Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Beyond the Illusion ( Chapter 30 )

XxX

Sacrifice

By: Melissa Norvell

Chapter 30: Beyond the Illusion

XxX

'How strange…' Undine noticed that she was in an entirely different part of the forest then everyone else. There were trees around her and a small brook that she'd not noticed upon entering. The long-haired girl was expecting to see Hiroshima and Tsurugi but they seemed to be nowhere in the vicinity.

"Azmy? Feist? Keiji? Uh, dark angel dude? Anyone!?" Chichiri shouted out the names of his allies but no one was even remotely close to him. He could have sworn that they didn't leave him that far behind but he guessed differently. 'I'm so lost…and so confused…' He thought in dismay as he wondered where he was aloud. "I thought everyone had been in front of or behind me but no one's here…But that doesn't make any sense. They can't be that far ahead…can they?"

Musashi flew through his area of the forest, frantically trying to find the others. He knew what was going on and there was no time to waste. They were in danger and he was the only one who could lead them to safety. 'I've got to find them! Who knows what traps Flora has set…and using this whole forest as a shroud will definitely cause problems…Especially since three of them are injured…I knew this wasn't a good idea!' The bird thought in dismay as he flew off through the trees.

"I wonder if we're the only ones who managed to stay together," Keiji remarked. He didn't see many people go in with each other but some of them were close together and if they all ended up in different parts of the forest, would two people who were close together end up in the same place?

"I'm not sure. Azmy and Ko were pretty close behind each other. They might have been together," Fife replied thoughtfully.

"For once, I'm glad that you grabbed my hand."

The feminine one smiled. "See? I'm useful."

That smile caused Keiji to feel uneasy. He blushed slightly and turned away. Fife always seemed to be teasing him. It was just embarrassing! However, he didn't seem to be as bothered by the other male as he was initially. Perhaps they had become closer as friends.

"Well…" The green-haired male's voice was subdued.

"Keiji-kun," the happy male's cheerful voice seemed closer and when Keiji looked up he could see that Fife was incredibly close to his face. When he looked up they nearly kissed. This caused a sense of panic over his being as he yelled and threw himself back from the happy teen.

"Don't do that!" He yelled, both out of surprise and fright. The startled male looked as if he'd had a heart attack. Fife simply replied with an amused 'okay' and took a few steps ahead before he was told to wait. Fife stopped and looked over his shoulder with his ever-present smile.

"Yes, Keiji-kun?"

"Let's not get out of each other's sights. We might get separated again," Keiji knew that if he lost Fife then it would only make things harder. He could feel the other male's long, elegant hand wrap around his wrist and navy blue eyes gazed upon him with nothing but kindness and sorrow trapped within the color of his iris.

"If we're touching, we can't get separated," Fife suggested as his ally agreed.

Azmy sat where she was. She looked clueless as to what to do and thought to herself as she remained in one place. 'What do I do? Do I sit here and wait for someone to find me or do I look for everyone? It seems like we all ended up in different places…I wonder where everyone else ended up at. I hope they are alright.'

'I've got to find them. If they are separated for too long, they'll die in this forest.' Musashi thought as he weaved in between the trees. He hadn't seen anyone yet but hoped that he could make it to them in time.

XxXx

"You'll never reach me this way…foolish humans. The forest is a shroud that clouds the senses and when you're lost…everything begins to look identical," Flora said to herself as she sat within her protective forest. If they found a way through the Forest of Illusion then and only then would they be a worthy adversary to her.

XxXx

Chichiri wandered around the forest floor aimlessly with no set direction. He was hoping to run in to something or someone that could help him but he didn't find much of anything. Looking around, nothing could be seen that was even recognizable. "Man, I've been walking this place for hours and…hm?" He was distracted from speaking to himself as he walked up to an old tree stump that was now a home for bright green moss with a few white, small flowers on it.

He found this very familiar. 'I could have sworn I passed this…' The blonde thought to himself. "Then again, I've been saying that for a while now…Ugh…everything looks the same."

"Over here?" Fife said as he and Keiji walked in a different direction then they were originally headed. They seemed to be just as lost as Chichiri. They were now holding hands and the green-haired drummer could feel the warmth that came from them. Keiji hadn't had his hand held since he was small and gazed upon their clasped hands, trying to place what exactly he felt. These weren't feelings of sorrow or malice but those of serenity. It was as if something felt right about it, no matter how fiercely he tried to argue with the fact that he was straight.

