"That is no issue." Nightmare snapped his finger and a soldier came to his side. "To the dungeons. Bring all of those wretched humans here."
"At once my lord." The soldier took ten of them with him and hurriedly left.
Walking over to Ivy, he swung Soul Edge and deftly cut off her chains. He narrowed his eyes at her as she rubbed her sore arms with a displeased expression on her face from having to obey him. Passing her, he came back over to the hellish plants and stood there stiffly. "Will this work?"
"I have never attempted this before," Ivy answered truthfully.
"I don't care. If the most beautiful breeze of dawn does not return to me, then none of you will live past this night." He held Soul Edge loosely in his hand and glanced over at the window.
The storm outside was fierce, thunder and lightning roared in the sky while the rain beat their fists against the giant glassy window. The brief flashes of light illuminated the rather gruesome scenery. Blood had rolled down and dried on the walls, leaving its bloody imprints. The floor was caked with powder, bits of wood from the chopped desk, blood smeared every few steps on the marble black floor and the dead Duke Corby's limbs can still be clearly seen. The large room could now be described as something only demons could dream up.
The red plants thrummed and throbbed and Nightmare replied without looking back, "Your sacrifices have arrived."
Ivy turned around as the soldiers dragged and whipped fifty prisoners forward. The men's eyes were sunken and their skin was grey, clinging to their bones from the malnutrition. Dirty prison outfits clung to their skinny frames, marked by blood, pus and waste. Their bodies bore the marks of rough torture and they clung to each other like frightened rabbits. A putrid stench clung to them and they made sounds of wails and fright as they were brought forward.
Voldo arrived last, his back bowed and pained hisses coming out of his mouth as he held a hand to the wounds on his abdomen.
"I see, perhaps you aren't so useless after all," Nightmare commented as he met Raphael's eyes. "If you can defeat the guardian of my dungeon, then maybe you can be of some use to me. That is... if my dearest doesn't die. If she does, then you will still follow her."
Raphael subconsciously moved back and bumped into Viola. Warily, he asked, "Can you see if the ritual will succeed?"
Viola glanced over at the orb one of the soldier held in his arms. She could call it back to her but it was best if she waited for the right opportunity. Pursing her lips, she said, "I can sense there there is a underlying factor to the ritual. It will not go as planned, that is all I can say."
"Wonderful," Raphael muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, the Archduke inwardly gagged at the stench that the prisoners brought but then his eyes suddenly widened. "Lord Delloso?"
A skinny, bald man immediately put his hands over his ears and wailed. "Please don't hurt me, please, please!"
"How did you get ahold of him?!" shouted Matthias, his eyes blazing with anger. "You dare kidnap nobles?"
Nightmare tilted his head and his eyes flashed with merriment. "All you see here... are those who have hunted the malfested." He held out a hand and a soldier came forward to place a long and spiky whip in his hand. He leaned Soul Edge against the red hellish plants and slowly stepped forward and looked at his prisoners. "Peasants, merchants, nobles... it doesn't matter. They've all participated in some kind of practice that have hurt or kill us. It's time they feel our pain." He grabbed Delloso and dragged him harshly to his side. "I remember this one well. To lick my boots, he threw me a party to please me." Nightmare glared down into the man's eyes. "Do you remember what you did to entertain me?"
"I'm s-sorry, please forgive me. I won't do it ever again, I swear," pleaded the sniveling man, his grey eyes wide with fear.
Nightmare straightened up stiffly and said, "You had a malfested whipped and danced for everyone. It was amusing, to see beasts dance, that's what you said didn't you?" His tone grew so icy, that everyone in the entire room barely moved. Throwing the man down, he brought the whip down with a sharp clack. "Dance! Dance for me!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Argghhh!"
