Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel! (Sorry, I can't think of any way to say it that could invoke laughter…)

…

Lumi's POV

I stood where I was frozen with fear, a perfect copy of Syerdtsye with no way to prove otherwise. She was a shape shifter as well; I'd seen how perfectly she had copied Gray… Yet some bit of me still felt compelled to try and explain as his golden gaze hit me like ice. And so, as I saw Honoo no Namida disappear in a burst of flames out of the corner of my eye, I fought to find my voice.

"Krad…" I said finally, "Please, it's me, it's Lumi…" I knew he wouldn't believe me, I could feel the hatred he felt as though it was my own; but there's something about standing in the face of death and not quite being ready to die that makes you want to beg for your life. I can't explain exactly what I felt, but imagine being on the execution block as an innocent person. It's pretty close.

A split second later, I had a bow in my hands and a quiver of arrows at my back, and that cursed gold sword split the air where I had been a moment earlier. Why hadn't he destroyed that thing, anyway? I should've known he was lying. That whole time! But then again, I didn't really have time to think about it … I suppose it was an afterthought. Either way, I knew I was going to have to fight now, if only for defense… I rolled my eyes. I had a bow and a quiver of arrows. Not exactly defense material. I could use a shield or something… Gray, you out there? Need some help stopping your psycho boyfriend from murdering me… Okay, I admit, maybe the 'psycho boyfriend' bit might have been a sore spot for her… Still, if she had to do with what happened next, I think she overreacted. Mainly because… well, read for yourself.

"Krad, stop it!" Towa's voice rang out of the four second long silence, shattering it like a rock would a mirror. "She's telling the truth!"

And in that instant, I knew what was going to happen. Deadly voices call the bird… "Towa, stay there!" I screamed. "Don't-!" But I was too late when I called 'Towa'. I felt my head connect with the wall, heard myself cry out and saw myself shimmering and returning to my normal state. I'd been shoved against the wall by something, and had most likely split the back of my head wide open. Odd… I didn't seem to be losing any blood… or to be hurt at all. I tried to stand up, but I found that whatever invisible force had shoved me against the wall was keeping me pinned there.

And a drop of blood splashed against the floor. "She's telling the truth," Towa whispered, hanging off of the Toki no Kagi, "Believe her." A moment later, I watched as she slowly dissolved into a pink light. A few seconds later, there was a swish of wings and Krad was gone. I stood, in complete shock, and took several steps forward before I collapsed.

"Towa?" I whispered, shocked. "Towa. Towa!" I felt my eyes starting to water again, but I shook my tears away and leapt up, snapping open my wings. I had to find Krad. And possibly maim him. Choking back my tears, I took off.

This was the last time I was going to sit on the sidelines while someone died.

With Krad…

He had to leave. He hadn't meant to kill anyone, and yet… that damn girl had caught him off guard. How was he to know she hadn't been Syerdtsye? It hadn't been the first time he'd thought she was gone… and she'd come back. Ryoushi flew up to him, his tail wagging hopefully. Krad waved him off.

What happened master? The dog asked, now flying several feet away. He received no answer. Master?

"We're leaving Ryoushi." The dog blanched (as much as a dog could, that is).

Why?

"It doesn't matter why," Krad snapped. "But that damned sword… I have to destroy it." Ryoushi understood. His master had killed someone.

Of course, master.

"I want you to keep looking for that silver rose I was telling you about," Krad said. "I should be back soon." Ryoushi barked and veered to the left, away from his troubled master. He hoped that he would be alright, but at the moment… nothing could be taken for granted.

Lumi's POV

I wept as I flew. I couldn't hold in the tears, and I wept profusely. Towa was dead. Gray was dead. Both times, I could have saved them. Both times, I'd sat helplessly on the sidelines, or until it was too late. I was a coward. Or, I had been one. I would never sit on the sidelines again. I held my bow in one hand, examining it, while the quiver of arrows hung off my arm. The bow was black, and made of some strange material that wasn't wood, or plastic, or metal. It sat lightly in my hands, almost as if it were made of shadow. Shadow and… I glanced at one of the arrows. It too, was black, except for a silver arrowhead. But this silver… this was a familiar color. This was Gray's silver. Moonlight.

