Disclaimer: I don't own digimon
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! All I can say is that I haven't quite decided if Matt and Tai make and appearance, but if they do, it probably won't be until sometime near the end.
Katya leapt out of the way of the energy just in time, narrowly missing being hit. Next to her, the others had similar close calls. However, they were all unharmed, for the time being. They had a feeling it wouldn't last for long though.
As Karina let forth another lightning attack, one of the figures behind her released an attack as well. That attack was just pure energy. It intertwined with Karina's attack to create a deadly wall of lightning. There was nowhere for the Guardians to seek cover. They closed their eyes as the attack came closer and braced themselves for impact.
Takeru turned and pulled Katya close, hoping to shield her with his own body. His desire to protect her burned more brightly than anything else, even his own desire to live. He tensed as he felt the energy get closer, desperately wishing that he could do something to stop it.
Rapidly, he tried to reach his Life Force Crystal to get some power. His descent was blocked yet again. However, he would not be deterred. He pushed against that barrier wall with everything he had, not caring about what the consequences might be.
Then, with a shattering sound, the wall gave way and Takeru reached his Crystal. However, he had been pushing against the barrier with such force that he could not completely control his descent. He tumbled past the spheres marking the powers he controlled, and began to feel his mind spiral out of control.
He was on the brink of panicking, but knew that he had to get in control or all would be lost. Tensing even more, he fought desperately to get back up to a safe point in his Crystal and get his mind to stabilize. He could feel the attack getting closer with every passing millisecond, and knew that he didn't have much time.
When the attack was within only a foot or so of them, he realized that he had no more time, and he needed to take a chance. Stabilizing his spiraling mind as best as he could, he released the energy from where he was.
He bit his lip to hold back a cry as the newfound amount of energy ripped through his body, feeling as though it was searing him from the inside. He believed that it was worth it, however, as his energy created a successful barrier, stopping the Abbey's attack cold. He heard the shocked gasps all around him as he called back his energy. He felt so exhausted now, and he leaned against Katya heavily.
"How did you do that!" Karina shrieked as Katya asked the same question quietly.
"You have to break through and spiral," Takeru replied softly to Katya, hoping that she understood.
Apparently, she did, as did the two Elementals behind her, who had overheard. They too closed their eyes and focused on gathering their energy and reaching the blockade separating them from their Crystals. Subconsciously mimicking Takeru's actions, they each pushed against their own barriers with as much force as they could obtain. As the barrier within Takeru had done, the other three barriers shattered.
The three Guardians were then sent spiraling through their Crystals. As soon as they had somewhat steadied themselves, they released a massive wave of energy as well. Opening their eyes again, they were satisfied to see that the members of the Abbey were looking a lot less sure of themselves.
With Takeru standing in front of them, they stared down the Abbey members, power raging through them at an almost deadly pace.
"Your Numbing Stones will not affect us any longer," Takeru stated quietly, Shadow dancing in his eyes and radiating from his body.
"You've lost your advantage," Katya continued.
"The fight will now continue on even ground," Hikari added.
"You'd do well to back out while you still can," Hiroki finished.
To their surprise, one of the figures behind Karina, an old man by the sound of him, laughed.
"In case you've forgotten little children," he started with malice in his voice, "We are not only more experienced and stronger than you are, but you're on our playing field. What makes you believe that you can best us in our own home?"
"Our cause is honorable, unlike yours. We cannot afford to fail, and we will not accept defeat," Hikari answered softly, wind dancing in her eyes.
A younger woman let out a sharp laugh.
"You honestly believe that your willpower will guarantee your victory?"
"That, and this as well," Hiroki replied, smirking as he raised his hand and called forth a river of fire, heading straight for the speaker.
The woman was barely able to dodge it, though she tried to keep her cool. Hikari decided to tip the scales in their favor by intensifying Hiroki's fire with her wind. They sent this combined attack at the woman again, this time succeeding in scorching her robe and part of her arm.
"You see," Hiroki continued softly as he fed the river of fire. "Not only do we have the drive to win, but we have the power to back it up. You cannot succeed in a battle against us, so why do you insist on trying?"
"We have worked too hard for too long to give up to the likes of you," the fourth figure, a young man, snarled. "We will succeed, it is our destiny!"
"And it is our destiny to stop you," Katya stated calmly. "We will give you one last chance to surrender peacefully. What say you?"
"Go to hell," the young man answered, sending a burst of energy their way.
They easily avoided it and stared impassively at the offenders, power still radiating from them, giving them almost god-like appearances.
