Dual Fates Part 7
Protectors
by
Sailor Janus
Duo sighed heavily, unable to believe that this was one of his worst deaths and he was about to relieve it all over again. Could life get any better than this?
Nervously, Hotaru bit her lip, thinking the same exact thing. 'Well, if we want to find out what happened to our present selves and why we are in this strange dream-like world, we better continue.'
Glancing up, they both determined, it was time to return.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had been several months since Halia's banishment from the town of Carnelian. Luckily for the girl, her small cottage was located outside of town otherwise she'd be forced to find shelter elsewhere.
Unfortunately, this still did not benefit the young mage in any form. She was quickly going broke and sadly, had to sell her beloved horse, Firefly in order to keep herself and her loyal friend from starvation. Halia was pleased that Sonia had offered to purchase the friendly creature. She knew Firefly would be treated well in the hands of the kind garnet-eyed woman.
No matter how hard the dark-haired girl tried, she remained melancholy. It was odd how one simple minute, could change a life forever and how fickle reality is really is with its constant alterations. One minute everything seems so perfect, like a fairy tale, and suddenly, something changes and the web of perfection is broken.
Often times, Halia found herself thinking about Dane, despite how often she tried not to, he always appeared in her mind. "Did he really betray me, or was he just following his duty?' she questioned herself, staring out at the sky awaiting the coming of night.
Suddenly, the young woman was struck with a vision of immense strength, forcing her to the dusty wood floor of her almost bare cottage.
With a gasp, Halia caught herself with her hands, as the bright violet of her eyes filled with darkness. Once it ceased, the girl found herself very shaken, and drenched in sweat. She had never experienced a premonition of that magnitude before, which only meant one thing. The terror she had just foresighted, is true.
"I have to go warn them despite the fact I have been banned from the town. I must prevent that massacre!" the mage said to herself, as she reached for her cloak and reagent bag before leaving the familiar cottage through the front door. She knew there was only one person that would actually listen to her, and the fact that she saw his death, did not make the situation any simpler. Halia still had a sense of duty otherwise she would not have had the vision.
Taking a deep breath, the young dark-haired woman reached into the bag and pulled out some blood moss, mandrake root, and spider's silk. "Vas Ylem Rel!" Quickly she sprinkled it over her head, polymorphing into a sparrow.
Swiftly, the tiny bird took off into flight, for it's destination to Carnelian.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dane stood staring at the sky. It would soon be night, not that there was actually anything to look forward to. Life seemed to be yet another chore with no expectations of any kind.
He hated Kay, the little wench with a passion for framing Halia with murder. His pretty little mage would never hurt a soul. Sure she admitted to fighting daemons and other evil creatures, but they did not possess a soul not to mention by destroying them, she had actually spared more lives.
Heavily, the chestnut brown-haired man leaned against the wall, watching as the townsfolk came and went. He didn't care if he appeared unprofessional, unlike his friends Trey and Hollis who always had a stern look on their faces. Many actually were very nervous around his Prussian blue-eyed friend, and even one glance from Hollis sent them scurrying away. It was actually quite amusing to watch.
Lazily, Dane glanced at the ground, only to find a small sparrow land at his feet. Happily, the tiny bird chirped as if it were pleased to see the guard.
Curiously, the cobalt blue-eyed man bent down and peered at the sparrow which hopped right up to him. 'Odd. What do you want little fella?' he thought, holding his hand out to the bird which surprisingly flew into his palm causing the guard to blink in shock.
Just then, the bird flew off, into an abandoned shop.
"Weird. I wonder-" Dane said to himself when he was suddenly interrupted by someone calling out to him from the very store the bird flew in.
"Psst. Dane!"
"What?" he cried out, cautiously, heading the direction of the voice, only to find himself face to face with Halia.
The guard's jaw dropped in amazement of seeing the girl's face in what felt like years. "Halia," Dane whispered, enveloping her into his strong arms, before bring his mouth to her own in a passionate kiss, which she generously returned. "I thought I'd never see you again! Why are you here?! If anyone catches sight of you, you'll be executed."
