Wooh, wooh fight scene!

Chapter 7

As soon as the door shut, Noel was by Hope's side. His eyes adjusted to the dark quickly, allowing him to see his companion. Hope's shirt was torn open, blood seeping through wounds that ran in a jagged motion from his chest down to his hip.

"Caius, you promised." Noel snarled, he looked around blindly. His vision for the dark was far better than anyone else's but he was still only human, the bathroom was big and Caius moved around from his original position.

"I promised nothing to this one." The older man's voice surged through the darkness.

"Hope? Hope!" Alyssa, from the other side of the door was beating at the metal, "Hope, can you answer me?"

"He's fine, Alyssa." Noel found his voice, it cracked sorrowfully, "Just...just give me sometime."

"Noel, what's going on? What happened to Hope? Who else is there with you?" Alyssa's voice was calm at the sound of someone answering her. Behind Alyssa was a squad of officers, dressed in black armor with guns trained at the door.

"Hope is bearing some wounds, bring a medical team, stat. Caius is here with me, just...leave us be for now. We have to talk," Noel waited for an answer but when he didn't, he spoke again, "If you don't leave, Caius won't leave and it'll be too late for Hope. He's lost a lot of blood."

"Ok Noel..." Alyssa finally answered, "We'll leave. A medical team will be just around the corner."

Noel and Caius heard footsteps fall away from the door, Noel shuddered at the lack of protection he had from his once friendly companion. Hope's breathing worsened, becoming shallow and full of pain with every exhale.

"Hope...Hope can you hear me?" Noel whispered to his short time lover. Hope trained his gaze on the younger male, nodding in the darkness. It hurt far too much to speak and in that dark Noel could hardly see his head move, he only saw stark white hair shag up and down once, "I need you to stay with me."

"I made sure not to be fatal." Caius interrupted Noel's concentration with Hope.

"I broke the relation with him," Noel snapped his head toward the source of the sound, "Yet you continued with this. What did you do to him before?"

"I branded him like he branded you," Caius lifted his sword, touching the soft purple bruise below Noel's collarbone, "You have lost respect for what you stand for, Noel. You serve only the seeres and you are owned only by the seeres. Or did we forget...?"

"This is no brand!" Noel stood, "You've forgotten what it is to have somebody, Caius. You've spent far too long alone with Yuel. You've forgott-"

"I have forgotten nothing." He spoke as if it were set in stone, "It matters none what you think, I have only come to speak and I will. Without your interruptions."

Noel, seeing blinding hot white anger, lunged at the guardian. Striking at his hard plated armor with a swing of the flame shaped sword, he took the recoil moment to unsheathe the shorter sword. Knowing Caius's next move he ducked under the large, swinging blade and raced forward. He struck home with his shorter sword, sticking the blade heavily into the older man's forearm.

There was a snarl from Caius's throat, a surge of energy coming from his anger and to his sword ripped apart the bathroom sinks as he brought his sword back to him, closing in on Noel. The Hunter rolled to the side, releasing an electroshock of magic from his hand, giving the water a lethal surge as it pooled around Caius. The purple haired guardian was hardly affected by the electricity, his suit of armor protecting him from most magic attacks.

With a swing Caius brought down his sword onto Noel. The Hunter, in return, brought his own two swords up against his fellow guardian's. There were short surges of energy sputtering from the two blades, giving light to see the damage on Hope. Stark white hair was thickened with blood, previous wounds were creating a pool around his back and fresh wounds were slipping down his body.

Kreiss

That was the word that was carved into Hope's bare chest. Noel felt his chest tighten at the sight of his companion, he could only guess the name on Hope's back was. Noel looked back at Caius, through the sputters of energy coming from the two swords, liquid hot magic spewed onto the ground around them. Some of it hitting Hope, keeping him conscious and in full pain.

Noel forced all his weight to the side, his two swords bringing down Caius's blade beside him. The nimble Hunter leapt onto the sword, racing only a few steps before managing to sink in his blade into Caius's shoulder. The older man fell like a tree, collapsing as Noel's anger shattered his armor with the point of his shorter sword. Noel stood over him, screaming in rage.

"Leave Hope alone." Noel snarled through heavy breaths, "Leave him and leave me until our time comes. Do not disrupt my...our lives until we come to our final battle, Caius. There you can kill me, there I can defeat you. There you will erase my existence and there I will erase yours. Do you comply?"

Caius started to mutter something other than a simple yes. Noel pressed his weight into the blade, making Caius shout in pain and surprise.

"Do you comply?" Noel screamed at the older man.

The Hunter felt a hand on his shoulder, making him release his weight from the blade. Looking up he was face to face with Yuel, she smiled softly at the Hunter and Caius.

"Do not damage him anymore now." She spoke, her voice like the twinkling of bells, "As you said, you must wait until your final battle."

"Yuel..." Noel got up, ripping his blade from the older man and dropped it onto the floor, "I'm sorry..."

Noel opened his arms slightly, unsure if the seeres would return the gesture. She did, to his surprise and happiness. The tiny seeres folded into him, resting her head on his chest, smiling softly.

"We will meet again, Noel." Yuel said after a moment, she pulled away and came beside Caius.

"As enemies or as friends?" Noel asked.

"We are never enemies, Noel." The seeres shook her head and looked down at Caius, "But you are to him."

The Hunter didn't answer to that, only nodded lightly. A beam of light ripped through the darkness, a hole in time.

"You have made your decision do not change it." Yuel said simply and stepped through the time hole, Caius was sucked in after her, his blade coming with. At once the hole stitched itself back in place, leaving Noel bloody, bruised and in the dark.

Noel came out of his trance and kicked open the busted bathroom door, he gave a shout and went back for Hope, who was hardly conscious.

"I...I'm sorry...you had to...see this..." Hope breathed softly, gesturing toward his wounds.

"No, no Hope," Noel shook his head, pushing stark white hair from his face, "It's done. It's over, Hope. Those wounds will heal. I'll heal them, Hope. I'm going to heal you. I'm so sorry, Hope. I'm so sorry."

"No..." Hope whispered, his voice fading, eyes fluttering shut, "Noel..."

"Hope? Hope. Hope!" Noel caressed his face feverishly, trying to get back some response from the older man. A medical team pushed him away, allowing them to get Hope onto the bed.

Noel followed endlessly, shouting Hope's name. Ignoring Alyssa. Ignoring the doctors who tried to sedate him. Ignoring the threats to tranquilize him.

"I'll be here, Hope!" Noel struggled against the officers hold, "I'm going to heal you!"

The only response was the sharp pinging noise of the heart rate monitor. Hope's heart stopped beating.

That's when Noel began to fight. He cracked one's jaw. He broke a wrist. A few ribs. He chipped someone's tooth. All before Alyssa injected him with a sedation medicine, his screams becoming mutters becoming whispers becoming breathless, inaudible whispers.

Hope's dead heartbeat ringing through Noel's ears as he fell into a forceful, unconscious state.