Kuro avoided Eris' attacks with ease, though inside, he was still recovering from the fact that his memories had just returned. Everything in his mind was jumbled and racing. It made his moves sloppy and slow, but he was adapting as quickly as possible. He found himself more defending the Codex than attacking Eris, though he was trying to make it look the opposite.
"Seems like your plans are falling apart," Kuro grunted as he was pushing away from another blade lock. "People whose memories you thought were gone are coming back."
Eris gave a smile. "Please, you think you can stop me? You're one angel." She attacked again, her rapiers bursting into black flames.
Kuro leapt away from her attack and tried to put in a few blows, but the goddess was easily able to deflect his blades. "You know," he said with a smirk, "the last goddess who said something similar to that ended up being destroyed. So I'd take back those words."
"Are you talking about Medusa?" Eris gave a short laugh as she attacked again and forced Kuro back a few feet. Their blades locked and they both gave little grunts as they faced off once again. "She was strong, I'll give her that, but she set her sights too low. She never moved past the Skyworld. But she wasn't the smartest goddess in the Underworld. Hades got much closer."
"And yet he was defeated too," Kuro snapped. He jumped back and took to the air, flapping his wide wings and shooting to the cavern ceiling. Eris frowned and raised her hands, levitating off the ground as though she were solidifying the air itself.
Eris placed her hands together and shot a series of black blasts at Kuro. The dark angel hurriedly snapped his blades together into a bow and slung it over his arm. He just managed to hold out his hands out towards the blast. He muttered a spell under his breath just as the magic attacks hit his hands. The shadows blasted away from him, shooting off of his invisible shield and spreading across the room until they fizzled out.
Eris put a hand on her hip, looking impressed. "Your magic level has gone up."
"Don't pretend to be interested," Kuro said as he pulled out his bow and shot his own series of arrows at the goddess. Eris dodged a few and blocked the others with her hands, just as Kuro had.
"Your arrows are a puny weapon," she said with a smirk.
"A lot like your magic attacks," Kuro shot back.
"Oh, you want to see magic?" Eris asked, her smile instantly becoming much darker. "I'll give you magic!" She sheathed her rapiers and pressed her hands together. When she spread them apart, a bright red ball of energy appeared.
Kuro wasn't going to wait for her to finish. He split his bow back into his silver blades and rushed at the goddess with a yell. But Eris was faster. She aimed and released her blast of magic straight at Kuro. The dark angel didn't have time to react. He was blasted back, his blades ripped away from his hands and scattered across the floor.
He cried out in pain as he was slammed into the cavern wall. When the blast subsided, he slipped down and tumbled to the floor. He stood and grunted a little, pressing his hands against his abdomen. Only bruises so far, no broken ribs as far as he could tell, but he still hurt.
Kuro rubbed his mouth. "Please, you call that magic? That's hardly worse than your little energy blasts."
Eris' smile made Kuro more than uncomfortable. "Oh, you want to see something better?" She immediately began another spell and Kuro found himself mesmerized by the beauty. Thin blue strings wrapped delicately around Eris' arms and legs, spreading like a web around the woman's body. Her hair began to glow and stand up, and everything seemed to suddenly move very slowly. Kuro wanted to attack, wanted to look away, but he found himself unable to. There was a sheer beauty to the magic the woman was doing, and he found himself incredibly entranced.
"Having trouble?" Eris whispered. Her body began to change. Her hair became blonde and dark eyes became a bright sea blue. Her clothing had completely changed. Was this the same woman? Kuro suddenly wasn't sure. He felt himself floating closer to the woman, raising a hand out. He wanted to touch her, to feel if she was real.
The blast to his chest was enough to wake him up. He gave a cry as he slammed into the ground once again. His skull rammed into the cavern floor, and his head practically exploded in pain. He couldn't stop the tears from instantly spilling from his eyes. With a moan of pain, he tried to rise to his feet. He stumbled a little, nearly tripping, but he eventually managed to stand. He rubbed his hand against the back of his head and neck and could feel the lump that was rising from his lower skull.
"Mmm, Chaos Magic does wonders, doesn't it?" Eris floated to the ground, once again her usual self. Her smile was dark and malicious. "It's a branch of magic used mainly for illusion charms. And while I'm the Goddess of Chaos, I'm also the Goddess of Illusions."
