Chapter 29 – Divine Providence
Elmina stood staring pensively out the living room window. The others were discussing a plan downstairs where they had access to the small amount of alchemic information that was to be found on the base. She'd left them to return to Sara's room a little while ago, claiming fatigue. She wasn't all that tired, but she was decidedly unsettled. All the talk revolving around the plan they were coming up with was just upsetting at the moment. Elior had picked up on this fact. He had intercepted her on her way back. His expressed concern and encouragement had been helpful. His serene kindness was always comforting. But his words of advice had only served to puzzle her.
Pray and have faith. As long as you refuse to let go of hope, she's already lost.
The calm, certainty of his words had made an impression, but still…Pray and have faith? She couldn't imagine what that would do. He knew she wasn't religious. She wasn't quite sure why he would tell her that. Since she hadn't been sure what to make of it she'd done her best to dismiss it from her mind. She had other things to worry about. Her thoughts kept going in circles with the same anxiety-producing thing. She couldn't force her mind away from the subject. Elior's voice wasn't the only one in her thoughts.
Don't act as if you have any choice in the matter. You will give in.
She could hear Despair's words from the day before echoing through her mind. She could see the creature's black eyes behind her eyelids when she closed them.
What if…
Her own thoughts merged with the creature's threat. What if she really did lose control? She'd told the creature off the day before, but what if she didn't have the strength to do it again? What if she gave into the weakness which Despair would be trying to take advantage of? What if the creature won? She swallowed hard, trying to crush the fear swirling inside her. It seemed like such an obvious, simple thing. Just be strong. Don't give in. And yet…it just wasn't that simple. It was one thing to be confident and resolute beforehand. It was another thing entirely when she was staring that monster in the face, with agony ripping through her core and hopelessness ensnaring her mind it a black, toxic web. She knew now exactly what she was in for when Despair came back, and she knew just how skilled the creature was at warping her victims' minds. How could she trust herself? What if she wasn't strong enough?
She let out a shaky breath, reaching up to rub her forehead. What made the whole thing so much worse was that she wasn't the only one who would be in danger. Her best friends and uncle would be the ones protecting her from the creature. Adele would have to take Despair on in combat. Elmina shook her head. She knew Adele was an extremely proficient alchemist, but that fact dimmed in comparison to the sick dread which filled Elmina at the thought of anything happening to the blonde. Not to mention that the girl was by no means a fighter. Elmina wasn't sure which would be worse: having her friends with her, or facing the creature on her own. At least if she was alone no one else could get hurt. But the thought of being left on her own with that creature was more than she could bear. She would quite happily loose her sanity again rather than be left alone at the mercy of Despair.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the air. She'd never dreaded anything in her life as much as she was dreading this upcoming conflict. Her thoughts were so consumed by it that she barely noticed when her veins began to fizz uncomfortably. A moment later a figure popped into existence beside her. A little puzzled as to why he'd suddenly decided to put in an appearance she glanced at Mania and found he was watching her with a thoughtfully serious expression. She blinked in surprise and leaned away from him slightly.
"What is it?" She demanded warily. She still found him incredibly unnerving when he wasn't just messing around.
"You're frightened," he commented. Her eyebrows shot up.
"Your observational prowess astounds me," sarcasm was evident in her tone. "Honestly, how could I not be a little freaked out by this idea?" She demanded.
"You never objected to the plan," he pointed out. She glanced away uneasily, remaining silent. He shifted so he could lean one shoulder against the wall, arms crossed as he watched her. "You know exactly why I decided to do this," his tone was blunt. She continued staring out the window. "You're going to have to face her again someday. Even with me around to protect you, I can't foresee everything. It's better to take her on now and get it out of the way while you're actually prepared." Finally she turned to stare at him.
"Are we?" She asked quietly. She certainly didn't feel terribly prepared.
"Do you trust your friends?" He countered her question with his own. She bit her lip. Of course she trusted them... It was just such a frightening plan... Mania smirked faintly. "There's your answer. I wouldn't worry too much about them. They can take care of themselves," he assured her. Her eyes widened a little and she stared at him, expression growing slightly disturbed.
"You've really gotta stop doing that," she stated guardedly.
