Chapter 20
~~LoLu~~
Loke stared across the expanse of the massive room at his opponent. Was the space getting bigger?
Cepheus looked back, his expression fixed and solemn.
"I sincerely wish we did not have to fight, Leo," the other spirit said, a little sadly. "But I know that even if you agreed with me you would have no choice, thanks to Serei-o and his deplorable laws. So I will try to make it quick and as painless as possible for you. Then, once the Heartfilia girl is human again and our realm severed from this one, our wondrous king will have nothing more to say, and we will all be freed of our servitude."
The lion frowned, suspicious. "You've never before beaten me in battle, so what makes you think that you will now?" And so apparently easily? To just say it like that...
"I'm not the same man I used to be," Cepheus returned with a suddenly proud, rather overbearing smile that grated on Loke's nerves. "I'm much, much stronger now."
"And so you think that I'll just give you a token fight and then step aside?" he questioned tightly. "Obey only the letter of the law?"
"Why wouldn't you?" his opponent asked as he began to draw in power in a very open manner. "I know that you have to fight to protect your owner," he spat, "but why should you fight all that hard for a damned human?"
Loke allowed his own power to manifest, this time into a sword made of light. He rarely chose to fight that way, preferring a melee battle to anything else, but he knew the King of Ethiopia, and how he would at least begin the fight. He wasn't overly concerned; despite not using this method of combat often, he was very, very good. He glanced at a still silent and motionless Lucy, noting her blank eyes, and knew that she wouldn't remember anything that was currently happening.
He deliberately stepped in front of her and raised his weapon.
"Lucy isn't just my master, Cepheus, so don't expect some lackluster, token defense of her," he felt it only fair to warn.
"Oh?" the other spirit asked, beginning to frown.
The leader of the zodiac straightened proudly. He was not ashamed of his feelings for the woman behind him. Even if he hadn't told her yet...
"I love her, so I'll fight to the death to protect her from you and anything else the universe can throw at her. I can't allow you to win this. I won't. For her sake, I will defeat you yet again."
It was stated plainly, with no false superiority or joking manner, his expression calm and now focused and intent. Let it never be said that when it was called for, he couldn't be serious. And it was definitely being called for in this instance.
Cepheus stared at him in horror.
"In all the millenia since we have existed, you've never let yourself get emotional with any female you've taken beyond a mild affection. Now, now you choose to love – and a lesser being? That thrice-damned prophecy was right again! The universe has gone to madness," he snarled, finally allowing his own sword to manifest, and glared at the copper-haired man facing him. "I will simply have to put a stop to it – this cannot be allowed to continue."
That was it, the gloves were off, and both knew it. The fight for Lucy's life, for their world as it was now, had begun.
Loke tossed his glasses off to the side without care and slashed his weapon through the air, reacquainting himself with its balance. It had, after all, been a while since he'd wielded it. It didn't take but a few moments for him to fall back into the mindset, and he watched with narrowed eyes as his opponent did the same.
The lion wasn't stupid. He could feel the power that Cepheus was not only emitting at the current time, but also what he was keeping back. And it was impressive, there was no doubt about that. He had definitely become much, much stronger.
That, however, wasn't what worried him. He was quite equal himself to such power, even stronger, and they both knew it. No, what concerned him was just what this new, enraged, and definitely unbalanced version of Ethiopia's king was going to try to pull, because it was most certain that he already had a plan ready. Cepheus knew he could not just defeat the zodiac lion in a straight fight of power against power, even with his current strength, so he had some other plan that Loke knew nothing of. That was a clear disadvantage for him, and he knew it. He would have to be ready for anything.
Easily thought; not so easily done.
He felt no hatred towards the other man, however. His soul was still cold and sick at what Cepheus had told him, and he was most definitely angry at the man hanging on the wall behind them. He had known a woman once, a friend that had been assaulted in that manner, and he would never forget the pain in her eyes, the wounded look that had never quite faded, and everything that she had gone through because of it. She'd never known that he had taken her vengeance for her, and he didn't regret doing it. Loke was quite sure the creep had done the same to others, and he most definitely deserved what he'd gotten.
And there were the two that had assaulted his beloved, as well – the ones he'd saved her from, just before she'd saved him. The very thought of anyone touching her in such a forced manner... he felt fury well up inside, and could very well understand Cepheus' unimaginable pain and rage himself, for he knew he'd feel the same in the other man's place.
However... that didn't excuse his descent into a madness that made him willing and even eager to harm the innocent, and his Lucy was definitely innocent. He deeply regretted that it had come to this, but he couldn't allow pity or his understanding of the other spirit's pain to move him. He would have to be as ruthless as he knew Cepheus was going to be.