Nightmare laughed, an insane and crazed sound. He brought down many more harsh lashes that drew more blood and cries from the man, revelling in the pain of his victim. His soldiers hissed and crowed, cheering him on as he avenged their past pain. But almost instantly, he stopped as he heard the wind suddenly pick up from outside. Dropping the whip, he returned to Talim's side. "Talim... I'm sorry. The pain and the hate, it is difficult for me to let go." Once again, he reached his hand through the vines and caressed her delicate face. "Without the sun, the moon cannot shine."
Viola said dryly, "He's truly lost his mind."
"It wasn't obvious to you like twenty minutes ago?" Raphael said sarcastically beside her.
Turning around, Nightmare's eyes narrowed. "Let's get this started, I don't want any more time wasted."
Stiffly, Ivy looked away from him. "Throw your prisoners into the circle and don't let them step outside of it." She walked out and stood at the edge, watching as his soldier threw the wailing prisoners in and held out their swords, cutting and slicing at anyone that dared to step out.
"Throw them in as well." Nightmare pointed to Viola, the lizard and Matthias.
When the soldiers made a move to drag the lizard, Viola and the Archduke, Ivy spoke up. "I don't want that seer or the lizard."
"Why not?" Nightmare asked coldly.
"There's magic around them. It will interfere with the ritual," Ivy explained curtly.
Nightmare gave a dry grunt. "Then just take the Archduke." He ignored the man's cries of outrage. It would be hard to explain to the emperor about his death but he knew he could pull it off. With some bribes or blackmail with the other nobles, he would have enough support to be pardoned and the emperor had always listened to him anyway. It would be a small blow to his standing but at least he could be rid of this thorn in his side.
Once everything was in place, Ivy said, "Stand back." Holding out Valentine, she struck down at the edge of the circle and it glowed a bright and ominous red. The entire room suddenly felt heavy and the vines holding the priestess immediately constricted around her. The fifty or so men in the large circle tried to get out but the circle had erected an invisible barrier that trapped them inside.
Her icy blue eyes shone as she whipped two marks on either side of the circle. When it snapped back into its sword state, she held it to her left hand and slit the palm. Holding the handle with both hands, she faced it downward and closed her eyes as her blood trailed down her blade. When the drops hit the ground and touched the edge of her magic circle, it hissed and evaporated into the air. The ground shook and dust fell from the ceiling while the skies turned even darker as the ritual began to work its magic.
Nightmare opened his arms and said joyously, "Talim... come back to me dearest."
Ivy's brows furrowed in concentration and slowly, things began to quiet down as the shrieks and wails grew fainter. The prisoners' eyes rolled up in their head and they dropped, like puppets cut off from their strings. The Archduke cowered in fear and began to pray for God to protect him, as the men beside him slowly died off one by one.
From their lips, white wisps came out and flew over to the priestess in the centre of the circle, protected by the vines. Suddenly, beautiful white flowers specked with red began to bloom on the thorny vines. But all of a sudden, a cool gust of wind flowed through the room and the flowers stopped halfway. One of them trembled before wilting and the petals crumbled into dust.
"No," Ivy said in a hushed voice. Turning to Nightmare, she said hastily, "I need more!"
"What?!" He came closer to the circle and said harshly, "What do you mean you need more? What's going on?"
"Your girl is a priestess, correct?" Ivy's lips were thin as she gripped her sword tightly, to still it as it vibrations in her hands. "Her magic is interfering with mine!"
"That can't be!" Nightmare snapped. "She's unconscious!"
Ivy replied, "Don't underestimate those who practice the spiritual arts. They are attune to the environment around them. She must know what we're trying to do and she's rejecting it with her own powers." Looking at the still priestess, she said, "She'd rather die, than have you sacrifice any more people."
"This can't be..." He shook his head and stepped towards the barrier.
"Quickly!" Ivy shouted. "If you still want her back, I need more sacrifices right now."
He cried out in fury and slammed Soul Edge into the ground. "DAMN IT!" Could he send his men out and chase after those nobles? No, they would never make it there and back in time. What the hell was he supposed to do now?
"My lord."
Nightmare turned around and said in surprise, "What are you doing?"
All of his men and servants bowed down before him and one of the soldiers said, "My lord, please use our lives."
