By the Red Moon Part 75
Finally able to gain a bit of a break while securing area around the Sanq castle, Wufei and Nataku were able to draw their focus back to the balcony where Dekim had been standing. His onyx eyes widening, he found only the protective dome remaining. Even his green steed let out a surprised chirp at the sight.
Gripping his hand hold, the Commander's eyes narrowed as he shouted over to the other riders around, "Fall back and regroup, everyone! We need to hit that shield with everything that we have!"
Their eyes instantly turning to the abandoned balcony, Anna and the other knights all blinked in shock. Making quick work of their immediate threats, the lot swooped in behind Nataku to strike together.
Flame, blade and arrow were worked to weaken the dome. At the same time, those other balconies being protected by dark guards were also a focus as another possible means into the castle once their opponents no longer had reinforcements to stop them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Back in the forest, Quatre rushed to his wife's side the moment he saw her collapse to her knees. Panic in his widened eyes when he slid next to her, he called, "Relena?!" Arms wrapping securely around her stiff body, he urged, "What's wrong, love?" He gasped when her shimmering gaze met his.
"M-my gift is back," the seer whispered. The renewed brilliance in her eyes was all the confirmation of that Winner needed. When the spell that had blocked her ability to see the future was cast, that light had been extinguished. Now, her body trembled in the joy of having it back as well as the pain of whatever it was that greeted her vision.
Cupping her face, the empath asked softly, "What did you see?"
A small whimper escaping her, Relena could not speak of the terrible premonition. Squeezing her husband's hand, she swallowed roughly and insisted, "We need to get to the castle. Now. I can see a safe direction that is opening up at this moment."
Quatre nodded firmly and looked back to the large head of his worried steed. "You heard her, Sand Rock. Let's go." Snorting an affirmative, the beast lowered himself onto his stomach and used his tail to assist the pregnant seer into his saddle when she slowly rose onto shaky legs.
Within seconds, the lot was airborne and shooting though the small clearing in the skies amidst the heated battle.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Dorothy continued to feel her body failing her with the slice of the blade that pierced her heart, its agonizing deterioration slowed by Dekim's magic. A trickle of blood running down the corner of her mouth, she stared in wide-eyed disbelief at her master as he reached to take the scepter by its staff from her into his free hand. Swallowing, she managed brokenly, "W-why?"
A sinister smirk curling the corner of his mouth, the sorcerer repeated in a low growl, "Why?" Chuckling, he shook his head, "The answer to that came from your own words, my dear." He gestured to the trembling body of the prince and explained, "He somehow managed to use what little of his gift he held onto in the end to pass your little conversation into my mind."
Try as she might to gasp, the girl could not get her lungs to work properly. So Duo had willingly sacrificed himself with the hopes of exposing her true intention to Barton all along. Even on the cusp of death, he was bound to see that she would pay for taking Heero away from him.
...And she had walked right into his trap.
Were she able to laugh, Dorothy would have. Powerful as she was, the prince had found a way to defeat her with the use of very little magic on his part. He was a most worthy adversary, more so than she ever would have believed. And now she was going to pay with for her underestimation with her life.
Glancing from the corner of her eye to the trembling form in the chains that was only partially alive, the sorceress could not help the small smile that spread across her lips. Such a brilliant play deserved to be rewarded... especially since doing so would also pay Dekim back for killing her.
Death continued to work its way through her body, leaving a chill in its wake. Still, there was her gift to be used in one last act. Keeping her gaze on the writhing prince, her eyes flashed a brilliant white that came and went. Her own body beginning to shake, she whispered, "You truly were a remarkable young man."
"He still is," a deep voice corrected as Dekim felt the sharp end of a blade press against the back of his neck. His cobalt eyes narrowed heatedly at the back of the sorcerer, Heero demanded in a cold warning, "Let. Him. Go."
Chuckling deeply, the sorcerer kept his right hand on the scepter's staff and his left on the sword as he peered to the Commander over his shoulder. His face reddening with rage, Yuy was certainly back to himself. As the creator of the spell, only Dorothy had the ability to undo it with a single command from her gift.
Just as well as far as Barton was concerned. He still had the upper hand in the situation. To remind the dragon rider of that, he tapped the staff in his hand with a long nail. "You do realize just how quickly and easily I could destroy your precious little prince?" he sneered. "One simple thought and I can destroy his life force with no chance for you to save him."
That had the response that the old man wanted when Heero's eyes widened and tense arm went limp by a mere hair. It only took that millisecond for Dekim to shoot a wave of power that knocked the Commander back against the furthest wall.
