Phoenixfire: Wheeeeeeeeeee! (Rolls by on office chair. Y'know, the type that has wheels? Those things are neat…)
YamiPhoenixfire: Oh God, not again. SELIH! What did you feed her!
Selih: Nothing! Well… she had Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast…
YamiPhoenixfire: You fool! That stuff is almost pure sugar! …Damn, now I'm going to have to write the next chapter all by myself. (Turns on Selih) You! Since you have deprived me of my slave, do the disclaimer!
Selih: Excuse me? I take orders from no one.
YamiPhoenixfire: Do it or… or… I'll get your brother to teach Phoenixfire how to play Magic!
Selih: Iname wouldn't do that… He knows I'd murder him in his sleep if he did…
YamiPhoenixfire: …I sense that we have a lot in common.
Selih: …Okay, I'll do the disclaimer. Baten Kaitos, Magic (from the last two chapters), and Mountain Dew belong to the people that actually own them. Now, any ideas how to snap her out of it? (Points at Phoenixfire)
YamiPhoenixfire: Chloroform. Could you look for some while I write the next chapter?
Selih: Okay…
Phoenixfire: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Chapter Thirteen: Broken Lullabies
"Gah… what the hell?" Kalas moaned. His magnus deck was glowing. It only lasted for a second or two, and then it subsided.
"We need to check it now," Xelha pointed out.
"I know, I know… I just have a really bad feeling about this…" He pulled the first card. The background was black with swirls of poisonous green. And, in a glowing crimson at the bottom of the card…
Spirit Card: Shattered Requiem
"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding almost… playful. "Not happy to see me? I brought you flowers…" he tossed a bouquet of white roses on her bed. "All girls like flowers…"
"This… this isn't right…" Astarael muttered, shoving the flowers off the bed. A single tear slid down her face as she continued. "This is a nightmare. Or else I really died this time, and I've been sent to hell. I refuse to believe this."
"Oh, that's right, I got something else that belongs to you, too," the dark Kalas said, tossing Briar Rose on her bed and ignoring what she had just said.
"My weapon! How did you… you didn't…"
"Don't worry about those men… they won't be bothering you for a while… well, actually, without some really good help, most of them won't be bothering you ever again."
"You… you killed them… why…?"
"Well, mostly because I could," the dark Kalas said with an evil grin.
"You…you… you jerk! I can't believe you're doing this to me again! And why the flowers? Why must you mock me?" she screamed, tears now rolling freely down her face.
"With the power of Malpercio, I no longer need you! Go back to your own world, Astarael!"
"Astarael…"
"You have what you want!" she shouted at him. "And I am currently lacking the strength to stop you! Go, do what you will, and leave me be! You don't need me anymore, remember? I was never anything to you but a tool, a means to an end, was I? I thought you had changed, Kalas! I thought you had turned your back on the darkness forever! And now you… you…!"
"Please, stop crying, Astra. I… I made a mistake, okay? I need you. I never should have left you. Please, come with me. We can be happy together."
"Toge… together?" she asked in a stunned whisper. He wanted her? Not Xelha?
Don't say it… please don't, I don't think I have the strength to say no…
"I love you, Astarael."
"I…!" she gasped, lost for words.
"Come with me," he repeated holding out a hand. "This is what you've always wanted, right?"
"I… yes!" she cried, a smile breaking through her tears. She reached out to grab his hand…
Wait.
"What's wrong? Why do you hesitate?"
Please stop crying Astra? And since when did any version of Kalas do something as nice as bring flowers, roses no less?
"You… you're not real. You're not the real Kalas."
It was all an illusion, a prank, a cruel joke meant to break her spirit. And it was working perfectly.
She knew it wasn't real, but oh, how she still wanted it…!
His expression faltered for a moment, then turned dark. "Tell me, what gave me away?"