"Doing what?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Reading my mind," her tone was uneasy. He snorted, eyes lighting with amusement.
"Oh, but your reaction to it is so adorable. I just can't help myself," he retorted, tone mockingly tender. Before she could respond he reached out and tweaked the end of her nose. She jerked back with a startled yelp at the unexpected burning contact. Adele's transmutation had apparently worn off completely. The next thing she knew he'd vanished. She let out a sound of consternation.
"You are such an ass!" She seethed at the place where he'd been standing. That damn, annoying, shit disturbing, pain in the neck…Someone clearing their throat at the door interrupted her mental tirade. She glanced over in surprise to see the brown haired mechanic leaning against the doorframe. She hadn't even noticed his arrival.
"Practicing a speech to Titus?" AJ inquired, an eyebrow raised and a slight smirk pulling at his lips.
"Ugh," Elmina raked her bangs back from her face, "I hate that red haired creep," she muttered disgustedly. AJ stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him before strolling over to stand next to her at the window.
"He certainly has an interesting method of cheering people up," he commented dryly. Elmina blinked.
"Huh?"
"He left us a few minutes ago with the declaration that you needed cheering up" AJ explained. The dark haired girl rolled her eyes.
"He should keep his nose out of other people's feelings," she grumbled.
"Somehow I doubt he could even if he wanted to," the mechanic's tone was dry. Elmina sighed.
"You're probably right."
"How are you feeling about this whole thing?" He asked softly. She met his concerned gaze briefly before glancing back out the window.
"Nervous," she replied finally. "I don't want you guys getting hurt."
"I'm sure we'll manage. Mania wouldn't leave you here if he thought we couldn't," he replied. She nodded but her expression was still pensive. He watched her for a moment. "There's something else that's bugging you," he commented finally. She shifted uneasily.
"It's nothing important," she replied evasively.
"Mina," his tone was pointed. She glanced at him. "You can tell me anything. You know that, right?" He held her gaze steadily. The calm intensity in his eyes stirred her already troubled emotions. It was like he was staring straight into her soul and she was more than a little uncomfortable with what he might find there. She looked away, swallowing hard. Part of her wanted to talk to him; to explain the insecurities and fears that wouldn't stop plaguing her. But she couldn't seem to force the words out past the lump in her throat. It was all just a muddled mess of different worries about her friends, family, Despair, the country, herself…she wasn't sure it was possible to really express in words anyway.
"I know... I'm fine," she forced a slight smile onto her face, glancing at him briefly before looking away again. She'd never felt this way before. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't seem to make her lips form the words she needed to say. There was too much uncertainty and fear holding her back. She was ashamed of her own weakness and though she knew it was irrational a part of her was afraid of how he might react. AJ frowned. Then he reached out and grasped her shoulder, turning her away from the window to face him. Her gaze dropped to the floor, stubbornly refusing to look him in the eye. He raised a hand and took hold of her chin gently, tilting her head up so she was forced to look at him. She blinked in surprise.
"Do you think I don't know when you're lying to me?" He asked softly, a knowing look in his clear blue eyes. She was shocked and mortified to feel tears rise up in her own eyes, blurring her vision. She shut them, trying in vain to force the tears back. Despite her efforts she felt several spill over. What in heaven's name was wrong with her? It was bad enough that she'd completely fallen apart the day before. This was absurd. She needed to get a grip!
"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying," she whispered shakily, feeling thoroughly disgusted with herself. She wasn't used to feeling so raw inside. A lot had happened over the last little while and apparently the emotional backlash was taking its toll.
"I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong," he pointed out. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing her emotions back under control and blinking away the tears.
"This isn't something you can help me with," she replied, relieved that she'd managed to keep her voice steady. A frown creased his brow.
"At least explain it to me," his tone was firm. She let out a sigh, pulling her chin out of his grasp and reaching up to rub her eyes. What was she supposed to say? She bit her lip. Past the tangle of emotions the most unnerving worry rose to mind.
"I'm afraid of Despair," she admitted. AJ's expression didn't change.
"That's not exactly surprising," he replied. "But we aren't going to let her touch you, you know." Elmina swallowed hard.
