Bastard!! Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Macross Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Humanity ❯ Chapter 2

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

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Freedan stood before the God and Goddess Themselves and bowed briefly,
and not nearly as low enough as he should have. They stared at his
audacity and then laughed in the quiet of the Abyss.

"It seems, Freedan, that not only can you fight and talk to the Queen
of the Dead with disrespect, but us as well, hm?"
"Must be my tact." He said modestly. "I've got lots."
Revellia rolled his amber eyes, wiping black hair from his forehead in
a casual sweep of his hand. "Freedan, have you heard of the Quartet of
the Gods?"
"Yes, a Prophecy once spoke of them saving the world from the Trio of
Truth or whatever it was." Freedan shrugged, wondering where this was
going.

"This is no trio, as the Prophecy calls them. This is a group of ten
men and women who fight thinking they are doing the Universe justice.
However, their leaders, a trio, are brainwashing them. However, all
thirteen of these men and women must die."
"Suits me."
"You seek no other alternative?" Plaeysata demanded.

"No."
"Freedan, if you are to work with the Queen you must realize that she
won't allow you to cut down and kill everyone who stands in your way.
You must learn to talk to people and make them see that there is light
beyond the dark."
"Ah. Riddles. How convenient. Tryin' to get me t' think, neh?"
"What have you come to sacrifice, Freedan?" Revellia snapped.

"The Queen."
"Freedan!" Plaeysata looked aghast. "You two are the key to saving
humanity!"
"I don't care about--"

"You would have the rest of the Universe suffer for the cruelty you
have suffered? You would make them give their lives because of two
people?"
"It sounded a lot better when I explained it..."
"You would sacrifice the possibility that maybe somebody could love
you as you are, sacrifice the possibility that the friendship between
the Elpoep leader and Phoebe might be something more?"
"Why are you trying to convince me this is a bad idea? Can you kill
the chick or not?" Freedan was getting angry but worse yet, he was
beginning to think, to feel again.

"Freedan," Plaeysata cupped his face in her slender hands. "There is a
woman out there who will fall in love with you, who won't hurt you
like your parents did. Find her."
"She will manage to hurt me some other way. Emotions are weakness."
"If you had no emotions you would not be who you are."
"And the people I killed would not have died in horror and fear."
"Freedan, please. Make the sacrifice. Do this for us." Revellia
begged.

"Think of all we have done for you!"
"Somehow, my mind has drawn a blank," Freedan said dryly.

"Yeah, mine too..." Plaeysata frowned and Revellia wiped her aside to
stare the High Lord in the eye.

"Freedan Phoebus Freno, what have you come to sacrifice today?"
"I sacrifice my..." Freedan frowned, thinking. Finally he looked up
and dug through his back pocket, pulling forth a locket. On the end of
the slender silver chain was his Verifinal Jewel. "I sacrifice my
freedom to you."
"What?!" They shouted in shock.

"I will serve and protect you, as all warrior priests do."
"You're going to become a warrior priest?" Revellia scoffed.

"Hey man--" Freedan started angrily and Plaeysata snatched up his
necklace.

"This will require several ceremonies. We'll have to send Cherice to
Geria when this is all done with," Plaeysata told Revellia who nodded
before sending the High Lord spiraling down into the Abyss. "If he
lives, of course." Plaeysata sighed.

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Ice, Des and Airiad were traveling through Shadowia when a woman with
an ankle length cape of flaming red hair ran up and clung to them.
They stared at her, Des's pink eyes peeking out from underneath his
thick cloak.

"You three have to believe me... well, not the screelish, but you
Elementalis!"
"What do you want?" Ice asked coldly, raising a hand to silence Airiad
who was sputtering obscenities at her.

"The Prophecy spoke of you two. I have the High Lord making
preparations and I have done some reconnaissance work. I have gathered
information on the three we are to stop. Please, do you believe me?"
Ice held up the Book of Prophecies and she gasped, her already pale
face paling. People stopped and began to stare at the scene unfolding
before them. Nerouki gestured for them to follow her as she ran
through the streets, finally making her way to an im-possibly steep
hill, which they climbed, Geria, the Shadow Palace, slowly coming into
view, dark and magnificent.

