Darkness Falls Chapter 39
By Gemini83
It gets cold on nights like these, when emotions are buried in he heat of
battle. For some, the only warmth comes from killing rages, and afterwards
one picks up the pieces, if any are left. For others, the only solace taken
is in opposing those who enjoy the killing, to protect what they can. To
those who glory in the slaughter for its own sake, all is right in the world,
and Heaven those who oppose them.
Tonight is no different. There are already too many who are ready to spill
blood and revel in death. Case in point...the Dark Horsemen of the Apocalypse,
or what’s left of them...
The cards have been dealt, the battle of fates has already
begun...
Veletta sensed an opportunity. Her opponent was weakened. The fool...now
it was time, once and for all, to put an end to this Cetra bitch.
So consumed in her revenge, was Veletta, that she didn’t even see the
ice dragon as it crashed into her. The first indication she got that something
was wrong was when she felt the hard, unyielding wall slam into her
shoulder.
She slowly got up, snarling in anger. The ice dragon attacked again, and
Veletta screamed in rage as she engulfed the creature in another fire spell.
The Mistress of Evil looked away from the beast, letting it suffer in its
death throes, and turned her attention to the fallen Aeris.
A cruel smile crept into her features, and she raised her staff to summon
another spell.
“And now,” laughed Veletta, “it is time to die.”
Aeris opened her eyes, eyes still glowing fierce green,
“exactly.”
Veletta stared shocked for a moment, before a force slammed into her from
behind. She brought her staff around for protection, and stared, horrified,
into the attack...
...Into the eyes of the ice dragon, still alive...
Veletta screamed as she was swallowed whole by the waves of energy, devoured
by the maw of the ice creature. The dragon expired, screaming its pain, as
it attacked its enemy. Then all was silent...
Veletta was trapped, silently screaming in a layer of ice, never to harm
another innocent soul ever again, endlessly and silently screaming for all
eternity...
Slowly, the ice disintegrated, vaporized into the air, taking with it the
frozen body of Veletta. Energy flashed this way and that, surging through
the air, then disappeared into a great hole in the wall. Nothing was left
to show Veletta had ever existed.
Aeris nodded, her task finished, then collapsed to the floor. She hoped her
friends would be alright.
‘I love you Kaede,’ was her last thought before the darkness took
her.
And the killing continued, making brothers into blood enemies, spreading
pain and torment in its wake...
Methos glared contemptuously at Kaede. Sword drawn, the Horseman prepared
to attack.
Then a strange energy filled the room, encircling Methos.
His eyes widened, “No...what have you done?”
Kaede stared back, already aware of what was happening.
A blood red haze engulfed Methos’ eyes, “you...they’ve...killed
her! Veletta is dead!”
Lighting surged throughout the room, flowing into Methos’ struggling
body. He screamed in pain as the energy poured into him like a sieve.
When it was over, Methos screamed in rage. He howled his pain, voice echoing
through the torch lit halls.
When he lowered his eyes, Kaede had to fight not to look away. Methos’
blood drenched eyes crackled, like lighting striking against crimson
skies.
When he spoke, his voice was evil, filled with the screams of suffering souls,
“she’s dead. But now her power is mine. I have all the strength
I need...to kill you.”
Kaede rose to his full height, and glared back, “should I be
impressed?”
Without a sound, the two rushed forth into battle. There was no time for
thought, no time for doubt, just the cold surety of blade against blade.
Kaede and Methos leapt at each other, clashing swords in mid-air. They landed
on their feet, their swords a dizzying blur, moving so fast as to be
invisible.
Kaede tried desperately to break through his enemy’s immaculate defense,
only to find it flawless. As for himself, Kaede had been dealt blows which
would have killed lesser men, and still he continued to fight. But the
Planeswalker was weary from constant battle, while his brother was relatively
fresh.
Methos struck his sword upwards, grazing Kaede’s chest. The Planeswalker
grabbed the hand and twisted it. Using all his might, Kaede thrust his sword
forward, spearing below Methos’ ribs.
The Drahk lord looked stunned for a moment. Then his eyes cleared, and he
sneered down at Kaede.
“Nice try,” said the Horseman.
He grabbed Kaede by the collar, head-butted him once, and threw him flailing
against the opposite wall.
The Planeswalker gritted his teeth as the attack shook his very bones. He
rolled away, forcing his body to keep moving. He knew that if he stopped,
he might never get up again. So he forced himself to ignore his protesting
muscles, struggling past the pain.
Kaede brought his foot up, striking at Methos’ head. He followed with
a cross slash, aimed to decapitate. The Drahk lord dodged both attacks and
flipped backward, smashing his feet into Kaede’s chin.