"I know but… You don't know what it's like when she gets inside your head. It's awful," her expression was pained. AJ rested his free hand on her other shoulder.
"We're here to protect you, Elmina," his tone was firm. She bit her lip, meeting his gaze uncertainly.
"Can you protect me from myself?" She asked in a whisper. AJ blinked in surprise, and then a look of understanding washed across his face. Without another word he pulled her into a hug, arms encircling her protectively.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he promised, his voice soft but fierce. Her breath caught in her throat, taken off guard by his response. Then a feeling of relieved gratitude washed through her, erasing her reluctance and doubt. She let out a shaky breath and leaned against him, relaxing in his embrace. More than anything she wanted to believe his words. He'd never let her down in the past, but one couldn't foresee everything in a situation like this. There were so many variables. It could all go horribly wrong so easily. Still, she had to concede that Mania had a point. Whatever they did, someday Despair would come back and the likelihood that she would catch them unprepared was high. It was much better to face her now while they still stood some chance of defeating her. Even if she just regenerated after a few months, perhaps she really would think twice about coming after them again in future.
"Are you ready?" Mania asked. Edward, his son and daughter, Elmina, and Wrath were standing together in a small clearing of trees. All, save for Wrath, were dressed according to the weather in boots and warm jackets. Snow was drifting down in large, fluffy flakes, adding to the thin layer of powder already dusted across the forest floor. Mania had brought them to this large patch of trees at their request. Trying to take down Despair in the confines of Sara's living quarters would be less than ideal. Out here they had room to maneuver and things to take cover behind. Not to mention they would be undisturbed by the military. Elior had agreed to send people to come find them if they didn't return before nightfall. It was already evening and they would likely only have light for another few hours. Even so, Mania had assured them that Despair wasn't likely to doddle once he left.
"Yes, everything is set," Adele replied. A large transmutation circle had been carved into the earth at the center of the clearing. If they could get Despair into the circle then Adele would be able to perform the transmutation which would cut off her access to any potential hosts. She would then be unable to draw power from anything, which, according to Mania, would make her vulnerable to injury. Elmina would attempt to lure her into the circle, if possible. Edward and Adele would wait in hiding to spring their ambush. AJ would remain in hiding until it became obvious that his help would be needed, at which point he would step in to back them up. He was armed with a sub-machinegun with a silencer attached to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
"Once I leave I won't be able to come back to help. I'll be out of range," Mania reminded them. Adele nodded. They'd already discussed that earlier.
"She has to know we're laying a trap for her if we're waiting out here," AJ pointed out.
"Yes, but she'll walk right into it anyway. She's overconfident and she has no idea that you have a transmutation up your sleeve that can alter her powers," Mania replied.
"Alright, let's take up our positions," Edward spoke up. "The sooner we get this over with the better." The others nodded. Wrath glanced at Mania.
"Can we go now?" He demanded.
"Yes. I can't guarantee we will end up in the immediate vicinity of the woman though," the red haired creature warned.
"Just get me as close as you can," Wrath replied, expression filled with grim determination. Mania nodded. Then he grasped the dark haired man's arm and the two of them vanished.
As the air around them cleared once more Wrath blinked repeatedly, disoriented by the abrupt change in location. He shook his head to clear it. He was never going to get used to this method of transportation. Glancing around he was a little surprised to find they were standing in the middle of a small kitchen. It was immaculately clean, suggesting that either the owner was a neat freak or that they spent little time using the room. Even so, coffee was brewing in a pot on the counter, filling the air with its aroma. Clearly someone was home, although there was no immediate sign of anyone around.
"Where is she?" Wrath demanded, glancing at Mania.
"She's directly below us," Mania replied.
"Alright, let's move. Is there anyone else here?"
"There's a man asleep in the bedroom down the hall," Mania informed him. Wrath nodded.
"Perfect. Maybe we can get her out without attracting notice," his tone was cautiously hopeful. Avoiding a fight would be the simplest policy for everyone. It was unfortunate that Mania's teleportation ability no longer worked at this distance from Elmina. It would have been nice to pop in, grab Elycia and pop out again. But that couldn't be helped. "Let's get moving," he suggested. Mania shrugged, but followed after him as the dark haired man strode quietly out of the kitchen.