"We have given you ample opportunity to back away with no consequence, however, since you insist on fighting, we have no choice but to oblige you," Takeru stated softly.
He raised his hand and called upon a great ball of Shadow. Looking each of the members of the Abbey in the eyes, he released his Shadow Energy in a massive wave. The four members of the Abbey raised their hands as well and created a large energy wall to block his Shadow. It just barely worked, as Takeru was still drawing immense power from deep within his Crystal. Lowering their hands when the attack ended, three of the Abbey members looked wary at first, but the old man looked suspiciously confident.
Motioning to his fellows, the old man turned and jumped down from the walkway into the room below. Barely hesitating, the other three followed him. The Guardians watched them with looks of mild interest on their faces before walking to the edge of the walkway and peering down.
There seemed to be nothing special about the room that was below, it was a small room full of books with a couple of chairs. The three Abbey members that had followed the old man stood in the center, keeping a shielded watch on the Guardians above. The old man was pulling a book from one of the shelves. He opened the gray-bound book and began flipping through it.
His actions confused the empowered teenagers; why would he be looking a ta book now of all times? It seemed like an inappropriate move. However, the uncertainty of it made it seem all that more threatening. As the old man continued scanning the pages, Takeru decided that it would be best to stop whatever the Abbey was plotting before they had a chance to put it into action.
Carefully judging distance, Takeru stepped off the walkway ledge and 'rode' his energy to land gracefully on the floor. Katya landed to his left, Hikari and Hiroki to his right. To their surprise, the Abbey members did not seem bothered by their presence at all. It was as if the fight had never taken place and they were not there.
Deciding to remind them that they were indeed fighting, Hiroki raised his hand and shot a ball of fire towards the book that the old man was holding; none in the room even attempted to stop it, it was actually the book that defended itself and its holder. Briefly flashing bright yellow, the book easily deflected Hiroki's attack. The Fire Elemental frowned as he reabsorbed his energy.
The old man, who had until this time been staring intently at the book, raised his eyes to look mockingly at the Guardians. A slight yellow glow still surrounded him and the book. Lifting a hand, the man pointed a finger at the wary Guardians who were unsure what to do. As he muttered something under his breath, the glow brightened again but this time it traveled down his outstretched arm and headed for Hiroki.
Hiroki's eyes widened and he instinctively created a defensive wall of flame. The yellow energy did not seem deterred, though, as it hit the wall of fire hard, and forced its way through. Though some of the power was lost, it still threw Hiroki several feet back into the wall when it hit his mid-section.
"Hiroki!" the three Guardians yelled.
Hikari ran over and dropped down by him as Takeru and Katya turned back to the Abbey members and called upon their energy. However, the old man did not seem fazed by the aura of energy surrounding them. He looked almost apathetic.
"It's over for you now Guardians," he said with a nearly mad-sounding tone. "You should feel proud, though. No one has ever proved enough of a threat for us to need to resort to using these black magic enhancing books. You lot are the first."
"You'll excuse us if we seem less than enthusiastic," Katya growled in reply as she glanced back to where Hiroki was trying to force his bruised body to move.
Calling upon her Light, she released a burst of blinding light, hoping to give Takeru the opportunity to attack. He caught on quickly and when the light cleared, he had called upon an attack of his own and had moved within just a foot or two of the woman whose name he did not know. She recoiled in surprise, but was not fast enough to avoid a direct hit of Shadow Energy. She was thrown backwards and sent crashing into the young man behind her. Both of them fell to the ground.
The old man reacted quickly for a person of his age and he called upon another spell from the black magic enhancing book. Takeru tried to dodge, but was hit hard in the side. He hit a bookcase on the wall with a sickening thud.
Katya went into a rage at seeing her lover hurt. She called upon all of the Light Energy that she could muster and directed it at the book in the man's hands. The man smirked as the book once again set up a shield. However, the force of Katya's attack was so great that it caused the shield to begin to crumble. The man's eyes widened as the shield broke and he braced himself for the attack's impact. Unfortunately for the Guardians, it had taken so much energy for the attack to break the barrier that there was virtually no strength left. It simply dissipated right in front of the old man, not harming him at all.
Even though he had been unharmed, the old man had finally realized that they were in a great deal of trouble, especially if more than one of the Guardians attacked at once. They needed more power. Rapidly looking around for a source, his gaze rested on the man and woman still on the ground. The man was checking the woman's injuries while she simply laid there, obviously in pain.
"Nukai," the old man called.
The younger man looked over. Taking advantage of the man's apparent lack of focus, Katya darted over to help Takeru up. Not far away, both Hikari and Hiroki were standing again, watching the old man with slight confusion, wondering what he was up to.
