Gestalt Fan Fiction ❯ Everything I do... ❯ Everything I do... ( One-Shot )

Authors note: This story wasn't originally intended to be so freaking long, but I just got into it and it began to write itself after a while. I hope it makes you cry… I really do, cuz then that means that I did a good job. Or at least, I hope it makes you feel sad. Let me know what you think of it. The song is "Everything I do" from Bryan Adams and this is set a bit off the series… almost a little after the anime ending with some elements of the manga (which KK is still trying to translate)…. So I hope it flows well. Enjoy! Everything I do…

By: Oriana X. Myst

~Look into my eyes…~

Ohri looked hopefully at Olivier. "Master, please kiss me again."

Olivier's eyes widened and his face flushed a light pink. "Ah… Ohri… I…"

Her rose tinted eyes glistened with tears and she moved closer to him. "I just need a few more to release my power…" Her lips puckered slightly. Liar! her mind screamed. You just want to feel his lips again, admit it!

He swallowed and nodded slowly. "Alright Ohri, but just one more time."

He placed his hands on her shoulders, leaned forward, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. There was the usual blast of colored lights and soft wind enveloping them both and then silence.

Before he could move away though, her arms wrapped around him and pulled him tightly to her.

~And you will see…~

He let out a small gasp and his face reached a deep scarlet. He tried to push away but Ohri tightened her grip.

"No, please… please Master. Just let me hold you… please?" Her eyes watered even more and a single tear slipped down her cheek. I want to know you Olivier… why can't you see that? Why must you keep me at a distance? And why can't I just tell you? She pulled back a little and looked up into his beautiful dark green eyes.

~What you mean to me.~

If only you'd let me get closer. If only… you'd let me… She reached up and pressed a hand to his face, rubbing his cheek tenderly. He didn't move, only stared at her with wide eyes. "Oh Master…" She blinked a few times trying to hold back the tears but they came anyway, slow and silent.

She buried her head in his chest and after a moment felt his arms wrap themselves hesitantly around her back.

~Search your heart…~

"Ohri… I…" She heard him whisper. "I… What's wrong Ohri? Why are you crying?"

The question brought a knife crashing down into Ohri's heart. She gasped at the sudden pain and Olivier tightened his grip. I wish… dear Gestalt, I wish only… only that… Olivier would see that I love him more than anything!

~Search your soul…~

Olivier moved her away from him a bit and wiped the tears off her face. He smiled down at her and placed a kiss on her cheek. Tie die lights and wind.

She smiled slightly and sighed.

"Are you going to be okay Ohri?" He sounded so concerned. That was one of the things she loved about him. He actually cared.

She nodded and he patted her shoulder before turning to leave the room.

"Master?"

He turned back around. "Yes?"

Ohri scrambled for something to say to make him stay a while longer but came up with nothing plausible so instead… "Goodnight."

He smiled. "Goodnight Ohri. Sleep well."

"Mmhm."

As soon as the door closed, she fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands, the tears bursting forth as a damn that has broken lets out the rushing river. Olivier…

~And when you find me there you'll search no more.~

* * *

In the morning, Ohri awoke to the smell of food cooking. She yawned and stretched, getting up out of bed. Suzu must be at it again. Every time that chick gets a kitchen she's Chef Boyarelf! She dressed quickly in a deep blue shirt that hung off her shoulders and a black pair of tight fitting pants, and ran down the stairs to the kitchen.

Sure enough, there was Suzu, orange apron on, spatula in one hand, piece of toast in her mouth, cooking away. She turned to grab something when Ohri came in, and almost dropped the toast. She swallowed it quickly, pounded on her chest and yelled, "You stupid sorceress!! You scared the crap out of me!! Don't do that!"

Ohri shrugged and made a beeline for the stove. "So, what'cha cooking?"

The dark elf lifted an eyebrow. "Nothing that's done yet."

Ohri made a face at her and Suzu swatted at her with the spatula. They ran around the room a few times before Ohri did a flip over the table and almost crashed into Father Olivier who had just entered the kitchen.

She screeched to a halt in front of him and blinked a few times. "M-morning!"

He nodded and smiled his usual little smile before sitting down at the table.

~Don't tell me it's not worth trying for…~

Ohri looked expectantly at him a moment before shaking her head. Baka! Stop being so stupid!

"Good morning Suzu," Olivier said. "Whatever you're cooking smells really good."

Suzu blushed slightly. "Thanks! I've been aching to cook lately and when we came to this place that had its own kitchen, I couldn't help it!"

Olivier laughed quietly, his face taking on a glow. Ohri stared at him for a beat before snapping out of it and taking a seat next to him.

~You can't tell me it's not worth dying for…~

* * *

Ohri couldn't keep still at the table. Every little thing that Olivier said and did made her want to grab him and cart him off to have her way with him. It was bad enough that she hadn't gotten laid since turning into a woman, but this was too much! Even Suzu was starting to look appealing… and Shazan too for that matter.

"Hello everyone. Hope you all slept well."

Speak of the Devil…

"Why yes, I did. I don't know about Suzu or Ohri, though," Father Olivier said, turning toward each female in turn.

"Yup," came Suzu's response as she finished off another piece of bacon.

Ohri made a face and stuck out her tongue in response. Gee, aren't we the adult. Shut up, brain.

Olivier blinked a few times and then chuckled. "I guess that means no."

Shazan shook his head and sat down on the chair opposite to Olivier. "Sorry I'm late. I was just so tired after last night." He ran his fingers through his golden hair and adjusted his glasses. "That battle was tough."

"Ja, en de thrin," Suzu said while chewing on a piece of pancake. She swallowed. "Ahem, excuse me. That thing was huge! I didn't think you could do it, Shazan."

He waved his hand in an "oh-it's-nothing" way and grabbed a few pancakes from the pile in the center of the table. He then proceeded to drown them in syrup on his plate.

Ohri watched everyone from beneath hooded eyes. Why the hell is everyone so freaking happy? She looked over at Olivier. I know why he is… he just can't help it. Her eyes shifted over to Suzu. She's happy cuz she cooked… I guess. She looked at Shazan. And he beat the crap out of that huge thing, so I can see why he is… argh! Maybe it's just me. She sighed heavily and slumped in her seat, her stack of pancakes tilting to one side on her plate.

Olivier turned to her and motioned to her plate with his fork. "Ohri, aren't you hungry?"

Ohri sat up quickly and put on a smile for his benefit. "Oh yes, Master! I am, I am. I'm just waiting for Shazan to finish killing his pancakes with syrup so I can use it."

Shazan stopped squeezing the bottle and looked at her, blinking a few times. "Oh… uh… Sorry about that." He capped the bottle and handed it to her.

Everyone laughed at the sheer stupidity of the whole situation.

"Man, it feels good to do that!" Suzu said smiling.

"Laugh?" Olivier asked, a smile on his face as well.

"Yup! We haven't done that in a while. With all these attacks going on, it seems that there's been nothing to smile about lately." Her ears drooped slightly.

"Don't worry, Suzu. Everything will be okay soon. I know it will," Olivier told her.