"No, there's the same tree we found a few minutes ago," the navy-haired male scratched the top of his head in confusion. "This is pretty frustrating," he said, his voice contradictory to his statement.

"Haven't we been walking in circles?" Keiji finally spoke up.

"That's impossible. We've not turned even once."

"Well, something's not right."

"This makes my head hurt," Fife whined.

Chichiri ran as fast as he could until he came to a familiar sight. He slowed down and stopped, staring at the sight before him in frustration and exasperation. It was the same identical tree stump that he had passed earlier. "You have got to be kidding me…."

Azmy began to walk around slowly. She wasn't sure if this was the best idea and she kept her hands to her chest to appear small. Her gaze was uncertain, seeing as she'd never been in the Forest of Illusion before. 'I don't know where I am…'

Hiroshima stood on the ground, looking up towards his mate, who could barely keep himself in the sky due to his injured wing. Out of the two of them, Tsurugi was the only one with the power of flight so he was the one who would try to find some sort of end to the forest and hopefully lead them to their destination. The spiky-haired man asked him what he saw and the blonde angel simply replied 'trees.'

This frustrated him.

"I can see trees down here. I was looking for an end to the trees or a clearing of some kind," Hiroshima replied sarcastically.

"Well, there's a clearing a short distance from here," Tsurugi landed beside of his wingless mate. "Do you really think going to Flora by ourselves is a good idea?"

"The kid was right. If we all just try to head to one spot, then we should be able to meet eventually."

"Yes but will they all follow through with this plan?"

"Who knows? Just hope that they keep their heads and think things through."

"They're just kids, Hiro-kun," the dark angel looked at his lover with a sympathetic expression. "Can you really blame them for being scared? They aren't like you and I."

"You're 127 years old," Hiroshima commented. Of course there was an evident difference between the blonde and the rest of the children in their group.

"True," Tsurugi agreed. "You are closer to their age but even though you aren't that much older they, you have battle-ridden sights. You've seen many things and you were forced to grow up a lot faster then they."

"I don't believe this is the case," the wingless angel narrowed his eyes. He had different theories about the people in the group he was in. These kids were anything but normal.

"You don't?" Tsurugi blinked in question.

"I think that they've been through a few trials of their own. They've just been spoiled and became weak."

"They aren't killers as you are," Tsurugi didn't necessarily believe that they were so much like him, even if they weren't normal. "They don't have a malicious and malevolent presence as you, nor do they have your bloodlust. You're sadistic nature and strong mind have kept you alive. You're very wise for only being in your early twenties."

The wingless angel walked ahead of his mate. He'd have no more talk of their disagreements. They had simply disagreed and that was it. Even though they were angels, not every angel saw things from the same angel and they had the right to their own opinion. Tsurugi walked after him.

"Hiro-kun?"

"What?"

"Are your wings…" He began to ask with a saddened expression as he gently laid his hand over Hiroshima's wound. He knew that this was something his lover was very touchy about. It wasn't a matter of pride at all. Hiroshima was prone to flashbacks of the horrible situations he'd been through and people liked to cut off angel wings simply because of their magical powers. Tsurugi knew that, in his own way Hiroshima felt the pain of being prey and being attacked by his own sword only added insult to injury. He knew that Hiroshima would not blame the Crimson, for a weapon was only obedient to whoever held it.

The young angel's stoic and remorseful expression only clarified his theory. "It's much deeper than anyone can imagine, isn't it?"

"That's not important. The only thing that matters is getting to Flora," Hiroshima's features hardened back up and he trudged on, as if it were a trivial subject. Even though he was in so much pain he was able to walk forward and rise above it and for that, Tsurugi admired him.

"I guess you're right. You always try to be so strong, despite your problems," the older angel complimented his love. 'And that's what makes you admirable…'

"Son of a- ARGH!!" Chichiri screamed in frustration and tried to pull out his blonde locks as he saw the tree stump yet again. It seemed like it almost haunted him. He didn't understand why or how he kept seeing it. He tried walking in every different direction and he always seemed to come back to the same spot. What was he doing wrong? "I'm going to do insane!"

Azmy looked down the two paths before her. 'Now where do I go?'

Ko jumped around through the tree branches. She figured that she could see the path below from a better perspective if she kept in a high place. This way she'd know where path's lead to and if there was any danger ahead. 'Still no sign of them. Just miles and miles of trees,' the white-haired girl thought to herself. "Huh?" Ko landed on the ground on one knee and looked at what was before her. It was a path. 'Maybe it leads somewhere. It's worth a chance anyway.' After pondering on what to do, she darted off down the path.