Holding onto her love tightly she murmured, "I turned myself into a sparrow. I have some unfortunate news."
"Wait, so that sparrow was you?" the chestnut brown-haired man inquired with a tone of amazement in his voice as the girl nodded.
"What is that scoundrel doing here?! Dane, do you have a death wish?" Hollis coolly said as he entered the shop, freezing at the sight of his best friend and the convicted felon.
"Hollis! Halia, is innocent! She didn't murder Lady Selene and you should know that," the cobalt blue-eyed guard argued helplessly with the stoic man.
Quietly, the brown-haired guard glanced at the mage who pulled away from Dane. "Maybe so, but she has been convicted. If you are caught with her, you'll be executed for treason."
Drawing a deep breath, Halia quietly said, "I only came to warn you of the danger which shall approach tonight at midnight. A terror like no other this city has ever witnessed. An invasion of orcs shall destroy Carnelian, and the people along with it."
"How would you know?" Hollis glared not knowing whether to trust the girl or not.
"I have visions, and an unusually strong one came to me today. Everyone will die if we do not defend this place," the girl calmly spoke.
"How do we prevent it?" Trey asked, joining the group. He had been quietly listening outside the door, to make sure no one would disturb them.
Sadly, Halia dropped her eyes, "We cannot. We can only duel with them and I'm willing to offer my aid."
"A small woman, help us?" Hollis abruptly said in disbelief as he crossed his arms.
The girl frowned slightly. "A woman that is an expert mage. Please trust me. You will need my help and I am willing to give up my own life to save others in return."
"Fine, let's prepare. Can you turn yourself back into a bird so no one suspects anything?" the Prussian blue-eyed man said appearing a little less cold-hearted.
Halia nodded, as retrieved some blood moss, garlic and nightshade. "I can do even better. Kal In Ex!" with one toss of the herbs over her head, Halia was no longer Halia. Instead she was a completely different person.
"Wow! What did you do?!" Dane gaped as he stared at the pretty shoulder- length curly-haired redhead with bright green eyes and tanned skin. She was also remarkably taller than Halia. Her dress was now dark blue with a silverish sash.
"I have cast incognito," the mage smiled. "The only problem is I cannot keep this form for very long. I believe an hour maximum is the longest I've held any type of spell."
With silent nods, the three guards and the mage left the small shop, to plan the coming tragedy, that they were about to face.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was eleven o'clock in the evening and Halia found herself at the small inn with the three guards who made up an excuse to gather every single townsperson to the shelter, calling it a simple plague.
The young mage had to constantly cast incognito as she and Dane gathered as many reagents as possible. She knew, was going to run out no matter what.
Oddly, enough, Sonia, the stable mistress, appeared before the girl and the guard holding the bridles of four horses, Halia's own Firefly, among them. "You will need these. Take care fair Lady Halia and good Lord Dane. I wish you well, " the woman said as her long dark green hair blew softly behind her. With a single smile, she disappeared.
"Thank you, Lady Sonia. I always knew you were one of mystery," the dark-haired young woman murmured as she held the reins to the four noble creatures whom she knew very well. A midnight black horse called Duce, a strong chestnut brown one which didn't actually have a name, a silvery gray horse which seemed to fly as it ran named Wing, and of course her own beautiful black horse, Firefly.
Turning towards, the guard she loved, Halia, smiled as he handed him the reins to the other three horses. "I believe the black one, Duce would best suit you," she softly said.
"Thank you Halia," Dane whispered, as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, tears silently flowing from his blue eyes. Stunned the dark haired mage dropped the reins of her own horse but didn't worry. Firefly was highly obedient, and was trained very well, not to stray.
The girl had already told Dane and his only two fellow guards who actually listened to her warning, that they would not come out of this battle alive. The two quiet men didn't falter at her words, having already sworn their lives to protecting the city. The chestnut brown-haired man however felt great sadness at the thought of losing the woman he loved, but tried to remain strong. He had to for the sake of Carnelian.