Air rushing from his lungs at being slammed against the brick, the knight gasped as bars slapped against his spread arms and legs to pin him in place. Desperately, he fought against the restraints with growls and grunts of effort as he continued to glare at the amused sorcerer. Occasionally, his focus would shift to his dying lover.
"Very nice try to get the better of me, my little lovely," Dekim grinned humorlessly to Dorothy when he turned his head towards her again. "Now I have the Commander alert and with his wits to watch helplessly as I claim his beloved's gift. Such a waste of a final spell." Leaning close to her pale and drenched face, he twisted the sword in her chest.
With another sharp wheeze escaping her, the sorceress's eyes widened again as she felt the grip of the Keeper closing around her. Shaking his head, Barton whispered, "You have only yourself to blame for your eternity of damnation. I hope that you enjoy burning and dying a million more deaths when you reach the Underworld of lost souls."
The corner of her mouth curling up, Dorothy replied in a shaky breath, "I will see you there soon. T-that will be more than worth it." His gray eyes narrowing, Dekim released a loud cry as he let go of the spell that kept her alive and drove the sword in his hand clean through her.
Before her body hit the ground when the sword was removed with a metallic ring, it shook in the same agony that Duo's trapped soul was in. Only for Catalonia, that pain was even more excruciating in being the direct influence of the Keeper claiming her.
And moments later, the corpse went still, dead eyes staring up at the ceiling and blood pooling across the floor.
Wiping the sword with his black robes, Dekim sheathed the weapon back in into its scabbard on his hip. Slowly, his freed hand gripped the staff of the scepter and he stared into the crystal ball's radiant glow with a quick round of laughter.
Still struggling against the metallic restraints binding him, the knight felt his eyes stinging with tears when Quatre's voice filled his mind. "Heero, hold perfectly still. We only have one shot at this," the empath told him urgently. Cobalt eyes widening, Yuy did exactly what his friend had said and stopped fighting.
Just as the sorcerer began the incantation to take in Duo's gift, he stopped at the deafening roar that filled the air along with a wave of fire that shot out behind him. The flames made quick work of weakening the metal as they ran over the bindings holding the Commander in place. Pushing with all of his might, he managed to free himself and gathered up his fallen sword.
As the fire died out, the knight charged Dekim as the old man turned to face him. A loud cry breaking through him, Heero drove his blade through the center of his enemy's chest. In the fury of the blow, the scepter fell away from slackened hands.
Eyes widening, both the knight and sorcerer reached for the staff, only for it to fall inches from either of their reach. On impact, the crystal ball shattered to spill its glowing contents over the floor. "Nooo!" Heero and Dekim screamed as they both scooped up handfuls of the gift slipping through the cracks of the stone tiles.
Despite the pain in his chest left by the sword that he'd removed and the threat on his life, the old man was mad with desperation to gather as much of the gift as he could... no matter how futile it was. The Commander, however, froze when he no longer heard the rattling of chains.
Gasping, Heero's head shot up and his heart stopped in finding Duo hanging limply in his bindings, his braided head slumped forward. "Oh, Creator... no," he breathed.
Completely forgetting about Dekim, he scrambled to his feet and ran for the crane with his sword to cut away at the locks securing the prince's right side. Only slightly aware of other sounds filling the room, the knight was surprised to find an equally frantic Anna cutting away at the locks on his lover's left side with one of her daggers.
Still trying to gather up the shimmering gift as he lay on his stomach, Dekim only stopped when a new shot of agony in his chest came on with a sudden and blinding jolt that brought on a cry of pain from him. What little bit of the gift he had managed to cup in his hands was lost when he let it go at the blow.
Raising his head, he found the tip of a sword in his face. The raven-haired, red-faced knight on the other end of the long weapon ordered in a growl, "Do. Not. Move." That terrible pain in Barton's face returned to knock what air he had in his lungs out in a rush.
From the corner of the old man's eyes, he found a familiar knight standing at his side with one foot pressing the hilt of the fresh sword in his chest down. Though half of the boy's face was blocked by a thick fall of bangs, rage radiated from his revealed emerald eye as he glared down at the sorcerer.
It took a couple of attempts for Dekim to gasp and stammer, "T-Trowa." To his growing panic, another recognizable person stepped out from behind his nephew with flames dancing in her eyes. "Catherine," he whispered, a thin trickle of blood running from his mouth.
"Hello, uncle," the First Scout greeted in a hiss and put more weight onto his foot to dig the sword deeper into the old man's chest.
