Trish slowly opened her eyes to see a brown hooded figure standing above her. He slowly unmasked himself, his strange hair falling over his eyes. He smiled at Trish gently. The gesture filled Trish with fear. She knew who he was. He was The Master of the Fallen Angels.
'Let me go!' she said desperately. She wriggled on the bed that she was on, but could not get free. Restraining bonds held her still. Another smile. He sat by her head and ran his hand down the length of her body. Trish froze under his touch, her eyes staring up blankly. Her eyes looked into his as he fondly caressed her cheek.
'It must be so hard to know what to do when you're tied down like this,' he said softly, as though ruminating to himself. Trish squirmed as his hand caressed her shoulders and neck. She did not like the way this was heading. His hand crept up her top, cupping her breasts. She hissed angrily.
'Get off me!' she raged. There was no answer but the Fallen Angel did as was asked. He moved away from her and then smiled, his hair turning into a faint colour of gold. Trish began to relax slightly, now that he was finally away from her. 'Your clan's been destroyed. I can't sense any of them. Not even Ophelia.'
'I know,' said he quietly. Trish looked at him as though in shock.
'Aren't you bothered?'
'Perhaps.' The cold eyes showed no emotion. Trish looked into them. They were so like Dante's but yet, nothing like them. He sat there quietly, silently watching her as she lay helplessly on the bed. Trish took this opportunity to take stock of her surroundings. Judging by the light that was coming from the window, she was in a dark secluded area of the forest. The walls and the floor were built entirely from wood. The room was sparsely decorated with furniture. A bed was all that was there, as well as a chair. The Fallen Angel smiled at her again.
'They shall be coming soon. But by then, it will be too late for you.' Trish tried to force herself free of the bonds by pressing her body against them, unaware of the admiring gaze that the Fallen One cast upon her body as she did so. 'You wish to be untied so soon? But it shall only hasten your death…' he said, his voice softening. Trish ignored him, thinking that she could very well be more than a match for him. The Fallen Angel slowly rose. 'Before I kill you, pretty one, do tell me your name. My name is Ruai.' Trish said nothing but remained fiercely quiet, her sapphire-like eyes glaring at him. Ruai sighed with resignation and then slowly untied her, allowing his hands to gently fondle her as he did so. Trish turned pale as she felt his hands caressing her body, getting to know her more fully.
'Stop it!' she yelled. Her voice mingled with someone else's. Dante whirled into the room like a tornado, closely followed by Kryder and Arson. Kryder went straight to Trish's side, tearing the bonds away from her. He tried to smile at her encouragingly as he noticed Trish flinch.
'Don't worry,' he said. Trish swallowed hard and gazed up at him mistrustfully. His hand brushed against her leg by mistake. Kryder jerked his hand back and looked apologetically at Trish before continuing.
Dante snarled and swore like a beast gone mad. His sword seemed to dance and hum as he wielded his blade with the kind of expertise that comes from wide experiences. Arson watched on in mute terror but then his eyes hardened. Ruai was proving to be a troublesome opponent. He was quick, too quick for Dante to catch even when he tapped into his demonic powers. Dante cursed again, much to the Dark Angel's amusement.
'Well well…we are getting stressed aren't we?' he said glibly. Dante growled under his breath and suddenly charged at him, pushing him forwards and through the door. Whatever thoughts that may have been going through Arson's head were now shattered. He cowered in a corner of the small wooden hut and shivered. Kryder tore away the last bond and helped Trish up to her feet.
'Dante needs help,' said Trish. Kryder nodded and watched the battle through the window.
'He's too quick for him. Arson, stay here with Trish. I'm going to help!' Arson made no reply or move. Kryder gave one last quick glance at Trish and then left.
Dante grunted as he received a heavy blow to the face, flooring him. Already, he was exhausted. Ruai stood over him, leering at him almost teasingly. Dante closed his eyes, knowing that he was about to die, and that there was nothing else he could do. Kryder came spinning into the battle, dark green-black wings surrounding his body. Dante saw a familiar lop sided grin before Kryder turned to face Ruai.