"What?"
A pretty maid smiled and blinked her round yellow eyes that marked her as a malfested. "Lady Talim has always been kind to us. Despite being held here against her will, she never made any trouble for us. She even tried to remember our names and she occasionally helped us out in the kitchens while you were busy, master."
An old butler bowed his head. "My lord clearly loves her, and we want our lord to be happy. Your happiness is the happiness of us all, for we all owe you our lives."
"We're already in our last stage my lord," said another soldier. "We won't live past this night."
"My lord." The orange hair malfested that had previously greeted Talim's arrival with joy smiled, showing a row of sharp fangs. "For you and for lady Talim, I would not hesitate to die for. I and my wife owe her our lives and she is a symbol of hope for us all, as well as you. She spoke out on our behalf during the party and she has done many great and kind things for the malfested. We are proud..." He squeezed his wife's hand, who was kneeling beside him. "We are proud to die for our king and for our future queen. Glory, to the future of the malfested."
All of the malfested repeated, "Glory to our king and to the future of the malfested."
Nightmare's eyes moved to all of them and he said slowly, "All of you..." He closed his eyes momentarily. "I and my dearest will not let your sacrifice go to waste. We will make the ideal world, where you will no longer have to hide in the darkness." He pointed to Voldo to guard Raphael and Viola closely. In a rather quiet voice, he said, "I'm sorry. As a king, I should have been able to protect you... better."
"We are proud to have served you, my lord," they all answered back. Quietly, they dropped their weapons and began walking into the circle that quietly accepted them. "Glory to our king and to the future of the malfested," they all murmured as they accepted their fate.
He watched as they all entered the circle without hesitation and he was deeply touched by their loyalty. Averting his eyes, his voice was strained as he said, "Do it."
Ivy nodded briefly before holding up her sword. Once again, Valentine broke into many pieces and they began to fly around the room, each one lighting up in a cackle of electricity. Again, each sacrifice began to fall and their energy was given to Talim to revive her. The flowers fully turned red and bloomed, a beautiful image upon a grisly pile of bodies.
Ivy's eyes held a hidden glint as she directed the shards of her Valentine. They flew around at a faster rate before she pointed the handle at Talim. "Awaken! And come to my side!"
Penetrating the barrier, one shard shone brightly before it flew towards the priestess. With a whistle of air, it cut the sun and moon medallion in half and lodged itself in her flesh. Blood dribbled down the front of her chest before it healed up, like the rest of the wounds on her body.
The flowers broke apart in a shower of red petals as an icy wind tore them from he vines and slowly, Talim opened her eyes. The usually warm chocolate orbs were blank and empty. In an instant, the vines holding her were repelled back from a wave of pure energy. Gently stepping down, she paused and cast blank eyes at the corpses lying at her feet.
"Talim..." Nightmare rushed forward to embrace her and his heart leaped with joy seeing that all of her wounds were gone. But then, the eye of Soul Edge widened in fear and it pulsed in his hand to warn him.
Ivy reformed all of the shards back into her sword, except for the one lodged in Talim's flesh and she said coldly, "Kill him."
Talim's hands flew to the double crescent blades strapped to her belt. Her long ponytail trailed behind her as she leaped towards Nightmare and somersaulted in a barrage of sharp steel.
"What?" Nightmare deftly blocked her blows with Soul Edge before pushing her back. Turning on Ivy, he snarled, "Treacherous wench! What have you done to her!" He made to cut the alchemist in half but a dense wall of air knocked him back and Talim proceeded to continue her attacks.
"Wha-what?" the Archduke trembled as he opened his eyes and looked around. "I'm still alive?"
Ivy noted the Archduke who was still cowering in fear and narrowed her eyes. "I saved you, you will owe me for this, Archduke." She whipped the edge of the circle three time, making it glow a pale blue as it transported him out of the castle.
"Shhhh!"
"Hmph, I don't think so," Ivy said coldly as she raised her sword and blocked an attack from Voldo who had leaped forward with his katars to attack her.
