Disclaimer: This is fanfiction, guys. If I owned this, would I be posting on a fan website? Hmmm… I think not.
I have no excuse for the uber-lateness of this update. It was my sincere wish to have this story finished by now, but I allowed myself to be majorly sidetracked. Just about everything went on hiatus. Forgive me?
Chapter 16
There was something to be said about shiny buttons.
Zelos… or, rather, whatever had possessed him, reached up and tapped one of the shiny buttons. A door opened in the wall next to him and he walked into the corridor beyond. There was another shiny button on the other side of the door, which he also pressed.
The door slid shut just as Set was about to pass through the opening. While still not in control of himself, Zelos cheered internally as he finally cut himself off from the Anubian Warriors.
There was definitely something to be said about shiny buttons.
Zelos internally rolled his eyes as his body began jogging down the corridor. Now if only he could find the shiny button that would give him back control of himself…
/o/
Apophis smirked, hovering near the darkened ceiling of the shadow filled room. He knew Ra was in the corridor just outside and he knew how this would end. Finally, Ra would die.
The blonde angel entered the room and, despite the lack of light, he looked directly at Apophis as he drew his sword. "We've waited a long time for this, haven't we?"
"A very long time," the dark angel replied. "Remember when we were children? Growing up in Exire, we fought over little things."
"Not so little," Ra countered. "I still recall the day you shoved me off the side near Maxwell's shrine. That was the day I discovered my telekinetic abilities. That was a fight over nothing; you sneaked up on me."
"True…" Apophis drew his sword and dove at Ra, but the other parried and darted out of the way. "Why do you give me the advantage?" he mocked. "Take to the air and fight me like an angel."
"We are not angels," Ra snapped. "We're pretenders with wings. And who ever said that air attacks were advantageous?"
/o/
"Where is he?" Isis grumbled, reaching out with her mind only to feel as though the strange emanations from the nearby Firelight Mirror were trying to burn her. "I can barely sense anything here!"
Yuan reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure Ra is fine, Isis. We need to concentrate on finding something… like a map… so that we're not lost anymore."
A pattering noise further down the corridor caught their attention. "Do you hear something?" she demanded, already moving towards the sound.
"Isis… be careful…"
"Hey! Who's there?!" Isis yelled as a young man ran past the open end of the hall.
/o/
Lethian hurried down the hallway, forcefully blocking his mind from outside influences, especially the Firelight Mirror. Discovering what had happened to original population of the base had been horrifying. Realizing that there was a very real chance that, given enough time, the same could happen to him…
"Hey! Who's there?!"
Lethian twisted around, mid-step, to see whom had addressed him only to trip over a crack on the floor. He fell on his rear with a painful 'oomph.'
"You're one of the Anubian Warriors," a different voice accused.
"Technically," Lethian snapped. "Owww… these floors were not made for falling on." He slowly clambered back to his feet. "Let me guess… Isis and Yuan? Do I get a gold star?"
"No… but Yuan may hit you if you continue to be flippant," Isis flashed the young half-elf a dazzling smile. "Now, what has you blocking your mind that fiercely? You must be giving yourself a headache."
"I told Zelos I'd find a way to make up for what I've done," Lethian said abruptly. Speaking quickly so that the two before him wouldn't interrupt, he continued to explain; "so I broke away from the others in the forest and made my own way here. This place wasn't that hard to find for some reason and I wound up making my way to one of the computer interfaces. The whole history of the base was recorded there… including what happened to the people who worked here when the base was operational. It's because of what I found out that I'm blocking my mind."
"What did you find out?" Yuan asked, his eyes narrowed and suspicious.
"Did it tell you how they died?" Isis seconded.
Lethian swallowed and tugged on the ends of his sleeves nervously. "They didn't all die, though a few were killed by the… er… monsters outside. Most of them are still alive, after all this time."
"What do you mean they're still alive?" the two angels demanded in unison.
"I mean just that. They didn't die, but I suppose they aren't truly alive, either. At least, not sentient after all this time." Lethian paused, letting the information sink in and click into place. He still couldn't bring himself to say aloud just what had happened. "If we stay here too long, the same could happen to us. We can't stay in this base for more than a day or so before the… process begins."
/o/
Ra parried another blow from Apophis' blade while waiting, patiently, on the ground as the angry Anubian Warrior circled him from above.
"You're such a coward, Ra. Fight; don't cringe!" Apophis growled.
Dropping his shield purposefully to the ground, Ra pretended to begin sheathing his sword. "Maybe I don't think you're worth the effort."
