Stars were falling deep in the darkness
As prayers rose softly petals at dawn
And as I listened, your voice seemed so clear
So calmly you were calling your God
Lyrics to 'Full Circle' performed by Loreena McKennitt
Elements of Great Design Part 72
Mariemaia blinked. And she blinked again.
Everything had happened so quickly. The shift in the ground in the hills surrounding her kingdom. A gush of water from a river flowing beyond the mysterious cusp. Then the appearance of the Alliance and hundreds upon thousands of soldiers that covered the landscape.
Of course the Sorceress had no doubt that the Keepers were incredible entities, especially when in possession of their Elemental Stones.
But now seeing them practically on her doorstep, she was only able to marvel at the feat that they had accomplished in coming so deep into the heart of Abaddon's stronghold. What was more, they had successfully brought an army along with them.
Absolutely astounding.
Pale in the face, Dekim stood beside her on the highest balcony of the palace as a frozen, rigid statue in having to take in his greatest threats.
And at Khushrenada's other side, Chaos was slowly coming out of his own state of shock to redden two shades deeper than his actual hue with a deep growl and a fierce glare boring down on his enemies. Blackened smoke was snorted through his nostrils, marking the near end of the stillness.
Following the Commander's line of sight, Mariemaia's own eyes widened with a sharp gasp. Heero Yuy. The Fighter that the Shadow Lord had been sent to kill. He was the one that the monster had singled out... the one who would now be the primary target of Abaddon's right hand in Gaia.
"I do not know what in damnation that... thing is," Chaos hissed under his breath, chest heaving with growing pants, "but he is mine!" At that declaration, his wings snapped open and he took to the skies in one great leap.
Momentarily stunned following their intense transportation, the Alliance found themselves to have landed in a perfect semi-circle and staring into the gruesome faces of the monsters greeting them.
The corner of her mouth curling up, Anna peered over her shoulder with pride gleaming in her eyes as she praised quietly, "Very nicely done, Quatre. This plan of yours was a strike of sheer genius."
Looking back to meet her gaze, the White Mage smiled from ear-to-ear in excitement. Such a compliment coming from the far more experienced Fire Keeper meant more than anything he could have been rewarded with for his strategy.
As much as he wished he could have hugged onto his sister the way that he knew they both longed to do, they had to train their focus back onto the recovering demons that released an explosive series of roars and snarls as one, right before they charged the rebel force.
In the same fraction of a second before they were about to be engaged, the banded family noticed a patch of red falling from the dark skies overhead. And it was heading right for the Fighter of their group. Breath hitching in her throat, Anna cried, "Everyone! Protect Heero!"
No sooner had the words left the thief than her bow raised to send off an arrow engulfed in flames at the descending entity. Trowa, Quatre and Wufei closed their part of the half-ring tightly around Heero as Duo pushed his lover down just in time to avoid the ball of fire that was shot back in response.
The thief had surged to the front of the lot, arms opened out at either side of her person and she absorbed the powerful impact that pushed her digging feet back a couple of yards up the hill along with her brethren who had been knocked hard to the ground. Grunting in effort, she brought her hands together to dampen the flames down to a much smaller globe between her extended fingers.
With that immediate harm passed, Chang raised her head to blink in awe at the creature that had made a deep swoop away. "Whatever that thing is, it's making a turn to come back," she warned her comrades as they rose back to their feet behind her.
But that was only one cause of concern. The army was now upon them.
Raising their weapons, the whole of the White Fang was flushed into hand-to-hand combat with the demons that had come to claim their world. Tensions that had built in the Fighters for nearly a year came out in the violence of their returned stabs, the rain of arrows that they shot and the speed at which they kept coming back at their challengers.
As soon as he had a brief opening, Trowa clasped his hands together overhead to bring on an incredible tornado that wiped out half of a field of soldiers looking to reinforce from the back lines.
Quatre sent a wall of water up that flushed out the beasts coming in from the kingdom's borders.
In the opposite direction, Anna made a wide span of slate rock bubble away from the heat broiling under its surface until a sudden gush of lava rose and fell over sidelined ghouls.
Scanning over the confusion of the brutal battle breaking out around them, the thief reached into the satchel at her left hip to produce one of the vials from inside.
