A/N: I don't really have anything to say here, except that I've been planning out this chapter for a long time. Hope you enjoy it.

Review Responses:

AnimeOtaku9000, hmm…can't confirm or deny your comment, so I invite you to read on! Thanks for the review!

Diana Raven, sorry. The chapter had to end at some point, lol. Thanks for the review and the reading though, and hope this chapter makes up for it a little bit.

karma88, hey look, another early update! Thanks so much for reading, and don't worry, it'll happen at some point. Or will it?

Arcane Student, you're very good at picking up on foreshadowing. Thanks for the review, and hope you enjoy where things go next. As always, I invite you to keep reading~

pokelover01, haha don't worry. If you're mean, I'm mean. All I can tell you is that your questions will be answered soon enough, lol. Thanks so much for reading, and yeah, I'm kind of pulling out the interesting words for these two chapters. Enjoy!

skullcandyklive, never apologize for long reviews. I like getting them, even though I sometimes feel like I can never fully respond to them in the amount of time/space I've allotted for the author's notes! I'm really glad that you approve of my use of the stag. I knew early on that I'd have to include him if I really wanted to write Rei using a weapon of Tsubaki's lineage, so there it is. I'm glad you picked up on the narrative aspect. I don't like using too many words to tell a story if I can help it (I even think there's a lot I could cut out of this story). I think a story should be able to tell itself without the author having to reach for a thesaurus every ten pages, or the reader having to reach for a dictionary, and I find that using fairly easy language for the majority of the narrative allows me to pull out all the stops and use different word choices for key scenes. Regarding an AU, I wouldn't mind as long as you give me credit for the characters, and regarding Ayame in Chapter 14…she was being a girl. She's just as inexperienced as Rei is in romantic matters, and she was trying to impress upon him that she wanted him to treat her as a romantic interest (carry her books, pay attention to her…etc.) except she did it unskillfully and assuming that Rei understood more than he did (It's actually funny that AmyNChan, one of my female reviewers, caught on immediately in the chapter, saying 'SHE WANTS TO DATE YOU' in her review). Just means I got not only Ayame's inexperienced attempts at telling Rei she's interested and Rei's bewilderment pretty down pat. Thanks for the review, and enjoy the chapter!

Guest, I would say…probably just a little bit stronger? Stronger than Arachne/Medusa, not as strong as Asura. She's ridiculously strong, but not unbeatable for people of Kid/Black Star's caliber. Definitely FAR out of the range of Rei and company though. Thanks for your review!

Em-Wing, thank you so much! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Keyworks Kid, thank you, I'm glad you like it! When it all gets revealed (in about sixteen chapters) I'd love to hear how the reality compares to your theories. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Sda209, since you're still on chapter 1, I won't respond to most of your comments here, but I will say that despite the fact you don't review much, I'd love to get a review from you when you see this, just to see if your opinion has changed at all over the course of the work.


CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Threshold Pt. 2; Abnegation


"Look…over there. See that squire?"

Mordred frowned at his sister's hushed tone, closing the book he was reading carefully and tucking it into the inside pocket of his jacket. He looked over her shoulder, following her gaze towards the young man that she indicated, practicing sword drills by the lake. He looked back towards Morgana and saw that his sister was crouching behind one of the trees that concealed them, trying just a little too hard to not be seen.

She watched the young man intently. Mordred frowned at him, trying to see what she found so fascinating, but couldn't immediately tell. Still, Morgana seemed to think that the man was important, so he humored her, subjecting him to further scrutiny before looking back at her. "What about him?" he asked.

"I was talking to Aunt Macha," Morgana said, her eyes still on the boy as he moved through his sword strikes. Her eyes followed the sword, a hint of wistfulness in her tone, tempered by the slightest amount of skepticism. "She says that man is our brother. That someday, he's going to be a king…"


The combatants came together and separated, blades clashing against magic and sending Rei flying back. He landed neatly on the ground, the hilts of Ayame's kusarigama form in his hands. He could feel the tremor of Ayame's soul wavelength beneath his fingertips, a humming vibration deep within the steel. It made the blades feel alive, reminded him of Ayame's will and focus, perfectly synchronized with his own.