The dark-haired spirit wasted no time coming at him, which was no surprise to Loke. Their swords clashed, echoing eerily in the room, and part of his mind detached, the lion watched his enemy closely. He was curious – while it was clear that the other spirit had indeed gotten stronger, he wondered if that had also carried over into his actual combat skills. Would he have gotten better in this particular arena, or not?
It quickly became clear as he leaped over a low swing that Cepheus had in fact not worked on his physical fighting skills – while he was a decent opponent, he still fell into the same patterns and even mistakes that he always had. Advantage to me, then – at least in this, he thought.
Another clash of steel, and another, and each time Cepheus tried to break his guard he failed. But he didn't seem to be all that bothered by that fact, and that was unusual enough to catch Loke's attention. Before, every time they'd fought in such a manner, his inability to best his opponent on this field had caused him to lose his control, which of course just made him lose the fight even faster. This time, there was no such indication of temper...
So. This was simply a game to him. He knew he couldn't win on this field, and didn't plan to. It was almost as though... the other man was simply trying to distract him – to keep him occupied.
Immediately his attention flashed back to Lucy, but he could as yet discern no danger to her, no magic being used against her... there was nothing.
What is this bastard playing at?! hewondered, gritting his teeth in anger.
If Loke weren't very careful, he'd be the one falling into the trap of losing control of his temper, and that would be very bad. He was already terribly frustrated at being forced into a defensive position, since he had no idea what was coming or from where. He didn't like to go into battles with so little information, though it was truthfully rare that he knew fully what was coming in any given battle, of course. Still, he usually had at least an idea of what to expect, and here he did not – except that Cepheus intended to turn Lucy back to her human state.
But even knowing that, he still knew nothing. Because he had no idea how such a thing was possible, how the other spirit even intended to attempt it.
One thing was for certain – it would take an incredible amount of power, as was clear from the fact that the man crossing weapons with him was holding most of his in reserve.
Loke shuddered at the thought of Lucy being subjected yet again to such high levels of power – it reminded him far too much of what he'd been forced to do to her to rid her of the darkness Marionette had left behind. The pain had been agonizing for her, he quite clearly remembered, and he couldn't even fathom letting someone else cause her pain like that again.
Then again, Lucy was more powerful than Cepheus, as well. So how was he planning to overcome her?
Too many questions and no damned answers.
Time to see if I can unsettle him, knock him off his game. I need to get inside his head, and the only way to do that is to push him hard.
A quick flurry of strikes, and then, "Speaking of freedom and servitude, Cepheus," he got out between blows, "did you know that because Lucy is now a spirit herself, all those of us whose keys she owned will never have to worry over an unkind owner again? It's just too bad that you didn't simply give her all the keys you've collected – if you had they'd already be free instead of having to wait to see if you could succeed with your... grand plan." He deliberately allowed a measure of disdain to slip into his voice, knowing quite well that the other man had never handled being mocked at all well.
Sure enough, there was a flash of anger in his eyes, but then his expression went flat again, and Loke knew he was going to have to push a lot harder to get what he was after.
"A fallacy, Leo. There is no freedom to be had as long as we are tied to those thrice-damned keys and anyone can claim they 'own' us. Your words are mere sophistry," he said dismissively as he slashed at the lion, who danced away from the strike on light feet.
"Your coveted freedom is an illusion, Cepheus," Loke grunted as he brought his weapon around to meet the next strike. "Even if you were to sever our world from the mortal realm, we are all still subject to Seirei-o. Do you mean to tell me that you've enough power to take him on and win? Until you do, you will never be truly free."
That certainly struck a nerve, as the other spirit slashed wildly at him, his anger once again slipping his hold for a few moments, allowing Loke to land a painful strike on Cepheus' shoulder. With a curse, the king of Ethiopia jumped back out of the zone and glanced down at the sparkling wound, his brow furrowing with pain and rage.
That's the ticket, Loke thought. Little by little. He who has the patience has the battle.
Not wanting to give him any time to think and regain his control Leo immediately went after him, lunging forward seemingly recklessly and deliberately leaving his guard open just slightly on his left side. He knew Cepheus would see the 'mistake' and try to take advantage – and that was just what he wanted. And indeed, he let himself be pulled into the act and went for Loke's left side – only to be shocked when the sword Leo was wielding struck him again – this time in his arm. More golden light spilled forth from the other man's body, and he hissed.
With an angered shout, he grabbed the chair he'd been sitting in earlier and threw it at his opponent with one arm, trying to break Loke's rhythm and give himself a chance to take control of the battle back from the copper-haired spirit.