Halia, found drops of salty water fall from her very own eyes, feeling the warmth of Dane's body against hers as she encircled her arms around his neck. Slowly the two turned their faces towards each other, and united in a deep intense kiss as every emotion poured out.
"I love, you my Halia," the cobalt blue-eyed man choked out, as they pulled briefly away, staring into each other's eyes.
Brushing, Dane's tears from his face, the girl smiled sorrowfully, "I love you too." Taking a deep breath, the mage tried to collect herself realizing time was creeping up on them. "It's almost time. We must go."
"Yeah, it's gonna be time to slay ugly things," the cobalt blue-eyed man smirked, as he helped the love of his life onto her horse, before climbing onto his own, which strangely took quite a liking to the guard and didn't seem to protest one bit.
With the reins of the other two horses in hand, the two brave people retreated back to the inn.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hollis and Trey each knew that their friend was in love with Halia and chose to accept it. If Halia's prediction proved correct, they'd be dead by sunrise anyway, so it did no difference that they were allowing the girl who was banished from Carnelian back into town. The fact that she wanted to help the place which practically disowned her was mind boggling, but proved the young woman indeed, possessed a pure heart.
Soon, they were greeted once again by the melancholy couple. Who had a very welcome surprise for the two guards.
"We're back, and have a little gift for you two. Meet Wing and um, No Name. take your pick guys," Dane grinned, as he released the reins.
"I also have a gift for each of you," the mage quietly said as she reached into her reagent bag, and sprinkled some sulfurous ash and spider's silk on Hollis as she cried out, "In Lor!"
Blinking, the Prussian blue-eyed guard stared at the girl in shock. "What did you do to me?! Why is everything so bright?"
"I gave you nightsight," Halia smiled as she turned to Trey and cast the same spell on him as well as Dane, the horses, and herself. "This will make fighting a little easier."
"Thank you, Lady Halia," the green-eyed man softly said as his partner nodded stiffly.
Suddenly, the girl's eyes became wide as she held out one finger, silencing anyone who was about to speak. "They're here."
The three guards exchanged alarmed glances, as they unsheathed their swords. Halia sat ready upon her horse, reagent bags around her neck and waist as her violet cloak cascaded around the horse, her hood, lying lightly upon her head.
One meaningful, glance to Dane, with a firm hand squeeze was all the time she had left before hell wrecked havoc on the town.
The main objective was to protect the inn, nothing else was a concern. Spinning around, Halia threw blood moss and nightshade at the building as she shouted, "An Lor Xen!"
In a flash of an eye, the building disappeared, but sadly, the spell would only last for an hour tops. At least that gave them time to exterminate the monsters. The mage only wished that the spell could last longer, but knew unless the all the orcs were killed, they would remain in the town until she would run out of reagents since they would sense the humans concealed within the town and wait until they appeared.
Even though the orcs were very large, they still had an amount of intelligence and an incredible sense of smell, that even if they could not see a human, nor know where they were hidden, they still knew the human existed, and would search high and low until they found them.
Slowly, the carnivorous orcs made their appearance, in an intimidating mob, bashing in buildings and scouring through the market for meat. The rank stench of dead flesh permeated in the air as only four brave souls watched and prepared.
Hollis's blue eyes became icily hard as he stared in disgust at the large gray ogre-like monsters invading the city he swore he would protect. Wing stood, ready for the commands from the guard, realizing his own mission. Suddenly, the man charged with a battle cry rushing towards a small group orcs as Trey trailed after, his dark green eyes shining intensely.
Exchanging wordless nods, Dane and Halia followed. The man with his sword tightly in his grip, and the woman, with the ingredients for her first spell tightly in her hand.
Out of the corner of her eye, the dark-haired girl saw Hollis behead on orc as Trey practically gutted another which was about to attack the powerful fighter. At least they had a sense of teamwork.
With black pearl, mandrake root, and sulfurous ash in hand, Halia threw it at an approaching monster, yelling, "Vas Ort Flam!" Causing the creature to be hit with an explosion, raining bits of flesh upon the surrounding group who were already wearing a fair share of blood.