Coincidently, Azmy was headed down the path as well and came straight towards her, not knowing that the she and Ko were on a collision course. "This one," she said to herself as she ran as quickly as she could.

'What's that noise?' Ko stood stock still as she heard the pounding of boots against the ground. The white-haired woman looked around in apprehension and stood her ground, poised to attack whatever came her way.

'I hear footsteps…' The shy girl narrowed her eyes when the white haired singer's footsteps stopped ahead, 'maybe one Flora's minions.' She pulled out her pistol and aimed it for the small figure in front of her.

'You can never be too sure about this place.' Ko thought to herself as she saw the other figure point something at her. This was it! Something was attacking her and there was no doubt that she would be entered in another fight. The woman cursed herself for not only being injured by being alone against someone or something like this.

Shots were fired and Ko's face lit up in surprise. "What the-" She began to speak but was silenced by the shots and took off running down the road. The singer didn't think that she'd face to face an armed person and there was no way she'd be able to dodge any bullets whatsoever in her state. Running was her only option until she could get to a place where she could face the bullets on her own.

She found a large shrub a few feet away and dove in to it. "Damn…What the hell was that?"

Azmy ran up to the road beside of the shrub and stood in the middle of it, looking around for whatever she shot at. "I saw something…Come out!!"

"Huh?" Ko blinked in confusion after figuring out who it was. Azmy must have thought that she was an enemy and shot at her. Ko and Azmy apparently had thought the same thing about each other. 'It's Azmy!' The singer thought as she walked out of the bush slowly. "Hey Azmy!" Ko shouted with a hand to the side of her mouth to give her voice volume.

"Stay away!" The short-haired girl turned and yelled in defense, firing multiple times as Ko screamed and did a dance, trying to avoid the bullets that hit the ground at her feet. The singer could only pray that they didn't ricochet.

"I said it was me!!" She screamed angrily as the confused girl blinked and held her gun. Azmy was at a loss of words and she felt a little stupid for what she'd done.

"I'm sorry," Azmy lunged forward, hugging the other girl around the waist. "I'm so glad that I found you! Have you seen anyone else?" Slate blue eyes looked up to the other woman in question.

"Does it look like they're with me?" Ko asked sardonically.

"How did we manage to find each other?"

"Who cares, the important thing is that we did, right?"

"Right."

"Well, which way do we go now?" The singer looked down the path they were on in contemplation.

"Let's follow the path," Azmy suggested.

"Could be a trap."

"What have we got to lose?"

"Our lives," Ko had remembered the last fight they were in and if Flora had more minions out there that were even stronger then Elf Kaizer and Lumina then they were in definite trouble. Azmy looked down. Guilt had filled her soul once more as flashbacks reeled through her head. Everything was her fault.

"Well, I'm not going to lie; we're pretty screwed right now. Let's just hope we can find the others before Flora does."

Chichiri turned around to see the same exact tree stump and a look of pure exasperation crossed his face. "What the hell? I'm going to scream. I cannot believe this is happening to me."

Undine stood in the small stream, the water rushing around her feet as she looked down into its depths. The water was clear and cool. She gazed around at her surroundings with calm eyes. 'This forest is strange. There are many port holes, illusions and spells cast. Everything constantly shifts and changes, so even if you've been in a certain part of the forest before, by the time you get there it will have changed and become disorientated.' The silent girl walked out of the stream and through the trees, wondering how she could get around the illusions and find everyone. It was only a matter of seeing through the spell and finding the others. Upon walking a few feet further, she passed a tree and laid sight on two skeletons that were sprawled out beneath it. They had looked like they died a natural death, more likely from starvation or dehydration. "I'll bet this forest is ridden with corpses."

"Yes, you're right," Musashi answered as she flew over to him.

"Musashi," The long-haired girl turned her head to him upon recognizing his voice.

"I found you," he landed in front of her. The Wind Cavern was happy to see someone he knew. He had some kind of hope now that he'd found Undine he was sure to find everyone else, especially if the girl could see through the Forest of Illusions. This way she could easily follow him.

"That's why I stuck behind everyone. This wasn't a good idea. We could get ambushed…or pierced with vines, like Lumina did," Undine stated.

"Flora is usually pro-creation. I don't understand why she would kill someone who serves her so faithfully…Seems she really has gone corrupt," Musashi said ruefully.

"Does that upset you?" The girl asked with no sympathy or emotion.

"Well, it doesn't make me very happy. A rebellious Goddess can throw the world in to darkness."