It only partially worked, giving him no more than a few seconds of a breather, because Leo simply dodged the chair and ignored it as it crashed to the ground and kept pressing him.
"On top of that," Loke continued right on from where he'd left off, "Seirei-o is fond of Lucy and was well-pleased with the effect her joining had on the spirit world. If you were to succeed here, you would only be facing his wrath once you were stuck back in our world. Have you really gone so mad as to think that he'd simply accept what you'd done and shrug it off?"
He'd struck another nerve, as Cepheus openly hesitated for several seconds. Then he seemed to remember himself, and he scowled.
"I already have a plan to deal with him," he replied snidely, bearing down on Loke with an overhand strike that actually managed to land, and warm golden light sparkled off the lion's left shoulder. He barely noticed, however, too much adrenaline pumping through his body for him to feel much of anything.
He laughed incredulously at the other man as he blocked the next strike and then slashed out again. "You have a plan to deal with Seirei-o? Oh, Cepheus, you really have gone insane, haven't you? One doesn't deal with Seirei-o. None of us have that kind of power – not even all of us together."
Loke wasn't prepared for what happened next; with no warning whatsoever, the king shouted, "Alderamin: Will of the King – Binding!" and a circle opened beneath his feet as Cepheus poured out his power as his great rage once again momentarily slipped its leash.
He barely escaped the binding magic by the skin of his teeth, managing to resist just long enough to use his own counter.
"Regulus: Shards of Light!" he shouted as he rolled out of the way of the other man's blow and threw his own, punching the floor with a light-wrapped fist. Beams of hot golden light shot out of the floor in several different directions, and though Cepheus managed to evade the first one, he chose the wrong direction to jump and landed right where another one appeared. He was knocked back quite a ways, only coming to a halt when he slammed into one of the walls and then slid to the ground.
The lion needed the moments that move gave him, the king's magic having gotten just enough of a hold on him to slow his movements and make him sluggish.
He lifted his head, panting for breath and fighting to regain control of himself. But every hair on his body lifted as Cepheus began to laugh. The man didn't try to stand up or attack him again, he just laughed and laughed, in that moment truly sounding like the madman Leo had named him.
Loke watched him through narrowed eyes as he drew in as much air as he could. "What's... so damned funny?" he managed to get out through heavy pants.
Cepheus continued to chuckle, seemingly truly amused by something, and the lion couldn't help but feel even more cautious and suspicious.
"You've betrayed the spirit world, Leo, by giving your heart to a human, so you deserve every bit of what I'm about to do to you."
"Wha-" Loke began, only to be cut off as white-hot pain erupted down his back, and he spun as Lucy, her eyes still blank but whispering something unintelligible under her breath, slashed at him again with a long knife.
Where the hell did she even get that? he wondered numbly, his mind dulled with the shock of her attack. He flashed a quick glance behind him at Cepheus, his new wound bleeding more golden light, only to see his enemy grinning almost diabolically back – while his mouth was moving silently in time with Lucy's.
So he's using that damn voice magic of his again... fuck! What the hell am I going to do? I can't... I can't fight her! I...
"Lucy!" he shouted, "wake up! Kick him out of your head, don't let him use you like this!" Please... don't do this. Fight him... please. Damn it all to hell... this is just like that damned Marionette!
What do I do now?
Unable to get through to her at that moment Loke was forced to block her; as he refused to actually attack that was all he could do. Lucy showed no such hesitation, going after him immediately, and with force.
It was a good thing that she was not used to such combat. It showed in her attacks and movements. If he had been willing to land a blow he could have already defeated her several times over with the openings she left him.
But the lion wasn't about to fall to such uncoordinated and simplistic attacks. Her movements left him time – time to consider what he needed to do to stop Cepheus' heinous mind-control of his beloved.
If I can maneuver her around closer to him, I can turn this little trick around on him, and use him as a shield against his own attacks. If I surprise him enough, she might be able to land a blow on him, shattering his concentration enough for me to get a chance to use my power against him. That would be enough to break his control over her...
… I hope.
With nothing else coming to mind at that point, Loke put his idea into play, knowing that he was going to have to do it slowly enough so that he could get in range of Cepheus without him noticing. That wasn't going to be easy – and it would probably take some amount of time. He couldn't rush it, or the other spirit would realize what he was doing.
This was going to be a very slow dance...
Setting himself to be patient even as he choreographed the whole thing in his head, move for move, Loke also knew he'd have to continue trying to vocally puncture holes in the other man's ideas, because if he stopped talking now, he knew Cepheus would get suspicious. And meanwhile, each attack by Lucy he was forced to block, each hit he had to avoid without being hit in turn himself was just another spark of anger at Ethiopia's king. At this rate, the man was building a bonfire atop Leo's protectiveness and love for his mistress, and the lion was almost afraid of what kind of explosion he was inviting with his reckless plans.
