Ack! Sooo sorry for the slow update. ; Are you all still here, at all?!
O.o...anyways, just to let everyone know: I will be completing this story,
then going back to revise it, ;; You'll have to forgive the battle
scene(s)—I'm no good with those...;
Since it's been so long, just in case it's been forgotten:
Sol- Quatre Kiyoshi- Wufei Hana- Sol's wife Hope- Sol's twin sister Desi- Trowa (in his past life) Cesar- Duo (in his past life)
Crystalstorm- Oh dear, if you were gonna kill me then for taking so long to update, I don't even want to think about what you'd do to me now....
Cor-chan- Thanks! == erm...hands tissue I didn't mean to make you near tears! . ah! Mocha-stirring spoon! Ack!
Darcey- TT yes, it's almost over cries I'm surprised I can still remember the ending for this story at this moment o.O
AuthoressCrest- Lol, maybe you should put a leash on him....
Tenshi-Kaikou- I'm glad you like this! Lol....erm, sorry for the late update? Hmm...okay, for you, I'll either try to make this chapter long, or update sooner ;;
Isis Delphia- I agree ;; erm..I didn't know better then, and still don't know too much better now? ;; Honestly, I didn't realize about the AN—I've gone back to reread and shudders it's horrible, it is. As for the words, I realize it probably sounds weird now—it sounded okay in my head at the time o.O..in some cases, it still does now. It's an ugly habit that I can't seem to break ; so my apologies. Meanwhile, I thank you on the compliment blushes
DustBunnies- I agree with the confusion! . I plan to make it easier to remember the characters when I revise. I'm glad you like the story! ==
Darkness- I shall do my best! salutes
Christina-Marie- I know I sent you the e-mail, so if you could clarify your specific questions about chapter 12, I'd be grateful!
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Chapter Sixteen
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"Harmony-sama!" Hana gasped, surprised.
"Are you alright, child?" Harmony's eyes seemed to stare into Hana's soul knowingly, causing her to burst into tears and launch herself into the arms of the older woman.
"Why do they have to fight?! Why?!" Hana sobbed. "Why must he go out and fight?! When will this rivalry end, Harmony-sama?" Hana clung onto the taller woman, the occasional shudder running through her body. "I'm scared, so very scared. I don't want our child to grow without Sol there. I don't know what I'd do if Sol didn't make it through this battle—through any battle." Hana's eyes flew to meet the eyes of Harmony.
"This will be the final battle, won't it? There will be peace afterwards, won't there?!" she pleaded for an answer. Harmony stared at her for a moment, before closing her eyes, thinking for what seemed to be an eternity. But what was time to an immortal?
After much deliberation, Harmony opened her eyes, her aura suddenly seeming resigned. She stepped away from Hana, smiling reassuringly at the pregnant woman. "Yes, Hana, this will be the final of such battles between Hikari and Cavan."
"And Sol?" Hana asked fearfully. Harmony grabbed both of Hana's hands in her own.
"Promise me, Hana, upon the life of your child, that you will do nothing rash—no matter what may happen in the battle, to who it may happen in the battle. Promise me you will not watch the battle, will not kill the innocence that still clings onto you. Promise me all of this Hana, promise me all of this upon the life of your unborn child!" Harmony's eyes—so unlike any eyes Hana had ever seen—stared at her seriously, and her voice spoke urgently.
"I...I promise," Hana promised. The answer did not appear to appease Harmony, but she let go of Hana's hands, and straightened her posture.
"Luna, Artemis...Diana!" Harmony's voice seemed to reverberate all around them.
"Yes, your majesty?" The three appeared in the room in feline form, bowing as only a cat can.
"No one is to leave this room. The battle calls to me," Was all she said, before she spun and left the room, a trail of glitter seeming to light the path she left behind.
"What do you intend to do, Harmony-sama?" Hana whispered, one hand over her stomach.
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Fate reached out her arm tentatively, weary of the pulsing thread before her. The thread sent forth a bright burst of light, pushing her back several inches. When the burst died out, Fate looked before her.
This time, when she made to grab the thread, the force of the burst of power pushed her back until she hit the wall, sliding down onto the floor.
"What is going on," Fate hissed, "This is not how it is to happen!"
The thread continued to pulse.
"Harmony, how hard you try," the snarl was low, "But I will not let you win. You will suffer for what you have put me through...you will pay for corrupting Destiny—and you're precious favored ones will help me." Fate's eyes narrowed dangerously, her nails drawing blood from her palm. "Oh yes, your precious favored ones will help me...and they will pay dearly for taking away my Desi!"
The thread pulsed once...twice...three times, before it released another burst of light, this one smaller than the rest. Flickering a few times, it bobbed up and down, as if motioning Fate towards it. Fate crept closer to the thread and when it did not force her back, she made her way closer once more.
Once she stood before it, the thread flickered twice, before vanishing and the light that had surrounded it earlier focused on someone she never believed she would see again.
"Desi," She sobbed.
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They were endless, it seemed. Everywhere, they were everywhere. How does a group of eight defeat an endless sea of monsters?
"Where is Harmony?" Cosmos asked, not even turning around to face her allies.
"She did not come out with us," Hope replied, her eyes flashing determinedly.
Their enemies snarled at them, flashing fangs, claws, anything they could. All they needed to attack was one word from their master.
"We fight without her then," Cosmos's voice was even. "Keep them away from the palace—Chaos is mine."
"So glad to see you want me so badly," Chaos drawled lazily, before smirking. "Attack."
And the sea burst forth, their roars deafening as they steadily closed in upon the small defense before them.
"Dream Sphere." Hope, her eyes a regretful determination, was the first to take defense, the silver orb encasing several demons, who had only seconds to realize what had just transpired before bursting into a cloud of dust.
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Four lights pulsed in sync with one another, each letting out it's own color. If one was gifted enough and listened closely, strained their ears so much it seemed it may fall off with the effort, one could almost hear the jewels speaking to one another.
"Is it time yet?" One of the jewels, emitting a warm white glow, seemed to ask.
"No, not yet. Almost." A smoky crimson seemed to respond to the question.
"It is almost time...yes, soon." The metallic silvery gold emitted from the middle jewel seemed to agree.
"She calls..." the small crystal above the middle jewel, glowing a soft blue, whispered so faintly, it seemed only a voice in the mind. "She calls...but not yet."
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Heero, Trowa, and Duo were at a lost. They were running out of ammunition, and the battle had barely begun.
No matter how many bullets they used, how many rounds of shots were fired, nor where they fired, the demons survived.
Sure, they slowed down on their attacks, but the fact still stood that the demons continued to live, even with a round of bullets embedded where their hearts ought to be.
It was almost admirable, how they continued to fight despite their injuries...
...But perhaps a better time to admire their determination would be after the demons were defeated...if any of the three boys were still alive then, that is.
"Crap," Duo muttered as he shot his final bullet and succeeded in temporally taking down a demon. He was currently back to back with Trowa and Heero, neither of whom were having any more success with the demons than he was.
"I'm out of ammo, can you guys spare any?" He called over his back, hitting a demon with the butt of his gun.
"Hn," Heero grunted, but gave him no weapons. He was out of bullets as well. Trowa said nothing, but if his lack of shooting was any indication, then he was out of ammunition as well.
"Crap," Duo swore again, "Guess we'll have to fight with our....hands.." He gulped, eyeing the fangs and claws of their opponents.
"Oh no you don't!" The faint scream seemed to come from within the horde of monsters coming towards them. A lavender light shot out into the air, bursting like a firecracker and unleashing a rain of acidic lava upon its victims, claiming the limbs it landed upon.
"What, no thank you?" Destiny winked one grim eye, smiling wryly at the three boys. "You guys really shouldn't be here..." She sent a wave of bright lavender at a couple of approaching demons, "You're more of a distra—"A claw found its way to her side, and she let out a strangled scream. "Damn you," she cursed the demon, before letting out her pain in waves of angry lavender.
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Sol stood back to back with his sister, his eyes grim. "Sleep," he murmured as he stabbed the monster with the end of his staff, staining it as dark as the monster's blood. The monster let loose a blood curling scream before it fell into it's deep slumber.
"Dream sphere," Hope continued to send out the only attack she knew, wincing at the final cries of the monster.
She let out a surprised gasp as a monster fell at her side, a staff through his back and out his front, the blood splattering onto her white boots.
"Careful, Hope," her brother warned her, wiggling his staff in attempt to pull it out from the carcass it was embedded into. Hope merely nodded, horrified at the sight.
"Dream sphere," the attack was sent out behind her brother, who gave her a grim smile of thanks as she destroyed his would-be attackers.
"What are sisters for?" She muttered, turning away as she plunged her staff into the abdomen of a demon, wincing as blood the color of dark ink splattered and stained her uniform.