"First of all… Kalas just isn't considerate enough to do something as nice as bring flowers," Astarael said, trying to sound as if her heart wasn't breaking. "Secondly, the real Kalas never called me Astra. He thought it was an ugly name. He only called me Astarael. Third…" The real Kalas was never interested in me romantically. I was only a friend, nothing more. "Well, that's my secret." She snatched up her weapon and sprang to her feet. "This, by the way, is the part where I kill you for throwing me back into my own worst nightmare."
"I'm afraid you're overestimating your skills, Astra." 'Kalas' sneered, drawing his swords. Then, seemingly impossibly fast, he lunged forward, the longsword coming down in a cleaving strike that would slice her in two while his shortsword was aimed at slitting her throat. Knowing that there was nothing she could do to block the attack, she did the only thing that made sense.
For the second time in two days, Astarael threw herself out of a window.
Kyle was driving to the hospital… he felt a sudden and bizarre urge to go and apologize to that girl, Astarael, for putting those two tapes on the internet without her permission. …This is so stupid. Why am I so sure that she'll be awake? I should be… I don't know, running off to the supermarket to buy food supplies and barricading myself in my basement. That's what a sensible person would do, because clearly the world is ending.
And, just as he pulled into the hospital parking lot, he saw a blue-haired girl jump out of a window on the second floor. She was followed momentarily by a blue-haired man with white wings.
Kyle brought the car to an abrupt halt and pulled out his video camera. I love it when I'm right…
What the hell is wrong with the sky? Astarael wondered as she tried to put some distance between herself and the false Kalas. It looks like the inside of the shield of Cor Hydrae…
"Fangs of Darkness!" shouted 'Kalas', and suddenly he was flying straight at her from below. She banished her wings and let herself fall below his attack. She then summoned them again and started to chant… "I am the Light, Hear my voice! Guardian Spell: Shining Seraphim!" And a ball of light slammed into 'Kalas', throwing him to the ground. She blinked away the afterglare of the spell and started flying at the spot where 'Kalas' had gone down. She had the advantage now, and was going to press it all she could.
She struck with her whip, and it wrapped itself around Kalas's left arm. She threw him…
….and he slammed hard into someone's beat-up four-seater car. Oh, crap! I hope whoever owned that car had insurance!
Wait, why am I thinking about that now? Oh no, he's getting up again…
Kyle sighed as he looked at the ruin of his car. This is probably some sort of cosmic judgment. Although, I can tell my parents that it definitely wasn't my fault this time, as I wasn't in the car and can't help it if someone got thrown at it… and I have the footage to prove it. Thank God I had the foresight to get out of the car…
"You're going to pay for that!" 'Kalas' snapped. His left arm was now hanging uselessly at his side, as her whip had cut all the tendons. However, the impact with the ground and the car didn't seem to have affected him too badly. Where he should be unconscious, he was only slightly winded. Damn! I don't know how long I can continue to fight! I'm still recovering from the fight with the Cabbage Patch Dolls from hell!
And suddenly Kalas was in her face, again. She ducked a series of lightning fast attacks by mere centimeters every time, and the quarters were really too close for her to use her whip effectively.
Oh… for the love of…! So, when next she got an opening, she punched him in the stomach, knocking him back several paces. She followed up with another crack of the whip, and this time she got lucky. It wrapped snugly around his neck.
There. All she had to do was pull, and his neck would be a shredded, bleeding mess. All she had to do was pull…
I'm hesitating. Why the hell am I hesitating? He only looks like Kalas! That isn't the real Kalas! And this might be the only chance I get to finish him!
"You can't do it… can you?" he asked her softly. She looked at his face, into his eyes…
Big mistake. As soon as she made eye contact she felt her resolve dwindle into nothing. Yes, it wasn't the real Kalas, but it was a damn convincing illusion. Besides, didn't she have the right to be happy? Why should she care about everyone else? They hadn't ever given a damn about her! Why should she step aside and let other people experience the happiness that belonged to her? Why did she keep on doing good things, despite the fact that her heart and soul felt like they were going to break?
Because, in the end, who cares…?
NO! I am not going to give into this… this bastard! He stole the face of the one that I love, and I won't forgive him!
