Title : Is It Really You?
Summary : What would happen if there had been a girl in Martin's past who had broken his heart when she died? How much confusion would ensue if she were to suddenly reenter his life?
Rating : T for complex themes, language, and maybe some other stuff that I can't remember at this time
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PP : Hey, y'all! I just love that word, y'all. Happy Holidays! Heehee, updated right before the submit function is shut down for a day, Whoohoo! Short author's notes today, because FrenchFry is spending Christmas with her family, TaterTot is mad at me for some reason, and I'm already having problems typing tonight! Hope you like this chapter, it made me feel sad just writing it! Poor Martin, I really like messing with him for some reason. Sorry FrenchFry, no lights and lasers. I just couldn't really make it fit! Well, just read it, and tell me what you think. I do not own anything copyrighted by anyone else, so please don't sue me! (I will find a way to win and take all your money, because my goal in life is to sue a major corporation for lots of money, and that would be the perfect opportunity)
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Chapter 9 : The Angel of Death
They stepped out of the portal into a small village under a canopy of trees. Down a path leading out of the village, they could see the temple they were there to investigate. It was then that Martin took a look at what Rachel had changed into. It was her favourite tank top & jeans combo, but both were grey. Even her shoes were grey. She had never been one to wear dull, depressing colours. Her favourites had always been bright, cheery colours, like red, white, and pink. Black was alright too, but not an all-time favourite of hers.
She noticed that he had fallen behind, and turned back towards him.
"Come on, we're gonna leave you behind if you just stand there, dreaming all day."
He ran to catch up with them, and they continued on their way to the temple.
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"Man, it's dark in here."
They had walked into the temple to find out that the entire place was nearly pitch black, even in the middle of the day. Rachel had mumbled something about the 'damn spirits sealing up all the windows. The only light was what little light could reach them from the entrance, and the little ball of fire hanging next to Rachel's shoulder. Martin, Diana & Java had all been shocked when it had suddenly appeared out of thin air, and Rachel had just kept on walking.
Diana had been the first to recover her voice.
"Uh, Rachel?"
She turned around, looking at them like they were nuts for not moving, while she was already nearly out of their sights. She seemed completely oblivious to the extra source of light.
"I hope that's yours."
Rachel looked confused, before realizing what Diana was talking about.
"Yeah, that's my fireball. Sorry, I forgot that you guys aren't used to it. The last partner I had was perfectly fine with it. I should have warned you about it before I called it."
She looked embarrassed as they assured her that it was alright, they were just a bit surprised, and quickly caught up with her.
That had been quite a few hours ago. Now, they were wandering down all the different passageways, trying to figure out what was making Rachel so uneasy. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts, muttering to herself from time to time, and didn't seem to want to tell them why.
She suddenly stopped, saying something in a language none of them could understand under her breath. Java was the first one to notice that she wasn't following them anymore, and tapped Martin & Diana on their shoulders.
"Look."
They turned around to see her staring forwards into the darkness, her eyes wide. That was when they also realized she was talking in that strange language that they recognised as the same one the villagers that had found Rachel spoke. The only words she said in regular English were:
"No. It can't be."
She suddenly darted forwards into the next room, diving by them, her fireball disappearing and leaving them all without their sense of sight. Everything was quickly swallowed by the darkness.
It was then that they heard her scream.
"Rachel!"
Martin ran forward, feeling his way along, closely followed by Diana and Java. As they entered the next room, torches lit up around the outside, but none of them really noticed it. They were all concentrating on the beam of moonlight in the center of the room, and the woman standing in the middle of it.
Rachel was shaking horribly, and was focused on something hidden in the shadows at the other side of the room.
"It... it's impossible! You can't be here!"
"Why? Because the first time you saw me was when you were dead? Just because you were dead, it doesn't mean I was, and even if I was, you may not be the only one capable of coming back from death."
A man's voice came from the area that Rachel was focused on, followed by the man himself. He looked to be about 19, with black hair, long for a guy. His black turtleneck and jeans were covered by a long, you guessed it, black overcoat. The entire menacing outfit was completed with a pair of black knee high boots, with clanking buckles. The only break in all the black were his pasty white skin, and the glowing red irises of his eyes.
They could easily tell why Rachel looked terrified.
As they were all wondering who he was, a thought came to Martin.
"Are you Azrael? The one Rachel said had a hold on her?"
They both seemed shocked to realize that there were people in the room other than the two of them. But then, the man started laughing. There was no emotion in it.
