A howl cried throughout the darkness. Angel was trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. But the sound echoed out of the shadows.
"So little mithra you came again for me." A voice came from nowhere
"Why do you so insist to hide?" Angel said
"Fine, have it your way."
A dark energy clouded the area. There was light but it was filtered by a dark aura. Looking up there was a sky but a black overcast keeping anything from looking through it. Up on a cliff stood Fenrir howling at a black moon. Angel called forth all of her avatars. They moved around her providing a wall of protectors.
"Fenrir you have taken our trust and made us turn our backs on the one we are supposed to protect." Titan said
"You have done too much harm to our master. We wont let you succeed in your plan." Ramuh spoke
"You fools still don't see. You are her slaves still. She brought you all forth to do all the work, while she sits back and watches." Fenrir howled
"No. We choose fight for her. We gave her our power so she may be aided in her plight and have allies when there are none around." Shiva said
"And with all of out strength we will stop you." Garuda spoke up
"Well come get me then." Fenrir called
Titan punched the earth sending a shockwave to the cliff knocking Fenrir off of it and down to their level. Shiva unleashed waves of ice freezing him to the ground while Garuda flew overhead creating gusts of wind striking him. Leviathan covered Fenrir's pelt with water and Ramuh struck him with lightning. All the avatars called in victory at the amount of damage they are causing this villain. Then he stopped faking. He broke out of the ice running behind Titan as another gust of wind came down. In a failed attempt to stop the wind Titan took a full blow causing him to be knocked back. He ran to Shiva biting her in the arm. Pulling her down he threw her at Ramuh knocking them both aside. He gathered dark shadow energy and shot a beam at Garuda. It clipped one of her wings sending her plummeting to the ground. Once she hit the earth Fenrir charged at her but was blown back by a large fireball.
"You fool. You have no idea what your doing." Fenrir growled
Ifrit ran at him pushing him away from his fallen friend.
"Your nothing more than a monster if you will kill your own kind!" Ifrit yelled
Angel was looking at the losing battle between her avatars and Fenrir. Putting her hands out she called forth her power.
"Release!" Angel called out
All of the avatars were returned to their ethereal planes. They needed rest and there is no reason to let them die here.
"I wont let you harm them anymore." She said
Angel stood with the staff and her wings at full span. Leaping she flew over to him striking him several times with the sword end of the staff. It could not pierce his pelt. Retreating away from his attacks she kept swooping in attacking and running away.
"You hide behind the powers that are not yours. You run away from yourself. You can never defeat me."
"Why did you turn the others against me?" Angel questioned
"Simple, ever since you had beaten me I held a resentment towards you. I had to get my revenge. So I had all the avatars leech all the could away from you. But I took it all and stored you very life energy. Now I have you very life for my own and I will destroy you." He said evilly
"You are a fowl creature."
"Coming from the one who hides behind a mask and refuses to fight for herself."
Angel dropped the staff and took off the armor. She dispelled the magical auras and the rest of the gifts she was given.
"There are you happy now?"
"Yes." He laughed
Jumping through the shadows he materializes behind her pushing her to the floor. He steps on her back pushing a paw down hard keeping her from moving.
"You are such a fool. I shall devour you piece by piece. First your arms then your legs. And I will bite off your head for last." He spoke
He kicked her over. Lying on her back she was completely defenseless.
"I have my answers." Angel spoke softly
A flash came from the ruby on her head. It repelled Fenrir. She got to her feet and stood watching him. The sudden light blinded him.
"Damn you Carbuncle." He hissed
"Angel. While you have this chance, focus all of the energy you dispelled into the ruby." Carbuncle told her
Angel took the basic summoner's stance and collected all the energy she had. The ruby had a mystical glow illuminating the air.
"What are you doing child? Can't you conceit to defeat?" Fenrir yelled
Her left eye shined blue and the ruby flashed. Pointing her face to the sky she shot a beam from the ruby. It struck the clouds and ate away at the dark aura. The light spread across the sky and the darkness withered away. A blue light shined down over the arena. Fenrir freaked. The light bore down on him sapping his strength. Angel grinned at this. She summoned Carbuncle to her side. The two rushed him and attacked. The light around Fenrir weakened him and strengthens Angel and Carbuncle. Quickly they were able to bring Fenrir down. He was retreating from the two. As he was near death Angel stopped Carbuncle. She walked to him showing no malice anymore. She slowly stepped to him and kneeled down to him. He snarled back at her, but she just sat down looking at him.
