A/N:Now the chapters will return to their normal order of every Wednesday and Friday. Thanks to all of our readers!
Enjoy,
Orangepotato and Emil Lime
Chapter by Orangepotato
Ilene Capella: As the Chosen, it's my duty to save the world…
Darkness covered their movements, the moon hiding behind gray clouds that were suspended high in the air. Grass swished quietly under their feet, their breath misting as they continued towards the mountains. Ilene could see mountains rising up from the shadows and she felt her heart hammer a bit in her chest.
Even now, she couldn't completely erase the doubt that sat in the back of her mind.
I shouldn't be doing this, she whispered to herself. I should be focusing on my journey. It's like Kratos said, isn't it? I'm just wasting time doing this, aren't I? It's selfish to focus on one person when the entire world is suffering…
However, as she glanced over to Esperanza and her brother, the doubt drifted away. It was almost impossible to believe that what she was doing now was wrong. She was helping, just as the Chosen was supposed to do.
One life, hundreds, thousands, ultimately, she'd save them all.
She kept that thought in her head as they reached the mountains.
Rin-Tins spied it first, "There!"
She pointed in the darkness up the mountain side. It took the red head a second to see it, but as soon as her eyes adjusted, it was possible to make out the faint light that was coming from the inside of a cave that dug deep into the cliff side.
Esperanza whispered, "I'd guess that's the entrance. We need to find another way in."
"Who knows if there's another way in," Holtz commented, "We should just charge in there. We can take them."
It was Ilene who brought up the flaws of his plan, "There are only four of us, brother. And we're just trying to save Esperanza's parents, that's it. We don't want to alert the entire base that we're here."
"Come now, sis. As soon as you see all of those locked up souls, you'll want to save them all too."
Even though her brother's comment was in jest, it struck a chord with the Chosen. It was true. She knew that. How could she deny the people suffering inside? However, the teen hadn't meant for her to answer, he continued.
"Fine. We can look for another way in, but we have the night on our side. If we run out of time, we should just charge the place."
Everyone nodded and made their way up the mountain face. It wasn't a tough climb, the beginning mainly slight bumps and several large boulders. It did become steeper, but not impossibly so. They were nothing like the Foogi mountains from before. Instead, there were gentle slopes that led to their peaks.
An hour had passed by the time they heard Rin-Tins scream. Her sudden outburst shocked them all, and Ilene could only listen as the sandy blonde's voice descended, as if she'd fallen into a hole.
Holtz called out first in a harsh whisper, "Rin-Tins?" He shuffled over to where the girl had vanished, quickly calling the other two girls attention to it. "It seems like she found our other entrance."
She could tell there was a smirk on the teen's face.
Esperanza squatted next to him, "Yeah. I can faintly see the bottom of the hole."
Ilene was the only one to call down to check on the poor girl though. She got a positive reply, so the three carefully climbed down, meeting a rocky hallway. It was lit with torches every several feet, going both ways till it was impossible to see them anymore.
Gravel shifting under their feet, they picked the right, heading down the cramped space.
"Man it's narrow," the red headed teen commented.
"Don't worry," Ilene comforted her brother even though he was in the back of the group and she was leading, "I'm sure it'll get bigger after a little while."
The four travelled in silence after that. The only noise the Chosen picked up was her brother occasionally scoffing at something or Rin-Tins giving a slight 'awe'. Esperanza was stonily silent. Honestly, the red headed girl was curious about the pink haired companion. Where did she come from, what was her life story? Perhaps most of all, she wanted to know why there was such a strange air between the two of them.
Even though Ilene had been asked for help, it almost seemed like the she'd ended up owing a debt. It just didn't feel like there was any thanks from the other girl for the action.
Dismissing it, the Chosen noted a change in the air. It seemed thinner and cooler, unlike the mountain air she'd grown accustom to breathing.
Halting the group, she muttered, "We're close."
Even their breathing seemed to stop as they approached what looked like a security wall. The narrow hallway opened up like Ilene had thought and exposed large metal doors with no sign of a key hole. She stared in wonder.