They entered the lobby to see Flaem, Sadi, Phoebe and a one-eyed man
who had been severely beaten and starved standing there in the
torchlight. Nerouki held back her relief and surprise to see her
cycloptic guard and introduced everybody.

"And this is Truisch Belhelmel, A F'Dorian Elite Guard, and my
personal guard." They all greeted him with respect before fetching the
screelish and Elementalis food and drink. They all sat down in the
couches and chairs before the huge fireplace. Yamaria and several
maids brought in the food and drink and waited until everybody was
satisfied before they quickly and quietly left. The group looked at
Nerouki.

"Ok, so I am Crisjanis Nerouki Takashi, Queen of the Realm of the
Dead. I believe I am the aid to the High Lord that the Prophecy speaks
of. Truisch is my aid and you two, Ice and Airiad was it? You two,
will be decoys, I think."
"Oh great." Airiad snapped. "I always wanted to be a decoy. We are
fierce fighters! We were not cut out to be decoys!"
"Good, that's enough practicing though. The real test will come up
later. However, the fact that you swept through Shadowia to get
supplies on your way to the Valley of Death has just saved us maybe a
month that the men would use planning."
"I promised Des I would get him home safely." Ice said angrily, his
hand going around the little creature protectively.

"I will see to it that he makes it," Flaem said.

Eyes narrowed, ice blue gazed into a calm fiery red. "But can I trust
you?"
"I give you my word of honour." His fist went to his heart and then
his shoulder in two thumps and he stood, offering his hand to the tiny
screelish. "We will leave at once."
"Wait, I have something I wish to give to Ice for his loyalty to me."
Des said, springing away from the Fire Elemental who waited patiently.
Des dug through his cloak, unaccustomed to such garbs, and finally
pulled forth a small glowing orb. "This will allow you to contact me.
It is the orb of the Prophecies because it is prophesized that giving
this orb to a Human will create an alliance between creatures of the
dark and creatures of the light."

Ice took it and looked down at the small creature with sudden
startling warmth in his eyes. He grinned then. "Thank you Des, this is
sacred to me. I promise not to let it fall into the wrong hands." The
two hugged and waved before Flaem led the small creature away, a flash
of green disappearing behind black as the small guy drew up his hood.

"Wow Ice! That was a really weird look you got in your eyes!" Airiad
chirped.

Ice glared at him. "You remind me of a little kender. Shut up you
moron!"

Phoebe stood. "Enjoy the food. I will make some packs and fill them
with necessary supplies. Then I will see if Freedan has awakened.
While he makes the Sacrifice, Lady Takashi, you should too." Nerouki
nodded.

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"Crisjanis Nerouki Takashi, what is you wish to sacrifice today?"
Revellia asked.

"I wish to sacrifice the anger I once felt towards the High Lord for
what he did to my father, Cristofer Mikhail Taka."
"Why such an odd sacrifice, my child?" Plaeysata asked.

"Because if I am to support him during this mission, I don't want to
see my father's mutilated corpse every time I look into that face,
into those eyes."
"Those beautiful eyes, what I would give to see them turn light blue."
Plaeysata sighed and Revellia glared at her, his amber eyes flashing
angrily. Nerouki blinked.

"You two are lovers?" She asked, astonished.

He laughed. "Freedan and I knew each other. He was five when we met,
and it was just after his parents abused him for the first time. He
was confused and he was wandering the dirt streets of Shadowia when he
stumbled across me and Plaeysata. We were about in our late thirteenth
hundred year, I believe. Since then he came to us after every time his
mother raped him, but one day he caught us making love. He was so
appalled he beat the crap out of me. That's when he decided to try his
hand at his parents. This was when he was ten, and he killed them."
"What was the moral of that story?" Nerouki asked.

"To help you understand better." Revellia winked.

