Hey everyone. OK, I seriously need something to zap me when I reread my chapters XD. I added so much to this chapter it's not even funny O.o What should be two chapters has merged into one big one. This chapter had originally been just over three pages, but I revamped it and added a heck of a lot, so now it's eight pages long! Ah, my poor eyes. They've been burning since 10pm when I started rereading/revamping this and now it's 3:30am (doesn't help that I have a small attention span these days and I daze off or I'm multi tasking XD)
Anyway, thanks for reviewing to everyone who did, it's much appreciated :D
I hope you like this chapter, it's full of action and suspense.
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Chapter 23
Kouran's eyes widened as she backed away from the dark looming castle before her. The earth beneath her very feet was quaking with tremendous force. Even the air trembled with anticipation of what was to come and the sky was still roaring loudly with its thunder and blaring with its blinding lightning.
The sight of the castle was incredible, frighteningly unbelievable and more than a little worrying. Never had she thought it possible for such a mighty structure move as this one did. The entire structure was trembling like a small boat on a turbulent ocean. The greatest of beasts to any builder flew wildly up and down the once strong stone blocks as they consumed it with little care for what it was or who was held within.
The building was falling to pieces.
"Lily…" there was nothing she could do for the girl but pray that she would be all right.
The noise all about her was atrocious. If she didn't go deaf, or in the very least burst an eardrum, she would be pleasantly surprised. She didn't know what was going on around her, but she could make a logical guess… or at least she would have had she not been concentrating on holding her breath and ignoring her body's fierce protesting.
There was one thing she knew for sure without even having to ponder it however - she was getting rather warm. Why, though, was the opportune question she could not answer at the moment due to her eyes being closed.
Someone was shouting something now, but all she could make out were scattered syllables. She could not even make out their tone, clouding the bearer of the voice even further in her mind.
All around her stone fell from its once stiff placement and crashed to the floor with a thundering clatter. Dust rose high into the air, its clouds thick enough to both suffocate and blind any caught within it, lest of course you were a god. It was for these reasons they had commanded the mortal girl to close her eyes and hold her breath, but this still left one predicament that could prove deadly.
Lily could only hold her breath for so long.
It was hard enough to hold her breath for over a minute when she was in perfect health. What wth all her injuries the effort was much harder and she was quickly reaching her limitations. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and pressure building up in her throat as the carbon dioxide levels rose, calling for release. Even her mind was beginning to become fuzzy.
Squeezing her eyes shut even tighter she tried to hold on even longer. She couldn't give up yet. The gods still needed her. They were depending on her.
Her brain overtook her will and forced her mouth open to gasp for air. Right as she did so however something clamped over it - something warm, soft and slightly moist. Whatever it was it was somehow aiding her and she was not about to deny its help.
It was moments later that a breeze of humid air came by her face. While it was something so simple it held great meaning. The humid air was something coming in from outside the palace, a feat only possible because a wall had completely collapsed. This particular wall was not the only one to leave its post however. Throughout the palace fractures in the mighty stone brought them crumbling to the ground, allowing light to enter for what seemed like the first time.
The shadows that had lurked in every inch of the place were retracting, seeking out shelter from their enemy even if it was not strong due to the raging clouds outside. All tranquility for them and their master had been shattered and Fenrir was not about to let it all continue without a fight.
Faster than a human could react Fenrir charged forward at the four beast gods with all intention of stopping them from further destroying his dark dwelling. Unfortunately for him his opponents were not human and were not rendered helpless by his speed.
Lily felt the thing covering her mouth quickly pull back before Suzaku abruptly move further towards the breeze caressing her face. "You can open your eyes now Lily," his voice rang in her ears, greatly contrasting the sounds of falling rock she had been hearing for what seemed like hours.
Without delay the mortal girl opened her eyes and looked up at the god cradling her in his arms. His red hair was messier than it had been moments ago, yet looked as if there wasn't a single tangle to mare it. The next thing she laid her eyes upon was the dark palace behind him, causing her eyes to widen in alarm. Not only was she outside it, but there were gapping holes scattered throughout the building in such a way it reminded her of Swiss cheese. How it remained standing was beyond her. But now she understood why she had been getting warm before, Suzaku had been emitting energy to harm the building and that energy also acted as heat source around him.
"Lily, I have to put you down," her attention was brought right back to the phoenix god as he spoke to her. All she could do was nod, her voice lost in her bewilderment.
As her feet were placed on the ground Byakko startled her with a cry of, "No you don't!" Turning her gaze to the other gods she found him missing, but his location was quickly figured out. Fenrir has attempted to assault Suzaku when his back was turned and the tiger god had reacted to prevent his comrade and Lily from being injured. Much to his disappointment however he missed hitting the wolf, but he did succeed in fending him off for the moment.
"Next time hit him Byakko," Seiryuu voiced. He, like his fellow gods, understood such a stunt was not as easy as it sounded, his comment have simply been one Suzaku would have most likely made had it been him attacking Fenrir instead of Byakko.
