Forgotten XIV

Disclaimer: Kyou Kara Maou does not belong to me and I make no money from this work of fanfiction at all.

Pairings: Wolfram and Yuuri, others mentioned

A/N: Here we go; last chapter and an epilogue. Afterwards, the silly mpreg. I hope. Feed the author, she's had a bad couple of days. I hope the previous chapter made sense… On a random note I am an evil bitch. Shoot me, please.

Shinou looked out at the Mazoku army encamped before Blood Pledge Castle. It was magnificent sight; stretched for miles across the landscape.

The Original King watched them with melancholy eyes, lost in thought.

"Do you truly plan on getting Yuuri back?" a voice said behind him, and Shinou turned to look at Conrad Weller.

His eyes drifted over the man's clean lines and spare build, smiling absently. The Weller strain always seemed to breed true.

Of course, when he had first met Lawrence Weller, he had thought he was very much like his older brother instead of the reverse.

"Yes, I do, Weller-kyo," he murmured, turning back to view the army in the early morning light.

"Forgive me, Shinou-heika," Conrad said, choosing his words carefully. Shinou was only half listening. He could remember, in his own distant past, what it had been like to take orders from the taller man. He remembered a child's adoration for his older brother…

Conrad had pledged himself to the Original King without knowing who he had been. He could remember Weller's rage when Julia had died and taken that soul to the other world…

"It seems to me, with all this build up, that you mean to kill him after all."

"No, no I don't plan to kill him," the Original King murmured. "I never planned to kill him. The Sovereign can destroy armies easily… That is why I will be fighting him."

The sharp gasp from his side told him that the possibility that had never occurred to Weller.

"That surprises you?" Shinou asked, a very Wolfram smirk lighting his face. "I believe I had bested your ancestor more than once, dear Weller."

Conrad's face was wide and open, for the first time in years, and the part of Shinou who was still Wolfram was happy to see a real expression. That false smile had been painful to see.

Shinou turned away. He felt so old; so very, very old and worn.

"You had told Yuuri that you would sacrifice yourself, your body and your life to save him." The soldier nodded, tentatively.

"Would you allow others to make the same sacrifice?" he asked absently, looking down at the fingers he had regained.

That morning had dawned clear and cold when Conrad had gone to make the final preparations for the army to head out.

He had been going through the encampment when he had spotted Shinou grooming his horse- as much watching the army as paying attention to Wolfram's palomino.

This was the soul of the man who had founded their country, the man who had guided the Demon Tribe for thousands of years. This was the man who had chosen Yuuri to be their leader, knowing full well who he had been and who he would become.

This was the man who was asking a very uncomfortable question.

"I am a soldier," he replied, shifting his weight. "I can be a very cold hearted person when it comes to Yuuri's life. However, it would depend on the person." His brothers, his mother- could he sacrifice them? If he said yes, what did that say about him?

"I should expect no less," Shinou answered. "I believe I have had such a discussion before, with a man who looked a great deal like you." His smile was gently ironic, and Conrad looked away. Those old expressions on that young face made him queasy.

Conrad shifted his weight. "Why did you give me an arm? Why did you want me to hide the boxes then change your mind?"

"I had many reasons when it came to your arm," he paused. "And one of the reasons was because I wanted to change the future. I had long come to the conclusion that it is an impossible task, no matter who you are; though I had to try one more time. Yet losing you would have made Yuuri sad." Shinou sighed heavily, bowing under a horrible weight. "And that is something I do not think I could bear again."

Conrad blinked at him, remembering bits of the conversation with the Great Sage at Adelbert's camp, seemingly a lifetime ago.

"Maybe I wanted to give you back your arm, because you looked so wrong without one," Shinou went on, his voice distant and thoughtful. "And because I could. If my own brother was hurt, I would save him, even if it was a foolish thing to wish." The blond smiled up at him… A smile so filled with regret… Conrad had the sudden impulse to gather the man in his arms and comfort him like he had with Wolfram as a child.

It was the face- Wolfram's face- he told himself.

"I recall you asking Yuuri if he believed in time."

Conrad opened his mouth, then shut it and nodded.

"It brings our greatest joys and sorrows, and no matter what I've tried, I cannot change its flow. Oh, moving back and forth through it is no problem… You may not believe this, Weller-kyo, but I have been many different things in my time. I have been a brat, a warrior, a homeless vagabond, a vassal to a great lord, a lover, a hero and a king. The roles I have cherished the most were husband and father. Time has taken all of these from me, Weller-kyo. Yet I would not change what happened."