"You could've done something different," I said to the bow. "Why did you give me this?" The bow didn't answer, but I hadn't expected it to. It was a bow, maybe given to me by Gray, but a bow nonetheless. And bows didn't talk.

But the wind was a different matter. It whispered to me as I flew, whispered to me in a language that had been lost to the world. And I listened. I listened until I understood. (Or at least, until I thought I did.) Mura, I called out, Wake up. I need to ask you about something.

Yes mistress? What is it? She sounded a bit tired, but alert.

Towa no Shirube. I need you to have someone look for it. Towa's… I couldn't even think it. Bu Murasaki, bless her tiny little rabbit heart, understood.

I'll have Miss Emiko look for it, she said.

Thanks Mura. Still sniffling, I flew on. I had to find Krad.

Satoshi's POV

(Just a note from me, Lumi. Yes, this is another extract from his journal that I… borrowed and edited.)

I had no idea of what was going in the museum. I was walking down a hallway as quietly as I could, but I was no thief. I suppose I sounded a bit more like a crowd of people than one. It was painful, hearing my footsteps, but I gritted my teeth and continued looking for Daisuke and Dark. I hoped they were here, and not somewhere else; I couldn't track and I had no way of summoning any artwork except the Rutile of Grief, which hung around my neck. Grief. Just what we all need more of, I thought sarcastically. I continued walking, seeing nothing; hearing nothing. All was peaceful and silent; shafts of moonlight pierced through the windows, reminding me painfully of the girl who'd died not even a year earlier. Gray had been like a sister to me; a sister who had saved me not only from myself, but from Krad as well. She'd been a shining light in the dark, illuminating what I'd thought had been lost forever.

I continued walking, hoping that I would hear something, or see something that would lead me to where the two were. But just then, a heavy wave of magic passed over me like a wall, and I felt myself collapse.

…

When I woke again, it felt like a pile of bricks had been dropped on my head. My vision was swimming with black stars and the shafts of moonlight were bending. I closed my eyes for several seconds and opened them again, hoping that it would help. It didn't.

Get up.

When I first heard the voice, I thought I was going crazy. It certainly wasn't human; it sounded more like a cat than anything else. "Who's there?" I asked.

Get up. The voice sounded more insistent now, and I stood, leaning heavily against the wall. Follow the moon.

"What moon?" I asked, trying to find whoever was speaking. "Who are you?"

Look around, Satoshi. Are you not a genius? I sighed, wishing that the headache I had was gone. But the moonlight, the shafts of moonlight, had stopped moving. They had formed a figure of a girl.

A girl with floor length hair and combat boots. "Gray," I said. The figure shrugged, indifferent.

Does it matter? Come on, we must find them. She turned and drifted down the hallway. I stumbled after her, wondering how she'd gotten here. She wasn't a ghost; that was obvious. It was as though she was an extension of the moonlight that still pierced the blackness of night. She led me forward for several minutes, through a maze of hallways and down a flight of stairs. I stumbled after her, always several steps behind.

When we finally stopped, Gray stood in front of a door that was locked and barred and cloaked in darkness. Satoshi, she said. I must leave now. Please, do not tell anyone that you saw me. It will only cause them more pain. With that, she gently touched the locks on the door and disappeared. One lock clicked open. Then another, and a third. In a moment, the door stood open. I stared at it in shock, but walked through, hoping to see Daisuke and Dark right there. Instead, I was faced with three passageways, each blocked by a solid piece of oak. The door slammed shut behind me.

Had I been tricked? No… it wasn't that, I could sense it. There would be a way out of here. The Rutile around my neck glowed; the only source of light in the room. I walked up to the first door.

On the wood I could see writing.

…

AN: Well, it took me long enough, didn't it? I guess this is sort of my birthday present to myself… yup, my birthday's today! Do any of you still remember me? Anyone? If you do, please leave a review!