"It must be controlled electronically," Esperanza stated, looking over the walls. They reached up into the earth and probably several feet below. It was defiantly a safe guess to say the wall couldn't be dug around.
"How the hell do we get through it?" Holtz tapped his foot irritably, crossing his arms. He glared up at the wall, as if his steely gaze could destroy it.
Ilene shrugged, "I'm not quite sure."
It was Rin-Tins who offered an answer, "Perhaps we could try neutralizing the components inside of it."
"Neutralizing the what now?" The red headed teen made a face, but the girl hardly noticed.
"The components. I bet this wall is old. We could probably set a charge to it that'll disengage the locks. It'll just take a few currents and then we should be able to change over the parallel sidings and make them flow inversely. That'll switch the locking mechanism into opening easily opposed to with a negative charge."
"You're going to have to speak in plain terms."
The sandy blonde smirked and walked forward, pulling a large wrench from her pack. It was half her arms length, but the shaft fit comfortably in her hand. She twirled it around twice, a circle of mana twisting around her feet. Hues of purple floated up from the ground, flowing towards the door as she called out a low level spell.
"Lightning!"
Instantly, the door sizzled and she kicked the metal with her foot. It glided open noiselessly and with a small cheer, she stuffed the wrench back into her pack. All Holtz could do was stare.
Ilene suppressed a laugh, "That was... unique."
Rin-Tins walked forward, calling over her shoulder, "Hey, sometimes weapons have to be convenient too."
"That's hardly convenient," Ilene heard her brother murmur, but he followed after without another complaint. He kept pace, Esperanza beside him. The Chosen followed behind them all, hand gripping her hilt. They were getting further into danger, so they all needed to be on guard.
Soon enough, they made it into the heart of the base. Desians were roamed the halls, though many were probably sleeping since it was still early morning. Their red uniforms contrasted with the bleak gray walls, making them easy to spot. That was the only plus side.
Rin-Tins whispered as they hid in a back corridor, "Where are they holding the prisoners?"
Esperanza shrugged, "I've never been here before."
Ilene scanned the area again, blue eyes falling over every detail. Where were they going, indeed? She'd never seen the inside of base, so she didn't even have a guess as to where to head. They could continue to dodge the Desians and continue looking around, or they could ambush one of the sentries and figure out that way. The latter was probably the fastest way to get information, but the most risky.
They could easily alert the entire base.
Her brother spoke up, "Come on, let's grab one of the Desians and force the information out of him."
Why had she known her brother would take the violent approach?
"Brother, consider the alternatives first."
"What alternatives?"
"Sneaking around."
"As if we have time, sis. This place is crawling with these creeps. Let's just get the information."
Esperanza shook her head, "I agree with the Chosen. We shouldn't try to raise an alarm. Let's keep searching."
The red headed teen gave a long sigh, but nodded.
Ilene found it odd that her brother was giving in so easily. Then again, he'd been acting strange ever since Esperanza came into the picture. With a smirk, she realized why that was. Unfortunately, she couldn't comment on it now, she didn't want to make a scene. That, and it wasn't the place.
Mentally, she noted she'd broach the topic later and then scurried through several thin passage ways, everyone gliding along after her.
They ended up having to make several detours and back track many times, but eventually they located the prison block. They'd managed to find the court yard where some of the prisoners were allowed into and followed it towards a small door that led to an overcrowded place.
The smell was the worst. Ilene almost gagged as they entered. It smelled of death, rot and disease. The noise was next. Moans and sobs permeated the air along with the wails of children and the hushed murmur from the crowd.
As her eyes fell upon the cells and cells of people crammed behind each iron gate, she felt nausea swarm her.
She'd always known it was bad, but this was horrible.
Esperanza was quick to react, "Mom? Dad?" She called into the room, most of the people ignoring her. They almost seemed like they couldn't be bothered. Not even curiosity graced their eyes. Instead, their eyes were lifeless and cold.
Ilene shuddered.
"Mom?" The pink hair girl called again, frantic.
They all descended several flights of stairs, finally making it to the base floor. It was even worse seeing the number of cells that the base had. Part of her began to wonder if there were even more rooms like this one.