Ohri's heart clenched. You're so optimistic. How do you do it? She sighed and grabbed the bottle of syrup from where she had placed it on the table and squirted some onto her pancakes. She wasn't very hungry but knew that she had to keep her strength up in case trouble came. If something happened to Olivier, she wouldn't be able to live with it. She would die without him.

Ohri knew why the town they were in was being attacked. It was because she was in it. She wanted to leave so that Olivier wouldn't be in danger any more but just couldn't bring herself to do it. She didn't want to be away from him, even for a second.

~You know it's true, Everything I do…~

He was everything to her. If she didn't have him, she didn't have anything.

~I do it for you.~

I'm gonna have to do something. I don't want to have him in the middle of it. This is between my brothers and me.

There was a rumbling and suddenly the walls shook violently. Everyone gripped the edges of the table as the floor began to collapse. They jumped out of the way just in time to avoid crashing through the crumbling floor. A hole was created, leading to the floor below them. Ohri scrambled over to Olivier and Suzu and Shazan joined her. They all looked over the jagged edges of the hole and leaped back in fear.

A huge green head poked out of the gap in the floor and turned towards them. It looked like a giant frog mixed with a chameleon and it opened its mouth, its huge pink tongue darting out quickly to grab them.

Suzu put up a firewall just in time to protect them and the thing howled in pain as its tongue was scorched by the flames. It ducked back into the hole and they suddenly heard cruel laughter.

"Ohri, you are my next challenge. Come out here and fight me!"

Ohri's eyes widened as she recognized the voice. No, it can't be… She stood up and walked over to the hole and looked down. Standing on the back of the frog-chameleon was a man of slight build with long purple hair and a jagged scar over one eye. He was wearing ceremonial robes of light yellow and had a smirk on his face. In his hand he held a staff of smooth white wood that signified his position as head sorcerer of the Order of Gestalt. It is… oh no… Gestalt help us all. I had hoped against hope that it wasn't…

He smiled pleasantly and tilted his head to the side. "Ah, so that's what they did to you, eh?" He began to laugh. "Beautiful, simply beautiful. This is better than I had expected." He lifted the staff and tapped it down on the creature beneath him. It disappeared in a puff of yellow smoke and he floated in the air looking up at her. "Are you ready, Ohri?" He pointed the staff at her. "Ready to die that is."

Ohri dodged quickly as a bolt of lightning flew toward her. It hit the ceiling and cracked a hole through the roof. She turned and looked at her three friends. "You guys get out of here now!"

~ Look into my heart, and you will find,~

Olivier got up quickly. "Why? Ohri come with us. Or let us help you."

The pink haired sorceress shook her head. "There's no way you guys could survive if you fought him." I'm starting to doubt if I can survive.

~There's nothing there to hide.~

She turned back to the hole as another shot of lightning came up and crashed into the ceiling again. Now he was taunting her. "Please, leave now."

"Brother!" Another bolt flew up from the hole. "Stop hiding and fight me, Brother!"

Ohri looked back and saw Olivier's eyes widen slightly. He stared at her a moment.

~Take me as I am,~

"But… But…"

She heard Suzu blow the horn to call her Salamander and Shazan blast at the wall with an energy ray.

Ohri stared into Olivier's eyes, imploring the priest to heed her words. "Please… I don't want you to die."

~Take my life.~

Olivier blinked a few times and then nodded. He turned and hopped onto the Salamander with Shazan and the dark elf. They looked back at her a moment before taking off.

Olivier…all three of you… stay safe.

She turned back to the hole and jumped down to the floor below.

Her brother lowered his staff when she landed and smiled again. "So, you sent your little friends away, Brother?"

Ohri nodded and crossed her arms. "Why are you here, Hakiri?"

Hakiri held out his hand and gestured around him at the ruined building. "Why, to challenge you of course, my dear little brother."

She took a deep breath. "You're not even in the game Hakiri, remember? You chose to stay out of it. You can't just put yourself in when you choose. They'll hunt you down for it."

He lifted a finger and waggled it at her. "Tsk, tsk. Have you been away from our home so long that you don't remember the rules of the game?"

Ohri uncrossed her arms, confusion written on her face. "What about the rules? I know them all by heart. We all do."

He placed both hands on his staff and positioned the white wood in front of him. He then floated down and landed on the floor neatly. "The rules state that if a challenger has been killed, another may take his place, does it not?"

Ohri's eyes widened and a seed of fear was planted in her heart. "Who died?"

He sighed. "Unfortunately, brother Genshi… perished in a fight with one of the "higher ups," so to speak."

"Genshi…" she whispered. She remembered Genshi. He was one of the weakest of the brothers. Why would he challenge one of the higher ones? He wasn't stupid. He must've known that he couldn't win. She looked at Hakiri again. "Who killed him?"

Hakiri shrugged nonchalantly. "Who knows, they're still not sure who it was."

Ohri's eyes narrowed sharply. "You bastard. You killed him didn't you? Why did you do it? Genshi did nothing to you!"

"I never said I killed him, now did I?" He smirked at her.

Ohri's fists clenched. "Asshole. How could you? What happened to you in the temple ten years ago? You were never like this before."

His gold eyes took on a hard glint and he sneered at her. "You wouldn't be able to handle the tale." He pointed to the wicked scar, which had permanently closed his eye. "You see this? This is what I get for believing in the Elders! I was lucky to be alive when I got out of there. This was the least of my wounds." He put his hand back on his staff and smiled again, this time a little tightly. "I, one of the highest ranking sorcerers of our people, almost died in the Temple of the Gods. A place where I was supposedly going to find the almighty Gestalt, and learn great wisdom." He paused a moment. "And do you know what they said as they were healing me? 'I am sure Brother Ohri could have handled that situation better.' Do you know how humiliating it is to not be able to move, to speak; while people stand above you talking about how you are worthless?" He relaxed his stance a bit and stood up cockily. "I killed them both for that little comment after they finished with me," he waved his hand dismissively in the air, "but that's besides the point."

Ohri could only stare at him in disbelief. "You… you did all of that-killing Genshi, killing the healers, attacking this town, and countless others I'm sure-to get revenge because of a comment?" Her eyes narrowed sharply and she growled low in her throat. "I will kill you for that!"

She brought up her arms in front of her and crossed them to her chest as she began to recite the words to an ancient spell. She hoped it would work as she hadn't done it in many years and wasn't sure if all the words were correct.

"Warriors of the Southern sun, ablaze with the fire of truth and honor! Head my call and let me shine forth your light! Give me the strength to turn to ashes all those who oppose me!" She shot out her hands at him and a blast of white energy mixed with fire burst forth from her fingers, scorching the air itself as it flew at him. The ball twisted and rolled through the air, gathering speed and energy as it went. There was not much distance between them, but enough for the blast to turn blood red from the energy it collected.

Ohri hoped it would be enough but then saw his smile a millisecond before the blast reached him, and her eyes widened. Oh shit.

It burst right back at her as if it had bounced off of a wall and she was not in time to duck out of the way of the now deep crimson blast. It hit her with the speed of a comet and it felt as if the flesh was being torn from her body. It seared her down to her very bones. She was carried into the air about fifty feet and then plummeted, falling like a puppet with its strings cut. Her unearthly screams reverberated off the walls and when they finally died, she lay on the floor in a smoldering heap, unmoving. Her skin was black and her hair non-existent. The pain was terrible, and she wished for either death or unconsciousness to come and take her away. The only thing she would regret was not being able to be with Olivier before she went.

