given Luciender to Bonnie, what had she used it for, what price would she pay. A prince had once used Luciender to save his kingdom, and lost his life in the process. He had been thinking of using Molotoch to defeat Quetzalcoatl, but that would most likely cost him one of two things, his own life or Bonnie, he didn't want to think of either one.
"I'll have to use it, though, they did lock it away for good reason," he said as he pulled out Ulmethar (© Kit Rae), the Key. "But there is no other choice, that is the only sword that requires no price."
He slashed at the air with Ulmethar, opening an instant doorway to his destination.
*****
A bright flash blinded the others atop the pyramid as Nate stepped through. He quickly surveyed the scene before him: Quetzalcoatl was looking somewhat irritable, Ron looked weary but alive, Shego was seeing to Kim, and healing her injuries, Bonnie stood next to Nox, taking Luciender back, and Aeris was just walking up the stairs with Tara.
'Good, they're all safe and sound,' he thought and then looked towards the glowing center square. "I'll need Luciender."
He walked over to Bonnie and she gave him the sword, not even needing to be asked. They shared a silent embrace before he asked her something.
"Bonnie, what did you do with Luciender?"
"I cut off Raven's arm," she said then saw his look of urgency. "Why?"
"No reason, forget it," he said and walked to the center square.
After placing his hand over the center, that seemed to be pulsing, but he didn't feel the presence of the sword. He didn't understand, this was where Salek told him it would be. Salek being one of the Mithrodin who had known where Anathar was hidden. Unless he had lied, just in case he had been speaking to Quetzalcoatl.
'Well, I don't blame him,' he thought as he stood up.
He grabbed the shoulder of his cloak and threw it off him, revealing himself to be wearing a harness around his chest, that held the sheathed Molotoch and Cinthorc. Around his waist was a belt that held Morthoseth and Luciender. Strapped to his left boot was a dagger, the Shadowslayer (© Kit Rae). He unsheathed Molotoch, and unhooked the harness, throwing Cinthorc behind him, to be caught by Shego. He left the other two at his waist, they would get in the way much. Reaching down, he removed the dagger from around his ankle and tossed that to Shego as well.
About to take a step forward, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kyle was holding him back, an unreadable look on his face. His eyes were closed, so there was no point in reading those, and his thoughts were racing a mile a minute. Despair was clenched in his right hand, the blade's point just and inch above the floor.
"Nate, let me have the first shot," he said in a deathly calm voice. "You may have saved me from that life, but that doesn't mean I'm not guilty. I have to atone for my sins."
"Yes, dying an honorable death will do that," Nate replied. "You'll be with Lisa soon, Kyle."
"Thank you," he stepped around Nate and held his sword at ready.
"Oh, you want to try your luck," Quetzalcoatl said with a smirk from ear to ear. "Well come on then."
A second later Despair clashed with the pike, causing sparks and lightening to fly in all directions. Nate had no need to shield himself, and left Shego to shield herself and the others. The two combatants continued to do battle. Kyle slashed again and again, but the god he was fighting never even moved, except to block with the pike. After a few minutes Despair wasn't fairing too well; the edge has nicks and dents in it, and a hairline fracture had started to form. It wouldn't be long now.
Finally Quetzalcoatl was tired of playing, and went on the offensive. He struck Kyle's sword with the pike at full power, causing the crack to spread. With the next attack Despair shattered, the pieces falling to the ground. After ditching the sword, Kyle punched Quetzalcoatl, not even phasing him. The next strike of the pike was straight through the center of Kyle's chest. The blood-soaked blade punched through its victim's back, dripping the blood to the floor. He yanked the pike out and kicked Kyle in the face, sending him sprawled at Nate's feet.
"Well, I...guess...(cough)...this is...(cough)...goodbye," he said in a broken voice, coughing up blood as he spoke.
"Goodbye," Nate said as Kyle's body simply faded away. 'Like dust in the wind.'
He stooped down and picked up the only thing remaining, a small locket on a golden chain. The inscription on the back read 'Kyle and Lisa', and opening it he saw Kyle, with his arms around Lisa from behind, with his head on her shoulder. He closed the locket and slipped it into his pocket, later he would put it on Lisa's grave, if he could find it. Looking up he decided to try a little something.
"Ah, the brilliant lights of the sky, how they flicker," he said in a low voice.
"What?"
"When was the last time you looked at the stars, Quetzalcoatl?" Nate asked looking his brother in the face.
"The day you put me in that god-forsaken abyss," he said while shifting to pike to a better position.