Sol said nothing, his staff already deep in the throat of gurgling monster, blood spurting upward to resemble a fountain of swarthy ink.
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Kiyoshi growled as he methodically continued to fend off the monsters that tried to attack him. He let loose a string of curses as a fiend managed to graze his side. Ignoring the pain, he attack mercilessly, his sword plunging deep into the heart of the monster before he slid it upward, his sword exiting the corpse from its head.
Without delay, he spun in a full circle, the arm holding his weapon outstretched, forcing the monsters surrounding him to back up from the sharp weapon, drenched in the dark and sticky substance of their fallen comrades.
Some, in an attempt to attack, pushed their own towards him, their eye blank as the pain-filled cries of their comrades were cut short with their life.
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From her position high above the battlefield, she watched the final battle commence, her heart heavy.
She knew how this battle would end.
She knew who would survive and who would not.
But she would do nothing...
It was not yet time.
And so with knowing eyes, Harmony watched the battle.
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Cosmos panted heavily, ignoring the combat around her. Her eyes stared ahead, into the dark eyes of her greatest and eternal enemy.
"Tired, Cosmos?" Chaos grinned mockingly, his eyes glittering with cold amusement.
"Of you?" Cosmos smiled charmingly, "Yes," Lifting her staff, she rushed towards Chaos, who dodged her attack, grabbing her by her arms.
She gasped as she felt his chest against her back, realizing just how close they were.
"You know, little queen," He whispered seductively into her ears, his warm breath tickling her neck, "I like having you in my arms."
Cosmos bit back a gasp as he leaned further, nipping her earlobe teasingly before sending a trail of burning kisses down her neck. Her eyes fluttered as her breath quickened...
...He felt just like Cavan...
....But he was Chaos...
And her eyes snapped open, as realization hit her.
She was in the arms of her greatest foe, who was...seducing her! With a disgusted cry, she kicked his shin, her cry only growing louder as he refused to release her arms. She kicked and screamed, willing forth her crystal. In a burst of white light, Chaos was thrown back from her, his hands forced to let her go or burn as the bright purity of the light scarred him.
Cosmos panted heavily, feeling the effects of the energy drain. Sweat dripped down from her forehead as she sank to her knees.
Why did he have to feel like Cavan?
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Chaos growled, dusting himself as he steadily stood up. That was not supposed to happen.
He was not to seduce his enemy....although....
He smirked, eyeing her form. His better half, Cavan, seemed to like her well enough...His eyes darkened as he felt his want for her...dammit, he was not to desire his enemy!
....So why did she feel so nice against him?
Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts, he focused on the crouched form of his enemy. It would be so easy to kill her now, with her back turned to him...
...But where would the fun be in that, hm?
He slowly made his way to her, smirking as she turned to look up at him, her eyes surprised and filled with bitterness.
"Why the bitterness, little queen?" He smirked at her, a dagger forming in his hands. Crouching down, he grabbed her face in his hand, his dagger pressed against her throat. His smirk widened at her snarl.
"Why little queen," He asked innocently, "What's the matter? Don't you want to die?" He pushed the dagger a bit deeper, ignoring her startled gasp, entranced by the silver blood that poured out, spreading and dripping from the dagger, down onto the ground, onto her uniform, staining his hands...
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Harmony watched the battle, her eyes impassive. She watched as the three Chikuu-jins desperately fought, gaining many injuries in their heroic attempts. She was surprised they had survived thus far...but she shouldn't be, she supposed. After all, she watched as Destiny fought as well, eliminating the monsters while keeping an eye on her reincarnated lover who held no memories of her. Sol fought with a vigor she never before saw in him, though she knew the cause of his new determination...
Sol was fighting for his family—for his mother, his sister, his wife...but most of all, for his unborn child.
Hope fought, wincing nearly every time she killed...it was sad that such a pacifist soul was brought into battle. But nothing could be done about it now, Harmony supposed. Hope was a pacifist soul with the destiny of a guardian—to fight to defend was her destiny.
Kiyoshi fought bravely, his loyalty and valor shining through clearly. He was an excellent fighter, but that did not prevent him from receiving any injuries. Even from here, Harmony could see some rather nasty looking injuries, and had she not known the outcome of the battle already, she would have already intervened and helped Kiyoshi.
Cavan and Hikari....
Chaos and Cosmos...it was heartbreaking that things had occurred as they had. Harmony watched, seeing perfectly, if not through her own eyes, then through her mind's eyes, the position of the two she had raised. Chaos stood before Cosmos, his hand still on the dagger that had not left its position from the throat of the kneeling Cosmos. Silver poured from her neck, staining the dagger and the hand that held it, seeping into the cloth of the uniform, and still traveling, spreading, digging deep into the ground.
But she would not die, Harmony knew it. Chaos knew it. Cosmos knew it.
And perhaps that was why Chaos stared at the blood with such fascination, because it was so different from his own.
Because Chaos had in him, blood the color of crimson.
Chaos was mortal.
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Chaos watched the life-giving liquid as it continued to travel, spilling from the neck of his opposite in steady streams.
It was...
... alluring...
...captivating ....
It was...
Chaos could scarcely breathe. Her blood...it was so familiar. Her blood taunted him, mocked him...Her blood laughed at him, defiantly shining silver in announcement that his greatest enemy would never be truly gone.
But it was drawing him in, trying to make him remember something...something important.
It was...
He looked up from the blood that poured from the smooth flesh, locking eyes with its owner. Her eyes bore into his, glazed in its appearance. He took in a deep breath, enjoying the scent of not only her, but her blood as well.
It was...
...Intoxicatingly powerful...
And Chaos hungered for it. He lowered himself until he was eye to eye with Cosmos, his eyes never leaving hers. Slowly, the weapon in his hand, still stained silver, was brought to his side, before it began its descent to the ground, forgotten by its owner.
Chaos stared at Cosmos, then her neck, the flow of the blood already slowing down and the cut he had made already beginning to show signs of healing. With a final look at Cosmos, he lowered his head onto her neck.
Cosmos released a surprised blood-filled gurgle as she felt Chaos' tongue upon her neck, licking at the deep cut and lapping up her blood. Short and pain-filled murmurs began to escape from her throat as he continued to lick and suck at her neck, trying to drink as much blood as possible.
From her post, Harmony watched the two she thought of as her own children. It was a striking scene, beautiful in its morbidity...
Two lovers, their lives intertwined with one another, who wanted nothing more than to love each other, yet forbidden to love each other or any other, one drinking the life-giving elixir from the neck of his lover, surrounded by carnage.
The cries of the fallen and howls of the enraged went by unnoticed to them. The screams of the embittered and wounded, the final cries of the deceased, all went unnoticed by the two...all the blood, the gore, it was invisible to the two former lovers who belonged together in every way.
And then the blood stopped spilling, and the neck of Cosmos was healed. Chaos ceased his intake of blood and dawning appeared in the eyes of Cosmos. One cry was all it took before Chaos was flung back and Cosmos upon her feet, her eyes glittering diamond orbs.
A flick of her wrist and her staff was in her hands once more. Chaos understood the message clearly.
Playtime was over.
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Fate watched the battle with confused eyes. She had already sanked to the ground, nearly in a fetal position as she rocked herself back and forth, clutching her head as she tried to make sense of all that she had learned.
Desi was alive....
Desi was with Harmony...
Desi was alive...
He was alive! But for how much longer?
The pounding in her head proved to be no help to her mental battle, and she clutched her head in pain as millions of images flashed through her head in mere seconds.
Images of a happier time, when she was deliriously happy and had believed her happiness would never end.
Images of Harmony, Cavan, and Hikari as they once were, then, as they slowly became who they are now.
Images of her sister, Destiny, and herself...first growing up under the watchful eyes of Harmony, basking in the fear her powers evoked in others...then images of the meetings with Cesar and Desi, the proposal...then the deaths...
Images of her misery, her anger, her sorrow...agony. Oh, how angry she was, and how she lashed out.
Cavan and Hikari—it was because of them that Desi was taken away from her, and so it was only logical for her to lash out at them—to take from them as they had taken from her.
And so she decreed that Cavan would become Chaos, and Hikari, Cosmos. She had taken joy then, at the pain they both underwent when they had found out her decree, but now, she felt nothing.
The images continued to come and go, giving her mind only seconds to process them all...
"Stop it," she moaned, trying to prevent any more images from appearing. "Stop it...Desi, make the pain go away...away....." She rocked back and forth, the tears spilling from her eyes as the images continued to come.
Destiny...herself...what they had become.
Stealing from the sacred jewels of the Universe...
Breaking apart two lovers who were meant to be from the very beginning, and in doing so, wreaking havoc and destroying Harmony—both the person and the order.
Pain.....so much pain...
The tears would not stop, the images would not cease...the pain, it was only growing more powerful...