Elmina stood near the edge of the clearing, staring up at the grey sky as the snowflakes drifted down around her. The silence of the forest was unnerving; it was deathly quiet. She could see her breath crystalized in the air each time it escaped her lips. Despite her warm coat, the chill of early winter seemed to be seeping into her bones. Although her friends were only a few paces off, hiding behind the trunks of the tall, needled trees, she somehow felt very alone. Her hands, safely hidden inside warm gloves, clenched into fists. Oh how she hated waiting. The only good thing was that she knew without a doubt she would feel the creature coming. As much as Adele had wanted to, Elmina hadn't allowed her friend to perform the transmutation which had protected her from Despair's influence before. It simply required too much energy. Her friend couldn't afford to go into this fight feeling drained. She needed every ounce of energy she possessed. The transmutation on Despair would be exhausting all on its own, let alone trying to fight her.
Elmina shifted uneasily. Mania had been gone for about five minutes now. The feeling of tension inside her was slowly growing. Finally she felt her heart plummet. Despite the fact that she'd been anticipating it, the severity of the emotional shift took her breath away. While she was now familiar with this kind of pain, there was something different about it this time. The attack wasn't only from inside her. She could feel it fill the air around her; a black, roiling hatred. She'd known it was going to be bad, but she hadn't been expecting this.
A soft cry escaped her lips as it drove her to her knees in the snow. Inside her chest her heart was caught in a stranglehold of pain. The oppressive feeling of malevolence bearing down on her made her want to recoil from all sides. It was a terrifying sensation. It was like the vicious desire to harm had turned into a tangible presence, closing in around her. There was no escaping it. It made her skin crawl in a horrible way. Her stomach twisted sickeningly as fear rose up to choke her. The world seemed to grow dark and she shut her eyes, wishing she could cease to exist. Tears welled up against her will and a sob rose up in her throat. Anything at all that would make this stop she would welcome with open arms, but there was absolutely nothing she could do. She couldn't even move. Her sobs grew in intensity until she was crying uncontrollably, helpless against her own body's reaction to the pain and fear.
"Show yourself!" She heard Adele cry out angrily.
"How sweet," Despair's voice rang through the air making Elmina flinch. The creature's tone was caustic. "Do you really think you can save her from me?" The dark haired girl forced her eyes open again. Her vision was blurred from tears, but she could make out the figure of Despair standing on the other side of the small clearing. Adele had stepped out from behind the tree where she'd been hiding, hands clenched into fists as she furiously stared the creature down. Whatever the strength of Despair's powers with her chosen victims, they held no sway over the youngest Elric child at the moment. There was no trace of fear in the blond girl's expression. Alarm found its way into Elmina's heart past the pain. Adele wasn't supposed to show herself until it was time for the transmutation!
"Adele! What are you doing?" She somehow managed to force the words out past the sobs. Despair turned to stare directly at Elmina, contempt evident in her gaze.
"Now you'll get to witness your friends dying before your eyes, all because of you. And then you will be unable to resist me," Despair's words became a threatening hiss that raised the hair of everyone present. Shadows erupted from the ground and surged towards Adele.
At that moment the sound of a clap from behind one of the trees echoed through the air and a wall of rock rose up from the ground to meet the shadows. They crashed against it and began to rise up over it, but Adele had not been idle. Using a knife which she had attached to her belt before they'd left the military base, she crouched and scratched a hasty transmutation circle into the earth. As she activated it, the ground in front of her surged forward like a wave, rippling under the wall that her father had created and rising up to crash down on top of Despair. The creature's form vanished at the last second, reappearing behind the blond girl. Before she could touch her, however, Edward sprang from behind his tree, brandishing his signature automail blade, and threw himself at the creature, driving her back several steps.
"Dad, look out!" Adele cried. The shadows had swiftly risen up behind the man, cutting off any hope of retreat. They struck as swiftly as a snake, knocking Edward off of his feet. A second later a clawed hand snatched him up and flung him into the side of a tree. His daughter stared in horror.