Suddenly, there was a shift in the air and the Chosen felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle. She instantly jumped out of the way as a large fireball consumed the area she'd just been occupying. Snapping her attention to where the mana had started from, she caught the eye of a very tall and thin man.
She likened him to a twig, his arms and legs certainly smaller than that. His hair was long and red, a silver streak serving as his bangs. With a smirk, his golden eyes lit up and he leapt down onto the ground floor.
"I guess you are the Chosen," he said, his voice like honey. It smoothed over Ilene's mind and she found herself physically shaking it off.
"Who are you?"
"The lord of this camp, though you probably don't know my name." Without hesitation, he charged forward, bringing his weapon –a long scythe – up to Ilene's throat. It would have cut straight through the soft flesh, but the red head was faster. She brought her blade up and clashed it with the man's weapon before he could kill her.
The two leapt apart, the rest of the group coming to her aid.
"What the hell?" Holtz yanked out his bow, readying an arrow, "Get away from Ilene, you bastard!"
The man grinned, "Ilene? That's a pretty name? Pretty like your face."
The Chosen scowled. Was he seriously trying to flirt?
Esperanza was the one who retorted, "You're Everence, aren't you?"
The leader, Everenece, nodded, "My, my, the lovely lady has done her homework. Everence, otherwise known as the Grim Reaper."
Her brother snapped, "Shut the hell up and die!" He shot a barrage of arrows towards the Cardnial, the man easily jumping out of the way. However, Holtz tossed his bow to the ground and zipped out his blade, clashing it with the man's weapon.
Rin-Tins was fast to join in. Her wrench was out and swinging it through the air once, green mana flowed around her, "Air thrust!"
The air around Everence gelled and cleaved him in several directions, though most missed as the red headed teen continued his up close assault.
"I don't fancy myself for boys," the Cardnial snapped, lashing his weapon out in a large arc. The blade cut Holtz across the side and stomach, the teen barely managing to twist out of the way before being cut in half. "So why don't you move along?"
"Shut up!" The teen screamed, lunging forward once more. The two continued clashing metal, Ilene readying her own blade.
"Esperanza, free the people. We'll hold him off."
The pink haired girl didn't argue. She disappeared from the Chosen's vision, leaving her to focus. Her heart was beating rapidly, adrenaline and fear coursing through her veins. This was the first time they'd be facing such a powerful foe without Kratos. Absently, she wished the mercenary was with them. If they hadn't run off without him…
She didn't have time to think.
Everence flipped towards her, slashing his weapon down.
Jumping to the left, Ilene swung her blade out, the tip nicking the man's side as he did another flip to dodge her attack. Holtz followed after and she followed, both of them locking weapons with the Cardnial.
"Well, if you two want to double team me…" There was a smirk on his face that made Ilene dislike him more.
"Violent pain!"
A spell suddenly ripped through the man, making him stumble backwards. The dark tendrils grabbed at the Cardnial as they slid back into the floor, nearly dragging him with them. He managed to catch himself, but not before Ilene slashed her blade down, the edge cutting down into his shoulder.
Everence let out a holler, yanking himself backwards. He gave a soft snicker, "Well, well, well. Naughty, aren't we? Triple teaming me? And without permission?"
It was Holtz who charged forward next, "You disgusting pervert!" He slammed his blade into the Cardinal's ready defense. The weapons bounced off each other and the red headed teen was forced back.
The Chosen quickly took her brother's place, though. Her red hair twisted as she turned and cut through the man's defenses, giving him another jagged cut along his arm. He was quick to recoil though, cleaving his scythe into Ilene's side.
She let out a scream, pain erupting inside of her. The sensation was intense, but it quickly ended. Instinctually, she lashed out, stabbing the man in the stomach.
He doubled over, taking his scythe along with him, and Ilene jumped back a few feet. She was breathing hard, but the pain had already begun to die down.
"You're quite powerful," Everence commented, a tension in his voice as he looked up at them, "But lovely ladies always are, aren't they?"
