I decided that because I had messed up on my own timeline, the only way to fix it would be to base almost an entire chapter around Shun and me, Peggi, so that eventually, things would seem to fix themselves, and by the time I'd finished brainstorming, I realized I'd messed up my timeline more than I'd realized. This ENTIRE chapter will be based around the fight, and it will be short, but that means that I can begin on the REAL characters and work with the plot I'd originally planned this fanfic around!!! Here goes!
CHAPTER NINETEEN – ANIMAL INSTINCTS
Peggi wasn't sure why Shun wanted to escape the area so quickly, but at that exact moment, she really didn't care. She assumed that something dangerous, life threatening and terrible, was about to take place, and so of course she wouldn't leave! Unlike her boyfriend, Peggi loved to fight, and wouldn't back down, no matter what it cost her.
Realizing that Peggi was determined to finish this fight, Shun fell to his knees, tears in his eyes, not wanting to witness what was about to take place.
Peggi gazed upon the face that the removal of the mask revealed. Satsuki was quite beautiful, not as hideous as most evil arch villians usually were, and she didn't seem to be much older than Peggi herself! She had beautiful crystal blue eyes, not typical of a Japanese girl, and yet her facial structure, skin tone, and hair color proved that she, indeed, was of Japanese decent. Peggi almost hated to throw the fireballs at such a pretty face and mess up those gorgeous looks, but this was war, and too much was at stake. Hurling the fire at the female saint, Peggi prepared for the recoil of the attack. Sadly, such a powerful attack was not used without cost, and the cost was usually a splitting migraine for a few moments. The pain was usually not so terrible, as most opponents would be defeated by that time, but for battles such as this one, it did pose a problem. The searing pain would cause Peggi to lose a bit of her focus, and in a battle such as this, that could mean death for the half-demon.
Shun looked on, knowing that if he put himself in the middle of the battle and Satsuki was defeated, Peggi would take the liberty of beating the snot out of him for helping her when "she was doing just fine on her own", and yet, if he did nothing at all and Peggi lost, the emotional beating would be enough to kill him!
Satsuki was hit by the balls of fire, and yet she did not seem to even flinch! With her mask off, Satsuki most likely did not feel the pain at all. Peggi was beginning to realize why Shun had advised her to run.
"You are a berserker," Peggi took the liberty of stating the obvious before the uncontrollable fighter made her attack.
Satsuki's attack was so fast that Peggi didn't even see it coming! That also may have been true because Satsuki also began moving at the speed of a Gold Saint. She could circle the earth 10 times before Peggi would even notice that she had moved, and Peggi knew this.
Peggi hadn't seen Satsuki move, but she knew that she had, because the half-demon with a headache was thrown several yards from the site! Something, which had been Satsuki, had punched her in the stomach so hard that she had been sent flying, but luckily, the half-demon had trained well with her cousin, and was prepared for attacks such as this. She caught her balance while in mid air, and by the time she had hit ground, she was fully stabalized. She was in a lot of pain, but now she at least knew what she was up against. She saw Shun out of the corner of her eye, in his Andromeda cloth, Nebula chains in hand, prepared to step in if needed, and this gave Peggi more motivation to win this on her own.
Peggi prepared to attack again, but before she could even come up with a game plan, she was being lifted up by her throat.
Satsuki held her up with one hand, the half-demon struggling to get out of the female saint's grasp. At first, Peggi prepared her body for another mid air flight, but after about 20 seconds of being held by the throat, Peggi realized that throwing her hadn't been Satsuki's intentions. She was planning on holding Peggi like this until she was fully lifeless. She was going to strangle her to death. Peggi used her claws to try and scratch Satsuki's wrists to release the grip, but realized that as a berserker, pain would have no affect on the woman. She couldn't reach her with her legs, as she was being held out at an arm's length, or she would kick the saint in the face. Peggi was completely helpless, and realized that she could not do this on her own.
Shun realized that Peggi could not do this on her own, and at the risk of being beaten snotless after this was all over with, he went into action. Using his Nebula chains as a weapon, he decided that if Satsuki liked the idea of strangulation, she would face her own death threats at his hand. The chain used for attack swiftly encaged the female, and her animal instincts took over. Her life was in danger, and so she must fight off her attacker. She threw Peggi to the ground, a loud thud and a crack as the girl's head hit a large rock, and prepared to destroy the being that dare attack her.
Realizing that he may have saved the beautiful half-demon but still put his life in danger, Shun did the only thing he could possibly do in such a situation.
"PEGGI!!!!!!!!" he screamed, hoping that his nearly beaten unconcious girlfriend would come to his rescue.
