HI! WELCOME ONE, WELCOME ALL! Welcome to the suspenseful showdown, 'Promise'!
We're finally down to the battle against good and evil. The fight sequences within 'Advent Children' are going to be huge sources of inspiration for this chapter, so I really hope I execute the battle scene well! The music of the .hack/sign anime is in the background, and its creating the perfect atmosphere. Final Fantasy soundtracks are huge helpers too!
First off, I would like to give a big 'thank-you' to Riku, one of my newest reviewers. That reviewer pointed out something to me. Within the previous entry, I made a critical error; the song 'Sleepless Beauty' is actually Nittle Grasper's song, not Bad Luck's. I welcome all kinds of reviews and criticism, just not FLAMES. Thank you all!
Once again, I would like to give a special shout-out to several authors. First off is my pal Dejichan. Imay sound a little biased because she's my pal, but her story is incredible. Her latest chapter just blew me away! My second shout-out goes to kyogotmilk, the author of 'Why'. That's definitely another angst parade!
I think I may have started something...Shuichi's being tormented in a lot of stories...is it all my fault? So much rape and terror! Wah! I'm sorry Shuichi!
Theme of 'Promise': 'Hurry!' from Final Fantasy X OST, 'One-Winged Angel' from Final Fantasy: Advent Children OST. Warning: Strong language and descriptions.
Pain had been a close enemy of Eiri Uesugi for a thousand years.
It had tormented him, used him and abused him in every way imaginable. It prevented him from accepting the purity of true love, and even kept his eyes closed to the beauty of the world. It spent all of its days and nights torturing him, and it carried no regret for its actions. It spilled cold, cruel laughter, and filled his days with everlasting agony. It ate away at his soul, smiling with the vindictive hatred of a sadistic cobra. It kept him away from everything he wanted...
...it kept him away from the truth.
His days were battles, battles against his closest enemy. Even the smallest of decisions and movements were battles, for he spent every breath pretending to be something he knew he wasn't. His horrific past transformed him into a monster; a creature that was oblivious to the ways of love. It placed a mask on him, one that turned him into a creature of night. The desire to embrace love burned brightly, but he was unable to acknowledge its presence...for the past had filled him with seemingly eternal confusion.
The prince had been unable to love his bright star for so long...but now...it was time. It was time for the lies, deceit and pain to end. He had rescued his bright star from the tallest tower, but the dragon was still running rampant, and it was time to put an end to it. He had carved the entire dilemma with his own hands; if he had never abused the one he loved, the world wouldn't have been covered in darkness. Claude K. Winchester had volunteered to wipe out the demon himself, but the prince knew what he had to do. He knew what he had started, and he knew what he had to finish.
The blades of the helicopter were carrying him to the battlefield. They were operating at their highest speed, pushing themselves to their limits. They were cheering for him, urging him on...using all of their strength to carry him. The pilot of the vehicle was silent, still in shock from the urgency of the situation, but his heart was filled with awe. He had never been in the presence of such a heroic individual before, and so he was no different from a child meeting an enormous baseball star.
Several seconds ago, the prince was in the midst of a chaotic reunion. Many things happened at once; Shuichi Shindou was removed and placed inside of an ambulance. The loyal knights broke into tears as soon as they saw the sleeping songbird, policemen shouted many orders, and several of the knights cried out to the prince. All of them were in tears, and all of them were confused by the prince's decision to stay in the helicopter. The one that got through to him last was his brother, Tatsuha.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going after Kitazawa!"
"Eiri! You don't have to! We're finished! Come on! We've got Shuichi!"
"I'm not finished yet, Tatsuha! I've got business to attend to!"
"Bro, listen to me! Her floor is on FIRE! Let K's men take care of her!"
"I started this, so I need to FINISH IT! End of story!"
Eiri broke off the hectic conversation right after the completion of that statement. Tatsuha's fearful, sorrowful eyes burned into his for one moment, and then the helicopter door tore them apart. The pilot began the second flight, followed by the worried eyes of Tatsuha Uesugi. Eiri said nothing to the pilot, but there were no words needed. The prince's eyes spoke a thousand words, and each word filled the pilot with fervent admiration. His customer was ready to kill; there was no doubt about it.
It was 12:05.
Shuichi was out of harm's way. His friends were fine.
There was one last thing that had to be done.
"I'll take him...I'll take him...every part of him...every last drop of him..."
She was a horrendous monster, dancing among the flames. Her eyes were malevolent, dark and eternal...bitter oceans of endless evil. She was an entity of deceit, glowing with the ferocity of everlasting destruction. Her prey was nowhere near her, but she could still taste it. The taste of her prey never left her, for it was sweet...even sweeter than the richest buttermilk. She had captured many helpless individuals before, but her latest one was still on her mind...and the taste of his skin was tormenting. She had bitten into it many times, but every time was the first.
She had savored his screams, his whimpers and pleas. She enjoyed every second of her reign, and wanted to relive every bit of her pleasure. Her latest prey was a luscious, tender little thing...and she wanted to tear him apart.
She knew the prince was on the way. The final confrontation was on its way...and she was ready to embrace it. The dragon loved the spirit of battle, whether it came from her helpless prey, or from courageous, vengeful warriors. She loved to sink her claws into anything that came her way.
