I love you guys sooo much for sticking with me! I suppose I have to get a little drama now and then, too, huh? Well, I truly appreciate all the reviews coming in! Thank you! You guys are awesome!

Oh, and as for the Sephylon challenge goes, we have a winner that I was too spaced out to remember last chapter! AnimeKiwi369 is our grand prize winner for providing a sign of research and proving to me how she got the answer!

Rose-Aki, Rapis-Razuri, and RobotFish (Those three 'R's', huh?) win drabbles for randomly guessing the correct answer! Comment or PM me with what you would like to see, okay? I won't say what the correct answer is, in case you guys want to keep guessing for the heck of it, but if you want to know, I'll tell you in a PM ^_^

Many thanks to FiringShootingStar, AnimeKiwi369, theforgottenpreople96, Mixer18, Rapis-Razuri, TFRiD Queen, ProChampionDuelistA. K. A. Pyro, RunoandAkizafan, Star-Rose Lover, and Rose-Aki for their awesome and supportive reviews!

And anons are LDC, Mariah, ChibiX, Fire, NAME, PDS, and two guests! LDC: Thank you for the epic support! I think you'll like this chapter :) Mariah: I hope thing's will be smooth, too! The link to my LiveJournal is at the end of chapter six, linking back to the full MA scene. I had to edit that part to censor the explicit part so the story wouldn't get taken down again. ChibiX: Here you are! Enjoy! :) Fire: Carly… Well, let's just say that there's plenty planned for that girl. You'll see ;) NAME: CAPSLOCK FTW! We're not going down without a fight! Yeah! PDS: I'll try my best! Hope to hear from you again!

Also, anons, I did finally get around to writing notes for the last chapter. I don't think there's anything substantial, but if you wanted to see, it should be up now :)

My infinite thanks to RobotFish for his beta work! I'd say that I owe you my soul, but I don't want to have that kind of debt :P

And here we go! Chapter fifteen! I think you guys will like it.

Sunset Horizon
Chapter 15 – Stardust Revival

Yusei moved through the halls, keeping his back against the wall and Stardust Xiaolong in his hand. Akiza moved along behind him, holding Phoenixian somewhat awkwardly. She clearly didn't have to use a gun often, if ever. He figured she used the one she had mostly as a threat and doubted she had ever shot someone before. Kalin picked up the rear, keeping the path behind them covered as they snuck along.

Peering around a corner, Yusei jumped back as a gunshot sounded and leaned against the wall. He cringed as the corner splintered beside his head, causing him to turn away to avoid getting the wood pieces in his eyes. As the initial chaos faded, he paused as he played the attack through his head. That sound, the speed of the shot… The echo down the corridor, the blast damage in the wall, the perfect resonance…

It was Stardust Dragon.

No two ways about it. He knew his firearm better than anyone or anything. There was a medium between himself and the weapon he'd created with his own hands, one that couldn't be understood by anyone else. Just as no one understood a child like their mother, no one could understand the connection between a man and his smith, either.

He nodded once to himself. It was time to get his precious weapon back.

But did this mean Sayer was just around the corner? Did he give Stardust to one of his followers? He glanced at Kalin and Akiza, muttering, "It's Stardust. Stay here."

The woman reached out to grab his sleeve, saying, "Are you crazy?"

He took her hand to get her to let go of his sleeve. "Are you just catching on now?"

Her mouth dropped open, but she stayed silent as he peered around the corner again. What kind of enemy was he up against? He leaned to his side, below the splintered mark in the wall, and glanced down the hall for the shooter. Chances were, he'd taken cover already. Yusei doubted it was Sayer. The man would have already attacked with psychic mumbo-jumbo, most likely.

He kept Xiaolong tight in his grip as he looked around the corner. His eyes widened in surprise and he pulled back again, muttering, "I'll be damned…"

Kalin's eyebrow rose in silent question as Akiza whispered, "What is it?"

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts of the obscurity of the sight. A month ago, he wouldn't have believed it was possible. Now, he knew his eyes weren't deceiving him. Slowly, he said, "It… Stardust… He's just floating there. No one's holding him, no strings, nothing."

Akiza nodded slowly. "I don't doubt that his powers can do that. I know he can tell when people are around, combine that with his levitation ability, and it's no wonder he knew to fire when he did."