Shun could easily destroy Satsuki on his own, had he tried, but the likelyhood of him surviving the fight was very low, and so he figured it best to leave such a battle to someone who lived for fights to the death. Satsuki prepared her attack and before Shun could react, he felt something sharp come across his face.
The Andromeda saint fell to the ground from the impact, blood dripping from his face, and as he tried to stand, he felt another blow to his face, this time, he had been kicked backwards and was now lying on his back. Satsuki placed one foot on his chest, and the other was about to kick him somewhere that NO man should ever be kicked! Before she could actually bring him much more harm, a flash of light flew into her, and she was knocked off of the bronze saint.
"You had better pray for your soul that those scratches you placed upon his face don't leave scars!" Peggi spat at the berserker.
Peggi was glowing with an aura that Shun had never seen before and it was obvious that the girl had taken this fight to a much higher level. A level that Shun knew could be tapped in to, but had hoped never would.
Peggi's long hair grew to a much longer length and claws began to sprout from her already long fingernails. Her eyes began glowing blood red and two silver markings appeared on her face from right above her eyebrows down her eyes and reaching her cheeks. Fangs grew inside of her mouth and Shun was suddenly terrified not only for Satsuki's life, but for is own.
Peggi, too, could transform herself into an unstoppable killing machine, and in this form, no creature is capable of controling his or her actions. Peggi was now a berserker as well.
Two ultimate killing machines, both pitted against each other in a fight to the death.
Both females lunged at each other, claws tearing at skin, teeth digging deep, past flesh, into muscle, and Shun was helpless to stop the fight.
Satsuki had grabbed Peggi from behind, her arm wrapped around the younger half-demon's throat, and she began to spin the girl around in mid air, preparing to slam her to the ground. As she released her grip, heading the girl for the ground, Peggi turned her body around so that she landed on her stomach, but her hands were now able to cause some damage. She grabbed on to Satsuki's legs on the sides and dragged her hands downward, the sound of clothing and flesh ripping as the girl's claws ripped into Satsuki's legs.
Satsuki let out a growl, lifting the girl up by her hair, and slashing her across the face. Blood was running down the half-demon girl, and Shun knew that if she lost much more blood, her life would be in danger.
There were only two options at this point for the Andromeda Saint, and neither of them gave him much hope. He could stand by and let the battle play out, both females would eventually destroy each other, and the fight would end with two lives being lost, or he could join in and pray that he did not die himself, but eventually, the girls would return to their own battle and destroy each other. Either way, both of the berserkers were going to destroy each other, and either way, Shun would suffer, and so he decided to try and stand up for the girl he no longer recognized.
Shun tried to concentrate, increasing the power of his cosmos and trying to gain the courage to come between two beings who no longer could differentiate between friend or foe. Using his nebula chains, Shun prepared for his attack and prayed for the best.
The chain meant for attack wrapped around Peggi and threw her several yards away, wrapping her tightly, binding her so well that she could not move at all. Now that the female who barely resembled Peggi anymore was bound, Shun went into action. Instead of using his chains as a weapon, he decided that he would not waste his time and would fight her as best he could in hand-to-hand combat. He may not have been as strong as the berserker once known as Satsuki, but he was quick, and that might be his advantage; his only advantage.
Satsuki, angered by the interuption, began to charge at the green haired boy, arms reaching for him, trying to slash him across the chest. Shun could hear the sound of the tips of her claws touching his cloth, but he was moving too quickly for her to get ahold of him. While she was moving as quickly as a Gold Saint, Shun had observed long enough to recognize her every movement. Her animal instincts had saved her in the battle against Peggi, but were failing her against someone who could observe and recognize her strategies.
Shun's plan of luring her away from the site had gone well, up until the moment he realized he'd cornered himself. He was standing against the edge of a large lake, and while he could easily swim across, Satsuki would easily catch him and it was over. Shun tried to formulate another plan but there was no route of escape. While dodging her attacks he had not been watching the land behind him, and now, it was over. Preparing for the blow that would finish his life, Shun closed his eyes and prayed that his brother would come to the rescue as he had in the past, but this was not so. Seconds past, and Shun did not feel claws or teeth shredding his throat to bits, but instead, heard a loud splashing of water. He opened his eyes and looked behind him, amazed to see Satsuki being dragged into the lake, but by what, he could not see.
At first, Shun wondered if Peggi had somehow come to his rescue, but then he saw a movement from behind the trees and saw the aforementioned girl, covered in blood, approaching him, swinging his chain above her head. He realized that she meant to harm him with it, and while he normally would not fear his own weapon, this situation was different. If anyone but the rightful owner of the Nebula Chains layed a hand upon them, they would be shocked, but as a berserker, Peggi did not feel the pain and would not let them go.
