The closure to this battle of epicness... :)
Enjoy and Please Review!
Joseph and Zakkari had weakened the man considerably, but found that they were beginning to wear down. Joseph was staggering, dizzied as he did a flip backwards to avoid a slash at his stomach. He tripped and fell on his ass, barely able to pick up his sword.
The man leaped, aiming to stab Joseph in the chest. Joseph changed the way he held his sword, able to knock the edge of the blade to the side, last minute. The six-foot blade stabbed him in the shoulder and his arm fell to the ground, disabled. He groaned out in pain.
The man landed on him, standing on Joseph's chest, sneering down at him. He jerked the sword out of Joseph's chest and held it above Joseph's neck, dangling it there for a few seconds. The man's eyes widened and he groaned, reaching around him to pull an arrow out of his armguard. Zakkari smirked.
The man went to stab Joseph in the neck before turning on Zakkari, but was kicked aside by Nayeli, whose boot connected with the side of his face, throwing him off of Joseph. She held out a hand for Joseph to take, helping him to stand. Severus formed a sign and cast a simple healing spell on the cut. Joseph smiled at the two, nodding to them in thanks.
They took off, teaming up on the man, stabbing and slicing with their swords. He was still able to keep up with them, as they were still new to the practice. He grinned and toyed with them, teasing them. He'd enjoy taking them from Sheeva as well.
Joseph bent down to pick up his blade with his right hand, but frowned as he realized that he still couldn't use it. Instead, he picked it up with his left, leaning it against his leg while he shrugged his arm out of the sleeve of his robes, creating a make-shift sling for his disabled arm. Joseph picked up his blade and rested it on his shoulder.
He slumped to the ground again, breathing heavily and struggling to maintain the weight of his blade on his shoulder. Zakkari noticed, and pointed at the door.
"Go, Joseph. We're the last two. I don't want anyone else dying. Go get yourself some help. One of those potions that Sheeva used, they should have more." He ordered. Joseph scowled at him and shook his head, pushing past him and attempting to aid Severus and Nayeli. Zakkari stopped him, grabbing the back of his cowl and pulling him.
"Don't be stupid, Joseph. You promised Sheeva that you'd retreat if you needed to. Respect her memory, and do as I say. You're almost done for, which makes me your captain now." He ordered again. Joseph growled and shrugged Zakkari off, heading again for the fight. Zakkari sighed, charged some energy to his palm and hit Joseph in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.
"Sorry, friend, but I had to." He apologized, snapping his fingers and teleporting Joseph's limp body into the castle. Zakkari then turned back to the fight, grabbing another arrow and putting it on the line. He turned his head to check how many he had left. Unfortunately, only three.
He'd have to make every one of them count.
Nayeli blocked an attack aimed for her head, and the force of it pushed her back. Severus dove, landing on the man's back as he charged for Nayeli, crushing him into the ground. Severus tried to stab the man in the back of the neck as they impacted, but he lost his footing and stabbed the man in his wing instead. The man howled, as it'd gone through the arch of his wing, snapping it.
Severus rolled and skidded to a halt. He snapped his head back up as the man recovered quickly and rushed at him, outraged now. Severus jumped into the air, and the man rebounded off of the pillar, chasing after Severus.
Zakkari aimed an arrow and fired it, hoping to hit the man in the chest. It missed, hitting the man's arm.
The man stopped, examining his surroundings. He was caught in the middle of the three, Nayeli to his left, Severus to his right, and Zakkari in front of him. He smirked, and brought his hands together, forming a multitude of seals. His hands were devilishly fast; they almost couldn't discern what they were.
Severus, that spell that we found in Mom's book. Should we try it? Nayeli asked, readying herself. Severus nodded slightly and readied himself too. Together, they formed the seals as quickly as they could. Severus fumbled on the last, spells being his weak points. Nayeli completed the string, and her hands glowed with a white, ethereal light.
Zakkari saw what the twins were doing, and, thinking that she was only going to pummel the man to a pulp, stomped the cobblestone, sending a snakelike wave of energy to wrap around the man's foot, grounding him for a few seconds. The snake traveled up the man's body and strangled him. Zakkari held fast, trying to ignore the burning in his arms.
"Fire it, Nayeli!" Severus called out. Nayeli shot the spheres at the man, and they collided, sinking into the man's body and traveling straight to his head. Nayeli closed her eyes, and felt a strange pulling sensation. She waited for a few minutes, and felt another warm glow spread throughout her body. She opened her eyes, and gasped, smirking.