Seconds elapsed. The rapid melody of helicopter blades pierced her ears, and then an individual removed itself from the vehicle. The individual made itself known in mere seconds; he rose from the floor and sent a glare in her direction, emitting tidal waves of strength. The prince was an entity of bravery; his eyes were dark, alive with the thirst for vengeance. His attire, an elegant black suit, highlighted his physique. The only things missing were a sword and shield, but neither of those were needed; his eyes were deadly enough.
She smiled at him.
"Well, hello there...Eiri."
Silence. He was pissed; beyond pissed.
"Long time no see. You've grown into quite the man. It's a pity that my brother isn't here to see you."
He placed a hand on his hip, speaking as if she were no more than an irritating co-worker.
"You've got a lot of balls, smiling at me like that. You know, your brother turned me into quite a bastard. I'm about to undo all of that, though."
Her smile became darker. It turned into a sickening grin.
"You poor thing. You must have suffered a lot. I'm glad that you were able to rescue your precious plaything." Here she began to lick her fingers. "You know," she said mockingly, "he's quite yummy. I had the chance to play with him myself-many times, in fact. I enjoyed him. He was a little irritating at times, but I enjoyed every bite."
His eyes became darker. They would have broken an average human's spirit.
"Well, playtime's over. You're about to pay for your fun, my friend."
"You smell like gasoline. You know, you shouldn't get too close to fire. You might burn."
Her tone was disgusting...and it was driving him crazy. She was sick, twisted and evil; in other words, she was no longer human. She was a cold-blooded monster.
"You know," she repeated happily. She seemed to enjoy those words. "I wanted to have one last go at him. He was such a cute, lovely little thing. Really. I wanted us to go out in style."
Something within Eiri snapped. His chest became tight...as his short reunion with Shuichi surfaced in his mind. The bright star had snuggled against him, hungry for comfort...bearing a desire for protection...
He had to keep himself from biting down on his lip. Doing so would have caused his own bloodshed.
"Don't worry." he said softly, his voice a dark shade of hatred. "I'll give you a party. I'll give you a party...even if it kills me!"
The two of them lunged at each other, tied against the crimson flames of the battlefield. A wrestling match ensued; one was a warrior of fiery ferocity, the other was the dragon of malevolent ecstasy. The prince quickly found out his strength; he had never received a chance to emit his skills, and was ready to execute every move with every ounce of strength. The wrestling match was a duel, one that seemed to be hopeless for him...for even though his strength was ardent, her strength was greater...for she carried the strength of an alien. Her sickening glee was supplying her with inhuman strength; it was almost unbelievable.
"I'll kill you, Eiri...I'll kill you, and take your precious, PRETTY LITTLE SHUICHI!"
In the blink of an eye, she whipped out a blade and delivered a fierce stab to his chest. The ferocity of the attack shocked him; that gave her the advantage. She took the opportunity to deliver two more attacks of the same kind, but after the execution of the second, he delivered a kick that sent her into the wall. Blood began to fall from his chest as he began to display his strength; she quickly found out that he was an amazing martial artist.
She also found out that he was unarmed.
Seconds elapsed, but each second was an hour. They went into a deadlock...one was grinning at the other, the other was growling with hatred...
"You're pretty good. You must have taught yourself something over the years."
They broke apart. The prince took up a fighting stance, once again bearing the voice of an annoyed employee.
"I did. Took courses after your bastard of a brother ruined me. Pretty nice, eh?"
"Yes, you are." she said, in a way that made him want to vomit. "Very nice. After this, I'll have to screw with you...the way I screwed with your little toy."
He thought of the bright star...and the way he had always smiled...the way he had always called out his name...
Shuichi.
I'll make sure you smile again...even if I can't be there to see that smile. I promise...
He was always so warm, so jubilant...so...so...HAPPY...
"You...you...you fucking bitch!"
The duel resumed. The prince was a flawless martial artist; the dragon was a mindless demon of strength. Her strength was uncontrollable, his was pure and true. Even though pain was exploding within his chest, he executed every move perfectly...but she never failed to retaliate with a move of her own. At one point, she made an attempt to blind him, but a single punch ended the attempt as soon as it began. That failure brought about an explosion of frustration, and she unleashed it with merciless fury. She took up the role of a mindless beast, slashing and screaming...
Minutes elapsed. He found the perfect opportunity, and seized it.
He brought into a headlock; he brought his right arm around her neck, right before she was able to deliver another stab. Pain continued to explode within him...streams of blood coursed down his chest...
She was screaming, wriggling like a frightened beast. She wasn't a human; she wasn't even near the animal kingdom. She was a horrendous, cruel monster...one that didn't deserve the beauty of life. She tried to remove herself from his grasp, but all of her attempts failed...
"It looks like I've won. I hope you had fun."
Her eyes burned into his.
"Release me! Let me go, NOW! Let me go, I said!"
"Sorry. Can't do that."
Silence overwhelmed a second later...as she fell to the floor...
...with a broken neck.
He fell to the floor a second later, covered in pain...
The flames vanished...as voices drifted into his ears...and cold mist fell over him...
His chest was burning...and it was burning badly...
He could barely breathe...he could barely keep his eyes open...
"Shuichi..."
The world became dark...as a blanket of pain wrapped itself around him. Strength left him...
"Goodbye, my songbird...I...I'm so sorry...I made you cry..."
I love you, Shuichi...
The last thing Eiri Uesugi heard...was the cry of his loyal friend, Claude K. Winchester.
"EIRI!"