"So, if you have something you think is going to work against Seirei-o, why haven't you already used it? I mean, that should have been the first thing you took care of if you expected this little fiasco of yours to actually work, right? Looks to me as if you're going at this backward," Leo grunted as metal clashed against metal in an endless-seeming barrage. What Lucy lacked in skill, Cepheus was making up for in sheer ferocity.
But that would also tire her out fairly quickly, as well – which meant that whatever the bastard was planning would have to happen relatively soon. In fact, Loke was pretty sure the only reason Cepheus was even dragging it on this long was to make him suffer for refusing to join him in his little plans. As the leader of the Zodiac and strongest of the spirits next to Seirei-o, he would have been a powerful ally to have – though his earlier words to the other man still held true. Even with all of the spirits together, they weren't strong enough to take the spirit king down.
There was a reason he was the spirit king, and that would be it.
"Bah," Cepheus snorted, seemingly brushing off Loke's words carelessly. "I do not fear that bastard. Do not concern yourself with my fate, Leo; you should be far more concerned with your own. If you are not with me then you are against me, and I have no qualms with taking very... permanent actions to remove you from my path."
But the lion had caught that slight instant of hesitation, that spark of worry that he couldn't quite hide behind his insouciant attitude.
A short exchange of blows with Lucy as he danced lightly on graceful feet, moving just a tad bit closer to Cepheus, and then, "Permanent actions...?" he questioned. Keep him talking...
"Come now, do not pretend you are stupid," the dark-haired spirit purred. "While we spirits are normally immortal and cannot be readily killed, there are a few ways to do so. After all, you were already exposed to one such method by Seirei-o himself, weren't you?" he continued snidely as he climbed back to his feet, though he did not move any further away. "And there are a few more. Become too much more of an obstacle and I won't hold back – I will gladly use one of said methods. Death is quite permanent, don't you think?"
Loke almost rolled his eyes even as he rolled smoothly away from another series of attacks from his ensorcelled lady. "Oh, so you're just planning to start a war in our world, then. I see. Take out any and all dissenters to your ideals before they can stop you? Why, Cepheus – I had no idea you had such imperial ambitions as to rule our world in Seirei-o's place."
"Omnia Licet and all that, my good fellow. You should remember that phrase."
"Everything is permitted? Really? That phrase doesn't really apply unless you actually hold true to its tenet, Cepheus. And since only what you allow would be permitted, you've kind of just killed your own argument," Loke wasted no time in shooting back.
At that, the other man actually blinked, as though he hadn't really thought about that. Then he just shrugged, and said, "Semantics. I've no interest in wasting my time with them," that superior manner of his only increasing. "The ends justify the means, that's all the argument I care for."
But Loke was finally right where he'd planned to be – standing in front of Cepheus. Now was the time to strike; waiting until the very last fraction of a second, he dodged Lucy and she went right past him, unable to stop her forward motion so suddenly. Perfect! He continued his last movement through to the end, as he once more punched the floor and called to his power.
And suddenly, everything went wrong once again, as instead of the warm burn of his own magic opening beneath him, he felt the bite of Cepheus' power take hold of him instead. Frantic, he tried to dodge at least some of the spell as he had before, but there simply wasn't enough time, and within fractions of a second he found himself bound by his enemy's 'Will of the King' for the second time in this battle.
Cursing inwardly, Loke scowled; he would be able to overpower Cepheus' control fairly quickly, and though that sounded like a good thing, the lion was well aware that it was a mixed bag. The only reason he'd be able to get out of it so fast was because the other spirit had only used just enough power for exactly that end – the rest of his power was being directed somewhere else, and suddenly, there just wasn't enough time.
Enough time for anything – even for him to breathe.
Fuck! It was all a trap, all of it, from the very beginning! This was exactly what he wanted!
Desperately,Loke fought harder against the binding, panic flooding his mind and body...
Just as Cepheus power opened a circle beneath Lucy's feet, he managed to break through enough to throw himself into the young woman whose eyes were just beginning to clear...
… but it wasn't enough to knock them out of the way, and now both of them were caught in the vengeful spirit's spell.
~~LoLu~~
A/N: I'm sorry for the delay - life happens, and all that. I won't bore anyone with giving reasons that have been heard many times from many other authors, but at least I finally managed to get through the block I was having on this chapter to finish it out. Hopefully, I won't run into the same problem with this next chapter. I pray that everyone is entertained by it, and I thank you all most deeply for your continuing interest in this story.
Amber