"Ah well, I'll see you later brother… when you're feeling a bit better. Perhaps I'll entertain myself with your little friends while you heal up." There was

pause. "Is there anything you'd like me to tell them before I tear their entrails from them while they watch? Or perhaps I should rip their hearts from their chest while they still beat… ooo… that last one sounds like fun… I think I'll try that one."

Ohri's eyes, though badly burned, snapped open. She screeched in pain and struggled to pick up her head.

"Oh, you still have something left do you?" She blurrily saw him making his way over to her.

"You…" her voice crackled and she wasn't really able to open her lips much. "You will not… not hurt… ah…" She dragged her pitch black left arm forward and was finally able to-while gasping from the pain-lift it high enough to point her open palm at him. He was almost upon her now, and he was raising his staff in the air.

~I would give it all,~

Gathering the last of her strength; infusing everything she had, everything she felt, into her palm, she screamed, "You will not… hurt… my FRIENDS!!"

The emotional blast caught him a bit unaware. He had not expected her to have so much power left it seemed because the last thing she heard before the darkness claimed her was his surprised scream.

~I would sacrifice.~

* * *

"…ri. I don't know Shazan. It seems strange that she hasn't woken up yet. After all that Olivier did." The voice crowded in her peacefulness and Ohri turned over in the soft sheets.

"One more second…" she mumbled.

"Oh crap! She's awake." A scramble. "Go get Olivier!"

"But he's-"

"I know he's sleeping, get him anyway!! He's been waiting a month for this!"

"Wha…" Ohri yawned and tried to lift her arms to stretch. The pain was so horrible that she screamed. Her eyes struggled to open, to see what was wrong, but she found that she couldn't open them. She tried harder and then raised her hands to her face to feel why she couldn't. Her muscles screamed in protest as she tried to bend her elbow.

She instantly felt hands on her and a cool cloth was applied to her forehead. "Don't move Ohri. You're still not better," Suzu said.

"My… my eyes… what's wrong with them?"

She heard Suzu sigh. "Don't you remember what happened to you?"

Ohri thought back but could only remember flames and excruciating pain. She shook her head lightly, noticing that even her neck muscles seemed stiff for some reason.

"You almost died," Suzu whispered, lowering the cloth and grabbing her hand. The smooth touch was light but hurt just as bad as if she had squeezed it.

Ohri sucked in a breath. "I almost… What are you talking about? And why can't I see?" Questions plagued her mind and she could barely sort them out in time to ask.

"I'll answer the last one first." Suzu took a deep breath. "You can't see because you have burns on your eyes and you have bandages covering them."

Ohri tried again to raise her hands to her face and when the pain hit, she ignored it. She passed her fingers over the ridges in the cloth over eyes and followed it to the knot on the back of her head. "Burns…?" she whispered, still not quite remembering what happened. She put her hands back on her lap and turned in the direction of Suzu's voice.

"Ohri… oh thank the gods!" Olivier's voice came from her right and she turned her head instinctively in his direction, expecting to see his smiling face but instead got blackness. Oh, that's right, I can't see him. Shit.

"Are you all right Ohri? We were so worried!" She heard him move closer to her and felt his gentle hand on her face. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt.

She nodded slightly. "Yeah, I suppose. I'm alive right?" She sighed. "What happened, Master? Why am I like this?" She moved her head a bit so that she could nuzzle his palm. The feeling was getting better and she finally noticed that he was using healing magic to numb the pain from his touch.

~Don't tell me, it's not worth fighting for.~

If she had been able to cry, she would have done so because this was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her. The fact that he cared enough, that they all cared-as Suzu and Shazan were still there, giving her words of encouragement-was enough to bring her to tears.

~I can't help it, there's nothing I want more.~

"Ohri, Ohri," Olivier's voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, yes?"

"Uh, you were… drooling on my arm. I was just making sure you were okay."

Her cheeks began to flame red. "Aggh! Crap! That hurts! Ow, ow, ow!"

Olivier placed his other hand on her other cheek and began to chant.

"Olivier, you shouldn't. You'll exhaust yourself," Shazan said. "You've been doing this a month straight. You're body can't handle it."

"Yeah, Father Olivier. Don't over exert yourself. I need to get you to Father Messiah alive you know."

Whap!

"Suzu, shut up! Is that all you care about?!"

"Ow! Dumb fortuneteller. I'll show you!"

"Don't wiggle your fingers at me, Dark Elf from Hell!"

"Dark Elf from… Oooo… you! I'll clobber you! In…"

Their voiced were drowned out by Olivier's, which seemed to be getting louder as the seconds ticked by. It was a spell that he was mumbling and the incoherent words and tone of voice were soothing to her.

~You know it's true, everything I do,~

Ohri felt a bit lightheaded. It's okay, Ohri, it'll pass. Olivier's voice resounded softly in her mind.

Master? What are you… how are you doing this?

It's part of the spell, don't worry. You should hopefully be able to see once I'm done, but I'm afraid I might miss that.

She became worried. But why, Master? What's going to happen to you?

…I have to use my own life force for this type of spell. I've been doing this since we found you a month ago and haven't really been able to sleep that well. …So I'll need to rest for a few days. I should be better after that… hopefully.

Her mental eyes watered. Oh, Master… don't do it then. I don't need to see right away. It's okay! Don't do-

No. Ohri, listen to me. You're going to get better… completely better. Even if… even if it costs me my life…

Ohri gasped and sat upright. "Olivier, no!"

~I do it for you.~

"Ohri, are you okay?" Suzu asked.

The pink haired sorceress blinked a few times, realized she could blink, and buried her head in her hands. "Oh no… Master…Why-" She untied the cloth and threw it to the floor sadly.

"What happened, Ohri? Didn't it work?"

Her head snapped up and she stared into perfect, and beautiful, dark green concerned eyes. Her brows shot up in surprise and she squealed and wrapped her arms around Olivier's neck. "I can see you, Master!"

"Ah…urk…*cough* Ohri…"

Whap!

"Ow! Hey, haven't you ever heard of healing the infirm not hurting them, dumb Elf!" She released Olivier, who sucked in some deep breaths.

"Nyah." Suzu stuck her tongue out at her.

Ohri rubbed her head, which actually had some hair, and looked around the room. In the room, there was the bed she was in, a wooden dresser with a mirror, a desk and a chandelier with candles. She noticed some bandages and some towels lying around along with ointments, incense (what the…?), and other stuff. She scrunched her eyebrows in wonder (they didn't hurt this time). "Hey, where's Shazan? He was here a second ago."

"What are you talking about 'a second ago'?" Suzu repeated. "You passed out after Olivier healed you and it's been about two hours or so."

"Really? Then what happened to him?"

Olivier scratched the back of his head and blushed sheepishly. "Weeelll, he sort of gave me some… okay, a lot, of his life force to help and fell asleep because of it."

Suzu grinned. "Yeah the cute idiot went down like a rock. He's in the other room."

"'Other room?'" Ohri repeated. "How many did we get this time?"

"Two."