His opponent glowered at him from behind a dome of magic, turning around and slowly lowering Cori to the ground so that she slumped against her sister, eyes closed. Rei's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he charged at the sorcerer again.

Magic flared up to block him, runes inscribing themselves into the air in violet light as Rei slashed at the sorcerer with the scythe in his left hand. The scythe blade struck the runes, sending sparks flying, but where Cori had faltered and pulled back, Ayame simply sank deeper into a crouch, her eyes narrowing. The tip of the scythe found purchase in the magic, quivering as Rei threw his weight behind it, but rather than try to force his way through, he threw his weight into it, using it to slingshot himself around the shield and launching himself at the sorcerer from the side.

He shifted his grip on the scythe in his right hand, flipping it over in his hand so that the edge of the blade was pointed towards his opponent, and swept it through in a wide slash at the sorcerer's torso. Magic crackled as the shield around the sorcerer reasserted itself, blocking the blow, but Rei didn't give his opponent time to think, quickly bringing the scythe in his left hand back around and slashing at the sorcerer's neck. The spell crackled to life, blocking the cutting edge of the scythe, but the blow still translated into kinetic energy, forcing the other man's head back. Rei took the opportunity to launch himself into the air, the chain flaring up around him. He looped it around the sorcerer's neck and pulled on the scythes as he landed, tugging the man forward and slamming him into the nearest bed.

Wood splintered as the sorcerer crashed into it, dust and splinters flying into the air. On a human opponent, the gambit would have broken their neck, but the sorcerer merely drew himself to his feet, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. The slender fingers of one hand curled around the chain wrapped around his neck, and something sharp and painful crawled its way up the chain, magic crackling around the weapon. Ayame let out a guttural cry and Rei jerked away, choking back a scream. He moved his hand quickly across one of the scythe hilts, the spell vanishing as Ayame transformed in a flash of light, becoming a ninjato.

Rei brandished the short blade in front of him as he edged along the back wall of the room, watching the sorcerer warily. The man's eyes were fixed on Rei, one of his hands still raised to his neck. He rubbed at the skin there, his expression one that almost seemed like disappointment.

"Are you quite finished?" he asked, fixing Rei with a look that made his skin crawl. He bit back the fear that threatened to overwhelm him in that instant, his eyes moving past the sorcerer to land on Annie and Cori. The sight of them didn't destroy the fear, but it made it bearable for a moment.

Rei's eyes narrowed, looking back at the man. "That depends," he said. "Are you going to give my sisters back?"

The sorcerer sighed. "You have no idea how much I tire of heroics," he said. "Rei Evans, a chance encounter with Micah Cole almost killed you." He fixed his eyes on Rei, and the veil around his soul parted, revealing that same terrible power and light that Rei had glimpsed during the attack on Death City. "Do you want to know where Micah got his power?"

A shiver coursed through him in spite of himself, his grip faltering on Ayame's hilt. Ayame turned back to him from within her soul space, her eyes wide with warning.

"Rei!" she said.

"Yeah," said Rei, gritting his teeth. "I know." To the sorcerer, he said, "My sisters don't have anything to do with this. Leave them alone."

"Oh?" the sorcerer asked, brows arching. "Your sisters have everything to do with this, Rei Evans. It is you who are the interloper. Step back, and I might be persuaded to let you live."

Instead of responding, Rei grit his teeth, gathering up his courage and settling into a stance. The sorcerer scowled at him, his eyes narrowing as he took in Rei's posture.

"So be it," he said, the words sounding like judgment, like the falling of a gavel or a guillotine. "Don't say you weren't warned."

