Chapter Sixty Nine

Hoshi heard the sound of music coming as she charged towards the battle, it filled her ears as the memories of 'Baroness' began to surface. It was all wrong. There was so much blood that covered Rowen, that she bit her lip at the thought it was her own hand that broke his heart. She gritted her teeth as she remembered his eyes. That loss of hope in them almost ripped her apart. She stumbled as she ran, the visions were coming to her faster. The warlords being taken by the Rage, and hunting her down like an animal. Raleigh being captured by them, and mutated... and the prince.

She stopped and saw a shadow on a building near by. The music so loud, but no one else could hear it, she knew that.

She summoned her ax, although she was unsure exactly how she did it. "I don't need your help."

No, no you don't little one, but I'm going to open the rift for you anyways.

"For me?"

You want to destroy Elysium don't you?

"I want to destroy the Fate system they've set up!"

That's the only way, little one.

"Why are you helping me, now?"

Because it's in my nature.

The shadow vanished and she heard the sound of Rowen's Arrow Shock Wave. It flitted past her, and she saw the armored man starring at her. His bow was drawn, but it wasn't him. The armor was such a dark blue, that it was almost black. His mask was closed, and she could see his virtue for Wisdom glowing bright red. She felt Ruby land behind her, and she gulped. She didn't know how to fight!

No. She did. She felt the armor call to her with visions of the journey from the sea of stars, and the ax felt right in her hand.

Ruby chuckled from the dragon shaped armor, "well, now, I thought I left you for dead."

"I don't die so easily," she said softly, but her gaze remained on Rowen. She couldn't figure out if it was Ruby controlling the armor, or was he just that angry that the armor fed off of her energy, but who had the other armors? It wasn't Talpa. She had to know.

Ruby smiled at the woman, there was something different about her, "Strata, we can finish our fight if we get rid of the one person who destroyed both of hearts."

He was silent as he raised his bow.

Hoshi dropped the ax and stood with her hands at her sides. This was an old body, create by the Old Ones for illusions but any tricks would only get her killed. She was gonna go with Cye's virtue, Truth. She figured if she ended up dead for honesty, there were far worse ways to go. She concentrated on the abilities she knew the body had before the armor had been given to her, she didn't need the armor to win. It was never meant to be hers to begin with.

The helmet slowly vanished, and she saw Rowen step back with a gulp. His armor flickered back to normal and she saw him cringe. She had changed the form that her body had taken. She hoped she looked like how she used to look before Bastet had taken her body. She raised a hand to her face, and felt the illusion of soft scars. Tears were in her eyes. Why was she crying?

Because she was sad.

All along she had known this.

She was sad she had she had to hurt him.

Sad she had to leave him.

Sad she couldn't tell him.

Tell him what?

No.

This was all wrong.

She was sad because this was all wrong. None of them were supposed to suffer this way.

He leveled the arrow at her, "you're just an illusion created by Baroness."

"No," she said softly as she felt Ruby creeping along at her.

She began to walk towards him, and she could see the red virtue flickering as she walked closer. His hands were shaking and his armor flashed again. She felt the armor, Strata was still there. She remembered how she asked it to lead Rowen to her. It hadn't forgotten. It didn't have the armors, it was just enveloped in Ruby's Rage. It used it as a way to lead him back. Clever, clever armor.

"Arrow Shock Wave!"

Hoshi felt the attack graze her cheek, but she saw the attack hit Ruby square on and the dragon fell away.

"Hoshi?"

She turned to the man as the light cleared, a she felt a hand touch her cheek an heard his bow clatter to the ground. His lips touched her, she kissed him back. This was the only right thing. She felt her virtue light up, and she began to cry.

"No don't cry," Rowen said pulling away, he ran a hand under her eyes. "You're not an illusion are you?"

"No," she replied as the virtue began to burn. The armor began to flicker. No she had to keep the armor. "I'm so sorry, Rowen, that I put you through that..."

"You're..."

She hugged him as best she could with the armor they both were wearing. She leaned her head against his breast plate, "it's not over yet..."

"Hoshi..."

She pulled back, "go to Ryo, he needs you for the armor of inferno."