The fire-starter remained silent, the ire never fading from her expression as she raised a hand to send a ball of fire down on their prone uncle. She kept the fire from completely engulfing him, but made sure that it was enough to make him cry out when it reached his back and burned away the top layer of skin.
As the last to enter the room, both Quatre and Relena froze when they laid their gazes on the small, slowing puddles spread across the floor as well as Duo's state. Covering her mouth and burying her head into her husband's shoulder, the seer muttered, "We're too late to save him."
Dark eyes shimmering with frustration and disbelief, Wufei insisted to the couple, "There has to be something that we can do!" One look at the tears running down Catherine's face when she met his gaze was all of the confirmation he needed to know how grim Duo's situation was.
Quatre stepped away from his wife, chest heaving with his quiet pants of rage. Using his gift, he went into Dekim's mind and amplified the agony that he was already enduring by corrupting his mind with nightmarish scenes that had the old man weeping and screaming in terror. In addition to prolonging his torture, the empath effectively kept the sorcerer from having a clear enough thought to call upon his own gift.
While their friends remained busy with Dekim, Heero and Anna finally managed to free Duo from his chains and he slumped heavily into his lover's arms. Together, the knights carefully lowered their prince to lie on the floor while their steeds entered the large space. Loud chirps of worry breaking from their chests, Deathscythe and Wing ran into the room for their riders.
Anna held her arms out to her sides to block the pair of dragons with tears in her eyes as she urged, "Please, just stay back, you two." As she gently ran her hands over the wide-eyed steeds' muzzles, she bit her lip and peered over her shoulder to watch as the Commander kept his partner in his arms and lowered himself down to sit up beside him.
Brushing back the damp bangs from the heavy-lidded eyes watching him, Heero fought a sob and breathed, "Duo, please stay with me, love." His body trembling, the knight shook his head, "You did not come this far to die now... not after what you..." The last of his sentiment was lost when his voice cracked.
Through the numbness that had taken him, Maxwell managed a small smile of relief when he was finally able to see the clearness in the cobalt eyes over him. As the last, small puddles of his gift slipped away and vanished, he sighed as his own eyes drifted closed. His braided head falling back, his body went completely limp.
With a gasp, Heero whispered, "No." Keeping his lover close against him he reached with his free hand to cup the side of his face and felt the coolness of his skin. "No!" he shouted. Wrapping both arms back around the prince, he buried his face in a still shoulder and released a long, heart-breaking wail that turned into uncontrollable sobs.
Covering her mouth, Anna shook her head as her own tears rolled down her face. Her head raising up, Deathscythe closed her shimmering eyes and bellowed a pained howl that echoed throughout the castle. Wing and all of the other dragons around chorused in with their own cries for the prince that they had all come to respect and love.
The sound of those keening wails stretched out over the air of Sanq, bringing those close enough to hear them to freeze in whatever it was they were doing at the time. Every Alliance fighter and demon alike gazed back at the castle, blinking in surprise or confusion.
Quickly finding the opening into the fortress, Zechs frowned deeply, "Duo." Kicking Peacemillion's side, he had his steed take him through the balcony as Treize and Noventa swooped in quickly behind them.
Back in the bleeding room, Dekim was just on the verge of unconsciousness as his captors all took a moment to deal with Duo's loss. Wiping their eyes and quietly sobbing, those around the sorcerer kept a close eye on him even as their hearts broke.
Charging into the room with their steeds, Zechs and Treize came to a halt when they spotted Heero on the floor with a lifeless bundle in his arms. Knocked back at the sight of his nephew as though he had been punched in the gut, Merquise shakily made his way towards the Commander and fell to his knees at Duo's other side.
"Dear Creator, not him," Treize begged quietly, shaking his head as he leaned heavily against Noventa.
So, this was the end for Dekim Barton, the dark sorcerer came to accept is fate. Stabbed, burnt to nearly his bones and his mind held hostage, there was no way out for him but death. He had failed the Keeper. Closing his eyes, he prayed to finally be granted the chance to sleep when the room fell completely silent but for the crying around.
Then... the room began to shake with a deafening thud. Stumbling to keep upright, the knights, gifted and dragons all looked around with wide eyes. "What in the world was that?" Anna asked in a hushed breath as she reached for the quiver over her shoulder to remove an arrow. Blue eyes scanning the room, she stepped back towards Ingier.
"I-I don't know," Quatre answered as he slowly spun himself around.
Another thud came to make the room quake again. Then another. And another.
Slowly raising his head from Duo's shoulder, Heero's reddened eyes grew as he looked up just in time to watch a mass of black haze shoot through the cracks in the floor.