"It's all they had at the moment. They're all full because of some special event that's happening here in two days. People booked two months ahead and we were lucky to get a cancellation," the priest added.

The sorceress did a quick calculation in her head and her finger shot in the air. "Ah! So Master and I have a room together?"

Olivier flamed a bright red and Suzu shook her head.

"No, dummy." Suzu pointed at herself. "I'm staying here with you, not Father Olivier."

Ohri's face fell. "Oh, okay."

"Wait, Suzu. Perhaps it would be better if I did stay here with her."

Suzu's ears shot up and her hair pointed on end. She put her hands on the side of her face and screeched, "WHAT?! You wanna sleep with her when she's in this condition? You dirty priest!"

Olivier waved his arms in the air frantically, face red again. "No! Suzu, it's exactly because she's in "this condition" that I should stay with her. I can heal her as I sleep. I know a few spells for that type of healing." He turned to Ohri's confused face. "They're not very powerful, but you'll be more comfortable when you sleep."

Ohri blinked a few times and her eyes watered.

~There's no love, like your love.~

She began to cry and Olivier jumped over and wrapped her gently in his arms.

~And no other, could give more love.~

"Shhh, Ohri, it's okay. It's okay, where does it hurt?" He began to chant a spell but she pushed him away not wanting him to use up his energy.

He looked at her, startled for a moment, and then his face turned calm, his eyes darkening almost imperceptibly. "I am sorry, Ohri. I was too brash. I apologize if I hurt you physically or emotionally." He turned with a curt nod to Suzu and left the room.

When he had made it to the door, Ohri had reached out to him but her mouth wouldn't form the words to make him stay.

~There's nowhere, unless you're there.~

As the door closed, her lip trembled and fresh tears came to her eyes. Suzu rushed over and softly put Ohri's head on her shoulder so that she could cry comfortably.

~All the time, all the way, oh.~

"It's going to be okay, Ohri. Don't worry about it. He didn't mean to do that. He was just startled that you pushed him away that's all. Which is kinda strange considering… but…"

An alarm went off in Ohri's head. She scrambled to get out of Suzu's grasp and stand up at the same time. She ended up tangling both her and the dark elf in the bed sheets and throwing both of them to the floor in the end.

They finally got untangled and Ohri started to run to the door. (She actually hopped since her legs weren't functioning properly.)

"Hey! Where are you going?! You're not better yet, get back here!"

Ohri turned to her, eyes wide. "He's got him, Suzu. I know he's got him."

Suzu looked at her quizzically and walked over. She rested a hand on her shoulder. "Who's got who, Ohri? What are you talking about?"

"Hakiri, my brother." She shrugged off the hand and limped out of the room, the dark elf following.

The place they were staying was actually pretty… had Ohri the time to stop and look around, she would have through so too. She rushed down the hall, limping of course, and caught her face in a mirror hanging by the other bedroom door.

"No, Ohri, don't look yet, you're not…"

Ohri paused for a second anyway and saw what she looked like now. Her eyes widened slightly before she turned and opened the door to the bedroom. So what if I look like a lump of coal with patches of pink hair? Olivier's life is first, not my vanity.

~You can't tell me, it's not worth trying for.~

As soon as the door opened, Ohri knew something was wrong. The air smelled strange and the atmosphere seemed to be made of a thick transparent cloud.

Shazan was asleep on the bed and Olivier was sitting on a chair that was facing a window. He didn't turn when she entered, nor did Shazan wake.

"Father Olivier?" Suzu asked after she poked her head over Ohri's shoulder to see inside.

The priest did not move but his shoulders shook as he began to laugh.

The two by the door instantly put up their guards because the laughter did not sound human, nor did it sound like Father Olivier.

"Master? Master, what's wrong?"

"'Master? Master, what's wrong'" he repeated in a whiney voice. He finally turned and both of them gasped. They hadn't noticed before, but his hair was a lighter aqua now, almost a tinted white. His eyes had turned a deep blue and the star on his forehead was black. His eyes also no longer shone with kindness and caring, but with malice and hate. "How pathetic. Really, Ohri, it is quite surprising what a powerful sorcerer can become when faced with one of life's weakest emotions…" He sneered. "Love."

"Hakiri! Hakiri, you sonofabitch! Where are you?! Show yourself, coward!!"

"Oh, you don't have to bother with him, he's around I'm sure." Olivier stood up and walked toward them. "But… he raised his hands and a blue glow enveloped the room. "You'll deal with me first."

Their eyes widened and suddenly he stopped and looked about the room. Cruel laughter filled the air and Ohri recognized Hakiri's voice. "Ah, lovely. This is perfect. Thank you Olivier, it is wonderful to have your… assistance."

Olivier rolled his eyes and then looked back at the girls.

"Hope you survive this, Ohri, I really do. I would like to fight you after this. It has been quite a long time since we got some "quality time" together hasn't it?"

Ohri growled. "Hakiri! Why are you hiding?! Are you scared of me?! Is 'big bad Hakiri' scared of a "lower level" sorcerer like me?!"

"Scared? Me? Of a… a… hahaha… Oh, you are good for something. You're quite the comedian, brother. I'm merely doing this for entertainment. It would be fun to see you fight the one person you… love… and perhaps have to kill him to save your own hide. Please, do continue Olivier. I'm awaiting the end eagerly."

The pink haired sorceress cursed and turned to Suzu. She chanted a small spell that would break the barrier the priest had created and opened the door to shove the Dark Elf through. She slammed it shut and locked it, the spell taking over immediately when she stopped chanting.

"Ohri! Ohri, you fool! Open the door! Let me back in I can help you! Ohri, you can't do this on your own!! You're not well yet!"

Ohri said nothing. She only stared at Olivier who was waiting patiently it seemed, for her to say or do something.

"Ohri! Are you going to fight Olivier?! Ohri!?"

Silence.

"You can't! Oh shit, Ohri!" Suzu banged on the door. "OHRI!! YOU CAN'T!"

~I can't help it, there's nothing I want more.~

Ohri risked a glance at Shazan and Olivier also looked over at him. Ohri found it strange that even through all this, he still hadn't woken up.

Bang, BAng, BANg, BANG! "Ohri!!!!"

"You are probably wondering why the fortuneteller has not woken up yet."

Ohri snapped her eyes back to Olivier and took a step forward.

"I need his energy at the moment, before I take yours that is. He has an amazing life force, it is actually quite amazing. It is almost like a bottomless well of energy." He smiled, not the beautiful calm smile of Olivier, but the smile of something truly evil. "But then again, I can see what he is." He shook his head. "But, enough of him."

Ohri wondered about what he had said for a second before shaking her head. She had to concentrate on the situation at hand. She'd worry about Shazan later. She just hoped he would survive. "Master, what's wrong with you? Snap out of it! Come on, Master!"

"Oh please, do stop with the whole "master" thing, it is quite annoying." He put his hands together as if in prayer and began to chant in another language.

She felt a tightening in her lungs and clutched at her chest. While gulping in air through her mouth she rasped, "Tch… why? Why… are you doing… this, Master? It's me… Ohri… please snap out… of it." She was finally able to stand up and breath, but he came at her, grabbing her neck in a tight hold.

