Hands clasped tightly, they launched themselves out of the tunnel. Once they'd left, the mouth of the hole closed behind them and became the cement floor once more. There were giant holes in the ceiling and walls and twice as much debris than before.
The Knights still fought against the Queen and they were losing. Cuts and scrapes covered their faces and hands. Their clothes were slashed and torn, some even missing parts of their sleeves. How could fourteen knights be losing to one woman?
When Mannen was sent flying through the air, Hayate leapt forward and caught the younger knight in his arms. "Mannen? What's going on here?" Hayate demanded.
Scowling in frustration, Mannen wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "We're getting our butts kicked that's what!" He snapped, pushing himself out of Hayate's hold. Turning his head, he shot Himeno a cocky grin. "But that won't last long will it Himeno? No one can match the power of the Pretear!"
Nodding sharply, Himeno agreed. "Right! Let's finish this!" She exclaimed, rising her hand and clenching it. "This has to end!"
"So what's the plan?" Hayate asked. "Just charge in there and attack her like there's no tomorrow?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
Hayate clenched his fists tightly at his sides, his hands were surrounded by swirling wind and his eyes were narrowed in determination. The right corner of his mouth was turned up in a dangerous smirk. "Sounds good to me. Let's finish this!" And without another word, he kicked off of the ground and into the air.
Glancing at each other, Himeno and Mannen nodded before following him seconds later. Hayate dove straight into the heart of the battle without a moment's hesitation. Crossing his arms in an 'x' shape he attacked Ireika from above only to have her look up and stop him with a barrier. Grunting in pain, he fought through it.
Ireika frowned. "You bore me with your useless attempts to reach me." With a simple flick of her wrist, the barrier vanished and Hayate came flying down. Without missing a beat, she leaned to the left, and caught the collar of his shirt when he went flying past. Wrenching it tight, she tossed him lazily to the right where he crashed down into the ground. "Who's next?" She smiled dangerously, looking around. "Who else wants to suffer?"
The small group of Shin, Shawnru, Garu, and Go flew forward next. Combining their powers, Shin and Shawnru summoned a wave of thick, lush vines and sent them forward, surrounded by blasts of flame from Go and Garu. They curled around the vines, but didn't make contact.
Ireika turned her body slowly to face it. "Pathetic." She murmured. Not giving an inch, she watched as it flew forward at a tremendous speed. When it was no more than a foot away from her, she raised her hand and it came to a sudden halt. Jerking her head in their direction, she made the vines twist around and sent them towards the Knights. They barely dodged it in time.
Himeno watched horrified as Knight after Knight tried to stop her, but failed miserably. When Hajime was sent crashing through slabs of the plaster walls, she forgot everything around her. "How dare you hurt my friends!" She screamed. Without warning, she threw herself onto the Disaster Queen, catching her wrists and holding them tight. Using all the strength she possessed, she dove straight to the ground.
"Let go you little bitch!" Ireika screeched, struggling against Himeno's hold. "You will all be destroyed!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Himeno replied. Neither of them noticed when they made contact with the ground. Instead, they continued to fight against each other, rolling around on the ground and ignoring when sharp pieces of debris cut into their backs. Tears gathered in Himeno's eyes, but not from the pain. "Ireika, you have to stop this! There is no point in this fight! Nothing good will come of it!" Himeno protested.
"Exactly!" Ireika agreed. "No good will come. None! And that's exactly what I want. I want to destroy it all!" Squeezing Himeno's wrists tightly, she kicked the Pretear over her head and off of her. "Say good by Miss Goody-Two-Shoes." Ireika hissed.
She pushed herself up onto her feet and glanced around. The Knights stood weakly on two feet across the room, bracing themselves for what would come next. Raising her hand above her head, Ireika gathered a large amount of dark energy in her palm. When it covered her entire hand, she let it go. A large wave burst forth from it, growing larger and larger like ripples on the surface of a small pond.
When it made contact with the Knights, it blew them back and knocked them out cold. Himeno screamed when it made contact with her, despite the shield that Sasame put up. She flinched when she heard his cries as well. All of a sudden, the Pretear's leafe left her body and she arched her back in pain.
Sasame appeared in a flash of lilac leafe and went flying backwards, grunting when he hit the ground.
