Reuploading the rewritten, lengthened, and fleshed out chapters. Changing things around. Hopefully, I got all of my spelling and grammar mistakes.
Onward:
Chapter 5
The gundam pilots were all checking over their Gundams, making any last-minute adjustments before they set off. They were to infiltrate an Oz facility, and Ria was nowhere to be seen. She had shown a major interest in the mobile suits, and the particular workings of them, particularly the Wing Zero and Deathscythe. Where could she be? She was supposed to be getting ready now.
"Heero, have you seen Ria at all?" Quatre asked Heero.
"No. She was supposed to be here two minutes ago. If she doesn't show up in the next five minutes, we're leaving without her." Heero replied, continuing to look around for the mysterious Goddess of Death.
A voice called out from the forest floor, gaining the attention of the pilots as they worked.
"Are you all going to stand there looking for me, or are we going to get going at some point?" They noticed the shadow of a horse and rider on the ground
"How long have you been there, and why didn't you show yourself?" Heero asked, growing frustrated.
"I've been here for like three minutes watching you looking for me. Now go, I'll be right beside you guys all the way." Ria called, turning her horse around and getting ready for the boys' to launch.
"You can't keep up with our mobile suits on a horse. We're going far away and overseas. A horse can't go overseas" Wufei called, thoroughly frustrated.
"I'll deal with that problem when it arises. Now get your sorry asses out of here. We are already late in leaving. You have something important you need to do. NOW GET!" Ria yelled.
With enough incentive, the boys got into their Gundams and launched into the skies. They thought they had lost Ria when they saw the shadow of a black horse keeping up steadily with them far in front of them. The horse was out running their flying. Duo, sensing a challenge, sped up fully intending to catch up to the horse and rider. He was moving right above and next to the rider of the speeding horse. The rider turned and looked at the Deathscythe, the hood of the cape was suddenly blowing back, and Ria could be seen, smiling and accepting the challenge. She spoke telepathically to Duo.
I bet you can't do what I'm about to do or keep up with me for that matter." Ria said, smiling like a mad fool and showing way too much teeth in the process. She looked almost manic with her hair whipping around her face in the wind.
Duo, who had gotten used to speaking telepathically with Ria over the past week replied, "Bring it on, girl. I can take what you give, and I can out-fly your little horse.
"We'll see about that." Ria retorted, coolly as she pulled her hood back over her head. Suddenly, by bringing her hands down onto the saddle she brought herself to a crouching position on the back of the horse moving fast enough to keep up with five agile mobile suits. Then she stood herself up, straight and tall in the saddle. Duo's eyes by now were wide and wondering how the hell she did that and why it looked so familiar, along with the hooded cape.
As he was wondering how she did that, she jumped up and into the air to land perfectly straight with her arms out for balance on the horn that suddenly appeared in the center of the horse's forehead. She was standing on the horn of a speeding unicorn. Now, she had Duo's full attention. Suddenly, she jumped backwards, performing a perfect back hand spring off of the horn and onto the saddle where her feet slid down the sides and into the stirrups into proper riding positions. She turned to Duo and pushed her hood down and bared her face, winking at him and smiling.
"Your turn." she said, clearly leaving out the "top that" that she had wanted to add to her sentence. Duo just gaped. He couldn't top that. First, he couldn't leave the comfort of his cockpit; Second, he couldn't stop and delay their arrival time in the vicinity of the base; and third…when he thought about the third reason he'd tell everyone.
"I can still go faster than your horse." he retorted. He wasn't gonna lose this bet. He didn't even want to think what the guys would think if he lost a bet to a girl.
"Ooo...much pressure I see. Loose a bet to a girl or prove your manliness. Tough choice, I can see." Ria replied coolly, before turning to the other guys who had caught up to them and now flanked Deathscythe and the horse and rider. Ria spoke to Heero first. Heero and the other guys had gotten better over the past week as well with telepathy. But, they chose to block Ria's voice even though if Ria wanted to, she could break down any barrier they put up in their mind's eye. "Heero, what does the base look like and where is it?"
"It's in Nairobi and you should know what it looks like. We've been going over it every day for the past week." Heero coolly replied wondering how she had gotten through his mental barrier. She had shared with the pilots how to build a mental wall to keep both She and Vicky out of their minds.