"Her stone Nukai, get her stone!" the old man ordered as he worked on trying to uphold another shield.
Nukai's eyes widened and darted back down to the young woman lying down, looking up at him with a pleading gaze. He couldn't take her stone, she had been such a loyal friend...he couldn't.
"Now Nukai, unless you want us to lose and be eliminated!"
Insides already knotted up, he thought over what the man had just said. It was clear that they needed more power; the Guardians, who for some reason or another weren't attacking presently, could wipe them out with a single massive blow if they so wished. All that they had worked so hard for would be destroyed, centuries of work would be gone like that. He couldn't let that happen; he couldn't let his weak emotions conflict with victory. Victory was the only thing that mattered, or so he had been told all his life, friends were nothing but setbacks.
Looking down at the woman one more time, he stared deep into her eyes, hoping that she would understand that it was for the good of them all.
"I'm sorry Nadiay," he whispered quietly as he wrapped his hands around the gray/green Shadow Stone on the metal choker around her neck.
Nadiay's eyes widened but before she could say or do anything, Nukai had ripped the stone, choker and all, off of her neck roughly. She let out an agonizing scream as her now-uncontrollable power surged through her veins, bursting them instantly.
The Guardians watched in horror as the woman convulsed on the floor and began coughing up blood and choking on it. With a last muffled, hoarse scream, her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell still, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth.
Nukai, who had turned away from the sight and pretended that it hadn't been happening, threw Nadiay's stone almost carelessly to the old man. The old man then placed the stone in the middle of a page in the book and chanted a strange spell. The book glowed violently bright and absorbed the stone. The Guardians could feel the new amount of power radiating from the book.
"You monsters!" Hikari growled. "How could you kill one of your own just like that and act like it was nothing?"
"Her sacrifice was for the greater good," Karina stated almost airily. "It was what she would have wanted."
"Nobody wants to die!" Hiroki exclaimed. "And certainly not like that."
"Who are you to pass judgement?" Nukai asked quietly. "Who are you to say that your cause is right and ours is wrong? What right have you to make those kinds of decisions?"
"We are the Guardians," Katya protested. "We are here to protect those on Hiata from oppressors like you."
"The Guardians have that right? Don't make me laugh," Nukai continued, still quiet. "You say your cause is great, but do you have proof? Do you have proof that we are evil? In the end, it really comes down to your word against ours."
"We are clearly right," Hiroki defended. "I mean, you just killed another member of your Abbey for more power!"
"You kill too!" Nukai shot back. "Or have you forgotten? You claim that because we use force to achieve otherwise unreachable goals that we are wrong, but you use force as well. You bring pain and suffering wherever you go, though it may not be apparent at the time. If we are evil, than you are the same, if not worse."
The Guardians stared at him, speechless. Was it possible...was he right? No, they did what was best for Hiata...didn't they? It wasn't their fault that many people wanted them dead, and therefore sometimes attacked the villages that they went to...was it? After all, they protected the villages from attacks...attacks brought on by their presence.
"Enough words, it's time for action," the old man cried as he opened another page in the book.
He only muttered a few words before the violent glow of the book returned. The energy swirled overhead of the three remaining top Abbey members, gaining power all the time. The old man raised his hand and the energy automatically swirled around and above it. Then, he lowered his hand so that it pointed to the Guardians. Flashing brightly once more, the energy surged towards them, disintegrating everything in its path.
Instinctively, Takeru created a Shadow dome to help protect them, knowing that it would not be enough on its own. Seeming to be thinking the same thing, Hiroki created a dome of Fire to reinforce Takeru's dome. This was followed by a Wind dome, and finally a Light dome. Only seconds later, the energy hit.
It pushed hard against Takeru's dome, trying to find even the slightest weakness. Inside the core of the four domes, Takeru was having a hard time maintaining his Shadow. It seemed like the energy from the book was draining away all of his power bit by bit. Soon, he couldn't take the immense barrage of power anymore and his shield shattered. He sank to his knees, breathing heavily and trying not to pass out altogether.
The energy had moved on to Hiroki's shield now. While a fair amount of its energy had been used up on breaking the Shadow shield, it was still extremely powerful. Draining Hiroki's power as it had Takeru's, the energy waited impatiently for the boy to give up his futile struggle. It took only a few minutes until Hiroki sank next to Takeru.