"I did it!" She barked. Severus stared back at her in amazement, proud of his sister. Zakkari stared back at her in fear.
"What have you done? That's dangerous, don't you know that?" He barked at her. She didn't understand him, but the way that his voice sounded screamed at her: Trouble.
A darkness rose from deep within, intimidating Nayeli greatly. She glanced at her body; it was on the ground, slumped over, her sword held loosely in her hand.
So, you are toying with astral projection, little girl? Impressive, but foolish. His voice taunted her. She looked around, wondering where the voice had come from, and then realized that it was coming from within. She smirked, and grabbed his sword, holding it outstretched for a minute, examining the blade. She turned it around, and went to stab the man's body, but found that she was being stopped.
Zakkari had immobilized her.
"Do you know nothing of astral projection? You kill him, you die too! He dies, you die too!" He tried to explain. Nayeli only stared at him, confused. She couldn't understand what he was saying. Zakkari growled, and held the spell with one hand while pointing at the man's body that she was occupying, using his thumb to motion his neck being sliced open. He then pointed at her body, and signed the same thing.
Her mouth dropped open. She hadn't realized. They couldn't have known.
"Shit." She cursed.
The dark voice laughed at her again.
Such a foolish little girl. I shall enjoy making you watch as I kill your family. You cannot stop me. The voice cackled. She felt herself being pushed aside and pushed down, cramped in the confines of the man's body. She tried to fight back, but he was too strong for her. She trembled in the darkness, echoes of the surroundings ringing in her ears.
She felt herself being jerked around, and could only guess that the man had moved to attack Zakkari or Severus. She panicked, trying again to retake control so that she could cast the spell again and migrate to her own body.
Nayeli, get out of there! She heard Severus's voice call, followed by his bloodcurdling scream. She snapped open her eyes, shoving the man out of the way. He fought back, rushing to Nayeli's body and kicking it across the yard. She was shoved back again, this time somewhere to his arm.
She froze, and let out a whimper as she saw a picture of Severus' mangled body in her mind's eye, and cowered, her confidence gone. Her brother, now dead. Soon after, a picture of Zakkari followed, holding his severed head in his hands.
She felt herself being jerked around again, and thought she heard the doors to Hogwarts open. She tried again to stop the man, shoving him out of control.
On the outside, Severus watched at the man fought with Nayeli's spirit, staggering around like a drunk. The man tripped on his feet and fell over. He stood back up and shook his head, picking up his sword again and rushing for Severus.
"Nayeli, get out of there!" Severus barked as he parried an attack. The man leapt at him, but Zakkari fired an arrow, embedding it in the man's chest. The man cried out and ripped the arrow out of the side of his chest, continuing to rush for Severus. He grabbed Severus by the neck and threw him into a nearby pillar, knocking him out.
Severus fell to the ground, out. Zakkari grimaced, and readied his third arrow, aiming between the man's eyes, intent on killing his target, regardless of whether Nayeli's spirit was still in control. War was war, and there would be casualties. He fired it, and the man caught it in midair, snapping it with a tightening of his fist.
Zakkari's face fell, and he leapt into the air, diving at the man and firing the last arrow he had at close range. It embedded itself in the man's stomach, and he grunted, grabbed it, and ripped it out without hesitance. He laughed, eyes dark with excitement and malice.
Zakkari saw the man's eyes glance towards the door, and rushed to guard it, forming some signs and bracing himself. As the man neared him, he grabbed onto him, biting into his neck. A giant stone claw rose up out of the ground and clasped around the both of them, squeezing the life out of the both of them.
"Not gonna do this, you bastard! This is for Artix, Kalas, and Sheeva!" Zakkari hissed. The claw gripped tighter. The man focused, and sent a bit of energy to his sword that had fallen out of his hand when the claw snatched him. It levitated, and he drove it straight through Zakkari's heart and through the man's torso just above his stomach.
Zakkari's eyes widened, and he felt his power start to drain. He spit up blood as the sword pulled itself out. The claw, no longer having the power-feed from its controller, released the two of them. Zakkari fell to his knees and then to his side, fighting to keep his eyes open. His body would no longer listen, and he felt a few tears fall, shamefully admitting his failure.
"Sorry… Captain…" He muttered, his eyes closing slightly. They snapped open as the man stabbed Zakkari in the temple. Blood cascaded out of the wound, and pooled out onto the floor.
The man jerked his blade out, and sneered, wiping it off on Zakkari's robes.