"Dad!" Adele screamed. Edward lay crumpled at the base of the trunk, unmoving. With that opponent out of the way Despair swiftly turned on her former target, shadows rushing forward to seize Adele, snaking around her arms, legs, and neck, rendering her helpless as they began to choke the life out of her. Elmina's eyes widened.
"Adele, no!" she cried. She was helpless to protect her friend in her currently paralyzed state. At that moment AJ sprang from behind the tree, opening fire with his gun set to full auto. Seeing the cloud of bullets flying towards her Despair swiftly dropped the blonde, who collapsed to the ground, and threw up her shadows as a defensive wall around herself. The bullets plunged into the dark mass but didn't emerge from the other side. Then they shot forward towards the mechanic in the form of numerous, dark spears. AJ ducked swiftly back behind his tree, managing to avoid them.
From her spot on the ground, Elmina let out a gasp as the pain within her intensified. Her fear for her friends was like an explosive fuel to the black fire eating at her soul. She somehow knew that if she gave up now it would be the end of her. She would be consumed. Everything was growing hazy around the edges of her vision. Darkness seemed to swallow her up. They were going to lose. AJ and Adele couldn't keep holding Despair off forever, and, with Edward out of the picture, getting her into the transmutation circle had suddenly become that much harder. As the hopelessness seemed to envelope her she faintly heard the words which Elior had spoken to her earlier echo through her mind.
Pray and have faith.
The words had gone in one ear and out the other. She couldn't imagine at the time why on earth she would bother with something like that. She didn't even know how to pray. But now it was the only thing left she could do. It was this or die.
Please, God, help us!
The sheer desperation poured into that single thought sent a fresh wave of tears coursing down her cheeks. She'd never given any real thought to her creator. She wasn't even sure there was one. But if there was, and if he truly loved them as Elior had claimed, then shouldn't he help them with this? How was any human supposed to stand on their own against this kind of evil? Elior's absolute confidence somehow inspired deep within her the faintest flicker of hope. She trusted the man, and his intentions were nothing but good. If he truly believed what he did, then maybe there was something to it after all. At this point she desperately hoped there was, because she saw no way out of the situation without someone coming to their rescue.
The shadows began to withdraw from their attack on the mechanic in preparation for another strike. AJ darted from behind the tree and opened fire once more. In the heat of the moment, caught off guard by his boldness, the creature was forced to disappear to dodge the onslaught. Then, inexplicably, and to the great surprise of everyone present, Despair reappeared standing exactly in the middle of the transmutation circle. Elmina stared with wide eyes. Had Despair seriously not noticed it carved into the earth? It was pretty hard to miss. What were the odds of her reappearing there? Perhaps she'd messed up somehow. Adele didn't give Despair time to realize her mistake. The blonde just happened to have fallen down near the circle when the creature had dropped her. She threw herself towards it, managing to bring her hand down on the circle's edge, and activated it. The clearing was filled with a blue flash of alchemic light. A blood curdling, inhuman shriek split the air. When the light faded, it revealed Despair doubled over, hands clutching at her stomach. She staggered out of the circle, swaying unsteadily. Her skin seemed to be growing translucent, showing the black veins running beneath, making her even more unsettling to behold than usual. Then she raised her head and stared directly at Elmina.
AJ had stepped into the clearing and was approaching the dark haired girl. He intercepted the look of malice which the creature shot in Elmina's direction. Instantly he guessed her intentions. As several shadowy spears emerged from the ground and flew towards the dark haired girl, AJ threw his gun aside and knocked Elmina to the ground, shielding her with his own body. He let out a grunt of pain as one of the spears pierced his shoulder, another, his side, and still another, his leg. There was a moment of stunned silence. Elmina stared up at him in shocked horror, unable to even make a sound as his blood slowly began to drip into the snow in front of her. His eyes were shut, the shadows piercing his body keeping him from falling to the ground.
It was at that moment that she realized the pain, which had been holding her captive since Despair's arrival, had vanished. Obviously the transmutation had worked perfectly. An instant later white hot fury exploded through her veins, erasing any remaining weakness from Despair's assault on her. She rolled to the side and snatched up AJ's fallen gun. With a yell she opened fire upon the black eyed creature, keeping up an unending torrent until the gun's ammo finally ran out. Despair quickly withdrew her shadows from AJ in order to form a wall of shadow in front of her, but in her weakened state a number of the bullets found their way through to the other side, embedding in her flesh. A scream of pain escaped the creature's lips and the shadows vanished. Dark liquid seeped from Despair's wounds as she staggered backwards. Her expression was absolutely murderous, but she appeared to be barely staying on her feet.