"First of the series," Chang called back to Duo as he removed the blade of his scythe from the neck of the ogre that he had brought down. Quickly pulling out the Monk robe from her quiver, she draped it over the back of the black wolf rushing to her side. Winking down at him, she told him, "Try to leave me some of the fun, love."
Heero slid behind the Fire Keeper to catch her lifeless body when she threw her poisoned drink back just as Wufei's glowing body shifted and grew back into its true form. Staring ahead with narrowed eyes, the Earth Keeper growled, "No promises there, Firefly."
For the span of monsters that were not in the mix of direct engagement with the rebels, he turned barren earth soft and churning to pull the squirming troops under in thick quicksand that drank even the tallest ogre whole within seconds.
And still there seemed no end to Abaddon's recruits.
Relying on his strength in sword fighting, Trent released a loud scream as he pushed through the ache in his shoulders from the constant rise and fall of his blade.
By making sure to keep close to King Zechs and Queen Noin as their protector, he also remained close to the Keepers to watch for when they were able to move on for the castle. At the first opportunity, he would be off with them so secure his fate that Howard had predicted.
Only a few feet away, the Elder used both his magic and the long staff in his possession as his weapons. Spread throughout the White Fang, pockets of lights and explosions flashed through the dimness from the other gifted struggling to keep their army alive.
Lady Une gasped at narrowly avoiding the stab of a sharp spear by leaping back at the last moment. Glaring at the gremlin that had nearly bested her, she reeled around and cleaved its head off with her sword. "Nice one, Your Highness!" Mueller cheered after clipping a Vepal's wing off. "Just like I taught you!"
Blinking widely at the Fighter, King Treize smirked, "So you are her trainer." He ignored the sweat running down his face and ran his own blade into the chest of a Shadow Creeper and smirked over his shoulder to the nervous soldier, "If we live to see another day, I will need to have a few words with you, young man."
"Y-yes, sir," the Peacemillion replied, swallowing roughly and putting himself back into the battle. Noting how the King's distraction was about cost him in the form of a lowering axe, the young warrior gasped, "Look out!"
Treize spun to see the glint of the sharp tip descending for the soft point in the armor at his side as he was knocked away to the ground, the sound of an agonized scream ringing in his ears.
What came next happened in a blur for the Sovereigns...
A nearby witness, Alex bellowed, "Mueller!" Charging in, the blonde Fighter did not have the slightest delay in his new arm when he rammed his sword up and through the neck of the ogre that had very possibly killed his friend. His Peacemillion 'brother' collapsed to his knees with the axe still piercing his bloodied side.
"Hang on," was urged as hands carefully moved to wrap the wound without removing the weapon under the threat of more blood loss.
Catching the sight of a dragon swooping in, Treize and Lady Une helped Mueller up and into the loosely closed talons of the carrier. The time to worry over his well-being was short-lived at the renewed pulse of demons making their way into the scene.
Gifted, Fighter and civilian alike were falling all throughout the battlefield by the droves. Those within the easiest reach and had the chance of survival were scooped up by Scarlet and her kind, including her younglings who were now just big enough to hold a charge on their backs.
"Let's give them a wide berth!" Queen Iria ordered her fellow fairies, leading the fight to shield the scaly steeds from those winged monsters.
Thanks to those brave fairies, nearly every injured was safely seen away... lifted off into the distance towards the brightened corner of the skies.
In the midst of it all, Chaos was making his rounds overhead to counter every attack from the keepers with the reverse of their attacks. For every air blast he had one to reverse it. Such was the same for earth, fire and water to provide the same measure of safety for his army as the Alliance to the White Fang.
"Dear Creator," Quatre gasped in a panic over the abrupt end to the sheet ice storm be had caused. "He has control over every one of our elements."
Chuckling to himself miles above, the Commander returned his focus on the Keepers and snarled to himself, "That's right, friends. You will have a time getting past me to close Abaddon's gates." Another plume of dark smoke shot past his nostrils when he took aim at the Fighter that he longed to permanently remove from the picture.