Circles of magic appeared in the air around him, rings of glowing runes with shadows rippling at their centers. Out of the shadows, like figures rising up out of the water, rose several blades, all made up of violet light. They hovered in the air around the sorcerer, massive swords nearly as tall as Rei himself. As one, they rotated, angling towards him.

Rei tightened his grip on Ayame's hilt as the blades surged forward, shooting towards him at once.


The blades converged on the boy's position, slamming into the ground and releasing a flash of light so bright that it was almost blinding. The force behind the impact traveled through the floor and ceiling, rattling the house. Mordred stood still and waited for the light to fade, still feeling magic crackle through the air.

There. It was done. As much as he regretted the waste, the boy had brought it all on himself.

He turned away, about to leave, when movement drew his eye back towards the still fading flashes of light, his eyes widening slightly. The light cleared entirely to reveal Rei Evans suspended from the ceiling, the tines of the Cloak of Shadows holding him taut against the wall. He was bleeding from a small cut on his forehead, blood pouring over his right eye. A second cut lanced through his left forearm, but other than that, he appeared unharmed.

The tines of the Cloak slammed into the wall just past Mordred, and Rei launched himself at the sorcerer with a battle cry, the Cloak shifting into a black-hilted katana as Rei gathered up enough momentum. The boy angled the sword at his side as he rushed past him, and Mordred quickly twisted to the side in alarm, holding his hand up. A shield of magic appeared in the air between him and the boy, turning the sword aside as the boy lurched past him.

At the instant that the sword connected with the shield, there was a flash of light, and the very human form of Ayame Star appeared in the air just over Rei's head, her feet moving in quick succession as she kicked twice at his head, one after the other. Mordred raised his arm to block the blow, but before he could retaliate, Rei was already moving. He had leaped back during the distraction, and now stretched out a hand towards his partner. Ayame transformed without a word being exchanged between them, forming a ninjato again, a short blade that Rei quickly caught by the hilt and tossed back towards him, the blade pointed straight at his heart.

The boy's aim was true, but Mordred called up another shield before the short blade could reach him, a circle of magic appearing in the air just over his chest. It caught the blade, electricity crackling as Ayame Star tried to force her way through the shield, but the shield held fast. It was in that moment, the ninjato hovering in the air between Rei and Mordred, aimed at Mordred's chest and pushing against his shield under its own power, that Rei's soul flared up, rising in time with Ayame's. The two of them screamed in unison, an iridescent light consuming the blade.

"Soul Resonance!"

The ninjato glowed a bright light, pulsing along its length with glowing iridescence. As Mordred watched, the light seemed to grow, the shape of the dagger extending as air pulsed around it, driven back by the force of the dagger's thrust. The blade lengthened, becoming a narrow cylinder that pulsed with its own light, still caught in the grip of Mordred's spell.

Becoming a missile.

"Jeweled Spear!"

The missile surged forward with an unprecedented amount of force, shattering the shield spell and slamming into Mordred's chest. The world seemed to pause as the blow impacted, holding its breath for an instant before that breath was released, slamming Mordred back into the mirror that stood on the wall behind him.

The mirror behind him shattered as the missile plowed through, the wall crumbling beneath him as he was thrown into it.


Rei slumped forward as the energy from the blast died down, lungs heaving as he drew in several ragged breaths. The attack had thrown the sorcerer through the wall and into the hallway outside, but he'd put entirely too much power behind the blow. He felt wrung out, like his soul had been put through a press and strung up to dry, but unless he had seriously misjudged his opponent, the battle wasn't over yet. He clenched his fists, forcing himself to stand up as a ribbon of light shot back out of the hole the attack had formed, rushing towards him.

He caught the light neatly in one hand and it transformed back into the ninjato, a faint stream of smoke rising from the blade. Inside her soul space, Ayame was breathing hard as well, wiping at her mouth with the back of her fist.

"Did we get him?" she asked.