"Please," Fate whispered, clutching her head and rocking back and forth, "Please stop it...I didn't know...I didn't know...please....stop it..."
But the pain didn't go away, it only increased, traveling down until it had wrapped itself around her heart.
"Stop it, please," she continued rocking back and forth, now in a fetal position. "Please, stop it...it hurts...I never realized...."
The next image that came to her froze her, and with a desperate and mournful cry, a flash of light enveloped Fate, vanishing with her.
As she vanished, a thin thread, metallic blue in its color, appeared and gently floated to the ground, its glow faint.
It would not be long now...
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Heero lied still, attempting to ignore the pain that shot through his body like thousands of needles piercing through his internal organs. He was a soldier, trained to be perfect in the art of war.
But this war was like none he had ever seen.
Demons, they were fighting demons! True honest to goodness demons. And his allies—a staff-wielding, magic-throwing group—two of whom he had believed he had known, only to find that he hadn't even known their true names. The fighting spirit in him demanded that he continue fighting, no matter how hopeless the battle was. However, his mind—the mind of one who knows nothing but war—demanded that he do nothing, for there was nothing he could do. In this instance, he was—as much as he hated it—a burden.
But he was a soldier, and he would help in any way he could, even if that way required that he stay out of battle. And this battle—in this case, it was best to leave this battle to those who understood the cause. Heero had, no matter what the stated cause was, understood the true cause of his previous battles...but this battle...this was not his battle.
Slowly, he rose half-way from his position, unable to rise much higher as he took notice of the bone protruding from his leg. One arm was disconnected and his fingers were stiff. Looking at the fallen forms of Trowa and Duo, he felt an unfamiliar tug from within him.
If the odd angle of his neck was any indication, Trowa was dead. However, it was hard for Heero to determine what had been the death-bringing blow to Trowa—he could have died from blood-loss due to both, the deep cuts that marred his body or his missing limbs, or it could have when his spinal cord was cut in half...
Heero bowed his head, gritting his teeth as he paid his final respects to his departed comrade, who was, in truth, one of the people closest to him.
He turned his head away from the gruesome sight of his friend's mutilated body, instantly regretting doing so.
Though it was a bit hard to see through the circle of demons that covered the braided boy's body, it was not hard to figure out what was happening to him. The demons were eating the poor boy, spitting out what parts they didn't wish to feed on as if it was nothing.
As seasoned a soldier as he was, even Heero could not stand that sight. He turned his head away, his eyes closed in an effort to dismiss the gruesome scene from his mind. His head bowed and he sent a final farewell to the braided-man child, silently showing to the now deceased brunette the respect he had always held but never showed him in life.
"They'll pay," the whisper, tired and disbelieving, drew Heero's attention to its speaker.
Destiny stared at the group devouring her former lover disbelievingly, but disbelief was quickly being replaced by an unchecked anger.
"YOU'LL PAY!!!!!" Destiny screamed out, her hair whipping back and eyes a darkened insanity. "YOU'LL PAY!!!" Winds whipped around her, cutting at her skin and that of those around her. "You'll pay," Her voice was a lethal whisper, final in its tone. A deafening silence seemed to rise from her, before engulfing the monsters around the scene.
Time seemed to slow, and Heero could see clearly the power Destiny unleashed in her anger. Tortured cries coming from the depths of Hell itself seemed to arise suddenly, as shadows of Hell's inhabitants seemed to grab the frightened and struggling monsters, trapping them before bringing their struggling forms underground into the fiery pits for all eternity.
It ended as quickly as it had begun, and even as time seemed to resume its flow, Heero felt the change, the stillness that clung onto the air, suffocating in its heaviness. All was still, a silent testimony to Destiny's power.
"Cesar," Destiny's eyes were wild with disbelief, combing through the area for what was left of her dead lover. She found a finger here, a leg there...his body and blood—though it was surely not all his—was everywhere. Heero watched in muted fascination as the powerful deity before him seemed to crumble from within for just a moment, before a wall stronger than the one that had previously stood formed, furthering the distance that stood between the statuesque goddess and mortals.
"Cesar," Her head was bowed in mourning and her voice, low, "I'll find you again...one day. I'll wait for you, Cesar. We'll live as we were meant to be...together."
A silent gust of wind blew by, taking with it the silence that dominated the battlefield.
As if broken out of their trance, the remaining monsters reared back their heads and in unison, let loose one fierce shriek that seemed to spread throughout the universe, striking a deep unimaginable fear in so many innocents.
But the fighting failed to resume, for just that instance, another screech, this one a higher-pitch than that of the demons, greeted the field in a flash of electric blue.
"DESI!" The stranger was instantly at the side of the fallen Trowa, holding his lifeless body in her arms. "No, back...you're not supposed to go...you're supposed to stay here...with me...Desi..." She murmured his name over and over again, repeating his name as if a mantra.
"Fate," Destiny whispered, walking over to place a hand on the shaking shoulder of her sister, her own broken eyes shining with tears, "I'm sorry, forgive me."
Fate looked up from the broken form of her deceased lover, her dark eyes matching her sister's perfectly. "They'll pay sister," Her voice was flat, "They'll pay...for hurting us."
The last thing Heero could remember was the explosion of electric blue that shot from Fate's body, sending waves of agonizing heat throughout his body, before death claimed his as one of his own.
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Kiyoshi could feel himself becoming lightheaded and cursed all the blood he had lost silently. Like his enemies around him, he stopped when he felt the power unleashed by Destiny. Noticing the fallen forms of Trowa and Duo, he bowed his head in silent respect, murmuring a quick prayer for their departed souls.
In fascination, he watched the power Destiny unleashed. He was certainly relieved that he was not fighting against her...
And then the other woman had appeared. He didn't know who she was, being too far to hear Destiny and her exchange words. In horror, he watched as the newcomer unleashed a great power of her own that, while decimating much of their enemies, left Kiyoshi with the sick knowledge that the 'normal' Gundam pilots—and compared to himself and Sol, the other three pilots were normal—had all perished today during this battle.
If Kiyoshi was able to shed anymore tears—and he had grown tired of shedding tears after he lost his wife—he would have shed tears then. He had grown as close to his Gundam comrades—at least, as close as each had allowed themselves to.
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Chaos and Cosmos ignored what was going on around them, not even batting an eye at the loss both sides suffered. When Fate appeared, Cosmos's eyes merely flashed with a curious annoyance, but it never lost its focus on Chaos.
Both were recovering from their wounds, restoring their energy. Both allowed for their comrades to remain still while Fate and Destiny let their anguish be known, and though Chaos knew it was his minions that the two deities were destroying, he didn't bat an eye.
When Fate and Destiny both turned to face Chaos and Cosmos, walking unchallenged by any minions, neither moved.
But those around them did not agree to the pause in fighting as Cosmos and Chaos had silently done, and so, the fighting around them resumed.
Fate and Destiny, Chaos and Cosmos...it was truly a strange group that stood still, all watching one another with something akin to weariness.
Neither the blood that was spilt and splattered all around them, nor the anguished and pained cries of the fallen members of either sides could deter their gazes from one another.
And just as unexpectedly as it had begun, it ended.
Chaos and Cosmos lunged towards one another as Fate and Destiny watched with devastated eyes of sorrow.
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Hana watched the battle from the palace, her very spirit feeling helpless.
"Please be safe," She whispered, a hand on her stomach. "Please..." Her eyes wandered about the battlefield, searching for her husband and the father of her unborn child. "Sol..."
"He will be alright," Luna's voice came from next to her, yet it offered Hana no comfort. Diana rubbed her head against Hana's hand and in attempt to ease the anxious woman, but she knew it was to no avail. Artemis watched through one open eye from where he rested on the other side of the room as Hana continued to watch the battle take place.
Finally finding her lover, Hana continued to watch him, her entire body tensed with anxiety and foreboding fear, the beginning of horror beginning to gnaw from the pits of her stomach as she saw the blood spilt in this battle.
And her Sol...
She barely recognized her Sol...a startled sob escaped from her lips and she moved quickly to cover her mouth in attempt to cover the cursed noise that had escaped and now echoes eerily around the empty room.
Sol rammed his staff into the head of one of his enemies, effectively ending the monster's life.
And Hana ran from the room, the resolve to find the Sol she knew and loved strong.
The other three cats ran after her, stopping as they reached the door that led out of the room.
Harmony had demanded that no one was to leave the room...
They glanced at one another, nervousness and worries evident.
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Hana was watching, he could feel it. A wave of disgust overcame him as he realized what she was seeing. The man she loved mercilessly killing his enemies, his uniform stained with the inky substance they called their blood.
She did not deserve to see such a gruesome sight of that—it was a side of him he wished for her never to see, never to know existed.