"Fine then," she snarled, "I'll just take the fight back to where this all began." Then her form shimmered and she vanished.
Wrath and Mania made their way silently down the staircase. As they reached the hall at the bottom, Wrath glanced around.
"She's to the right," Mania informed him. Wrath turned in that direction and found there was a door at the end of the hall. He padded towards it silently and rested his hand on the knob. It turned easily and the door swung inward with hardly a sound. There, in the center of the room, sat Elycia. She was bound to a chair, hand and foot. She raised her head and a look of shock settled across her features.
"Wrath?" She asked. He raised a finger to his lips to indicate the need for stealth. Then he glanced at Mania intending to ask him to keep watch while he himself freed Elycia. The creature's expression, however, gave him pause. Mania had frozen in place. His eyes were wide with surprise as he stared into space. That surprise rapidly shifted to a look of horrified realization. Before Wrath could ask what was wrong, the red haired creature turned and bolted back up the steps, moving almost faster than the eye could see. A moment later they heard the loud crash of the front door slamming shut behind him. Wrath's eyes widened and a low curse of frustration escaped his lips. He hadn't the slightest idea what had set the red haired creature off, but any chance of escaping unnoticed had now been shattered. Now time was of the essence. There was little doubt in his mind that the man upstairs had been woken up by Mania's dramatic departure. They wouldn't be getting away without a fight.
Wrath walked swiftly into the room and shut the door silently behind him. He slipped a knife from the sheath at his belt and made his way to the back of Elycia's chair, getting to work on slicing through her bonds. The ropes she'd been tied with were thicker than necessary.
"How did you find me?" Elycia whispered. Wrath shook his head.
"I'll explain later," his tone was clipped. The sight of her swollen, blood encrusted cheek and the rawness of her wrists beneath the bonds which dropped away after a moment lit a fiery anger in his core. He crouched down and got to work on the bonds around her ankles. "Who did this to you?" He demanded.
"Dominic," she replied. "I've got to say I'm glad you came. He said he was going to start cutting my fingers off if Roy didn't meet his demands. I don't think he was bluffing," her tone was disturbed. Wrath's jaw clenched.
"We'll just see about that," his tone was coldly menacing. The bonds fell away from Elycia's ankles and he straightened up. "Do you think you'll be able to walk?" At his words she grimaced.
"I'm not sure. I can't feel my feet," she admitted.
"Alright, put your arm over my shoulders. I'm moving you over behind the door so you'll be out of sight when it opens. He'll be here any minute," Wrath said. She rose stiffly to her feet and he slipped an arm around her waist to steady her as she rested her arm across his shoulders. He crossed the room swiftly, half carrying her as she was forced to lean on him heavily to avoid collapsing to her knees. He lowered her down carefully so she was leaning against the wall by the door. Since it swung inward she would be hidden by it once it was open.
"Wrath," at her tone he paused and met her gaze. "Don't kill him," her emerald eyes were grave as she stared up at him.
"Why not?" He demanded sharply.
"Don't dirty your hands with that traitor's blood. Let the law handle him," she replied. He stared at her for a moment. Then the faintest of smirks graced his lips.
"You're assuming I'll be the one killing him and not the other way around," he pointed out.
"You did promise me you wouldn't die," she reminded him.
"I'll see what I can do," his tone was dry as he glanced towards the door. Any second now Dominic would come bursting through it. He moved to lean up against the wall on the other side of the door and waited, knife in hand. Sure enough, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs swiftly. A moment later they approached the door. As the doorknob turned, Wrath tensed. When the door swung inward the man, Dominic, remained outside the door, out of Wrath's line of sight. There was a tense silence for a moment. Then with uncanny swiftness the man lunged through the doorway, levelling a pistol at Wrath's head. Already tightly wound from adrenalin, Wrath moved at lightning speed and grabbed hold of the man's arm, jerking it up so the gun was pointed at the ceiling just as the man pulled the trigger.