"What now?" Raphael asked Viola as they watched the four fight.
"We run," Viola replied back curtly.
"Tied up like this? We might as well be bunnies and hop all the way back to the Schwartwind fortress," he said sarcastically. Just then, he noticed Buffy and Alun scuffling into appearance. They peeked through the open door and began making high pitched squeaks and waving their wings at each other. "Alun! Buffy!"
The baby batsa and bird looked up at him and cautiously wobbled over.
"Cheep?"
"Eeek?"
Raphael asked, "Can you two get us out of here?" Raphael smiled in relief when Buffy blinked it large grey eyes at him and bobbed its head. "Wonderful. Hurry up, we don't have time to lose."
Alun held up a wing and stopped its friend. Its eyes narrowed slightly as it pointed to the priestess who was fighting, conveying the message that if they helped, he must save her.
Rolling his eyes, Rapphael sighed. "Fine, I'll help save your priestess."
"And what do you think they can do?" Viola asked curtly. "Their cuteness is not going to magically free us from these chains."
Alun gave her a sour look. "Cheep." The two pets quickly flew up to him. Buffy opened its mouth wide and its sharp fangs gleamed before it chomped down on the chains at his hand quite happily. Alun ruffled its feathers before it pecked and plucked at the chains with its rather sharp beak.
Soon enough, Raphael was freed and he smiled at Viola smugly. "You should notice by now, that these two aren't normal."
"Talim! It's me!" Nightmare back stepped as she swiped at him. Her eyes met his blankly before she struck out a kick that he had to block with his cleaver.
"Don't hold back! Kill him!" Ivy commanded loudly as she looked over from her battle with Voldo. She whipped the blind man across the back before running over to the piles of broken potions and vials. Snatching one that had only cracked, she threw the vial with blue powder at Nightmare. "Soul Edge will disappear from this world tonight! I will rid this world of all of its taint!" She shouted at Talim, "Lower the dark energy of this castle! Destroy that sword and that man!"
At the base of her throat, the shard from her Valentine hummed and Talim deftly stepped back as Nightmare struggled to free himself from the ice that formed from the powder at his feet. She raised up her hands and her back arched slightly. "Wind..."
The windows shattered. Sharp glasses flew into the room and wet rain poured in, diluting the blood on the floor and wetting the corpses in the room. A powerful gust of wind came in and it slammed Nightmare, Voldo, Viola, Raphael and the lizard into the walls. The red ribbons on her outfit danced wildly as she threw her double crescent blades into the ground, where they landed upright. Water trailed down her body as she clasped her hands together, almost as if she was praying. The lightning outside flashed and her eyes turned a beautiful sea green. Raising a hand, she pointed it at them. "Wind." Roaring winds shot from outside towards them in a barrage of violent gales.
To defend himself, Nightmare raised his blade. "Burn!" Soul Edge flashed red hot as it unleashed a wave of flames forward.
When the wind met the fire, a beautiful cyclone of flames swirled in the air, shooting out fiery red sparks and evaporating the rain water into steam and raising up the temperature of the room. Finally the two elements vanquished each other and draped the room into darkness once more. Talim made to ready another spell but she coughed and dropped to her knees. Magic was exhausting for the body, and she had just been newly revived.
"Talim!" He made to run to her but then a girly voice rang through the room.
"Perfect."
His heart turned cold as he saw the dark raven with its glowing red eyes caw and flapped into the room. "Alice." He recognized the voice of the girl that had accompanied Tira's intrusion upon his mansion so many nights ago.
"So many puppets to use. Thank you..." Alice's lips curved upward in delight as she raised all of the sacrifices up with her soul strings. "Aren't they beautiful? People are so much more easier to manipulate when they're dead don't you think?"
"How dare you make a mockery of my people!" Nightmare charged forward and brought down his cleaver but the girl leaped back and made one of his dead solider came forward to take the blow. "Damn you!" he shouted as she surrounded him with the dead. He looked into the eyes of his people and his hand shook from rage. "You will pay for this Alice!"