A prickling from the corner of his mind and the unexpected feeling of alarm washed over him, allowing several lashes from the demons to hit their mark. He barely managed to restrain himself from doubling over in pain as he felt his skin break and give way to large scarlet gashes.
But he didn't care, the pain was nothing to the fear he felt welling from deep within...
Hana was in the battlefield...Hana was in danger...
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Harmony watched as the battle continued, her anticipation of the event soon to come low. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Hana run senselessly into battle, felt the fear and desperation that drove her to do so.
She didn't see Sol's reaction to his wife's presence, but she saw as he was wounded, saw as his sister ran up to him, her own uniform stained.
Hana was encircled by demons now, ones who could most likely smell the small child that had just begun to grow inside her.
Harmony's eyes narrowed in anger, her fingers twitching as she felt the sudden need to both pull Hana into safety and shake some sense into her, and leave Hana to fall prey to her demonic predators.
Hana let lose a loud shriek, her arms instinctively covering her stomach to protect her still forming-child.
Harmony's eyes flashed once as she debated whether or not to interfere.
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Hana's scream was the last straw. With an inhumane roar, Sol's eyes took on an unnatural gleam as he mercilessly and unseeingly slaughtered all that was before him and though he never actually attacked her, even his sister found she had to dodge several blows that seemed to be directed at her.
Sol continued on his rampage, his eyes unfocused and objective clear. Only one thought ran through his head—he could not hear the pained screams of his victims, did not feel nor see their blood sliding down from his staff, staining his hands and already dirtied and torn uniform. He could only hear one thing—the petrified and pained scream of his wife, his lover—could only see in his mind's eyes, her tiny body, shivering in her fear and pain as those beasts unmercifully toyed with her.
With one last enraged scream that spoke of his undying devotion towards her, his unending wrath towards all those whom threatened her, a bright silver light erupted from his body, bursting free from its confinement and charging straight for its intended targets, destroying all that was in its path.
------------------
"She should have never interfered," Harmony muttered to herself, watching the destruction caused by Sol from above. When the light had died down, Harmony slowly lowered herself onto the battlefield, her feet hitting the ground with a muffled tap. She took her time as she walked to the pregnant woman who was the reason for this destruction, taking note that Sol held his wife protectively in his arms, one hand holding the stomach that held his unborn child.
"You promised," Harmony's voice was a chilled breeze that whipped accusingly towards the sobbing woman before her, "You promised on the life of your child that you would not watch this battle, would not do anything rash."
Sol released a startled breath and instinctively covered Hana's stomach with his hands, as if to protect his unborn child. Hana's eyes were wide, twin pools of disbelief as she stared at the powerful woman before her.
"No," Hana shook her head, "No...no! You can't...no..."Her voice broke and tears began to steadily escape from her eyes, but Harmony took no notice of them, her eyes staring blankly into Hana's own eyes.
"You promised, child. Upon the life of your unborn child," Harmony pointed one finger at Hana's stomach, a glow beginning to surround her arm. "And so the life of your unborn child it is," And the glow immediately left her arm, shooting towards its still flat target.
"NO!" Hana screeched, her own hands covering her husband's as she sought to protect the still forming life within her.
"You promised." Harmony's voice was uncaring as Hana and Sol both screamed in pain, the heat of the attack she had sent burning straight through their hands and into Hana's stomach. "You promised."
"What have you done?!" The hoarse scream drew Harmony's eyes to the one she viewed as daughter.
Cosmos stared disbelievingly at the woman she had once called mother. "What have you done?!"
"She promised," Harmony's answer was final, "She promised on the life of her unborn child."
"You killed an innocent child?!" Silver eyes shone with horrifying revelation, glaring accusingly at the taller woman as Cosmos ran closer towards her children, deflecting attacks and speeding up her pace as she felt several attacks hit their mark.
Not one to lose his target, Chaos followed her, a look of bewilderment upon his face.
"It had not yet begun to live," Harmony's voice was unshakable, her eyes determined. "She promised and forgot. I do not accept absentmindedness."
Cosmos made to reply, but found she couldn't as the gurgled scream coming from far behind her immediately seized her attention.
-------------------
It was his own fault, he supposed. He had seen Harmony's appearance in the battlefield, had simply known, rather than seen, what she had done to Sol and his wife. He never suspected she would do anything like that.
To destroy a family before they had a chance.
She killed a child before it had a chance to be born, stripped two people of the title of parents.
In his surprise over her action, he had faltered momentarily.
And that damnable creature had seized the opportunity this presented and stabbed him right through his lower right torso.
He could not prevent that scream of pain that tore from his lips, gurgled as it mixed with the blood pouring from his mouth. He was only dimly aware of the demon behind him, as he caught sight of Harmony's gaze.
It was directed at him—directly at him—and it was saddened and knowing, accepting and apologetic.
She knew...she knew it all along. She knew what was going to happen to him in this battle, and she did not one thing to help him! Oh that wretched woman! She didn't even give him a warning! To allow him to die like this—by the hands of a demon he knew he could easily take care of had she not surprised him in her callousness. The very idea of it was...was...sickening! Disgusting! Dishonorable! It was an injustice!
He was only slightly aware of the claw that hit him from the small of his back, but his horrified onyx eyes clearly saw where it exited his body through his abdomen. He was in too much shock to feel the excruciating pain as the sharp claws slowly tried to move upward, only for it's owner to remove it from his body when it found that its claw would not budge anymore.
He knew it was going to happen before it actually occurred.
And so with a final thought, he succumbed to the awaiting darkness as one of Chaos' minion ripped off his head with its bear hands and another savagely tore out his heart from its place.
...At least I get to see Meiran...Keiko...again...
------------------
She didn't even realize she was screaming. She had been aware of the high- pitched scream that cried out no in a stretched octave, but she could not pinpoint whom it came from.
It was not until she had fallen onto her knees, one hand covering her mouth, and felt the pain in her throat, heard the hoarseness in her voice, that she realized it had been she who had been screaming.
"No...." She rasped out, her eyes wide with horror as she saw the two demons responsible holding up Kiyoshi's head and heart in their hands, holding it up high and parading about, as if to showcase the evidence of Kiyoshi's death as prized trophies.
"NO!!" She screamed once more, this time, the shock and horror fleeing from her eyes and immediately replaced by a raging need for something...
....Vengeance....
It was such an unfamiliar feeling....
...It was powerful....
......It was......
She heard the laughter that escaped from Chaos' lips, saw the cruelty spilling forth from his mouth as he laughed at her pain.
....It was...
Her eyes became empty canvasses of wildness, as she slowly stood up from her position.
.......It was.....
She seemed to become a bystander in her own body. She saw everything, heard and smelled everything...she could feel the ground beneath her feet, feel her fingers clench and unclench...she could hear all the thoughts that were flying rapidly about in her head....and yet, she had no command of her body.
.....It was...
Her eyes zeroed in onto the laughing Chaos, his eyes shining wickedly with delight as his lips turned upward into a sneer.
With a wild scream that captured all the turmoil she had suffered through since the time of her first death as Hikari, she ran towards her sworn enemy, her greatest nemesis...
Time seemed to slow as she held out one outstretched arm....
--------------------
Four lights pulsed in sync with one another, each bathing in its own glow.
"Now?" One jewel seemed to ask, its white glow flickering warmly.
"Now." The jewel farthest from it seemed to respond with its own smoke-hued crimson sparkle.
"Now?" The metallic silvery gold emitted from the middle jewel repeated the question, its light flickering sporadically, as if in surprise.
"Now," this time, a small crystalline sword, no bigger than a thumb, gave the reply as it glowed a warm blue. "She calls me now..." It flickered several times, glowing brighter and brighter until with one final flash, it disappeared altogether.
-------------------
A bright light, a whirling blend of silver and blue, formed around the outstretched arm of Cosmos as she ran towards her target. When at last, the light died out, she held a legendary weapon in her hand.
"The haitsu'aan-jei'caan," Harmony murmured to herself, sounding as if she was merely confirming something, "Otherwise known as the Tsuyosa no Toushin..."
This last comment created a stir about her. Everyone, be they on the side of light or dark, good or evil, be they mindless or mindful, everyone knew about the Tsuyosa no Toushin and its legendary powers.
Chaos stared, enthralled at the scene before him. He wanted to move and in all honesty, he could very easily dodge the blow that his Cosmos would surely send towards him.
Yet, he could not move, did not want to move. And a part of him from deep within firmly held on to the belief that Cosmos would not strike him with that legendary weapon—after all, just as a deeply hidden part of him was still Cavan (though he refused to acknowledge it), a part of her was still Hikari.
And they loved each other...needed one another.
And so he stared at her, unflinching as she charged towards him with no recognition in her eyes.
It was not until she was a mere feet away from him that he felt something rise from within him as two silver tears escaped from the raging blankness of her eyes.
And then, he felt the Tsuyosa no Toushin impale his heart.
