Autocrat

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Yuki Kaori's masterpiece Angel Sanctuary and you would not profit by suing me.

Content: This story contains slash. I.e. homosexual male pairings and yes, eventually sex. If this isn't your cup of tea, then don't splash it back in my face. Find something else to read. It also contains strong language, rape and violence.

Category: Angst/ Romance.

Rating: R.

Chapter 5: Solitary Riven

The dangling path to the Gates of Heaven was not a welcoming mistress. Wisps of bitter gust lashed out at his face, as if to tear away the little body heat his small frame was capable of making. He remembered traversing this terrain once before, but the one difference was that he had been dead.

/I guess souls don't need to feel…/

As he pushed forward into the wind's cruel embrace, Setsuna felt the icy quips slowly transform into shards of glass that he swore almost sighed as if tearing away at him physically brought them some sort of sadistic pleasure. He wrapped his thoughts closer around him, thinking about Sara, thinking about Kira, until he no longer needed to feel outside of himself. /I cannot fail him, and I must return back to her. There was never a time he failed me or a time she didn't needed me- I must not fail- I… cannot fail.../

A cool light fell on the broken stone beneath his feet; the neglected palace still showed the damage left by Alexiel's celestial revolt on the marble's blue-veined scratched and ruined face. Overturned floor candelabras had allowed flames to run rampant throughout the sallow hall- charred remains of paintings hung lifeless with their subject's immortal gaze forever damned to look out over the desolation. Ancient wax marred the places it had spilled onto- a mockery of the warm, comforting light the candles used to provide. Books slowly fading to dust mingled with feathers that were now no more resilient than a common robin's. The Gates of Heaven too had fallen from grace- and Purgatory had gratefully extended its arms.

A hurried ruffling of cloth quickly snapped Setsuna's attention back to the corporeal world and he cursed as the cold set back in again. Spinning around, he managed to catch a glimpse of a black trench coat just before the fabric fluttered away. An unnecessary burden, Setsuna decided to ignore it, choosing to focus instead on the task at hand. That is, until he turned back around only to be looking that burden in the eyes. Raising his eyes to meet his subject, Setsuna only had a moment to take in an elegant lip turn upward into a sneer. "Ka-" was the only protest he got before a blue blast exploded from a leather-encased palm.

Mudou was instantly thrust backwards, the blast exploding into a millions demonic faces, each chortling maniacally before reabsorbing back into the mist. Another shortly erupted again from Katan's palm and Setsuna felt his back slap loudly against the marble behind him and showers of decay shoke loose from their crumbling abode. Reeling from the impact and tears welling up from the chalky dust in his eyes, Setsuna looked up only to see a hazy shadow stride toward him.

"Why?" was all he could get out before an ethereal light pierced his sight, blinding him momentarily. And though he had only leaned up off the pillar a few inches, he was hurled back into with the same, breath-taking force.

"You, my dear mortal," Katan spat with a curse, "have no need to go anywhere."

Setsuna recovered enough from the shock to pull himself onto his knees. " I don't know why you're doing this- please…just please let me pass, never have I wanted to fight you-"

Setsuna's plea was cut short by a smug snort before Katan interjected, "YOU may never have had a qualm with me, but you should know by know that feelings are not always mutual. The reek your soil-bound self has brought to this desecrated yet somewhat still holy place is reason enough to have a problem with you. It's too bad my real problem is with your," pausing for a second as if waiting for the words to manifest themselves, "immortal half."

A grimace crossed Setsuna's face; he had never quite come to terms with the angel shackled within him, a fact he denied and a secret he hoarded if only to deny that he was a part of any "war" that was still raging in Heaven. "I am not Alexiel!" Mudou yelled before reaching for a sword that was no longer sheathed at his side. Katan left out a short sneer, before hurling another cobalt blast at Setsuna.

"You may deny it, my dear human, but the fact remains- you-or the one inside of you- is what is coming between me and one I truly love. Never-" Katan let his sentence be punctuated by another bolt of icy shockwave. Setsuna reeled again from the blow, the sharp wisps of air slashing at his face so hard the edge of the blast left shallow channels of blood across his porcelain face. "Have I been so frustrated with one so weak, so insignificant. You are damned in Heaven's eyes, one below even us Grigori," Katan spat out so forcefully that his voice echoed with enough hatred that it sent ripples into the pool of blood slowly forming beneath Setsuna. "Why won't you just die?!"

"Kira-" he whispered, "I'm only here for him…"

"Lies!!!" One last blast hurled towards Setsuna before it slammed into an illustrious light. Setsuna's exhausted body took the last hit as the last of his breath was shaken out him. His mind reeled and for a second time and the whole world around him slowed to a standstill- "No," he whispered. /Anything but this…/ No matter how much he willed it, his mortal bearing slowly yielded to the more powerful half inside of him. When feet hit the ground, they were no longer ragged sneakers but ebony boots. When she hit the earth, a resilient blue shockwave struck too, raging towards Katan as if a meteor had been summoned from it's orbit- and pissed about it. Katan futilely constructed a shield around himself, but the flimsy disk shattered as if a rock had been hurled at a shop window. The useless shards of energy blinked in and out and faded into the air before they hit the earth. It was her turn to laugh, and she did so merrily- with just a hint of the sinister licking at its rich feminine resonance. She took her time as she walked towards him. With each footfall she became more at ease with the vessel she had taken over. Katan was witnessing a cat stretch into one of her lives.

A primal glint of fear flashed in his eyes as he took in the full glory of the fallen angel standing before him- the master of the desecrated hall had answered his challenge.

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Author's Note: Hey guys, I know it has been essentially FOREVER since I have last updated- I hope to correct that and continue to publish my writing- especially with this story. I've forgotten a lot of what I had originally intended with this story, but I still hope not to disappoint- as with my writing style, I hope it can only be better than when I first started off.

Please continue to read and review- to be completely honest, my fans' reviews were just about the only thing that made me continue publishing. One day I was on decided to try and guess my old e-mail and password combo, got it right and read my old stories and corresponding reviews. I'll say one thing, you guys have no idea how much it means to a writer to see those reviews. It really does pick you up when you think you have nothing else left to give and at the risk of sounding cliché and dorky, fills you with an amazing amount of energy. To all my fans out there, thank you- thank you from the bottom of my heart. It was you guys who made the creative juices come back. For that I am undoubtedly in your debt. )