The Planeswalker doggedly forced his eyes to clear, and backed away
slowly.
“Give up brother,” said Methos, “join us.”
Kaede shook his head, “you tried that once before. It didn’t work
then, and it certainly won’t work now.”
“Don’t be foolish Kaede,” snapped Methos, “you cannot
defeat the emperor. Join us, and we can rule, as brothers.”
Kaede’s eyes softened, as a long neglected part of him was
touched.
“You would have me?” asked the Planeswalker.
Methos nodded, “I hate what you’ve done to us Kaede, but even I
can respect a warrior. And...you should never have left Kaede.”
The Planeswalker sighed, “I’m sorry Methos. I hated you once, but
now...I don’t know. A part of me will always be your brother, but we
separated a long time ago. Step down, or I will be forced to end this
fight.”
The Drahk’s face twitched in anger, “that’s your problem Kaede.
You always have to be so high and mighty. You never had time for what was
really important. You would rather die, protecting this rabble, than to rule
alongside us?”
“What you do is not ruling,” explained Kaede, “it is terrorizing.
The brother I once knew would have understood that.”
“He’s dead Kaede,” said Methos darkly.
“He died a long time ago,” sadly acknowledged the
Planeswalker.
“As you should have,” replied the Chaos Lord, “allow me...to
rectify...the mistake!”
The Horseman charged Kaede, frothing with rage. But Kaede was prepared, and
met him blow for blow. Methos swung his sword over his head, bringing it
down to bear on Kaede. The Planeswalker blocked the attack, then spun on
his feet, swiping at Methos’ throat.
Methos flinched back, and the blade grazed his cheek. Kaede stepped back,
holding up his blood tipped sword.
The Drahk felt his face, and saw the blood that came away on his hand. He
stared back at his brother in blood crazed furor.
“Insolence! You dare!” shouted Methos, “I will destroy
you!”
Cloud looked on with fury as Sephiroth continued to grin at him.
Barret cursed under his breath, “dammit, not this freak
again.”
“Step back Cloud,” said Reeve, “we’ll take care of
him.”
One by one, the Guardians of the Planet drew their weapons.
Cloud held up his hand to stop them, “no, you stay out of
this.”
Elena looked at him askance, “what are you saying?”
Vincent shook his head, “Cloud...you can’t ask us to stand
aside.”
“You don’t understand,” replied Cloud, “this is my fight.
I have to do this, I owe Sephiroth.”
“And if you lose?” asked Rude.
Cloud smiled grimly, “you can take him out and pick up the pieces
afterwards.”
The others wanted to protest, but they could see something in his eyes, something
cold and determined. They could see that he needed this.
Reno shrugged, “fair enough, I can understand.”
“I don’t,” said Barret, “this is our fight too
Cloud.”
The blonde swordsman smiled sadly, and cast a spell.
A shell of energy surrounded his friends, they were trapped, within a sphere
of raw power.
“What the hell?” demanded Cid, “Cloud what is
this?”
“I’m sorry guys,” answered Cloud, “I can’t let you
fight him...”
“Cloud,” grunted Barret, “Tifa’ll never forgive you for
this...”
His friends slammed their hands against the field, to find it secure and
unyielding. They looked into Cloud’s eyes, a mixture of emotions in
each of their eyes.
The leader of Avalanche nodded sadly, “there are so little choices
anymore...I’m sorry Barret. Tell Tifa...tell her that I’ll always
love her, and I always have...”
“How maudlin,” Sephiroth laughed, “come failure, let us see
what you can do against a god!”
Cloud silently turned around, raising his sword, “you are no god Sephiroth,
you are a monster.”
The Horseman shrugged, “god or demon, you will still bow to
me.”
“It ends here Sephiroth. You have tormented us enough.”
He laughed again, “still carrying the torch for your friends? Rest assured
Cloud, after I kill you, I’ll make sure to destroy them, starting with
your lovely wife. Or perhaps I’ll torture her first...so many
choices...”
Cloud yelled out in rage, rushing forth and bringing his sword to bear on
Sephiroth. The Horseman easily dodged. Cloud continued to attack, disregarding
his straining muscles, screaming at him to stop. Cloud swept his sword wide,
Sephiroth blocked and countered, thrusting his Masamune at Cloud’s chest.
Cloud simply jumped over the attack, flipping over Sephiroth’s head.
He landed and turned, aiming for the menace’s exposed back. Sephiroth
weaved to the side, then swung his sword upward. Cloud barely jumped back
in time, before the Masamune tasted his blood once more.