"Don't worry, I will."
A faint smile played on Suzaku's lips at the tiger gods reply. "Lily, can you walk?" the girl looked down at her feet, her hands still locked on his forearms for support, as she judged the pain in her system and the sturdiness of her legs. Whatever happened in the castle to keep her from suffocating had somehow also helped in healing her, but she was by no means back to health.
Taking in a deep breath she nodded, "I think so."
"Good," he bent down slightly and kissed her forehead. His lips were so soft against her skin, even a bit on the warm and moist side.
It was then that she realized just what happened in the castle to save her. Blushing madly she tried to deny it, but every thought came back to one thing. Suzaku had kissed her. A god had kissed her!
"Go find Kouran and seek out shelter," Suzaku's voice broke through her trance, "things are going to become too dangerous for you here."
She blinked in confusion, "but there's still something I have to help you with. Fenrir said so back in the palace and none of you denied it." She looked anxiously up at him, "what is it that I have to do." She suddenly cringed as a sharp pain erupted from her side.
"There is still something that you can do to greatly help us," the god of the south told her softly, "but I wish for you not to."
"Why?" she asked through gritted teeth. Perhaps thinking her injuries were bearable had been a bit over zealous.
Seiryuu turned his head to her, leaving Genbu to dash off and help Byakko before Fenrir could overpower him. "We may be gods, but that doesn't mean we don't we have a conscience." He crossed his arms, "because of us you were brought to this world and have had to deal with more than even our priestess had to."
"But-"
A finger on her lips cut her off. "You have released us from captivity. We cannot rightfully ask more of you," Suzaku to told her gently. "This should have been a task for our priestess, but they have since come and gone. They were bound to us in their time and this would have been their duty had they been here. Now however we are bound to you and it pains us to see you harmed."
Lily pulled away from the finger that had silenced her. "I've been harmed my entire life," she told him, "the only difference is, these wounds are physical."
"And I do not wish to further them," Suzaku replied, his tone slightly on the stern side. He sounded much like a parent speaking to a child, not a god speaking to someone who should look up to him.
A sudden cry of surprise brought their attention to their two friends and comrades currently battling Fenrir. Byakko hadn't managed to get himself out of the way when the would-be-god sent a fist flying his way and was now several yards away from his previous placement. Sitting up the god rubbed his now soar chest before getting to his feet and running back into battle.
"My actions are my own," Lily tried to fight with the god.
"And they effect other people," Seiryuu interjected before Suzaku could respond. "Now get out of her, we don't have time to play with you anymore."
Suzaku frowned at the comment, but said nothing about it. "Go," was all he said to Lily, "We can't protect you and ourselves at the same time, not against Fenrir." With that said he turned his back to her and raced off to aid his comrades in battle.
Lily looked over to Seiryuu, whose gaze was locked on the battle before him. Silently she knew he would not move until she was safely away from all this. He would stay to protect her in case Fenrir managed to get away from the three gods and come after to her.
Fenrir's words came back to haunt her mind, 'You four are still bound to that girl's assistance. If she should die now, all of you would be locked back away without my hand having to do it for me.'
Biting her lip she knew she had no choice, she would have to listen to the command and leave. Staying would only make her a nuisance, especially since it meant the dragon god would not enter the battle.
"Seiryuu," her voice quivered slightly at the aspect of what she was about to say to the great dragon god, whose eyes were trained on her even though his face was still pointed towards the battle. "You better beat him."
A rare smile formed upon the gods pale lips, but it went unseen by Lily as she turned and ran from the battle. She didn't know what possessed her to run, especially with all the pain scorching her body, but she wanted the gods to fight without worrying and this was the only way she knew of to allow it.
Shimmering tears ran down her face as she raced on. All she wanted to do was help, but the gods would no longer allow it, even though they knew they needed it. What was there left for her to do?
As each droplet fell from her face to the ground it glistened like a star in the night sky. In its wake the dead grass sprung to life for a short moment before withering back into its former state.
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Genbu saved himself from a bad collision with the ground by throwing his hands out in front of him. Nonetheless there was a sharp pain coming from his cheek, which was now bright red and beginning to change color as a bruise began to form. His black hair was coming loose of its knot, causing stay pieces to fall into his face and tickle his skin.
With great haste the tortoise god picked himself up and brushed his hair from his face. "This would be easier if we could change forms," he growled as Byakko skidded to a halt not far from him after having blocked a powerful assault.
"True," Byakko replied as he shook his soar arms, "but Lily would be in trouble."
"Her trouble would be over at that point," Genbu corrected before jumping back into the fight.
Byakko frowned, knowing his comrade was right. Nonetheless it could not be denied that they were at a great disadvantage without their true forms being accessible. If Fenrir were to go into his true form they would be in quite a bind.
Seeing Seiryuu being knocked back made the tiger god shake his head. "There's no time to think of such things," he reminded himself before lunging back into battle.
Even with four of them attacking the would-be-god conditions were far from being in their favor. It was something that made them feel as if they were humans fighting a god instead of gods fighting a demon.