Struggling for breath, she tried to claw his hands away but he tightened his grip and slammed her up against the door.

"Ohri! What's going on in there?! Ohri! Father Olivier! Someone!" Suzu banged on the door again. "Fine! Screw this crap! FIREBALL!" The door splintered but did not break or burn. "What the hell!? FIREBALL! FIREBALL! …grrrrrr…. FIREBALL!"

Olivier laughed and squeezed his hands tighter. Ohri refused to use her powers to hurt Olivier. She would try physical attacks but she wouldn't use her spells. He could recover from regular wounds better than magical ones and she couldn't take the chance of him dying because of something she did to him.

"Fight me, Ohri! I know you are not weak!" He turned his deep blue eyes on Shazan and then looked back to Ohri. "If you do not do something soon, Ohri dear, your little friend Shazan will die. I will suck all of the energy he has left and leave him a mere husk. Even he will die without it."

"Ohri! Ohri! Dammit! Open the fucking door!"

He smirked. "The Dark Elf will come after him then."

"I'll try it the hard way then!" they heard the dark elf scream.

The pink haired sorceress was unsure of what to do. She could blast Olivier with a low level spell, but he could block it and she was starting to get dizzy from lack of oxygen. She decided to try something else. She lifted her foot and slammed it into Olivier's shin as hard as she could. He cried out in pain and released her slightly. She brought down her hands on the back of his head and gasped for air as he fell to the floor.

He was up in an instant and brought up his fist to strike her jaw. He missed as she moved and ran to the other side of the room.

"Fine, since you won't give up peacefully, you leave me no choice, Master."

She brought up her hands and faced the palms toward him and before he could put up a defensive shield, a blast of air knocked him flat into the door and he fell dazed to the floor. The blue glow faltered a bit and Suzu came crashing through the door at top speed, a shocked look on her face, and ended up tripping over Olivier, both her and the door falling directly on top of him. It knocked him unconscious, unbelievably.

"Great, if I had known that it would've taken a Dark Elf to knock him out I'd have grabbed you and done it before!" Ohri said as she ran over to make sure Olivier was still breathing.

Suzu pushed herself up and moved the door away from Olivier. "Well, I did keep screaming for you guys to open th-"

Suzu was cut off by Hakiri's laugh. They could hear his hands clapping in his mirth and then he spoke. "Oh, that was funny! I haven't had a good laugh in years. How wonderful to have entertainment."

Ohri looked up from Olivier's limp form and sneered at the open air. "Go to Hell you fucking coward!"

"Oh… now is that any way to speak to your older brother, Ohri?" He paused. "Tell you what. I'll go to Hell, but I want to meet you there all right? Say by, oh… noonish tomorrow. Just follow the signs, you'll know where to find me."

"Hakiri! Hakiri!" She struck her fist into the floor in anger. "Damn him!" She looked back to Olivier, whose appearance was back to normal and then to Suzu who was looking at the bed where Shazan lay.

"What was that all about?" she asked without turning.

Ohri shook her head and began to scoop up Olivier in her arms. Suzu finally turned and helped her carry him over next to Shazan. Both of them were sound asleep and Suzu walked over to the fortuneteller. She gave him a poke and he jumped awake, startling both of the women.

"Eh… wha? Where? Huh?" he blinked a few times and looked about the room in confusion. "What the hell happened here?" He turned to see Olivier next to him and then looked at Ohri and Suzu. "What happened to him?"

"Me," Suzu said dejectedly. "And a door."

Shazan lifted an eyebrow and stared at Olivier for a moment. He turned, got out of the bed, stood up for a second and promptly fell on his ass. "Ow. That sucked." He shook his head and stood up shakily.

Suzu shook her head and went over to help him stand.

"Thanks. I don't know what's wrong with me. I should feel better after sleeping but I feel so woozy. What happened after I fell asleep?"

Ohri and Suzu proceeded to tell him the story, Ohri looking at him curiously the whole time.

"Do you think Father Olivier will be all right?" Suzu asked Ohri after they had finished their tale.

Ohri removed her hands from Olivier's temples and shook her head. "I have no idea what my brother did to him so I really don't know." She turned to the elf and the fortuneteller. "Listen you two, I want you guys to stay with him while I'm gone. Make sure h-"

"Gone?" they both interrupted.

"What do you mean gone?" asked Shazan.

"Yeah, where are you going?" Suzu narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I have to stop Hakiri. He's gone mad since I last saw him and I have to do something about it."

"Ohri, you can't!" Suzu yelled. "You'll die! You're not fully healed yet!"

The sorceress shook her head sadly and looked away from the pair. "I know. But I have to stop him. It doesn't matter what happens to me. This has to end here. Besides…" …he tried to use Olivier against me… I can never forgive him for that.

~I would fight for you,~

She closed her eyes a moment and when she opened them and looked back, they were standing by Olivier's bedside, eyes downcast. "Look… I'm sorry. If I don't come back… tell him… tell…" Why can't I say it? What's stopping me?

Suzu nodded and sat down on the bed. Shazan went to grab the only chair in the room and brought it over for him to sit on.

Ohri made her way to the door and looked back one last time at the three people most dear to her in the world, but none of them watched as she left… and none of them saw her tears.

* * *

Ohri walked through the gates of the Temple of the Gods. She couldn't believe it. She was home. After so long a journey to get to the one place she wanted to go, after so hard a struggle to finally make it, she was there… and she didn't want to be.

She had wanted to get to Gestalt with Olivier… with Suzu and Shazan. She wanted to show them her home, where she grew up; her friends, her family… but now…

She sighed and looked around her. This was the first time she had ever been inside the temple itself, so it was a bit overwhelming. The walls seemed to stretch forever into the sky. There appeared to be no ceiling but Ohri knew this was not true, it was just an illusion that the tall walls created.

The floor was made of large, mirror-polished white tiles and the walls of white speckled stone. Tapestries hung about in different places, depicting scenes of wheat fields in bloom or a shadowy figure overlooking a group of people who were picking the wheat. There were some runes carved here and there on the walls and as Ohri continued down the large entry hall, she noticed that the runes became more elaborate and got longer and larger. Some were in circles and others in the shape of one large rune.

She couldn't figure out what half of them were for. It seemed as if someone had come in and was practicing his or her spell casting. She stopped in front of one in the shape of a bird, the only one that seemed out of place. It had felt as if the spell called out to her. She shook her head and was about to continue toward the only door in the room, but a noise stopped her. Ohri turned slowly and strained her hearing.

There it was again. Someone… or something had called out her name. She turned back toward the spell and looked at it closely. She recognized some of the runes but others were very complicated. She had never really studied hard on spell interpritation when she was in school. Nothing else happened and nothing called her name so she glanced back once more at the spell, memorized as much as she could of it, and walked to the door. It was decorated with silver and gold carvings and had a giant "G" as the door handle.

When she placed her hand upon it, she began to swoon. Heat flooded her limbs and a small crackle of green energy crept along her skin. She heard a voice in her head that said, "All who enter here shall come in their true form. Shed thy false skin and enter the Temple of the Gods."

There was a whirring of wind and sparkling colored lights and Ohri's eyes closed. She could feel her skin molding and changing, her limbs stretching and ripping her tight clothes. She felt her breasts shrink and her sex change to that of a man.