Kuro gritted his teeth and shook his head. "You're really a cheap fighter, you know that?"
"Why play fair when it's so much more fun to break the rules?" Eris said pleasantly as she snapped her fingers.
Kuro found himself falling upwards…or downwards…Kuro completely lost balance, flailing all of his limbs as he fell into the ceiling. He looked around, totally disoriented. He was sitting on the ceiling, which was now…the floor? Or was he just losing his mind? He had never seen something like this, and he was already totally messed up in his head. What the heck was going on?
Eris floated to the ground, still smiling pleasantly. "You like it? Distorting reality?"
"I really hate you, you know that?" Kuro growled. He walked across the room and grabbed his blades, which had floated up with him. Eris didn't try to stop him, but merely watched him with little interest.
"Oh, you made that very clear when I entered your mind," she replied.
Kuro jumped to his feet and rushed at Eris at full speed, yelling out a battle cry. But he once again completely lost all sense of direction when Eris snapped again and gravity returned to normal. Kuro went tumbling back to the floor.
He was losing strength, and he had only been fighting for around twenty minutes or so. Kaitlyn couldn't be done yet. But he needed her and Pit. He couldn't finish off Eris on his own. He could hardly get close to her.
He was running out of options.
"Dangit," he spat, rubbing blood out of his face. Eris' constant bashing had split open the skin above his left eyebrow, which was now dripping blood into his eyes and down the rest of his face. He just needed to keep Eris talking. He was running out of fighting power and he could hardly focus. He instead set down one of his blades on the ground and began polishing the other with his shirt. He took on the most casual stance he could, as though he had lost interest in the battle and wasn't simply stalling. "Honestly, Eris, aren't you just a little worried about Kaitlyn and Pit?"
"Why would I be?" Eris said, raising an eyebrow. She slowly lowered her blades. She must have known at this point that Kuro wasn't going to be able to defeat her, at least not in his current position. "Pit will be just as weak as you, and Kaitlyn can hardly hold a gun without shaking at this point. All three of you are weak. Having more of you makes no difference."
Kuro continued polishing until he could see his reflection in his blade. Then he moved on to the next one. "You've been underground in a cell for thousands of years, Eris. How much do you know about us? I mean, you can't know that much."
He knew he was playing a dangerous game. Eris used people's pride against them, which meant she probably had a lot of pride herself. Telling a prideful person that they didn't know a lot was something that they found incredibly annoying. He should know; he knew for a fact that he had a lot of pride too. So he knew exactly how to exploit it.
Eris' dark eyes narrowed. Her two rapiers disappeared with a flick of her hands and she stood over Kuro with eyebrow raised. "What wouldn't I know?"
"Well, for one, what do you know about me? I mean, I wasn't even physically born until closer to your release than imprisonment. I was only technically born about four or five years ago."
"It's not hard to find out things about you, especially when I ask the right people. You remember Pandora, correct?"
Kuro's blade slipped and he nearly cut himself. His lips pulled back away from his mouth in a snarl. "Sure I know her."
"She created you?"
"She thinks she created me," Kuro snapped. "She created the device that ripped me from Pit."
"Is that bitterness I sense?" Eris said, her face breaking into a large, disturbing smile.
Kuro snorted a little. "I used to be. I guess you could say I'm at peace with my past. It's still confusing."
"Well, that's understandable," Eris said slowly. "After all, even gods who are a piece of another god are confused about their past. You're not terribly different."
"I don't know if you're trying to make me feel better, but it's weird. Okay, what do you know about Kaitlyn?"
"The human? Less than I know about you. Only gossip, really. When I took over an angel girl's body, all I heard about was how many in the city were going to Angel Land and how they were going to meet the first human angel. I heard a lot about her, but mostly they were stories, nothing definite. When I actually saw her face to face, I realized was just what everyone said she was: human. She wasn't really an angel, and therefore, she was of no use to me, especially after I began probing her mind. Her Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder is easy enough to exploit, and I can easily keep her out of my hair."