------------------
End Chapter
Since it's been so long, just in case it's been forgotten:
Sol- Quatre Kiyoshi- Wufei Hana- Sol's wife Hope- Sol's twin sister Desi- Trowa (in his past life) Cesar- Duo (in his past life)
Crystalstorm- Oh dear, if you were gonna kill me then for taking so long to update, I don't even want to think about what you'd do to me now....
Cor-chan- Thanks! == erm...hands tissue I didn't mean to make you near tears! . ah! Mocha-stirring spoon! Ack!
Darcey- TT yes, it's almost over cries I'm surprised I can still remember the ending for this story at this moment o.O
AuthoressCrest- Lol, maybe you should put a leash on him....
Tenshi-Kaikou- I'm glad you like this! Lol....erm, sorry for the late update? Hmm...okay, for you, I'll either try to make this chapter long, or update sooner ;;
Isis Delphia- I agree ;; erm..I didn't know better then, and still don't know too much better now? ;; Honestly, I didn't realize about the AN—I've gone back to reread and shudders it's horrible, it is. As for the words, I realize it probably sounds weird now—it sounded okay in my head at the time o.O..in some cases, it still does now. It's an ugly habit that I can't seem to break ; so my apologies. Meanwhile, I thank you on the compliment blushes
DustBunnies- I agree with the confusion! . I plan to make it easier to remember the characters when I revise. I'm glad you like the story! ==
Darkness- I shall do my best! salutes
Christina-Marie- I know I sent you the e-mail, so if you could clarify your specific questions about chapter 12, I'd be grateful!
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Chapter Sixteen
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"Harmony-sama!" Hana gasped, surprised.
"Are you alright, child?" Harmony's eyes seemed to stare into Hana's soul knowingly, causing her to burst into tears and launch herself into the arms of the older woman.
"Why do they have to fight?! Why?!" Hana sobbed. "Why must he go out and fight?! When will this rivalry end, Harmony-sama?" Hana clung onto the taller woman, the occasional shudder running through her body. "I'm scared, so very scared. I don't want our child to grow without Sol there. I don't know what I'd do if Sol didn't make it through this battle—through any battle." Hana's eyes flew to meet the eyes of Harmony.
"This will be the final battle, won't it? There will be peace afterwards, won't there?!" she pleaded for an answer. Harmony stared at her for a moment, before closing her eyes, thinking for what seemed to be an eternity. But what was time to an immortal?
After much deliberation, Harmony opened her eyes, her aura suddenly seeming resigned. She stepped away from Hana, smiling reassuringly at the pregnant woman. "Yes, Hana, this will be the final of such battles between Hikari and Cavan."
"And Sol?" Hana asked fearfully. Harmony grabbed both of Hana's hands in her own.
"Promise me, Hana, upon the life of your child, that you will do nothing rash—no matter what may happen in the battle, to who it may happen in the battle. Promise me you will not watch the battle, will not kill the innocence that still clings onto you. Promise me all of this Hana, promise me all of this upon the life of your unborn child!" Harmony's eyes—so unlike any eyes Hana had ever seen—stared at her seriously, and her voice spoke urgently.
"I...I promise," Hana promised. The answer did not appear to appease Harmony, but she let go of Hana's hands, and straightened her posture.
"Luna, Artemis...Diana!" Harmony's voice seemed to reverberate all around them.
"Yes, your majesty?" The three appeared in the room in feline form, bowing as only a cat can.
"No one is to leave this room. The battle calls to me," Was all she said, before she spun and left the room, a trail of glitter seeming to light the path she left behind.
"What do you intend to do, Harmony-sama?" Hana whispered, one hand over her stomach.
----------------
Fate reached out her arm tentatively, weary of the pulsing thread before her. The thread sent forth a bright burst of light, pushing her back several inches. When the burst died out, Fate looked before her.
This time, when she made to grab the thread, the force of the burst of power pushed her back until she hit the wall, sliding down onto the floor.
"What is going on," Fate hissed, "This is not how it is to happen!"
The thread continued to pulse.
"Harmony, how hard you try," the snarl was low, "But I will not let you win. You will suffer for what you have put me through...you will pay for corrupting Destiny—and you're precious favored ones will help me." Fate's eyes narrowed dangerously, her nails drawing blood from her palm. "Oh yes, your precious favored ones will help me...and they will pay dearly for taking away my Desi!"
The thread pulsed once...twice...three times, before it released another burst of light, this one smaller than the rest. Flickering a few times, it bobbed up and down, as if motioning Fate towards it. Fate crept closer to the thread and when it did not force her back, she made her way closer once more.
Once she stood before it, the thread flickered twice, before vanishing and the light that had surrounded it earlier focused on someone she never believed she would see again.
"Desi," She sobbed.
----------------------------
They were endless, it seemed. Everywhere, they were everywhere. How does a group of eight defeat an endless sea of monsters?
"Where is Harmony?" Cosmos asked, not even turning around to face her allies.
"She did not come out with us," Hope replied, her eyes flashing determinedly.
Their enemies snarled at them, flashing fangs, claws, anything they could. All they needed to attack was one word from their master.
"We fight without her then," Cosmos's voice was even. "Keep them away from the palace—Chaos is mine."
"So glad to see you want me so badly," Chaos drawled lazily, before smirking. "Attack."
And the sea burst forth, their roars deafening as they steadily closed in upon the small defense before them.
"Dream Sphere." Hope, her eyes a regretful determination, was the first to take defense, the silver orb encasing several demons, who had only seconds to realize what had just transpired before bursting into a cloud of dust.
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Four lights pulsed in sync with one another, each letting out it's own color. If one was gifted enough and listened closely, strained their ears so much it seemed it may fall off with the effort, one could almost hear the jewels speaking to one another.
"Is it time yet?" One of the jewels, emitting a warm white glow, seemed to ask.
"No, not yet. Almost." A smoky crimson seemed to respond to the question.
"It is almost time...yes, soon." The metallic silvery gold emitted from the middle jewel seemed to agree.
"She calls..." the small crystal above the middle jewel, glowing a soft blue, whispered so faintly, it seemed only a voice in the mind. "She calls...but not yet."
-----------------------
Heero, Trowa, and Duo were at a lost. They were running out of ammunition, and the battle had barely begun.
No matter how many bullets they used, how many rounds of shots were fired, nor where they fired, the demons survived.
Sure, they slowed down on their attacks, but the fact still stood that the demons continued to live, even with a round of bullets embedded where their hearts ought to be.
It was almost admirable, how they continued to fight despite their injuries...
...But perhaps a better time to admire their determination would be after the demons were defeated...if any of the three boys were still alive then, that is.
"Crap," Duo muttered as he shot his final bullet and succeeded in temporally taking down a demon. He was currently back to back with Trowa and Heero, neither of whom were having any more success with the demons than he was.
"I'm out of ammo, can you guys spare any?" He called over his back, hitting a demon with the butt of his gun.
"Hn," Heero grunted, but gave him no weapons. He was out of bullets as well. Trowa said nothing, but if his lack of shooting was any indication, then he was out of ammunition as well.
"Crap," Duo swore again, "Guess we'll have to fight with our....hands.." He gulped, eyeing the fangs and claws of their opponents.
"Oh no you don't!" The faint scream seemed to come from within the horde of monsters coming towards them. A lavender light shot out into the air, bursting like a firecracker and unleashing a rain of acidic lava upon its victims, claiming the limbs it landed upon.
"What, no thank you?" Destiny winked one grim eye, smiling wryly at the three boys. "You guys really shouldn't be here..." She sent a wave of bright lavender at a couple of approaching demons, "You're more of a distra—"A claw found its way to her side, and she let out a strangled scream. "Damn you," she cursed the demon, before letting out her pain in waves of angry lavender.
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Sol stood back to back with his sister, his eyes grim. "Sleep," he murmured as he stabbed the monster with the end of his staff, staining it as dark as the monster's blood. The monster let loose a blood curling scream before it fell into it's deep slumber.
"Dream sphere," Hope continued to send out the only attack she knew, wincing at the final cries of the monster.
She let out a surprised gasp as a monster fell at her side, a staff through his back and out his front, the blood splattering onto her white boots.
"Careful, Hope," her brother warned her, wiggling his staff in attempt to pull it out from the carcass it was embedded into. Hope merely nodded, horrified at the sight.
"Dream sphere," the attack was sent out behind her brother, who gave her a grim smile of thanks as she destroyed his would-be attackers.
"What are sisters for?" She muttered, turning away as she plunged her staff into the abdomen of a demon, wincing as blood the color of dark ink splattered and stained her uniform.
Sol said nothing, his staff already deep in the throat of gurgling monster, blood spurting upward to resemble a fountain of swarthy ink.