"Tch," he grumbled. "You could've mentioned that he knows where we are earlier."

She frowned. "I thought I did."

"No, you definitely did not." He kept his attention around the corner, trying to calculate in his mind how difficult it would be to reach Stardust. There weren't a lot of things to use as cover, but he knew he had approximately one-point seven to two seconds after Stardust fired before it would be cocked and ready again. If he could keep moving, he could possibly reach it without getting shot. It only had a six-shot round, and one was already fired. It had a full barrel when he'd lost it, but Sayer could have fired more since. If he didn't have the same size ammunition, then it was possible it was missing more than just the one.

Sucking in a deep breath, he muttered a quick, "Here goes," before dashing out and ducking into a somersault as a gunshot sounded. He landed in a short crouch before jumping to his feet and dashing at an angle down the hall. He didn't feel any pain yet, so he assumed he didn't get hit. He didn't have time to check. He heard the distinct sound of the weapon cocking and dropped to the floor as it fired again.

Again, he didn't feel the bullet hit him, so he pulled himself to his feet and kept running for his weapon. Only three more bullets left. He could do this. It was a long enough hall, about twelve meters total, but he'd already covered at least five of them. Seven meters, three bullets to go.

Another bullet fired and he moved to roll to the side, gritting his teeth. Two more left. He kept his pace, continuing his run. In retrospect, he realized he should have exhausted the bullet supply from the end of the hall when he could take cover around the corner, but it was too late now. He continued his sprint, dashing down the hall and paused as his window closed and braced to duck. The bullet fired and he dropped to the floor, knowing he was too late.

He cringed, preparing for pain. A stupid mistake; to be shot by his own weapon. What a careless move.

A small 'clink' sounded, almost like a small stone against a glass window. The pain never came, causing him to open his eyes to find the bullet stopped midair, right in front of his shoulder, rippling against the air like it was touching a pool of water.

He shook his head, deciding he could question it later and continued his run, reaching out and tackling Stardust from the air. He clutched it against him, making sure the barrel was pointing away from him in case Sayer still had some control on it. It stayed still in his arms as he slowly climbed to his feet, studying it for a minute before placing it in his holster.

"It's clear," he called, signaling it to be safe for Kalin and Akiza. He wandered back down the hall to the floating bullet, stopping in surprise as it clattered to the floor. He bent down to pick it up, then studied the spot where it was suspended, reaching out to run his fingers through the space. Nothing.

What the hell had happened? The only thing he could think of was Sayer's powers, but why had he protected him if he was trying to kill him? Frowning, he tossed the wasted shell down the hall and shifted to grab Stardust so he could reload it with spare ammunition he'd brought with him.

Akiza approached in a silent trot while Kalin followed, walking backwards with Hundred Eyes out to cover their backs. She reached out to touch Yusei's arm gently, asking, "What's wrong?"

He frowned as he tucked Xiaolong into the back of his belt and kept Stardust Dragon in his grip, muttering, "It's nothing. We should keep moving. Get to the rendezvous point as soon as possible. Jack and Crow are probably already there."

He figured he could mention it later. If it was even important. He nodded down the hall, indicating that they should keep moving while his expression stayed flat. He needed to focus. The fight they were walking into would be unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. There was no telling what could happen or what the psychic was capable of.

Casting a glance over his shoulder, he caught sight of Akiza looking distant. Afraid, perhaps? He couldn't blame her. She wasn't a fighter like he was. She must be terrified right now.

But he would keep her safe. He promised that much.

…

Akiza moved through the halls, staying close to Yusei and Kalin. She had to admit that she was surprised by how serious Yusei was when in his fight mode. He was completely different from the carefree man she saw in her bar and even someone other than the person she had only recently started to know. His focus was completely on his task, and he wasn't going to let anything deter him.

She couldn't help but admire this new side of him.

The sight of Jack and Crow further down the hall made her pause, realizing they were closing in on their target. Sayer. They were going to kill him. No doubt he already knew they were there. All that was left was to deal with whatever traps he had in place.

Yusei opened his mouth to give orders but turned towards the way they'd come in discontent. People were coming, and they weren't friendly. Her hand folded around the gun Yusei had loaned her, the Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis—what made him choose that name?—swallowing her spit while preparing for a fight. Her first real gunfight.