"I'm a lot stronger then you are with telepathy. Even more powerful than Vicky, and I've been using telepathy far longer than she has. Your most intimate thoughts are mine to read. One of the things that make me a very bad enemy to have is because I can see any plans and all of the thoughts that go through your head." Ria answered Heero's unvoiced question
Ria turned to Duo then, her blue-black hair whipping around her, now breaking out of its bun. The stray pieces of hair made her look dangerous as they flew around her head in a halo-like oval. "I want a bubble bath every single night for the next 10 weeks. If you don't bring me that or have someone fill in for you, I will make you dress up in a dress and sing the 'I feel pretty song'. See you later now." She said, with a wink as her horse stopped and reared, when the front hooves touched the ground, both rider and horse were gone in the blink of an eye. Duo, to put it bluntly, was floored. A horse…a speeding unicorn…had just outrun his precious Deathscythe.
The five mobile suits sped to where the base was. As they arrived, they caught sight of Ria watching the base. Her unicorn was grazing on a hill quite a ways away from her. As the Gundams set down where Ria was, Ria, who had been floating about two feet above the ground, turned to stare at the mobile suits. Her gaze rested on both Deathscythe and Wing Zero. Then she turned back to the base, apparently waiting for them to contact her either face-to-face or via telepathy. Heero chose telepathy.
"How long have you been here?" He asked, pissed off that she had been here before them, and yet, she didn't feel the need to update them on her position and the condition of the facility.
" Umm…quite a while. This is your job…not mine. I just deal with the dead souls. You guys dish out the death. If I want to get my hands soiled, I'll tell ya." Ria replied, shrugging her shoulders in a nonchalant way.
The boys, figuring that, that was all they were going to get out of the strong woman, decided to get their job started. The fight lasted all but three hours. The boys, who had fought heroically, were completely dumbfounded when they went back to where Ria had floated.
She had gotten on her horse at some point and thrown the cape over her slender shoulders to show a strapless, leather tube top. Her wrists were adorned with black metal bracelets and around her neck she wore a single blue-black rare emerald stone. Her pants were black leather with a silver studded belt. In the center of each silver stud there was a black dot of pure angeliquim. She wore black, knee high boots that had two inch heels. He hair was done up in a black and blue bun, much like the night Duo had met her. The Clips though were black now instead of star studded blue. She looked to be off in a daze, staring out into the flames of the once proud military base. Her body shimmered slightly, giving off a darker aura.
Duo decided he would go down and attempt to break her out of the daze. He descended out of his gundam, and walked towards her, calling her name the entire time. Nothing would break her trance. The boys started to become worried when Duo couldn't break her trance. But, when he tapped her on the shoulder, still in a daze, she suddenly snapped into action. Faster than any of the boys could register, Duo was twisted over Ria's shoulder and down on his back. When Ria looked down on him, her trance broke at the pained expression on his face.
Her eye widening, she called out, "Duo!" and jumped off her horse kneeling beside him as the other pilots exited their Gundams and rushed to Duo's side. "Why did you touch me? Why did you touch me while I was transferring souls? You never EVER touch me when I'm transferring souls." She sobbed, tears forming in her eyes. The tears fell as silver droplets from her eyes. As her tears fell on his face, his body took on a slight glow, his amethyst eyes misty.
"Why are you all crowding around me? Why are you crying Ria?" He asked, a confused look coming on his face as her tears continued to fall on his face. He slowly sat up and wiped at the tears only to find that there were no tears stains on his face. Surprised, he looked at Ria, who gasped and looked into his eyes. Slowly, she backed up about four feet away from him, a pained expression coming on her face. She started shaking her head, further confusing Duo. The other four pilots could only look on in confusion as she refused to come any closer to the braided pilot.
"Who are you?" she exclaimed, continuing to shake her head back and forth.
"I'm Duo Maxwell, why?" Duo answered, today was just a confusing day. The pain in his lower back disappeared and all that could be felt was the confusion.
"No, Who are you really?" She said, lowering her head, looking like a bull getting ready to charge.