"Pathetic healer…" The man muttered, continuing on his way into the school. He pushed at the doors, and when they didn't budge, he smirked. They couldn't keep him out.
He shot a fireball at the door, shattering the aged wood into splinters. He paused, staring at the many mixed faces staring back at him. Some of confusion, some of fear, others of anger. He began to chuckle. So many innocents. He brandished his blade, eyes glimmering with bloodlust.
Draco and Blaise were standing in front, trembling slightly, wands pointed at him. Jeffrey and Kathryn were nowhere to be found, Draco and Blaise having ordered them to run and hide.
"Stay the fuck away, you bloody bastard!" Draco bellowed, raising his arm and casting a killing curse at the man. This would draw the attention of the ministry, but he couldn't care less. This bastard was destroying their family, and about to destroy everyone else, as well.
The man knocked it aside with a flick of his sword, amused. He spread his arms, egging Draco to attack even more.
"Your wife is dead. Your son is dead. Your daughter is trapped within due to her own folly attempts at stopping me." The man said in English. Draco and Blaise's eyes widened, and they froze, stunned. The man took a step forward, and they shrunk back, their courage shattered.
Nayeli looked up from her space upon hearing her father's voice, and felt a new spark of hope arise. She jumped up from her crouching, and knocked the man's spirit aside, regaining control. She quickly raised the man's sword and turned it, impaling herself with it, crying out in pain. The man cried out too, and fought back.
He grabbed the handle and tried to pull it out, his muscles stuck as she prevented him from doing so. She raised her knee and pushed him aside, jerking the sword further through. She twisted it, and her strength gave out.
The man shoved her aside, and in doing so, he threw himself to the ground. Breathing jaggedly and shaking, he pushed himself up onto his knees, staring up at the two men that stood in his way. His eyesight was blurred, and his head spun, dizzy from the blood-loss.
He tried to raise his arms to remove the blade, but they wouldn't listen. He growled, and stared at them, his face turning into a wicked, eerie grin. Blaise stepped in, pointed his wand at the man, and muttered: Avada Kedavra. A green light shot out of the wand, and hit him in the chest.
Draco looked up, and after checking to make sure that the bastard was really dead, he rushed out to follow Blaise as they ran out to check on the scene. Blaise stopped, and Draco bumped into him, and then looked around him, horrified at what he saw.
It was the battle of Hogwarts all over again. Draco rushed to Severus' body shaking him, terrified. The man couldn't have been telling the truth. He couldn't have.
Blaise rushed over to Nayeli's body, shaking her, hoping that she would wake. He cast a vitals charm, and read the writing that appeared above her head. It signaled that she was merely asleep. He sighed, relieved, and scooped her up into his embrace, rocking her and holding her tightly.
Draco called out to Severus, clearing away a trail of blood trickling down from his head with a flick of his wand. He reached into his pocket, fishing around for the replenishing potions he'd brought with him from their office, unstopped it, and held it to Severus' lips, tilting it back. It dribbled into Severus' mouth, the viscosity of the potion being as thick as cream of wheat.
"Severus, please, wake up, please." Draco begged, tears filling his eyes as he shook him again. Severus coughed, a little bit of the potion tickling the back of his throat. He made a face as he tasted the awful stuff, and slowly opened his eyes, looking around.
"What… What happened?" He asked, confused and out of phase.
Draco smiled and chuckled, pulling Severus into a hug, burying his face in his son's shoulder and crying into it.
"I'm so happy you're ok! I was beginning to fear…" He stopped and trailed off. Severus weakly held his father back, and then coughed again, needing air.
"Dad, you're smothering me." He muttered. Draco apologized and backed off, helping Severus to stand. Severus staggered and almost collapsed, but Draco stood his ground. Severus looked up to see Blaise, carrying Nayeli. Severus' face twisted to one of fear.
"What happened to the man? Is he alive? Is he dead? She used a projection spell. And that guy, he— Severus stopped as he looked around and spotted Zakkari, lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood on the steps to the front door. The front door had been smashed open.
"She's asleep." Blaise explained, looking in the direction where Severus' face was. He gulped too, trying to keep the contents of his stomach down.
Severus snapped his head back to look for his mother, and he broke away from Draco, stumbling over to her weakly. He collapsed to his knees, crying aloud, mourning the loss. He grasped her cloak, leaning over her and weeping into her chest, his body being racked with heavy sobs and sniffles.
"I tried to tell them. They don't believe me." Blaise muttered to Draco. Draco crossed his arms, hugging himself.
