A/N: Seriously guys, have most of you stopped reading this fic so close to the ending or something? This chapter is for all the awesome people who reviewed the last chapter.
Enjoy~
Refusing to show any weakness, Masooma stood tall before her opponents even as her barrier spell finally gave out under the collective assault of the female hunter's whip and the last male hunter's battle hammer. Readjusting her grip on her staff, the witch narrowed her eyes at the amount of rage that seemed to flash across the female hunter's face at the sight of that particular hunter's fall. Staying on the defensive for just a little bit longer as she tried to put some distance between herself and her opponents, Masooma couldn't help but internally quirk a brow at the other woman.
"What's wrong?" The witch finally spoke for the very first time ever since their fight had begun, "You seem particularly upset about the hunter I just killed. Was he someone special to you?"
The only response she got from the woman was a crazed snarl as she flew at Masooma, closing the distance between the two of them as she discarded her whip and pulled out a silver knife instead. Masooma was ready for her. Had been, in fact, counting on such a violent reaction from the female hunter, as she brought up the staff to block the weapon made of pure Cerellium. Metal screamed against metal before Masooma called on just a little more of her magic, immediately feeling the draining effects of her opponent's weapon, forcing the witch to summon more of her power to strengthen her slowly tiring body.
"I'll make sure your death is as drawn out as long as humanly possible." The woman hissed at her, black eyes burning in hatred as the two came to a stalemate. The standoff was broken only by the attack of the remaining hunter, which forced Masooma to dodged out of the way or risk having her skull cave in. Keeping her eyes on both opponents, Masooma tried to decide on whom to finish off first, chest heaving from exhaustion as the two hunters teamed up and began cornering her once again.
-0-
Sakura wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, gasping for breath as she looked over her shoulder towards the fallen head. Climbing back to her feet, she made her way back on shaky legs, trying not to throw up again. She had to know…she had only just caught sight of blue eyes and blond hair but…it couldn't be Fai…no…not when they had all gone through so much to get him back. She was supposed to find him before anything happened to him! He couldn't be dead just like that! Not when…not when she had been entrusted to keep him safe…
Mustering up all the courage she had, she dared to look back at the severed head, body nearly sagging with relief when she realized that the face was a little too round, the nose a little too flat to belong to the wizard she knew. Not a heartbeat later, she felt guilty for feeling so relieved over someone else's death. She was saved from further guilt as her sixth sense picked up danger in her immediate vicinity. Her body moved of its own accord to block the sword coming down at her with her own weapon.
-0-
Magic pushing, pulsing, reaching out and coming back. Keep moving. Keep looking. Searching. Shadows everywhere. Menacing, screaming, reaching out with greedy hands to pull him in. Keep moving, keep moving. Not safe. He had to find her. She was here somewhere. Had to find her before they did. She would be in danger. Had to protect her. Not safe. Shadows everywhere. Whispers caressing him softly. Still no words but whispers remained. Danger everywhere. Not safe. No place was safe. Had to find her. Had to protect her. Had to keep his promise.
Magic pushed out, spread against the shadows, making way as he hurried on. More magic up ahead. Familiar. But there was pain. Exhaustion. Danger. Danger. Not safe! Had to get to her! Had to keep his promise. Had to protect her. Bright light. Fire everywhere. Destruction. Death. Blood. Moving fast, shadows, enemies. She was alone. Had to help her. Had to keep her safe.
Barriers slammed around him, leeching his magic, pulling, pulling, pulling. Growing weaker. Fear. Not strong enough. Not strong enough. He was scared. What could he do? He was not strong enough. He could not fight. He was weak. He was scared.
-0-
Masooma caught a flash of blond out of the corner of her eye, eyes going wide when she realized who it was. What was he doing here?! He was supposed to be safe with the others. Why was he here? He shouldn't be here. What if the seal broke? What if… what if? Her moment of distraction nearly caused her to lose her head as the silver-haired woman slashed at her neck. The hunters had not quite yet noticed his presence but it would only be a matter of time. And Fai was in no state to protect himself. She had to do something and fast. Slowly pulling away from the current spot they were fighting in, Masooma began to lead her opponents in the direction opposite to the blond, hoping it would be enough for the time being. Her worry for Fai's safety only seemed to distract her from the task at hand, the female hunter's weapon grazing the back of her neck even as she dodged out of the way.
It was only a moment later that she realized the full extent of what had just happened as a thick braid of hair fell to the ground with a dull thud, her body immediately feeling the effects as it lost more than four-fifths of the source of its magic. A scream escaped her lips as the female hunter's weapon finally found its mark and buried itself halfway into her shoulder. Even her opponent seemed a little stunned for a moment as she realized she had finally managed to hurt the witch before a smirk lit her up face, twisting it into something ugly and cruel. The sharp blade twisted inside her flesh, eliciting another cry from her as the woman began laughing.