"Sacrifice accepted." Plaeysata said before she sent Nerouki tumbling
down into the Abyss. She landed on her feet, silent and nimble as a
cat, and looked around. There he was, crucified, naked, with all his
hair shaved off. Nerouki ran to him but strong arms caught her from
behind. She shrieked and kicked. Then she caught a glimpse of a
familiar handsome face, of that perfect mouth. She was placed to the
side, in a chair next to a Venus Fly Trap that threatened to kill her
if she made one false move. Freedan began to sharpen a machete.

"What do you here, Takashi?" He asked, looking up at her as he tested
the blade.

She remembered her talk. "Why will you hurt this man?"
"He knew Kiri, dated her when they were teens. He deserves to die."
Shocked, Nerouki could only watch as Freedan began to slowly cut off
Cris's feet. Cristofer didn't make a noise and Nerouki felt her heart
break. She spoke suddenly, angered by the High Lord's warped logic.
"But he has nothing to do with what Kiri used to make you do!"
Freedan turned to her. "Doesn't? Kiri was always strange. He did
nothing but accept her for who she was. He died the instant he did."

Nerouki stood. "Then kill me."
He frowned. "Why?"
"Because I accept him for who he is. Therefore I accept him for
accepting who she was." He glared at her.

"Why would you do this?"
"Because I'm accepting you for who you truly are." She gave a small
smile before light flooded the area. She shielded her eyes. When she
opened them, she was lying in her bed, Sadi watching over her with an
interested expression on his face. "Oh, what?" She snapped angrily.

"You said something in the Olde Tongue. It sounded like you were
forgiving somebody. Hey, where'd you get that medallion?" She looked
down at her chest and saw a small gold medallion lying there. There
was a note in her hand and she quickly read it.

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"Nerouki? What did it say?"

She smiled and shook her head. "It's not important, Sadi. I'm tired,
may I have a little nap?" Sadi nodded, looking confused. She smiled as
she tucked the thin parchment in the strap of her bra. "Wake me when
the High Lord is ready."

"I will. Good night."
"Night?"
"That took all day, your sacrifice. Good night."
"G'night..."

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Freedan glared at the priests and priestesses as they swarmed around
him, thrusting white and green robes at him.

"I'm not wearing your silly robes!" He shouted angrily.

"My name is Cherice," A beautiful Asian woman stepped forward. Freedan
blinked as he looked down at her and swallowed.

"Hello Cherice."
"You must be Freedan?" He nodded. "We've been waiting. You are the
newly appointed warrior priest. Not many people look down on us
Wiccans with love and best wishes. You are sworn to protect us. Think
of yourself as a seeker of truth. Always tell the truth unless it's
necessary to do otherwise and remember that everybody is innocent
until proven guilty. You will now wield the sacred sword of our
Church."
"What is our Church?" he asked curiously.

"We are the Church of the Ambered Star."
"Nice... Where's my new sword?"

"You currently wield a sword made entirely of diamond, called the
Shogun. Do you know what Shogun means?"

"A high rank in Japanese culture." Freedan said and she nodded.

"Your new sword is made entirely from onyx. Name it what you will, but
use it for this battle, as it would do our Church good to have our
warrior priest save the Universe." Cherice kissed his cheek and he
wrapped an arm around her briefly before accepting the sword.

"Cherice, are there any other warrior priests in our sect?"
"No. We are only permitted one. Make us proud."
He sheathed the sword at his back and a blinding white light covered
everything. His eyes squinted shut and when his vision cleared, he was
lying in his bed, a necklace around in one hand, a letter in the other
and a black robe covering his body. He flipped open the crumpled
letter and read it with a sigh of impatience. He stripped to his
boxers and sleeveless undershirt and stood before the mirror as he
unfolded the robes. Clothes fell from it and he dressed in them.