"Me? Azrael? No, I am not quite good enough to hold that honour. My name is Daniel. But, Azrael is in this room with us, isn't she, Rachel?"
The trio by the door were confused, Diana and Java more than Martin, because at least he knew where he had heard Azrael from. Diana was the first to start asking questions.
"Azrael? Who the HELL is Azrael? And why would Rachel know her?"
Daniel laughed again.
"You haven't told them anything, have you Rachel? Thought you could protect them? I guessing that means they'd be shocked if I were to tell them who Azrael really is, and what your... relationship, is to her?"
Rachel finally responded.
"No! Don't! Please! I'm begging you!"
"Why would you want to keep any secrets from your closest friends?"
"To keep them safe, just like you said."
"You can't keep them safe just by not telling them Rachel. I thought that even you were smart enough to realize that. Well, looks like you're not going to tell them anytime soon, so maybe I should enlighten them?"
He didn't wait for her to give an answer, just turned towards the trio. Martin and Diana hated to admit it, but they really wanted to hear what Rachel didn't tell them 'to keep them safe'. How could knowing about a single woman bring them harm?
"Azrael. The Angel of Death. The one whose fate is to destroy all humanity, and end this world. She's someone we know very well, and at the same time, we don't know her at all, because you've been keeping her hidden for quite some time, haven't you Rachel?"
Martin could tell that Daniel was really pissing Rachel off, the clenched fists and strain in her voice were proof of that.
"For good reason. She's a monster, uncontrollable when she gate the chance to set out on her own. She's also completely predictable in the fact that she will immediately start causing massive chaos if she's released, most likely ending in the end of humanity as we know it, and possibly the destruction of the world."
"And those qualities are exactly what attracts me to her. You see, I need her help in my , well, schemes, I suppose you could call them, and, for her to be able to help me out, I just kinda need to get you out of her way."
Rachel gasped.
"I knew it! I knew there was a reason I couldn't sense the spirits that the villagers complained about! There never were any! It was only you, setting a trap up, wasn't it? You tricked them all! And let me guess, it was all just to get me here, right?"
Daniel laughed.
"Of course! And your timing was perfect. I was growing afraid that I would have to go fetch you if you were to be here in time for the eclipse. Perhaps you know why I wanted you here for the eclipse?"
Rachel froze, and started shaking visibly at the mention of the eclipse. Martin guessed that if he were to look at her face, it would be pale as a sheet. Her voice was just barely audible, also shaking with fear.
"When the night sky is dimmed, and she who was charged with keeping watch over the angel of death and destruction stands in the halls of her forefathers, after 18 long years, her defences will fall, and the bringer of the world's doom will be set free to unleash havoc upon all of humanity again."
It sounded as though she were quoting something, but Martin had never heard it before. Daniel was smirking now though.
"It's good that you remember the prophecy passed down by our people."
"They aren't our people. The two of us are not related! We are not of the same blood!"
"Hate to disappoint you, but if you trace our blood back a couple of centuries, it does merge into one again. So, that would make this the halls of our forefathers, wouldn't it, guardian?"
As if on cue, the torches flared, their light becoming enough to illuminate the whole room, not just a little spot in front of their brackets. Martin, Diana and Java gasped at the splendor of it, the detailed carvings, and gold insets. There were images of great wars, with balls of fire, and lightning bolts filling the skies above them. One image depicted an entire army of mounted men with their armor and swords falling to a handful of people wielding these elemental weapons, forerunners of weapons of mass destruction.
Rachel was standing on a slightly raised, circular platform in the middle of the room, the only spot that the torchlight didn't reach. Instead, it was lit by that single beam of moonlight falling through the hole in the roof. That beam was slowly disappearing though, almost as though someone were drawing a cover over the moon. Daniel stood before an altar with a sword laying on it. The scabbard was black, decorated with red flames and gold detailing. The handle was also black, with gold specks, and a blood red gem in the center of it.
The moon was disappearing quicker now. Rachel was shaking uncontrollably. And Daniel's laughter was echoing around the room.
"So, in the halls of our ancestors, the almighty guardian of dear Azrael, the Angel of Death, meets her end. The eclipse is almost complete. Soon, Azrael shall rise again, to cleanse this world of all the unworthy human filth, and we, the superior race, shall emerge, and rule again. This world shall be covered in darkness!"
The platform Rachel was standing on started glowing, the light spreading throughout her body. It couldn't really be called light though, because it was pitch black, and made everything it touched darker instead of brighter. Rachel was struggling to move, to run away, but it was too late. It was as though the light was holding her in place.