In answer, Rei's eyes simply narrowed, and he looked through the hole in the wall at the sorcerer. From beyond the dust, he saw the man get to his feet, shadows surging and spiraling around him. He held up one of his hands, wiping at his face with the other, and the shadows elongated into sharp points, rushing through the gap towards Rei. He drew in a sharp breath and sank down, gathering up his strength.

The shadows shot towards him as he stood there, stunned, their points piercing through him. Tendrils shot straight through his chest, face, leg as he gasped, frozen in place.

The shadow double shattered in a flash of light.

Rei landed crouched on the ground behind the sorcerer, his back towards his opponent's. Light streamed into his hand, forming the ninjato again. His grip tightened on the blade's hilt and he slammed it upwards and back, the tip of the blade angled perfectly towards the back of the sorcerer's neck.

Magic stopped the ninjato, the tip of the blade freezing in the air as a circle of runes blinked into existence, hovering a few inches off the sorcerer's skin. Rei put his weight behind the blow, letting out a little shout of effort, and the tip of the knife quivered.

The sorcerer looked back over his shoulder at him, apparently unconcerned by the knife that hovered just inches from the back of his neck.

"You have good instincts," he said, brows arching. "Had I been human, that would have killed me. But that's what you are, isn't it, Rei Evans? A killer?"

In the darkness, Rei's eyes glowed like red points. The sorcerer reached back, sweeping his hand almost lazily through the air. Force slammed into Rei from the side, throwing him into the hallway wall hard enough that Rei felt the house shudder. The air exploded out of him at the impact. He quickly pushed himself off the wall and leaped back, still gasping for breath, as shadow coursed through, striking the place where he had been lying just a moment ago.

"I'm not—," he said, his eyes drifting towards the sorcerer. "I'm not like you."

"Aren't you?" the sorcerer asked, holding his hand out and turning aside Rei's next strike with ease. In the instant that Rei lunged towards him, their eyes met, the two them frozen over the junction of Rei's blade and the sorcerer's magic. "How many people have you personally killed? Considering your parents, it must be nearly a hundred by now. A hundred souls…"

"A hundred and one," Rei said, leaping back. "But they weren't innocent. They were souls on Shinigami's List, like yours." He shifted his grip, and there was a flash as the ninjato lengthened, becoming Ayame's katana form. "I'm not like you."

"Shinigami's List," the sorcerer said, with a smirk. "Of course. Shinigami knows all, after all."

He stepped back, his hand glowing with violet light as he turned away Rei's blows one after another, not advancing, merely deflecting them and turning them aside. Sparks flew as the sword struck magic, and Rei kept up the assault, slashing and striking, trying to find a weak point. The sorcerer moved backwards down the hallway, his movements slow and measured as he continued to speak.

"Your DWMA is nothing more than a training ground, your ideals less than nothing. At the end of the day, you're nothing more than an assassin, aren't you?"

Rei tightened his grip on Ayame's hilt as he stepped forward, throwing more force and power behind his cuts. The sorcerer didn't seem to care, continuing to step back with maddening ease. Behind him, visible through the window at the end of the hallway, was the moon, looking down at Rei with a leering expression behind its mask of black blood. It's eyes were wide, gleeful, accusing.

The night of the anniversary ball flashed into his mind. Ophelia in her white dress, dancing with Clark, the five of them sitting out in the corridor in the aftermath of the party, Ayame in gold, the brightness leaving her eyes.

He grit his teeth, punctuating his next slash with a cry.

"I'm not like you!" he said. "I don't kidnap children! I don't hurt people! You're just a pawn of the Morrigan. I'm not like you!"

The sorcerer's eyes narrowed slightly, disdain creeping into his expression. "She's my mother," he said. "I wonder who pulls your strings, Rei Evans. Can you tell me with honesty that you would still be here, if your parents had been anyone different?"