"Why are you telling me this?" Conrad asked. He felt confused- seeing this man as a living person was disquieting.

"So that someday, you might understand," the Original King answered. "I cannot ask you to forgive me. I took Julia away from you. I will end up taking your brother as well."

The sound of horse interrupted their conversation; the Great Sage had arrived, sliding awkwardly off the saddle- Shinou's expression immediately turned to wry humor, leaving Conrad feeling cold and in the dark.

"Four thousand years and you still can't ride?" Shinou quipped, and Murata stuck out his tongue.

"I'm not like some people I could name, with more muscles than brains."

"Don't insult Seigbert like that."

"I never! Insulting Gwendal's ancestor-"

"Hm. I was defending him."

How two ancient souls could insult each other like school children was something that always surprised Conrad- despite that they had been doing it since yesterday.

"I have all the girls from the Palace out," the dark haired young man said, once the ribbing was over. "Ulrike should be here any time now."

Conrad blinked. "But she's forbidden to leave without-"

"Shinou's permission?" the Original King finished, tone mild. "If I get to stretch my legs after four thousand years, so can she."

Conrad promptly shut up.

He was going in the right direction. Yuuri didn't know how he knew that, but he did.

Yuuri shivered. All of the villages in the area were now abandoned- empty of all those who might be his victims. The dark monster inside him snarled at being thwarted, but Yuuri was grateful.

The despair and helplessness he'd felt when he'd watched as his own hand had begun the attack- he had struggled, fighting back with everything he'd had. The Sovereign had staggered, before collecting himself…

Then he felt the dark joy of destruction.

Now it was time. The Sovereign had been whispering soft words of reassurance. The lesser things did not need to exist. Revel in the sight of the destruction. All that would make it complete would be the death of a mortal… Then it would be final. There would be no turning back.

Who was he now? Yuuri didn't know. The Sovereign's voice sounded so much like his own… The blood of the animal he'd eaten for dinner was so tasty, but he really hadn't liked having to kill it… He loved the sight of the fire as it leapt up to meet the sky but it was destroying the homes others worked so hard to build…

This was the only way left to him now, because he had hurt Wolfram. He had no choice to but destroy this world.

Yet it was not his nature to take lives or destroy…

Yet the flames were so pretty…

The army moved out at noon- ponderously, but Yuuri was not more than a few hours' ride away. It included the medics, the troops trained in rescue, and, oddly enough, almost all the priestesses in Shinou's Palace; including Ulrike.

Murata shook his head, before guiding his horse next to Wolfram's.

Wolfram; he could remember so clearly the night that a drunken Shinou had asked him to call him by his name, because he was so sick of not having one.

That was so long ago now.

The group that had gathered together at the head of the army included Murata and Shinou, Ulrike was riding in a nearby carriage, and Conrad, Yozak and Gwendal rode next to one another.

"There's been something that's been bothering me," Yozak started, guiding his horse to ride next to Murata. "Why is it that Shinou is the one who has to fight the Sovereign? You told us how the kid let out that evil spirit, force, whatever. But how was Shinou able to stop it?"

Murata snickered. Everyone had been coming to him with questions, because he was a tad more approachable than the Original Maou. Not that he could blame them- for the past four thousand years, Shinou had been a legend. They had known Murata Ken the goofy teenager (who had his Sage moments) for months now.

"In the legend of the Holy Seal and the thing that was inside it- there was an opposing force. To summon it, Shinou had to make a pact with all four elements. So, he did, after the world had nearly gone kaput. He put it off because he didn't want to kill the person who became Yuuri." He cast a sharp look over at Shinou who was still staring fixedly at his horse's ears. "He finally did, when it became apparent we couldn't defeat him with our own strength." Murata's voice dropped. "We summoned it, and we fought him back… I was afraid we would lose Shinou for a while…"

Shinou grunted, and Yozak wondered why he was suddenly so grumpy.

"He rejected it afterwards, once the battle was done. That was all the contract was for…"

Shinou sighed. "Not entirely. Things like that never completely die."

Murata could feel Yozak's eyes on him when he stiffened and the blood drained from his face.

"How long can you keep control?"

"Long enough."

He hated this. He hated that Shinou would let this happen- without regard for those who loved him.

He hated that he had a very good idea of what Shinou was going to do…

Yuuri's fingers played over the blade of Holy Sword, smiling faintly when it bit one of his fingers.

Alford would let them know his location; he could tell he was there now, where he needed to be.

Too bad he'd had to leave him alive to do it. The boy had been foolish enough to try to stop him from attacking an abandoned village.

