Disclaimer: I'm not even going to bother this time…

To all who reviewed: D Thank you for everything! It's becoming repetitive, but your comments make me feel good about my writing…Even though my philosophy teacher begs to differ…Speaking of philosophy, it is the reason why this chapter is late. OMG, do you know how many written assignments I have to do? FCK! ANYWAY, this chapter is going to be a long one…ENJOY!

Chapter Twenty Four

There she stood. Her hair and skin still wispy white—so perfect—and her eyes…No! Don't look at them! Instantly, Van shut his eyes tightly, not wanting the powerful effects of her blue orbs to affect him.

"My love, I am that repulsive to look at? I am human this time…Don't you want to look at me?" Shina's hurt voice came to his ears with a sickly sweet tone.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Van shouted at her. "N—No!" He held his sword out in front of him, gripping the handle.

She tsked at him. "Silly boy. That is no way to win a woman's heart."

Van growled in frustration. You have to attack fast…while she's stalling for time! Do it now! …But you can't see her…He felt her presence getting closer since the temperature in the room dropped several degrees.
Cold
Use the pendant, you idiot! "Shina, you've done enough damage…"

She laughed at him. "No, no, my love, I haven't done enough. After all, I still have your other friends to kill…and you as well…"

Without a second thought, Van charged, eyes shut, palms sweaty, heart beating fast. He held out the sword in front of him, hoping against his blind strike that he actually did hit her.

However, he continued to move in the forward direction not hitting anything.

Only air.

Where did she go? The pendant said to go straight…Skidding to a stop and turning his body around to face the doorway, Van felt a cold hand on his arm. He jumped and swung his sword in that direction, but did not hit anything again.

Now, his breathing increased from fear. Where is she? Forcing himself to open his eyes, Van squinted at the room. He noticed that the pendant was pointing in all directions again and that no one was in front of him.

She's behind you…Becoming rigid, Van froze and shut his eyes again. In the hastiness of his short view of the pendant, he had not noticed that it was darker than usual. All he saw was that it was swinging in all directions because Shina's pendant was influencing it.

Is that why I can't see her? The pendant is not showing me the right way because it is being distracted by Shina's dark pendant? Van noticed that the air he was breathing in was cold. She's right behind me…

Slowing his breathing but keeping his eyes closed, Van waited. One…Two…

The entire room was quiet, only echoing his breathing noise and the shallow breaths of his friends. Three!

Just as he was about to spin on the balls of his feet to hit her, Van felt his ear go numb. "Too slow, my king."

An icy blast pushed him forward and spun him around to make him crash into the opposite wall back first. The force that Shina supplied to him was enough to leave him semi-conscious after the hit against the stone wall. Sliding down slowly, Van felt nothing but pain. His head hurt and his eyes were temporarily blind at the moment. Get up!

His mind yelled at him to move out of the way, and slowly, he did so, rising shakily to his feet. What was that? What did she hit me with? Although the logical solution was to look around and see what the cause of the event was, Van kept his eyes shut.

Her black pendant glowed faintly.

Van's body shook with pain. The back of his head must have been cut because he could feel something running down his back. His shoulder blades ached and his sprained ankle was finding it harder to keep up.

"Van…Van…Oh, Van…What am I going to do with you? You're all ready, but you have no place to go…" Shina chided, mocking Van's determination to kill her. You will never win…You can not harm me. I am the destroyer.

"Shut-up!" He growled. His anger fueled his body and he rushed forward in the direction of her laughing. Van swung his sword around aimlessly as the pendant was still not giving him the directions he wanted.

With quick feet, Van moved around the storage room but continued to fight air. He constantly changed his position, making sure that she could not sneak up on him. I have to hit her sooner or later…She can't hide from me forever…

The sword's blade continued to slice air and Van began to get frustrated. Under his closed eyelids, he followed the information given by the pendant, no matter how awkward they were. He watched it swivel left, right, straight ahead and behind, trying to guide him.

But suddenly, in the midst of all the commotion…

…it stopped.

What? His compass vanished, no longer giving him directions at all. The little picture he had envisioned in his mind of the pendant was not there anymore. What's going on?

In his slight hesitation, Van felt the air around him get cold as an arm wrapped around his neck from behind him. Crying out in surprise, he hastily grabbed the offending hand and tried to yank it off. Let me go!

