Chapter 16: Fallen Warrior

The wind whistled in Tenshi's ears as he leapt towards the skyscraper from which the red light was originating. Stepping down on a freshly made ice slate, Tenshi took the final leap, his feet finally connecting with the solid surface of the roof. The sight that met his eyes sent a shiver through his spine; the five Scouts trapped inside the blood red crystal crosses, Shiro's magic circle in the center of the rooftop, and the fruitless attacks launched at Shiro by the remaining Scouts and Tuxedo Mask. Gritting his teeth, Tenshi held his rapier out to the side, casting his powers into its handle.

"Awaken and bring forth the Tsunami!" he called as he released the locks on his powers, the rapier glowing and extending, its shape changing into the bastard sword that had nearly claimed Koaru's life just a few days earlier. Swinging the blade to his side Tenshi charged forward, a battle cry leading him towards Shiro as the maniacal teen blasted Sailor Uranus off her feet, knocking her into the base of Sailor Mars' cross.

"Die!" Tenshi roared as he swung the blade down at Shiro. The dark haired teen cast a bored sidelong glance at the Knight before slightly raising his left hand, freezing Tenshi's sword mere inches from his skull.

"You never learn, do you?" Shiro asked before blasting Tenshi backwards. Turning to watch Tenshi skid across the rooftop Shiro crossed his arms, a mildly amused expression on his face as the Knight charged back towards him, sword trailing behind him. Tenshi leapt, sword overhead as he soared towards Shiro, who once again raised his hand, freezing the attack in mid air. "When will you learn to try something new?" Shiro yelled as his eyes flashed, sending Tenshi crashing into Sailor Mercury's cross.

Slamming to the floor, Tenshi slowly got to his feet as he fought to regain his breath.

"Damn it..." he growled before spitting out a small amount of blood. "I need to get through his defenses, but he keeps blocking my sword... wait-" he paused as he recalled a previous fight; a second attack hidden behind the first. Grinning, he got back to his feet, shaking his head. "Let's try this again!" he shouted as he charged back at Shiro, his sword screaming through the air beside him.

"This again?" Shiro groaned as he blocked the attack, freezing Tenshi's blade a few inches from his neck. "You know this is really getting boring, Knight."

"Then I guess I should amuse you," Tenshi growled as he released his left hand's grip on his sword, pointing his palm at Shiro face. "Glacier's Wave!"

Blood splattered across the pavement as Koaru dropped face first to the ground, his face red from the blood pouring from his forehead. His arm twitched, and slowly he got to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth and nose as he re-established his grip on Kameharu.

"Fuck," he wheezed as he got to his feet, "nothing fazes this giant bastard."

The Eradicator seemed to sense Koaru's words as it raised its fist again and launched a new attack directly at Koaru, who raised his sword in a fruitless block; vanishing under the stone fist and into the resulting hole that was blasted into the road. Pulling its fist back, the Eradicator leaned over the hole it had created, staring down to allow its master to sense if its target was still breathing.

"That really hurt..." came a voice from the giant's fist. Turning to stare at its hand the gargantuan saw Koaru hanging from its middle finger by his right arm; Kameharu clenched between his teeth and his left hand pointing directly at roughly where the giant's should be. "Tritus Pyro Stream!"

The blast knocked the beast backwards, causing Koaru to loose his grip and fall to the ground, crashing face down on the pavement.

"This is not going well..." Koaru muttered as he fought to move his body, feeling the ground shake below him. "I have to finish this and get to Amy and the others..." he trailed off as the shadow of the Eradicator fell over him. Turning his head enough to see behind him, Koaru saw the creature had lifted his foot over him, preparing to crush him.

"I guess I'll have to retire here... don't you dare lose... Tenshi." Koaru whispered with a small grin as the foot rapidly descended towards him.

Shiro stood, blood running from the side of his face as he panted, his arms crossed in front of his body in a defensive posture. A few feet away from stood Tenshi, sword on his shoulder, a confident grin on his face.

"That amusing enough for ya?" the Knight asked, swiping the tip of his nose with his thumb. Shiro lowered his arms and straightened his stance, his smile back in place.

"Where did you ever get the tactic of a point blank attack?" he asked, wiping the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand.

"From an idiot," Tenshi simply answered, taking a step back and bringing his sword forward, readying a new attack.

"You mean the boy with the black flames?" Shiro said, his grin spreading, causing Tenshi to falter. "If you're waiting for him to arrive, you should abandon that hope. My Gaia Eradicator just sent him into his grave."

Tenshi blinked as the words passed through his mind, his heart beating pure pain through his veins. He had never expected Koaru to actually die, especially to something like the Eradicator. Breathing slower, the final image of Koaru flashed through his mind; the grin on the Guardian's face, assuring him that he would catch up.

"How... how did you die so easily?" Tenshi asked out loud, his body shaking as he realized that Koaru's energy had vanished. "You... you stubborn bastard... you fucking Liar!" he roared, lifting his face to the sky as he screamed. "You said you would be the one to save Amy and the others, you said you would be the one to defeat me! You said you could defeat that creature! Was it all a lie? Answer me!"

"Touching," Shiro's voice echoed through Tenshi's thoughts, snapping his attention back to the enemy in front of him, finding the teen directly in front of him, his hand inches from his face, "now let's see what memories I can torture you with..."

Sailor Pluto looked up in shock as Tenshi's scream of pain and sorrow split into her mind, waking her from her daze.

"What in the-?" she asked as she watched tears pour from Tenshi's eyes, his expression steadily growing more and more pained.

"What is he doing to him?" Sailor Saturn asked, gripping her glaive for balance, terror etched through her words.

"It doesn't matter," Darien said as he got to his feet, panting heavily. "Shiro is distracted with whatever that spell is, so this is our chance to free the Scouts. Let's go!"

"You guys go," Uranus said as she tightened her grip on her saber, "I'll help Tenshi."

"Uranus," Neptune said, gripping her arm with a shaking hand, her eyes staring at her partner in anxiety.

"I'll be fine, now go and free the Princess."

The Gaia Eradicator slowly turned and walked away from the final hole it had made, its senses telling it that its target had ceased to breath. Lumbering towards the tower that its master fought, its froze as the hole behind it exploded with pitch black flames, creating a blazing pillar into the sky. Turning back to face the hole, it watched in shock as its target slowly crawled out of the hole, sword resting on its shoulder, one arm limply resting round its handle and the other swinging lifeless at his side, yet the creature sensed no life from the target. A second explosion of black flames roared through the air around the young man, bringing with it a thunderous heartbeat and an explosive inhalation of breath. The Eradicator took a thunderous step back, confusion filling its senses as it sensed life in its target; more than it had had before.

Koaru looked up at the creature, slightly dazed from the resurrection of the Shadow Scar. Locking his eyes on the creature, he smiled, the markings crawling across his face once again; his powers back at 100%.

"My turn..."