As the boys tried to figure out what was wrong with Ria and why she was suddenly afraid of Duo, a black shadow stated to form above them. Unbeknownst to the boys and Ria, an evil aura had shown itself and Ria, in her state of panic, she hadn't felt the aura.. Suddenly, as the six teens stared at each other, the black shadow formed a head and an upper body and snapped out, to grab the surprised goddess of death and injected a vile of red glowing liquid into Ria's neck. Ria gasped, and fell over, holding her neck.
"Ria!" Duo cried, leaping up and running over to the fallen girl. Heero was close on his heels with the other three close behind him. They crowded around the fallen goddess. She tried to speak, but not a word came from her mouth. Blood red rings began to form around the darkening pupils of her eyes, wide and dilated to near nothing with shock. Then, as if the she had exhausted herself in her shock and dismay, she fainted on the ground just as the sky darkened and, off to the east, the tell-tale signs of thunder and lightning began to be seen.
Not long afterwards, the rain began to fall sharply to the ground making a harsh hiss as it fell. It didn't fall calmly and soothingly, though. It fell as if it were a thousand needles, stinging every pore of the body with unknown amounts pain, falling every direction but down. The unicorn, which had been a few feet away, reared and took off running fully planning to escape to the safety of the God's Ledge. The boys, gathered the fallen girl in their protective embrace and took off for their Gundams, soaked to the bone.
The ride back was sullen and quick. No one spoke for fear that something would happen. Ria had begun to shiver and sweat giving signs of pain. When the boys had arrived back in their safe house, they opened the door to find Vicky, Darien, a brunette in a white dress with a white apron around her waist and a girl they had never seen before. She had black waist length hair, dark blue eyes, Purple angel's wings and her dress looked to be of Chinese style that was blue and shimmered in many different colors of blue as if it were made of pure water. They all stood looking at the pilots as Heero carried Ria inside, awkwardly holding onto the girl as her body shivered and burned at the same time. The heat she gave off was almost too uncomfortable.
The brunette put a hand to her mouth and yelled, "Lady Mistress!" as she ran up to Ria and started feeling her forehead and mumbling under her breathe, "High fever, spasms in the stomach, clenched airway, pale complexion, and a large dosage of sweat…Oh my God! No! This can't happen to her. We've lost so many this way!" The brunette cried as she held onto Ria's stark white hand, clammy with sweat.
"Nancy! What's wrong? It isn't…?" Vicky couldn't bring herself to finish what she was saying. Darien had just gone a pale shade of white, and the unknown angel just looked like she wasn't fazed by anything although she took on a sombre look in her eyes.
Heero and the other pilots were lost and had no idea what to say to this. Some of the strongest people in Heaven were standing in front of them looking like their friend was going to die. "Please," he thought, "Don't let her die." Out loud he asked, "What? What's wrong with Ria?"
The sullen angel walked towards Heero, her black hair billowing behind her as she walked forward and took Ria from Heero's hands. She then turned and disappeared out of sight. The sound of footsteps in the room that Ria shared with Heero and Duo could be heard. As the unknown angel settled Ria into bed, the other angels now dealing with the pilots and their questions looked at each other and held their eye contact for a second. Vicky spoke first.
"Ria was infected through the neck with pure deviliquium. There are currently no cures what-so-ever in Heaven or Hell. And so far, every angel, except the one that was here before and is currently in the back room with Ria, died from being injected by deviliquium. Ria has a very slim chance of staying alive, and she has an even slimmer chance of staying the Ria that we all know and love."
"She might not make it through this alive? Why weren't you watching her! She's not used to being on Earth. This is the first time she's been out of the God's ledge since she came to the God's ledge eight years ago." Nancy exclaimed, her friend and the goddess of whom she was currently obligated to watch over as Marissa is to watch over Vicky, was lying on a bed in a sad state because these clumsy humans just had to take their eyes off of her charge.
"Nancy! They are not clumsy! These are the most mature boys that I know on Earth! Don't, and I say this with much warning, don't say wrong about these boys!"
"Yeah, like you know that many people! Mistress lady, let me ask you this, what do these boys think they're doing attempting to watch over our Lady mistress? She's too much work for them to look after. Are you really that immature in age that you think that our Goddess of Death would be safe here in the care of HUMAN BEINGS? How could you entrust her to them when something like this could very well happen!? You knew that we were having these issues with the demons. How many angels have you held and watched die in the last few months?"