Still backed against the water and realizing that running would do no good, Shun prepared for the second time, for his attacker to finish him off. Peggi released her grip of the chain with her right hand, and the nebula chain wrapped itself around Shun's throat. With a quick tug, Peggi sent the boy flying in her direction and before Shun could catch his balance, his face met her claws. About to finish off the boy who had interrupted her fight, Peggi lifted her right arm, prepared to remove the boy's face, when suddenly a flash of light penetrated her arm, and once the light was gone, a single arrow remained. Peggi howled in pain and a second arrow flew from behind the trees, striking her in the leg. The girl fell to the ground and clawed at her arm, desperatly trying to remove the arrow.
A girl with long black hair in a green and white uniform came running out from behind the trees, towards Shun and Peggi, just as Satsuki emerged from the bottom of the lake. Shun was so distracted by the newcomer, that he did not even realize that Satsuki's attacker was also coming out of the water, but neither was attacking.
Shun finally turned to face Satsuki and the other member of the group, and was shocked to see that he was a demon. The demon wore red and had long silver hair with what appeared to be dog ears on the top of his head.
"Kagome, the sutras Miroku lent us won't last for very long! The demons either have to be destroyed or controlled, but it has to be done fast!" the silver haired demon ordered the dark haired female.
Shun realized that both of the new comers were friends, and remembered Satsuki's mask, "The girl you dragged under the water is a berserker who can be controlled by placing a mask over her face! It's in the woods, and I can get it for you, but please, don't kill the other girl. If the one who was in the lake, Satsuki, causes a problem you may kill her but don't hurt the other girl please! I beg of you!"
Shun took off, hoping that he would find the mask intact after such a battle took place in the area, and sure enough, he found it. He made it back to the spot by the water before Satsuki had regained control, but to his dismay, Peggi was fighting the demon boy. Shun handed the brunette the mask and she placed it over Satsuki's face, and Satsuki fell to the ground. The question now, was how to return Peggi to her normal state.
"What controls this bitch's power?!" the silver haired demon yelled at Shun in question.
"I don't know! She's a half-demon and-"
"I know that, moron! Her stone!!! Where is Peggi's stone?!"
Shun suddenly realized that the two who had saved his life knew Peggi somehow, but what he did not know, was what this stone was.
"I-I don't know! I don't know if she has one!"
"Then how the hell did she turn into a berserker?!" the demon was becoming impatient.
"The one with the mask, Satsuki, was trying to kill me and Peggi just freaked out and, and, I don't know!"
Shun tried desperatly to think of a way to return Peggi to her normal self, or as normal as she ever was, but his thoughts were cut short when he felt something wrap around his neck. He was really getting tired of everyone trying to choke him, but this time, it was the girl in the uniform who was trying to kill him! She had wrapped her bow around his neck and held it to him tightly.
"S-stop!" Shun choked out, and suddenly, Peggi's attention left the demon she was attacking.
She turned to face Shun and the girl who had been called Kagome, and did not move. Shun tried to remove the bow from around his throat but the girl was very strong and there was no way he could get loose. Suddenly, Shun realized what was going on. The girl, Kagome, had found a way to control Peggi. It had been Shun's life in danger that had turned her into a berserker, and so perhaps his life being in danger again would release her human side.
Kagome threw Shun to the ground and he gasped for air, seeing Peggi run towards him, claws and fangs still showing, but this time, something was different.
"Shun!" he heard her scream, as she knelt beside him, her face transforming back to it's normal looks.
Peggi gave Shun a quick look over and then after realizing that he had been harmed, glared angrily at Kagome.
"I realize that you were trying to help get me out of there, but did you have to be so rough on him?!"
Kagome giggled, pointing towards Satsuki, "What would you like us to do with her?"
"I'll take care of her on my own now. How did you two get here?"
"The well, silly!"
Shun suddenly realized that Peggi had met these two during her trip to feudal Japan where she had retrieved the jewel shard to help Shiryu see again. The boy must've been InuYasha, and he remembered hearing about the girl as well.
"How did you find me here?" Peggi asked the two of them.
"Well, I could sense the jewel shards connected to you, but when we arrived here, all we found was that mask the girl had been wearing. Those jewels in it are pieces of the Shikon no Tama. They must be the reason she transforms when her mask is removed. We came here to deliver a message to you. Etsuko-Ayaka-Midori chan is in danger! During her stay in the feudal era, Naraku took her prisoner, and has sold her to someone in this time period! She somehow escaped but Naraku is here in this time, searching for her! Even more importantly, he is trying to kill you as well!"