He looked at himself in the mirror, his expression becoming more and
more mortified as he stood there, his hands clenching and unclenching.
He stared at his shoulders and then his groin. He wore skin tight
clothing, all black except for the red cross-like design across his
chest. There were also diagonal lines shooting up from the top of the
cross and over his shoulders, ending at the base of his back. The
collar of his clothes came almost halfway his neck and he felt his
Adam's apple rub against it as he swallowed. He sighed and continued
down. His arms were clad in the skin-tight stretch satin and his
forearms were bandaged on the outside to provide protection of some
sort. His sleeves had small loops that his thumbs hiked through.

He wore a red belt with metal studs in it that criss-crossed over his
hips. On his right thigh there were two matching bands and then he
wore thigh-high combat boots with a heel and platform. He balked at
his clothes and loosened the neck a little to allow comfortable
swallowing and easy breathing. Then he slid on his cloak. It zippered
down the front to the waist where a band held it closed. Instead of
being a full skirt there were two strips, allowing him more freedom.
He glared at the robes and tossed them on the bed as he ran to his
bureau and dug around until he found black duct tape. He covered the
cross and changed the white bandage to black when his door opened. His
hand curled around air, forming a ball of Magick which he hurled at
the door. The figure ducked and when she stood, he was staring at
Cherice.

"Jesus! Don't scare me!" He snapped.

She looked at the unharmed stone and then at his uniform, now
completely black. Her eyes widened and her face reddened. "You have
ruined a beautiful uniform!" She cried out, rushing forward and
wrenching the tape from his right hand. He let her.

"Lady Cherice--"

"What have you done!"
He gripped her throat and she went still. "I prefer to stay hidden,
only revealing myself when I have to. I can't if my uniform is a
flamin' red. I'll leave the belt and bands, but that creepy cross had
to go!"
"You look like Brandon Lee from The Crow right now."
His lips twisted up. "'Mother is the name for God in the lips and
hearts of all children.'" He whispered before dismissing her.

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Nerouki awoke and ran to Freedan who was talking in quiet tones with
Phoebe. He then kissed both her cheeks before giving her a tight hug.
He spun on his heel and came face to face with the dead. Nerouki
looked up into his face, frowning. Then she looked down at him, at his
sword, at his skin-tight clothes and at the robe slung over his arm.
Her frown deepened.

"Uh... Freedan? When did you join the Church of the Ambered Star?"
To her surprise, he laughed. "Come to Foresta with me, it's a great
story."
As he spoke to her, rather openly to her amazement, they came to the
outer ring of trees to the Forbidden Forest. The trees were dead and
their branches resembled claws. With a wave of his hand Freedan swept
them aside and they stood at the foot of a path. They walked through
the lively trees, through the lush forest and when they came to a
clearing with a three hundred foot waterfall that crashed silently
into a lake, they stopped and sat down on the mossy ground.

"And then they named me not only a God, but a warrior priest and it
was too creepy." He said, drawing his legs under him.

"I'm a Goddess too!" She said, the fact of the matter and its deeper
meaning dawning on her.

"Ebon-Black, too neh?"
"No, Mercurial Dreams. The colour that's--"

"--Neither light nor dark." He looked jealous for a brief second
before congratulating her. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"You two, on becoming a warrior priest and whatnot."
"Thanks. We'd better go to Sarcasia. No doubt Jemis will be excited to
hear of your arrival."
"You know him?" She asked, astonished.

"Yeah, he beat me up in the third grade," he said as he began climbing
up the walls beside the waterfall. Nerouki hid a grin as she followed.

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"Natalya Kashi, may I present your daughter to you?"

"This is my real mother?" Nerouki gasped.

"You've grown so," Natalya smiled warmly.

"Who is this?"
"Oh Jem, we came to see you! She wields Mercurial Dreams."
A man with delicately pointed ears stepped forward from the throng of
people. He had waist long white hair and hypnotic black eyes. He had
pale skin and was muscular, unlike the slender graceful Elv'n of
Sarcasia. He bowed elegantly to her before offering his arm. She took
it and he led her to his hut while Freedan chatted with the others.