Kuro finished polishing his blade, and set it next to its partner on the ground. The wound on his head must have scabbed up, because the blood had stopped dripping, but his face now felt sticky. When this was over, he was going to take a long shower.
"You're an interesting angel, Kuro," Eris continued. "You're willing to sacrifice everything for angels and humans and a goddess you don't even serve. You must have some reason to live. Don't you love yourself at all?"
Kuro chose his words carefully, unsure as to what exactly Eris was asking. "Of course I love myself," Kuro said. "There's no problem with loving yourself."
"But you want to sacrifice yourself for everyone. You're practically a walking martyr."
"It's not like that," Kuro snapped in annoyance. "It's not like I want to die, but if I had to, I'd rather die for something I believe in or someone I know rather than being old and feeble and unable to do anything."
"You don't want a long life?"
"What's the point? It's not like I have much of an exciting future ahead of me."
Eris raised an eyebrow. "You want to see it?"
Kuro paused for a moment and looked up at Eris with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?"
Eris' hands rose to her hair, which she began to twist in her fingers. "I'm in control of the Codex. And with its power I can show you a potential future. It's not that difficult. I did it for Pit not too long ago, and he found it rather interesting."
Kuro licked his lips, feeling his heart clench. He knew Eris was playing with him. She wanted him to agree. It was probably some kind of trap. He knew it had to be something like that. But at the same time, he was incredibly curious. He had a future, a real future? One that wasn't a total wreck and a massive failure? One where he didn't just die in a fight?
"Are you saying that…I have some bright future?"
"Well, it's a little more difficult than that," Eris explained. "After all, you have so many decisions in your life. Every decision puts you on a different path. This one will just be one of them."
The dark angel narrowed his eyes and gave the goddess a specific look. "What's the catch?"
"I want to show you what your life can be like, if you work for me," Eris said with a purring tone. "After all, it's not too later to join my side."
"Why the heck do you still want me to join you? I already said no."
The woman nodded, looking thoughtful. "Because it's already been shown that you tip scales. When you join a different side, you change the fate of battle. And you did refuse me, but before, all I did was threaten you. How about I do with you what I did with Pit? I'll show you your brightest future."
Kuro sucked in a breath. "I'll never join you and I won't do you want," he spat. "No matter if you threaten me or flatter me or do anything like that. I'm stronger than you, and I will—."
He cut off as Eris strode across the room and pressed her finger to his forehead. Kuro felt his limbs go limp. He couldn't pick up his blades, couldn't defend himself…he was totally defenseless. He could only stare up at Eris, feeling fear tear through him.
Eris' smile was gentle, and yet absolutely terrifying. "We'll see how you feel when you're done with your future. Sweet dreams."
Kuro felt his eyelids droop. He tried to stay awake, to fight the sudden fatigue, but he just couldn't do it. His eyes shut and he felt himself falling…falling…falling…
Kuro's eyes snapped open and he found himself surrounded by blackness. He rubbed his eyes, and then his arms. He felt as though he had been dropped into a massive puddle of water on a winter day. In any moment, he could easily freeze. But his breaths didn't come out in puffs, so he assumed he was alright.
Eris materialized next to him, brushing the shadows away from her. It was as though the darkness itself was solid, almost like tendrils of smoke from candle. She shook out her long red hair, brushing it over her shoulders.
"You know, I really hate it when you do this," Kuro said sharply.
"Oh, I know."
Kuro glanced around, pausing for a moment. "Alright, I'll bite. Where are we? I mean this is basically exactly what you did last time, and we both remember how well that turned out."
Eris turned her head back and forth, as though looking for something. "We're technically in the Codex, just between Memories and Experiences. The Codex keeps a record of everything that can happen, and everything that does happen. It's the reason that alternate universes are possible."
Kuro felt as though he had just been smacked over the head by a board. "Wait…are you telling me that this book is what makes alternate universes?"
"Of course. That's why it's so precious, and so well guarded by Mnemosyne. Though, she never suspected me. I was easily able to overwhelm her."
"Stop gloating and tell me why we're here," Kuro snapped, crossing his arms. "I didn't exactly agree to this."
"I just want to show you some things. Like, for instance…"
Eris snapped her fingers and the darkness disappeared.
