Okay. This idea has been fermenting inside my noggin for a while now, but I haven't been too sure of it. The premise is less than original, and frankly, AU's aren't usually done very well in the general world of fan fiction. Still, even with these thoughts in my head, I keep going through these tiny scenes, and I can't help but laugh. Perhaps this one will be one of the small few that breaks through the mold and isn't too hard on the eyes.

However, your feedback on this is extremely important. My feelings on this fic are a bit precarious, so your reviews can swing them either way. The story's fate is linked to this feedback.

You hold the powah.

Linger

Prelude

It was damn annoying.

The chimera's twin, hideous heads roared at the both of us as its drool and blood flung onto Caim's brown head. He snarled in disgust and raised his sword higher to prepare for an attack, screaming into my mind that we should kill the thing before it got another chance to attack. I agreed.

Pushing forward with my strained, crimson wings, I dove to the right and flipped myself over to have a straight shot at the creature's underbelly. The chimera, confused at my aerial maneuver, stood still in the red sky a bit too long than it should have. I threw more than a few fireballs at the grotesque monster, which was enough to reduce it to repugnant cinders. I righted myself in the air as Caim patted my hide, proud that I had been able to do away with such a beast.

I turned my head to get a glance at the warrior mounted on my back. He was somewhat wounded (then again, when wasn't he?) and panting from his earlier excursions on the ground. His right arm had been sliced, but it would heal well enough if he stayed put where he was. I growled at the thought; there was no way he'd sit idly by and allow me to kill everything.

The Goddess had been slain about a week ago, and we were now making our way to the Imperial City; a place that had once been the jewel of the human race, but then the Manah brat and her armies turned it into something Hell would be proud of. I was concerned about Caim's morale for a few days after the Goddess' suicide, but I was a fool to worry. If anything, it made it stronger. The others, the old man, the hermit, the insane elf and the child were traveling on foot, teetering after us as fast as they could. Caim and I didn't worry about them; this was our mission after all. They were simply along for the ride.

I felt Caim's bloodlust rise as a new shadow approached us. I, however, became a bit more wary. This was no mere flock of bats, or griffins, or even the chimeras I had just gotten through with. No, this was something much larger, and much more dangerous than any of the other threats. Caim shifted uneasily as I slowed in the air.

What are you doing? he asked impatiently. We don't have time for this. The Imperial City is just ahead!

I glared at the looming shadow on the horizon. The one shadow was making its way toward us -far faster than I could ever travel- and my feeling of foreboding intensified. Even the Caim human seemed to pick up on it, but his courage held steadfast. For a brief moment, I admired him, but I quickly erased the blasphemous thought. The only reason he wasn't scared was because he was too bloodthirsty and stupid to notice the trouble we were about to be in.

It was then that I placed that strange weight in my stomach, that feeling of dread. That feeling was reserved for one race and one race alone:

The Nameless.

I almost turned and fled right then and there. I knew that I was not near powerful enough to take on a Nameless, but it was far too close to not have noticed us. The Arch Dragons were the ones gifted with the power to defeat the Nameless, or at least hold them at bay. The New Breed was still being concocted, our secret weapon against the Nameless. Uncharacteristic panic began to race through me. What should I do? What could I do?

The Caim human noticed my sudden panic and leaned down to catch a glimpse of my face. …Are you all right? he asked doubtfully.

"Caim…" I began slowly, trying to calm myself back down. "…do you know what horror that shadow belongs to?"

I saw him take a confused glance toward the shadow, then back to me. …Does it really matter?

"Yes!" I snarled back at him. "That thing that is almost within firing range is a Nameless!"

His confusion was so pure that I almost bit off his head in frustration. How could the humans be so painfully ignorant of the world around them? Did they not have eyes, or ears? "One of the bloody Gods you worship, you feeble-minded lunatic!"

That seemed to have rung a dusty bell, and he sat back, staring in awe at approaching shadow. A… he stammered. A God…?

I snarled as I began to take a sharp turn away from the Nameless. I needed cover for whatever I was about to do. Caim tried to protest, but I smothered his complaint with my own anger and frustration. The one thing I didn't need was his own confusion cluttering up my mind.

A sudden fireball to my side caught me off guard and knocked the wind both out of my lungs and wings, and I began to plummet to the ground. After a few moments of chaotic struggling in the air, I managed a landing and somehow avoided breaking a bone. Shaking the dirt and rocks from my head, I looked up to see the Nameless and something else floating carelessly down towards us. I snarled again; there was no way out now.

The thing that had fired at me came down first, and I instantly recognized him. The black sheep of dragon-kind. The Traitor. Rogg.

Long ago, when the Arch Dragons were concocting their plans to defeat the Nameless, Rogg took their plans and told the Nameless. The result was the countless deaths of the Holy Dragons. Rogg became the Nameless' pet dog, attacking at his own kind whenever the Nameless willed him. Before he could permanently stay with the Nameless, however, the higher Council of Arch Dragons decided to give him a parting gift. They took his forearms and legs from him, which left him as a flying serpent. I had happened to be in the crowd at the Tomb when they ripped his limbs from his body and then tossed him over the side. The bastard deserved what he got.