"Halia! " Dane cried, out with a disgusted look on his face, while stabbed an Orc through the chest. Clearly he did not enjoy wearing orc bits.
Just as she spun around, Halia gasped in fear as an Orc was about to smash her love's head in with a mace. "An Ex Por!" she screamed, tossing a mix of Garlic, mandrake root, and spider's silk at the creature, paralyzing it in its track.
Abruptly the chestnut brown-haired man looked at what frighten his girlfriend so terribly and nearly fell off his horse. "GAH!" Regaining his composure, Dane decapitated the monster and kicked it to the ground.
"AHHH!" Hollis cried out as an orc's sword impaled him through the stomach.
"NO!" Halia shouted as she rode her horse towards the dying guard while retrieving garlic, ginger, mandrake root, and spider's silk. "IN VAS MANI!" she screamed, throwing the herbs onto the Prussian blue-eyed man, before he could take his last breaths.
Remarkably, the stab wound began to heal, as Hollis found his ability to breath increase. Gratefully, he looked at the girl who smiled in return. Although, Hollis may not have said 'thank you' with words, Halia knew he said it in some form or another.
Just as the brown-haired guard reached full recovery he was attacked again, except this time, Halia intercepted. She knew even though the recovery period did not take long, when fighting a battle it can feel like years. "Cor Por!" Halia yelled, tossing black pearl and nightshade at the Orc which was fried thanks to her energy bolt.
Quickly, the mage returned to Dane, who was fighting two orcs at once as five more slowly began to approach.
Turning to the five newcomers, Halia reached into her reagent bag pulling out black pearl, spider's silk, and sulfurous ash. "In Flam Grav!" she yelled, tossing them to the ground in front of the orcs creating a fire field, cremating three in the process as the two escaped their deaths. "Vas Flam!" she shouted throw black pearl and sulfurous ash at the two escapees, burning them with a fireball.
Trey was next one close to death, which Halia chose to heal. She successfully, managed to protect him as well while he recovered, before Dane found himself almost gutted.
"Hang on, Dane," she whispered, reaching into her reagent pulling out the ingredients for greater heal. Suddenly, the girl was dragged off her horse.
"HALIA!"
Quickly, the girl, threw the regents to her dying lover as she yelled, " IN VAS MANI!" as the orc's claws bore into her flesh.
Just then, a loud scream echoed in her ear, as an arm fell into her lap followed by a head. Halia, tried to resist the urge to vomit as she was pulled to her feet by Trey. Hollis stood nearby with a bloody sword in his hand.
"You can't die yet," the Prussian blue-eyed man said in a monotone.
Nodding the taller man quietly added, "We owe you our lives."
With a small smile realizing that this was their own why of saying 'thank you.' Quickly, the mage picked up her fallen reagent bag before climbing onto her horse as Hollis killed two approaching orcs with his sword.
Dane, gave a smile to his two friends for saving his girlfriend. Halia after all, had proven her merit quite well.
Each of the four fighters' faces were filled with determination. They had to fulfill their duty. Even though it meant their deaths.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The battle continued on for two more hours. The amount of orcs violating the city was incredible. It seemed like the mob was completely endless.
Halia had to constantly cast strength and greater heal on everyone. She even retorted to bless, which increases health, strength, agility, and intelligence temporarily.
'We can't continue much longer....I'm getting low reagents!' Halia thought, as she decapitated an orc with a sword she stole from one that she had earlier poisoned.
An hour later the dark-haired girl's worst fear came to life. She was out a regents.
"Bad news, I'm completely out of the necessary regents," Halia calmly said, as Dane swung his sword into an Orc's skull.
"That's not good," the guard quipped, with a tint of nervousness to his voice. 'Great, guess we are going to die after all.'
Hollis grunted before he sternly said, "Then we need to do what we can." Quickly the Prussian blue-eyed guard rode off into the crowd of orcs swinging the sword around as Trey silently nodded, riding after his partner.