He had been convinced once that the Maou was evil. Yuuri had thought they had become friends; why would his friend attack him? Foolish person, he knew Yuuri wasn't evil.

Too bad he was still alive. It was necessary and-

(He didn't want to kill a friend)

"How are you here?" Conrad asked abruptly, settling beside the Original King as they paused to rest and water the horses.

"Well, you see, your mother decided she wanted another child very badly…"

Conrad did not appreciate the humor. He did not appreciate that the Original King had taken Morgif, nor did he appreciate that the Original King was wearing Wolfram's body like his own.

He noticed that Yozak was watching them closely with a strange expression on his face.

"Please, Shinou-heika," he said, with utmost politeness. The Old King sighed softly.

"Wolfram made a contract with me- he would do whatever was necessary to bring back Yuuri, whatever the cost. To defeat the Sovereign here and now and to even hope of getting him back, I had to possess him."

"How?"

"I have a very old claim on Wolfram- the first request, when I healed Yuuri. I touched him rather deeply in order to do that." He left the rest to Conrad's imagination.

"Where is Wolfram now?" Murata was, as usual, the one who brought up the more unpleasant questions.

"He took my place inside the Seal."

Murata hissed. "Shinou, you didn't!"

"He could not have handled the power- he is too young and immature. Even if he had been the one chosen to wield it," Shinou said, giving Murata a warning look. "He would have burned out in hours."

"And you're going to burn out in days," Murata answered scathingly. "You can't keep control for much longer."

"I won't need to," Shinou pointed out- before a cry went up from Gunter and Gisela. A bloody, battered figure staggered to them.

"Alford!" Conrad gasped. Blood had soaked through the young hero's clothes and one of his eyes was swollen shut. He fell to his knees, coughing up blood.

Yozak got to him first.

"Kiddo- what happened?" he asked, bracing him. Gisela got to him a moment later, carrying her bag of medical supplies.

"Ma-Maou," the human gasped, hacking up more blood. Gisela frowned, and shook her head, before she began to apply her powers. It was all the young man could say before he passed out.

"So… he has the Holy Sword," Shinou said softly, one hand clutching the hilt of Morgif. "It will be over soon."

Murata wanted to stay with the others tending Alford, but when he noticed that Shinou was not staying with them, he decided to follow behind.

He found him preparing the troops to move.

"It was no accident that Alford survived," Murata said when Shinou was done giving orders. The king nodded.

"Alford was just meant to tell us we're going in the right direction."

Murata sighed at the emphatic statement from the old king.

"I am worried about you," he whispered. "If you have to fight him and you don't go all out, he could win. That is something that cannot happen. As much as we love Shibuya- we have to take into account that this is the world. Not just Shibuya is at stake here."

"Old friend," Shinou said sadly, standing up. "There will not be a world if Shibuya is not here to heal it. We had to kill him then- but what worth is a world where we have to kill a good man in order to survive? I've had to live four thousand years as a ghost. A disembodied spirit who watched as the world changed, and all the good we'd done in the past was eroded away. I've often thought that had we managed to save him, the world would have healed and made a new future, a world where Humans and Demons could live as kin. We truly are not so different."

"You've changed," whispered a soft voice, and both Shinou and Murata turned Yozak. The red haired man's eyes were sad. "Do you think you can save the kid?"

Shinou smiled, and sighed. "I do. But even more… Even if I was not certain of the outcome, I don't want to live in a world without Yuuri's hope in it."

Murata inhaled. "You don't mean-"

"Daikenja, it is almost time. I need you to coordinate the ladies. You'll feel it the moment you need to act. I think everyone will be all right here," Shinou said quietly. "I'll leave-"

"I'm going with you," Murata snapped, then lowered his voice.

"Me too- kiddo, even if you are the Original King, you need more people with you than that."

"I don't want my brothers to see this," Shinou said quietly, and Murata knew he was speaking as Wolfram. "They love Yuuri, and to see him as a monster…"

"You don't want them to see you either kill Yuuri, or Yuuri kill you," the Great Sage answered, and the Original King nodded.

"It has been so long since I have actually seen them… it's so strange…" The old king choked. "I had forgotten how much I missed everyone."

Yozak walked over, awkwardly putting his hand on Wolfram's shoulder.

"Please take care of them," Wolfram, Shinou, or whoever was speaking said quietly, eyes pleading to his old friend.

Murata nodded, before taking his glasses off and wiping his eyes. Shinou offered his forearm to the Great Sage.

"My friend, you have always had my back. Thank you. Yozak, thank you for being here."