"That was the same day I last looked. Kinda funny."
"How is that funny?"
"I'm not talking about the stars, I was just thinking about how our colors are reversed. Me with the dark colors of green and black, while you've been giving the colors of good, white and gold. It's kinda funny really."
"Hm, I guess it is a little funny when you think about it."
Together they laughed, but not a fake laugh, a real laugh. But, even though they were smiling and laughing, their eyes never lost the burning hatred for each other. The others looked on, confused, except Aeris, who couldn't help but smile. The reason they were confused was because the two gods, without thinking, had reverted to speaking their own language.
All of sudden the laughter stopped, and the two were simply gone. They couldn't be seen until a loud sound of metal on metal filled the air. In the air they had connected, Molotoch and the pike, Molotoch's blade being blocked between the two blades of the pike. Both had their wings out, tails whipping all over, trying to grab and trap the other. Nate finally broke the stalemate by kicking Quetzalcoatl in the stomach, hard, causing him to lurch and lose his position.
Sparks flew as the two blades slid passed each other, and Nate, taking advantage of his position, swung full around in mid-air and was about to deliver the finishing blow. He was thwarted, though, when Quetzalcoatl smacked his arms with his tail, causing Molotoch to shift and only hit him with the blade turned sideways, making it more like a paddle. It may saved his life, but that doesn't mean that no damage was done.
The next moment they were gone again, and every few seconds the sounds out metal on metal, or scales on scales would be heard. In a brilliant flash of white lightening, Nate was thrown back and into the forest again, taking out a few of the trees on his way. Quetzalcoatl leveled the pike and was ready to fire after him. In a flash of light, his target was gone, having used Ulmethar to escape. The white-scaled god whipped around and the two weapons clashed as Nate appeared.
"Told you I've improved," Quetzalcoatl growled.
"Not from what I can see," Nate said as he pulled himself fully from the portal he created.
Nate's tail whipped out and finally hit its mark, Quetzalcoatl's tail, the forked tip wrapping around it. He held it there, keeping his brother from going anywhere. He then took one hand off of Molotoch, invoking its power to allow him enough strength to hold him off with one hand, and grabbed the pike. White and green lightening flashed out all around them as he tried to pull it away. So long as he had his hand on the pike, and being the pike's true owner, he would be able to stop its power from flowing.
'I hate to do this, but it must be done,' he brought Molotoch up and slashed down, through the pike.
The energy released was enough to throw them apart, Nate losing grip on Quetzalcoatl's tail and being thrown down to the pyramid, while his brother was thrown up into the sky. When he landed he impacted the stones hard enough that they cracked and the stones that were forced out of the way curled up and fell on him.
Bonnie ran up to it and began trying to pull boulders out of the way. Nox stepped up and gently pried her from the rocks, then pulled out her staff. With a whip sound the end split open and a small bolt of energy blasted away a part of the rock, but not a lot; it did expose a scaled hand though. The hand moved, reaching out and grabbing the rocks on top of him and throwing them off. He stood and turned to watch as the stones reformed themselves to be exactly as it was.
"Nate?"
He didn't look at Bonnie, at her face, or at her hands, which were covered in dust. He looked up at the sky, waiting for Quetzalcoatl to get back. His wings twitched uncomfortably, and a slight pain stabbed in his back. Looking over his shoulder he saw that one wing was bent at an odd angle. It repositioned itself and healed. Molotoch, he looked at and then rammed it into the stone.
"Bonnie, tinn hik wen fe sanna ru," he said watching the ball of light in the sky. "Kanni shulu gapsha."
"What?" she looked at him with a confused expression.
"He said go stand over there, it's not safe here," Aeris said and led her and Nox back to the group.
While their backs were turned a wind whipped around them, blowing their hair all about. Bonnie turned around and saw Nate with his arms crossed in front of him, while Quetzalcoatl, in the air and looking to have just hit with incredible speed, was pressing against him. The white god drew one arm back and slashed at Nate's chest with his claws. He did it again, and again, but, even though he was bleeding profusely, Nate didn't budge. His ribs and sternum were exposed through the large hole in his shirt, but there didn't seem to be even a hairline fracture on the bones.
"You fool, you just broke your own weapon!" he yelled and slashed Nate across the shoulder. Now, not only did he have three scars going down, but three scars crossing over them.
"Better it be broken then let you have it," Nate growled back, more from anger than pain. "Besides, that's the price I had to pay."