"Nancy, don't you dare speak to me in that tone of voice! I am not one of your angels! I am the head Goddess of Heaven. How could you even think that I am immature? Or these boys for that matter? I was born on Earth and I was welcomed onto the God's Ledge when I found out my first-born child, Valerie, was alive and well there. I know more about these boys than anybody else!"
"Mistress Lady, let me ask you this. How long have you been welcomed onto the God's Ledge?" Nancy asked, turning her head to scrutinize the five boys now wearing looks of shame for being degraded to nothing by an Angel of Heaven because they couldn't take care of her charge.
"I've been in Heaven for six months." Vicky answered, wondering why the question was asked in the first place.
"My Lady mistress has been on the god's ledge for eight years. That includes angel city. She was taught how to fight, how to fly; despite the fact that she had no wings at the time; how to sing beautifully, she was very well educated in the top of her class which is very difficult in itself to do because some of the most renowned people in the history of mankind from all nationalities were there. She learned poetry, song writing, and battle tactics. She was so happy. I'm positive that you know nothing about her. I raised her, she is like a daughter to me and I hold her with the highest regard. Any one of these "intelligent beings" as you call them, couldn't hold a candle to her. And would you like to know the amazing part! My lady mistress, My adopted daughter, Anarhria Racello, god bless her golden heart, was born human. Yes, you heard me, one of the strongest and the most intelligent women in all of Heaven, revered by the very gods and goddess' themselves who made all of the worlds of the human realm, was born a human. I'll never forget the day she was brought into Heaven. The first question she asked was if she was dead. We all laughed, and she opened up to us immediately. So help me god!" And she turned and pointed to the five boys, completely ignoring the now astonished warrior woman, "If that girl doesn't get through this, you will have the wrath of every single soul phantom, god, goddess, or angel on your backs." With that said, Nancy turned and instantly transmitted herself back to Heaven. She needed a big mug of hot chocolate from Angel Café in Angelic city.
Kaori worked around Ria. She put a wet towel on the death deity's forehead and kept her nestled underneath a pile of blankets. The poor girl was burning up, and you wanted to sweat out the drug. Vaguely, she wondered if she was this way she was when she happened to run across the lethal drug Deviliquium. She remembered intense burning behind her eyes like someone was blowing fire and smoke into her eyes. She remembered her arms feeling like lead and a feeling of not being able to move her legs.
Ria moaned, tossing and turning. There was a knock on the door and Kaori turned to the door and said enter. The person who walked in was none other than God himself, more commonly known as Darien. Kaori rolled her eyes and turned away. He might be "god", she thought, but he's not God. He walked over to where Ria was and sat on the bed by her feet. He looked at her, his blonde hair falling around his eyes as he stared solemnly at the sick girl.
"How is she?" He asked, softly.
"She's fine." Kaori replied. She stood up and walked around the room. She studied the interior and the placement of the furniture. The three beds placed against the walls, the two windows with the large oak tree rooted outside the left back window, the beige walls and the white ceiling. It all seemed too serene to house one of the most powerful women in the Heavenly afterlife who was now under the stress of one of the most venomous toxins known to angelic beings. It was the ONLY drug known to heaven and hell that could harm a resident of heaven just as Angeliquim. While it formed a wonderful double purpose of being able to be used as a means of making weapons, it was also just as venomous to residents of Hell.
The blonde-haired man watched the Goddess of Water pace around the room. Her blue eyes were blazing, shifting colors as the emotions within her rolled beneath the surface, her black hair moved with a life of its own, twirling around her every time she turned sharply. As she walked, her purple wings fluttered in and out; extension, retraction, over and over, as if it was a mental twitch. The occasional purple feather fell to the floor.
Darien was worried about his three top goddesses. Vicky was worried about Ria and there was the fact that she was still young. Only six months ago she actually find out about Heaven and the fact that her daughter was alive and well. Kaori has been and will continue to be the head warrior angel and the third strongest Goddess. She alone was the only angel/ Goddess that had survived the venomous Deviliquium. That fact alone was a testament to both her mindset and her strength.