"What if—
-no, Draco. Don't even… finish that sentence." Blaise hissed, his gut tightening in fear as well. They hadn't seen her die, and now that she'd been back to Kadessa, they wondered if the previous spell keeping her immortal was still in effect.
Blaise shifted Nayeli around. Being almost 40, this wasn't as easy as it'd used to be.
"You should take her to the hospital wing. I'll take care of Severus." Draco dismissed him, walking towards their bawling son.
Blaise nodded and walked back inside. He paused to look at the corpse of the man, and scowled. He turned away and continued walking.
Draco knelt down beside Severus and then shifted to sit down, pulling Severus beside him and setting a comforting arm around his shoulders. Honestly, Draco was surprised that Severus even had the energy to cry at this moment. Draco pushed a lock of hair out of Sheeva's face, trailing his finger along her cheek.
"You know, Sev, the man that you were named after… he cried over your mother too. It was the only time Blaise or I had ever seen him cry. She was so close to death, it… we were so worried. Even though we knew she couldn't die." He muttered. Severus paused, and sniffled, looking up at Draco.
"What do you mean, she can't die?" He asked, confused. Draco smiled. He must not have remembered.
"She told you, the night that she told you what you and Nayeli were. She is immortal. Her gods granted her that gift, so that she could protect humanity." He explained. Severus looked back at her, and then noticed, the gash created from Okami-Shinigami was healed itself slowly, hissing as the wound sealed.
Severus was amazed, watching the wound heal itself.
He gasped at a sudden thought.
"What about us?" He asked. Draco looked at him, pain in his eyes.
"I can only guess that we will die, as we all must, someday. You too, Severus. You and Nayeli." He mused, staring down at Sheeva. He reached out and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze. He was relieved when he found that it was still warm. He rubbed the back of it with his thumb.
"Do you think that you can walk? I'll need to carry her to the hospital wing." He asked, standing. Severus stood with Draco's help, and limped to the front door. Gary Nothstine was there to help him. The four of them walked to the fourth floor, having to pause every few minutes so that Severus could gain a little more strength.
Severus glanced at the occupant in one of the beds; Joseph was sound asleep, his head bandaged and a gauze pad wrapped around his shoulder. Blaise was helping the nurse take care of Nayeli, until he stepped out and drew the curtain to give them some privacy.
Blaise smiled in relief as he saw Sheeva in Draco's arms, and together, they set her in the bed next to Nayeli's, tucking her in and placing a loving kiss on her forehead. Severus watched them, smiling to himself. Almost twenty years, and they still loved each other greatly.
"Jeffrey, wait!" They heard Kathryn's voice from down the hall.
"No! I want to see my mommy!" He barked back at her, rushing down the hall as fast as his little legs could carry him. As they heard his footsteps echoing through the hall, Draco and Blaise drew the curtains quickly, just in time for Jeffrey to come barreling through the door.
Draco and Blaise held their fingers to their lips, trying to tell Jeffrey to be quiet. Severus ignored them and hurried down the corridor, throwing open the door. He had barely stepped out of it before Kathryn bumped into him. She helped him to stay standing, and then threw her arms around him as she recognized him. He hugged her back, kissing her, hard and passionately.
They broke apart, and he barely caught his breath before he kissed her again just as passionately as before.
She was propped up on the balls of her feet, and he buried his face in her neck, panting and placing soft kisses on it, stroking her curly brown hair.
"I fucking love you, Kathryn, you amazing beautiful woman." He growled, holding her tightly against him, as though she would vanish in the next second. She hugged him back, smiling.
"I love you too, Severus. You were so brave." She whispered, her mind in a jumble. She was just happy to see him, glad that he was alive. She gasped, and looked to the hospital wing.
"Nayeli?" She asked. Severus nodded.
"She's alright, she's in there, resting." He explained. She grinned, and took his hand, rushing back into the wing, relieved to see her friends. She frowned as she noticed that there were only three occupants of the four that had been left.
"He's the only one that made it?" She asked, nodding her head in Joseph's direction. Slowly and sadly, Severus and Draco nodded.
The nurse pulled back the curtain, having finished dressing Nayeli into a change of hospital clothes. She looked back at them, hesitantly.
Their stomachs twisted, and they swallowed, hard. The healer's face was stern, and it scared them.
"What?" Blaise blurted, irritated with the suspense.
"Nayeli is not asleep, Blaise Zabini. She is in a coma."
Ah, yes. More drama now, and more to come!