Alice giggled as she made half take care of Nightmare and the other half go for the priestess. "You're mine."
Talim swiftly cut at all the dead men and women coming towards her but the number was overwhelming and she struggled during the fight as they grabbed onto her from all sides. One pulled at her hair and another pulled at her legs. Talim slipped to ground momentarily before she kicked up and swept them all away in a whirlwind of sharp blades.
"Talim!" Ivy said to the girl hatefully, "You will die next!" She disengaged from Voldo and lashed out with her whip to wound the girl.
At the same time, Voldo left the fight to go aid his master. His gleaming katars dripped with blood as he slashed and cut, driving them away from his master. The wounds on his abdomen pained him but he pushed himself to protect his master at all cost.
During the chaos, Nightmare noticed Raphael and Viola trying to escape while Alun and Buffy clung to their legs and tried to drag them back to help. He grabbed a dead prisoner and threw the body against the doors, slamming it shut. To Raphael, he lied, "If I die, you'll die with me! Don't forget that you're only a piece of me, if something happens to me, you won't live either." He raked aside three of the dead men with his monstrous arm and shouted, "You will stay here and help me if you don't want to die!"
Raphael stopped and turned his head back, his eyes narrowed slightly. "I can see... through your lies." He put a hand on the handle and said, "I'm not staying to risk my life for things and people I don't care about-" Something cut his cheek as it flew toward him from the battle. His red eyes widened slightly when he saw it was the second half of the priestess's medallion as it fell with a thud in front of him. Picking it up, he held it and stared down at the shining moon symbol.
"The moon and the sun cannot rise together." Viola held her glowing purple orb solemnly. "If you stay here to help her, you are putting yourself at unnecessary risk."
"I wasn't talking to you," he snapped back. "And according to what Dumas said, you promised to protect her."
Viola said blankly, "For Zwei's sake, yes. She's his teacher and she's very important to him. But in this unfavorable situation, I have weighed my options and deemed that it's too risky." The seer tilted her head and regarded Raphael carefully. "I can't see how this night will turn out. The place is too saturated with evil energy. We both know the chance for a happy ending is slim."
A strange feeling of sadness threatened to overwhelm him as he looked down at the moon symbol in his hand. There was something just so... sad about it all. He turned and looked at the priestess who was struggling to fight against the tides of enemies while Ivy assisted by her side. He believed that Dumas was telling the truth, that they were both Raphael Sorel. Somehow, he had lost his memories but at the same time, something remained with him. It was confusing but at the same time clear... He closed his eyes and thought long and hard about the priestess. "Tal... lim."
He had done and said so many hurtful things to her. Putting her down when she brought him food and inquired about his health. Using her as a hostage and acting cold towards her. "Laomea naka na toro. Cola se leai fa ohlei ni ma... ma no ei... Raphael," he repeated the words she had said to him in the dungeon. He took in a deep breath and knew, that for some incredibly stupid and illogical reason, he can't leave her. Putting a hand into his pocket, he took out his most treasured item. "Take this, Viola."
He clutched the ribbon with the skull on it tightly. "This belonged to my daughter. If I don't make it past this night, I want you to give it to Siegfried and ask him to keep looking for my beloved Amy." Placing it in her hand, he curled the fingers over it before she could see it and he opened the door. "Get out of here while you still can. I'm staying."
"Though this is something quite noble that you're doing, you are a fool," Viola said curtly as she left without looking at the item in her hand.
He smirked. No wonder he didn't like her, she was so similar to him. He put a hand to his hip and touched the wound lightly. Thankfully, Nightmare's cleaver hadn't cut him too deeply so it wouldn't impede his movement too much.
"You've made up your mind?" Nightmare asked as Raphael came to help Voldo and him.
Raphael tucked the moon symbol into his pocket and nodded before saying, "Now, I hope you'll have a plan to get us out of this mess."
"Kill all that stands in our way," Nightmare replied darkly.