To the stunned cries of the lot around, they watched in amazement as that mass gathered in the far corner to become the great shadow of disfigured demon that constantly shifted its form. Red eyes glowing through what appeared to be its head, they bore down on the sorcerer in the center of the room.
Barely alive, Dekim's jaw dropped. "A m-messenger of the Keeper," he realized aloud. For the ruler of the Underworld to send one of his own to claim him... the old man's eternal damnation looked especially horrific. And all that he could do was scream out when the shadow let out a bone-chilling roar just before it descended upon him; and Dorothy's body.
Those screams rising in pitch and volume as Dekim was devoured whole, the band of friends gathered close around Heero and Duo's body. Weapons drawn and ready, Wufei and Anna flanked them protectively as the ever-shifting shadow before them slowly turned its red glare onto them once the sorcerer and his cries no longer existed.
Swallowing roughly, the swordsman gripped his hilt tightly in both hands while Anna pulled back on her bowstring with an arrow. Keeping their heads low, the dragons snarled and bared their fangs in a challenge. Its massive head reeling back, the demon released another blast of a roar and shot forward to claim the remaining living souls to serve the Keeper.
All of a sudden, the room was filled with a piercing screech and a white light that took everyone by surprise. Blinking back to regain their vision, the knights gasped in wonder along with their friends as they watched a giant, fiery phoenix descend from behind them to attack the shadowy monster.
Both creatures scratched, clawed and bit at one another while the humans and their dragons looked on in complete awe. Squawks and hisses from the two competitors rang through the air as they battled fiercely. Then, after a long and vicious struggle, the Keeper's messenger let out a high-pitched whimper before it broke apart into the broken pieces of haze that it started as and disappeared.
Showing no signs of battle fatigue, the glowing phoenix turned on its large feet to face its stunned audience. A smile spreading across the mouth of its beak, the fiery creature tilted his head. without opening its mouth, it greeted, "Brave warriors, the war has ended this day."
Their arms falling to their sides, Wufei and Anna's jaws fell as their eyes grew once again at the voice that addressed them. "King Solo," the archer whispered. Collapsing to a knee along with her husband, she lowered her head. Heero bit his lip and pulled Duo's body closer against him as he stared in wonder at the great bird.
"Friends, there is no need for you to bow to us," came the telepathic voice in a gentle female timber. "After all that you have been through, you are the ones who should be bowed to."
Gasping, Zechs whispered, "Sophia."
The phoenix nodded as the king and queen's voices spoke in unison, "Joined together as good spirits with many others who have looked after you all. We come as a messenger on behalf of the Creator." Its brilliant, glowing eyes of gold falling on the fallen prince, the fiery bird said quietly, "Sacrifices such as this... sacrifices made selflessly for others and for the simple good of all must never go unrewarded."
Lowering its gaze towards the floor, it sent a wave of power through the cracks. Instantly, the streams of the glowing life force and gift that had slipped away rose into the air like fountains through the ground. Gathering up into one massive ball, the glowing sphere broke into tiny spheres that flowed back into Duo's opened wounds which closed the moment the last of his gift was returned.
His eyes still closed, the prince's chest rose with a deep gasp of air. Heero watched with a new shimmer in his wide, cobalt eyes and stared back up at the good spirit of his former king and queen.
Its smile spreading further across its beak, the phoenix's burning feathers puffed up in pride of their son. Lowering its head, it lightly brushed its head against the prince's affectionately.
Opening its wings, the spirit said in its shared voice, "It is not our son's time, nor is it the time of any of those who have given their lives this fateful day. Because of all of you, hope has succeeded and peace will again reign over this world. You have pleased the Creator and he extends his deepest appreciation. Until we meet again, dear ones."
Flapping its wings, the fiery creature rose from the floor and flew through the room. In its soar through the throne room and out of the balcony, it transformed into a wide stream of light that spread the entire length and width of Sanq and beyond.
As the ray of light passed over the thick clouds to break them, it rained bright particles of light that destroyed the Keeper's demons and brought life back to the Alliance fallen. For those still standing and flying, they were the lucky ones to witness the beautiful array of colors spreading across the skies.
Removing his helmet, a bloodied Captain Lewis stared up to watch the sun pour through the dispersing clouds as the ogres, gremlins and ghost riders faded away from existence. With tears in his eyes, the Leo knight smiled brilliantly, "It's over."
Nearby, Juan and Tiny awoke and shared a shocked glance just as their fellow soldiers and dragons broke out in a deafening roar of cheers and applause.
In the light of a new day, those brave souls that had fought with everything that they had, could finally celebrate in their last victory.
...The nightmare had officially ended.
TBC...
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