"Oh, this is just hilarious!" she cackled manically, pulling the knife out but jamming her thumb in the wound only a heartbeat later, digging her sharp nail into the injured flesh viciously as she forced the witch to her knees. "That was the source of all your magic?" she spat, kicking at the fallen hair with her heel-clad feet in disdain. "The mighty Guardian of Magihidusi had magical hair! This is just too priceless for words." She said, laughing even harder, all the while pushing her thumb deeper into the wound.
Masooma felt a ringing in her ears as a bout of nausea and dizziness bolted through her whole body, even as she tried her best to glare back at the woman. But the exhaustion, coupled with the loss of so much magic and added to the pain now flaring through her body thanks to the nail digging into the hole in her shoulder was enough to leave her panting for breath. She could only hope that Fai had managed to leave undetected before he was spotted.
"Masooma-chan?"That name, uttered in that voice, sounding so scared and confused, was enough to cause her stomach to drop in fear as her heart skipped a beat.
"No…" she gasped weakly, even as the male hunter began advancing on the cowering blond in a predatory manner. "Leave him alone!" she screamed, finding just enough magic to cast one last powerful attack at the hunter. Her desperation made the magic strong enough for it to pierce through the Cerellium armor and send the man crashing to the ground without even so much as a tiny oh. He lay at Fai's feet, unmoving and very clearly dead. The world around them froze for just a moment before moving again, the female hunter snarling and sending her to the floor with a sharp backhand.
-0-
He woke to the sound of her screaming in the next room. Not even pausing to pull on a shirt, he darted to her side, trying to rouse her from the nightmare she was clearly having. More than six months had gone by since they had landed in Magihidusi, six months since he had rescued her from that place, six months since Nixon had made the deal with the Shaman and yet…there had been no improvement in Masooma's condition. She moved around in a trance, barely eating, rarely talking, never really listening and slowly wasting away. Now she even refused to sleep on her own anymore, forcing Nixon or one of the other healers to put her under using magic or potions. This girl wasn't even a shell of her former self anymore and it was all their fault.
Nixon allowed himself to smirk in satisfaction as he sliced off the leather bands holding the Cerellium armor to the hunter's body. Trying not to think about how he and Fai used to compete over the accuracy of their projectiles back in Celes, Nixon glowered at the panting hunter. Carelessly away wiping the trickle of blood trailing down the side of his own face, the Oracle took another step in the hunter's direction, causing the man's aura to shift colors in alarm and wariness. He only had a split second to sense the attack that came his way next, but that was more than enough for Nixon to dodge out of the way. He followed this with a simple flick of his wrist, hearing the satisfying grunt of pain from his opponent when his weapons met their marks.
He cast a sidelong glance at the witch standing beside him. Masooma's hair had now grown till her shoulders but despite the restoration of her magic, she still looked like nothing more than a moving, breathing corpse. She still refused to eat, refused to sleep, talk or do anything except stare into space. Reassuring himself that this was the right course of action, Nixon began the summoning spell for the Shaman. She was not getting better on her own and he could only watch her waste away for so long. It had been over a year since they had arrived in Magihidusi and he was desperate enough to call on the immortal being. Surely there was something the Shaman would be able to do to help her.
As it would turn out, the Shaman did. But like everything else, the deal came with a heavy price. In return for the restoration of her mind, she would have to join the Oracle and become a Guardian.
Nixon attacked the hunter with a spell, taking his time to summon his knives back to his hand even as the dark magic sizzled through the air towards the hunter's exposed body-the loss of the latter's armor had left him vulnerable. The man's scream was raw and full of pain as Nixon's magic wreaked havoc on his body. Bauld fell to the floor as the spell let up enough for him to catch his breath before the Oracle's magic worked its way through his bloodstream. The dark spell was designed not to be fatal, even if the receiver of the curse begged for death. Nixon did not even flinch when the hunter's screams rose in crescendo as magic began to raise the temperature of his opponent's blood until it had to feel like it was literally boiling.
-0-
Wondering if he was dead, he turned his head this way and that, trying not to flinch at the pain that even those small motions seemed to cause him as his senses slowly returned and he realized he was still standing in the cave, Ginryuu buried inside the Shaman's heart and the rest of the world frozen as though the concept of time had somehow come undone.
"I told you not to underestimate me." He finally managed to say, watching as the Shaman looked down in disbelief before looking back at him with something he might have taken as wonder on the face of anyone else but this thing. The Shaman looked down one more time before doing the last thing he would have expected her to do in return for him stabbing her with his sword-she threw back her head and laughed. Not the condescending sound she had made in the other cave where he had challenged her to a fight, but a laugh that was nothing but pure pleasure. Feeling confused at such a reaction he looked down to check if he had somehow missed his target. Nope. The sword was definitely buried in her heart.
"What the hell is it that you find so funny about this?" he hissed through gritted teeth, clearly failing to see the source of the entity's amusement.