A second later, Trey was slain by two Orcs, his cries echoing mindlessly in Halia's head as she tried to concentrate on her task. Hollis had tried earnestly to save his friend, but it was no use. The quiet green-eyed guard was gone.
Feeling nauseous as the monsters feasted on one of his best friend's flesh, Dane turned away, trying to retain the tears begging to fall from his blue eyes.
The next to fall in Halia's horror was Dane. Without thinking, she rushed over to his dying body, before the orcs managed to yank her love off of his horse, blindingly slaying every monster in her path with vengeance.
"DANE! NOOO!" the dark-haired woman screamed, watching the glittering spark of life fade from his cobalt blue eyes.
"I...love...you," Dane weakly said, reaching out to touch the girl's tear soaked face as his best friend tried his hardest to protect the distracted girl. He owed her that much.
"Dane, please don't leave me. Not yet. Not now," Halia whispered as his head fell against her body. "I love you too much to let you die."
"I'll...never....forget...you. Don't.....cry," he managed to say, before the light from his eyes faded.
"I love you too," Halia murmured as she gently kissed his lips, before laying him back on the horse. At the same moment, the deafening cry of Hollis filled the air.
Bowing her head, the mage tried to compose herself as she lifted the sword in her trembling hand, and gave her best battle cry, killing all that came to hurt her.
To the girl's shock she was only down to two orcs when one pierced an arrow through her heart.
Limply, Halia's head collapsed against her horse's as her hand fell upon her reagent bag. To her surprise, she still had four reagents left. Sulfurous ash and spider's silk, which is only good for one spell but Halia would be sure that the bastards would die for their treachery. "Kal....Vas....Flam," she choked out, taking her finally breath, tossing the herbs onto the two orcs, burning them to death with a pillar of fire granted by her flame strike as the world became dark and still.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Duo and Hotaru exchanged grimaces at what they just experienced. Tightly they held onto each other's hands, slowly dropping their eyes to the ground.
"Man, poor Trowa. He got eaten!" the pilot gasped appearing very ill.
Silently the girl nodded, "So did you and Heero," she announced, getting a horrified look from the man. "I witnessed it all with no power to save any of you."
"Yeah, so how did it feel for that head to roll in your lap?" Duo chuckled, trying to bring some humor to their gory ending. Of course, this granted his a glare from Hotaru who turned a slight shade of green at the same time.
"It was disgusting. Of course we all were covered in so much blood that it didn't faze me too much. I'm just glad that life is over with. I think it was the most gruesome death we have had," the violet-eyed Sailor senshi shrugged as Duo wrapped his arms reassuringly around her.
"No, there was probably some even worse, although I do believe that is probably the only time I was eaten by monsters," the cobalt blue-eyed man lightly said, as he held Hotaru firmly against his body, never wanting to let go.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: Thank you for the reviews. Um, sorry, if this chapter was a little, graphic, I tried to be as light with the details as possible. Believe me when I say, I could have gone a lot further into detail, but I didn't feel like making everyone lose their lunches, lol.
Um, I forgot who it was that mentioned Heero's name means one. (Fanfiction.Net is down again) I knew that but there were no H names that meant one so I chose Hollis which means 'hero.' I did a lot of name punning in this, which when you think about it, could explain what happened in the GW/SM worlds.
I also know that Setsuna's eyes are garnet. I was in a rush to get the last chapter out and when writing I continued bouncing between hair and eyes. Should have been hair.
The soundtrack to Ever After and Carmina Burana did wonders for this whole 'life'. Ever After played through most of it and then Carmina Burana took over the battle.
Um sorry, Trowa, Heero, and Duo got eaten but that's what orcs do. The other guys weren't in this because Duo doesn't always see the same people through every life and same goes for Hotaru. Sometimes they may see only the senshi and maybe just Quatre and Wufei. My speculation, is that the missing members to the group may have arrived after the deaths of the other three. Enough rambling.
Anyway, I am running out of ideas for their lives. I have four preplanned but I need a few more so if anyone has any ideas, let me know ^_^
Oh, I don't own Ultima Online, just the little game I have and for the GW/SM disclaimer, see the first page ^_^