Immediately, almost as if the plan was in place long before they knew the enemy was coming, Kalin moved to the other side of the hall, taking cover on the other end of the T-shaped path while Jack and Crow moved to grab a table and toss it down to act as cover, crouching down behind it as the footsteps thundered closer.

Yusei nodded, patting Crow's and Jack's shoulders supportively before saying, "No fatalities, aim to hinder. Keep 'em busy. Miss Izinski and me have an appointment to keep."

He reached out to grab her wrist, then moved over to the latch of Sayer's bedroom door. Her eyes widened as she registered what he was saying and stammered, "Wait-! We're going to fight him…? J-just us?"

Nodding, he muttered, "He's busy keeping all of them-" he tilted his head to indicate towards the reinforcements. "-busy, so he shouldn't have his full powers. We can call for backup, if we need to."

"Um-" she started. How could she face him again? The last time she had gone in front of him, he had beaten her, thrown her into walls, tossed her into furnishings. He cut her, hurt her, broke her down until she felt useless.

But… Then Yusei had shown up, comforting her with a gentle fondness she had never experienced before. The closest comparison was when she was a child, running to her father's embrace when she had skinned her knees or fought with a friend. But this had been different from that. It wasn't as familial; not as much like crawling into a cave and being comforted by warmth.

With Yusei, it had been like reaching out to an angel descending from heaven, feeling the cleansing radiance of the sunlight and finding peace with the world. He was a far cry from an angel, but he had made her feel loved and special. He had brought a feeling of belonging to her. He had cared for her, respected her state of undress that night, and wrapped her injuries without asking a lot of questions.

She had known, in that moment, that she loved him and was happy with it. She could entrust her heart to him, and he would take care of it. He would cherish her and be a good man for her, like he had promised. She would be sure to tell him all about her engagement and why she had agreed in the first place. It would be a difficult conversation to have, but she knew that he deserved to know.

Taking a deep breath, she knew there was a possibility the truth would be revealed when the three of them were in the same room together. All that was left was to go in there. She could do this. He had done so much for her lately, so the least she could do was help him.

…

"It took you long enough. I was starting to get bored."

Yusei walked inside the room with Akiza close behind, Stardust in his hand and the calmest expression he could muster on his face. Sayer was seated in a plush chair, swirling a glass of brandy casually, completely aloof and uninterested. Slowly, he shifted to stand, downing the rest of his drink before raising his hands in a half-hearted shrug. "I admit, Akiza. It pains me to have to fight with you."

She narrowed her eyes and took a half-step closer to him. "That's bull, Sayer! You couldn't care less about me! You just wanted-!" she cut off, shooting a glance towards Yusei before stopping and clamping her mouth shut completely.

He wasn't sure what to make of that, but raised Stardust as Sayer tossed a laugh into the air. "Oh? What's this? You haven't told your love of your daring little secret?"

Yusei couldn't bring himself to care what he was talking about. Akiza would tell him when she felt she trusted him enough. He fired a shot, not at all surprised when it made that same clinking glass sound as before and stopped in a ripple before Sayer's heart. He knew that was a part of his powers, but he wasn't sure why he'd saved him.

Narrowing his eyes, he wondered how he could fight him. Stardust would be just about useless. If he had to, he wouldn't hesitate to snap the man's neck. Rather, that would almost bring him more satisfaction than shooting him.

An invisible burst slammed into him, tossing him back a few feet. He didn't hit the wall, but instead just crashed to the floor. He kept his grip on Stardust this time as he pulled himself to his feet, snarling as Sayer moved closer to Akiza.

A smirk crossed his face as he spoke, saying, "Tell me, Akiza. What is it that you see in this man that makes you long for him?"

She kept her grip on Phoenixian, shakily raising it to point at the offending man. "F-for one…" she stuttered. Shaking her head, she tried again with more force, "For one, he doesn't hurt me or treat me like a ragdoll."

Another chuckle came from his lips as he smiled sadistically. "I didn't mean in comparison to me."

She took an automatic step backwards put more distance between them as she said, "He loves me. He holds me when I'm sad and smiles when I'm happy. He hurts when I hurt. He cares about me, Sayer, and that's something you'll never understand."