Wufei has had eyes trained on the demon as he murmured under his breath to the Fighter beside him, "I do not know who he is, but he wants you badly, brother." Yuy was every bit as homed in on the red bull of a creature and felt a few trickles of sweat run down his spine under his armor.
One fluid motion from the Earth Keeper had placed him in the direct line of the shockwave sent by Chaos. A great, round shield of rock materializing in his hand, Chang blocked Heero with his other arm by pushing him to fall a few steps behind from the initial impact.
Though the shield absorbed the blast, the strength of the energy was enough to make it shatter to dust in its wielders hand. His onyx eyes widening in surprise, the Monk stared at the pile accumulating at his feet with a breathed, "Damn."
Duo, Trowa and Quatre looked on in their own concern while making a tighter knot around the soldier. Just as they had feared, the challenge of progressing in the struggle was amplified tenfold by their clear need to keep Yuy from harm that was being sent upon him at every chance.
For the Fighter, it was frustrating to the point of his wanting to scream in rage. What was it that made him so important that he was left to be such a mark? He needed to figure that out and soon if he was going to lift the burden that he had become on his family.
Taking out his anger on the next wave of damned souls, Heero unleashed the cry that begged release from his chest. The weight of his sword forgotten, he pierced through thick skin and bone as though they were thin as paper. Before long, his armor was coated with splatters of dark green blood.
Silently wanting nothing more than to hold his lover in light of the distress that he knew Yuy to be in, Maxwell forced himself to take on the hoard by his side with the same fervor. This was the best way for the Fighter to release his frustrations in the long run after all. And the son of Shinigami would be with him every step of the way through it.
Pulling her scythe from the hide of the Behemoth that her gift killed upon touch, Gloria's violet eyes lost their glow as she turned back to her caped siblings.
"Brothers! Sisters!" she called, cupping the side of her mouth with her free, cut hand. "Form a ring before the Alliance to help them move forward through this!" The message passed through the hundreds of her kind by their telepathic bond and so they followed her suggestion without hesitation.
Where the Keepers were having a time of holding back the dark army, the children of Death were able to utilize their specialty in claiming souls while their own were put in danger. By creating that wide opening for the elementals, their greatest hopes were able to concentrate on where they would be of the most use.
That extra couple of minutes to work brought a smirk to Wufei's face. Now provided with the opportunity to hatch the strategy he had set up in his mind, he dropped to a knee and placed a hand against the dirt beneath him.
Eyes closed, sweat formed on his brow from the effort of changing the very structure of the earth for miles leading to the castle. All the while, Chaos continued to come in and out of the scene to cast a different spell of the elements that Trowa and Quatre managed to deflect every time.
Righting himself as he panted heavily, Chang gazed on his brothers. "This worked well once before already," he yelled. "Get ready!"
Air and Water nodded firmly in understanding. Duo opened his right first to reveal the glowing orb of the soul in his care, willing it to hover down into the chest of the thief's still prone body.
Blue eyes snapping open, Anna shot to her feet to find her beloved wolf standing beside her and the air filled with coal dust around Abaddon's soldiers that had been kicked up by a particularly strong wind from Trowa.
Smirking, she opened a hand and gently blew on her fingers from which a few round sparks floated.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Only moments earlier...
Mueller groaned deeply as he was gingerly lifted onto a stretcher that was already being held up by Fighters on either end. Drenched in his blood and sweat, he no longer felt the pain in his left side from the axe that had yet to be removed.
Lying on his back, he stared blankly up at the bright sky and in the next heartbeat the ceiling of an infirmary tent. There were sounds, but nothing that he could make out with the world slowly and steadily slipping away by a black ring closing his vision off.
"Solo! I need you!" what sounded like a familiar voice broke through the soldier's slipping consciousness. Sally... or was her name Susan? Nothing felt right or seemed to stick for his drifting mind.
Hissing through his teeth when he ran to the stretcher, the Sculptor slipped beside the braided Healer to assess the damage to his friend along with her. Po gripped two fistfuls of fresh dressing and met the Gifted's eyes and said, "I will stop the bleeding while you repair his internal injuries. He is going to need every last bit he still has in him."
The blonde young man nodded firmly, "Right." Wrapping his hands around the handhold of the axe, he coursed his magic through the weapon to mend what was damaged as he carefully pulled the rounded blade out inch by inch. Once there was room for her, Sally covered the edges of the closing hole in their patient's side.