Easily breaking through the Fire shield, the energy found itself facing a Wind shield next. Every time it would get close, the wind would repel it. However, the old man wasn't ready to quit yet. He ordered the slightly depleted energy to attack with all of its might. Ramming against the barrier of Wind persistently, the energy slowly began draining Hikari's power. But, because it was weaker, it wasn't draining the energy as quickly, which allowed Hikari to drain some of its energy. However, a few minutes later, Hikari too was overwhelmed and she collapsed next to the two boys. It was all up to Katya now.
Katya braced herself as the energy rammed against her shield next. She was glad to see that it was much weaker than it had originally been, thanks to the layers of powerful shields that it had to go through. She now only needed to hold it off until the others regained some of their strength; she hoped she could. After the barrage had been going on for a few moments, Katya began to feel slightly light-headed, due to lack of energy. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up, and none of the others looked like they were in any condition to fight.
Still kneeling on the ground, Takeru was desperately wishing that he had some of that blood tonic right now. Looking up at Katya, he could easily tell that her energy was about to give out; when they happened they would all be dead unless some miracle saved them.
He inwardly cursed, he was the leader, he was supposed to protect them! Instead, he had been the first to go down. He wasn't suited to be a leader. However, as he watched Katya, he realized that now was not the time to be arguing with himself about such things. He needed to take action.
Forcing himself up, he walked behind her and held onto her arms, supporting her if she needed it. Apparently she did, as she leaned against him heavily. She kept her shield up strong, though. Leaning over slightly, Takeru whispered a plan into her ear. It was a long shot, he knew, but it might be their only shot.
Nodding in agreement with his plan, Katya allowed him to help her collapse onto the floor. For Takeru's plan to work, she needed to hold her shield for just a couple seconds longer. Moving as quickly as he could, Takeru gathered the two Elementals so that the four of them were in a tight circle. As he whispered his plan to them, they nodded as well.
Creating a small ball of potent Shadow energy, he gave the signal to Katya, who immediately shrank her Light dome so that it covered just them. She left a little Light energy right next to the book's energy. Instantaneously, Takeru shot his Shadow energy at Katya's Light energy. Then, he and the other two Guardians quickly reinforced Katya's dome.
When the Shadow energy hit the Light energy, there was a massive explosion that drew the book's energy into its core. The energy was quickly overtaken and destroyed. The shockwaves from the explosion traveled throughout the small room and, if not for the book's shield, would have destroyed the remaining Abbey members.
As they let their shields down for the moment, the Guardians noticed that the shockwaves had actually blown a hole in the ceiling of the room, revealing a light gray sky. They also noticed the old man preparing another energy attack.
"Come on," Takeru called, changing into his true form, "Let's take this outside."
Nodding, the other Guardians changed as well and followed him out of the hole in the ceiling.
"Don't let them escape!" the old man cried angrily.
He, Karina, and Nukai quickly flew out of the building after them. They found the Guardians hovering above a plain not far away, wolves, lionesses, and two great birds surrounding them. Narrowing her eyes, Karina raised her hand and called in her dragon. It appeared rapidly and she settled herself on it. Next to her, Nukai called his snake and the old man called both Nadiay's bear and his panther.
It would have seemed like the Guardians had the advantage, if it hadn't been for the sudden mass of Abbey followers who were pouring out of the building. Each had at least one Spirit Animal or Shadow Beast. They were all relatively weak alone, Takeru sensed, but their was strength in numbers. And speaking of strength, his was waning fast. If they hoped to succeed, this victory would have to be swift, something that didn't seem quite possible at the moment. However, they knew they had to try.
When the old man released another wave of the book's energy, the Guardians were able to dodge, thanks to the great expanse of the sky. Unfortunately for them, the book's energy was not like a normal attack and it swung around for a second try at hitting them.
They were able to dodge again, but it turned and came for another shot. It quickly became clear that it would not stop until it had hit something. Deciding to take a risk, Hiroki flew in front of the energy, trying to become the target. It seemed to work as the energy changed its course slightly when he moved. He then flew as fast as he could, leading it along, hoping to distract it enough so that it wouldn't notice where they were heading.
After a few moments of the cat-and-mouse game, Hiroki decided to try his luck. He quickly flew down towards the ranks of Abbey followers, easily dodging or blocking their weak attacks. Looking back to make sure that the energy was still following him, he dove at the ground, pulling up at the last second and darting around the various Abbey members on the ground. Looking back again, he saw that his plan had worked, the energy had attacked the Abbey population instead of him, and had killed a dozen or so.
Suddenly, Nukai's words came rushing back into his mind. 'You kill too! Or have you forgotten?'
Hiroki stared down at the bodies of the Abbey members. Was Nukai right about them? No...couldn't be...the Guardians hated to kill, but sometimes it was a necessary evil. Wasn't it?