He quickly pushed Quetzalcoatl back and thrust one hand at him, claws forward, only to have it caught. He planned this, though, and slashed his brother across his chest, ripping off large pieces of flesh. Both of the claws on the index fingers of their free hands extended into what looked like short swords, like a wakizashi. Those claws connected again and again between them, sending sparks and small flecks of the claws every which way.
"Last time we ended this with the pike, now how will we end it?" Quetzalcoatl asked with a sneer.
"Easy," Nate said simply and let go of his brother's hand, again throwing him off balance.
His other claw grew and slashed at Quetzalcoatl's arm, severing it above the elbow, where there weren't any scales. He then grabbed his brother's claw/sword and broke it at the base, taking some of the finger with it. His hands then grasped his brother's head and brought his back, bringing it forward to slam against Quetzalcoatl's forehead, disorienting him. Then he grabbed his arm and flung him into the air, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the half of the key to the abyss (almost forgot about that, didn't ya).
'Thank you, Aeris,' he thought and had the other half dropped into his hand by his tail. "NOW GO BACK WHERE YOU BELONG!"
He slammed the two halves together. Winds the likes of which would usually signal a massive hurricane kicked up, and grew in strength, actually swaying the petrified trees. In the sky, behind Quetzalcoatl, was what looked like a distortion in the very fabric of reality, which was technically what it was. It finally exploded outward, becoming something like the portal from the Hot Wheels: Highway 35 thing (don't get me wrong, I saw it on CN, pretty cool). Long tentacles whipped out and wrapped around Quetzalcoatl's arm, legs, tail, and his wings, pulling him towards it.
"WHAT?! NO!" he struggled, of course, but absolutely no ground was gained, the abyss' grip is inescapable, without help (I believe I explained that).
Once Quetzalcoatl was fully inside the vortex, more tentacles came out and headed for Aeris, seeing as how her sentence wasn't finished. But Nate wasn't going to have this, Aeris had proved herself to be fully reformed, besides, Sashna had complained how it got lonely at the temple. He pulled the two halves apart and the portal closed, severing the tentacles, which dissipated.
The key fell to the ground and Nate's body soon followed, shrinking down to his full human form. The wounds he'd suffered from the battle didn't automatically heal themselves. This is what Bonnie, who had run up to him with tears streaking her face, was wondering now. Slowly she lifted his body and turned him over, cradling his upper body on her lap, not even caring about the blood. She ran her hands through his hair and pulled it away from the gashes in his cheek.
"Those wounds were inflicted to him by another god," Aeris said crouching next to her. "They'll take awhile to heal, but the scars will remain."
"I don't care about that, I just want to know if he's going to live?" Bonnie snapped holding Nate tighter to her, almost possessively.
"Bonnie, uy bok myu," he said softly.
"He said he'll be fine," the jet black demoness translated.
Shego came over and placed a hand on Bonnie's shoulder, causing the girl to shiver slightly. She struggled to her feet, trying to drag Nate up with her; she had to step in to help her. Nate may not have looked like he weighed anything over 150 pounds, when he actually weighed about 190. Right now, with them all very worn out, he felt like he weighed a ton. Bonnie was able to support him with Nox's help, seeing as how Shego went to tend to Kim. Ron followed with Tara, and Aeris stood by the center of the pyramid, waiting.
They gathered around her, realizing that with Nate near unconscious, she was the only one who could take them home. Shego's eyes seemed to glaze for a moment, then she took all of the swords, Molotoch, Cinthorc, Luciender, and Morthoseth, and walked over to the center. She unsheathed them and placed them in the four holes around the circle in the middle. The swords were absorbed into the stone, the glow from the stone increasing because of it.
'Now they'll be safe,' Aeris thought. "Time to go."
*****
A month later, Bonnie's eyes opened to the sound of the door closing. When her eyes focused, she could see that Nate, who she had her arm curled around, was gone. Getting up, she saw that the gauze and bandages were in heap next to the bed. She pulled the sheets off the bed and wrapped them around herself, stepping out into the hallway. The sound of another door closing alerted her to his leaving the house. Making her way down the stairs, she one hand on the sheet, and the other on the rail.
When she entered the kitchen, she could see him through the windows, standing with his arms slightly spread, and palms up, head facing the morning sun. His hair had returned to its original five foot long braid, with the silver ring at the end. As she watched, long slits opened in his back, and his wings unfolded, stretching from fence to fence, almost seventy feet. The wings then shrunk down till each was just ten feet.