The scene that appeared before them was one that Kuro knew well. Or, at least, he was pretty sure he did. "Is this Angel Land?"
"Of course it is." Eris pointed. "See?"
Kuro followed her motion. She was pointing directly at the largest building, which Kuro instantly recognized as Palutena's Temple. But the more Kuro looked around, the more differences he saw between this image and his memories of the real Angel Land. He didn't recognize any of the angels here, and there were more buildings, more gardens, and a lot more little angels running around. Angel Land must have expanded. He rolled his eyes. "Okay, so we're in the Skyworld. So what?"
Eris raised an eyebrow and gave a little smile. "Here, let me show you what this Angel Land is like."
With another snap, the scene blurred. When Kuro managed to focus again, he found that the two of them were now inside of the Temple. He blinked a few times, glancing around. They stood in front of the throne, which didn't look any different.
Eris raised an eyebrow and said, "Follow me."
Kuro didn't have much of a choice, so he did as Eris said. The woman walked past the throne and deep into the Temple. Kuro had only explored so much of the Temple himself, but he knew that Palutena lived back here, and that multiple relics found their home in her large library. Also, the entrance to her private garden came from the back of the Temple.
It wasn't long before Eris found what she was looking for. She put a hand up and motioned ahead of her. "This is what I wanted to show you."
Kuro stepped up next to Eris and gave her a dark look before following her gaze.
Lady Palutena walked along one of the hallways. She didn't look any different, which was no surprise. Her long green hair swished behind her with every step, like long blades of grass in a gentle breeze. He couldn't hear exactly what she was saying, but he could hear her laugh: it was pleasant and bubbly, like water rolling over pebbles in a creek, and tinkling like wind chimes. She wore a large smile on her face, the kind that was hard to get rid of, and made your face hurt, the kind that only came from laughter.
Kuro glanced at her partner, which walked slowly next to her and appeared to be the one who spoke the most.
He was tall, with jet-black hair that had been cut short on the sides, but a little thicker on the top. It made it look like the hair was thick and soft. He wore a full set of black armor, complete with dark grey metal books, gauntlets, and a metal and leather belt. The other parts of his outfit consisted of dark, tanned leather and multiple fabrics. Blue gems had been inset on his shoulder plates and belt, which glowed ominously. Blue and silver blades clipped to his belt, and jangled with each step. But despite the dark façade and amazing outfit, the person wearing it all seemed rather cheerful and happy. He said something to Palutena, who laughed again.
"That's me, isn't it." Kuro said.
Eris nodded. "In this future, you ended up in Angel Land and became one of the greatest warriors the land has ever known. Your enemies know you only as 'The Fallen One'. You often end up coming in to help with battles on request only. When you're not working, you spend time in Angel Land with Lady Palutena. It seems like you two have gotten very close."
Kuro sped up so he could walk in front of his older self and Lady Palutena, listening to them talk. He continued to watch this "older Kuro", trying to analyze everything he possibly could.
"So, besides that, everything else is under control," Older Kuro said, dipping his head. "Pit will be back in action by morning."
"That's always good to hear," Palutena said with a smile. "It's a good thing he called for you, or his whole platoon might have been killed."
Older Kuro ran a hand through his hair. "He would have managed. The Angel of Light has more power than he likes to let on."
"Take a compliment, Kuro. I'm not saying Pit isn't powerful. Both of you are, and both of you do great jobs protecting the gods. But it seems Hades has been getting restless."
"We'll chase him off, just like we did last time."
"I know you will," Palutena said, a gentle smile on her face. She stopped in her tracks, causing both Kuros to do so after her. "At some point, the two of you might have to be assigned to Mount Olympus for a semi-permanent position. The home of the major gods holds many priceless and dangerous artifacts. My father, Lord Zeus, has asked me repeatedly to send you and Pit to him. It may sound selfish, but I want to keep you here."
"I don't think it's selfish," Older Kuro automatically said. "Angel Land is a precious place that needs to be protected."
"Corinthia and Pallasa have already sent their best angels to the war front. Soon, you and Pit will be called down there too, with your best angels and centurions."
"We'll defeat any forces that come out of the Underworld, and shut Hades down for the next thousand years."