He didn't have any more time to think as a shriek from above caught his attention. Moving his gaze upward quickly, he saw that Fury was currently grappling with Karina's dragon and, while he didn't seem to be losing, he didn't seem to be winning either.
Next to the phoenix, Takeru was trying to fight the old man, Katya was going against Karina, and Hikari was trying to defeat Nukai. The wolves, lionesses, and Whisper were busy battling the ground troops. They all seemed to be losing. Darting up quickly, Hiroki flew to Hikari's aid first.
Right before he arrived, Nukai had charged Hikari again, this time land an attack squarely in her stomach. She fell backwards in the sky for a few yards before she caught herself. She doubled over, clutching her injured mid-section and trying to recover her breath.
Fire burning in his eyes, Hiroki attacked Nukai furiously, throwing Fireball after Fireball. Nukai nimbly dodged the attacks and countered with energy bursts of his own. Hiroki was just able to dodge those. He darted in close to Nukai and pulled back his fist, planning to land a punch in the elder man's gut.
However, before he had the chance, Nukai had his left arm in a vice grip. The elder man twisted Hiroki's arm without mercy until the younger teen was writhing in silent agony, though he would not let it show. He hissed as he heard a bone pop in his wrist. Suddenly, the man placed his other hand against Hiroki's torso and fired a sharp energy blast, sending him flying into Hikari. They both fell several more yards before steadying themselves.
Looking through a pain-filled haze, Hiroki saw Nukai descending towards them slowly. Behind Nukai, Hiroki could make out the figures of Takeru and Katya. They seemed to be in worse shape than the Elementals, and had no more energy. However, the Mages would not give up their futile struggle. When they were struck down again, they hovered in the air, as the Elementals were.
The Guardians knew that they had to think of something fast, but nothing came to mind. As the old man descended on the two Mages, Takeru pushed Katya behind him with painful movements. Katya buried her head on Takeru's shoulder and waited for the death blow. Takeru simply stared up at the man, ready to meet death again if he had to. It wouldn't be so bad for him, he liked the darkness, it was Katya he was concerned for.
He couldn't help but flinch as the man gathered another energy burst and pointed it at his head. He could feel the energy radiating off of the man's hand, which was mere inches away. As more energy was gathered, Takeru instinctively closed his eyes. He tensed as he felt that the energy had been released. However, it never hit him.
Snapping his eyes open again, he saw a strange angel-like creature in front of them holding a golden shield and a sword. Apparently, the angel had been able to use the obviously magical golden shield to stop the attack.
"Are you alright my Lord and Lady?" he asked quietly, not taking his eyes off of the baffled Abbey members.
Takeru nodded as he painfully rose, pulling Katya up with him. "Who are you, angel?" he asked softly, watching the Abbey members as well.
"I am Lejio a member of the Caelon."
"The Caelon? Karina shrieked, startling the others. "But, you're extinct!"
"Clearly not," Lejio replied cooly. "We are all around you."
Looking around, Katya saw that this was true. There were seven other angels clustered around the battlefield. It appeared that one had saved Hiroki and Hikari from Nukai.
"You have no business here," the old man snarled. "Leave now or we shall ravage your peoples and exterminate you for good. Would you risk your species very existence simply to help the Guardians?"
Lejio remained stoic. "It is our duty to aid the Guardians, and we intend to fulfill that duty, no matter the cost."
"Fools," Karina spat. "In coming here, you have signed the warrant for your destruction. You have even left the gateway to your Paradise open. What, do you wish to die?"
"If it will save the Guardians and Hiata, than it makes no difference to us," Lejio replied sharply as he quickly leapt forward, sword raised.
Karina called upon a burst of lightning to stop him. He fell back slightly, winded, but immediately attacked again. The other Caelon followed his lead, all having about the same result. As this was happening, the Guardians were rapidly trying to gather their strength. They hated having to let others fight for them while they did nothing, but with as little energy as they currently had, they would probably just be in the way. They needed a few more minutes to conserve enough to be useful.
However, Karina didn't seem willing to give anyone a few minutes. With a wave of her hand, she sent her dragon, as well as several other flying creatures, towards the light in the sky that marked the entrance to the Caelon's Paradise. Hikari watched with horror from the other side of the battlefield, mental images of the Caelon children flashing through her mind.
"Takeru, Katya!" she called desperately to the Mages, who happened to be much closer to the portal than she and Hiroki were.
The two Mages looked over sharply.
"Children! There are children in that Paradise!"