Raphael cut off an arm from a puppet dead man and said dryly, "They're already dead."
"Shut up." He punched aside a dead servant and looked towards Talim. "Hold on dearest, I'm coming."
"This is annoying." Ivy whipped her Valentine forward and the whip lashed onto three necks in a row. She pulled harshly and cut their throats and withdrew the blade. But the dead corpses merely continued forward to contribute to the onslaught. Ivy kept them back as best as she could, while cold rainwater soaked her skin and dampened the white fur on her gold outfit. The only solution they had was to kill that little girl, the one playing puppet master.
Alice noted the death glare she was getting from the alchemist and she giggled as she put a hand to her bouncy blonde curls. "You'll get wrinkles if you keep that up, old lady."
Ivy pointed to her and shouted, "Talim!"
Talim jumped into the air, leaping over to where Alice and she delivered a strong dropkick downward.
"I don't think so," Alice moved her fingers and slammed three dead men into the priestess and crushed her to the ground just as she dodged the kick. Her blue eyes twinkled with delight and her breaths were hasty. Her body cried out in protest at how much energy she was using up but under no circumstances would she stop. If she failed, Tira would kill her. She would face anything, even Nightmare, rather than Tira. Laughing madly, she raised her hands and all of a sudden, a thousand bright strings shone through the room, most of them connected to a corpse. "Fall into the web of the master puppeteer."
The dead corpses moved faster and more viciously than before, as Alice poured all of her strength into the attacks. "I will have that girl, no matter what!" Alice shouted as her fingers moved with blinding speed and the corpses danced to her tune, striking out and battering their opponents with all of their force.
"Damn..." The alchemist looked to the madness that was starting to descend on Alice as she continued her battle frenzy. The girl was dangerously close to losing herself into the last stage of the malfestation.
"Talim!" Raphael cried out as the priestess edged dangerously close to the broken window. He and Nightmare both tried to go over to help her but they had to press back against the tides of enemies coming towards them. The ritual had pretty much backfired on them, as it provided Alice with a plethora of puppets and it caused Talim to be under Ivy's mind control.
Talim jumped when a pair of strong arms grabbed her and a hand with sharp nails pressed close to her neck.
"No!" screamed Alice, holding her puppet corpses back.
"Let her go!" Nightmare shouted.
"Talim, don't fight her!" Ivy ordered.
The last of the lamia's malfested children... stared back at them with wild golden eyes. Her short orange dress and red hair was damp from the incoming rain and she pulled back her lips to reveal her sharp fangs. Her breaths were loud and erratic and she stared at them while her feet dug into the sides of the tower that held her up to the window. "Mother... Sisters... Mother... Sisters..." Like a wild animal, her head swiveled from side to side.
No one dared to move as they waited. Finally, Raphael spoke up as he realized how familiar she looked. "Aren't you... that girl who was with the lamia?"
The vampire cocked her head to one side and her face relaxed slightly. "You know mother... you're that kind man."
"What happened?" Raphael asked, horrified at what she had become.
Nightmare answered bitterly, "The Archduke brought them here. He was the one responsible for this."
"No no, that's not all." The vampire clutched Talim tightly and said hysterically, "He brought us here. But she turned us. She turned us!" The other hand went to her face and she slowly left scratch marks on it as she dragged it down. "The first hour... I smell fear. The second hour... I hear screams. The third hour... I see blood. The fourth hour... I taste despair. The fifth hour... I feel full. What will the sixth hour bring?" The vampire shook and trembled. "I'm scared, I'm so scared. Mommy, where are you?"
Nightmare curled his fist in anger at seeing her pain. One that reached the last stage will die. But the process is so much more painful, the longer they dragged it on. It was mercy, to kill them. Otherwise, not only will the taint eat at their bodies, but also at their mind. With training and control, his soldiers were able to hold on to their sanity alittle longer but if they hadn't been sacrificed, he would have had to kill them himself since they were in their last stage. He looked at the frightened vampire and knew that this one was a goner. Not even Talim would be able to save her, as she had stepped too far into death's embrace.