Cloud staggered backward, gripping at his chest, as blood dripped down his
armor. Sephiroth smugly raised his sword. Cloud rushed forth again, swinging
like a madman. The Horseman was thrown back at the sheer ferocity of the
attack. Cloud screamed in rage as he attacked his opponent. Sephiroth waited
until Cloud made a mistake, then cut his sword across the blonde
swordsman’s side. The leader of Avalanche ignored the burning sensation,
continuing to chop away at Sephiroth as a woodsman would do to a tree. Cloud
ran his sword deep into his enemy’s defense, aiming for the gut. However,
the Horseman’s hand came up a second too fast, swatting away the attack.
Cloud’s Ultimate Weapon still managed to skewer the silver haired menace
through the chest.
The Horseman gasped in rage, then brought his blade down on Cloud. His blade
trapped as it was in Sephiroth’s side, Cloud could only move to the
side, and the Masamune sheared through Cloud’s armor, scoring a deep
cut into his arm.
Cloud let out a harsh cry of pain, and stepped back, pulling his sword out
as he staggered away. Sephiroth let him go, gripping at his own
wound.
He sneered at Cloud, “I got your sword arm.”
Cloud forced himself to breathe normally again, forcing the red from his
eyes. He had been going about this in the wrong way. Cloud had to be calm
if he was to beat his foe. He had to remember what he had learned in the
past months of training. He shrugged past the pain, calming his mind, and
switched the sword to his other hand.
Sephiroth shook his head, “you never did know when to
quit.”
Kaede and Methos’ blades were invisible as they cut and slashed at each
other. Minor cuts were forgotten in pursuit of the kill. Soon, pools of blood
littered the floor. The two brothers fought on, fueled by the rage and pain
of so many years, and no longer cared if they lived. All that mattered was
the kill.
Kaede raced back and forth, striking at his brother to no avail. The two
rushed at each other, pushing themselves to be faster, stronger. The two
figures were now nothing more than shadows, stamping back and forth as they
fought, come and gone in the blink of an eye. Sparks flew as their blades
clashed.
Kaede brought his sword down hard, swiping at Methos’ stomach. The Chaos
Lord jumped back, then lunged forward, punching Kaede in the ribs. The
Planeswalker saw stars for a moment, then brought his foot up. Methos caught
Kaede’s leg under his arm.
“Bad move,” said Kaede, before jumping up off the other
foot.
He swung his leg around, kicking Methos in the side of the head. Kaed fell
to the ground, gritting his teeth at the impact, then rolled away as Methos
slammed his sword into the ground where Kaede had once been. The Marble floor
shattered under the force of the sword.
Kaede slowly stood up, while Methos shook his head, getting rid of the dizziness
he felt. The two brothers merely stared at each other in silence. There were
no words that could be spoken anymore. All words had been exhausted between
them. Now there was only raw emotion.
Kaede raised his sword, and Methos met his blade in less than a heartbeat.
The Drahk lord cried out in rage as he attacked Kaede, using sheer anger
to drive his brother back. Kaede lashed out with his sword, but Methos blocked
with his own. The Drahk lord retaliated by bringing up his hand, expertly
jabbing Kaede just beneath the sternum, pinching his nerves. The Planeswalker
clutched his stomach tenderly, forcing back a shout of pain. He used his
other arm and punched Methos between the eyes.
Blinded by the attack, the Drahk lord thrust his sword out, and was rewarded
with a gasp of pain from Kaede. Gathering his energies, Methos hit Kaede
with a ball of energy, square in the chest. Kaede grunted past the pain,
as the burning force hit him squarely in the chest, and stood his ground.
Methos’ eyes flared in anger, and he forced more power in the attack.
Kaede yelled as he flew back, but forced himself to turn around, landing
on his feet.
Methos screamed again in rage, not letting up his attack. By sheer force
of will, Kaede managed to black the attacks. Both were tired now, the last
attack had taken much out of both of them. But Kaede was bleeding freely
now, almost constantly. Eventually, the blood got in his eyes, and Kaede
was blinded, leaving him wide open to another of Methos’ attack. Kaede
shuddered as he felt a hammering force fling him far away, and he landed
bonelessly on the ground. He could no longer feel the sword in his hands,
and forced himself to his knees.
Slowly, Kaede got to his feet, clearing the blood from his eyes. That last
attack had been powerful, for he was separated from his brother by the whole
distance of the room. Methos let out a snarl, and rushed at Kaede.
The Planeswalker wearily looked at Methos, and did nothing. He was dead tired,
and had no energy left to put up a defense. And without his sword...
Author’s Note: Thanks for reading, got more exciting (I hope) chapters on the way!
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