"Which is why Vespa sent us here," the slate-haired girl told him. Even if the Wind Cavern didn't know why they were there she did. She did best to keep her silence on the reason that she'd been there. Letting everyone know anything about her position was strictly prohibited.

"Vespa?"

"A powerful witch that hails from Zameln, City of Magic. We were sent here to train for whatever reasons. She wanted an alliance from us for some reason or another. For a while, I thought she had just thrown us here haphazardly but it seems she did this on purpose. She knew this would happen, surely…" Undine informed.

"Vespa was the one who spoke to Raiki-sama," the bird recognized the witch that she spoke of. "I must admit, this whole thing seems pretty orchestrated." The more Musashi thought about it, the more things didn't seem too random. It was almost as if their meeting was planned by Vespa.

"Hiroshima has something to do with this."

"But he doesn't seem like he's up to anything. Are you certain?"

"Almost positive, he has the only means of communication with the witch. The two are already shady as it is. They also both talk about people making sacrifices and I believe that they both know exactly what's happening. This is all a part of a scheme," Undine had been silently observing the two of them and based on her observations, this theory is what she had come up with. It was a lot more accurate then other's theories and Musashi was amazed at her knowledge.

"You really think Hiroshima's against you?"

"He's just doing what he has to do and no matter what…I'll stick by his side."

"But you sound so skeptical towards him," Musashi didn't quite get Undine's logic and she seems to contradict herself.

"I just think he and Vespa are in cahoots."

"I wouldn't know."

The long-haired girl decided to change the subject. Any more of her opinion then needed to should not be allowed to surface on a subject like this. "Let's find our way to the others. You know the way through this forest, don't you?" She looked to Musashi, who told her that he did. Undine asked if he could take her to the others. The Wind Cavern told her that he would if he knew where they were. The girl obliged and closed her eyes, standing still as she concentrated and focused her magical insight over the area.

"There are four water ways that flow through this forest. A river, a stream, a spring and a large brook, traveling along the length of then, none run by the goddess or have any signs of my allies."

"How can you tell?" Musashi was amazed that Undine knew that.

"Undine speaks to me. With her guidance, I have knowledge of all of the water."

"You talk to yourself?" The bird was further confused. He didn't quite get what she was saying. Her name was Undine and yet she said that she could talk to Undine. This was a strange statement.

"Not myself," the quiet girl corrected, "the spirit of the water."

"I see, interesting…" Musashi put a feathered hand beneath his beak as he mused to himself. Indeed this was more out of the ordinary then he had ever imagined. He wondered if anyone else knew this about the girl. Indeed Undine was something special and wondrous, far more capable then any ordinary human could ever be.

XxXx

The tired blonde dragged his form across the land. He'd been running from tree stumps all day long and he was utterly exhausted. Happy that he'd not seen one yet, he decided that he could at least rest but he swore if he ran in to one more familiar looking set of anything that he'd just die.

And at that precise moment…

He had crossed paths with the ominous tree stump. A stressed out look crossed his face as he looked utterly flabbergasted and was silent for a few moments before letting out a loud yell in vexation.

"So, that's it?" Vespa asked as her image stood before the two angels. The three of them seemed engaged in conversation. They had summoned the Red Witch in order to get some valuable information regarding the forest and hopefully a little advice as well.

"That's about the size of it, I'm afraid," Tsurugi told her after he'd explained their situation.

"You do know where they are, so you don't necessarily need my help on this one," the red-haired witch pointed out.

"But fate doesn't work that way," Hiroshima stated as the witch simply looked at him and went silent. Vespa knew this factor all too well and just as the angels; she was powerless to fight against fate as well. This is why she needed them to fight for her. It was one of a long list of reasons that she could not be involved.

"As angels, we can't interfere with fate," Tsurugi informed.

"The only thing that we can do is create a miracle and even those are risks," the deep-voice angel backed up his mate.

"You don't need a miracle for this. Everyone will eventually find Flora. There is a pattern in which this forest changes," Vespa noted.

"I noticed. Upon walking in we entered a portal. These portals are placed throughout the forest," Hiroshima stated.

"The whole forest is enchanted. If shifts and changes every five minutes. This is the illusion," the witch informed. "Everything will begin to look the same because of the changes. I wonder if anyone else has figured this out."

"That's why we shouldn't have gotten separated," Hiroshima muttered.

"Musashi could easily see through the illusions because he was used to coming here."