"Sasame!" Himeno cried, spinning on her heal and running towards him. She dropped to her knees when she reached him. Leaning over, she rested her hands on his shoulders and shook him gently. "Sasame? Sasame? Wake up, say something. Please Sasame!" She chocked through her tears. He didn't move.
Himeno jerked her head around when she heard groaning. Hayate was pushing himself up onto his hands and knees, clutching what Himeno assumed was a slash in his stomach. Jumping to her feet, she ran over to help support him.
"Hayate? Hayate are you okay?" She asked urgently.
Nodding weakly, he answered. "I'll live. You have to get out of here Himeno. You must leave."
She shook her head rapidly from side to side. "I won't leave you to her! I can't!"
"Himeno...please...before..." Himeno silenced him with a finger on his lips.
"I'm not going anywhere." She shushed him when he tried to protest. "I'm. Not. Going. Anywhere." She said sternly. Hayate sighed and looked away in defeat.
"How touching." Ireika said bitterly. "A weak little princess with her even weaker knight." Himeno whirled her head around, her eyes narrowed in anger. Turning her attention back to Hayate, she lay him back against a large slab that had once been part of the wall, making sure he was comfortable. When he was situated, she pushed herself up to her feet slowly and turned to Irieka.
Looking at her with empty eyes, she held her hands out. "I'm defenseless Irieka. Come get me."
"With pleasure." The queen said smirking. Waving her hand, she brought her violet ribbons back and directed them towards Himeno. "Take her down." She commanded. Himeno watched as they came flying towards her. She didn't resist, nor fight, when they wrapped around her wrists and ankles, yanking her up and off the ground.
She didn't even flinch when they began to squeeze, cutting off her circulation. Her fingertips began to tingle uncomfortably, as if small needles where being pricked into her skin.
"Finish her." Ireika ordered. Curling around her like snakes, the ribbons wrapped themselves around her figure. They completely covered her legs and pinned them together, but they went beyond that. They inched up slowly, wrapping around her torso and bringing her arms forcefully to her sides. Even when they reached her neck, Himeno refused to struggle against them.
Ireika smirked. "Good girl. You've finally realized that fighting is futile. You're not as dense as I though you were." Himeno said nothing. "And now, dear princess, prepare to die, but let me warn you, it will be a slow death. I want to see you suffer!"
Still, Himeno remained silent. Inch by agonizing inch, the ribbons wrapped around her, hovering three inches away from her body in large loops. Then they tightened, suffocating her after Ireika snapped her fingers. Himeno remained motionless, slowed her breathing to keep calm. She closed her eyes and thought. She thought of her family and how she loved them, she thought of the leafe knights and how much they meant to her, she thought of the disaster knights and who they could become, she thought of her friends, of all things good that she cared for, but lastly, she thought of Hayate and how much she cared for him, how much she loved him.
Love? She thought. I love Hayate? Unconsciously, her lips curved up into a gentle smile. She focused everything on those feelings, on those people she cared for. Leafe burned bright in her heart and spread out through her body. It spread through her legs, her arms, to her fingers and her toes. It felt like warm water was being poured over her skin, and it felt nice, but the leafe didn't stop there. It grew and grew, spreading not only through her body, but around it as well.
The violet ribbons burst in a blast of leafe and fell to the floor in tiny shreds. The White Pretear emerged. Himeno took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. She looked at Irieka, her eyes full of sympathy.
"The White Pretear," Ireika breathed, "but—how?"
Himeno turned away from Ireika and drifted down to Hayate. She held her hands out over him, palms down.
"H-Himeno." He chocked, trying to push himself away from the support of the wall, to sit on his own.
"Shh," she murmured, "relax, and I'll help you." Leafe poured from her hands in soft waves and showered the Wind Knight in its gentle touch.
Hayate sighed, contempt while the leafe was absorbed into his body. His strength returned and when he felt strong enough, he immediately pushed himself up onto his feet. Then, without warning, her grabbed her shoulders and yanked her into a warm embrace. One arm went around her waist, his other hand resting on the back of her head to keep her there.
"Don't scare me like that again." He murmured into her hair.
She nodded against his chest. "Okay, but right now we need to help the others."
Hayate let go of her reluctantly. He nodded. "I'll keep her busy." He said, jerking his head in the direction of a very shocked Queen of Disaster.