"What-- why did you bring me here?"
"I know this is a great thing to ask of you, but it is customary for
you to come to your full power by losing your virginity."
"Yes..."
"And there are few people strong enough to survive a Mercury blast.
Two that I can think of at the moment that would be worth sleeping
with, but one is dead and the other probably hates you. That leaves
me."
"What were their names?"
"You know the High Lord, he doesn't like women, and the other was
named Sin. He died three days ago at the hand of Gabriel. One of the
three men."
"I see. So that leaves you?"
He nodded and she sighed, sitting down on the bed and sliding off her
pants. "Let's get this over with, alright?"
Jemis bit his lower lip and sighed.

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Freedan was trying to explain to Natalya that no, he still hadn't
found her son when the hut Nerouki had disappeared in erupted into
flames. They watched as Nerouki and Jemis came dashing out before
Jemis turned and doused the flames. Freedan rushed forward, Natalya on
his heels.

"Are you all right, Takashi?" He asked, pulling her to him.

"It was weird. I came to my full power but then I couldn't control it
anymore. I blew his home up."
Freedan looked from her face to the angry and pained expression of
Jemis. The man had done a brave thing, bringing an untrained wizard to
her fullest powers. He felt Nerouki tremble in his embrace and he
pulled her against him tighter, feeling her head fall weakly to his
chest.

-You owe me, Freno.- Jemis `Pathed to the High Lord.

Freedan grinned. -Look at her! She's a beautiful woman, you know you
wanted her.- He ran a hand over her tangled hair while the Elv'n
cleaned up the mess. Her sobbing subsided as Jemis replied.

-I know she wasn't thinking of me while we were doing it.-

-Takes away from the pleasure, eh?-

-There was only pain with her, Freno. There was only pain.-

Freedan frowned as he tilted Nerouki's tear streaked face up to his.

"We should get going, huh?" He said softly and she nodded.

She wearily climbed down the cliff with them, and when she judged the
distance safe, she jumped the rested of the way, landing lightly. Then
she ran blindly through Foresta until she finally found her way to the
outer ring of trees. They reached for her but drew away abruptly as
Jemis and Freedan, both panting and bloody, stumbled into the area.
"She dies!"

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Airiad, Ice, Jemis, Nerouki and Freedan stared down at the sword that
lay on the table. It glittered with Freedan's eyes, almost as if they
were made from the same stone. Freedan reached forward his gloved hand
and lifted the sword. A clap of thunder broke the silence and threw
them all against the far wall. Gale winds surrounded the High Lord as
he stood, holding the sword in rhapsody, unharmed by the wind that
kept everybody from moving. Airiad tried to combat the winds but found
he could hardly think. He watched in awe with the rest of them as the
High Lord sheathed his sword and the winds died down. Nerouki stumbled
to her feet, panting.

"What was that all about?" Ice asked, unruffled, as he stood.

"Hella forged this sword herself."
"Queen of Hel? God Damn!" Airiad whistled and they watched as the High
Lord drew it again. This time the winds came as forcefully but Freedan
controlled them.

"Isn't this so cool!"

"Freedan? There is a man here to see you."
"Who is it?"
"The Ambassador of Denelvia."
The group giggled.

"What?" Nerouki, who hadn't found the joke, asked.

"The good Ambassador used to work at Strawberries for a time. His name
is Rob Brandt. And he likes to talk... uh... differently. He
pronounces Gs as Ds and Ks and hard Cs as Ts. Rs and some Ls come out
as Ws."
Brandt entered and they all bowed.

"Dweetings High Lord. I heard that you found the tulpwits hiding away
in Denelvia." His brown eyes were warm and he was handsome and
seemingly friendly.

"I hear they're some of your own men," Freedan sighed, tsking his
tongue.

"Dood Dod!" Brandt gasped, pulling back in fear. Then his expression
hardened. "When will you sweep in and remove them?"

"We were preparing as you walked in."
"Dood, Dood..." Brandt looked out the window overlooking the sprawling
front lawns and sighed. "I'll leave you to your work, and you're
welcome to come by the Palace and visit me and Ezzy any time."
Freedan flinched but thanked him profusely before kicking him out.
They thought they heard something decompose as it walked down the
hall, but they ignored it.