"Look." Raphael inhaled sharply and pointed to the priestess. Her emotionless face had twitched and slowly, an expression of pure sorrow materialized. If it wasn't for the rain coming in, he was sure she must have been crying.
"How?" Ivy asked in surprise. How could the priestess possibly feel sad, while she was under her control? She carefully analyzed her. With her wind magic, it did give her some resistance over her own magic. But everything was fine until now.
"You don't understand," Nightmare said angrily to Ivy as he noticed her confusion. "Talim's love for other... is boundless like the wind. To hear and be beside such a pitiful creature, would break her heart. The pain has reached Talim, even if she's under your control."
Before Ivy could say something, she was interrupted. "It's loud... it hurts..." The vampire clutched at her red hair. "I hear them. The monsters... mommy, I want to go home." She looked up at the raining dark skies and said, "I miss you all. I don't want to be here anymore."
"Then die!" Alice moved two of her smallest and quickest fighters, pushing them to run past everyone and hoping that she would catch the vampire by surprise. With her other hand, she threw the rest at Nightmare and Ivy to deal with.
One of the corpse grabbed Talim while the other took on the vampire. The dead soldier jumped out and grabbed onto her, making her lose her footing as she had dug her sharp clawed feet into the sides of the tower to climb up. The vampire's lips opened in surprise before they closed into a grim smile as she fell down to her demise.
"No..." Talim's eyes widened as she watched them fall. Her green eyes shone brightly as she struggled against the dead corpse holding her and she screamed, "No!" Wrenching herself free, she punched it aside with the blunt side of her elbow blade. The air swirled around her heavily and she dropped her weapons, clutching her head. "Wind... augh, help me."
"Obey me!" shouted Ivy, holding up her sword.
Talim shook her head and screamed. One hand went to the base of her throat as she clawed at the metal shard wedged in her flesh. "Let go of me!"
Ivy's lips curled in frustration but she was distracted as ten more corpses rushed towards her. "Know your place!" She slashed and cut, dismembering all that came towards her before shouting, "Fall into the serpent's eyes and sleep." She placed her sword and re-cut her palm, wincing at the stinging pain. The jewel at the base of Valentine glowed green and reinforced its magic on the priestess.
"I'm coming Talim!" Nightmare roared and cut down all of his dead servants and soldiers in his haste to get to her.
"You're going nowhere! She's mine!" Alice shouted as she moved her hands.
Raphael bared his fangs in anger and teleported behind her. He switfly hacked and slashed the two copses she quickly swung at him before shouting, "Just die!" He thrust his rapier into her stomach and twisted the blade.
"Don't kill her! I need her alive to answer questions!" Nightmare shouted.
Everything was so loud and disorienting. It hurt to even stand. The shard in her skin hummed and she felt extremely dizzy. Talim grimaced and her shoulders shook before her vision blackened and everything went deathly quiet. She couldn't even hear the voice of the wind... Slowly, she toppled backwards and out of the window.
It was dark... the darkness pressed on her from all sides. It felt suffocating. Where was she? She couldn't move her body and this feeling... everything felt so cold and devoid of life. It was emptiness, pure and simple. She couldn't even think. Suddenly, something warm touched her. It wrapped around her like a warm blanket and protected her from the icy cold. She felt comforted from the touch. She couldn't see or hear anything but she could feel the warm and living embrace. But then she heard something, that shook her to the core.
The stars watches from above
While the wind sings around us
How lovely it sings for us
Just open your eyes and listen
Those words made her heart soar and she opened her eyes. "Raphael..." She blinked and looked up into The Azure Knight's eyes, as he dangled from the edge of the window with her in his monstrous arm while the one held on to the sharp edge of the window. During that period of darkness, Ivy had regained control of her body and she had left deep scratch marks on his chest as she clawed at him. Her breath was stuck in her throat as she met his eyes and read the wind around him. "You... Nightmare?" The icy water trailed down their skin as they hung there and she choked out, "But those words... you're Dumas? No, you're Raphael. Only he, would be able to understand my song." Her lips quivered as she finally realized the truth. "You were telling me the truth, that you're Raphael."