Palutena nodded. "I hope it all goes that smoothly." She took Older Kuro's hand in hers and dipped her head slightly. "I wish you all the best on your battles. I give my blessing to you. Stay safe."
Older Kuro gently kissed Palutena's hand and bowed. "I will, my Lady." He spread out his massive wings, which young Kuro couldn't help but admire. The angel took off in a flash of black feathers, leaving Palutena alone in the hallway. She paused for a moment there, following Older Kuro as he disappeared out of the Temple before she began to walk back along the hallway from which she had come.
Eris rematerialized next to Kuro. "It's like a game between you two. Admit you're in love with her, or not? It's as though you two dance around your problems, trying not to let something slip. In other futures you actually end up as a couple. In some, you die protecting her, and in others, you die on your own while you're exploring. In one future, you end up going to college on Earth after taking a bunch of online classes and you end up with some mortal woman. All those choices. It's amazing how many different futures you end up with."
Kuro nodded, watching Palutena disappear.
Eris raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem too interested. I thought you had a thing with Lady Palutena."
The dark angel shrugged a little, trying to shake off the emotions rising in his mind. "Yeah, well, I just realized something."
"What? That Lady Palutena is a goddess and you're an angel?"
"Please, I figured that out a long time ago," Kuro snorted. "If she wants me, she's going to have to wait until I grow up a little. I have a while to wait."
Eris shrugged. "Okay, then what?"
"In all of these futures you've explained and shown me, there's one really important factor."
The goddess narrowed her eyes.
Kuro couldn't help but smile. He slowly slid out his blades. "In every single thing you showed me, one thing is missing. You."
And with one smooth motion, he stabbed his blades deep into Eris' image, and the image turned back to black.
Kuro gasped for air as he reentered the real world. It was as though he had been dunked in a bucket of ice water, and he felt chills run through his body as he readjusted once again.
Eris was no longer touching his forehead. In fact, she was on the other side of the cavern, crumpled in a heap. Kuro brandished his knives, but the goddess didn't move. Still, he kept up his defense. For all he knew, Eris could be faking.
But this did give him time to think, to comprehend what had just happened. He was practically perfect at faking his emotions, but what Eris had shown him had really shaken him up. He had so many choices, so many futures. He could actually end up with a good future, one where he wasn't a mess and the world hadn't collapsed around him.
But in order for any of those to happen, he had to take Eris out.
He glanced at the Codex, which lay so innocently at the base of the stage where Mnemosyne and Pit still hung. Kaitlyn had already been in the Codex for a while. He wasn't exactly sure how long due to the memory lapse, but she must have been in there for at least a half an hour. He was running out of time. He could only hold of Eris for so long. When she awoke, he'd have to fight her again, and again, and again. He wasn't an all-powerful deity like she was. He was getting tired, both physically and mentally. Every time Eris did something crazy with the Codex and his memory, he could feel pieces of his sanity slipping away. He needed Pit to finish this battle. But in order to get Pit, he needed Kaitlyn to hurry up.
He assumed putting memories back wasn't easy. Every one probably had to be put together perfectly, making sure everything lined up and connected together. But at the same time, Kuro was trying to figure out if there was any way to do it faster. He needed it to be done quickly. If only he knew everything Pit had done. That would have been so much easier.
It hit him first like a ton of bricks, then like another bucket of ice water. Kuro nearly dropped his knives, the realization shocking his muscles of their ability to respond to his mind.
He knew what he had to do.
Kuro managed to get ahold of his knives and he straightened up, keeping an eye on Eris. Would she wake up? She had been out for a good few minutes at this point. Kuro glanced at the Codex, then back at Eris. He narrowed his eyes.
With a sigh, he slid his knives back into his belt and flipped to a page of the book. Pit's name was starting to turn gold, but most of it was still written in silver. He gently touched the name and closed his eyes, feeling once again as though he were falling…falling…falling…
I really thought I had this chapter finished, and then...it needed more. So I added on a few things, and that's why it's taken so long to post. I'm very sorry it's taken so long...
I'm hopefully going to finish writing the story soon, and then I'll have it posted up as soon as I edit :) So thanks for sticking with me! You guys are the best!
~Pixie