"Thank you. Hayate." Himeno smiled. She turned and moved to Sasame to revive him and Hayate turned the other way, standing in between her and Ireika. He held himself tall in a defense position. He clenched his fists at his sides, clenched his teeth and waited for her to make the first move.
She stood there in utter silence, a shocked expression still plainly on her face. She stood like that for what felt like an eternity, but when Himeno knelt to heal Kao's wounds, she snapped out of it. "Damn you all to hell!" She screeched, launching her ribbons at Hayate.
He was ready. His reflexes were quick when he threw up his arm and created a wind shield. The force of her attack caused him to slide back a few inches, but he kept his shield up and pushed the ribbons back. "You won't hurt anyone!" Hayate shouted. "Not while I have anything to say about it!"
"Then I'll just have to silence you then." Ireika said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. Reaching up, she pulled a metal hair piece from her hair which immediately transformed into a violet-bladed sword.
Hayate's eyes narrowed. "You're welcome to try." He whispered. Dropping his shield, he summoned the Wind Sword and held it at the ready. He didn't have to wait long before Ireika charged him and he parried it and pushed her back, only to attack himself. She deflected it with a simple flick of her wrist, nearly knocking the sword out of his hands, but he held tight.
"You're better than I thought." She told him as she leapt forward, their blades locking at the hilt as both tried to push the other into submission.
"I do what I can." Hayate grunted. He jumped back, releasing them both before trying a slash at her stomach. She barely dodged it in time.
"Cheap shot." She hissed, raising her sword up to bring it down on his shoulder.
Hayate brought his sword up horizontally, holding the hilt with both hands. He smirked. "It's not like I attacked you from behind."
She smirked back. "Good idea." She disappeared from view and Hayate stumbled forward a few steps when her weight disappeared with her. He stood stalk still slowly scanning the area. First the left, then the right. He heard metal slashing through hair, felt a light breeze drift towards him and he teleported out of the way. He reappeared up in the air, looking down at her.
"Care to try again?" He asked.
She growled and launched up into the air and swung her sword at his neck. Hayate ducked, twirled the sword in his hand into a more firm grip and swiped it towards her. She dodged to the right, but not before his blade grazed her upper arm, drawing blood.
Not a sound passed through her lips as she slowly glanced down at it. She glared at the wind knight out of the corner of her eye. "You've made your last move." She snarled.
Hayate didn't have time to even blink before she summoned a wave of evil energy around her sword. She gave it a mighty swing and sent the power flying towards him, sending him crashing to the floor. She gave a furious battle cry before diving down, her sword aimed at Hayate's heart. Out of nowhere, a protective dome of leafe formed around him and when Ireika's sword met with it, it shattered immediately. Ireika flew back and slowly turned her gaze upwards.
Himeno floated there, her hand held out towards the dome of leafe which slowly faded when she lowered her arm. She looked down at Hayate. "Join the others!" She called out. He nodded, picked himself up and ran over to them. Himeno followed him with her gaze before turning it onto the seething queen of disaster.
"Do you still want your battle? Do you still want all of the leafe? Well, I'll give them to you. All you have to do, is come and get it." Himeno told her.
"Himeno are you crazy!" Kao shouted up to her, hands cupped around his mouth. "That's the last thing you should be doing!"
Go rested a hand on his shoulder. "Trust her, she knows what she's doing."
Kao glanced back at him. "Trust?"
"Yeah, trust. It's what friends do." Mannen told him, crossing his arms and smirking up at him.
"Friends? Just because we're fighting with you now, doesn't make us friends." Garu snapped. "We have a common enemy, end of story."
"You mean...we're not friends?" Shin sniffled.
Garu glanced down at him and his eyes widened when he caught sight of fat tears welling up in the young knight's eyes. "I-I...well...you see...uh."
"Now look what you did!" Miraku taunted. "You made him cry!"
"What's it to you, you little punk." Garu hissed back, but his guilty expression didn't go unnoticed.
Kao ignored them all. Friends... he thought. Befriending them wasn't part of the plan. I've betrayed my mother. I've caused the others to betray her along with me. What have I done?
'Relax my son. All will turn out right.'
I hope your right. Kao glanced over to Hayate. "Are you worried?" He asked.
Hayate turned slowly to look at him. "Is there a reason for me not to be?"
"Me too..." Kao turned to watch Himeno. "For both of them." He added quietly to himself.