He averted his eyes and looked away sorrowfully. "Yes. I am... Raphael, Dumas and Nightmare." He swallowed thickly. "Since I have a piece of your soul inside me, I remember the words from the song you sung for me and I... somehow, the wind... I felt like it told me to sing to you those words."
Talim's eyes welled up with tears, that was washed away by the rain. "Why... why are you Nightmare?" She felt his demonic arm tightened slightly around her but she felt no revulsion, only an intense amount of sadness. "What has happened these past seventeen years?" Talim moaned.
"I did not tell you I was The Azure Knight. I was afraid you would... reject me." He cut his sentence short and groaned at the pain in his arm. "Talim, I can hoist you up. Hold on to me tightly."
Talim shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. "You... how could you think that!" She sobbed into the crook of his neck. "What happened to you? What has Soul Edge done to you? Why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have... I would have stayed with you, no matter what happened!"
"Talim..."
She cried and said, "You didn't leave me when I was struck down by sickness seventeen years ago. Even though I was hideous and..." Talim couldn't stop crying. "I love you, Raphael. No matter what happens, I would always be by your side. Why did you have to wait until we're dangling over a tower to tell me!"
Now she was being hysterical. He supposed if he was in her position, he might have been alittle hysterical as well. "Ma petite, I'm sorry." He winced as his arm began to tire. "Talim, I don't think I can hang on much longer. And I don't have enough strength to teleport us to safety."
Talim put a hand to the base of her throat. "I... augh. I have to stop Ivy. I don't want to hurt you or anyone else anymore." She dug her nails into the bloody skin and cried out in pain. But this was something that must be done and she had bared worse pain before. Burying her face into the crook of his neck, she stifled a scream as she wrenched out the shard while he hugged her tightly. The bloody metal shard dropped down into the ground below. Taking in deep breaths, she blinked away the rain water and looked up at him. "Raphael, I'm not leaving you. We're going to do this, together."
"Talim..." He looked up at his hand that was slowly starting to lose its grip. "I don't know how much longer... I can hold on. Talim, you have to let me hoist you up."
Clinging on to him, she whispered, "If we die, we die together. I don't have enough energy to save us either but I'm not going to leave you."
They both looked up and gasped as the lizard snarled above them. It had somehow freed itself from its chains and during the chaos, no one had noticed.
Aeon snarled and snapped its jaws ferociously. It hissed at them hatefully before stomping down on Nightmare's hand, grinding it into the broken glass.
"Please stop!" Talim pleaded. When it snarled at her and continued, she freed a hand and said, "Forgive me!" A blast of pure wind hit the lizard and knocked it squarely back.
"Hold on!" Raphael left Voldo to deal with Ivy as he ran towards the window. Dropping his Flambert, he grabbed onto Nightmare's hand and shouted, "Don't let go!" He groaned as he tried to pull the two up.
From his spot on the ground, Aeon shook its head and its reptalian eyes moved to the window. The power that had knocked him back... it was so pure... He had to devour her to regain his mind! Leaping back onto his feet, he ran towards the window once more.
Talim screamed as she saw the lizard raised its axes above Raphael's head. "Watch out!" With no choice, Raphael had to let go and roll out of the way of the dangerous weapons.
Nightmare groaned as his grip slackened before it slipped entirely and they began to fall.
"Father..." Viola dropped to the ground on her knees as she stared down at the pink ribbon. Tears trailed down her cheek as she whispered, "I remember now."
In that dark corridor of the castle, the seer turned and began running back for the tower room. "Father! I'm coming!"
If we die... we die together.
If we live... we live together.
But I will never leave you, in life or death.
Darkwings13: Thanks for reading! I hope this chapter was heart pounding and exciting. And had enough twists for you dear readers. (●^∇^●)