"I am the Wind, Dispeller of Time! Guardian Spell: Distorting Wi-"
'Kalas' quickly closed the distance between them and delivered an impossibly high kick that connected solidly with her jaw, knocking the whip out of her grasp and sending her flying. She hit a tree and fell face-first into the grass. Before she could recover, she was picked up and thrown back onto the pavement, skidding painfully on her back.
The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the false reflection of Kalas stalking up to her as he disentangled the whip from his neck, smiling demonically. Kalas… forgive me, Kalas…
Finally, she goes down, he thought as he finished removing her annoying weapon from his neck. He cast it aside like the piece of trash it was as he continued to advance on Astra. Even with no formal training, she still fights well. When she got that thing around my neck, I thought I was finished…
She was still beautiful, even with the bruise that was forming on her jaw and dressed in that horrible hospital gown.
Wait… hospital gown…
I wonder if she's wearing anything underneath it? he thought to himself and his evil smirk widened.
"Get away from her!"
Wham!
'Kalas' found himself knocked to the ground. When he sat up to locate his assailant, he saw a wiry teenage boy with a camera in one hand and a baseball bat in the other.
"You're incredibly stupid. You do know that, right?" he asked, rubbing his abused skull. Normally, the blow wouldn't have hurt him, but Astra's Shining Seraphim spell had thrown him into the ground… headfirst. The combination of the two blows was enough to give even him a headache.
"Look, I might be a bit of an ass, but I'd have to be an even bigger ass to let you take advantage of an unconscious girl."
"Nice last words… I'll make sure they get put on your grave…" 'Kalas' sneered, getting ready to attack, when…
"Jerk! Stay the hell away from my big sister!" shrieked a high-pitched voice. Before he could react, he had been tackled by some kid with brown hair. Normally such a weak attack would have done absolutely nothing to him, but the lucky brat managed to hit him in the back of the knees. The result being that he folded like a card table with three legs. And the little hellion was up faster than he would have believed possible, and managed to kick him in the most sensitive part of the male anatomy.
"Arrg!" he bellowed in pain. I am not going to lose to some video club nerd and a sixth grader! "You bitch!" He made a sweeping gesture and a tentacle of dark energy swept the kid off her feet, throwing her into the car that her sister had thrown him into earlier. Revenge is sweet…
"What is it with people throwing other people into my ride today?" the guy muttered.
"Oh, your car? I'll destroy… finish destroying… that car once I'm done killing you slowly," 'Kalas' said as he picked himself up and recovered his sword. His left arm had healed somewhat, and was now useable again. I'll find my shortsword later…
"I am the Light, Dispeller of Darkness!"
"I am the Water, Dispeller of Fire!"
Shit. An old woman and a middle-aged one were advancing on him. Both were sporting the same type of wings as his Astra, except the old woman's were all white. He took to the air and tried to get away…
"Guardian Spell: Shining Seraphim!"
"Guardian Spell: Sacred Spring!"
But was hit by both spells simultaneously, and went down, hard and in a fair amount of pain.
Oh, and now it's old women? Malpercio, fighting Astra was sexy, but fighting these losers is just boring…
"I don't have time for old ladies! Binding Winds!" And both were struck by the vortex, and temporarily immoblilzed.
"I am… the Darkness… Dispeller… of Light…!"
"Oh for the love of all things evil! Who's casting Guardian Spells now?" he moaned, whirling around. Frozen old women, confused looking video kid, unconscious Astra, pissed off kid sister of Astra…
Wait. Pissed of kid sister of…
Oh, shi…
"Guardian Spell!" she cried as wings erupted from her body. "DEMONS OF DARKNESS!"
"Aaaargh!" 'Kalas' cried as he was enveloped by the dark energies. Why did they hurt so much…?