Rei's strike faltered mid-swing, his grip loosening slightly on Ayame's hilt. The sword tip wavered, and Ayame looked back at him from within her soul space, her eyes wide with concern. He saw her form reflected on the flat of her blade.

"I'm not—," Rei said. "I would—I wouldn't—."

"You see," the sorcerer asked, his lip curling into a sneer. "You're here because you're a legacy. The child of a Death Scythe and the meister talented enough to turn him into one. Doesn't that sound familiar, boy? History repeats itself again, in you."

He surged forward suddenly, so suddenly that Rei didn't have time to react, didn't have time to do much but raise his sword in a guard. The sorcerer didn't pay the blade any heed, however, curling his hand around the blade's flat and looking over it at Rei. Rei shrank back from that gaze, his eyes wide as he tried to take a step back, tried to look away. He shook his head, as if by doing so, he could make the words lose all their meaning.

"You were bred to kill," the sorcerer said, shoving Rei away from him suddenly with enough force to send him flying back. He landed in a crouch, his heart pounding, Ayame's hilt cold in his hand. "You both were. And so was I. So even, was your precious Shinigami."

Shadows rushed past the sorcerer, forming tendrils that wrapped tightly around Rei, lifting him off the ground before he could fight against them. He struggled, but there was nothing he could do. They closed in tight around him, crushing him, sapping the strength from his limbs. His back arched as he tried to get away, his neck craning as he struggled to break free. In his mind, he was in his dream again, the nightmare he had had after facing this man for the first time. He was sinking into blackness and hands were reaching for him, grasping.

"We are," the sorcerer said, his voice sounding like it was far away, "all of us, slaves of our history."

Magic shot through the tendrils, bringing with it a sudden sense of agony, of pain. Rei heard a voice scream and realized dimly that it was coming from his own throat, that Ayame was screaming with him. The magic coursed through him like lightning, like fire, and it was all he could do to scream, to wait out its terrible force.

When it was gone, the tendrils tossed him aside, like trash. He landed in a heap in the center of the twins' room, near the ruin where Annie's bed had once been, his vision fading. His grip loosened on Ayame's hilt, the sword landing a few feet from his hand, its blade dull in his vision. He reached for it, but his hand wouldn't move, his fingers twitching uselessly.

In the shadows of his vision, he saw the sorcerer move towards him, his feet appearing in the gap that led into the hallway. Rei sucked in a gasping breath, fighting to lift his head. He managed to raise his gaze towards the sorcerer's face, managed to watch as the sorcerer took slow, unhurried steps towards him. His expression, as he looked down at Rei's, was impassive, unmoved. In the darkness of the room, he may as well have been carved from stone.

Only his eyes seemed to shine, and whatever light had been in them was slowly dying out.

"I am Mordred, killer of heroes. The only differences between you and I are the gods we choose to serve, and the experience of centuries. The latter has been your undoing. This farce ends now. Die."

Circles of light appeared in the air around him, glowing brightly. Rei could do nothing but watch as those same blades of light protruded out from the circles, shining in the dim light of the room. Mordred continued to watch him, his eyes sharp, without mercy.

The swords shot out of their circles, converging on his position.

A soul unfurled in the darkness, like a beacon of light.

A figure soared through the air over his head, black feathers littering the ground at her feet as she landed in front of him. She stretched her arms out wide, identical circles of magic peppering the air around her. Each circle caught a sword, the sword points slamming into the circles' centers. The girl in front of him bent her knees against the force of the barrage, her teeth clenched, but she remained unmoving, backlit by the light of the swords. Rei caught a glimpse of dark hair, pale skin, a pointed hat, a purple blouse. From behind her, he could see her soul. It had the purple tinge of a Witch's Soul, the veil pulled back from it for the first time, but it was still wholly hers, with a quality uniquely her own.

The light faded, the magic of the spells cancelling out. In front of him, Mordred and Morgan faced each other.

