here's the first chapter. it's so depressinly short, yet i spent nearly two days trying to write it. i may start crying.

oh, and i apologise in advance for the general suckiness of this. it's horrible! but, one must go on. hope you like it. with this out of the way, it should be shmoove shailing (touch wood) as the hypello say. i hate this mission. it haunts every other dream of mine, especially when i was playing it day after day, trying to complete it. in the end, i gave up for my few shreds of sanity. so, if anything is iffy, you know why. please review!

Chapter One - Beginnings

She folded her wings tight against her body, snarling. No more. It would end. It had to end. Now. On her back, her pact partner tightened his grip on her neck, urging her faster with silent murmurs in her mind. Below them was the Queen Beast, falling into oblivion. But the deed was not yet done. It was yet to be slain, and Angelus would not give up. And, judging from the dark whispers of her human, there was little chance that he would either.

The Queen had fallen into a tear in the endless red sky, clawing at the air in a desperate attempt to stop its descent. Further and further she plummeted, before suddenly disappearing completely. Letting out a primal roar, Angelus felt her body burn from the sheer speeds her body reached. Not…now…never… Too far. They had gone too far to lose it now. It was time to end it, and she'd be damned if she missed this chance!

Pulling her wings tighter against her…

Are you ready?

The wind lashed out against her, vainly trying to land a blow on her obsidian scales. Her human was faring far worse, but she wouldn't stop. Couldn't. Two fireballs ripped through the air, chasing after the Queen.

Beyond.

A flash of light – blinding, burning in its brilliance. Her body ripped apart…and yet…not. Momentary, fleeting. Limbo. Clinging to the familiarity of warm arms around her neck. Bonded. Eternity. Sounds! Strange…familiar…different. Roars. Hers? His? The Beast's?

And just like that, it was gone. The confusion fled, leaving her alone once more to her and Caim's tentative grasp on sanity. Her head emerged from the tear of time and space, slitted eyes glancing warily about her. They rose from the ground in black and grey, those towers, ready to swallow her whole. Jagged. Broken. Dead.

"Is this…" Could it truly be? "…the land of the Gods?"

Below, the Queen crashed into the gaping maw of the City of Gods, crushing those bleak spears. The dragon tried to blast fire at the horrifying beast, yet the magic would not hear her call. Instead white runes surrounded her in a circle, just in time to collide with the identical ring spreading out from the queen. With a bell-like sound, the two disappeared with a brief spark.

What the hells…?

My fire…it won't rise…

Then how do we kill it?

She hesitated, unwilling to admit it, even to herself. I…I don't know.

Another white ring moved towards them, and she had the distinct feeling that touching it wouldn't be pleasant. Again she tried to bring forth flames, and again white runes circled her. Another melodious clash rang out, and the she-dragon was left to wonder.

She felt the human shift upon her back, and a knife was thrown directly at the rapidly advancing ring from the queen. As soon as the blade struck it was ripped apart with such violence that even Angelus winced, and although she could not see him, she knew he was just as shocked. Shaking free from the stupor, she quickly met the advancing deadly ring with one of her own.

I…I guess we're not meant to touch those things then…

Observant as ever, I see.

He muttered something obscene, and just as she was about to deliver a scathing retort another white ring appeared.

Well, this isn't TOO bad, I guess.

Maybe you just need to wait and tire it out?

I think so. A moments pause. Oh crap. I believe we may be in trouble.

Despite the oncoming and unavoidable doom, the annoying brat of a human couldn't resist one last taunt. Now who's blatantly obvious?

My, my, such large words for something a few rungs down on the evolutionary ladder, she shot back, almost automatically. Arguing was second nature to her now, she mused. Death was fast approaching, and here she was mocking the one thing that had kept her alive since the bailey. Alright, he had almost KILLED them once or twice…

Black rings. It had to be black. The Queen couldn't keep to white runes, oh no. Angelus couldn't have received divine wisdom, heavens forbid! That would have been helpful. And everyone knew that helpful things were a no-no for the odd pair.

It seemed that her partner had realised that she had absolutely no idea what to do. Calling upon the reserves of magic in his seemingly frail frame, he fired a chain of black rings at their strange opponent. The sound that resonated through the air was different, deeper. Almost…sad. She had little time to ponder this new revelation as more black rings advanced on them.

Black…black…black…just as she was getting used to sitting back (figuratively, of course) and letting Caim do all the work for her, a white ring popped up out of nowhere, closely followed by a black…and a white…and oh, was that another black? Angelus didn't like this. Not one tiny bit.

I'm sure most of you have horrible memories of what happened next. I know I have. For Angelus, the rest passed as a blur, knowing her life, and her human's was teetering on the very edge of the knife, kept balance by split-second timing. The final chain, where a single mistake would send them hurling into the Reaper's arms, were battled against on pure instinct. During those terrifying moments, she felt as if she could predict what colour the rings would be. They seemed random, catching the pair off guard whenever they foolishly relaxed, even if but for a second.

White, black, white, black, whitewhitewhitewhite

Her body ached, burning, each beat of her ebony wings sending shockwaves of pain through her body. On her back, Caim's arms were clenched, death-like, around her neck, breathing harsh, strained. He was trying to take away the hurt, body trembling with each lance of agony. Even though she had no clear view of him, his image was burned into her mind. Teeth gritted, eyes squeezed shut, gathering all that pain in such a fragile body, yet still able to counter each black ring almost as soon as it appeared.

Whiteblackwhiteblackwhitewhitewhiteblackblackblackwhiteblackwhite

You don't have to do this, she wanted to tell him. I can carry it alone. You don't have to hurt…not for me. She kept the thoughts inside her head, though. She couldn't risk distracting him.

Blackblackblackwhitewhitewhiteblackwhiteblackwhiteblackwhitewhite

Her body tensed, nerves stretched to breaking point. When none came, she almost forgot to keep beating her wings, so overtaken by the task was she. It…it was…finished? And not a moment too soon, too. On her back, Caim was shaking uncontrollably, rocking back and forth. His grip seemed to tighten, and his breaths were coming in strained gasps.

Caim…?

She tried to reach out, touch his mind. Caim? Caim, it's finished. It's alright, now. She was shoved back with such force that she was momentarily breathless. Madness. A wall of pure insanity. Had his mind finally broken?

It approached slowly, lazily. Almost as if it knew that the broken pair would not be able to fight back.

Caim. Caim! She threw her mind against the barrier, trying to break through the haze of chaos. Caim, please! Panicked. Terrified. Desperate. Oh gods, Caim, listen to me!

But then…that would have been too easy, right? Caim, not now! And they had been so close. Caim, wake up! Well, it had been interesting, anyway. No, no, no no nononononononononononononoNO!! No regrets…well, no big ones. CAIM! At least we're together. I need you… Just like always. Just as it should always be. Don't leave me.

She braced herself, ready for the impact. Should have been stronger. Shouldn't have let you take it all. I'm a dragon, I could have carried the pain. Should have…

Shivering slowed, breath calm. So agonizingly slowly, pale blue eyes opened.

All in all, the whole event lasted no more than three minutes. But those minutes were the longest of their lives.

And so very nearly their final.