A surprised yelp escaping her when she spotted who her husband and Po were dealing with, Hilde broke into a dead run for her mass of vials at the central station of the tent.
Taking hold of the one she sought out, she removed the cork on her way back. "Come on, Mueller," she urged quietly as she tilted his head and poured the drink into his mouth as she held it open.
At the shallow gulp of her potion, the Alchemist released a deep sigh of relief, muttering, "That should multiply his blood supply in no time."
"Good work," Solo praised, letting out a rush of air as he finished pulling the axe from their fallen comrade. Wiping his forehead with the back of a hand, he appraised the thin scar left in the Fighter's side marking his handiwork. "If it took any longer in getting him here, he wouldn't have survived that wound," he frowned.
Righting herself, Sally noted, "We have more of those cases than not thanks to this arrangement. Quatre created the perfect system for us to work efficiently on these soldiers."
She could not help but glimpse over at the stretch of covered bodies that was being added to. Of course there were those beyond any kind of help depending on how grievous their ailments. But then the number of those dead would have been far greater without the combined teamwork of the Healers and Gifted.
The three caretakers jumped when Dorothy's voice shrieked nearby, "Mueller!" Tears stinging her eyes, the Oracle rushed in to half-collapse against her lover's chest. Cupping his face in her hands, she stared at him for some sort of reaction as she breathed, "Is he...?"Her voice cracked before she could finish her question.
Resting a hand on her shoulder, Hilde grinned, "He is going to be fine." No sooner had the words left her did the Fighter's eyes fly open to the elated cry of his soul mate. Giggling, the Alchemist stepped back to give the pair a moment and shrugged, "See?"
Out of confusion, Mueller blinked widely as he wrapped his own arms around the trembling girl holding him. "W-what happened?" he managed, searching the faces around. The subtle warm sensation in his left side reminded him instantly as he murmured, "Oh yea... I took a hit not long after we got into Paramecia."
Relena had caught up to her best friend and Oracle to catch the comment. Her own eyes growing along with the gifted around, she took hold of the Peacemillion's shoulders, pressing, "You were able to reach Paramecia? The whole army made it, then?"
"Yea," the Fighter smiled, lightly running a hand along the back of Dorothy's head. "You should see those Keepers in action. It is just incred-"A low rumbling from outside stopped Mueller mid-sentence.
Frowning, he looked to the door of the packed tent as that distant sound built into a roar that reached a deafening pitch followed by a shockwave of air that rocked everyone inside.
Surprised shouts from the injured and their caretakers rose as hands gripped onto anything sturdy and feet dug into the ground to keep planted. Then, just as quickly as the strange pulse of energy came, it disappeared like a rolling bout of thunder that moved on further to the south until it completely faded away.
Panic-stricken, Queen Relena lifted herself from her deep crouch. Pale in the face, her hair fell against her back once again at the loss of the abrupt gust. "What... was... that?" she whispered so softly that her friends had to read her mouth.
Much like the Sovereign, no one was willing to speak up... fearing what might have caused the blast might be lurking just beyond the tent waiting to snap.
But staying where they were was not an option for long. Those that could ran from the space. In the middle of that pack, Mueller and his rescuers came to a hard stop. It was easy to know where they needed to look... every Fighter outside was turned in the same direction... north...
The Paramecian Empire.
For the first time since the start of the war, there was light where the darkness had begun. And it was in the form of a wide shaft of fire that shot high skyward with a ring of dingy clouds wrapped around its center.
The air rushing from her lungs, Sally sighed, "Dear Creator. I... I hope that was from the Keepers and not Mariemaia."
If she wished to say anything further, there was no time for it. A sharp gasp cut through Dorothy. Grasping her chest, she wailed quietly, ""They're here." The hairs of every person within earshot stood at her horrifying message.
No one needed to ask exactly who was there with them. The answer came to them whether they wanted it or not.
Where the start of Abaddon's army had been wiped out, red eyes gleamed through the darkness to stare down the rebels that had stayed behind.
And the Keepers were nowhere near to stand in their way.
TBC...
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