Chapter 38: The Price

TombRobber opened his eyes in the green glow of thousands of voices, feeling far more different. He blinked, and felt the seven people inside his head blink with him at once. His vision had changed. All his senses had changed. Sounds echoed more. He felt the slightest quiver beneath his feet. He smelled air and tasted it on his tongue. Tasted the sunlight and had to suppress a melting smile. Lian said there was work to be done.

He pull the blacken spike out of his chest slowly, feeling no pain, no pain anywhere, and dropped it. Blood should've flown it its place but he found yellow sap instead. The hole in his chest didn't bridge, but also didn't throb. The millions of voices were ringing in his ears, as well as the seven in his head. They toned the loudness of them down but TombRobber felt the strain of it and wondered how Kaede could take it.

Kaede…

He saw the knife he had used in what felt like another life. Cool and collected, apathy and strangely feeling yet not feeling, he willed the knife to him, watched the roots crack out of the floor and pass in the knife on willing brown branches, willing to please them. He took it lightly and nodded, or rather Lian made him nod. Hikkori made his mouth whistle, loudly, and watched the remaining twigs and things jump to the edge of the blade, making it stronger, faster, sharper, and deadlier.

His hand curled comfortably around the base and held it on his shoulder, not cutting him, as he turned toward the Beast. He saw the boy dodging and blasting with fire, saw him as the brother and not the boy he'd seen before and smiled at him, though the boy wouldn't look. It was a devious and sly smile.

Then he twisted his now gray-white eyes up at the ebony black beast and cried out in the tongue of the Trees. In Mother Earths commanding tongue of all creations made or made from her beings. T.R watched as the other seven eyes in his mind watch the great Monster turn and look down at him, walking and sort of gliding into view from under the base of the apple tree. Staring up at him with white-gray eyes. Flecks a red suddenly blossomed in them.

And the Black Emperor reeled away in terror at the presence of the seven brothers. It's great yellow eyes rolling as TombRobber held up the red pocketknife, held it and watched it change and morph into something grander, wider, watched it melt into the blade of his own sword and watched it twist the weapon with a fiery shine of light. He didn't wait for the Beast.

T.R leapt at it, his coat fluttering much like her cape was fluttering as the beast dodged, and fright glistening in its eyes. It hadn't been the target. T.R felt the sureness of his hands combined with Beore's as he brought the blade down, slicing into the thick dark flesh made of nothing but plants, watched it cave in, heard the beast howl in true pain.

The hand holding Kaede fell, severed from the rest of its body, and realized the girl in its grasp, who now for some reason in Tomb Robber's head, had bits of maroon highlights all in her white hair, as she was released from its dead talons. He scooped her up with one arm as he slashed at the Monster with his sword, as he nimbly fluttered to the ground, branches of the trees softening his fall to a light bounce.

He looked at what appeared to be a sleeping girl in his arms, looked at her for a moment, and kissed her softly on the check before placing her in the safety of the branches. Lian told them to take great care of her and the tree agreed mightily. T.R twisted back to the beast, glaring down at him with yellow sick eyes, hurt and pissed off.

The seven and T.R glared back just as strongly.

They lunged. T.R twisted out of the way of the outstretched claws, like an acrobat in mid air, hooked his hand onto a writhing twisted limp, and flew up into the air for a moment, slashing at the limps that came up from below to pierce him. He sliced mercilessly and fell with the grace of a leaf, inhumanly gentle on the beast, then up into the air again.

The yellow eyes twisted to him to late, and watched the screaming spirit, or rather spirits, point the sword down, down into Its chest, into the wicked deformed thumping heart heard it beat one messed up clunk before the sound of something in far too much pain covered it over it as every surge of magic new or old surged into its heart like electricity. The beast writhed under him in pain. In confusion.

"How-How-How- did you- beat-beat-beat me!" T.R thrusted further down, feeling the seven leaving his mind, job done, feeling the immense pleasure in it. Feeling the horrible pain in his back and not caring. The voices around him fading. Feeling death breathing down his neck and knew it was like how the Fortune Teller had said, and was happy because of it. Something strong and powerful blossomed in his heart and he yelled with the glee only insanity can provide in a man about to die.

"You can't destroy me! I AM THE DARKNESS!"

Watching as the seven opened the black gapping hole of death beneath them. An abyss they'd both drown and die in. Since he was already injured, it would not be long. For the beast, however; well, that was eternity.

And down they went, falling back past the rim of the rip into the black nothingness, taking the King of Thieves down with it. The entire hall filled with his deranged laughter as the dark hole closed, the tips of his coat swallowed down out of view eternally, only to be seen in haunted memories forever more.

Down and down he fell, the beast becoming nothing more than a blotch beneath him. Somehow he was able to ignore that horrible screaming. He held the pocket knife to his chest, feeling the wind ruffling his air in the downward plunge for eternity. It was cool and dark and somehow in the middle of it all he felt right at home. And sleepy.

Strangely very sleepy.

He closed his eyes…

…and found him on the desert dune inside himself. He blinked, letting the sandy wind blow through his white hair. Can feel the warmness of it stroking his skin. His ears perk to a familiar sound, and as he turns, he sees Kaede running toward him. He watches her, his expression softening like never before, as the warmness of the wind finally enters him.

She grabs him in a wild embrace that almost knocking him off his feet. She hugs him tightly, so tightly he wondered how he was breathing, but glad. He feels a bit weak, and leans on her a bit. His shirt is wet with her tears. He's confused by them a bit, but wraps his arms around her soft form, oddly smiling.

"Don't leave me…please." Kaede says muffled into his chest, her eyes streaming tears like fountains. Her forest behind her is slowly taking over that sand around them, slowly expanding as the desert around them diminished, as if the sand was seeping down through an hour glass. He's stroking her back, slowly, getting weaker and weaker, and slouching over her more and more heavily.

"I'm not leaving." He says quietly as she holds him up off he ground. Soon she looses her strength and lowers then down on brown earth that was starting to bud with emerald green. She sits behind him, laying him on the ground so that his shoulders and head where on her lap, looking down at his up turned face, tears falling from her brown eyes, holding him.

"Please." Kaede whispers pleadingly. She does understand what he means. Doesn't comprehend. His hand twitches, put he can't lift it. She lifts it in her pale hands, pale over tan skin, knowing what he was going to do and places it on her check. He's smiling weakly now. Everything's getting dark even here.

"Darkness never dies, Light. I am the darkness. It is impossible to kill me." He whispers so softly, smugly. Kaede manages to crack a smile at how stubborn he is as he feels himself going. Going away. It was somehow a relief. To finally meet this type of darkness that he had been running from for five thousand years. It was strange. He could swear that he could see people in that black. Familiar faces. Faces he was sure he had forgotten. His eyes closed.

Kaede watched the golden orbs of light fly up from his feet, unraveling him like he was nothing more than cloth. She held him tightly to her, ignoring those threads unreeling. Couldn't see them now.

"Please, let me save you." She whispers. Only her voice is left, soft young and afraid in the comforting black. His lips twitch, but forces one last slow smile.

"You already did." He says so quietly she strains to hear it as he disperses, disperses into something like stars, straight out of her hands and around her in the air. His voice is echoing. Echoing endlessly in the heavy forest. Echoing lost in the eaten dessert.

Echoing…

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