Suzaku grunted as his chin was forced upward from a palm strike. Seeing an opening Byakko moved to tackle the wolf, but Fenrir was not about to be taken down so easily. Even with his back turned to the tiger god he managed to clench his hand, twist his body, throw his arm out towards Byakko and open his hand just as contact was made between the two of them.
The contact was not in Byakko's favor however. A strange energy was thrown out from the extended hand and coursed through god's body, throwing him back quite far. The impact was harsh on his back, but it did not stop him from turning onto his side to get up.
Or at least he tried to get up.
As soon as he started pulling his body from the ground shadowy vines ripped out of the earth and webbed around his body to form a net, pinning him to where he lay. "What in the blazes!" Byakko roared as he tried to break the bond upon him. His struggling only caused the vines to tighten however.
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The air carried Byakko's voice to Lily causing the girl to stop and turned around. Panting for breath she clutching her stomach in stomach in pain as she squinted to find the god amongst the battle. She had run some way since Seiryuu had entered the fight, but she could still make out who each god was due to their different styles of clothing.
It took her a moment but she finally realized that Byakko was no longer in the battle, but on the floor. This had only occurred to he after Seiryuu seemed to be trying to pull something off of what seemed like a black mound from her perspective. There was little doubt in her mind that mound was actually Byakko entrapped in some trickery caused by Fenrir.
"Lily!" The girl snapped her head to the side and saw a familiar woman jogging toward her.
"Kouran," she breathed, a smile on her face.
"My word!" the ghostly woman gasped as she came to stand in front of the living girl. "You look like you've been through a war."
"I might as well have been. Fenrir… kind of beat me up."
"Kind of? He tortured you!"
She had no idea how much she was right and Lily wasn't going to reveal it. Turning back to the battle she saw Seiryuu hit the ground several yards away where Byakko lay helplessly.
"This doesn't look good," Kouran voiced Lily's thoughts. "Why don't they change forms, surely that would be easier."
"No idea," Lily murmured in response.
The two of them watched the battle for several minutes. The gods were being pushed around badly. It seemed that for every one blow they gave Fenrir he gave five back. It was not a fair fight, not by any means. The gods should have the advantage! What was wrong?
When she saw Genbu get tossed by a shadowy whip while protecting Byakko she lost her cool. "I have to help them," she cried before darting back towards the battle.
"Wait! Lily!"
Kouran's words fell upon deaf ears as Lily raced onward. Adrenalin was pumping through her veins, causing her mind to forget the pain she was in and letting her run even faster.
The gods might have wanted her to get out of harms reach, but they needed her. She had to figure out what it was she had to do to aid them.
Genrou and the others were all depending on her.
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Byakko cursed as the vines continued to constrict around him. Even a god had their limitations and if he couldn't get free soon he would be crushed. Seiryuu's valiant attempt to free him had only caused the vines to become tighter and no amount of his own strength or abilities were breaking it either.
Digging his fingers into the dirt he tried once more to free himself. He pushed against the vines with all his might, bearing the pain of them digging into his skin. Seiryuu once again managed to fend off Fenrir to aid him in his struggle. Looping his fingers around a cross section in the vine made net the dragon god pulled as hard as he could, his heels digging into the ground as he did so. The vines dug into his fingers, drawing blood, but he merely clenched his jaw and tried to pull even harder.
The thing just would not budge.
"Seiryuu, look out!"
The god only had time to look up and see a large blur before he was thrown away from Byakko once more. Fenrir's shadow tricks were getting to be a huge nuisance, but there was nothing they could do to stop them from happening.
Fenrir pulled his arms to his chest before throwing them out to his sides, where both Suzaku and Genbu were. A jettison of shadows flew from them, crashing into the two gods and sending them onto their backs.
Now there was no one standing to protect Byakko from an attack.
"Damn you wolf," the tiger god snarled.
Fenrir smirked as he pointed a finger at him, "I may be damned, but you're about to be dead." A line of shadow as wide as three fingers flew from his outstretched finger.
Just as this happened someone, presumably Seiryuu in Byakko's mind, jumped over the entrapped god, landing low on their legs. The attack that had been meant to kill the tiger god hit the one in front of him, going clear through their chest and majestically stopping inches from his own face.
The save had been valiant but very reckless, the latter of which was very unlike Seiryuu, who normally calculated his every move before making it.
Byakko's eyes widened as realization dawned upon him. It was not Seiryuu who had saved him. No, the one before him had long brown hair, not blue, and it was a she, not a he.
"Lily," he gasped.
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O.o
Uh oh… What's going to happen to Lily? What's going to happen to the gods? And what the heck is up with her tears? Lets not forget the guys either. They're in quite a bind themselves!
I hope you liked this unusually long chapter. It's a little late, I know. I'm sorry. But it is twice the normal size –hopes she will be forgiven-
Oh and remember to let me know if you want me to reply to your review if you haven't already.
Please review.
Thank you!
