He was trapped.
Below the gazebo lay an earthen pit that smelled of feces, and in the center was a massive ball of webs, in which Tyrannus was undoubtedly entangled.
"No…" Tetsuda whispered. "No! Tyrannus, no!"
Gripping Erectus tight, Tetsuda swung with all his strength at the mound of webs, only for the blade to cleanly snap and skitter away. When it made contact with the wall, it disintegrated into ash.
Growling, he beat and scratched the shell with his claws, each blow burning his eyes, yet he merely succeeded in tearing up his hands. The webs didn't move nor show any signs of wear. If anything, they seemed to tighten.
He let out a shaky sigh, his eyes watering. "Why?" he said. "Why, why, why?! Why can't I do anything?! Why can't I save you?!"
He dropped to his knees, fists balled against the shell, tears falling into his lap. "I'm sorry, Tyrannus...I'm so sorry...I love you…I'm sorry..."
"Tetsuda…?"
His ears perked up along with his head. "Tyrannus?"
"Tetsuda…"
It was!
"Tyrannus!" he shouted, standing up. "Tyrannus, I'm here!"
A tiny piece of the shell crumbled away, revealing a tired, milky eye. Tetsuda shoved his claw into the hole, and with a bit of tugging, he managed to tear away another chunk. The webs stung his finger, even made it bleed, but he continued tugging until he could see most of Tyrannus's face. His skin was nearly white, showing blackened veins, and his hair was little beyond frayed string.
"I'm here," he said with a smile. "I'm here for you." He cupped Tyrannus's cheek and put their foreheads together. "I'll always be here for you."
"Tetsu...da…" His eyes flickered minimally, life fleeing with each second, until they closed completely, and his head went limp.
"No," he said, smacking Tyrannus's cheeks. "No, no, no. Wake up. Come on, wake up." As more tears fell onto both himself and Tyrannus, Tetsuda slapped him hard. "For fuck's sake, Tyrannus, wake up! They need you! Iyan needs you! I need you!"
He dropped his head atop Tyrannus's, the sobs wracking his body now. It was hopeless. He was dead. He was dead and Tetsuda couldn't save him. It was all his fault…
A bony, emaciated finger touched his cheek, and more webs fell away.
"Don't...cry...Tetsuda…"
More webs gone. His entire hand and wrist were visible now, decomposed as they were.
"Don't cry...don't cry…"
Tetsuda took his hand into his own and squeezed. More webs disappeared.
"Thank you," the Ira whispered. "I'm sorry...for everything…"
"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. It was the wrath, Tyrannus, not you."
Both arms showed now, arms that wound around Tetsuda's neck shakily. He embraced with equal strength; around them, the walls cracked, and light poured in as the wrath demons screeched above. Then Tetsuda's vision tunneled, and all went black.
When the world returned to his eyes, the pain of being impaled on the stalagmite came with it. He grimaced hard, even harder when the rock dissipated and dropped him to the ground with a massive hole in his abdomen. Blood spilled from the wound, which began to close, albeit slowly, and the chill of rain stung his skin and rattled his bones.
Before him, Tyrannus lay facedown, rain and blood pooling about him. Despite his own pain, Tetsuda moved closer to him. He turned him over, revealing a hollow-looking demon still marred by deformity.
"Get up!" Tetsuda shouted, shaking him vigorously. "I cleansed you, now get up!"
Tyrannus didn't twitch nor open his eyes, yet the right side of his body trembled until the boils and growths popped off. They disintegrated the moment they hit the ground, leaving the rest of his body raw but otherwise normal.
Tetsuda lay his ear to his chest, and while no heart sounded, he could detect faint, steady breathing. A sigh abandoned his throat, and Tetsuda embraced the unconscious Ira with strong arms.
"You're alive," he murmured. "Alive and safe…"
"Tetsuda!"
He looked over his shoulder to view Regina running toward him. He scooped Tyrannus into his arms and stood just as she stopped.
"Are you all right?" Regina asked.
"For just coming out of a battle with Tyrannus, yeah. I have a bad stab wound, but otherwise I'm all right."
"And…" She pointed to Tyrannus. "Is he…?"
Tetsuda smiled gently. "He's alive. But he's also unconscious, so there's no telling what he'll be like when he wakes up, but as far as I can tell...he's better."
"She nodded with a relieved but nervous smile. "Anything's better than that...thing."
"Even a raving, unstable madman?"
Her expression fell at his harsh tone.
Quickly he gave a tiny smile. "I'm kidding. He's too strong to fall that quickly to something like madness."
"I hope you're right."
"I know I am. Now come. We have a battle to end."