---------------------
Kiyoshi growled as he methodically continued to fend off the monsters that tried to attack him. He let loose a string of curses as a fiend managed to graze his side. Ignoring the pain, he attack mercilessly, his sword plunging deep into the heart of the monster before he slid it upward, his sword exiting the corpse from its head.
Without delay, he spun in a full circle, the arm holding his weapon outstretched, forcing the monsters surrounding him to back up from the sharp weapon, drenched in the dark and sticky substance of their fallen comrades.
Some, in an attempt to attack, pushed their own towards him, their eye blank as the pain-filled cries of their comrades were cut short with their life.
-----------------------
From her position high above the battlefield, she watched the final battle commence, her heart heavy.
She knew how this battle would end.
She knew who would survive and who would not.
But she would do nothing...
It was not yet time.
And so with knowing eyes, Harmony watched the battle.
------------------------
Cosmos panted heavily, ignoring the combat around her. Her eyes stared ahead, into the dark eyes of her greatest and eternal enemy.
"Tired, Cosmos?" Chaos grinned mockingly, his eyes glittering with cold amusement.
"Of you?" Cosmos smiled charmingly, "Yes," Lifting her staff, she rushed towards Chaos, who dodged her attack, grabbing her by her arms.
She gasped as she felt his chest against her back, realizing just how close they were.
"You know, little queen," He whispered seductively into her ears, his warm breath tickling her neck, "I like having you in my arms."
Cosmos bit back a gasp as he leaned further, nipping her earlobe teasingly before sending a trail of burning kisses down her neck. Her eyes fluttered as her breath quickened...
...He felt just like Cavan...
....But he was Chaos...
And her eyes snapped open, as realization hit her.
She was in the arms of her greatest foe, who was...seducing her! With a disgusted cry, she kicked his shin, her cry only growing louder as he refused to release her arms. She kicked and screamed, willing forth her crystal. In a burst of white light, Chaos was thrown back from her, his hands forced to let her go or burn as the bright purity of the light scarred him.
Cosmos panted heavily, feeling the effects of the energy drain. Sweat dripped down from her forehead as she sank to her knees.
Why did he have to feel like Cavan?
--------------------
Chaos growled, dusting himself as he steadily stood up. That was not supposed to happen.
He was not to seduce his enemy....although....
He smirked, eyeing her form. His better half, Cavan, seemed to like her well enough...His eyes darkened as he felt his want for her...dammit, he was not to desire his enemy!
....So why did she feel so nice against him?
Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts, he focused on the crouched form of his enemy. It would be so easy to kill her now, with her back turned to him...
...But where would the fun be in that, hm?
He slowly made his way to her, smirking as she turned to look up at him, her eyes surprised and filled with bitterness.
"Why the bitterness, little queen?" He smirked at her, a dagger forming in his hands. Crouching down, he grabbed her face in his hand, his dagger pressed against her throat. His smirk widened at her snarl.
"Why little queen," He asked innocently, "What's the matter? Don't you want to die?" He pushed the dagger a bit deeper, ignoring her startled gasp, entranced by the silver blood that poured out, spreading and dripping from the dagger, down onto the ground, onto her uniform, staining his hands...
-----------------------
Harmony watched the battle, her eyes impassive. She watched as the three Chikuu-jins desperately fought, gaining many injuries in their heroic attempts. She was surprised they had survived thus far...but she shouldn't be, she supposed. After all, she watched as Destiny fought as well, eliminating the monsters while keeping an eye on her reincarnated lover who held no memories of her. Sol fought with a vigor she never before saw in him, though she knew the cause of his new determination...
Sol was fighting for his family—for his mother, his sister, his wife...but most of all, for his unborn child.
Hope fought, wincing nearly every time she killed...it was sad that such a pacifist soul was brought into battle. But nothing could be done about it now, Harmony supposed. Hope was a pacifist soul with the destiny of a guardian—to fight to defend was her destiny.
Kiyoshi fought bravely, his loyalty and valor shining through clearly. He was an excellent fighter, but that did not prevent him from receiving any injuries. Even from here, Harmony could see some rather nasty looking injuries, and had she not known the outcome of the battle already, she would have already intervened and helped Kiyoshi.
Cavan and Hikari....
Chaos and Cosmos...it was heartbreaking that things had occurred as they had. Harmony watched, seeing perfectly, if not through her own eyes, then through her mind's eyes, the position of the two she had raised. Chaos stood before Cosmos, his hand still on the dagger that had not left its position from the throat of the kneeling Cosmos. Silver poured from her neck, staining the dagger and the hand that held it, seeping into the cloth of the uniform, and still traveling, spreading, digging deep into the ground.
But she would not die, Harmony knew it. Chaos knew it. Cosmos knew it.
And perhaps that was why Chaos stared at the blood with such fascination, because it was so different from his own.
Because Chaos had in him, blood the color of crimson.
Chaos was mortal.
------------------------------------
Chaos watched the life-giving liquid as it continued to travel, spilling from the neck of his opposite in steady streams.
It was...
... alluring...
...captivating ....
It was...
Chaos could scarcely breathe. Her blood...it was so familiar. Her blood taunted him, mocked him...Her blood laughed at him, defiantly shining silver in announcement that his greatest enemy would never be truly gone.
But it was drawing him in, trying to make him remember something...something important.
It was...
He looked up from the blood that poured from the smooth flesh, locking eyes with its owner. Her eyes bore into his, glazed in its appearance. He took in a deep breath, enjoying the scent of not only her, but her blood as well.
It was...
...Intoxicatingly powerful...
And Chaos hungered for it. He lowered himself until he was eye to eye with Cosmos, his eyes never leaving hers. Slowly, the weapon in his hand, still stained silver, was brought to his side, before it began its descent to the ground, forgotten by its owner.
Chaos stared at Cosmos, then her neck, the flow of the blood already slowing down and the cut he had made already beginning to show signs of healing. With a final look at Cosmos, he lowered his head onto her neck.
Cosmos released a surprised blood-filled gurgle as she felt Chaos' tongue upon her neck, licking at the deep cut and lapping up her blood. Short and pain-filled murmurs began to escape from her throat as he continued to lick and suck at her neck, trying to drink as much blood as possible.
From her post, Harmony watched the two she thought of as her own children. It was a striking scene, beautiful in its morbidity...
Two lovers, their lives intertwined with one another, who wanted nothing more than to love each other, yet forbidden to love each other or any other, one drinking the life-giving elixir from the neck of his lover, surrounded by carnage.
The cries of the fallen and howls of the enraged went by unnoticed to them. The screams of the embittered and wounded, the final cries of the deceased, all went unnoticed by the two...all the blood, the gore, it was invisible to the two former lovers who belonged together in every way.
And then the blood stopped spilling, and the neck of Cosmos was healed. Chaos ceased his intake of blood and dawning appeared in the eyes of Cosmos. One cry was all it took before Chaos was flung back and Cosmos upon her feet, her eyes glittering diamond orbs.
A flick of her wrist and her staff was in her hands once more. Chaos understood the message clearly.
Playtime was over.
-------------------------
Fate watched the battle with confused eyes. She had already sanked to the ground, nearly in a fetal position as she rocked herself back and forth, clutching her head as she tried to make sense of all that she had learned.
Desi was alive....
Desi was with Harmony...
Desi was alive...
He was alive! But for how much longer?
The pounding in her head proved to be no help to her mental battle, and she clutched her head in pain as millions of images flashed through her head in mere seconds.
Images of a happier time, when she was deliriously happy and had believed her happiness would never end.
Images of Harmony, Cavan, and Hikari as they once were, then, as they slowly became who they are now.
Images of her sister, Destiny, and herself...first growing up under the watchful eyes of Harmony, basking in the fear her powers evoked in others...then images of the meetings with Cesar and Desi, the proposal...then the deaths...
Images of her misery, her anger, her sorrow...agony. Oh, how angry she was, and how she lashed out.
Cavan and Hikari—it was because of them that Desi was taken away from her, and so it was only logical for her to lash out at them—to take from them as they had taken from her.
And so she decreed that Cavan would become Chaos, and Hikari, Cosmos. She had taken joy then, at the pain they both underwent when they had found out her decree, but now, she felt nothing.
The images continued to come and go, giving her mind only seconds to process them all...
"Stop it," she moaned, trying to prevent any more images from appearing. "Stop it...Desi, make the pain go away...away....." She rocked back and forth, the tears spilling from her eyes as the images continued to come.
Destiny...herself...what they had become.
Stealing from the sacred jewels of the Universe...
Breaking apart two lovers who were meant to be from the very beginning, and in doing so, wreaking havoc and destroying Harmony—both the person and the order.
Pain.....so much pain...
The tears would not stop, the images would not cease...the pain, it was only growing more powerful...
"Please," Fate whispered, clutching her head and rocking back and forth, "Please stop it...I didn't know...I didn't know...please....stop it..."
