Disclaimer: Um…I've been repeating for like…ever. But whatever, I shall say it once more though it pains me. John Constantine isn't mine! Neither is Midnite for that matter…sheash.
A/N: I know this chapter is long, but I couldn't help it! Please remember to leave a review y'all, thanks!
Chapter 7: Release
John Constantine, Michael, Midnite, and Jaegon watched General Akassi and
Jave walk a little ways. Constantine made sure that his gun was fully loaded for this, just in case this old King wasn't as honorable as he said to be.
Akassi bent down, swiping a hand full of dirt. He held the clawed hand up to his cracked lips and blew, the dust whisked into the air.
John watched, glancing at Michael. He had the fear that the General was making another army. "What is he doing?" Jaegon asked as the dirt whirled into a circle surrounding Jave and the General.
"Just watch." Midnite whispered.
The surrounding dirt twisted into head-high spiked bars. "A gate." John muttered. "Just great."
General Akassi gave a devious smile, revealing ugly teeth again. "This insures that you'll go no where."
Not wanting to show unease, Jave hunched into a low position, ready to leap or flip from an attack. John noticed that she balanced on her toes. Jaegon smiled, noticing the exorcist's stare. "She has great balance. If Jave were to stay on her hills or flat-footed, she wouldn't be able to move from side to side all that well."
John only nodded. It seemed strange to him that an angel knew how to battle so well. "Alright, ready?" He heard Jave say.
General Akassi drew a long silver gleaming sword. It wasn't rusty like his warriors. "Yes…" He hissed, beginning to maneuver his large body around into a circle with Jave. They both looked for each other's weakness as their movements were slow.
"You're good for an angel." Akassi sneered.
Jave smiled her green eyes glancing down to his feet every few slow ticking seconds. "And you move well for a dead man."
He chuckled, mixing it with a low growl and jumped toward Jave. The angel's grey wings appeared and she flew back. He smirked. "Ah. You use resources well."
Jave frowned. "Meaning?" She was unsure of just what the General was testing for. Was it surely her use of resources or was it reflexes?
General Akassi only smiled. John sighed. "Are they going to keep talking?"
"It's intimidation. They are only trying to make light of the situation." Michael answered.
"They both fear another death. After this, they cannot return." Midnite added.
"Delaying death?" John muttered. He knew all about fearing death as well as wanting it delayed.
"What would you do John?" Midnite asked, keeping an eye on the fight. Constantine said nothing, he wasn't sure. Wanting Blair back seemed enough, but dying in a battle wouldn't help at all.
Jave launched for the General and he jerked his head back. The half-angel quickly noted that was his very weakness and he'd keep that most guarded. Before John's eyes, Jave rapidly stepped at Akassi and he swung his sword out, only to meet air. The half-angel had dropped to the ground; quickly bringing her arm blade up, attempting to cut the General's arm off. She only slashed it, his brownish-green blood dripping onto her dirt tinged shoulder.
Growling, General Akassi cocked his arm back and slammed his fist across Jave's cheek before she could pull herself from the ground. Just before the half-angel could hit the ground, the warrior thrust his fist up into her chin, the blow lifting her from her feet.
What the General lacked in speed, he surely made up in strength. John could feel Jaegon jump from each blow the dead General lay against her sister. He heard her knuckles crack as she subconsciously curled her fingers into a fist. He caught Michael's few glances at Jaegon. Even Midnite seemed to be aware of Jaegon's growing anger.
John's dark eyes turned back to Jave as she coughed up blood on all fours. The General stood back, watching with no mercy in those red eyes. "Get up." He growled. The half-angel slowly got to her feet, the left side of her face was already turning a deep red, a bruise forming, but she felt no pain.
"Fight me; I know you have more than you care to show. Now give me a good battle!" General Akassi sneered.
Jave only shook her head just a little. "What is she doing?" Jaegon asked, her voice threaded with panic.
"I don't know." Michael whispered, the muscles in his crossed arms tensed. "JAVE! FIGHT!" he commanded.
The half-angel never took her eyes from the General. She said nothing as she kicked into the air, her grey wings spreading. Akassi dropped to one knee, quickly blowing dirt across the ground, the gate bars grew higher with each level the angel went into the air. "What is she doing!" Jave asked, grabbing Michael's shoulder.
His blue eyes followed Jave. "Just watch, have faith." Without warning, Jave kicked off of a bar, her body angled for the ground. General Akassi got to his feet, John seeing him draw something from the inside of his boot.
"JAVE, HE HAS A DAGGER!" Constantine yelled as the half-angel flew through the air. She punched her right hand through the air, a knife appearing at her wrist from her arm guard. The General's eyes widened as she launched her knifed fist for his head. He was barely able to jerk his head to the side as Jave drove her small dagger into the side of his throat. At that same moment, the gates came crashing down back to head level and his own rusty bladed dagger stabbed into her collarbone.