"My king…I will never let you go…" Shina mocked him as her pendant glowed darkly.

Van realized that her grip was too strong…it was unusually strong. No…She will not win! Swinging his elbow around, he let out a contented yell. He had hit something. "AH!"

And that something was Shina's jaw.

Spinning around and turning to face her, he moved from side to side. Even though he couldn't see her, Van was pretty sure that Shina was right in front of him, holding the side of her face. "…bastard…" He heard her mumble.

Van only grinned at her, eyes shut.

"You have no right to touch me, you inbred." She frowned. It was the first time any one had ever laid a hand on her in combat. Stupid Draconian…Once you let your guard down, I will show you what real power is…

With his confidence renewed, Van's spirit soared. She isn't as invincible as she thinks…I have to let her get close enough to me in order for me to hit her…Even without the guiding light of the pendant, Van continued to relish in his small victory.

Still curious on the whereabouts of the pendant, he used one hand to see if the pendant was still around his neck and kept the other on his sword. Shina was still in slight shock and hadn't moved yet, so Van took this opportunity to see exactly what happened to make the pendant's light vanish.

He quickly grasped for the chain that he clasped around his neck but it wasn't there. Van's eyebrows furrowed with question. Without a doubt, his answer came quickly.

Hitomi…
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. It's here…I know it! It has to be! There she was, in total darkness, looking for the smallest speckle of pink light. The black walls were starting to tighten around her, suffocating her. Her muscles ached from all the running, but logic took over. You aren't really running! Don't think about how tired you are! Keep moving…

But, unwillingly, her body began to slow down. No! NO! Come on! You have to find it…It has to be here some—

There it was.

Hitomi's heart almost stopped as she stood. It was only a few meters ahead of her. How come I couldn't see it before? I used to be able to see it's light from a much farther distance…As she stared, another idea came to her to solve her current question.

…the light isn't strong enough anymore…

The ground it was on started to go on an angle. You have to catch it! Hitomi took off again, but was moving much slower than she thought. Oh! Come on! She stretched out her hand and watched confused as the angled ground became straight again.

Her heart pounded in her ears and she heard as the pendant started to keep time. Not again…She listened as the pendant's pulse picked up. No! Wait! Don't go out yet! Hitomi knew that she didn't have enough time.

The pendant's light would go out.

The ground would break.

The hands would pull her down.

And there would be no angel there to save her.

NO! Hitomi pushed off the unstable ground with her feet and dived towards the pulsing pendant. Eyes wide, she watched her body come closer and closer to the pendant. But she heard that it was going too fast, too soon.

Someone is altering this vision…It's not supposed to be this fast…Am I literally running out of time?

Faster and faster.

Hitomi's body stretched out and started to fall towards the pendant. Please! Oh God, please! I need this! Shina needs to be stopped! I have to go back!

Faster and faster.

The light from the pendant was darker than usual…It wasn't as white and pure as she remembered. Oh no…Green eyes opened wide as she got close. The gold chain was within her grasp. Her fingers gently brushed the chain and just as she got her fingers on it…

It stopped.

The ground that kept both of them upright cracked loudly. Splitting into a million pieces, they all began to crumble away, along with the light. Hitomi kept falling, never hitting the once solid ground. Even though she was scared, she held the pendant in her hand and a contented smile on her face. She shut her eyes, getting the dizzy feeling again, but kept her pendant close to her.

Just so the bloody hands would not take it away from her.

Hitomi… She heard a voice call out her name as she fell. It echoed strangely and she could not tell whose voice it was. "Hitomi!" It called again. She felt warmth on her hand and soon, the darkness under her eyelids turned into light.

Opening her eyes slowly, Hitomi could not register where she was. Her hospital room was spinning around her too fast for her to make out shapes. My…h—head…Never had she felt this disoriented from a vision. It was as if all the blood in her body was in her head, making her brain swim and swell with the extra fluid. Such a headache…

Turning her head to the side slowly, she saw a brownish blob—which she assumed was her mother. "M—Mama?" Hitomi croaked out. Her throat was dry so her voice came out in three different tones.

"Hitomi…You…It…" Hitomi's mother's voice echoed as she tried to find the appropriate words to congratulate her daughter's success. The pendant…It—It…just appeared…Her chest started to glow and then…it came…Oh goodness… "H—How did you do that?"