When he opened his eyes, it took Ohri a few moments to fully realize what had happened. He looked down and saw that his clothes were stretched taught over his muscular body, some of it ripped because it was molded to fit a small woman. Some of his toes were poking out from his shoes and he noted with delight that his skin was back to normal. He reached up and ran his fingers through his hair, caressing his scalp and loving the fact that it didn't hurt.

He smiled and then remembered what he was there for. Ohri grabbed the large handle again and opened the door in one fluid movement.

Being a man again was not as easy as Ohri had hoped. He had to get used to having a longer stride and a taller frame. It was a bit dizzying to walk in his old body so it took him some time to climb the many steps that appeared before him when he opened the door.

Upon reaching the last step, he found himself in a large room with tall oval windows. There were a few people milling about and two short men in green frocks rushed up and pulled him over to the left side of the room. There, in front of everyone (no one was paying attention anyway) they stripped him and anointed his body with scented oils. After they finished, one of them said a prayer and the oils were soaked into his skin immediately. He felt tingly and just stood and watched as they dressed him in a loose fitting pair of blue pants and a light grey long sleeved shirt.

When they finished, they shooed him off in the direction of another door that had a guard in front of it. As he approached, the guard barely glanced up as he opened the door for him. He nodded his thanks and when he looked up, he saw open wheat fields. His eyes widened and he whipped his head around to ask the guard what the hell had just happened, but the door was gone and he was standing alone in the middle of the tall grasses.

He turned back and was startled to find Hakiri standing in front of him with a smirk on his face. He jumped back a few feet and readied himself for the attack that was sure to come.

Hakiri watched him, the smirk never leaving his face, and then took one step forward. He snapped his fingers and his staff appeared in his hand. He raised his arms and gestured around the meadow. "So, don't you like it here, Ohri? Isn't it just lovely?" he sneered out the last word. "The last time I was here, the skies were the color of blood and the field was burning." He glared at him. "I guess good old Gestalt likes you more."

Ohri got a quick glance around the area and began to talk to distract Hakiri. If he was going to win this and end Hakiri's reign of terror, he had to make the man angry enough to mess up. "So, that shows who the gods favor, now doesn't it?"

~I'd lie for you,~

Hakiri's eyes narrow and he gripped his staff in both hands, his knuckles turning the same color as the wood. He raised it high above his head and slammed it down in the earth, creating a large rent in the ground that stretched to just before Ohri's feet.

The pink haired sorcerer swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared at the gap in the floor. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to piss him off even more. Crap.

A yellow glow began to form in the opening and Ohri took a few steps away from it. He looked up at Hakiri who was chanting over his staff with his pointer fingers pressed together and his other fingers entwined; his hands under his chin and his head bowed. Ohri wasn't sure what he was doing but if the man was still chanting it would be probably be a bad spell. He had to do something quick. He put up a shield of force in front of him with one hand and began to write on the air with the other. He hoped to Gestalt that he could remember every part of the spell shaped like a bird. This was only the second time he had used a spell in this manner, the first time had landed him in the infirmary for a few weeks because it was done wrong.
Right when he was about to write the last two runes, the ground began to rumble. He couldn't afford to break the spell for fear of the consequences so he had to put down his shield to catch his balance. The rumbling grew and the last two runes glowed in the air where he had written them. Saying a small prayer to Gestalt and any other gods that happened to be listening, he stepped back from the glowing writing.

He heard the earth ripping all around him and turned his head slightly to see what was going on. Fissures were opening all over the ground and steam rose from each one. Hakiri stood in the middle, still chanting, the ground underneath his feet steady as ever. Ohri turned back to the writing and his eyes widened. It was gone. He looked around, thinking that maybe he had somehow messed up the spell. He was about to start again when a piercing cry split the sky.

He looked up quickly and saw a glowing form coming straight at him in a dive. It looked like a giant bird and when it got about five feet from him, it pulled up from its dive and flapped its glowing white wings to keep itself suspended in place. It stared him in the eye and Ohri heard a voice in his head. It was soft and breathy and it calmed him immensely. His eyes closed as the world disappeared and was replaced by a calm empty space.

Who callsss usss? What do you want of usss?

Ohri didn't know what to do. He wasn't expecting a giant glowing white bird to appear from the spell, and he sure as hell wasn't expecting it to talk to him. "I… I called because I need… help."

Help? You called usss to help you?

"Y-yes. I need help to stop my brother, Hakiri."

Ssstop him? Ssso you want to dessstroy him then?

"If it is the only way, then yes."

That isss the way… many have chosssen it before you. What makesss you think you are worthier than them?

"Well… I… no, I don't think I'm worthier than them, but I think that my cause is noble enough to justify your help. My brother is too powerful for me to handle alone, I need some help."

You had help had you not? You have friendsss. You could have called them to help.

"Y-yes, but… I… I didn't want… Look, I don't know what this has to do with anything. Are you going to help me or not? I don't mean to be rude but my brother is out there trying to kill me and if he does that then he'll go and kill my friends and after that he'll probably destroy everything! You seem to know a lot of things so why can't you see that this is a bad situation and that I need your help!?"

There isss a price. Are you willing to give up everything to sssave your friendsss? Are you willing to sacrifice your life and mossst assssssuridly your brothersss life to save all you hold dear, knowing that you will never be able to sssee them again?

~Walk the wire for you,~

Ohri thought about it a moment, thought about it hard. He sighed and a picture of Olivier entered his mind. He would give up anything to save the people he loved. Especially to save… Olivier… "Yes."

~Yeah I'd die for you.~

Ssso be it then. We are yoursss to command.

The world came back in a rush and Ohri snapped open his eyes. The bird was not around him, he knew this without having to look. He knew that when the time came, it would be there.

Hakiri had finished his spell and the wheat field was now dark. Ohri looked up at the sky and saw the once clear blue was now black and clouds were gathered around rumbling their displeasure. Lighting flickered in each one and Ohri heard a loud CRACK! behind him. He turned and saw that a part of the wheat field had caught fire from a bolt of lightning. He looked back at Hakiri and saw that the man was smiling. "Do you like it? It's my kind of weather." He lifted his hands up to the sky, the staff still stuck in the ground before him, and rain began to pour down from the heavens.

It fell in cool drops onto Ohri's head and it eventually put out the fire in the field. He looked up again and let the drops fall on his face, letting the rain wash away the tears that had sprung up in his eyes. He knew he would never see Olivier after this battle. But he hoped with everything he had that Suzu would keep her promise and tell him how he had felt. He looked at Hakiri again and shook his head, his wet pink locks tumbling over his shoulder as he did so. "It amazes me that something so beautiful can come from someone so revolting. It saddens me that you've become what you are, Hakiri." He hung his head sadly. "You are not my brother any longer. You haven't been my brother for ten years. That man died here in the Temple of the Gods."

"Oh, is that so?"

Ohri nodded slightly and turned his eyes to Hakiri again. He positioned his left hand perpendicular to his right, first two fingers of each hand extended. "Let's begin." He mumbled the words to a small spell and thrust his hands out. A blast of wind spiraled toward Hakiri and the man blocked it easily.

