Unfortunately, I do not own Kuroshitsuji. I think everyone here would like to, but we sadly do not.

Also, this is the story of Sebastian's past, so no Ciel. I'm also calling him Aquila, which means Eagle in Latin.

Thoughts on this chapter: Yay! Short fight scene! Let's go!

Chapter Ten: Skirmish

Summary: He was pretty sure Azzy hadn't really started sprouting random flowers that pulsed as if they were some kind of animal instead of a plant and changed colors with the spikes of pain.

Luke quickly recalled Iram and they became one person again. Aquila still didn't quite understand how that worked, but he was willing to skirt around the strangeness and get the idea. Azzy and Elze came running from the far side of the cavern, and Vannessa and Mon picked up their weapons and momentarily forgot their dislike of each other. Bel fully opened her eyes and not a trace of tiredness could be detected. Before his very eyes, Aquila watched as the seven demons lost all of their amusing tendencies, becoming the leaders and rebels they were known as by the angels. Aquila even remembered a small trace of the battle, merely a few sentences, from an Azzy that was not terminally insane.

"Luke, we have to get out of here! Quickly, or the portal will close! Unless you want to be flying back home with the entire Legion on your tail, I suggest you get a move on!"

Aquila shook off the clinging shadow of a memory. Now was not the time to be flooded with the experience of his past. He didn't even know who this Malphas person was, but if he was managing to hold off a patrol all by his lonesome, he was clearly strong. He ran with the others out of the cavern, swam up through the pool, and they stopped briefly to shake off the water.

"We'll get there faster if we fly. Everyone up!" Luke ordered, unfolding white wings. The others did likewise, and Aquila tried~but pain unlike his hunger, unlike anything he had ever experienced, pain strong enough to make his demon self see black spots in front of his eyes, lanced across his back.

With a scream, Aquila twisted, trying to find the source. For a minute, his brain did not comprehend what he was seeing. There was white~but it was not feathers. Aquila's gaze focused, and his scream choked off with a gag of horror. For sticking out of his back, where his wings had been, where they should still be, were splintered bones. Their tips were bent in a decidedly not straight direction, as if some great force had pressured them into twisting, and a few rotting feathers caked with blood clung desperately to them. No matter which way he moved, what had once been his wings sent slices of pain through his body.

"Llllk!" Aquila managed to spit through his teeth. "LLLLK!" His brother turned, and drew in his breath sharply. For a brief second his eyes flashed with that terrifying, thunderous anger, but it may have been Aquila's imagination. He was pretty sure Azzy hadn't really started sprouting random flowers that pulsed as if they were some kind of animal instead of a plant and changed colors with the spikes of pain.

"You go one ahead," Luke said tightly to the others. "You shouldn't have a problem chasing them off."

Aquila finally found enough strength to fold the remains of his wings into his back, and gasped as the pain abruptly cut off.

Near a village in the desert, Malphas, a member of the Demon Council, was using his guerilla tactics. Keeping well back from the six angels trying to circle around him, he darted in at random intervals and picked at their flanks. They were getting irritated at him, which was his plan. If they were flustered enough not to launch a full-scale charge for long enough, help might come in time. He had been working at this for ten minutes, and was worried that their annoyance was wearing off, as was their patience. Contrary to popular belief, patience wasn't a virtue, and never would be, so the angels were free to lose it (no, really, neither of the people credited with coming up with the old virtues had patience on their list).

To Malphas' relief, he saw the shapes of the demon princes speeding through the air. They began a downwards dive, silent as owls, and, too late, Gabriel and his patrol looked up to see faces right in front of theirs. Literally bowled over by the surprise, the angels picked themselves up and took off, circling around in the sky, then shooting down like falcons. Azzy met one head-on and gave him a big hug, which quickly turned into a chokehold, which quickly turned into suggestive comments, which quickly turned into an extremely disgusted and disturbed angel attempting to escape from the crazy demon's clutches.

The other angels, clearly more experienced, dodged anticipated attacks and swiped their swords at the demons. Vannessa leapt backwards, a minor scratch above her eye. With an angry hiss, she wiped away the blood and catapulted herself at the offender. Tackling him in mid-air, they tumbled to the ground, where Vannessa transformed into a small house cat and became a spitting and clawing whirlwind of fur. The angel jabbed his rapier at her, but she was already gone, clinging to his head with grim determination.

Gabriel held off the combined efforts of Elze, Bel, and Mon, before pulling back with an irritated huff. He hadn't been expecting the arrival of the princes. This wasn't good. "Fall back, patrol! It's only a matter of time before they show up!"

The angels beat off the demons they were fighting, and were quickly airborne. With flashes of brilliant light, they became beams that swiftly shot straight up.

"Are you all right, Aquila?" Luke asked worriedly. "Answer me, brother."

Aquila whimpered, clutching his head. "I remember," he said in a small voice. "I remember everything!" And oh, how he wished he did not. He wished he could still remember only bits and pieces, or better yet, nothing at all. Anything but what he knew now. For he remembered his life, a life that started out happier and more peaceful than anything else in the universe, and slanted downhill with a single vision of towering buildings, mechanical birds, and a burning forest.

Aaah this chapter was really short. However, I can promise you that the next one will be long. Really long. In fact, it's already written, just not typed up, and the thing covers at least 10 college-ruled full-size pieces of notebook paper. Don't worry. It will be up Thursday, most likely.