"Gladly!" Ireika snarled. She dove forward to attack and was met by a wave of leafe. She absorbed it all into her body and continued at the same mad pace towards the White Pretear.
Himeno looked at her, her bright eyes glowing with sympathy. That sympathy only made Ireika's anger grow. No one pitied her, she wouldn't let them!
Himeno slowly closed her eyes, opening them again just as slowly. "You leave me...no choice." With those words said, she flew back and landed in front of the knights. "Together, we can bring an end to this madness. But all of us have to work together." She glanced back over her shoulder, making eye contact with every Disaster Knight. "All of us."
"You won't hurt my mother." Kao said. It was neither a warning or a question.
Himeno offered him a small smile. "No."
Kao turned to the others. "It's up to you. We've been fighting all our lives for something I know none of you truly wanted nor believed in. We can put an end to it now, stop it without anymore suffering." He said. When he caught sight of Garu's scowling face he continued. "I know all of us would rather find our own solution, but what other choice do we have?"
Garu closed his mouth and looked at the other way. Kao looked towards the others. Miraku gave a thumbs up, Haraku and Saraku both nodded, Hajiru gave a bright smile, Shanru looked up to him hopefully. Such a young kid deserved better.
Kao turned to face the others. "We'll do it."
"Traitors! I should never have trusted any of you!" Ireik snarled from above.
Kao unnoticeably flinched. He loved his mother and he always would. He was doing what he thought was best, not only for his Disaster Knights; his brothers, not only for the Leafe Knights and Himeno who had befriended him, but for his mother as well. "Let's get this over and done with." He hissed irritably.
Himeno nodded. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and stood there. The Leafe Knights formed a half-circle around her, their backs to her. Kao jerked his head in their direction and the Disaster Knights followed suit, taking the spaces in-between the Leafe Knights which had been left for them.
When Kao took his place between Hayate and Sasame, colored energy gathered around them all. Hayate and Haraku glowed a dark navy blue, Sasame and Saraku lilac, Go and Garu a fiery red, Kei and Kiru a golden yellow, Mannen and Miraku icy blue-green, Hajime and Hajiru a shimmering sky blue, Shin and Shanru emerald green, and Kao a black light.
Himeno breathed deep as if welcoming some unknown warmth that the light emitted. She herself glowed a pure white, the color of snow. She floated up off the ground, holding her hands out in front of her. A beam of light from every knight flew up with her and gathered into a glowing ball of warm power in her hands. She cradled it there for a few seconds.
"This saga of chaos has come to a close and a new start will begin for you Ireika. Let go of your hatred and you will at last achieve the peace you have hunted for." Himeno murmured. Her words drifted through the air to Ireika who was paralyzed with shock.
Spreading her hands out, the light floated up and began to pulse, growing brighter, growing larger. Soon it engulfed Himeno and the Knights, but it didn't stop there. It kept growing until it reached Irieka.
She opened her mouth to scream her anger, but not a sound passed through her lips. It surrounded her in a warm embrace purifying her cold rage and replacing it with a warm feeling of peace. "It's...over. Just like that and it's over..." A small tear fell, leaving a small wet track down her cheek. "Finally."
Himeno smiled as the light slowly vanished, revealing a younger, kinder looking Ireika. Her dress had transformed into a simple flowing dress of white.
As one, both Himeno and Ireika slowly drifted down to the ground, their gazes locked together. When Himeno's feet touched the ground, her knees buckled and she fell forward. Hayate was there in the blink of an eye to catch her.
"Himeno!" Mannen, Hajime, and Shin called concerned.
"Himeno are you okay?" Sasame asked.
"It's nothing major is it?" Go voiced.
"You'll be all right?" Kei said.
Himeno looked up into Hayate's worried eyes and then at the others. She gave them a small smile. "I'm okay. Just a little tired as all."
"You sure you'll be okay?" Hayate murmured.
She nodded. "I'm sure."
"Himeno?" Ireika called out. She began to walk over slowly.
-Dark Knight False Light-
I'm so sorry! It's been four months and there are no excuses, so I made this one a little bit longer. Sorry to stop it here, but it seemed a good place to end the chapter. Since it's winter break, I promise I'll get out the next chapter SUPER soon. Hope you forgive and hope you liked it! See you next time! Oh, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!