"You truly are an incredible human being, Kurogane of Suwa." The Shaman responded with a fond-looking smile as she finally stopped laughing. Her fingers brushed the right side of his face, adding to his confusion even more as she merely phased through the sword and took another step towards him. Kurogane automatically took a step back, or he would have had his entire body not suddenly been frozen in place. The Shaman leaned close enough that her surprisingly-soft hair tickled his skin as her lips brushed his ear. "Every incarnation of you is one of a kind."
He wanted to demand just what the hell she meant by that, but his mouth refused to move as she pulled away and gave him a full-blown grin. "The Oracle was well aware of the fact that the spell he gave you could not be activated without our explicit consent, yet he sent you here anyways." Seeing him struggle against whatever magic she had used on him, her grin grew wider still before she closed the distance between them. Her lips pressed against his in a forced kiss and fire spread out from where she had touched him, something foreign and unwanted invading his entire being, ripping out a pained cry from him as he finally regained the ability to move, his knees giving out beneath him as he tried to come to terms with this… whatever it was that the bastard had done to him.
"What the fuck did you to me?" he grit out through clenched teeth.
"You have proven yourself worthy of our help." the Shaman replied serenely, "The unsealing spell will be channeled through your body. We hope you can keep your word about not going back on your friends."
"Feeling rather chatty now, aren't you?" he grunted, trying to not pay attention to the intense burning that was now ravaging his battered body.
"You should try and locate those memories that live on inside your friends," she continued as though she had not heard him. "You want to restore their bodies, do you not?" she added, quirking a brow as her form began to slowly fade out.
"Wait… what?" Was she saying what he thought she was?
-0-
Sakura was beyond exhausted and it was taking everything she had in her to stay on her feet and fight the twin hunters coming at her again and again. Blood stained their clothes and bodies and not all of it was their own. Their weapons of choice were also swords, the wicked blades gleaming in the light of the enchanted sun as they sliced through the air towards her. Bringing up her own swords to block the attacks, she tried to stop them, feeling her feet skid through the dirt as she was pushed back. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep this up. If it lasted too long, she knew she would definitely lose.
As though sensing her in trouble, Captain Numero appeared out of nowhere, expertly forcing the hunters to beat a hasty retreat. He paused to look at her, panting rather heavily as he asked why she was in the caves when she was supposed to have been in the safe room with her friends. She admitted to having lost Fai before the safe room was sealed and watched as alarm flashed across the Captain's face. Telling her he would handle the hunters if they tried to come after her, he urged her to go and find the blond because this was no place for someone like him. Nodding her thanks, she raced back to the tunnel opening, praying to all the gods she believed in that she'd be able to find Fai before something truly terrible happened.
"Leave him alone!" Masooma's scream rang out all around her and Sakura froze for just a moment. Not even knowing why, she began running in the direction of the scream, a sinking feeling in her gut telling her that she would not like what she came across at the end of her run. As though to further impress on her just how bad the situation really was, her magic began to churn inside her body in a way that made her skin crawl and the nausea return. Legs turning to jelly, she collapsed on her knees right outside the entrance to the main cavern of Magihidusi, the once-beautiful city now turned into a heap of half-demolished, half-charred skeletons of buildings. Finding herself unable to breathe, she dropped her swords, clutching at her chest as the world began turning black.
-0-
He was lost in a sea of sounds and voices and screams and cries and laughter. Who was he? What was he doing here? And… did he even have the right to think of himself as a separate entity when there was so much around him? What if he was just like them. A tiny fraction of the whole. But no…he wasn't just a tiny fraction. He was…
Masooma-chan? Scared. Weak. Powerless.
No! Angry. Frustrated. Helpless.
I won't give up! Afraid. Determined.
Die! Hate.
I'll protect them. Love.
Leave him alone! Angry. Helple- he knew that voice. That was the witch!
He latched onto that consciousness, flailing in despair when he passed right through her, once again beginning to drown out in the sea of voices and screams and laughter and cries until... the princess! There she was. And there it was. Pulsing inside her, like a lighthouse in a tumultuous sea, the feather glowed inside her chest. His consciousness closed in around the feather, feeling parts of the magic channeling into the pearl white thing through the connection he had established before he remembered the Shaman's words. He had to find the kid.
-0-
Deep inside the heart of the catacombs, in the safety of the safe room, Tsubasa doubled over in his wheelchair, clutching at his heart as breathing became harder and harder for him. Sweat beaded his brow as his magic slowly stirred inside him. Something foreign and suddenly unwanted tried to push its way out of his body, causing him to scream in pain as he was surrounded in a cloud of forest green, his whole form slowly rising off the ground even as he convulsed and twitched and screamed.
It hurt. Oh, how it hurt. He could feel the insides of his throat tearing themselves apart as the screams escaped from his lips like an endless cacophony of wails and cries. It might not have the worst pain he had felt since the other-no, since the hunters had tortured him, but this…this was even worse in some ways.
A/N: only one chapter and an epilogue to go. The next chapter is definitely going to be long with a capital L because that's where it all ends. Tell me what you think.
P.S. Reviews make the plunnies work faster.