"I just got you back though," he said grabbing her hand.

"We'll be just fine, Ro," she lied, she didn't know if it was true or not. "I've got to help Ruby."

He nodded and then pulled her into a kiss, "don't you dare leave me..."

"I won't," she answered as she let the illusion slip back to being Baroness. "But, I may not be the same woman."

"Yes, you are," he said as picked up his bow and began to run off.

She heard a frustrating roar behind her as Ruby climbed back up. Hoshi knelt own and picked up the ax, the armor faded and reappeared. She knew she couldn't hold it for long. Kronos had only given her a temporary armor.

Ruby grinned and the armor shifted from a dragon form to an identical armor to the opal. Its dragon head with a snarling face instead of gentled one like the other had. She drew a dark sword and said, "you will pay for illusions, Trickster."

"Ruby..."

"Don't even try it," she growled as she leveled the sword at the woman. "You're armor isn't so infallible isn't. Still haven't fed have you?"

Hoshi lugged the ax to her shoulder, it was feeling heavier in her hand. She felt the armor flicker and she gulped as the woman charged at her. She deflected the blow with the flat side of the blade, which she used as a momentum to knock it away. The armor flickered and disappeared almost instantly. Ruby grinned and knocked her on her back easily as her armored reappeared.

Ruby straddled her quickly, pinning her arms with her armored knees, "that first feed was quite enjoyable, care for another?"

Hoshi struggled under her weight as her armor flickered in and out, she managed to keep the illusion up, "Ruby, don't do this!"

The dragon's face split in half and she could see Ruby's face appear. It looked so much older, is this what her little Ruby really looked like. A memory of her touching her body appeared, and she gulped. No. She wouldn't blame Ruby for that. She bled the fake persona off of her.

Ruby leaned close, and gently kissed her lips, "you'll at least fulfill the dream that you took away from me."

Hoshi looked into her burning red eyes, she had an idea that she hoped would work, "then make your last kiss good."

"So demanding," she chuckled as she slid hands under her head. She felt her hair between her fingers was soft and silky, and she looked into deep blue eyes. "You even changed your eye color correctly."

Hoshi smiled as she leaned closer to her, "eat me up, big bad dragon."

Ruby pressed her lips against hers hard, but she felt something burning within her. A deep passion for the girl who looked like her Hoshi. She pressed her lips against her tighter, she was so hungry for her. She loved Hoshi so much, and she wondered if the girl had actually felt this way. She let her armor disappear, and felt the soft scars under her fingers and the soft satiny hair. She explored her mouth with her tongue, the sharp teeth tinkled her tongue as she ate at her lips. They were soft and kissed back at her fervently. As she kissed her, she felt her passion rise. Her passion for the woman who looked at Hoshi, she wanted to strip her bare and forget the whole world. She let her knees up, so she could press her body against her. She felt her anger bleeding away as she felt ran her hands along the armor that would flicker in and out of existence. Her hands felt a soft breast between the flashes. She felt the armor return, and she panted.. She felt so exhausted.

Hoshi reached up to the woman, and cupped her face in her hand as the woman collapsed on top of her. She sat up holding her, the virtue for passion lit up in her forehead, "Ruby...believe me, it's me."

"I want to..."

"...ugh! You stubborn old thing," Hoshi growled. "I gave you those A's just to piss you off."

Ruby looked at her and gulped as she starred at her. The armor that she wore look so solid, "did you just feed on my anger?"

"I did," she answered as her blue eyes turned red gold. "I fed on your Rage."

Ruby blushed and wrapped her in a hug. Tears streaming down her face as she cried, "I'm so sorry, I thought I lost you forever... I mean... I know you love Rowen...but I hoped I could love you..."

Hoshi kissed her eyes softly, "my heart does belong to him, but I don't want you to hurt for me in any way."

"Hoshi, I love you."

Hoshi held her close, "I'm sorry that I never saw your feelings."

Ruby shook her head in her arms, "I'm sorry..."

Hoshi pulled back and lifted up her face, "help me make this right. You know how to the use the dual armors, I know you do."

Ruby nodded, "what are we going to do!"

Hoshi looked up at the dark void appearing in the sky, "we're going to Elysium."