"How long will she be like this?" Darien asked, looking at the girl whom he had brought into Heaven and brought up so that she could be a great goddess and angel. She was trained by the strongest warriors she was taught by the brightest minds in the universe, she learned to sing by the most talked about people, and the most renowned composers ever to enter heaven who now lived in Angel City like Mozart, Beethoven, etc., and she graduated top honors from one of the most prestigious school in the universe, The Angelic Academy. The girl was like his surrogate daughter and he was proud of her. The fact that she cared enough to kick his ass around when he did something wrong, same as Vicky and Kaori, was enough to make his heart warm. The three girls were precious to himself and all of Heaven. Nobody wanted to hear the news that they had lost one of the three most powerful Goddess' of Heaven. The angelic deities would be in tears while Hell would be praising whatever higher being they do.
"I don't know for how long she'll be like this. The most we can hope for is a day or so at the most. The venom works quickly. It all depends on how strong will to survive is." Kaori replied, stopping to look Darien in the face. His face was calm but drawn. She shook her head and continued pacing around the room, stopping every once in a while to check on the distraught girl.
Suddenly, Ria stopped tossing and turning. Both of the supernatural beings sighed, believing that the worst had passed. Both of them then changed their minds when the girl arched her back off the bed and started screaming out right. Her body began to glow red, the unearthly screams radiating out of the room and into the living room where the other two heavenly beings and the five pilots sat waiting for news. the boys attempted to open the bedroom door, only to have Darien and Kaori leaned back against the door.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING! GET OUT! GET OUT NOW BEFORE YOU'RE KILLED!" Kaori pushed the door closed and as she did, the screams became even louder until even the higher creatures of Heaven had to leave the room. As they ran out of the room, covering their ears the whole way, they came across the five boys crouched with their hand over their ears shaking in pain from the sheer volume of the screaming. Both Darien and Kaori grabbed two of the boys each and pulled them towards the front door. No heavenly deity has ever reacted to this drug in quite this manner. They wanted to be ready to run if need be.
Soon, the screaming died down and Kaori ventured out of the living room and into the further reaches of the house. The people in the living room heard a gasp and saw Kaori back out the room, her violet wings straight out behind her and preceding her. As she stepped off across the threshold of the room, still backing up, the distinct vibe of something evil penetrated the house. Even the walls felt like they were enclosing everyone in with a heat that kept on building. There was a chorus of gasps as the newly revived Ria came into view.
Her hair was unbound around her shoulders, forming a veil, black with fire engine red streaks throughout. Her black tube top and black leather pants had turned into a red leather dress, strapless and barely able to cover her it was so high on the bottom. She had a black chain wrapped around her slim waist with a magnificent blood red ruby holding the chain together. Her legs were encased in black thigh high boots teetering on four-inch heels. Around the boots were silver chains, pad locked around her ankles. On her wrist were silver jangling bracelets and around her right upper arm was a black circlet with a silver demon's insignia and angel's wings outstretched.
She smiled at them all. It wasn't a nice smile though. It was a smile given by someone who knew that they could take down everyone and not break a sweat.
From outside, it sounded like a freight train was about to crash through the doors. The lights, which had been off, turned on suddenly, growing brighter and brighter until they exploded in their sockets. A sonic wave went through the house, deafening everyone, before sucking everything right back out along with the windows into the growing turbulence outside. A maniacal laughter rang out in the darkness, singing a song of mayhem.
"Shit!" Kaori said, "Get those boys out of here! Darien take them up to heaven Now! Devinia is coming and she's going to be one hell of a challenge even without them here. I don't know if we're going to be able to protect all of these boys, and fight off Ria and Devinia. I suggest you and I get ready for a fight." Kaori suggested to Vicky. Even as she spoke to Vicky, Her long black staff formed in her hands, appearing out of thin air. The staff had intricate swirls and curls of pure black Angeliquim at the top. Vicky just stood there, arms at the ready, but everyone was able to feel the air around her start to sizzle as she raised her strength and readied herself for battle. Fighting a demon was not an easy feat. Not only did they play dirty, but they were inhumanely strong and will stop at nothing to win a fight. Kaori watched as Darien made two trips up to Heaven with the pilots; the first with three under both arms, the second with the last two.