Jave looked into General Akassi's red eyes as she was still suspended in the air by wings. He slightly smiled. "Almost…got me."
Jave gave him her sly smile. "Gotcha." She took her free hand and smashed another hidden dagger into the side of his head. General Akassi growled and yelled into the air, his red eyes darkening.
Jaegon smiled and gleefully shrilled. John cringed at the sound, never wanting to hear it again. A scream quickly covered that shrill as Jave fell to the ground, convulsing. Michael ran to the gates, jumping over the bars before they all could even reach them.
The wind picked up, General Akassi's body was slowly but surely deteriorating into the wind. Jave's body movements ended just as Michael's body was blown back against the gate bars. The gate crashed to the ground as dirt and Michael's body fell back. Midnite quickly caught him underneath the shoulders.
"Thanks." Michael breathed as he stood. Midnite nodded in response. A sharp, low laughed entered the air as a stone carved throne appeared just beside Jave's. The throne itself was plain, but obviously old and used. In that throne sat a sickly pale woman who's long stringy grey hair spread around her. Black eyes stared at them all as clawed nails rapped against the stoned throne.
Jaegon was on her knees, crying. No one had noticed at first as their attention had been taken by the woman sitting in the chair. Michael let Jaegon stay that way as he spoke first. "Queen…Irkalla…"
She smiled. The only problem was, the smile seemed so wicked and grotesque. Her skin sculpted her skull, showing a skeleton underneath, veins weaved underneath that skin, pulsing. "Bow." Irkalla said. Michael sighed, getting to his knees, looking at the ground. "Everyone." She slowly said, her evil eyes falling on Constantine.
Midnite got to one knee as John was the only one standing. He only raised his eyebrow while holding his golden cross gun. "So brave." Irkalla whispered. Without out John seeing the movement, Irkalla stretched her clawed hand, pain piercing Constantine's head. Dark, painful memories rushed his mind, agony pulsing through every muscle in his body. He yelled, dropping his gun to hold his head, wanting the pulsing pain to end. "So stupid!" She whispered across his mind. "BOW!"
Without wanting to, John dropped to both knees, clawing at the ground, the pain in his body not giving up. "Irkalla, please! He knows no better!" Michael yelled. Without warning, the torture left Constantine, he panted as he glared at the rocks beneath him.
Irkalla laughed, her bony shoulders moving with the expressed amusement. "Then that is my way of teaching him what he does not know."
"Shit!" John whispered as he slowly looked up, getting to his knees. Irkalla only smiled even more. He recognized her eyes, even if they did burn red in his dreams. Those nails, the skin…in his dreams, she took Blair. She took the screaming child from him, but he felt too weak to move, none-the-less say anything.
"You get more of that if you do not do as I tell you to." Her black eyes shifted to Michael's. "What do you want angel?"
Michael stood and sighed. "Are you aware that Hell is moving against you?"
Irkalla was silent for a long moment. "How did you receive this information?"
"I have my sources just as you have yours." Michael answered. John could hear Jaegon's sniffles as Midnite tried to comfort her. More tears would only roll down her cheeks as she looked at her sister's lifeless body. "You must do something or your limbo will be torn from shred to shred."
A slow corrupted smile came to Irkalla's bony face. "Why have you warned me? Isn't it better to let Hell and I battle while your God controls Earth?"
Michael sighed. "Hell won't think that way. Lucifer has so many minions that he can fight us both. God would rather have you as a neutral, seeing that you're not too involved in this war."
She tapped her sharp nails against the throne. "How are you led to believe that I and Nergal am still not neutral Michael? I have nothing to win or lose in this war, therefore, I do not battle. This is a wage of war between God and Lucifer."
"I am thinking that Hell wants to rule everything Irkalla. They want you out of this. You have the best warriors and kings, they want those men."
"That is what Hell wants, but that does not change what I do. Answer me, how are you led to believe that I am not neutral?"
"I was attacked by a demon a few days ago." Michael said.
Irkalla cut in. "Demons are in Hell."
"Please let me finish." Irkalla slowly nodded. The archangel continued. "Well, a warrior or something that you usually keep on this plane attacked me while I was sent for John."
John coughed and got to his feet, not feeling that pain anymore, but the fear of feeling it again still hung over him. He never felt anything like it before. Midnite had pulled Jaegon to her feet with his arm around her for support. Her forehead touched his shoulder, so she was looking at the rocky grounds.
Irkalla smiled. "Hell can disguise what they want very well. I send no one from this place Michael, even you know that. I believe that Hell has tried to make me your enemy. I have no reason to leave my neutrality." Again, her eyes drifted to John. "Why is the exorcist here?"