'So…the son of Dante, is it not?' said the angel. Kryder said nothing but readied his spear, which had seemed as if it had grown by several inches.
'We meet again.'
'And you will lose again. But this time you won't be able to escape.'
'I didn't use my last trick.' Kryder started circling around him, like some kind of wolf. The two suddenly leapt at each other, steel clashing against steel. Kryder jumped away again, noticing the clawed steel glove that was on the Dark Angel's hand. He smiled.
'I wouldn't call you much of a threat!' he said scathingly. The angel smiled but said nothing. Instead, a weapon similar to his own started appearing in his other hand. Kryder grinned. 'That's more like it!' The Fallen Angel suddenly transformed. Dante blinked as the black wings unfolded. The red eyes glared at both him and Kryder. Kryder shifted his stance slightly and then sprang at him. The two rose upward into the air, spiralling and crashing into each other with their spears as they tried to fight. Steel grated against steel. The two weapons locked. The warriors fluttered to the ground and rocked and swayed there in a weight match. At last, the former leader broke away, taking Kryder by surprise. Blow after blow crashed down upon his skull, stunning him and making him crash to the ground. Dante staggered to his feet, holding his sword.
'No wait…I'm not out of it yet!' Kryder forced himself to stand up and then grinned again. 'So…I guess you think you're pretty good, but you haven't seen everything yet.'
'So I've heard,' came the lazy reply. 'Is talking all you ever do? Can you back up what you say with your fists I wonder?' He yelled in pain as Kryder delivered his punishment. Back and forth the two went, at one time Kryder was on the offensive, the next on the defensive. It seemed as though they were evenly matched. Suddenly, Kryder's spear went flying out of his hand, becoming firmly lodged between two boulders.
'Shit!' Kryder stared after his spear in dismay and then yelped as he was suddenly pinned down on the ground, a spear point at his throat. He closed his eyes as he felt the cold steel gently stroking his neck. 'Stop playing around,' he snarled. The Fallen Angel raised his spear over his head, preparing to bring it crashing down through Kryder's throat. Suddenly, he cursed.
Arson was slashing away at his back, furious tears in his eyes. He backed away as he turned around. The red eyes met his brown eyes, causing him to drop his twin blades with terror. There was a horrible laugh and then burning white hot knives pierced his body, causing him to scream with agony. Arson felt the ground leave his feet. His eyes rolled back in his head as he screamed. He tried to kick out, but his feet landed on nothing but thin air. He was suddenly dropped, landing heavily on his stomach.
Kryder rushed towards him again, trying to give Ruai no time to think. Dante found he could anticipate the move. It appeared that he was not the only one. Kryder's fist sailed past the angel's head.
'Damn you, Ruai!' he growled. Ruai smiled lazily. Kryder suddenly gasped in pain as he felt the spear pierce his stomach. Ruai continued to drive it in deeper, enjoying the look of agony on his enemy's face. He laughed as Kryder coughed out blood. He watched as though in fascination as Kryder's eyes became clouded over.
'No! Kryder!' yelled Dante. He made as if to run towards the two but then felt red bonds clamp down on his body, tossing him to the ground. Kryder peered out at Ruai through glazed eyes and then smiled. Ruai looked surprised by his reaction.
'Last trick…' he choked. Kryder suddenly brought his hands together, as though in prayer. Ruai started to laugh.
'Well that's a first. A demon like you, praying.' Kryder's hands started to glow with a blue aura. The colour spread from his hands to all over his body. At last he opened his eyes, a sad expression reflecting in them.
'Dante…' he whispered. 'I want to tell you this again. I don't blame you. I love you, Dad.' He suddenly caught sight of Arson, who was lying unconscious on the ground.
'Tell Arson I love him…you've…you've done a great job of taking care of him…please…I ask you to continue. I'm sorry.' The aura was growing deeper in hue. Kryder breathed his last. The aura suddenly concentrated into a huge ball of energy. Ruai's eyes hardened as the energy surrounded him and Kryder. The ball exploded in a flash of blue light.