But the pain didn't go away, it only increased, traveling down until it had wrapped itself around her heart.
"Stop it, please," she continued rocking back and forth, now in a fetal position. "Please, stop it...it hurts...I never realized...."
The next image that came to her froze her, and with a desperate and mournful cry, a flash of light enveloped Fate, vanishing with her.
As she vanished, a thin thread, metallic blue in its color, appeared and gently floated to the ground, its glow faint.
It would not be long now...
--------------------------
Heero lied still, attempting to ignore the pain that shot through his body like thousands of needles piercing through his internal organs. He was a soldier, trained to be perfect in the art of war.
But this war was like none he had ever seen.
Demons, they were fighting demons! True honest to goodness demons. And his allies—a staff-wielding, magic-throwing group—two of whom he had believed he had known, only to find that he hadn't even known their true names. The fighting spirit in him demanded that he continue fighting, no matter how hopeless the battle was. However, his mind—the mind of one who knows nothing but war—demanded that he do nothing, for there was nothing he could do. In this instance, he was—as much as he hated it—a burden.
But he was a soldier, and he would help in any way he could, even if that way required that he stay out of battle. And this battle—in this case, it was best to leave this battle to those who understood the cause. Heero had, no matter what the stated cause was, understood the true cause of his previous battles...but this battle...this was not his battle.
Slowly, he rose half-way from his position, unable to rise much higher as he took notice of the bone protruding from his leg. One arm was disconnected and his fingers were stiff. Looking at the fallen forms of Trowa and Duo, he felt an unfamiliar tug from within him.
If the odd angle of his neck was any indication, Trowa was dead. However, it was hard for Heero to determine what had been the death-bringing blow to Trowa—he could have died from blood-loss due to both, the deep cuts that marred his body or his missing limbs, or it could have when his spinal cord was cut in half...
Heero bowed his head, gritting his teeth as he paid his final respects to his departed comrade, who was, in truth, one of the people closest to him.
He turned his head away from the gruesome sight of his friend's mutilated body, instantly regretting doing so.
Though it was a bit hard to see through the circle of demons that covered the braided boy's body, it was not hard to figure out what was happening to him. The demons were eating the poor boy, spitting out what parts they didn't wish to feed on as if it was nothing.
As seasoned a soldier as he was, even Heero could not stand that sight. He turned his head away, his eyes closed in an effort to dismiss the gruesome scene from his mind. His head bowed and he sent a final farewell to the braided-man child, silently showing to the now deceased brunette the respect he had always held but never showed him in life.
"They'll pay," the whisper, tired and disbelieving, drew Heero's attention to its speaker.
Destiny stared at the group devouring her former lover disbelievingly, but disbelief was quickly being replaced by an unchecked anger.
"YOU'LL PAY!!!!!" Destiny screamed out, her hair whipping back and eyes a darkened insanity. "YOU'LL PAY!!!" Winds whipped around her, cutting at her skin and that of those around her. "You'll pay," Her voice was a lethal whisper, final in its tone. A deafening silence seemed to rise from her, before engulfing the monsters around the scene.
Time seemed to slow, and Heero could see clearly the power Destiny unleashed in her anger. Tortured cries coming from the depths of Hell itself seemed to arise suddenly, as shadows of Hell's inhabitants seemed to grab the frightened and struggling monsters, trapping them before bringing their struggling forms underground into the fiery pits for all eternity.
It ended as quickly as it had begun, and even as time seemed to resume its flow, Heero felt the change, the stillness that clung onto the air, suffocating in its heaviness. All was still, a silent testimony to Destiny's power.
"Cesar," Destiny's eyes were wild with disbelief, combing through the area for what was left of her dead lover. She found a finger here, a leg there...his body and blood—though it was surely not all his—was everywhere. Heero watched in muted fascination as the powerful deity before him seemed to crumble from within for just a moment, before a wall stronger than the one that had previously stood formed, furthering the distance that stood between the statuesque goddess and mortals.
"Cesar," Her head was bowed in mourning and her voice, low, "I'll find you again...one day. I'll wait for you, Cesar. We'll live as we were meant to be...together."
A silent gust of wind blew by, taking with it the silence that dominated the battlefield.
As if broken out of their trance, the remaining monsters reared back their heads and in unison, let loose one fierce shriek that seemed to spread throughout the universe, striking a deep unimaginable fear in so many innocents.
But the fighting failed to resume, for just that instance, another screech, this one a higher-pitch than that of the demons, greeted the field in a flash of electric blue.
"DESI!" The stranger was instantly at the side of the fallen Trowa, holding his lifeless body in her arms. "No, back...you're not supposed to go...you're supposed to stay here...with me...Desi..." She murmured his name over and over again, repeating his name as if a mantra.
"Fate," Destiny whispered, walking over to place a hand on the shaking shoulder of her sister, her own broken eyes shining with tears, "I'm sorry, forgive me."
Fate looked up from the broken form of her deceased lover, her dark eyes matching her sister's perfectly. "They'll pay sister," Her voice was flat, "They'll pay...for hurting us."
The last thing Heero could remember was the explosion of electric blue that shot from Fate's body, sending waves of agonizing heat throughout his body, before death claimed his as one of his own.
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Kiyoshi could feel himself becoming lightheaded and cursed all the blood he had lost silently. Like his enemies around him, he stopped when he felt the power unleashed by Destiny. Noticing the fallen forms of Trowa and Duo, he bowed his head in silent respect, murmuring a quick prayer for their departed souls.
In fascination, he watched the power Destiny unleashed. He was certainly relieved that he was not fighting against her...
And then the other woman had appeared. He didn't know who she was, being too far to hear Destiny and her exchange words. In horror, he watched as the newcomer unleashed a great power of her own that, while decimating much of their enemies, left Kiyoshi with the sick knowledge that the 'normal' Gundam pilots—and compared to himself and Sol, the other three pilots were normal—had all perished today during this battle.
If Kiyoshi was able to shed anymore tears—and he had grown tired of shedding tears after he lost his wife—he would have shed tears then. He had grown as close to his Gundam comrades—at least, as close as each had allowed themselves to.
---------------------
Chaos and Cosmos ignored what was going on around them, not even batting an eye at the loss both sides suffered. When Fate appeared, Cosmos's eyes merely flashed with a curious annoyance, but it never lost its focus on Chaos.
Both were recovering from their wounds, restoring their energy. Both allowed for their comrades to remain still while Fate and Destiny let their anguish be known, and though Chaos knew it was his minions that the two deities were destroying, he didn't bat an eye.
When Fate and Destiny both turned to face Chaos and Cosmos, walking unchallenged by any minions, neither moved.
But those around them did not agree to the pause in fighting as Cosmos and Chaos had silently done, and so, the fighting around them resumed.
Fate and Destiny, Chaos and Cosmos...it was truly a strange group that stood still, all watching one another with something akin to weariness.
Neither the blood that was spilt and splattered all around them, nor the anguished and pained cries of the fallen members of either sides could deter their gazes from one another.
And just as unexpectedly as it had begun, it ended.
Chaos and Cosmos lunged towards one another as Fate and Destiny watched with devastated eyes of sorrow.
-------------------
Hana watched the battle from the palace, her very spirit feeling helpless.
"Please be safe," She whispered, a hand on her stomach. "Please..." Her eyes wandered about the battlefield, searching for her husband and the father of her unborn child. "Sol..."
"He will be alright," Luna's voice came from next to her, yet it offered Hana no comfort. Diana rubbed her head against Hana's hand and in attempt to ease the anxious woman, but she knew it was to no avail. Artemis watched through one open eye from where he rested on the other side of the room as Hana continued to watch the battle take place.
Finally finding her lover, Hana continued to watch him, her entire body tensed with anxiety and foreboding fear, the beginning of horror beginning to gnaw from the pits of her stomach as she saw the blood spilt in this battle.
And her Sol...
She barely recognized her Sol...a startled sob escaped from her lips and she moved quickly to cover her mouth in attempt to cover the cursed noise that had escaped and now echoes eerily around the empty room.
Sol rammed his staff into the head of one of his enemies, effectively ending the monster's life.
And Hana ran from the room, the resolve to find the Sol she knew and loved strong.
The other three cats ran after her, stopping as they reached the door that led out of the room.
Harmony had demanded that no one was to leave the room...
They glanced at one another, nervousness and worries evident.
-------------------
Hana was watching, he could feel it. A wave of disgust overcame him as he realized what she was seeing. The man she loved mercilessly killing his enemies, his uniform stained with the inky substance they called their blood.
She did not deserve to see such a gruesome sight of that—it was a side of him he wished for her never to see, never to know existed.
A prickling from the corner of his mind and the unexpected feeling of alarm washed over him, allowing several lashes from the demons to hit their mark. He barely managed to restrain himself from doubling over in pain as he felt his skin break and give way to large scarlet gashes.