He began to chant while he picked up his staff and twirled it in front of himself. A crackle of lighting shot down from the clouds and struck the ground where Ohri was standing just a second before.

He had jumped into the air and landed a few feet to the side from where he was before. Hakiri twirled and chanted again, and another bolt came down, faster this time. They continued this for a while before Hakiri changed his attack and used his staff to directly shoot Ohri with electricity.

Ohri put up a quick shield and was pushed back by the force of the blow. He shook himself out of it and when he looked toward the other man, found that he was gone. He scanned the area but couldn't see him in the dark. He mumbled a small light spell and sent it into the air to illuminate the surroundings. He finally saw where Hakiri was and was just in time to block as a blast of water hit him. Ohri sputtered in confusion and then remembered that Hakiri was a master of all the elements. It would be hard to get him with any of the fire or wind spells that he knew so he opted for a third choice. He would try physical attacks to see what would happen.

He ran at Hakiri full speed and blasted at him with a fireball knowing that the other man would block this easily. When he did, Ohri dove forward and placed both hands on the floor to push himself off, feet first toward Hakiri, catching him in the chin with his heel and driving the man up into the air.

Hakiri landed on his back and Ohri slid to a stop a few feet away from him. Hakiri stood up shaking his head and passed his wrist over his mouth where his lips had been cut. Ohri could see more blood trickling down his chin.

His brother spit to the side and dropped his staff on the floor. "If that's the way you want it, brother, then so be it. I've always been stronger and faster than you. We'll see who wins this time."

They ran at each other Hakiri striking out with his fist and Ohri with his leg. Both dodged by jumping out of the way and both turned, lighting quick, and came at the other again. Ohri aimed a punch at Hakiri's face but the sorcerer ducked and struck him in the gut. The breath was knocked out of him for a few seconds, which was all that Hakiri needed to slam his knee into his face as he was doubled over.

Blood gushing from his nose, Ohri's head snapped back and just as he was about to fall backwards on the floor he twisted his body enough to put his hands on the floor and push off, away from the other man. He wiped his face with his sleeve and took a few deep breaths to collect his wits.

Hakiri stood a ways away from him and just watched him.

A second before he was about to move, Ohri felt something behind him. He turned fast but wasn't in time to dodge the staff's attack. Ohri screamed in pain as the electricity shot through his body. Part of his shirt singed off and the breath was knocked out of him yet again. He fell to the floor in a heap and didn't move for a moment. The world was still crackling all around him and when Hakiri came over and kicked him in the back, he hardly felt it. A few more well placed kicks and Ohri became aware of a sharp pain in his spine. Get up! his mind screamed. Are you stupid!! Get up!! The kicks stopped and Ohri was able to turn his head in the other man's direction. He saw Hakiri standing a few feet away, right side facing him, chanting a spell. The staff was floating in front of him and his eyes were closed. Ohri took a few deep breaths and tried to stand, his body just starting to feel the beating he'd been receiving. Olivier's face floated in his vision; smiled at him and told him that it would be okay, and Ohri's limbs began to work again. He shrugged off the pain and stood.

Hakiri finally noticed the movement it seemed because he turned his head slightly yet continued with his spell. Ohri knew he couldn't wait any longer. He charged at his brother and ran into an invisible wall. Hakiri smiled and continued, not even bothering to look at Ohri anymore. The pink haired sorcerer tried over and over to break through but to no avail. He decided to try magic and began to chant his own spell. It was like the one he used to break the seal around the room with Olivier except it was more powerful. Suprisingly, it worked. He blinked a few times, noticed that Hakiri hadn't realized his seal was broken, and dove at the man through the opening the spell had created.

He tackled Hakiri to the floor, interrupting the spell he was casting and proceeded to pound his face into a bloody pulp. Hakiri's hand spasmed and his staff dropped to the floor. The blood dripping down Ohri's face fell onto Hakiri's and mingled with the blood now forming under Ohri's fists. "Damn you, Hakiri! You brought this upon yourself!" Ohri screamed as he continued to hit him. "Why did you turn out like this?! Why do I have to kill you to stop you?! WHY?! You're my brother! You're my BROTHER!!!" Tears began to stream down his face and he stopped hitting Hakiri. He stood and walked a few feet from the other man and fell to his knees on the floor, the rain continuing to pour from the heavens. He turned his face up to the clouds again and ran his hands down his face in sadness. I have to kill my brother; I have to leave the man that I love, the friends that I love… and all for what? For revenge? Because he killed Genshi, and all those other people? He only did it because of me. It's my fault all those others died… all mine. He stood shakily and turned to Hakiri who was still lying on the floor, unmoving and began to walk over to him.

Before he got within five inches of him, Hakiri's hand shot out and a string of electricity wrapped itself around Ohri's throat.

Ohri screamed in pain and Hakiri stood up, hand still facing him. His brother growled and began to close his fist, cutting off Ohri's air supply. "You feel bad because you have to kill your brother?" he hissed. Ohri could hardly recognize him. His face was covered in blood that was half washed away by rain and his left eye was already swollen shut. His nose jutted at an unnatural angle and he saw a few teeth missing. It was even more frightening when he grinned. He moved closer to Ohri's face so that he could be heard over the lightning. "Well I don't." He closed his fist even tighter.

Ohri scrambled for breath but the electric hand only tightened around his neck. The world began to get dark and just before Ohri was about to pass out, the hand let go and he dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. It took him a moment to realize that something had happened. He looked up and his eyes widened as he saw what it was that had made Hakiri stop.

The rain had finished and Olivier floated in the air above them, a green glow surrounding him. He was Olivier and not the evil person Ohri had seen before, but he looked almost ethereal now. Ohri finally noticed that behind Olivier were two people; Suzu and Shazan. Ohri knew hope for the first time in a long time. He was even able to smile and stood up shakily.

The trio landed and Olivier stepped toward Hakiri, his eyes glowing green.

Hakiri sneered. "Tch. Do you really think that you can stop me Olivier? You and your pathetic powers?"

"Hey! He was able to get you to let go of Ohri wasn't he?!" Suzu screamed from behind Olivier. She and Shazan moved to each side of the priest and took in their surroundings. When her eyes fell on Ohri, she gasped and pointed. "Wha-wha-what the hell!? Ohri? Is that you?"

Ohri nodded slightly and turned to Olivier. "Master?" Olivier did not look at him but held out a hand to Hakiri. His glowing palm became brighter and a blast of green energy shot out toward the purple haired man.

Hakiri lifted an eyebrow and raised his own hand. The green blast was dispersed and he walked calmly over to his fallen staff to pick it up. "As I said before. What do you think you can do to me with your power? If Ohri can't defeat me, what makes you think you can?"

Olivier didn't answer and Ohri finally realized that he was in a trance of some sort. He looked over at Suzu and Shazan and asked them, "What happened to him? Why is he like this?"

Both of them shrugged.

"I don't know," Shazan said looking back at Olivier who had his head bent in prayer. "He got like this when we got to the door of this place. He placed his hands upon the handle and suddenly he started to glow."

"Yeah, it was really weird… he ju-" Suzu started.

BOOM!

All three of them turned in the direction of the sound and saw a cloud of smoke where Hakiri was standing before.