-What's with the High Lord?- Nerouki asked Jemis.

-He fell in love twice in his life. Once with a Gate Keeper named Tara
Lee Braxton, and the most recent one, about eleven years ago, with
Esmeralda Hayes, Queen of the Vampire Domain. Both relationships ended
grimly, with the High Lord's heart broken.- Jemis answered, looking
down at the map they had been studying.

-Does he have any luck with women?-

-Oh yeah!- Jemis chirped. -He's killed over a thousand and his sister
hasn't become romantically involved with him, nor have you. That's
what he considers luck.-

-How sad...- Nerouki looked up and gave Freedan a warm smile which,
with a startled expression, he returned before going back to briefing
them.

"And then, after the sweep, we move into the palace. But that's only
if we haven't found their hideout anywhere else in the land. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Good." He stood and rolled up the map. "Everybody get dressed and
meet me in the lobby in five minutes."

Wearing his priest clothes he stalked down the hall, feeling a hand
wrap halfway around his upper arm and feet padding to keep up with
him. He stopped when he saw it was Nerouki. He looked down at her as
she slipped a necklace off her neck. It had a small crescent charm on
it and he stared at it with a blank expression. She pressed it into
his hand. She smiled.

"I remember a woman, whom I now know as my mother, gave this to me
shortly after I was born. She told me that if I were ever to doubt if
I would live to see my loved ones again, I should clutch this in my
power hand and say a prayer for them, and myself."
"Touching," he said looking bored.

She bit back her hurt and said to him "I want you to keep it."
He searched her eyes, his anger mounting. But when he saw only
compassion and support in hers he smiled at last and clasped it behind
his neck. He drew her close and just hugged her for what seemed like
forever. She liked the warmth of his embrace and the feel of his hard
muscles softening as he relaxed against her, but she didn't like how
much she liked it. He would never have her and she didn't know if she
could ever have him. She sighed against him and he withdrew, looking
into her face, his eyes lightening in shade. She almost fainted when
she saw them turn light blue. He slung an arm around her shoulder as
they strolled casually toward their bedrooms, which were right across
the hall from each other.

"You know what I like about you, Takashi?"
"That I haven't grabbed your ass yet?" She asked meekly and he
laughed.

"Uh... No. That you're a good listener."
"What? You didn't say anything back there, Freedan."
He looked down at her, his face suddenly serious. "No, but I could
have and I know you would have listened." He smiled, coming to a stop
outside their doors. He leaned against the frame as they watched each
other. He sighed. "I don't what's happening."
"What do you mean?" She asked, her heart thudding in her stomach.

"You know exactly what I mean. You felt the same way I did back
there."
"I'm your aid, Freedan." She said, fear making her eyes fill with
tears.

He wiped the tears away as they rolled slowly down her cheeks before
he caught himself and withdrew his hand, straightening. "I don't want
to fall in love. I don't even want to be attracted to you."
From anybody else, that would have hurt her feelings, but knowing his
past she could only understand. And she nodded.

"And I don't want to fall in love with a mortal. It's a tough life,
but we can still be friends, right?" She searched those black eyes.
How they had gone black so soon...

"Yeah..." He said distantly. "Yeah we can..." He was looking down at
her face, and she realized she had never really studied his before.
She had given his profile a brief scan but now, his face, it was
drawing her in. She started with his almond shaped eyes, with the
thick lashes, which were longer than she had at first thought. His
eyes, though black, sparkled with intense blue and green bursts of
light. His nose was a bit large but when he smiled he looked handsome
enough. His mouth was like that of a Roman God's with the full lower
lip and the thin, finely sculpted upper lip. He had high cheekbones
and a strong jaw line. She blushed and opened the door. He inclined
his head and turned away. She turned to say something, but he had
disappeared. She walked in and changed her clothes before rushing to
the lobby where everybody except Freedan was waiting.