Dante was blasted back by the force of the blast. He felt a huge heat rush at him, taking his breath away. Something hard crashed into his chest, leaving him sprawled out on the ground. When the light had cleared, as well as the multi coloured spots that had formed in front of Date's vision, he saw a single black feather float down to the ground. His senses could pick up nothing, apart from arson, Trish and…
Kryder was miraculously still alive. Both hands were at his stomach, and he had curled up in an effort to take away the pain. Dante looked down at him; the bonds had been broken at the death of Ruai. Dante looked around desperately.
'Can't you heal?'
'…'
'Kryder?'
'…too deep. I'm trying…' Trish staggered out of the hut, the circulation returning to her legs. She looked at the fallen warrior in dismay and then brightened up as she saw a dark red shape behind Dante.
'Inferno!' she called. Kryder looked up and grinned.
'So…you know him too…' he muttered.
'He was staying with Arson for some time but then he left.' Kryder nodded.
'He was with me.' His voice faded out and he grew silent. He moaned as Dante forced his hands away from his body. It seemed as though Inferno knew what he had to do. Kryder gasped in pain as he felt his feathers touching the wound. His body jerked and he tried to struggle but Dante held him down.
---
Arson slowly opened his eyes and looked around dazedly. A mound of black feathers lay by his side. Arson rolled away from them, scared that they might suddenly rise up and reform into Ruai. Nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the wind blew at the pile gently, carrying them far away. Arson shivered with the cold that was beginning to settle in and slowly stood up. The others were nowhere to be see, but there was a ring of charred ashes nearby. Evidently, there had been some kind of a bomb that had gone off, and they had been scattered. He yawned then, feeling somewhat unsurprised by his own deduction. His life was crazy; and he felt as though he had seen just about anything. He suddenly heard a familiar sound. Inferno. Arson held out his arm and Inferno perched upon it, his brilliant wings fanned out for balance. Arson smiled gently as he felt one of his wings brush his face.
'It's all over now, isn't it?' he whispered. Inferno sang his reply and then took off again, leaving scratches on Arson's arm. Arson clapped his other hand to his arm and looked at Inferno in bewilderment. 'What was that for?' Inferno made no sound but wheeled around in the sky before winging low over the trees. Arson followed, sensing that Inferno would show him the way back to his friends.
Kryder shivered where he sat, his eyes lowered. Trish looked up as Arson came out from the trees and into the clearing. Dante looked at him impassively. Arson saw the serious expression on their faces and then frowned.
'What's up?'
'You know as well as we do that your father's returned. He wishes to take you back with him, so then you can stay with him.' Arson looked surprised. Dante carried on, his face calm. 'However, given the circumstances, we're leaving it up to you to decide.'
'But-'
'It's your choice.' Dante moved so then he was standing beside Trish and then folded his arms. Arson looked first at Kryder and then at Dante. He frowned and then looked towards his father.
'If I was dumb, I'd stay with you. You come back and you say you're my father. Well fair enough, you are. But you haven't taught me anything-you don't know anything about me. I grew up and now you're like a stranger to me. That's why I've got to stay with my grandfather. I'm sorry.' He lowered his eyes and turned towards Dante and Trish, looking ashamed of himself. Kryder grinned.
'Well it's your choice. I'll come by sometimes.' Arson looked up suddenly at Kryder's next question. 'Where's Val?'
'She's with Orion.' Kryder groaned.
'Oh great…'
'He's not that bad,' said Dante. 'Val likes him anyway.' Kryder nodded slowly.
'I believe that is because of what she is.' Trish smiled.
'More than likely.' Trish suddenly saw Arson yawning again. She looked up at father and son. 'I suggest we go home now.' Dante grinned.
'Sounds like the best idea you've had for a month! Way better then going to a restaurant.' Trish's eyes brightened. Dante groaned as he saw the look in her eyes. Kryder watched them walk off, Arson following behind. Dante suddenly turned around, a thin smile playing on his face.
'What're you waiting for? You coming or not?' Kryder smiled and then followed, Inferno flying behind.