Eyes widened, Takeru looked back over to where the dragons, birds, and bats were closing in on the portal. Knowing that he couldn't simply stand by and watch, he darted quickly in that direction, Katya followed close behind. They weren't sure what they could do with their limited energy and resources, but they had to do something or those children would be dead.
Flying fast, they gained rapidly on the Shadow Beasts and Spirit Animals. However, they weren't fast enough, as the beasts and animals were able to reach the portal. With a small flash of light, they disappeared. The two Mages followed quickly.
Many yards away, the two Elementals watched them grimly. They hoped their friends would be able to help the children. They themselves had to worry about helping the Caelon here. Satisfied that they had gathered enough energy to be of some use, they darted from behind Galeo and launched a surprise attack on Nukai. It succeeded in knocking him back and burning his skin a little, but not much else. However, Carlion took advantage of Nukai's momentary lack of defense to leap forward with a sword.
It seemed like a sure strike for the Caelon and a sure end to Nukai. But, things are not always what they seem. Right before the blade hit, Nukai dodged and grabbed Carlion's wrist, yanking the sword from him. In one fluid movement, Nukai flipped the sword around and drove it deep into Carlion's stomach.
"Carlion!" Hikari cried out in horror as the angel looked down at his wound in shock. Then, he simply fell backwards, landing heavily on the ground.
"You won't get away with this!" Lexia screamed as she saw her dear friend fall.
She pulled a dagger out of her belt and charged Nukai from behind while Galeo attacked from the front. Moving swiftly, Nukai caught Lexia's neck and pried the dagger from her hand. Spinning, he drove the dagger into Galeo's neck. The angel let out a choking sound before falling to lie next to his companion.
"Murderer!" Hikari shrieked as she latched onto Nukai's back and wrapped her arms around his throat. Meantime, Hiroki had grabbed Nukai's arm and was trying to get him to release his hold on Lexia.
Nukai did in fact release his hold on Lexia, and his hand shot up with lightning speed to snarl a fistful of Hikari's hair. He pulled hard, trying to dislodge her. She cried out in pain, but wouldn't relinquish her grip. Looking around frantically for a weapon, as he was currently out of Fire power, Hiroki spotted a dagger on the ground. Swooping down, he grabbed it and darted back up towards Nukai and Hikari. His blood boiled as he saw the blood running down Hikari's face from where Nukai had managed to land a few hits.
Mind clouded with rage, Hiroki continued to move swiftly and silently towards the two.
On Nukai's back, Hikari was just able to keep her hold. It was becoming more difficult, though, as Nukai was beginning to land more and more hits. She wouldn't let go though, this bastard needed to pay for killing her friends! She tensed as Nukai's fist came up once again and was about to connect painfully with her temple.
Suddenly, right before impact, Nukai stopped cold. Hikari felt him shudder and convulse a few times. Looking slightly down, she saw that Hiroki had managed to land a knife in Nukai's gut. She had never seen Hiroki's face so twisted with hate, but she didn't blame him. Roughly pushing away from Nukai, she flew down to Hiroki.
Any brief words they might have exchanged were cut off by an agonizing scream. Turning their heads sharply, they saw Tahia clutching at her chest. With horror, they noticed the immense amount of blood leaking from underneath her hands. As her comrades had done before her, she fell to the ground with a sickening thud as Karina watched on in amusement.
With a howl of rage, Lejio charged Karina, only to be met with the same fate as Tahia. Rushing over, the two Elementals tried to reach the others before any more died. They were not destined to succeed, however, as Diea was cut down by the old man just seconds before they reached the battle field. Now the only Caelon left were Yushio and Pumio.
Hikari and Hiroki stood a little in front of the two Caelon, wanting to protect this already nearly-extinct species from total annihilation. However, Yushio and Pumio didn't seem to want to be protected as they drew their daggers and charged from behind the two Guardians calling out battle cries, wanting to avenge their kin.
"No, wait!" Hiroki yelled, trying to catch them and stop them from completing this suicidal attack.
He was just within range of reaching Yushio when the two Caelon were hit by both lightning and the book's energy. They never stood a chance.
Hiroki was pushed back by the force of the energy, but he still saw the horrific frozen faces of the last of the adult Caelon as they fell to the ground. He knew he would never forget their open-eyed haunting stares.
"Looks like it's just us now," Karina purred quietly. "Though, soon there'll be two less players."
As she raised her hand and quickly gathered lightning for an attack, Hikari and Hiroki glanced up at the entrance to Paradise, hoping against hope that the Mages had been able to come out on top, though they had minimal energy and no Shadow Beasts or weapons. They turned back to Karina, almost completely wiped out, and tensed, waiting yet again for the end.