Yusei gnashed his teeth as the psychic moved closer to the woman he loved and fired twice more, hoping to at least divert his attention. As he expected, the bullets made a 'plink' sound and stopped in front of him before dropping to the floor and clattering uselessly. He didn't know what else he could do, so he took a few steps closer and tried calling out, "Leave her alone!"

Sayer ignored him completely and continued towards Akiza, saying, "How foolish of you. We could have made this work, but now I'm afraid I'll have to kill you. It's a shame, really. I was so hoping to bond with someone like me."

Snarling, Yusei fired the rest of his rounds before reloading and shouting, "Shut up, Sayer! She's nothing like you!"

Akiza kept walking backwards, eyes wide as she bumped back against a table. She looked absolutely terrified as her pistol clattered to the floor, her hand rising to settle over her heart. "Sayer, don't-"

"Akiza… My dear, sweet Akiza…" he cooed soothingly, reaching out to brush her cheek softly. She turned away, moving out of his reach as best she could while trying to hold back tears. Fighting wasn't her strong point, and it showed as clear as day. Her body trembled as she moved back away from him, her free hand gripping absently at the edge of the table.

"Look at me!" he barked. Suddenly, her chin snapped back to face him and Yusei had the sickening notion that he was forcing her to look at him. He had been on the receiving end of those powers, and it was not a pleasant experience. Gritting his teeth, he knew that Sayer could slam him through a thousand splintered tables, and it still wouldn't hurt as badly as being able to do nothing while he threatened this woman.

He stopped right in front of her, stroking his hand along her cheek. "That's better. I don't like how you're shielding your thoughts from me."

Her eyes still moved of their own will, as did her hands and legs. It appeared her chin was the only thing he was holding as she spat in his face. "I'm not yours."

Yusei didn't even care that there was a way to block thoughts or even that Sayer could read minds to begin with. The only thought for him to read was a combination of trying to save her and figuring out how to kill him. There had to be a way to weaken his defenses, but how?

"On your knees. Kneel before me, Akiza." He seemed to completely ignore Yusei as he smiled a little wider towards Akiza. Her legs trembled beneath her as she fought against his power, trying to stay upright before she lost the battle and slammed to the floor with enough force to bruise her kneecaps. She managed to keep from crying, keeping her breathing relatively even as Sayer leaned over her and gently pressed his lips to hers.

Yusei felt the bile rise in his throat and ran to do something—anything—to stop him. Before he could get far, he crashed into an invisible barrier, stopping him from getting too close. He moved along it, trying to locate a breach in the wall, but found no such opening as he beat his fists against the shield. "Poluchitʹ trakh s nyee, synsuki!"

Sayer ignored him, and instead kissed her more deeply. A tear fell from Akiza's eye as she was subjected to this form of abuse, her hands trembling by her sides. Finally, he pulled back and smiled, gently stroking his hand from her cheek and down her neck, crossing over her breast.

"Divine…" she moaned. Yusei's jaw dropped. She sounded almost as if she was actually enjoying it! Her eyes fluttered open lightly as she looked up at him.

The psychic's smile grew fonder as he hummed a slight, "Yes, my dear?"

"Burn in hell." Her expression darkened suddenly as her hands flicked slightly, sending a small spark between her fingers before the man burst into flames from head to toe.

He screamed in surprise as he stepped backwards, flailing about in a scattered attempt to put out the fires. Yusei stared in shock, snapping to attention at the sound of Akiza's voice calling, "Now!"

He shook his head and pulled Xiaolong from his belt and pointed both weapons at the burning figure before firing repeatedly. He caught sight of Akiza recovering Phoenixian from the floor, adding her own rain of bullets before all of the guns were left with an echoing 'click.' He tossed Xiaolong to the floor and moved to quickly reload his beloved Dragon, completely refilling its round in a practiced speed of four seconds before he unloaded all six shots into the man.

The flames extinguished at once, no doubt due to his psychic powers, and his form collapsed face-down to the floor. Yusei approached slowly, pointing the reloaded Stardust Dragon at Sayer before extending his foot and kicking him in the side to roll him over before muttering, "Hope I hit something vital."

He gagged on the floor, blood spilling from his mouth from various injuries. A garbled sound came from him as he tried to speak but found his mouth too full of blood to speak around. If Yusei remembered his anatomy lessons from the Academy, then there was also a chance that he'd hit his voice box, too. He had no chance of recovering from so many gunshots, and in so many places, too.