Apophis snarled and dove at Ra, who jerked his sword up while telekinetically catching his shield and ramming it into the back of Apophis' neck. The darker angel dropped to his feet on the ground and stumbled away, his own shield instinctively moving up to ward off any possible attacks. "Who's cringing now?" Ra mocked, racing forward to slice at Apophis' wings.
While the intangible wings of crystal could not truly be harmed, they could feel pain. Too many attacks against the air where the delicate crystal ought to be could render them just as ineffective as wounded 'feather' wings worn by the lesser angels.
Apophis yelled incoherently in rage as his wings overloaded his senses with pain. Angrily, he withdrew his wings and eyed his opponent warily. "I thought you were supposed to be the one who fights honorably."
"Normally I am," Ra conceded, recalling his shield and moving into a fighting stance. "This time… neither of us shall return from this battle, Apophis. It is time, once and for all, that we end this. Hathor awaits me; I have no fear of death. Tell me, do you fear it still?"
"Dead people await no one, Ra. You're delusional if you think anything of your deceased wife will welcome you when I kill you." Apophis snickered. "There will be nothing of you left, either."
"Let's test that theory, you and I. When we're both gone, I can mock you with my superiority," Ra feinted left and scored first blood on Apophis' left arm when he moved his attack to the right.
Apophis answered with a burst of telekinetic energy, sending his opponent sailing across the room. Ra smacked into the wall and collapsed, seemingly unmoving. That wasn't enough for Apophis, though. He summoned forth electrical energy, laughing softly as the mana circle appeared beneath his feet. "Thunder Blade!" he yelled, invoking the power of Volt's electricity.
Ra screamed in pain as the currents raced through him. When the hurt began to dull, he looked up into Apophis' hateful eyes. "And now you'll die. There was enough voltage in that to make your heart go haywire and stop. You're probably already feeling the effects."
Taking a deep, shuddering breath as he assessed himself, Ra felt the truth of Apophis' words. "You're right," he finally said quietly. "I'm dying." He began to fiddle with the hem of his sleeve as he rode out the pain. "But I won't go alone." Yanking out the chakram Colette had given him, Ra made one final attack.
Apophis dropped his sword and stumbled back, falling to his knees. His eyes were wide in shock as his fingers traced the metal circle in his throat. And then those angry eyes drained of their energy and the dark angel slumped over, dead.
Leaning against the wall, Ra waited for the end. As everything went dark, a woman appeared. Had almost anyone else seen her, they'd have thought her to be Isis. But Ra knew better. Unmoving, he reached out to her.
"Hathor…"
/o/
Isis screamed, her hands reaching to cover her ears as she fell to her knees. "NO!! Nononononono…" Someone placed their hands on her shoulders, but Isis didn't notice. The one person she'd depended on since her sister died in that awful lab accident so long ago was gone. Ra, her brother in law, heart, and soul, was gone.
"Isis…" Yuan pulled the angelic woman into his arms and rocked her slowly. "Shush… shush… calm down…"
Lethian stood nearby, feeling rather useless and awkward as the two angels knelt on the ground before him. "What's going on?"
"I-I think Ra is dead," Yuan answered, running his fingers through Isis' hair. The dark haired woman was growing quieter and had fisted onto Yuan's shirt. She clung to the blue haired man as though he was her lifeline.
"Who was he?"
"Her brother."
"Miss Isis, I'm sorry, but you need to stop now or all of what's come before this will have been for nothing. The Anubian Warriors will stop at nothing to connect Zelos' mind to the Firelight Mirror. They even believe that there's already a personality within the machine that will destroy Zelos' mind and take possession of his body; supposedly, that personality will be more than willing to work with Set and Apophis."
"Apophis is dead, too," Isis sniffled. "Now we just have one leader to worry about. Why are you so loyal to Zelos that you would betray the Warriors for him?" She pulled away from Yuan and stared at the young half-elf with a piercing, tear-stained gaze.
He fidgeted nervously. "Zelos is my friend… a better friend than I deserve. So I'm trying to earn that anyway."
"I believe you," Isis whispered. "Yuan, would you help me up?" Wordlessly, Yuan stood and then pulled Isis to her feet. He took hold of her hand and gave her a strange look, one that Isis could never recall seeing on his face before. "What is it?" she asked. "I'm fine, if you're worried. Ra and I share…shared a family bond and it hurt when it snapped. I'll be fine now," she repeated.
"It's not that, exactly," Yuan shook his head. "I just… found something that I thought was permanently lost."
"What do you mean?" Isis persisted. "I don't understand."
"I'll tell you later," Yuan promised. "Let's destroy the Mirror and get out of here."