Hitomi only smiled weakly. The brown blob that was her mother came closer to her and wrapped her arms around her. There were no words spoken, but Hitomi's mother held on tightly. She knew that this meant her daughter would be going off into that strange dimension again.

Away from safety.

In the arms of danger. I don't care how old and mature you are! You are still my little girl! Fear overwhelmed her. You come back hurt…And now, she wants to go back?

"M—Mama!" Hitomi's voice, stronger, broke the sad silence. "Too tight!" The room had finally stopped spinning and everything felt okay again.

Hitomi's mother instantly let go and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry, honey…B—But…"

Hitomi's calm smile came back. "I know, I know. You're worried."

"Can you blame me?"

"Please, mama…I can take care of myself. I have to do this."

"N—No. If your gentleman friend—"

"I have to do this….I don't want him to die. He doesn't know what he's up against yet. And now…now that I took the pendant from him…I need to go."

Hitomi's mother knew that she was right. "Oh! Hitomi!" She embraced her daughter again. Kissing her on the cheek, she sobbed into her ear. "Please tell me you'll be careful."

"I—I will." Her mother's tears were contagious, because the realization that she may never come back hit her and made Hitomi start to cry a bit.

"Be strong…"

"I w—will…"

Deep brown eyes looked into green. "I—If you succeed…Will you come back?"

Hitomi looked away from her mother for an instant to watch her fingers. "……I don't know…"

"You love him, don't you?"

She snapped her head up at the words. "Mama…What—?"

This time, her mother only smiled. "Hitomi. I want you to be careful. I want you to call me when you want to come home. I want you to be happy. I want you to be safe. Please, Hitomi…I don't want to lose you…"

Hitomi nodded. "I love you Mama."

"I love you too, Hitomi." Her mother hugged and kissed her one last time before completely letting go of her frame. After some quiet, she began to move the steel barricades that framed the bed, out of the way. "Come on…We have to get you out of here."

The pendant was quickly clasped behind Hitomi's neck by her own nervous fingers. Please let me make it in time…She listened closely for any sounds that the pendant might give her.

There was only a scream.

"AH!" Van crumbled against the wall. His right arm felt like it had just been pulled out of its socket. His head was swimming. His ankle had been further sprained.

But through all the pain, he kept his eyes shut.

Blood was trickling out of new sores that were everywhere on his body. Shit…Van's small victory was quickly overshadowed by Shina's strength. It was as if she was in three places at once, clawing or digging at his skin and making him cold. She would push him without touching…she would make him bleed without getting close. Oh Gods…

Stupid Draconian…Get up…Let me show you want I can do…Shina growled, clenching her hands into fists, as she stood in front of Van's almost still body. He still lives…But it can't be much longer…I love to watch them go slowly…

With glowing eyes, she watched the blood pool at his feet.

And the creature smiled.

Van took in shaky and short breaths as he tried to get up. Although his mind told him to move, his body could not. His head was dizzy and he could feel a coppery tang in his mouth. No…He coughed and spit it out on the ground beside him. Cracking an eye open, he watched Shina as he wiped the bloody spit from his mouth. W—Why is she smiling?

Closing his eyes again, he used his left hand and arm to pull himself up with the wall. Wedging his fingers in the cracks where the stone's met, slowly, Van got up on his knees. It was as far as he could go. The abuse that Shina had delivered to his body in a few short minutes of battle was enough to kill an average man.

But Van was a fighter.

Just by pulling himself halfway up, Van had to pause to breathe in deeply. Come on…You—You need to get up! His mind screamed at him as his lungs tried to expand against broken ribs. Shina had pushed him up against the other wall and delivered an assault to his abdomen with only her hands. Holding him up with her palms flat against his chest, Van felt his stomach get very cold and then, he heard them snap.

After that attack, Van had only barely dodged fatal wounds when Shina had almost gripped his heart through the hospital gown with her nails. That was too close…Without the pendant, Van was finding it only a little more difficult to locate her. It was not much help to begin with, but it was a medallion of encouragement for him.

And now, it seemed, that not even encouragement from his descendants could save him.