Mordred frowned at her, the light of magic fading behind him. He looked from her to Rei and back at her again, his eyes narrowing meaningfully. Morgan didn't move, her back straight and her head tilted defiantly. She kept her arms spread, hands on either side of her.

"Tell me you aren't this foolish, niece," Mordred said, his eyes on hers.

Morgan said nothing for several long moments. Rei stared at her, wanting to talk, wanting to say something, but finding that the words stuck in his throat. He couldn't do much more but lie there, his eyes on her as she stared down her uncle.

At length, her shoulders slumped as if in defeat, her hands lowering to her side. Her eyes remained on Mordred; she didn't look away.

"I'll go with you."

The words were spoken softly, but in the stillness of the room, she may as well have shouted them. Rei looked up at her, his breath catching in his throat.

"Morgan…" he began, his voice soft.

She went on as if she hadn't heard. "If you let Rei live," she said. "I'll go with you."

Cold seized his heart. His eyes widened, and he struggled to push himself up, but his arms didn't have the strength. Mordred watched her coolly, his eyes once again drifting towards Rei before meeting hers.

"You act as if you have a choice," he finally said.

"I do have a choice," Morgan said. "I can choose to fight you."

"You'll die." The words weren't harshly spoken, a simple statement of fact.

"I'm aware of that," Morgan said, and there was no trace of fear in her voice either. She straightened up, drawing herself up to her full height. "You'll have to kill me. It's unavoidable, but I know you don't want to do that, Uncle."

"You're certain of that?" Mordred asked.

"Quite certain."

Mordred studied her, as if gauging her mettle, his eyes sweeping over her posture, over the uncurled bent of her spine. His frown deepened and he glanced away. "Foolish girl," he said. "Let's be off, then. Leave the boy."

He started walking, sweeping past Rei without a word as he walked over to the window. Morgan waited until Mordred had vanished from Rei's vision before she turned, pivoting smoothly and making to follow him. Rei surged forward, making a last gasp grab for her ankle. His fingers closed around it as she walked, and he tightened his grip, the force behind the motion enough to allow him to spin towards the window. Pain lanced through his body at the movement, his vision fading at the edges, but he held on to consciousness, his gaze fixed on the scene in front of him. The lamplight from the street outside shone down on him as Mordred picked his sisters up, holding Annie under one arm and Cori under the other. The light glanced off of their silver hair, off of the light in Mordred's eyes.

Morgan kicked her foot out of Rei's grasp, looking away.

"Morgan," Rei said, tears blurring his vision. "Don't do this…"

"I'm sorry," Morgan said, not looking at him. "It's for the best. Please, Rei, please don't follow me."

"Morgan," Mordred said from by the window, his tone curt. "It's time to go."

Morgan nodded, turning away. She took a step towards the window, a step away from Rei.

There was a flash of light, followed by a battle cry. The sword in front of him shattered, Ayame taking form again. She was bruised and battered, her hair falling wildly over her face, but her eyes shone with rage as she charged at Mordred, one of her hands transforming into a sword blade.

He let Cori slide to the ground, sweeping his arm back without even looking at her. The blow, crackling with magic, caught Ayame in the side of the face and sent her flying, crashing against one of the bedroom walls. The force of the throw made the wood buckle, leaving her hanging in the impression that the impact had created. She twitched, gritting her teeth, her fists clenching at her side. Mordred raised his hand towards her, his expression impassive, and magic began to fill the air, crackling between him and Ayame.

Delicate fingers curled around Mordred's wrist, lowering his hand back to his side. The magic dissipated, vanishing into the air like mists.

"Leave her, Uncle," Morgan said, her tone flat. "It isn't worth it."

"The girl wasn't part of the bargain," Mordred mused, shaking out his hand. He reached down, picking Cori up by the waist again.