He clasped arms with both men, before turning to a spot of darker night in the distance, and walking away.

Yozak and Murata watched as he faded into a smudge of pale shadow.

"I've only prayed once," Yozak said, absently. "After the Ruttenburg Division was slaughtered. I asked that Conrad survive. Daikenja- who do I pray to now?"

Murata shook his head. He had no answers.

Shinou approached the figure in the distance, twitching slightly as the other side of this ancient conflict within him flung open the doors of his soul, plundering his heart ruthlessly for the will to defeat its opponent.

They were not so different, these two sides of the same coin. Choosing avatars through which to act and causing mayhem in the lives of their contractors.

It filled him, recognizing the soul if not exactly the body it wanted.

Good and evil, they were not. Creation and destruction, perhaps, or change versus stability. Maryoku was about making a treaty with an element… This was the same.

They just could not be controlled.

Straining, he quelled the personality that went with this power- like the one that had taken over Yuuri.

He could not allow it to do as it willed. Not this time.

"It has been quite a long time, Old King," a voice called, and Shinou turned to see the dark thing that had taken over Yuuri.

He didn't answer- just raised his hand and attacked.

Gwendal was the first to notice.

"Where has Shinou gone?" he asked, trying to find his brother's golden head in the dark.

Conrad's head shot up, then frowned when he saw that Murata and Yozak were staring off into the night.

"He couldn't have…"

Lightening split the darkness and he shot to his feet, running to the two standing at the edge of the camp.

"Where has he gone? Why? Why did he leave?" he yelled, grabbing Murata by the shoulders.

"He left to spare you, Weller-kyo."

"Why?"

"Do you really want to see those two kill each other?" Yozak answered raggedly.

Two small figures appeared overhead- one surrounded in smoky red, the other in gold. As their blades collided, Conrad thought he could see two shapes, however briefly. Two forces battling.

Yuuri had known the one he was meeting was there. He could hear words, words that held no meaning for him; nothing at all.

It was time to fight.

He was not afraid. He knew this was what he had been waiting for since the beginning. His opponent was dangerous, he knew. That was why he had the holy sword with him. This was what had opposed him since time began…

(Who is that? He looks familiar.)

Yuuri had never felt so alive.

The earth was torn asunder as their wills collided, shattering under the impact of two ancient foes in combat. It heaved to fling them into the sky, and his opponent dived at him.

Metal on metal rang, the blow jarring his arms.

Blood lust sang in his veins.

He dodged fire and water, coming at him from both sides, shooting into the air. The other followed, and they flew, their swords crashing again and again.

He could win. The knowledge of how to use this sword was somewhere within him and the voices were telling him wasn't this great? Wasn't this the best game ever? Against a faceless man who-

-Who had cut him?

"You- you-" He felt rage. The pain of the thin slice across his chest was stinging, and he would make him pay.

Yozak tried to breathe as they watched the two men mercilessly pound at each other, soaring across the sky.

The sheer damage they were inflicting on the land was horrific. Half the forest was burnt away, and then a mountain smashed- on and on they fought. Lightening tore through the night.

Then Shinou scored first blood.

"He's going to kill him!" Conrad cried. Murata grabbed him by the uniform.

"Have some faith in your own brother," he snapped, and Conrad reeled back from the expression on Murata's face. "Shinou-"

Yozak put a hand on the Great Sage's shoulder as he composed himself.

"Shinou never had any intention of winning."

The battle in the sky continued, and Yozak stared at the Sage, who could not force himself to watch the fight before turning away.

"Ulrike!" he shouted, heading to find the priestesses.

That was when Yozak saw the opening Shinou was leaving.

Yuuri's pulse raced when he saw the opening. It was one this man had been making over and over again- raising the sword too high to block as quickly as he could have.

His blood leapt at the sight, driving the Holy Sword forward, feeling it crunch through muscle and bone.

So this was what it was like- to kill. To see your enemy's blood spurt out as they fell to the ground. He felt the man's heart make the blade vibrate as it tried to beat.

Yuuri laughed in exhilaration. So this- this was what it was like to-

To-

He peered into the face of the man before him, and the heat and lust in his blood froze.

"Wolfram?"

The blond man… was Wolfram? The man who was-

"Yuuri," he gasped, and somehow managed to stand. Impaling himself further, he reached out to his lover's face. "Yuuri. It is not in your nature to take lives or destroy. You have a choice. Take the path that was made for you; become the Sovereign and destroy the world. Or you can reject it- throw away this shadow."