"Why did you choose to turn them all against me?" Angel asked
"I already told you why!" He spoke
"Yes, but why did you do it? Do you remember when I passed your trial?"
"Yes, you danced and cheered at your victory."
"That is what I did. But what did I say when I won?"
"I… I can't remember."
She saw a slight breaking in his eyes.
"I said before I acquired your talent that if you did not want to be avatar I would release you and I would never bother you again."
He looked at her confused. The rest of Angel's summons came out.
"Its true. After she passed out trials she gave us this offer. We accepted because she was strong enough to pass them." Shiva said
Fenrir closed his eyes.
"I have been a fool." He said
"You have done a horrible thing. However, you can change what will happen." Titan spoke
"The offer still stands." Angel said
"I was so angry I didn't see your true intentions. I only thought of revenge and hatred against you."
Angel crawled over to him and stroked the fur on his head.
"Look I am upset that your actions have lead to this. But there isn't anything I can do now. I can't return to my body. All of my life energy has been taken away. So the only other option for me is to accept death and move on. I only set out on this quest to get my answers and quell this problem." Angel said consolingly.
Fenrir moved to her and stood tall before her.
"You are not dead just yet. I have stored all of your life energy that I have taken. If we can get back to your body we can rejuvenate it."
"I can lead us back to it." Carbuncle said
Angel got up. "Well what are we waiting for?"
"Before we go." Fenrir said
He became a dark aura and fused with Angel again.
"I will give you my power. And your ethereal body will never be harmed again."
Angel regained all of the gifts the avatars gave her but there was something new this time. There was Fenrir standing beside her.
"As long as you are in this form I will be your watchdog. Nothing shall harm you if I am here."
Carbuncle leads them from their plane to the material plane. There invisible they saw the group of people standing around Angel's body.
"Go back to your friends. We will be waiting." Her avatars spoke to her.
"Wait… I think she is breathing again. Ready that spell now."
Chster stood over her body recasting a powerful spell.
"Refresh!" He called out
She twitched.
"Geah…" She breathed in.
She convulsed breathing out dead air. She inhaled deeply and opened her eyes. Blurry vision she tried to see who was around her. She closed her eyes again as she felt herself being lifted into the air. Zanu picked her up and took her to a hospital. She was taken back and looked over by white mages. After test results they were baffled. She was just completely exhausted and needed rest. They could not figure out why she died.
"Well all we can say is just leave her for a few days until she gets up on her own." The doctor said.
"Can we see her?" Zanu asked
"Until she wakes up she should be left alone."
Zanu moves past him and tried for the door but it doesn't move.
"Did you lock this?"
"No…"
The doctor tried to open it but it wouldn't open for him either.
"I'll have to get someone down here to fix the lock I guess."
Inside the room was different. Angel was in the bed asleep. But around her were her avatars filling the room with a magical energy. Titan stood by the door keeping it shut. The others took turns watching over her, as Fenrir stood watchful by the bed feeding Angel her life energy back. For five days they stood by her. On the sixth she woke again. Slowly she got out of bed walked to the door. Opening it there were a few people waiting outside asleep.
"What is going on here?" She said
She tried to step over the sleeping bodied but tripped over the robes she wore. Falling down she landed on Zanu. He woke up, as did the rest from the noise.
"Well well, you've been out for a week and you couldn't get away from me huh?"
"Quiet you." She said
Getting up she looked around to the watching eyes of her friends.
"What?" She asked
"Well you look… healthy."
"Yeah your not thin and scrawny any more." Zanu said
She whipped him in the face with her tail.
"Moving on."
From that day on she joined back up with her friends. They went on many adventures from that day. Over time Angel and Zanu grew close. A little less then a year later they got married. Soon after Angel was with child. For them their lives were perfect. They were enjoying their lives and lived happily ever after.
However this was not the case.
Zanu was carrying a box full of items while Angel was following closely behind him holding the hand of a little mithra. It was almost dusk as they neared their house. Approaching it there was a tall man standing outside waiting for them.
"Umm can I help you?" Zanu asked
"Yes, you can give me your daughter." He said
Zanu dropped the box and took out two katanas.
"I think you should leave and never come back." He said sternly
Angel hid Terra behind her. Zanu took a guarding stance but it didn't matter. The man was so quick it was as if he simply appeared in front of him. Landing a blow so fast Zanu just fell over. He turned to Angel.
