Disclaimer: I do not own Rebirth or its characters, but Serena, etc. are created and owned by me.

Fallen Angel

Chapter 14

Desh jumped out of the way of another blast of wind and power. He was panting and his clothing was torn up (A.N. Desh is a vampire, so while the tears in his clothing show; the already healed wounds do not). He was losing, badly. 'Rett's not faring much better,' he noted. His friend was bloody, head to foot, and very little of it was the bird-man's blood. He tried to dodge again. He was too slow. He let out a grunt as he hit the ground among the rubble of the partially decimated building. He didn't get up right away. 'I don't think the world should be spinning this way,' he thought in a half-daze. He could only watch as Rett was also thrown down like a rag doll. The enemy descended until his feet brushed the ground, his wings still flapping strongly. He wasn't tired.

"Maybe if you tell where you are hiding the princess, I shall spare you," the bird-man stated.

Rett responded sarcastically, "Sure you'll spare us." While Rett spoke, Desh had picked himself up and was moving behind their attacker. Rett continued, "If I had a dollar for every time I fell for that..." The man was angered by Rett's statement.

'A little longer, Rett. Just keep distracting him a little longer,' Desh thought as he continued to creep behind the winged man. Rett continued to argue with him. Desh chose that moment to lunge...

And found himself hung upside down as the man grabbed his leg as he dodged. The winged man said, "Did you really think I would fall for that, vampire? I could feel you behind me. Oh well...I guess I shall have too—" The man broke off as an old I-beam from the rubble smacked into his head with the help of the wind. He dropped Desh, who fell on Rett. The being was struck with a black fireball. 'Remi!' he thought. He recognized the fire from the incident in Manhattan.

"What the hell..." Rett said as Desh rolled of him. Desh saw him spot Remi. Rett yelled, "WHAT THE HELL!"

Desh didn't think now was the time for answering questions. He pulled Rett back onto his feet, giving him his broadsword back. Desh said, "Oh shut up."

"What do you mean 'shut up'! Did you even SEE her!"

"Yeah, I found out a while ago."

"But Desh..."

BANG!

Their assailant struck the ground with bone crushing force. He back up. 'Damn. How strong is this bird son of a bitch!'

The man said, "Well, well, well, I guess I underestimated you...princess. The Priests told me you would be weak after reclaiming your powers. I suppose this means they were wrong, but even that won't stop me from killing you!" He spread his wings, ready again for flight. Rett yelled, "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DOES HE MEAN!"

"SHUT UP RETT!" Desh shouted back as he made a lunge for the still grounded Draconian. The man jumped out of reach. He looked highly amused and it was pissing Desh off.

"I take it this means that you didn't know, human? You didn't know that little Reminsha was not human or a princess?" He turned to Remi. "Tisk, tisk, princess. You haven't been truthful with your companions. You really should have told them more. It might have kept them alive...or maybe not." He began to laugh. 'He's out of his fucking mind,' Desh thought as Remi shouted, "BE SILENT, ZANETAR! I could have killed you all those years ago, but I didn't, for Uncle's sake, but I will not hesitate this time!" He laughed. She lunged at him and missed. As she passed him, Zanetar kneed her in the stomach, sending her spinning in the air.

"Did you really think I would have challenged you with out additional training, Reminsha? I will not make that mistake again. Plus, the Priests want you dead as well. No one wants a human half-breed next in line for the throne, you know. So, they gave me a little...power boost, if you will." As he said it, he continued to pummel Remi, also drawing a blade. He made cuts on her arms, stomach, and legs. They were all shallow, meant to bleed and cause pain, but not to kill. He paused long enough to pull an amulet out of his shirt. Desh watched the blood drain from Remi's face.

The wind picked up as Zanetar again began glowing with light green light. Rett and he backed up slightly. 'Shit,' he thought as he stood next to Rett. "This is not good," his friend said. Desh responded with a lot of sarcasm, "No shit Sherlock."

To Desh's great surprise, Remi landed in front of them. 'Is she...shielding us...?' He never got the chance to tell her get the hell out of the way.

BOOM!

He heard Remi let out a small gasp of pain as she called the wind, using it to shield them from the insane Draconian's tornado. She said, "Run! I'm not sure how long I can hold this for!"

"NOT A CHANCE!" Rett yelled. 'My thoughts exactly.' Desh had no intention of leaving the girl to fight this lunatic. Remi didn't give them any room to argue. She spoke calmly, with a lot of strain evident in her voice, "NOW! Just go! Find Serry and tell her what happened!" She turned her attention back to Zanetar's tornado. Desh watched as her shield got thinner and thinner. Rett shook his head, and then nodded. He turned and ran, limping slightly. Desh hesitated, saying, "But the barrier..." He was trying to find a reasonable excuse to stay.

"It's down!" she assured him.

"But..."