Morgan sighed, holding her hand out towards Ayame. Magic flared into it, a sudden outpouring of power. Rei stretched out a hand to stop her, but he couldn't move. The magic soared towards Ayame, a circle writing itself into the air above her. Violet light suffused her, seeping into her skin, and she tensed, as if in pain. Then, all the tension left her at once and she went limp, collapsing onto the ground in a heap.

"There," Morgan said. "She won't bother you anymore."

Rei struggled to push himself up to his feet. "Ayame!" he said, panic overwhelming the pain. He stretched his arm out towards her, his fingers shaking, eyes wide in terror. "Ayame!"

"Don't worry," Morgan said, her hand already extended towards him. "She's only asleep. As you will be." The spell left her hand, light and warmth encasing him, and she turned away. Darkness filled his vision, the world fading into a blur, but he thought he saw her eyes glisten as she faced the window, thought he heard her voice quaver when she spoke, her words sounding like they were coming from very far away. "I truly am…very sorry…"

His muscles went limp, and he slumped back against the floor, one hand still outstretched towards Ayame. "Ayame!" he said, fighting to keep his hold on his consciousness even as his words started to slur. "Ayame…Annie, Cori…Morgan…"

The darkness swept up around him, encasing him. Rei felt his eyes start to drift close, felt his breathing evening out against his will. Ahead of him, Mordred was already crouched in the windowsill, ready to leap, and Morgan was standing beside him. He saw her face as his head fell forward, then her torso, her skirt.

His last view was of her shoes, of the broken glass and feathers that littered the floor of the twins' room, before the darkness took him entirely.

"…Ayame…"


Vayne ran until he was out of breath, quickly closing the distance towards Rei's house. Behind him, he could hear Clark and Cassie running as well, their breaths coming close together as they followed him. His heart was racing, his mind already fixed on what he would find when he arrived. He still held his phone clenched in one hand, the screen still flicking on occasionally to reveal his last failed call with Rei, the voicemail having shut down minutes ago.

He didn't stop running until the Evans house was in view, and then he skidded to a stop, his eyes fixed on the scene unfolding in front of him.

One of the upstairs windows, the one that Vayne knew led to the twins' room, had been blasted open, and a figure was climbing out of it now, a silver-haired twin under each of his arms. Tall and slender, dark-haired, the shadows wrapped around him like a cloak as he stepped out, his feet seeming to find purchase on empty air. Beside him, climbing daintily over the windowsill, was—

"Morgan—," Vayne gasped, his eyes widening.

Morgan didn't look at him. She kept one hand on the man's cloak, the two of them rising higher up into the sky. He didn't hesitate, didn't look behind him to see if Clark and Cassie were following.

Vayne took off at a run.

Behind him, he heard Clark shout his name, but Vayne ignored him, launching himself at the nearest wall at speed. His arm transformed in a flash of light, becoming a pendulum blade, and he swung the blade at the wall, the blade embedding itself into the stone. He used the momentum of his leap to fling him forward and up, so that he flipped over in the air and landed on top of the row of rooftops across from Rei's house.

Morgan was several feet away, and getting farther every second. He ran towards her, heedless of the burning in his lungs, the pain in his arms and legs from the force of his landing.

"Morgan!" he shouted, his arm outstretched towards her. "Morgan!"

The two of them paused, a rooftop away. Morgan looked surprised as she looked back, her dark eyes widening. The pale man narrowed his eyes at him, his expression one of impatience.

"Friend of yours?" he asked Morgan.

Morgan raised her eyes to meet his. Vayne slowed to a stop then, breathing heavily. There were still ten or fifteen feet between them, the gap between one house and another, but he could already see in Morgan's eyes the beginnings of pain. She turned towards the man beside her, placing a hand on his arm, a placating gesture.

"Give me a minute," she said, her voice soft. "Please."

"There isn't time…" the man began.

"Please, Uncle. Please…"

The man, Morgan's uncle, frowned at her, but nodded, looking away. "Don't take too long," he warned her, already beginning to set up some sort of spell.

