Author's note: This chapter is more or less dedicated to Angel, and by the way, has anyone guessed which card Darkness is based on yet?

Chapter 9: Possession

None of this is real, it is an illusion, and they just want to poison your mind.

Again, Angel closed her eyes and repeated the line, this time with more determination than ever before.

Think! How can any of this be real? You know what it should be like so stop dreaming and wake up!

Gingerly, she opened her eyes and looked back at the balcony but quickly shut them again, for what she saw what she feared most. The forest and all of its inhabitants were still there. Now fully annoyed, she shook her head in an attempt to get back to the real world and tried again, but it was no good, the animals were still alive and well.

This is not possible!

Defeated, she stood up and strolled towards the opening, her heart pumping at a pace she didn't know was possible as she reached out and tried to touch a near by branch.

She never made it, for her hand suddenly slid through the leaves and insects resting on them, and the sudden realisation that she has been right all along suddenly became unacceptable to her as she struggled to stop herself from screaming in frustration.

Near the doorway, the sound of heavy footsteps approached, and suddenly, Angel remembered it all. As the heavy wooden doors swung open, she grabbed a near by vase and prepared to fight for her life, and at sight of the man behind the door, the vase catapulted towards his face.

"This is a force of habit, isn't it?" Darkness laughed as he caught the potential weapon effortlessly in mid air, "last time you caught me by surprise, this time you're not so lucky." He laughed again and chucked the object back at the girl, who immediately threw it back, this time with a force worthy of an athlete. But again, the armour-clad warrior harmlessly caught it, although with a bit more effort. "You need to learn some manners, young lady."

Now devoid of any weapons, Angel whispered her prayers and prepares to fight hand to hand, but Darkness remained where he was, wearing a smile on his face and waited patiently for her to calm down.

"Well?" Angel breathed, trying to stop her nerves from getting the better of her, "Aren't you going to cut me down like you were going to back in Ascalon?"

Darkness remained silent, studying his captive with interest as she wondered what he planning to do. From outside, an eagle flew through the trees and branches and landed on a shelf near the balcony, its leg was bound with a parcel and it waited for someone to take it off. No one moved.

"Tell me, young one," Darkness asked, breaking the awkwardness, "But why are you so…afraid?"

Perplexed by the question, Angel muttered, "You killed them all, didn't you? None was left alive and that was exactly what you wanted, right?"

The warrior strolled closer and sat down on the bed, his eyes avoiding Angel's as he stared into his blood soaked hands. "Thousands of years ago, we were so much different, we were taught to love all of nature's children and only kill when we need to survive." He glanced at Angel, who seemed a lot less tense than before but still refused to let him near her, "But then the humans came, at first we thought they were just another species of animal, perhaps even our brothers, but it wasn't meant to be. They evolved, and kept on evolving until they started to question their existence and that's when extermination was inevitable." He turned to her, this time looking into her eyes, a move which suddenly caused Angel to let go all of her hate and grief. "The first battle was lost, but we had to fight on, like my father and his father before him, I am just another Eathan fulfilling my destiny."

Silence swept the room as they stared into each other's eyes, attempting to connect their souls. For the first time, Angel suddenly no longer felt vulnerable, she did not require any more weapons to hit this stranger with, for she felt like she knew him from a past and distant life.

"You are trying to lure me in." She stated without emotion, hoping for some sort of direct reply.

Darkness smiled, and with a wave of his hand, the forest and all of its animals behind her disappeared, and all that remained was a vast dessert stretching as far as the eye could see. Angel turned to look at the scenery that she was born knowing and just beyond the hill that was more or less touching the horizon lay the remains of Ascalon and all she could see beyond that was a sky without storms and lightning, a sky pure blue.

"I have been watching you," Darkness crept closer and whispered into her ear in an almost affectionate way, "I know of your love for nature and all of her wonders and how much you wish to see it all as it once was before your kind destroyed it all."

"That's why you used that illusion." Angel replied, her eyes fixed onto the sky.

"Resurrection of the sky might only take a day but everything else would take a lot more than that," The warrior placed his hand onto her shoulder, "And you are perfectly welcome to stay and see it all happen."