"The Firelight Mirror is located pretty far from here," Lethian added, "but I printed off a map." He pulled it out of one his pockets. "Here you go."
Yuan took the map and looked it over before leading them down one of the many corridors.
/o/
Set stared at the barrier before him in shock for a moment and then screamed in rage as his fist hit the door. "That goddess damned…" he began, accept a sudden pain and a terrible absence filled the far part of his mind. Numbly, Set leaned against the door. "Apophis is dead," he said. The words echoed in his mind strangely. "My brother is dead…" I always knew this would happen. I knew he'd be careless and get killed. Just… why did it have to happen the one time I actually need his help? There's no one else who can take his place in this for I've trained no one… Lethian. He isn't properly trained, but…
"You," Set turned to one of his lackeys. Unable to remember the man's name, Set trudged on. "Locate Lethian and bring him to me. I require his assistance to recapture Wilder." No one moved. "Snap to it, or you'll join my brother in death!"
The Warrior ran off to do as Set commanded. Set turned to another one of his Warriors. "You, find Sheena Fujibayashi. She is surely one of the intruders here trying to rescue Wilder. He's in love with her and, as our captive, she'll make a wonderful bargaining chip in forcing him to do as I say."
The man nodded and hurried off.
"Wilder's sister is here as well, sir," mentioned a third Warrior. "Do you wish for her to be apprehended as well."
"Such quick thinking," Set drawled. "Indeed. Bring her to me as you've suggested and you'll find yourself a promotion." The Warrior smirked, saluted, and disappeared down the corridor. "Now, the rest of us are going to make this door reopen," he said to the remaining two minions.
One of them tapped the same silver, shiny button that Wilder had pushed. When nothing happened, Set rolled his eyes, peeled open the wall control panel, and began examining the wiring.
/o/
Zelos had never seen anything like it before. Had he taken the time to observe the device before him, he might have even been awed by it. The power radiating off of the Firelight Mirror was immense.
Instead, Zelos was preoccupied with ripping the innards out of the device that had been, until he'd entered the lab, repressing his psionic abilities. Wires littered the ground surrounding him and a triumphant smirk lit up his face. "See if I ever get possessed again, stupid little machine!"
"Well, well," a soft voice teased, "such childishness. To think that you're the one with the power to destroy my prison."
Zelos whirled around and stared in surprise at a flickering hologram of a lovely red-haired woman that resembled both himself and his sister. "Who are you?"
"I am Morphia… or what is left of her. The Firelight Mirror's systems have evolved since it was creation; this holographic projection is just one of many additions that have come to pass. There is much I must tell you, child of my line." Her blue eyes grew piercing. "And once I have finished my explanations, you must destroy the Firelight Mirror and allow me the peace I have sought for so long."
"Peace?"
"Death," Morphia clarified. "I wish for this to end."
/o/
Ibis paused and looked around uncertainly. "Did you feel that?"
"Feel what?" Sheena echoed.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to tell us what it is you sense," Kratos added.
"Two people just died in battle very near to us…" Ibis shook his head. "I cannot be more specific; I have no bonds that tie me strongly to anyone anymore. Not even to my cousins."
A shudder ran through Sheena. "Do you know how Zelos is?"
"He is unharmed, for now," Ibis responded after a long silence. "He is alone, yet not. There are two presences near him and so much energy…" Ibis stumbled and mumbled grateful thanks when Raine caught and steadied him. "I believe he has already found the Firelight Mirror. What comes next, however, is entirely up to your redheaded friend.
"Whether Set wins or loses shall be determined by the strength of a tired young man's heart…" Ibis' eyes had gone glassy and his voice had deepened just enough to make him sound unrecognizable. "The fire child must either earn his name or let his enemies destroy the world. The task is not so simple, though. One he loves will be on the line…" Ibis toppled to the ground, slipping out of Raine's grasp.
"I've never been one to believe in seers before," Raine muttered, "but I think we've just heard a prophecy."
"Definitely," Kratos agreed. He knelt down and moved the unconcious man into a more comfortable position. "Unfortunately, that also means that our group's only psionic talent has just become useless for the next hour or so."
A/N Well… okay, I am going to make a small excuse for some of my lateness in updating. I lost my notes somewhere at school. (School black hole from which even light is sucked up and never seen again) Between losing the notes and writers block, it took me a while to figure out how I was getting to the end of the story again.
Merry Christmas everyone… or if you celebrate something else, I wish you a happy holiday, lots of gifts, and happiness all around.
Oh, and because I'm posting several chapters in succession, there are probably going to be more bloopers than usually making their way through my self-editing. If anyone notices anything worth mentioning, point it out and I'll try and get it fixed as soon as possible.