"So I've noticed," Peggi pointed to Satsuki.
"I will remove the sacred arrows from your body and once you are healed we will help you to find whoever Naraku is working with."
"I have a pretty good idea of where Eevee is, but I need to get there now. You may remove the sacred arrows, but I can't sit around, waiting for her to be found. Satsuki was my worst opponent, but now I am sure Shun and I can fight this battle on our own. Kagome, I thank you for your help as well as yours, InuYasha, but this is a personal fight, and I need to do this on my own."
Kagome sighed, knowing that Peggi was just as stubborn as InuYasha was, and that she could not change her mind, "If you need us, we are just a well away!"
Peggi hugged Kagome, "I know. We will contact you once this matter has been resolved. Right now, we need to get back to Japan. How are the two of you returning?"
"Well, actually, we are staying here in China for a while," Kagome replied, "trying to contact an old friend of mine. We should be on our way, actually, but are you sure you don't need help finishing her off?"
Peggi looked at the unconcious female, and shook her head.
Once the sacred arrows had been removed, Shun and Peggi were on their way, but Shun did not say a word. Both of them were weak from the fight and in a lot of pain, and so the journey was a bit longer than expected. Finally, Peggi realized she needed to cut the silence.
"I never knew I could transform like that. I've never done it before," she'd hoped to break the silence.
Unfortunatly, it did not work, it only angered the other teen more than he already was.
"You could have killed me! Far worse, you could have died yourself! How could you possibly have been so careless?!"
Peggi was not in the mood to argue, as she was not only in pain from the fight, but carrying the unconcious Satsuki on her back, and did not feel like dealing with Shun's anger. She had not meant to hurt him, nor had she meant to transform, but it had happened, and now she had a lot of explaining to do, and did not feel like doing so.
Shun was not only afraid for his own life now, but was worried that something might be happening to the other bronze saints. If Eevee was being saught after by Ares and some demon from a different era, the chances of his friends and brother being in danger were high. Ikki could be in danger, and here he was, in a different country, not helping!
Peggi suddenly felt bad for snapping at the boy who was clearly worried and upset.
"I don't know how it happened, it just did. There are a lot of things about my powers that I don't even know yet, and I know that you were afraid, but I will try and figure out how to control that from happening again. I never want that to happen again, because I don't want to hurt you."
He took her words into consideration, and then turned to her, stopping to grab her attention.
"Just don't ever do that again. I thought I'd lost you for good, and far worse, I thought I would have to hurt you."
She smiled at him, realizing that he was truly worried about her, not himself, and they continued to walk. They would soon be bac in Japan.
At sanctuary, the bronze saints and Tenshi were still on their way to the chambers of Pope Ares. They were all angry for the trick that had been pulled earlier, and were terrified for what was about to happen.
Each of them were angry for what had been done to Tatsumi and Seiya, and yet, what had been done had been done. There was no way they could change their friends' fates, and although Tatsumi had never really been considered a friend, they still felt terrible for what had happened to him. Fired by anger and driven by the need to save their new friend as well as Saori, the group continued on their journey.
Satsuki felt her head pounding when she awoke. She saw bright ligths and many machines, and it took her quite a long time to realize where she was. She was in a hospital, unmasked, and could not figure out why she was in control of herself. She looked next to her and saw her mask, the jewels that were used to control her were missing. She suddenly realized that her arm had been cut open and stitched closed and she realized that the jewels were embedded inside of her body.
Why had her opponents allowed her to live? Why hadn't they killed her when they had the chance? She may not have had her ability to become a berserker any longer, but she was still more than willing to fight. Removing her IV's and all of the other equipment on her body, she grabbed her clothes from the bag under her bed and exited through the window.
END OF CHAPTER NINETEEN
Peggi-Spoiler warning ahead! So, I'm very disappointed that I was wrong at the beginning of this fanfic. Turns out, Shiryu DOES get his eyesight back on his own, but later on, loses it AGAIN!!! Sucks, Hyoga loses an eye as well! THE EYES!!! SUCH PRETTY EYES!!! I have gotten the entire series of Saint Seiya up until the last point of the Hades chapter, which is all that's available at this time, and I can't wait to see more of it. I get sneak peaks, but my boyfriend won't let me see more than that :( I know this chapter SUCKED and I'm sorry for that, but I was REALLY stuck :(
Shun-Next chapter is better, we promise!
Eevee-Yay! UPDATES!!!