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Her blood red leather was warm, contrary to the air around them in
Veruca, capital of the Vampire Domain. Colombe, a Vampire with bright
blue eyes and wavy black hair ran up and into Freedan's arms. He swept
her close to his chest and laughed as she began to speak hurriedly
into his ear. She was about twelve and beautiful for her age. Freedan
set her down and introduced her to his companions.

"This is Ice and Airiad, my wonderful Elementalis, this is Truisch and
Jemis, the Lady's guards, and this is Lady Takashi."

Colombe greeted each politely before speaking up again. "Mom says she
made a mistake and says if you want to have dinner when this is all
over then it would be ok."
A muscle in the High Lord's jaw twitched as he took a slight step back
and to the right, towards Ice. He gave Colombe a charming smile a
moment later before agreeing. "Tell Esmeralda that we will join her
tonight."
Colombe scampered off before they all turned on him. He found himself
closed in on all sides and began to feel a little claustrophobic.

"What are you thinking!" Airiad snapped. "This is Esmeralda! We do
remember who she is, don't we?"

"It has been about twelve years, he wouldn't," Ice said, instigating a
fight.

"It's been eleven and yes I do." He made a grand silk tux materialize
from his Magick and then a Dragon Silk gown, which he handed to
Nerouki. "And," he made some rings, "I'm going to go married."
"Freedan... this is scandalous!" Jemis groaned.

"So am I. Let's go change," he said after creating equally grand
clothes for his companions. They entered Seth, the Vampire Domain's
Palace and Esmeralda strode forward to greet Freedan, but saw the
beautiful Queen on his arm and froze. She snapped her fingers and a
red haired man stepped forward.

"I see we're both finally settling down."
"Indeed." Ice said with a smirk. "Who's this, Lady Hayes?"
"This is Gabriel."
"Nice to meet you, Gabriel." Airiad said numbly, backing away towards
the door with the others when Gabriel and Esmeralda unsheathed swords.
Freedan, who had been the only one who wasn't backing away, frowned.

"You're in with them, Ezzy?"

"Indeed." She snapped, mocking Ice's tone. "And you could have been
too if you hadn't settled on that dead slut!"
Freedan's hand went to his sword, which wasn't there and so he called
on his Magicks instead. The others did the same, except Truisch who
had brought his knives because he had no Magick. Esmeralda dashed
forward and Freedan sighed, letting the Magick fade from his hands. He
signaled for the others to run and they backed up towards the door.

"There has to be some way to kill you Freedan, and I will enjoy
experimenting."
"Well, I hate to ruin your fun but what you do is kill me until my
Magick runs out and I can't Regenerate anymore."

Esmeralda glared at him. "Fine! Then I will experiment with different
ways of killing you!"
"Well, I'd hate to ruin that for you too but--""
"Gag him!" She shrieked. He didn't fight when they did and Nerouki
began to yell at Freedan.

"Freedan! The hell do you think you're doing? This is no way to save
the World! You're just going to give up because somebody who broke
your heart has betrayed you again? This time she has betrayed the
entire Universe! Remember your duties as the High Lord and to the
Ambered Star!"

Freedan sighed and nodded wearily at Nerouki who watched in horror as
he blew up like a bomb. Fragments of people, plaster and dust created
a cloud, and from the fog came the High Lord, walking with a slight
limp and pulling the cloth form his mouth.

"Two down, eleven to go." He said weakly, before passing out.

Crisjanis, there is only one other who has managed to rise to the
Magick level that you have reached. And though I know this is slightly
not what you expected, you must go find him. He goes by the name of
Jemis. He is a powerful fighter and was born to protect you. Find him
in Sarcasia. We are proud of how you handled the situation that was
given. You know now what prompted the High Lord to mutilate your
father, but the High Lord does not know that you had a vision of him.
The sacrifice that you made is to be kept to yourself unless you deem
another worthy. May your strength protect you from the battles ahead.
Good luck wielding the Mercurial Dream Magick.

Plaeysata