But he didn't care, the pain was nothing to the fear he felt welling from deep within...
Hana was in the battlefield...Hana was in danger...
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Harmony watched as the battle continued, her anticipation of the event soon to come low. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Hana run senselessly into battle, felt the fear and desperation that drove her to do so.
She didn't see Sol's reaction to his wife's presence, but she saw as he was wounded, saw as his sister ran up to him, her own uniform stained.
Hana was encircled by demons now, ones who could most likely smell the small child that had just begun to grow inside her.
Harmony's eyes narrowed in anger, her fingers twitching as she felt the sudden need to both pull Hana into safety and shake some sense into her, and leave Hana to fall prey to her demonic predators.
Hana let lose a loud shriek, her arms instinctively covering her stomach to protect her still forming-child.
Harmony's eyes flashed once as she debated whether or not to interfere.
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Hana's scream was the last straw. With an inhumane roar, Sol's eyes took on an unnatural gleam as he mercilessly and unseeingly slaughtered all that was before him and though he never actually attacked her, even his sister found she had to dodge several blows that seemed to be directed at her.
Sol continued on his rampage, his eyes unfocused and objective clear. Only one thought ran through his head—he could not hear the pained screams of his victims, did not feel nor see their blood sliding down from his staff, staining his hands and already dirtied and torn uniform. He could only hear one thing—the petrified and pained scream of his wife, his lover—could only see in his mind's eyes, her tiny body, shivering in her fear and pain as those beasts unmercifully toyed with her.
With one last enraged scream that spoke of his undying devotion towards her, his unending wrath towards all those whom threatened her, a bright silver light erupted from his body, bursting free from its confinement and charging straight for its intended targets, destroying all that was in its path.
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"She should have never interfered," Harmony muttered to herself, watching the destruction caused by Sol from above. When the light had died down, Harmony slowly lowered herself onto the battlefield, her feet hitting the ground with a muffled tap. She took her time as she walked to the pregnant woman who was the reason for this destruction, taking note that Sol held his wife protectively in his arms, one hand holding the stomach that held his unborn child.
"You promised," Harmony's voice was a chilled breeze that whipped accusingly towards the sobbing woman before her, "You promised on the life of your child that you would not watch this battle, would not do anything rash."
Sol released a startled breath and instinctively covered Hana's stomach with his hands, as if to protect his unborn child. Hana's eyes were wide, twin pools of disbelief as she stared at the powerful woman before her.
"No," Hana shook her head, "No...no! You can't...no..."Her voice broke and tears began to steadily escape from her eyes, but Harmony took no notice of them, her eyes staring blankly into Hana's own eyes.
"You promised, child. Upon the life of your unborn child," Harmony pointed one finger at Hana's stomach, a glow beginning to surround her arm. "And so the life of your unborn child it is," And the glow immediately left her arm, shooting towards its still flat target.
"NO!" Hana screeched, her own hands covering her husband's as she sought to protect the still forming life within her.
"You promised." Harmony's voice was uncaring as Hana and Sol both screamed in pain, the heat of the attack she had sent burning straight through their hands and into Hana's stomach. "You promised."
"What have you done?!" The hoarse scream drew Harmony's eyes to the one she viewed as daughter.
Cosmos stared disbelievingly at the woman she had once called mother. "What have you done?!"
"She promised," Harmony's answer was final, "She promised on the life of her unborn child."
"You killed an innocent child?!" Silver eyes shone with horrifying revelation, glaring accusingly at the taller woman as Cosmos ran closer towards her children, deflecting attacks and speeding up her pace as she felt several attacks hit their mark.
Not one to lose his target, Chaos followed her, a look of bewilderment upon his face.
"It had not yet begun to live," Harmony's voice was unshakable, her eyes determined. "She promised and forgot. I do not accept absentmindedness."
Cosmos made to reply, but found she couldn't as the gurgled scream coming from far behind her immediately seized her attention.
-------------------
It was his own fault, he supposed. He had seen Harmony's appearance in the battlefield, had simply known, rather than seen, what she had done to Sol and his wife. He never suspected she would do anything like that.
To destroy a family before they had a chance.
She killed a child before it had a chance to be born, stripped two people of the title of parents.
In his surprise over her action, he had faltered momentarily.
And that damnable creature had seized the opportunity this presented and stabbed him right through his lower right torso.
He could not prevent that scream of pain that tore from his lips, gurgled as it mixed with the blood pouring from his mouth. He was only dimly aware of the demon behind him, as he caught sight of Harmony's gaze.
It was directed at him—directly at him—and it was saddened and knowing, accepting and apologetic.
She knew...she knew it all along. She knew what was going to happen to him in this battle, and she did not one thing to help him! Oh that wretched woman! She didn't even give him a warning! To allow him to die like this—by the hands of a demon he knew he could easily take care of had she not surprised him in her callousness. The very idea of it was...was...sickening! Disgusting! Dishonorable! It was an injustice!
He was only slightly aware of the claw that hit him from the small of his back, but his horrified onyx eyes clearly saw where it exited his body through his abdomen. He was in too much shock to feel the excruciating pain as the sharp claws slowly tried to move upward, only for it's owner to remove it from his body when it found that its claw would not budge anymore.
He knew it was going to happen before it actually occurred.
And so with a final thought, he succumbed to the awaiting darkness as one of Chaos' minion ripped off his head with its bear hands and another savagely tore out his heart from its place.
...At least I get to see Meiran...Keiko...again...
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She didn't even realize she was screaming. She had been aware of the high- pitched scream that cried out no in a stretched octave, but she could not pinpoint whom it came from.
It was not until she had fallen onto her knees, one hand covering her mouth, and felt the pain in her throat, heard the hoarseness in her voice, that she realized it had been she who had been screaming.
"No...." She rasped out, her eyes wide with horror as she saw the two demons responsible holding up Kiyoshi's head and heart in their hands, holding it up high and parading about, as if to showcase the evidence of Kiyoshi's death as prized trophies.
"NO!!" She screamed once more, this time, the shock and horror fleeing from her eyes and immediately replaced by a raging need for something...
....Vengeance....
It was such an unfamiliar feeling....
...It was powerful....
......It was......
She heard the laughter that escaped from Chaos' lips, saw the cruelty spilling forth from his mouth as he laughed at her pain.
....It was...
Her eyes became empty canvasses of wildness, as she slowly stood up from her position.
.......It was.....
She seemed to become a bystander in her own body. She saw everything, heard and smelled everything...she could feel the ground beneath her feet, feel her fingers clench and unclench...she could hear all the thoughts that were flying rapidly about in her head....and yet, she had no command of her body.
.....It was...
Her eyes zeroed in onto the laughing Chaos, his eyes shining wickedly with delight as his lips turned upward into a sneer.
With a wild scream that captured all the turmoil she had suffered through since the time of her first death as Hikari, she ran towards her sworn enemy, her greatest nemesis...
Time seemed to slow as she held out one outstretched arm....
--------------------
Four lights pulsed in sync with one another, each bathing in its own glow.
"Now?" One jewel seemed to ask, its white glow flickering warmly.
"Now." The jewel farthest from it seemed to respond with its own smoke-hued crimson sparkle.
"Now?" The metallic silvery gold emitted from the middle jewel repeated the question, its light flickering sporadically, as if in surprise.
"Now," this time, a small crystalline sword, no bigger than a thumb, gave the reply as it glowed a warm blue. "She calls me now..." It flickered several times, glowing brighter and brighter until with one final flash, it disappeared altogether.
-------------------
A bright light, a whirling blend of silver and blue, formed around the outstretched arm of Cosmos as she ran towards her target. When at last, the light died out, she held a legendary weapon in her hand.
"The haitsu'aan-jei'caan," Harmony murmured to herself, sounding as if she was merely confirming something, "Otherwise known as the Tsuyosa no Toushin..."
This last comment created a stir about her. Everyone, be they on the side of light or dark, good or evil, be they mindless or mindful, everyone knew about the Tsuyosa no Toushin and its legendary powers.
Chaos stared, enthralled at the scene before him. He wanted to move and in all honesty, he could very easily dodge the blow that his Cosmos would surely send towards him.
Yet, he could not move, did not want to move. And a part of him from deep within firmly held on to the belief that Cosmos would not strike him with that legendary weapon—after all, just as a deeply hidden part of him was still Cavan (though he refused to acknowledge it), a part of her was still Hikari.
And they loved each other...needed one another.
And so he stared at her, unflinching as she charged towards him with no recognition in her eyes.
It was not until she was a mere feet away from him that he felt something rise from within him as two silver tears escaped from the raging blankness of her eyes.
And then, he felt the Tsuyosa no Toushin impale his heart.
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End Chapter