This had an effect which neither of them had anticipated. The bullet struck a hot water pipe which was running along the ceiling above their heads. A steaming torrent of water gushed forth at high pressure. Wrath jerked back with a startled exclamation as he was showered with scalding hot drops. His opponent however, received the brunt of the blast squarely in the face. With a howl of pain Dominic staggered backwards out of the room. The air within the confined space quickly began to fill with steam. Wrath swiftly recovered himself, having only received very minor burns. Seizing upon the opportunity presented to him, he darted forward around the stream of water spilling forth from the split pipe, and out the door after his opponent. Still incapacitated by the pain of the water burning his face and eyes, Dominic was unable to even see Wrath's approach. A solid blow to the temple from the hilt of Wrath's knife laid him out cold on the basement floor.
Breathing hard from adrenalin, Wrath stared down at the unconscious man, a little surprised by how easy it had been to take care of him. Luck had most definitely been on his side in that brief scuffle. He felt little need to deal out revenge upon the man now. The burns Dominic had received would very likely leave him blind. Not that he'd have much time to worry about that. Nothing short of an execution awaited him for his crimes.
"Uh…Wrath," Elycia called uncertainly. The dark haired man's eyes widened and he whirled back towards the door. Stepping swiftly around the water still spraying from the ceiling, he made his way through the steam filled room to Elycia. She had been forced to crawl awkwardly away from the rapidly growing puddle of burning hot water. He bent and scooped her up into his arms, before bearing her carefully past the hazardous torrent and out into the hallway. As he stepped over the body of the man he had knocked out, Elycia glanced down at her former captor.
"I guess the water saved you the trouble of beating him up," she commented, tone faintly amused. Wrath's gaze moved to rest on her face, her injured cheek still stirring anger within him.
"Believe me, it wouldn't have been a 'trouble,'" there was an edge to his voice. Elycia glanced up at him, a soft smile gracing her lips. She slipped arm around his neck and leaned up, planting a kiss on his cheek. Wrath's eyes widened slightly. "Where did that come from?" He asked, bewildered.
"Isn't it customary for the princess to bestow a kiss upon her knight in shining armor?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow mischievously. Wrath stared at her for a moment, a little bit stunned. Then a smirk slowly pulled at the corner of his mouth. He carefully set her on her feet, although he kept his arms around her to keep her steady.
"I think you've got it backwards. The knight is supposed to kiss the princess," he informed her dryly.
"Yes, but you'd never do that," she retorted. He raised an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't?"
"Wrath, you're easily the most predictable man I know," she informed him bluntly.
"Well then. I'll just have to remedy that," he replied gravely, though his eyes betrayed his amusement. Pulling her closer he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. She made a soft sound of surprise, clearly not having expected him to respond to her baiting. Then she slid her arms up and around his neck. His arms tightened around her, unable to express in words the depth of his relief to have her safe in his arms. The chilling fear for her safety, which had taken hold of him upon finding she'd gone missing, slowly melted away. He was through with dodging around the issue. For better or for worse, he cared deeply for Elycia and it was past time he owned up to it.
When they finally separated he pulled her closer into a hug, resting his head against hers. She seemed to fit perfectly in his arms. He was a little surprised to come to the realization that this was something he'd wanted to do for quite some time now. Apparently he'd grown skilled at disregarding his own feelings.
"My, my," Elycia murmured a little breathlessly near his ear. "If I'd know it took going missing to provoke this kind of reaction from you I'd have gotten someone to kidnap me a while ago," her tone was gently teasing.
"Don't scare me like that again," he ordered sternly. She smirked and pulled back to plant another swift kiss on his lips, always more than willing to adjust to any leeway he allowed in their relationship.
"I'll see what I can do," she retorted lightly, smiling up at him. "Anyway, we should probably tie up my ex before he wakes up," she pointed out. At her words Wrath blinked, and then let out a resigned sigh. Now that he had her like this he felt absolutely no desire to let go of her. But she did have a point.
"I suppose you're right," he conceded. "I'll go find some rope."