He didn't look too different from when he had legs. Dark splotches of skin were all that remained of his departed limbs, nothing more than large scabs. He was a truly ugly brute; his hide a hideous reddish-brown, reminiscent of feces, and his awkward, bulky, serpentine body writhed strangely in the air. He had a large, cumbersome head with four and a half ivory horns. (One was broken in half). His red eyes glowered down at me as he circled to land -more like plop down- on the rocky ground. "There's no escape now, Female," Rogg grunted out, "This Nameless is particularly mad at you."

Caim shifted uneasily on my back, which alerted Rogg to his presence. "Ah," the Traitor commented, "there's your human. You are pitiful, Female. You need assistance from a mere human. They're nothing more than playthings for the mighty Nameless!"

"And you mate with Nameless rats," I retorted angrily. The Traitor snorted, creating a cloud of dust and smoke as he did so.

SILENCE, a voice commanded. The Traitor and I looked up to see the Nameless, which looked like a giant, stone human infant with purple electric wings, float down from the red sky. It shifted into the form of a young human woman and gently touched the Traitor's head. Rogg almost purred as it touched his misshapen head, and then it floated gracefully down to the rocky earth. I tensed. We were about to die.

The Nameless turned to Caim and I with its stone, static face. YOU FOOLISH CREATURES, its booming "voice" scolded, YOU DARE TO DEFY OUR PLANS. THE MANAH CHILD IS OUR PET. STOP YOUR MEDDLING.

I growled. "Never." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Caim human shift slightly on my back again. It seemed he didn't really know what to make of the creature before him. He would soon enough.

The thing's empty stone eyes then turned directly to me, or so I thought. Its hand rose, and suddenly, Caim's weight disappeared. I turned to see him hovering on my back, his mouth agape and his limbs fluttering, uncertain of what to do. With a smooth motion from the Nameless' hand, Caim was flung to the ground about fifty feet from me, kicking up red dust as he did. Immediately, I lurched forward to get him back, but the Traitor lunged at me, catching me under his tremendous weight. Snarling and snapping at my captor, I used my wing thumbs as arms to try and pry myself out from under the beast, but it was no use. Rogg was simply too heavy for me to lift. As added security, the Traitor bit onto the back of my neck and pushed my head to the ground. "Stay there," was his simple comment.

Caim began to pick himself up, but with a motion from the Nameless, he fell straight back down. I snarled as the Nameless took a few steps to become between the two of us. As it stared down at me, it said, YOU, ANGELUS. YOU HAVE REBELLED AGAINST US, AND FOR THAT, YOU MUST BE SMITTEN WITH THE REPERCUSSIONS.

Before I could brace myself for anything, the Nameless' arms stretched to reach both Caim and myself. As it touched me, a surge of energy pulled through my body, ripping and tearing as it pleased. I opened my eyes and realized that I was screaming in both mental and physical voice. Through the hideous, blinding pain, I registered that I could hear another voice as well. Before my racked mind could register anything, the energy stopped flowing and I thudded back to the dusty earth. As the Nameless turned and floated back into the sky, Rogg slid off of me and awkwardly flew behind his god, throwing insults back to me.

Panting, I slowly lifted my head to look at my partner, who lay motionless on the ground. I tried to search for his mind, but there was an emptiness there. It was as if a void had replaced his presence. Despite the pain that still throbbed through my body, I pushed myself to all fours and slowly made my way toward his recumbent form. "…Caim…?"

At the sound of my voice, his head turned slightly, and he pulled his body to where he could see me. It seemed half of him was paralyzed. "I didn't… know your name… was Angelus…" he coughed out between pants. I recoiled at the sound of his rough, broken voice; the Nameless had shattered our pact. I leaned closer to his broken body and nudged his head and neck with my snout. He lightly slapped my nose with the back of his gloved hand and said, "S… Stop that… I'm not… dead yet…" He hacked out a small pool of blood and let his head go limp on the ground once more. "Bloody… vulture… can't… even wait… 'til I'm dead…"

His weak words sent pangs through my chest. The Nameless' magic had been too much for his frail, human body. Mine, however, was strong enough to survive the rather gruesome encounter with the Nameless' magic. A pained growl mumbled through my chest and neck. Though we had been traveling together for only few short months, and despite myself, I had grown fond of the bloodthirsty savage.

I lay down completely beside him, placing my head close enough to Caim to the point where he could easily touch me. A soft rumble vibrated through me as he smirked and stretched out his good hand to my snout, slowly petting me. I could only watch with pained sorrow as he withdrew his hand and took a few more shaking breaths until his eyes rolled up into his head and stopped moving altogether. His lungs let out his final breath, heavy and hesitant.

For a moment, I didn't move. I couldn't. What was I supposed to do now? Continue with the quest to defeat the Manah brat in Caim's memory? Or simply fly off and wait for the world's inevitable end? I sighed and closed my eyes. It didn't matter anymore… I curled my entire body around Caim's corpse, holding him in an awkward embrace.

It didn't matter…

…………

Yay, sucky prelude! Angelus all angsty and evil. Boo. I can't write her that way. That's why this thing seems so… odd. And badly written. But still, this is necessary for the rest of the story, so I had to complete it before getting on to the better parts.

This was forced-written. This is what happens when I force myself to write. It comes out all crappy-like. Bleh.

But for the sake of the story and my sanity, please keep going to the second -and much better- chapter.