"Get out of my way."
She raised her wrist to her mouth and spoke into a green pearl on a bracelet. All she could say before she was knocked yards from Terra was "Help."
The wind was kicked out of her. Trying to focus she was able to bring out Carbuncle to try and guard her. He ran in between Terra and the attacker. It was merely a distraction. It did keep him at bay while Angel cast a strong thunder spell at him. The shock hit him but he only turned to her angrily.
"You foolish mortal. And I was going to let you live."
He drew a sword and kicked her over so she lay on her back. In one strike he plunged the weapon into her chest. It pierced her body and exited into the ground pinning her to the earth. She screamed in horror. The pain surged through her body. But he did not withdraw the weapon. He walked back and dispelled Carbuncle. In her last moment before she passed out from the pain Angel saw the man disappear with her daughter. After she lost consciousness out Zanu recovered from the attack. Getting up she franticly called into the pearl for help. Angel was on the ground with a sword through her and she was bleeding, heavily. Within the next ten minutes several of the groups mages arrived trying to heal her wounds. But before they could treat her properly they had to pull the sword out of her. After several failed attempts they only had one option left. They had to wake Angel and pull her out of the ground with the sword. Zanu tried waking her but she was out. He pinched her face until she grimaced. Her eyes opened, she tried to cry out in pain but blood leaked from her mouth muting her voice.
"Oh no it has pierced one of her lungs." Noxes said
"Listen, we have to get you out of here. It is going to hurt, so please try to help us."
Angel nodded. The mages were casting curing spells to try and ease the pain. They pulled at it while Angel tried to get off the ground but it was still no use.
"That's it." Zanu spoke
He pulled at the sword with all of his might. Angel closed her eyes at the pain from it. To try and get her mind away from it she tried to summon a creature. With all of her strength she was able to call forth Titan. She orders him to remover the sword. Zanu stepped back at the giant avatar placed both hands on the sword. With three sharp tugs it came free. In his hands the sword turned into a bloody paper scroll. Losing her focus she released Titan.
"Angel, we have sword out we can get you some help now." Zanu spoke
At that moment Ginryu arrived on a chocobo. She jumped off of it and ran through the crowd. Pushing through the people she saw Zanu kneeling next to Angel. He was holding one hand while her other was over a bloody wound. She rushed over and moved her hand. Underneath was a horrid cut. It was freely bleeding. With all of her strength Ginryu put her hands of the wound trying to stop the bleeding.
"I'll use the strongest curing spell I know."
She cast and recast the spell several times. But it did not stop the bleeding. After several tries Angel puts a hand on hers.
"Please stop." Angel faintly speaks.
"I'm not going to stop until you get better." She says
"You have to accept that it is my time now. I can't keep out running the reaper."
Ginryu keeps casting. Each time she wears herself out more and more. The wound kept bleeding. Angel just didn't have the will to live anymore.
"I have had to much pain in my life. I just witnessed by own child be taken from me. Please let me go."
"Damnit Angel!" Ginryu cried
"I'm sorry." She said
Angel squeezed at Zanu's hands. Her muscles constricted and she fell limp. Angel blinked once, and then her eyes closed. That day Zanu took Angel's corpse to Bastok. There next to her parent's graves he buried her. Not shedding a tear he just sat and looked. Soon more people gathered around her grave. In mourning they stood watching as the sunset and slowly they walked away.
Months afterward Zanu was out looking for the man who took his daughter. Finding nothing no one had every seen anyone in his resemblance. But he did fin out that a string of kidnappings had taken place over the last year. In the wake of the events the parents were murdered and all that was found her bloody paper scrolls. They only thing any of the attacks had in common were that all the children were accomplished summoners.
He was in Windurst asking around for more information on the matter when a villager came running yelling hysterically about a horde of beastmen approaching the city walls. Zanu went to see when they came crashing through the gates. All of the standing forces that Windurst had were quickly defeated. The army rushed the town killing everything in sight. Everyone who tried to fight back could not hurt the coming forces. He was quick and escaped from danger. Outside he oversaw the destruction of the nation. When the fighting was over all the cities people were dead, but the invading force was nowhere to be seen. Zanu picked up his pearl and spoke.
"We have a serious problem here."
Legal notice. I do not own FFXI. It is property of Square-Enix. All Pc's and NPC's have thier respective owners.