"Desh, please, just go! It's the only way. He won't kill me immediately! That is not true for you! If you can get Serry, I can be saved, but if you both die here, we all die by his hand! Besides, you still have something left to do here!" She had abandoned her shield, readying herself for an offensive tactic. Even with her bleeding and panting, Desh couldn't argue with her logic. 'Damn her! Why does she have to sound so goddamn reasonable!' He turned to run, but stopped, remembering, 'What the hell am I doing! I can help her!' He came back and stood shoulder to shoulder with her. She looked up at him with surprise.

I told you to leave, Desh! Her mind voice was weak and tired sounding. He sent back, Created a whirlwind. I can use it to amplify my own attack. It might stop him. Her eyes widened slightly as she nodded. They turned together. Remi began to give off a black and silver light. The wind whipped in a tight spiral around them. She also added lighting and water from puddles on the battlefield. He turned his concentration inward. He heard Zanetar taunt, "How pathetic princess! You have to rely on a vampire to beat me!"

Desh began to chant, "Born in darkness, living in darkness, till death in darkness! The six brothers in shadow, I command you, by your unholy oaths, open the gates to this world and destroy my enemy!" He could feel the power building as he summoned. Remi twisted the air to her will, forming a huge tornado pointing strait at Zanetar. He released the energy down the tunnel of wind as he cried, "Demon's Baptism!"

Their combined attack brought the Draconian down with an echoing explosion. He wasted no time in rushing over to finish the kill. Remi wasn't far behind him, tired as she was. He was about to sent the crazy bastard to hell when Remi put a hand on his arm, a silent request to stop. 'Why would she want to save him! He almost killed h—'

She said, "Let me do it." He watched as she pulled a short knife out of her belt. 'Oh. In that case...' he thought as he stepped aside. She rolled them man on his back and then yanked him upright, so that he was on his knees. He looked barely conscious. Remi put the knife to his throat and teased out the chain of his amulet. "Who?" she questioned.

Zanetar shook his head. "I don't know what you mean..." he whispered hoarsely.

"Who did you have to kill? Whose life went into making this disgusting charm!"

Zanetar shook his head again. "I don't know...they told me to find you, bleed you a little, and then bring you back...I wasn't given details..." He broke of as Remi's grip tightened. 'She looks...sad, almost,' Desh observed.

Remi looked the man in the eye saying, "Do you want to do? Or shall I?" Desh thought he was going crazy himself. Remi's voice had become gentle. 'What the hell...? What is going on?' Zanetar also looked at her with surprise saying, "I wouldn't have thought you..." He stopped.

Remi knelt in front of him. "I am only giving you the choice because, despite all you've done, you're still my younger cousin. I knew you before you became what you are, and for that I will let you choose." Her voice was still gentle, as if she spoke to a child. 'Her cousin? Her younger cousin? But he looks older than she is, by several years.'

Zanetar stared at her in wonderment. "Cousin...thank you...but you defeated me, and it is your right to finish it. You know our laws." Remi gave a small nod. She stood and slipped behind her cousin. She laid the blade against his neck. She said quietly, "I will make it quick. You feel nothing. May the Darkness embrace you, cousin, and may we meet again in a better world." She kissed the top of his head. Desh was again reminded of a child. Remi slit his throat with one, fast flick of her wrist. Zanetar was dead before he hit the ground.

"We should leave now," Desh said quietly. She shook her head 'no.'

"I have to do one more thing." She touched the body lightly and it sprang into flames. "Draconians are never buried. We are creatures of the air, and we always cremate our dead, casting their ashes to the air."

"He was your younger cousin? He doesn't look like it." Desh watched her. He had a feeling her would have to carrier her back to the Guardians complex. She answered, "Pure Draconians mature faster. He was younger than me by about a year." He was about to ask another question but she silenced him with a pleading look. She called her back her wings. 'I'm gonna have to ask about that little trick later.'

They were walking back down the alley that led into the former battlefield, leaving the burning corpse behind. 'What happened to Rett?' Desh wondered.

Remi found him lying sprawled in the alley, hidden by some discarded boxes. She knelt down next to him. "It looks like the backlash from our attack got him too," she said. She frowned as she bent over him. "He doesn't look so good." She put a hand on Rett's forehead and silvery black light surrounded them both. Desh watched in amazement as she healed his friend. 'She can heal as well!' The light faded. Two things happened at once, Remi swayed and fell back, and both he and Rett lunged to catch her. All three of them ended up in a heap on the ground. While the two men were trying to disentangle themselves from the unconscious girl, Asher found them. He took one look at them and bent down to examine Remi. Asher said, "Let's head back. We need to talk before the others report in." He nodded to Desh. Desh picked up Remi and Asher pulled Rett to his feet. They headed back. 'This is going to be one messed up conversation.' He had no idea how they were going to explain this to Rett quietly. Desh came to one conclusion. 'Somebody up there must hate me,' he thought darkly as he followed Asher. He thought of Millenear and Serry's reaction to Remi's condition. He winced inwardly. 'Somebody must really hate me. I bet that's it...'