As he was released, the kid collapsed, her wings vanishing with a dull flash. "Heh, she put all her energy in that one spell… idiot." Much as he longed to stay and finish her off, he knew the effects of Binding Winds weren't going to last forever, and he didn't feel up to fighting two Guardians at once at the moment. So he flew off. After all, it wasn't like any of them could run very far…
Phoenixfire: And the end of another chapter. Wow, you're getting updates left and right. Isn't insomnia fun?
Selih: Hey, I got the chloroform… (stares at Phoenixfire) Since when did you go back to normal?
Phoenixfire: Since about five minutes ago.
Selih: (sighs) Whatever… I have to go home and finish my homework.
YamiPhoenixfire: (snickers) It's your own fault for taking all Honors and AP classes…
Phoenixfire: (smacks YamiPhoenixfire over the head) Be nice. Bye, Selih!
Selih: See you on Sunday. (Gives Phoenixfire a hug and leaves)
YamiPhoenixfire: Okay, slave, do the reviewer responses!
Phoenixfire: (sighs) Is it a sign of insanity when your alternate personalities start to boss you around?
Reviews for Chapter Twelve (That I didn't get before posting the last chapter)
crazygirl306: Heheh… glad you liked that conversation. Expect to see a lot more like it in the future, since I'm sorta pissed at my mom right now… (grumbling) Threaten to disconnect my computer… I'll show you…
Reviews for Chapter Thirteen
Iname as One: Yes… A lot did happen in the last two chapters. Mostly because they were written between 11pm-4am. Except now I have to DEAL with everything that happened… hopefully, I'm not moving so fast that I can't keep up with myself. (YamiPhoenixfire: If you ask me, it's about time the good stuff started happening.)(Phoenixfire: Yeah, yeah…)
Oh, and in other notes… yay! Two chapters free of anti-good ward-related torture! (YamiPhoenixfire: I can be good if it gets me what I want. Oh, and to the Death Aspect, I've sent you some of my anti-good wards via familiar (a black phoenix in my case) and they should be arriving shortly. Have fun!)
And yes, Xelha is pregnant. And YES, Kalas is the father. Hmm... green haired baby… I didn't think of it that way… oooh, ideas… (YamiPhoenixfire: Hah! Selih owes me money… she was sure you'd be pissed off about the pregnancy bit…)(Phoenixfire: Um, Yami? I don't think that you remembered to specify an amount… and she didn't accept… meaning that the bet is null)(YamiPhoenixfire: DAMNIT!)
LighteningRae: (Gets shot in the heart and dies)(Both Phoenixfire and YamiPhoenixfire burst into flame and rise from their own ashes) Ow… that was NOT fun… but I sort of set myself up for it. (YamiPhoenixfire: Hey! You're lucky we're immortal, or you might never have found out how the story ends!)(Phoenixfire: No threatening the reviewers.)(YamiPhoenixfire: Not even when they threaten us?)(Phoenixfire: Not even when they threaten us.)(Throws YamiPhoenixfire in the closet)
Luna-Starr: Yup… Xelha's pregnant. God, I hope I didn't lose any reviewers with that little plot twist…
Karina Gomez: I always love to surprise my readers… (smiles) However, sorry DM, I don't think that you're going to be getting your wards since YamiPhoenixfire is currently in solitary confinement… (A black phoenix appears in the closet)(YamiPhoenixfire: You done? Good. Now take these to DM…)(Hands phoenix more anti-good wards)(phoenix disappears again in a burst of purple flame)(YamiPhoenixfire: That idiot. I may not be able to read, but I can still hear everything that she says…)
blooangel: Here's your update… yeah, I'm kinda… allergic to homework myself.
Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: Here's your update!
Phoenixfire: Waah!
YamiPhoenixfire: (from inside the closet) What's wrong now?
Phoenixfire: Seducer of Darkness didn't review… I bet he hates me… (cries)
YamiPhoenixfire: That's IT? God, it's only been a day since that massive update… he probably hasn't found it yet. Besides, his character actually does cool things in this chapter… he'll forgive you.
Phoenixfire: (sniff) Really?
YamiPhoenixfire: (sigh) Yes. God, I can't believe you're almost seventeen. You act like you're five…