"Wolfram!" Yuuri wrested the sword free, shuddering when the blood spurted from his chest. How could Wolfram be smiling when there was blood coming out of his mouth? How had he, Yuuri, been able to enjoy the pain he had inflicted?

"Yuuri," the blond man said, voice coming softer and softer. The whistling noise from the wound in his chest was nearly unbearable, and Yuuri slapped his hand over it. "Don't- I knew this would happen. One of us had to die, and I was glad it was me. I couldn't live in a wor-" he stopped, coughing up pink foam. "A world, where you…"

Yuuri shook his head. "Wolfram- no- you can't-"

His eyes shut.

"No. You- I won't let you- Wolfram, don't die! Please!"

The gurgles slowed down.

The voices clapped inside his mind. They laughed.

"I killed Wolfram."

No. This was wrong. Wolfram was supposed to kill him. That was how it should be. He couldn't- he couldn't have-

"Wolfram…"

Not him. Anyone but him.

"Get out," he whispered, putting his hand to his chest. "I don't want you." The voices protested.

He was theirs.

"I never said you could have me. I don't belong to you," he called, eyes fixed on Wolfram's deadly pale face.

"I don't want you- GET OUT!"

Murata nodded to Ulrike, who had raised her hands in a prayer position and begun to chant.

All around them, the many priestesses did the same, watching as the dark shadow that had clung to Yuuri was shed, and half a breath before it tried to lurch back inside.

It stopped, and Murata strained smile was satisfied. They had placed a barrier around Shibuya… Now if only Shinou could…

Shinou's eyes slit open, and a faint smile showed through the blood.

"…got you… bastard…"

Power howled from Shinou as his body glowed, and he stood, eyes glazed with pain and lurched at the shadow that was still trying to strike at the prone Maou behind him. One last lunge, through the dark shade…

There was a nearly audible snap as Shinou physically grabbed the power of boxes, holding it in place.

Murata bit his lip. Shinou's life was flickering out, earlier theatrics aside.

The Maou glowed- not the Sovereign. Yuuri was speaking with the authority and power that was his own.

"It is not in my nature to take lives, or to destroy," he told the fanged shadow.

"In the name of all the lives you have taken, in my name, the Maou of Shin Makoku, and on behalf of the Original King- I will seal you away," Yuuri said, voice firm, leaning over to pick up Morgif.

The Demon Sword snarled.

The shadow that had cast itself over Yuuri flinched away when the sword's name was called, transforming it into its true form.

Murata saw none of it. His eyes were fixed on the form of his friend, who had dropped when Yuuri had struck home. No drama this time… his face had turned gray and his lips were blue.

Running over, he knelt beside him. "Shinou," he whispered, feeling for a pulse.

He felt nothing.

The power should have blinded him, if he'd been paying attention. He was only aware of Yuuri coming back, dropping beside him and pulling Wolfram from him.

So cold; Wolfram's body was so cold.

It may be too late.

"Murata… I killed Wolfram," Shibuya sobbed tearfully. "I kill- I killed-" he couldn't say more, choking.

This was Murata's choice. He could save him… or he could save his old friend a lot of pain and heartbreak, and let him die now.

There really was no choice, was there?

"You can save him," the Great Sage whispered softly. "Shinou's soul is back inside the seal. You can make a bargain with him now."

Shibuya's head shot up, red rimmed eyes staring as it hit home what Murata was saying. "A- a bargain? Like what Wolfram did to save me?"

Murata nodded. "What do you have, that means as much to you as Wolfram's life?" he asked. A cruel question, yet this was how it worked. One thing for something of equal value.

The young king shook his head. "Nothing- nothing means as much to me as-"

He stopped. Gasped.

"For Wolfram's life," he whispered. "For his life- I give up… Earth."

Putting his hands down on Wolfram's chest, Yuuri concentrated. The power that had been draining out of Shinou returning…

There was a tug as two forces strained against each other, and Yuuri frowned. Then there was a snap-

Wolfram's eyes flew open- green once more- and Yuuri smiled, before toppling over.

To be continued.

A/N: The epilogue is coming up. And I didn't kill anybody! Yay! Just inflicted mental trauma on all parties! And if you could understand the metaphysical part… um… goody. Cause at times I confused myself. That was not the point of the story, it was the action and the interaction. So… focus on that and tell yourself it was something like the Lord of the Rings. You'd have to read the Similarion to truly understand the back story. That is something I don't want to take the time to write.

I hope all those who read this story have enjoyed it, and that if you didn't, well… I'm sorry. Thank you all for the fun. The epilogue I'll write soon. And the lemon WILL get written. Really!