He bent down to a squat beside him, keeping Stardust firmly in his grip as he spat, "Ublyudok, vy poluchite to, chto vy zasluzhivaete." He'd rather Akiza didn't understand what he'd just said.

He sensed her approach as she walked closer, swallowing her spit while wiping her lips on the back of her sleeve. "Yusei, psychics have a healing ability. Those injuries won't kill him."

He turned to glance at her, putting the pieces together. Sayer's words saying she was like him, the sudden fire, her ability to block his mind reading… It made sense. He decided to trust her judgment and clicked the hammer of his weapon back before placing it against Sayer's temple. A sideways glance revealed Akiza sitting down beside him, her eyes not leaving the scene and he mumbled, "You may not want to watch. It won't be a pretty sight."

She shook her head, her eyes never leaving the battered man on the floor, too wounded and weak to even toss either of them away from him. "I want to see this. I need to see this."

"All right, then," he trailed off, pressing the gun closer to his skull before pausing. "You know, I'm trying to think of some appropriate last words, but nothing's coming to mind. Gnitʹ v adu, Sayer."

His finger squeezed the trigger, sending a deafening 'bang' throughout the room. He shifted to stand and frowned at the bloody mess on the floor, turning to stuff Stardust in his holster and grabbed hold of Akiza's wrist. "Time to go."

She nodded once and let him pull her towards the door, pausing as he did to pick up Stardust Xiaolong. He was burning with the urge to ask her about her powers, but they still needed to get to safety. She turned back slightly, touching her hand to her heart before reaching out and lighting the large bed on fire with nothing but her mind. "To cover our tracks," she mumbled.

He nodded a short response as they moved out into the hall, finding Jack and Kalin both firing while Crow sat back around the corner, reloading his weapon. He looked up as they exited, raising an eyebrow in question and Yusei responded with a brief, "It's done."

He nodded and climbed to his feet. "Sorry we don't have the escape route covered."

"Not a problem," he shot back with a smile. "You know I've never been one for conventional exits."

He nodded down towards the end of the hall where a large window sat, easily large enough to jump through. Reaching up to the wall, he lifted a heavy-looking, old-fashioned shield from its decorative place and tested its weight for a moment before nodding. After securing Xiaolong in his holster, he kept Stardust in his off-hand and the shield in his right before turning to Akiza and saying, "Stay beside me, all right?"

She nodded as he turned for the window, using the shield to deflect bullets from the men still trying to gun them down as he speed-walked to get himself and the woman he loved to safety. Once clear of the gunmen, he shifted to shove Stardust into her hands and muttered, "Hold this." He braced the heavy metal over his shoulders and charged for the window, turning at the last moment to let the shield break the glass and absorb the brunt of his two-story fall as he dropped to the ground.

He flipped to stand, raising his hands as Akiza appeared in the window, looking like she was too scared to jump. Jack, Crow, and Kalin appeared after her, firing back behind them occasionally. The blond amongst his friends groaned in distaste as he holstered his weapon, lifted Akiza under one arm, and leapt out easily. He set the woman back on her feet, causally saying, "I believe this is yours."

Yusei shot him a flat look as she handed Stardust Dragon back to him and he rearranged to place Xiaolong in the back of his belt and his Dragon in his holster. Kalin and Crow dropped to their feet beside them and Yusei nodded once before saying, "All right, split up, meet back at the house. I'm taking Akiza home. Scatter!" he called, and all his friends instantly disappeared into the trees. Taking her hand, he moved through the trees in a different direction and made for the Dragon's Claw.

Sayer was dead. They were free.

So… I know you guys enjoyed that. Don't lie to me ;) I was going to get a little more graphic on the headshot, but then I decided not to. My ability to write gory isn't what I would like it to be :P

As I'm sure you can guess, this means we're reaching the end of Act I. We have another chapter or two, but I think you'll like how it goes. Oh, and prepare for major loads of fluff from here on out ;) Yep. Yusei and Akiza have no reason to hold back anymore. Yeah. Fluff. But there is still plot around it, of course. After all, we still have over two full acts to explore, right?

Anyway, please review!

-Valk

P.S. Visit my Facebook! Please? www. facebook. c-o-m /OCValkyrie (Remove spaces and hyphens)