"I won't," Morgan said, approaching the gap. She closed her eyes, drawing in a breath, and power crackled around her, the wind seeming to pick up. As Vayne watched, her feet lifted off the ground lightly, and she floated over the gap between the rooftops towards him, moving as slowly as if she were moving through a dream.

He reached out his hands to catch her without thinking, placing them lightly on her arms to steady her and maneuvering her onto the rooftop beside him. Her eyes widened at the touch, her face flushing slightly, but the moment she landed on the ground she stepped back and pulled away, dropping her gaze. Vayne stared at her, uncomprehending, as she looked away from him, both of her hands wrapped tight around a lock of her hair. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her look so conflicted, so pained.

"Morgan…" he breathed, and it was the only word he could manage, the only word that seemed able to squeeze through the knot in his throat. "Why?"

Morgan sucked in a breath sharply, pursing her lips tight together as if attempting to hold back a sob. In the lamplight of the city, her eyes gleamed. He reached out a hand for her, but the hand faltered halfway to its destination, falling back to his side.

"I have to go…" Morgan said, after a long moment of silence. "I can't stay here anymore."

"Why not?" Vayne asked, looking over her shoulder at the man, who was watching them impatiently. "Is he threatening you? We can protect you."

Morgan shook her head, the pain in her expression growing. "You can't, Vayne," she said. "Not from this. You can't even protect yourselves."

"What are you talking about?" Vayne asked, and he did reach for her then, his hands closing around her arms. She shook her head, but didn't pull away, her face twisted with the effort of holding back tears. "Of course we can protect you, Morgan. Trust us."

"Not from this," Morgan said, whispering the words like a mantra. "Not from this…"

She reached out suddenly, the fingers of one hand brushing against his face before he had time to reply. The touch was light, barely there, and Vayne froze at the feel of it, his gaze locked on her. Her eyes were wide, filled with tears.

"Promise me…" Morgan said, lowering her voice. "Promise me you'll leave. Promise me all of you will leave."

"What do you mean?" Vayne asked numbly, his eyes still fixed on hers.

Morgan lowered her gaze again. Her hand slipped from the side of his face, fingertips trailing away until they were gone. Her hands were so cold.

"Thirty days," she said. "In thirty days, this whole city…everything…will be engulfed in darkness. You have to get away before that happens, Vayne. You can't fight it. Trust me."

"Morgan." The man's voice, from across the gap, was impatient. Morgan looked up over her shoulder at him, twisting out of Vayne's grasp. She turned away from him, keeping her head down so that he couldn't see her face. Her shoulders were bowed forward, one hand closed tight over her chest.

"I have to go," she said, the words a whisper. "Promise me."

He reached for her again, but she stepped over the edge of the gap, the wind rising up to bear her across. Vayne ran to the edge of the rooftop, but she floated away, his hand uselessly stretched towards her, closed around empty air.

"Morgan!" he shouted, unable to help himself, unable to stop the desperation in his voice. "You'll come back, right? Promise me you'll come back!"

She looked over her shoulder at him then, her expression sad. Her mouth opened, speaking three syllables. Tears fell freely from her face, they were borne up by the wind, glistening droplets of lamplight in the space between them. The man caught her by her arm as she landed on the other side, shadows surrounding them both.

Vayne fell to his knees.


This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;

This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,

But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!

- Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven"


A/N: Abnegation, this chapter's title, refers to the act of renouncing or rejecting something. It can also refer to self-denial, or the act of turning one's back.

Jeweled Spear, the Soul Resonance technique associated with Ayame's ninjato form, is named after Amenonuhoko, or Heavenly Jeweled Spear, the mythological naginata used by Izanami and Izanagi to part the seas to create the first land in the Japanese creation story.

I don't own Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", but the work is in the public domain. Despite that, I'd still like to point out that all credit goes to the author.