Slowly he turned around, the wings folding around his shoulders. His now permanently scarred body was mostly exposed, since he was only wearing a pair of mesh shorts. He noticed Bonnie watching him through the window, and smiled a little, pulling the wings fully into his back. Walking in he saw that she had the comforter from his bed wrapped around herself.
"Did I wake you?" he asked.
"Yeah, but I was about to get up anyway," she said then remembered the other thing she had wanted to say. "I guess you're finished healing?"
"Told you all I needed was a month," he said flexing a bicep. "Good as new."
The moment though was spoiled when Shego came into the kitchen, blurry eyed and just in a bra and panties. Nate averted his eyes respectfully, but she didn't even seem to notice the two as she got a cup of coffee and walked back upstairs. Nate's hair had covered his face, but through the strands Bonnie could see just a hint of a blush on his cheek. There was a question she wanted to ask him, but wasn't sure if the answer was one she wanted to here.
"Nate, is there any way that I can be...like you?" she asked somewhat unsure how to phrase the question.
"How do you mean?" he asked confused.
"You know...the dragon thing," she said with her eyes on her bare feet.
"Well, I suppose it is possible, it would be easier to do with the pike. But I have one question, why do you want this?"
"I can't explain it, since I've known who and what you are, I've wanted nothing more than to be like you. I don't fully understand this feeling inside me, but it keeps driving me to become more than I am. Does that make any sense?"
"Not really, but most things in life don't."
He watched her for a few minutes, waiting to see what she would do, if anything. She just stayed where she was, leaning against the sink with the comforter pulled tightly to her. His eyebrow cocked slightly as he could see every detail of her body. He was stuck, to say the least; the power of the gods was meant for the gods, not for mortals. A human with that kind of power was never meant to be, but, well, there he was standing there.
'That's different, I was chosen to carry the pike, and now it's gone. So that means I shouldn't have these powers anymore, I shouldn't even be able to contain the dragon within. Yet I can, and am. How can I grant her that power when I don't understand it myself?' he debated internally.
Bonnie's eyes continued to be on her feet, but could see his in her peripheral vision, and they hadn't moved a millimeter. She wanted an answer, but had changed enough to respectful, and not be an obnoxious bitch. She could wait, and would wait as long as she had to for an answer. Finally, she moved, stepping by him and going back upstairs.
"I'm going to get dressed."
"Alright."
Once she was gone, he slumped into a chair, thinking back to simpler times. The time he had spent with Natsumi, no matter how short it had been, had been one of the best times of his life. She had known he was an assassin, in fact it was her father who had hired him for the job, him being the head of a sect of the Yakuza. From the moment he walked into his office and saw her, he had been in love. He couldn't help but wonder, had she known he was immortal, would she still be of the living? More importantly, would she have still been with him?
"It can be done, but I'm not sure if she's far enough advanced to be able to control it," he though aloud while moving to the couch in the living room. "Will her body even accept it?"
That was the main question at this point, would her body accept that kind of change? He had been thirteen, barely into puberty, when his body was changed. Seeing as how he was still growing the transition came much easier than it would have had he been at the age he was at now. Bonnie was a fully-grown young woman, so two things could happen, it could either make her, or break her.
The sound of feet on the stairs alerted him to someone's approach; turning he saw it was Kim. She was fully dressed in her usual green tank and blue short pants. She yawned as she collapsed into the chair next to the couch, and picked up the remote.
"Long night?"
"Well, I'll say one thing for Shego, she is insatiable," Kim smiled as her thoughts turned to the previous night (and that's where I'm ending this train of thought).
"I really didn't need to hear that."
"Hey, you asked the question," she had him there, and she knew it by his silence.
They sat in silence amidst the mass of weapons that lined the walls of the living room. Having been asleep for most of a month, Nate hadn't had time to return them, and even now he was reluctant. He just had a feeling that there was something else out there that would require him to keep these weapons. The council was not that something, it was them who were keeping the balance of good and evil, without them the world would be doomed to destruction.
'At least the scales are balanced,' he though looking over at the scales on the mantle.
TBC
Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, I had an idea for a different fight scene, but realized it was going to be much too long. Anyway, if you want me to rewrite the chapter, starting just after the pike was broken, vote on it. If you feel that this is adequate, tell me, and if you want the extended version, tell me. Naturally the most votes wins, and no, you cannot vote more than once, unless you have more than one ID on ff.net, then I guess you have a way around it. Well, that's all, I gotta start updating my other stories now, there's someone who seems very adamant about reading the next chapter of "The Mutant".