Thank you, cat of the shadows! I will! I hope I have with this next chapter. Enjoy, y'all!
Chapter 8: The Battle of Notre Dame pt. 2: The Toss-Around of Trust
While all this commotion was going on, Tobias took a small group of his priests and snuck into the cathedral. They tied up the archdeacon and ran up the spiral staircase that would take them to the bell tower.
Meanwhile, Daniel had left Merlina with the gypsy grandma and was helping Marie create defenses consisting of boulders, catapults, and molten lead (what did they use in the movie?) that poured from the gargoyle's mouths.
"Yeah!" they cheered.
"Tres magnifique!" said Marie. (French students, please correct me.)
"Daniel," the grandmother approached him, "You must take your sister and run. There is a rope hanging out. I will show you." He followed her back to the room.
"Are they coming?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered. He scooped Lina up, bowed, and grabbed the rope and climbed higher. Marie stood in front of her grandmother with the dagger Daniel had given her. Grandma was shocked!
"You would do murder in the holy church?" she asked. Marie narrowed her eyes, still facing forward as the group came nearer.
"No," she answered, pressing the dagger upright against herself with the handle on her stomach and the blade in the middle of her chest, "I will not shed blood tonight." The priests burst in just then and charged her.
"NO!" she yelled shortly at the top of her lungs. Her yell shot a wave of energy at them and knocked them back, but not unconscious. Tobias was surprised, but didn't show it in his ever-calm voice.
"Volume 10?" he asked nonchalantly.
"How did you know?" she asked back, baffled.
"Ceres fans always recognize each other," he answered.
"Then you'll know," she triumphantly proclaimed, "that as Aya was under Toya's special protection while they were apart, so are we under Daniel's. He's not my boyfriend, so don't get any ideas; but my grandma and I saved his life, and with this dagger he repaid his debt!" Then she paused with humorous realization.
"You're a Ceres fan?" she giggled.
"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" he blushed, "COME ON!" He and his group ran out of the room, leaving Marie and her grandma unharmed. Like a true Ceres fan, he knew better than to mess with the dagger's power when it's in the possession of its protectee (if that's even a word). Marie smiled at Grandma.
"'Too much Ceres,'huh?" she joked. Grandma chuckled.
Meanwhile, Daniel carried Merlina (still out cold) down a marble, pillared hall with the dusky twilight of the outside on both sides. He ran all the way to the end. Below him lay the lava-like substance on the ground while the battle raged on. He could see Star's green starbolts and Cyborg's blue sonic blasts. But there was nowhere for him to go, and Tobias was quickly approaching with his group!
"Stop right there!" they were yelling, "Give us the witch!" Daniel turned his head and saw them, then looked down again, breathing hard. Thinking desperately, he turned around to face them and jumped on the side of the pillar on his right, grabbing around it with his right hand. He put his feet on it, too, (in a sort of squatting position) and with his left hand (music stops) he held Merlina over the edge by her right wrist. The group stopped short, unwilling to believe what they were seeing. It was profound silence, except for the wind whipping through Daniel's baggy white pants, through his sleeveless shirt and shining blond hair, while Lina's chestnut hair acted as if to tear itself off her head and her skirt made whip-like movements. The camera panned from Merlina's wrist in Daniel's fist, along his arm, and stopped at his face, set with meaning and determination, to say nothing of the unmitigated gall with which he graced Tobias.
"I'll do it, too," he dangerously threatened in a slow, sure voice. The group panted from running.
"Dangling your own sister in the air?" Tobias said, "You sure you want that on your soul?"
"My soul is my business," Daniel barked, "Besides, what do you care? You just want her dead, right? (He held her up higher.) I drop her, she's dead."
"Nice try, daredevil," Tobias said, "but I'm the one who hunted her down for so long, who stalked her life, who desired her against my calling. It is my mission, my sin, and she is the key to my repentance. Besides, (he smirked) you don't have the guts to drop your own flesh and blood to her death. You're bluffing." (Gear up for a monologue, everybody!)