Elmina knelt next to AJ, holding his hand in both of her own. He was lying on his back where he had fallen after being stabbed by Despair's shadows. His blood stained the snow around him, standing out in alarming contrast against the pure white. His face was pale, but his eyes were open. Adele was kneeling on his other side, eyes shut in concentration as she performed the transmutation on the last of his wounds. AJ grimaced as the alchemic light blazed up. Finally it faded away and Adele removed her hands from the wound in his thigh.
"There. I've managed to stop the bleeding. I'm not sure how it's possible but she just missed all of your vital areas. I think you must have an angel watching over you, and you probably gave him a few grey hairs with that stunt. You're very lucky," his sister informed him. "It'll take a little while to heal, but you'll be alright."
"How is Dad doing?" He asked, lifting his head slightly in an attempt to spot where Edward might be.
"He's still unconscious. I think he might have cracked a rib or two, but he should be ok," Adele replied. AJ nodded, relaxing back against the snow.
"You should rest," he advised, staring at his sister. "You look exhausted." Adele indeed appeared utterly spent. The effects of the fight had taken their toll. Transmutations involving Despair seemed to drain her energy far more than usual.
"I know, but first I need to build a shelter for us. We're going to need to keep warm while we wait for people to come find us," the blonde said, rising to her feet. Elmina began to rise as well but Adele shook her head. "Stay with AJ. I'm using alchemy for this," she said. Elmina hesitated a moment before sinking back into the snow. AJ's gaze moved to rest on her.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly. Elmina blinked in surprise and then her expression softened.
"I'm fine, thanks to you. I'm so sorry…" there was a pained look in her eyes. He shook his head slightly.
"There's nothing to apologize for. I promised I would keep you safe," he replied with a smile. Elmina swallowed hard, forcing back tears.
"You could have died," her voice wavered.
"Better me than you. I'd never be able to live with myself if I let anything happen to you," he replied softly. The dark haired girl shook her head.
"I don't deserve you caring about me this much," she whispered. He chuckled slightly.
"Oh Mina. Deserving has nothing to do with it. I will always care about you," he informed her. Elmina sniffed.
"You're going to make me start crying again," she muttered accusingly. He grinned slightly. Then his expression sobered.
"What became of Despair?" He asked. Elmina blinked.
"Uh… I'm not sure. She just up and disappeared all of a sudden," her tone was perplexed. "She was in pretty bad shape though." AJ frowned at her words.
"If you didn't see her die, something tells me that wasn't the last of her. She's up to something," he stated uneasily. Elmina sighed.
"Probably. But there's nothing we can do about it now," her tone was resigned.
-Author's Note-
I seem to have a thing for cliff hangers in this story…*sheepish*
Shock and awe. Wrath finally got his act together. Bet you wondered if that was ever going to happen. :P And Despair got her butt thoroughly kicked. This is basically the most climactic chapter of the story. Although, as you might have surmised from the slight cliff hanger, there's still some action left to play out in the last chapter. Plus there are a number of loose ends to tie up. Anyone care to guess what Despair is planning? ;)
I hope this chapter wasn't disappointing. I'm at the stage where I've read it over so many times recently that it's gone from pretty cool to terrible in my personal opinion. *wilt* That's a pretty common thing for me though. I know I've spent too much time on part of a story when I start getting the urge to chuck the whole thing into the fire and move on to something new. XD Thankfully I'm not generally that impulsive lol.
As for the final chapter, it may or may not be on time next week. We'll see. It's mostly finished. I tend to struggle with endings though. They intimidate me… *sweatdrop* Plus there's the arm thing. Got IMS treatment for the first time ever on Monday. Umm. Ouch. That's really all I have to say about that lol. I think it'll help in the long run but my muscles are still aching from it today.
But, because I'm feeling particularly adventurous today, I'm finally going to respond to comments again! :D
MissiB: *pats shoulder and hands tissue* It'll be ok! I promise not to kill him. I'm glad you still liked the chapter despite my decision to drop a plane on our favourite palm-tree. XD
nettlesnitch92: He did indeed. I hope it met your expectations. ^^
Penelope Jadewing: LOL! Goodness that makes the story sound incredibly dramatic. XD I hope your cold is better! Those are such a pain. _-_