"D-did he get him?" Suzu stammered.

Ohri narrowed his eyes and ran toward the three screaming, "NO! Get down now!!"

He wasn't in time. A huge blast of water wrapped in electricity shot toward them from the cloud and struck Olivier square in the chest. He screamed and fell to the floor unmoving, his skin crackling from the power. Ohri and the other two rushed over to him. He gathered Olivier in his arms and shook him. "Olivier, Olivier. Olivier please… please open your eyes! Olivier!!!" No… sweet Gestalt… NO!!!

~You know it's true,~

He checked to see if he was breathing, but could feel no air coming out of his nose. He placed his ear to Olivier's chest just as Hakiri stepped from the smoke and placed his staff on the floor calmly. Ohri didn't hear a heartbeat. Olivier's clothes were ripped and singed from the blast but Ohri could see no blood. This is not happening, this is not happening. Olivier is not dead. No… this is not real… not real. Tears sprang to his eyes and clouded his vision.

"Father Olivier?" Suzu squeaked from behind him. "Ohri, is he… is it… oh god… no…" Ohri heard her bury her head in Shazan's chest and heard the fortuneteller trying to comfort her-the pain in his voice showing even though he was whispering.

Ohri checked once more for a sign of life, but finding none, placed Olivier gently on the floor and stood up wiping his eyes. Hakiri would pay for this, he would pay with his life.

~Everything I do,~

The one person that Ohri loved more than anyone in the world had just been killed by this man; this man that was once his brother… this man that would now die by his hand.

He took a few steps forward and put himself between the three and Hakiri. Without saying a word, he ran at him, faster than he had before. Hakiri was so startled that he fumbled the spell he was about to cast and caught a fist to his jaw. Blood spurted out of his mouth and he stumbled back, catching himself with his staff before he collapsed to the floor. He spit out a few more teeth and ran his tongue across his lips to pick up the blood.

Ohri didn't stop there, he ran at him again and mumbled a fire spell while flipping backward in the air and bringing his foot up to kick Hakiri. The man dodged the kick but couldn't dodge the blast that came directly after. His robes caught fire and he doused them with a small water spell.

Ohri moved and put a good distance between them. He turned, stood tall and brought up his arms in front of him and crossed them to his chest, preparing to do the spell he had tried to do in his first fight with Hakiri.

Hakiri watched him a moment before smiling, the gaps in his teeth showing and blood still oozing out of the side of his mouth. "You're gwoin' to try that agwain? You don' gwive up do you? It won' gwork." He spit and put up his staff in front of himself to start his protection spell.

Ohri knew that if this attempt at the spell didn't work, they would all be lost. Already he was beginning to doubt himself but knew that Suzu and Shazan's … and everyone else's lives were riding on his shoulders. He glanced at his friends and his eyes began to water as he saw Suzu on the floor weeping over Olivier whose head was resting in her lap. Shazan stood over her, preparing a shield of his own just in case something happened. He looked up at Ohri when he was done and nodded his encouragement.

Ohri turned back to Hakiri and was about to began to say the words of the spell when he noticed something about Hakiri that he hadn't noticed before, the man had a huge burn on the side of his neck that Ohri was sure hadn't been there before. He smiled slightly and his confidence grew. So, his last battle had left a mark on the other man. He was glad that he had done something to him. At least now he had a bit of hope that he could defeat him.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and began. "Warriors of the Southern sun, ablaze with the fire of truth and honor! Head my call and let me shine forth your light! Give me the strength to turn to ashes all those who oppose me!" He paused and then continued. "With you by my side, we shall defeat any and all before me. Come forth, SHINTORI!!" He thrust out his arms and a screech was heard as the glowing white bird appeared from his fingertips and infused itself with the blast. Ohri could feel something being ripped from his body and he screamed along with the bird. He now knew what the price was… his soul. He collapsed as the blast of fire and energies went flying at Hakiri, a smile on his face. Olivier… you're safe now…

Hakiri's eyes widened and he realized too late that his shield would not hold against a blast as great as that. The ball rushed through the air and went from crimson, to blood, to almost black and when it hit him, he screamed louder than Ohri had as it tore the flesh from his body and left nothing but ashes behind in its wake.

There was a resounding BOOOOOOOM! and Suzu and Shazan closed their eyes as an extremely bright flash of light exploded in front of them. Shazan struggled to hold up the barrier and Suzu put up a firewall to help.

After a few moments it ended and they opened their eyes. The dispersed their shields and looked around at the perfectly beautiful wheat field. Not a scratch marred the meadow and the sky was as clear blue as they had ever seen it.

Suzu blinked a few times and then gasped as she felt a movement on her lap. She looked down and saw Olivier's eyelids twitching. He moaned and lifted his hand slowly to his head. "Oh shit!" she screeched. "He's alive!!"

Shazan looked down and saw Olivier blinking up at them. "Wha- what happened? Where am I?"

Suzu helped him sit up, tears streaming down her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed. "Oh, Father Olivier… we thought… we thought…"

"Where's Ohri?"

Suzu's head shot up and she looked around, her eyes cloudy from the tears. "Oh, we didn't even think… Oh no!" She scrambled up from the floor and rushed over to where Ohri lay unmoving on the ground.

Shazan helped Olivier stand up and he brought him over to where Suzu and Ohri were. He placed him gently on the floor next to the unmoving sorcerer and Olivier placed his hand on Ohri's chest, feeling for a heartbeat. "Suzu, what happened here? What happened to Ohri?" He could feel his heart beating, but it was faint and came every once in a while. It was not a good sign. He began to cast a healing spell, but stopped after a few seconds, startled. "Oh dear gods… he doesn't… there isn't…" He turned wide eyes to the Dark Elf and the fortuneteller. "What happened to Ohri? Why doesn't he have a life force?"

Suzu and Shazan could do nothing but stare.

"Why doesn't he have a life force?!"

Suzu placed her finger tips under Ohri's nose.

"He battled his brother again, Olivier. And he won. You were struck down by Hakiri, and after you fell, Ohri gave it everything he had to end his brother's life." He looked down at Ohri. "I'm afraid that he gave it all."

"Ohri did this… for… for me? For all of us?" Olivier's eyes showed his confusion and pain, and tears slid down his cheeks.

~I do it for you.~

Suzu could only watch as Olivier placed his head in his hands and wept. She gasped and looked down at Ohri's face when she could no longer feel him breathing. She placed a hand on his neck and checked to see if he still had a pulse.

A minute went by… two… and she began to sob uncontrollably.

Shazan came down and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to him as she cried. "Oliv… Olivier…" she mumbled through Shazan's shirt after a few moments. "I… I have a mess… a message from Ohri… bef… before he left you… with us…"

Olivier didn't stop crying but nodded slightly and Shazan nodded for her to go on. "She… he told me to tell y-you… that… that he… loved you. I… I don't think he could have done it him… himself… but… but he did… a lot."

Olivier wailed and threw himself on top of Ohri's body, cursing the gods, cursing Ohri, cursing himself… and knowing that nothing that he could do, would bring Ohri back. Even with all the healing spells in the world, he could not bring Ohri back. "I… I love you too, Ohri…" he whispered. No one heard him.

~The End~