Shina watched him intently. Poor little Draconian…look what a mess you've made…She would wait until he rose to his feet—just so that she could knock him down again. I want to see how much of your precious Atlantian blood you have in you…that way no one else can have it…

"Get up." Van heard her command.

He turned his head towards her. "Why?" He shot back, angrily.

Although he couldn't see it, she smiled at him. "I want to fight fairly…"

Van's body shook in anger as he clung to the wall for support. His throat was dry, cracked and filling with blood. "Your soul is too dark to want that, you whore."

"Is that why you won't look at me?" Shina asked, changing the subject. "Come now, my love. Look at me. Don't you want to have a face to remember your murderer by?"

"Shut-up!" Van desperately tried to get up but his grip was failing. He couldn't get in a good breath, his ankle refused to let his stand up and his head was not focusing in. With one good arm and fatigue setting in, it was impossible. Van stayed on the ground, at best, on his knees.

"I thought you would last much longer than this…I though angels were immortal. Those who hold the pendant are supposed to be invincible…Hmph. I guess it doesn't work with you." Shina continued. She walked closer to him. Her eyes watched him struggle with satisfaction. Kneeling down at his level, her face turned compassionate. "I wish your end wasn't so pathetic…"

Van turned very cold again. She's too close to me… He inched closer to the wall. "Shut-up…I—It's not over yet…" He growled, eyes closed tightly. Get up! Get up now!

"Oh, I think it is…" Shina stretched, closing the distance between them, and she grabbed his chin. Elongating her nails with a simple mental spell, she dug them in his skin. "Look at me!"

Van resisted the movement by turning his neck in the opposite direction. Shina knew that if she was going to get any answers out of him, he would have to be under possession. Death did not seem to worry him enough to give answers. I need my answers! That's all I need…then I'll grant your wish of death! Look at me!

"LOOK AT ME!" She shouted at him, her blue eyes glowing brightly. He needs to look at me for it to get to him! I want to know! Look at me, you damned Draconian! "If you will not look at me, you will never look at anyone ever again!" Shina growled inhumanly as she used her strength to pull Van towards her.

Holding his face steady with one hand, Shina dragged the nails of her other hand over the skin of his eyelids. "LOOK AT ME!"

Van screamed as the talon tore his eyelid into two parts. The blood irritated his eye and the pain overall was intense. Using his left arm, he tried to desperately get her away from him. The cold was settling in again, making him close to being motionless… No thoughts were going through his head as he tried to pry her deadly hands away from his eyes.

The blood was covering his face in a red mask and Shina smiled. "So beautiful…" Leaning close, she licked the side of his face. "Such good blood, my king…it's so different…Is that what all Draconians taste like?"

He could not find the strength to push her away. No! Get away! Don't touch me! Shina nails started to dig a little deeper into the soft organ of his eye. Van cried out and finally moved his head a bit farther away from her deadly grip. The sensation of having his eyelid torn was too much, but he had to ignore it.

Because Shina pulled his head closer to her, with intent to get the other eye too. "N—No! STOP!" Van started to struggle away from the evident danger he was in. His body was not responding properly and Shina easily overpowered him.

She pulled him close to her face. He could feel her cold breath on his nose. "What are you going to do about it?" Van felt the nail start to push into the thin skin. The more he moved away, the more frustrated she got. "LOOK AT ME!" Her eyes started to shine again as she forced his other eyelid open with her fingers.

A dark maroon pupil darted from left to right as he tried not to look. But the blue was too bright…it was everywhere. N—No…Please…

As the pupil moved back and forth, it noticed that the shine from Shina's eyes was too bright…it was everywhere…Even behind her. Van felt the cold, immobile feeling setting in again, but he knew something was not right with this picture. It's not supposed to end this way…It's too bright…

He felt faint and lightheaded as the blood rushed away from his head and onto the floor. It was getting more difficult to breathe…But as he stared into the brightness that surrounded him, the back of his mind made him feel at peace.

Before he could sink away into a blood-loss induced sleep, he felt Shina's grip loosen and a familiar, pure presence enter the brightness in the room. W—What?

OMG.

I am sorry!

So very, very sorry…

Wow. School sucks. This chapter isn't as good as I wanted it to be…School's been eating at my writing time. Poo. I might do a redo of this chapter later on...meh...

Well, hope you liked it. OH NO! POOR VAN!

Please review!