"You and I are angels so of course we can see through them. I can see why it would be so easy to get lost. The illusions make people go crazy," the wingless angel replied to his mate. It would be easy for the divine and specially informed would be able to make heads and tails of the forest but normal people would find it very difficult.

"As fairytaleistic as it seems, this place is very tragic," Tsurugi pointed out. Ever since he was there he could feel the souls of the dead floating around him. They were tormented and wandering around the forest never to be put to rest. Even their souls were forever in confusion due to the illusions. "While walking through this area, I've noticed several skeletons…some died of natural causes…but some committed suicide most likely from their paranoia."

"Just carry on according to plan," Vespa instructed.

"I don't see a point to this," the blonde angel sighed.

"You'll need to find out that the enemy is and defeating Flora will be the first step to saving Saesugawa."

"Fuck Saesugawa, that village full of judgmental assholes," Hiroshima scowled. He could care less about saving that hellhole.

"You did agree to the terms, my dear Hiroshima. Besides, you're in danger and we wouldn't want to have to save you now would we, tough guy?" The catty witch winked at him, letting him know that he was in a binding contract, much to his distaste.

The spiky-haired angel blushed slightly at her remark and then a pissed off look crossed his face. "Well you-hmpf!" He turned his head to the side after uttering his jumbled phrase and folded his arms over his chest, sticking his nose into the air and closing his eyes.

"I knew you'd agree," Vespa smiled playfully. Seeing him irritated was quite the sight and in a way his reactions and loss of what to say was amusing.

"Oh shut up," the wingless angel grumbled in irritation as her form faded out and she told the both of them her final farewell.

"I think she like you, Hiro-kun," Tsurugi teased.

"Shut up…Hey! Don't you feel the least bit threatened!?" Hiroshima yelled as he fumed to his mate for taking the subject so lightly.

"Why should I? You love me, right?" Heavenly blue eyes looked to the other man's as he got close to his face. It was almost as if he was staring into the other angel's soul simply by expression of the eyes. "If I believe you that you wouldn't stray then I believe you."

"Whatever…" Hiroshima knew that he would lose that fight so he simply gave in for once.

XxXx

"This way," Fife led Keiji straight to a bush. Having a normal reaction, Keiji simply wanted to stop to avoid running through the bush but he was then yanked through it by the male in front of him. He let out a yell as he thought he was going to be hit with branches but none came. His form simply freely flowed through it.

It was an illusion.

"Huh?" He blinked in confusion upon noticing that he simply faded through the image. 'It was an illusion.'

"See? It's magic," Fife gave him a reassuring smile as he stumbled through the illusion. He was surprised that the navy-haired male even knew that it was an illusion. It looked so real that he could have sworn branches would hit him at any minutes. "This forest puts up constant illusions but if you have an eye trained for this type of thing then it's easily spotted."

Keiji glared. There was no doubt in his mind that the other male was hiding something but the only question was what exactly. "Just who the hell are you anyway?"

"Now, if I told you that, I'd have to kill you," Fife joked casually with a smile.

"What?" This caught the drummer off guard.

"Just kidding."

XxXx

Chichiri was screaming bloody murder as he ran out of the forest and in to a clearing. He was beyond sick of seeing the same tree stump no matter what direction he went. He just wanted to get away from it and he hoped that he would finally be rid of it since he'd come into the clearing. The blonde could be heard and seen as he stumbled out of the clearing that could be seen from the two male's position.

"It's Chichiri!" Keiji called out as he watched the blonde man run out screaming. He was stopped shortly after as he ventured into a large conglomeration of vines and flowers that stretched up to the sky. It appeared to be a large stalk that was in the shape of a dragon's head and neck with two pointy ears and a large pink flower on the back of its head. He didn't know if it was real of an illusion but it sure did hurt like hell and was it him or did it look like it had eyes but they were simply closed.

"Huh?" He sat on the ground wincing in pain as he looked up at the giant structure. "I've never seen this weird thing before," Chichiri commented as he gazed upon it. It was truly an oddly beautiful and majestic structure.

Then, the weird thing did open its eyes, which were a vibrant blood red and it spoke to him in a deep, feminine voice that sounded like that of an older, dignified woman. "Greetings child, I am Flora," The vine=like structure curved its neck down and stared at his small form standing before her.

"That's Flora?" Keiji asked. This was no what he was expecting at all. He knew what she'd looked like from description but he would have never pictured her so beautiful and majestic.

"We found her," Fife announced.

"I see you've gotten past my Forest of Illusions. Now, the real confrontation begins…" Flora informed. She knew that the time had come and their battle was at hand.

To Be Continued…