As the last of the moon's light disappeared, Daniel spoke again. He wasn't speaking to someone they could see though.
"Now, Azrael. The time has come. While the powers of the eclipse have her power diminished! Return to me!"
Rachel started screaming. She could move again, enough to clutch her head, and fall to her knees. All that Martin, Diana and Java could do was watch in horror, completely helpless, as her appearance slowly began to change. Her hair was lengthening, and turning black. The colour of her skin was also fading, turning a deathly white.
The most horrifying though had to have happened after she started screaming louder, and pulled her head down towards her knees. A pair of huge, black, feathery wings burst from her back, like a mockery of an angel's wings.
As the eclipse began to end, the moon reappearing, her screaming stopped, leaving her laying in the middle of the room panting, and shaking uncontrollably. Daniel began laughing again.
"Finally! After all these years, finally, Azrael has returned!"
They all watched as whoever it was in the middle of the room stood up on shaky legs. Her voice was hoarse, strain evident as she began to speak.
"Not quite. I've still got control for a bit longer at least."
Daniel jumped back in shock. Clearly, Rachel had managed to keep some control, but it didn't sound like it would last long. She wasn't supposed to be strong enough to have even kept any control longer than the eclipse lasted!
"Rachel!"
Martin started running towards her, but Rachel flung out an arm to get him to stop, and Java grabbed his arms.
"No Martin! Don't come any closer! I'm not sure how long I'll be able to hold her back!"
Martin stopped struggling, and Java let go of him. After taking a closer look at Rachel, he realized that it did actually look like she was struggling with something, or someone, no one else could see. She was holding her forehead with her hand, and muttering to someone under her breath.
"Rachel, I can help you! Please!"
"The only way you can help me is by getting yourselves out of here, before I lose control, and she ends up hurting you! Go!"
Her eyes suddenly widened in fear, and she started screaming at someone to stop, not to do it, when a stream of fire emerged from her hand, heading straight for the agents. Martin knew that there was no way they'd be able to run away quick enough, the fire was moving too fast, and that they probably wouldn't survive. Instinctively, he put up his arm to shield his eyes, and felt the U-Watch heat up a bit. He decided that it was because of the heat of the flames, and closed his eyes, waiting for the flames to burn him to a crisp.
Instead of red light, his eyes were filled with a pure, white light. His first thought was that he was dead and had reached heaven, but that would mean that he didn't even feel the flames hit him. He opened his eyes to look around, and realized that he was still alive, and still standing in the temple. The biggest difference was that the U-Watch was now glowing, giving off that white light. It was also seemingly connected to the barrier that was stopping the fire from reaching them. He turned to see that Diana was sitting on the ground, huddled in a ball, and Java was laying on his stomach, with his hands covering his head. They slowly came to the same conclusion he had, and stood up, looking at the mysterious barrier that saved them all.
As the fire faded away, so did the barrier. The U-Watch didn't stop glowing though. Instead, it fired a beam of light into the ceiling. The ceiling cracked, and began crumbling around them, just as Rachel's eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed to the ground. Daniel dove in and picked her up, gently cradling her in his arms.
Martin was torn. Diana and Java were calling him back, into the portal that had mysteriously opened, but he couldn't just leave Rachel. He still might have a chance of helping her.
"Martin, hurry! There won't be a room here for much longer! I know you want to help her, but there's no way we can right now! We have to leave and think of a plan!"
Martin hated to admit it, but Diana was right. There was nothing he could do to help her at that moment. As the ceiling continued collapsing around him, he spun around and ran for the portal, cursing and swearing at himself for being so weak that he would just leave her the whole way. Just as he was about to leap through, something hit his head, and everything went black.
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PP : HAHA! CLIFFY! I know, it's kinda obvious that he's alright, but where did the portal come from? And what's Daniel going to do to Rachel? Will she be able to hold off Azrael long enough for help to arrive? All these answers and more (maybe) in Chapter 10! If it isn't up soon, it's because I'm making it longer than normal (I think) so I can get everything in there that I want. About this chapter, if you have complaints, well, too bad, because I have complaints about this chapter too, but I wasn't sure how to write it! The author herself wasn't happy with this chapter! It's because I could see everything in my head, I just wasn't sure how to put it in words. Hopefully you think it's ok. Depending on when I put the next chapter up, FrenchFry and TaterTot might be back to help, but they might not. Well, don't forget to review, even if it is only one word like 'Good' or 'Bad'. I'm getting really desperate for reviews, people!