"Maybe I am," Daniel countered, "Maybe I don't have the guts. But let me tell you something, 'priest.' Merlina and I share a bond of siblinghood unlike any other. Our lives are woven together in the tapestry of the world. What we have is stronger than the hardest steel, clearer than the most flawless diamond, purer than the whitest snow, and more enduring than the human spirit. My sister trusts me more than anyone with her life. I would never let her die, but she once told me that if there ever came a day when she had to die, that she'd rather it be by the hand of someone she loves than someone evil, like you." He paused.
"And I am prepared," he raised his voice and considerably, "to grant her wish, if it will save her from YOU!" Tobias wavered. Daniel meant it! He was willing to put his own sister to death to save her from him! What was worse, he would have been doing her a favor! She'd be happy! Tobias quickly recovered his sarcasm and asked, "Is that all you have to say?" as if he hadn't heard him. (Someone slap that child, please!)
"No," Daniel answered, "I have but one word left." He jumped back on the floor, still holding Lina's wrist. He moved a little away from next to the pillar.
"STARFIRE!" he bellowed as, at the same time, he swung Lina around and flung her over the edge! Tobias' priests ran next to Daniel and saw Lina plummeting hundreds of feet. Daniel was emotionless as he watched his only sister plunge toward a scalding demise.
From Tobias' perspective, Daniel ducked to the floor before a green starbeam shot diagonally up, knocking Tobias' priests in their heads and unconscious. Some of them even fell off the edge.
Daniel stood, facing Tobias triumphantly.
"What was that?" Tobias had to ask.
"I'm not the only one she trusts," said Daniel, "I never said I was." And behind him rose Starfire with Lina in her arms and her eyes glowing.
"You never planned that, did you?" said Tobias.
"Of course not," Daniel answered, "She could have fallen to her death, or this could have happened. It's a matter of trust. I took a risk throwing her off, because we have friends we love and trust." He turned his head to Star.
"Get her out of here, Star," he asked, "I'm counting on you." Starfire beamed and shot a starbolt from her hand, blinding Tobias with smoke. Then she gracefully flew downward. (Her bolt was to create a diversion for Daniel, as we will later see)
"ROBIN!" she shouted, "CATCH!" Robin looked up as Star flew over him and dropped the witch into his arms and landed near him, fighting more people.
"Star!" he said urgently, "Get me behind the cathedral!" Starfire picked him up and flew him through the chaos behind the church, where it was surprisingly quiet. The two Titans knelt down. Lina's manacles had shattered from Daniel's outburst of light.
"Merlina," Star quietly said as she took Lina's right hand in both of hers, "It is us, your friends! You are safe now!" Presently, Merlina stirred and woke up. She looked as tired as she felt.
"Star," she softly said, "Robin! You guys are okay! Where is everyone? And what's all that fighting I hear?" As they helped her up, Robin explained, "The others are fighting Tobias' priests, and so are the townspeople."
"Where's Daniel?" she asked in a sudden panic.
"Your brother is fighting Tobias," Star gently answered, "They are...inside the cathedral." Lina paled.
"We have to help him!" she said as she started to run.
"Lina, listen," Robin held her back, "You're not in any condition to fight anyone right now."
"I'm in good enough condition to kill Tobias!" Lina's anger had returned something fierce. Somehow, she didn't feel so tired anymore.
Author's Review:
Okay, so we've got people fighting evil teenagers, Tobias reads soap opera-type mangas, and Daniel is about to beat the B.S. out of him! Not a bad plot, I say! How do ya like them apples, readers? Popcorn? I'll give you some if you review me...
Oh, and this'll be the last time we see Marie and Grandma. LET'S GET SOME REVIEWS HERE, PEOPLE! You're bumming me out! (puppy pout )
As far as the trust thing goes, if any of you are confused: Daniel said Lina trusts her more than anyone else; he didn't say, however, that he was the only one she trusted. Aye, there's the rub, in the words of Hamlet. (wink!) REVIEW, PLEASE!