/o-o/
Once they had passed through the portal to Paradise, the two Mages were momentarily stunned by the beauty. It was just so...perfect. It's name suited it perfectly. They cut their awe short as they heard some childrens' cries to the left.
Darting in-between the many trees all around, they followed the cries. Seconds later, they emerged in another grove and saw what had caused the screams. The beasts and animals, led by Karina's dragon, were rampaging this fair grove that was currently filled with children.
The stomachs of the two Guardians tuned over as they saw that several bodies of children of all ages already littered the ground. Their eyes were open and their faces were contorted in fear and pain. Their wings were soaked with blood, making their dead skin seem even more pale. Takeru turned away from the sight quickly. Then, he noticed that Karina's dragon was preparing to launch another attack.
Anger flowing through his veins, he sped towards the beast, Katya close behind. Pulling his hand back, he called upon what Shadow energy he could. Next to him, Katya called on her Light energy. Sending his Shadow energy to surround the dragon, he moved out of the way so that Katya could fire her Light energy.
As soon as the two energies came into contact, an explosion resulted, killing some of the weaker beasts and animals around the dragon, however, Karina's dragon seemed to be only mildly affected. Luckily, all of the Caelon children had been far away enough that none were injured.
The attack did achieve some level of success, though, as the dragon turned its attention away from the children and towards them. As a result, all of the other beasts and animals stopped their current attacks.
Landing on the ground, Takeru rested on one knee, trying to regain some energy, Katya was beside him. They didn't have much time to recuperate before Karina's dragon opened its mouth and sent a burst of Lightning towards them.
They jumped up and out of the way only to be met by a couple of large raven-type beasts. Dodging the sharp claws, the Mages almost didn't notice that Karina's dragon had sent another attack their way. Continuing to battle with the ravens until the last possible moment, the Mages leapt out of the way and let the large birds take the hit. They were destroyed instantly.
The dragon wasted no time in attacking again. The Mages dodged and began to charge the dragon again when they suddenly heard some terrified cries from behind them. Turning, they realized with horror that the attack they had dodged had hit a cluster of trees that the children were taking cover in. Thick branches were falling, instantly killing some of the young ones who were not able to move.
Changing course sharply, they flew as quickly as they could, wanting to save as many children as possible. Swooping down so that he was inches above the ground, Takeru grabbed two children, a boy and a girl, who had been about to get crushed. He winced as the sharp branch that would have hit them instead cut into his right wing. Ignoring it, he noticed that Katya had also picked up two young ones.
Setting the children down gently near the ones who had been able to get away by themselves, they flew back to the cluster of trees, searching for anymore survivors. What they found nearly made them vomit. The crushed bodies of a dozen or more children lay sprawled out, their blood soaking the ground. The only consolation was that they must have died instantly.
There was no time for the Mages to grieve, however, as another Lightning attack was sent their way. Dodging it again, they flew towards the army of beasts and animals, rage consuming them. Swiping sharp stones off of the ground, they seemed to almost go berserk, stabbing the stones into each beast and animal they encountered. It didn't matter to them that they weren't supposed to be able to kill Spirit Animals, all that mattered was getting revenge. That seemed to be enough, though, as even Spirit Animals died at their touch. It also didn't hurt that the dragon kept shooting Lightning into its own ranks.
It took them less than ten minutes to decimate the ranks of beasts and animals from a few dozen to just a few. It was amazing what a little blood rage could do. They felt no regret because, as far as they were concerned, the beasts and animals deserved it for killing those helpless children.
They had just finished off a group of weaker dragons, when Karina's dragon let loose another attack, this one headed for another area in the grove. Takeru gasped in shock and horror...it was heading straight for where the remaining children were hiding! They couldn't let it hit!
"No!" he cried somewhat weakly as he took off for top speed towards the attack.
Katya was confused at first, not having the ability to sense the presence of others, but she quickly caught on. A shocked look came over her face and she immediately followed Takeru as quickly as she could.
Takeru continued to try to catch up to the front of the attack. The rational part of his mind told him that he didn't have a chance, but he was not about to give up. He was so close, just a few more yards and he could do something to stop it, even if that something was taking the hit himself. Closer and closer he got, just one more yard. But, before he could get any closer, he began to fall behind. He hadn't noticed until then, but his wing had been more heavily damaged than he had previously thought and it was now inhibiting his ability to fly.