The water goddess turned her attention back to the door just as the door swung open to reveal a young woman. She came in, swaying on her feet as if she was high on the very essence of life, drunk on a lack of humanity, and hungry for a cadence of blood splashed across the wall. Her red hair hung loose around her face with black streaks throughout, framing her staunch cheekbones. Her dress was blood red with black lace and she had black ankle boots. Her dress sunk low in the front showing off a generous amount of cleavage. Around her neck was a black jewel, similar to Ria's belt jewel. She looked at Goddess standing at the other end of the room and smiled at her.
The demoness leaned over, her hands on her hips, "Hello Ria. And how is my favorite Goddess of Death doing today? Having fun dealing with the poison running through your veins?" Devinia laughed once again, her voice smooth like silk on a leather seat
Kaori, losing her temper, sent a tidal wave of water towards Devinia who leapt out of the way and phased through the walls to float in the air above.
"Give it a rest, Devinia. You might have poisoned Ria, but you're not going to use her for your purposes." The gaping hole in the wall of the house showed off the gray clouds gathering from the large power sources fighting, or rather, arguing. Kaori steeled herself to attack again as the demonic she-devil continued laughing.
"It's just so funny, and so ironic that it was me who was finally able to bring down the Goddess of Death. She's always been too good. Why would I need to fight you when I have the ultimate warrior in the palm of my hand?" Devinia pointed to Ria and started laughing again, her father would be pleased with her for capturing the most powerful woman of Heaven. "And what makes you think that I would use her for my purposes? She could easily stop me if she wanted, so I take it that she'll continue doing what she does best. Only now, she'll be taking out lives and sending them to Hell personally instead of waiting for them to happen and searching the deaths out."
Kaori hissed at the vengeful demon. She didn't like Devinia when she was born and she wouldn't like Devinia till she was long dead. Vicky was slowly beginning to glow next to her. The demon slowly walked forwards laughing and making odd comments about everything that Heaven was and wasn't. Kaori had had enough. Alongside Vicky, the two heavenly deities rushed the demonic woman. Kaori, taking her pole, swung it at Devinia's feet. She jumped the pole only to narrowly miss an energy ball thrown at her head by Vicky. Bringing the pole back up for an upward swing, Kaori connected the Devinia's head and sent the demonic woman sprawling across the floor. The red haired demon hissed as she raised her head and wiped the blood clean from her lip.
"You made me bleed!" She sneered and jumped at Kaori only to be intercepted by a flying punch from Vicky and once again sent to the floor. When she righted herself next, she fixed her nose which had bent slightly to the right and broken, her eyes glowing a menacing red.
"I'd suggest leaving now, Devinia." Vicky warned in a clear and concise voice. Devinia didn't listen; she just rushed Vicky again only to have her midsection kicked and she herself slammed into the opposite wall before she slid to the floor. After getting on her feet for the fourth time, she attempted to attack Kaori. She never made it more than three steps because Ria, who had been on the side the whole time, had her dangerously beautiful scythe appear, and in a mid-level sweep as she sauntered across the floor, she cut the demonic woman in half.
"I may be evil right now…but I'm not stupid, and I won't let demons prevail," Ria said, leaving the still sputtering upper half of Devinia lie on the floor. She walked out the door, spread her wings, and leapt up, winging upwards, sending plumbs of smoke into spirals on the ground. As she reached the perfect height, with a powerful thrust, she moved forward and away from the house. She flew across the land until she was a speck of dust on the horizon, and neither Vicky nor Kaori could see her anymore.
Simultaneously, the Warrior Woman and Goddess of Water turned towards the demon draining out on the floor. The puddle of black blood became larger and larger, like oil, thick and viscous.
Devinia was starting to hyperventilate; her red dress was becoming soaked in the black sludge that filled the veins of every demon. "You can't just leave me here like this! My dress is becoming a giant mess!"
In response, Kaori walked over to Devinia, went eye-level with her and sneered, "Well, you should have thought about that before you attacked us and injected that shit into Ria." With that said, Kaori raised her foot and squashed Devinia's head. She smiled as she watched the rest of Devinia's body liquefy into the black sludge and sink into the floor, going back to Hell and Devlon's lair where she would reform and curse the heavenly deities out for foiling her plans.
~*~*~*
Feel free to drop a review. Trying to go in Twos. Sorry about the wonky chapter numbers,