"Why don't you just give up then?" Rin-Tins asked. Her guard was still up, a spell obviously on her lips.
"Give up? Come now, don't you know the first rule of a fight? Never give up. Isn't that heroics 101?"
Holtz spat, "You're hardly a hero."
"I may not be a saint, but then again, I never wanted to be." He gave a short laugh and he stood erect. It became quickly apparent that all of his wounds were healing. Each gash began to sizzle and the blood ceased to flow. The skin easily mended itself, soon the only evidence he'd been in a fight being the remaining blood on his clothes.
Ilene felt her heart skip a beat.
Everence smirked, "This is why they call me the Grim Reaper, you see? I'm not easily killed, though I do easily kill…" He dashed forwards, energy renewed. He brought his scythe up around Ilene's neck, ready to decapitate her, "on the battlefield, or in bed, my sweet, I always get my kill."
The rest happened in slow motion.
Ilene felt the blade press against the back of her neck, life flashing before her eyes. She could see her mother and father, then the terrible fire that swept across Meltokio. Everything was burning and then, the peace of the sanctuary caught her eye. From there, years of memories flooded her brain. Happy ones, sad ones, all of them leading up the moment where she sat as an omnipresent being, watching her own demise.
Then, a blast of heat coursed in front of her. She instinctually leaned her body away from it, feeling that the scythe was no longer there to hold her in the same place. Her palms and arms burned, some of her clothing charred away, but she collapsed on the floor as Everence let out a howl.
He was on fire, thrashing around until the flames dwindled out.
Behind him stood Esperanza, her hand extended and red mana slowly fading away from her feet.
"Ilene!" She shouted, "Move! Now!"
Doing as she was told, the Chosen got on her feet and ran towards Holtz, who quickly snatched her by the arm and pulled her behind him.
She could see the tension in his shoulders as he kept his sword at the ready.
The Cardnial was on the floor, the flames still eating away at his skin as he let out a raw scream.
The Chosen covered her ears to the noise, feeling her insides rattle at the sight. She was nauseous, head swirling as she tried to look away but found she couldn't. Her eyes were trapped on the horrible sight before her.
Inside, she felt a strange desire to help him. To at least stop that terrible pain, but she never had a chance to voice it.
Instantly, water splashed over him from far away. Everyone turned around and Ilene saw yet another man standing on the higher floor. Instantly, her heart ceased in her chest. This man… he was truly evil.
Black hair hung down to his shoulders, blonde strands peaking from the abyss. His eyes were a shimmering gold and his body was lithe yet muscular. His outfit was colored dark blue and gray, only contrasting his pale skin. The demonic smirk on his face was only outset by the resentment in his features.
"Now, now, Everence. That's no way for the Grim Reaper to compose himself." His voice was smooth and melodic, riding up and down the Chosen's ear with ease. As he continued, it seemed like every single one of his words filled the room and absorbed the oxygen, "I would have thought you would be capable of taking care of the Chosen for me."
Ilene felt her brother tense next to her. Part of her wanted to turn and see what was bothering him, but the new comer's presence didn't allow it.
Everence finally spoke up, a hint of pain still coloring his voice, "Her friends are persistent."
"Then get rid of that persistence."
"It isn't that easy."
"It never is, Everence, but that is never an excuse." He sounded angry, but the anger was covered in deep layers of tenor and rich tone.
Holtz breathed, "I know him…"
Shock went through Ilene and she whispered, "what?"
Everence responded snidely, "Why don't you come down here and take care of them yourself then? Don't they say 'if you want something done right, do it yourself'?"
Her brother barely spoke, something terrified in his voice, "He was at the Church."
The new comer responded to the Cardnial, "I shouldn't have to worry about having that mentality when I'm working with you, should I?"
Ilene felt confusion rush through her. The man had been at the Church? What did that mean?
"Let me introduce myself, Chosen… Holtz…" the man said, staring directly at them. Ilene felt her brother jolt at the new comer saying his name. Fear clutched at her heart as a grin split the man's face, "My name is Jacques. It's a pleasure, of course. And it'll be a pleasure to see you die."