Michael looked at John and was about to answer for him, but John spoke up with a slightly cracked voice. "Blair…my daughter--" Constantine stopped speaking when he saw a gleam in the woman's eyes. "Balthazar took her."
Irkalla cackled, thunder rolling across the across the sky. Everyone turned at the sound of crunched rocks underneath feet. "Daddy!" Blair came running. John gasped at seeing the girl. He ran for her, stretching his arms to scoop the girl up. Her jumper was covered in dirt and old blood of where she was stabbed by the arrow.
"JOHN! NO!" Michael yelled.
Midnite grabbed Michael's wrist. "No. Do not stop him."
John wrapped his arms around Blair, holding her tightly to him as he rose to his feet. Joy filled Constantine's hair as his daughter's arms wrapped around his neck. He didn't realize how much he missed that feeling. Blair began to cry on his shoulder.
"I wanna go, I wanna go daddy, please," Blair kept muttering through the cries. John felt around her neck, feeling the secured chain of her necklace.
"Shh…we'll leave soon." Constantine said, he hand lightly rubbing her back in reassurance.
Michael looked mad and confused all at once. "Is she Blair? Irkalla, his true daughter?"
Irkalla nodded. "Hell lies to you all. I snatched the child just before they truly could. So they only went off a lie so that you could some how defeat me. I knew of Hell's plans. I always do." She laughed to herself. "Asking mortals to kill me, what a sure sign that Hell is losing."
Michael frowned, always believing that God's side had been losing this whole time. Irkalla's eyes rolled from John's to Michael's blue ones again. "Next time you attempt a murder, make sure your mark is dead. You were lucky Michael. Your child is healed Constantine. A change of clothes would do her a bit of good though."
John was confused. Was the Queen of the Underworld being kind? Isn't that impossible? Michael motioned toward Jave. "Is Jave dead?"
Irkalla looked at the unmoving half-angel which laid next to her and smiled, the devious gleam returning to her black eyes. "Poisoned, yes, dead? Not yet." Jaegon gasped at that, shivers coursing through her body.
"Poisoned? How?" Midnite asked, entering the conversation.
"Ah, Midnite. You specialize in this area, correct? Witchdoctor." She whispered. "I doubt you've heard of the Poison of the Dead. Only my underworld is known to make and use it. Our rusted blades wear the poison and as you saw, this angel was stabbed by a rusted dagger. Depending on her heart, she will live or die."
"What do you mean!" Michael asked with his eyes widening.
"If she wishes to live, her soul will come to me. If she respects life itself, she will die and go where she is meant, which I assume that is heaven. How do you think I receive so many powerful kings and warriors? They all wish for life in the afterlife, so I give it to them, though they are to serve me forever."
"Who are you to play God?" Michael growled.
Irkalla rose from her throne, lightening striking not too far from them all. "And who is your God to decide who lives or die? Lucifer may not have that control, but your God is not the only one who chooses who goes and what not." Irkalla hissed with rage. "What is god who lets his half-angel get poisoned? Who is god that lets his people suffer? How is a god to be chosen?"
Michael only glared in return. "God is chosen from the people's beliefs and faith. God let's his people suffer so they can realize what brings them through the trouble. His people choose to suffer and when that suffering ends and if they still love God and hold faith, they are able to enter his kingdom."
Irkalla flicked her dark fork tongue out in a hiss. "Leave me. Take your angel and hope your witchdoctor can find his antidote. I am done being considerate. Leave my kingdom before I choose to keep you here."
Michael nodded. Jaegon tried to run to retrieve her sister, but the archangel blocked her with his muscular arm. "I'll get her." Irkalla and her throne was gone by the time Michael looked back for her and Jave.
He quickly picked Jave up carefully and returned everyone to earth, confused about what just happened. Irkalla was nice….that wasn't fitting for the Queen of the Underworld.
Review Reponses:
fanficgeek: lol, sorry about putting it out late. I do the best I can. I think I suck at the fight scenes! Those are the hardest for me…
Karilee Kamicat: lol, same to you! I try to get them up as soon as possible. Haha, cliffhangers, they are a drag, but hey, I didn't want to make the chapter any longer, and truth be told, I didn't know what kind of battle scene I wanted at the moment!
HiddenOperaAngel: To answer your question, I went back and skimmed through the chapter last chapter. I think I know what you're talking about. "Shit," he muttered. "How many?" Is that what the part you're talking about? Constantine said that, I should've said that he did….my bad. I try my best not to let the angels cuss (though it was hard because I wanted Jave to say the f word at one point…). And I agree about it being hard to find good stories these days! Though I do find some every once and a while! Thanks!