However, he still wasn't going to give up. Pushing the pain out of his mind, he forced his wing to work. He began to gain on the energy again. He was so close, he could almost touch the front of it. But, he wasn't close enough. With absolute horror, he and Katya watched as the attack blasted through the childrens' hiding place..
When it was over, Takeru desperately sent out a mental probe, searching for any survivors. He found none. Beside him, Katya was watching him anxiously, hoping for a good sign. Sighing deeply, he shook his head slightly. Katya's mouth hung open slightly, unbelieving, and a tear slipped down her cheek. All those children...those innocent children...they had died because of Karina and her damn dragon. They had to pay!
Grabbing another sharp stone, Katya spun around and charged the dragon, tears still in her eyes. Takeru turned too and followed her, grabbing his own sharp stone.
Letting out a cry of rage and sorrow, Katya dodged the dragon's attacks, getting closer and closer. It seemed as though she was even more berserk than before. Raising her hand high, she drove the stone into the dragon's fleshy neck, creating a large river of blood flowing down the body. The dragon began to wheeze and gag. However, when Takeru moved in and struck, it fell completely silent and collapsed to the side, blood still flowing from its neck.
Now slightly covered in blood, the two Mages turned their attentions to the remaining beasts and animals. They met very little resistance, and had killed the rest of the group swiftly in just a moment or two.
Dropping the blood covered rocks on the ground, they fell to their hands and knees. Silent tears of frustration and anger ran down their cheeks. After taking a minute or two to get a hold of themselves again, they flew back towards the portal leading from Paradise to Hiata. They tried not to look back at the bloody grove.
When they passed through the portal, the first thing they saw was the last two Caelons falling to the ground and Karina preparing to attack the Elementals. They noticed that the old man hadn't noticed them yet. This could be their best chance.
Still reeling from what had happened in the Caelon's Paradise, they swooped to the ground, flying low to be unnoticed. As they flew, they each grabbed a dagger from one of the fallen soldiers. They tried not to be fazed when they flew past the dead Caelon.
When they were just a bit past where the old man and Karina were, they darted upwards sharply, intent on killing both of the Abbey members. Usually, they would rather just capture them and not kill, but they were too consumed by the need for revenge for the Caelon warriors and children to think like that.
Coming up behind the old man quickly from behind, they plunged their daggers into his back, killing him instantly. The book fell harmlessly to the ground. The Elementals used this distraction to attack Karina, tackling her, all three of them landing on the ground. The Mages joined them and they surrounded the Fate Mage. They all raised their hands, about to call upon their meager amounts of energy to complete the revenge when Karina lowered her hands and looked up at them.
"Mercy," she stated calmly.
Hiroki faltered and lowered his hand slightly. "What?"
"I am asking you for mercy," Karina restated sincerely. "I am out numbered, out matched, and heave no way of protecting myself because it seems that my not-so-loyal ward, Tejuku, has abandoned me. Therefore, I beg mercy from the great Guardians."
Katya, Hikari, and Hiroki all looked to Takeru for the answer. While they all wanted to kill her, Takeru would make the final decision. Internally, Takeru was fighting with himself. It was Karina's dragon under Karina's orders who had killed the Caelon children. And it was Karina who had ordered Tejuku to try to kill them several times over. Yet...to kill someone who was helpless and had begged for mercy...even if that someone was Karina...well, that would make them just as bad as Karina. The killing they had done before was all necessary, those beings had been direct threats to Hiata...but Karina was a threat to no one now.
Sighing slightly, Takeru stared Karina in the eyes. "There has been enough killing today so we will let you live, but you shall be stripped of your power so that you may never harm another person again."
Karina remained silent, just staring up at him.
The four raised their hands again and instinctively delved inside the mind of Karina and searched for her energy. It didn't take long to find its peak, the long part was finding its bottom. They were extremely relieved to find that she had no Crystal, it would make it so much harder if she did.
Making sure not to kill her, though they were tempted to be careless, they drained her power, absorbing it themselves before dispersing it into the atmosphere; none of them wanted to keep any of it. After a few minutes, Karina's well of power was dry.
Returning completely to their own bodies, they saw that Karina had collapsed from lack of energy. She was still breathing though...unfortunately, Hiroki thought bitterly.
They looked up sharply as it suddenly began to rain heavily, washing all of the blood and dirt away. It was as if Hiata itself was crying for the loss of its Caelon...its angels.
As the rain continued to fall, the Guardians became acutely aware of their exhaustion. Reverting back to their human forms, they swayed and collapsed almost as one. The last conscious images in their minds were the dead faces of all of the Caelon. They knew it was one sight they would never forget, no matter how much they wanted to.