Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Disease ( Chapter 44 )

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Sacrifice

By: Melissa Norvell

Chapter 44: Disease

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"We need your help," Undine stood before the two.

"What for?" The purple-haired woman's voice was deep and tough.

"We need to get through this country to find a sorceress named Soel. Can you help us?" Keiji looked towards Eagle. The dark-haired man had been silent this entire time. It was about time that he started to talk.

"Does he look like a guide for hire? We've got better things to do right now. Can't you see that the whole country has died?" The purple-haired woman stepped in front of Eagle, as if she were defending him. Her stance was rigid and much like a soldier at attention. Her piercing parallelogram-shaped eye was locked on to the group's forms. She didn't know who they were or what they wanted, but she didn't want any trouble with them.

"Wait a minute, you mean the whole country is dead?" Keiji knew that people were dying but he hadn't known that the whole country was dead already.

"Of course it is and whoever is still running around here is definitely just a shell in its dying phase," the woman informed.

"We should leave," Eagle spoke up. He didn't want to stay in one place for too long. If would definitely spell his further destruction.

"Eagle…" The woman's voice was a little lower and friendlier towards the black-haired man.

"There is nothing left here to stay for," Eagle turned his back to everyone. His features were solemn and his voice was low and filled with regret. He didn't feel as if he should stay in that place any longer then what he had to. The death and destruction had been far too great and the cost far too much.

He never expected things to be this bad.

XxXxXx

"They've begun to make a movement. This time they know of me," Soel stated from within her shroud of darkness as she watched the vivid images before her on the wall, played out as everyone's conversation with Eagle could be heard faintly. It was almost as if they had been on a television.

"Do you want me to go to Hikari Country and stop them?" Ceres asked.

"If you want to try and go after the legend again," the sorceress gave her the option.

"Of course I do!" The woman's red lips curved into a devious smile as her red eyes lit up in enthusiasm at the very thought of reaping the riches if she succeeded. "I want those man slaves."

"I see, you may do as you wish." Either way, Soel's plans were going through and there was a lot of leeway this time. Even a major count against them wouldn't be a significant loss. "After all, I have the one thing I need," the woman then held up a necklace in the dim lighting. It consisted of large, lapis beads, much like a rosary and in the middle of it was a large, dark blue orb. "Too bad I had to curse the whole country with disease to obtain it."

"Mistress Soel?" A tapping of heeled boots grew closer as a woman with short, black and white hair and an eye patch walked up with a hand over her chest. She gave a slight bow.

"What is it?" Soel's eyes shifted towards the figure below her throne-like chair.

"Why are we coveting items from Zameln?" She asked.

"I need their power to open the gap between this mortal world and the link to the angelic realm in order to use the angel's powers I need a link to heaven…or one to hell…"

"Is that why you want that legend?" Zangief questioned.

"Well, and for other reasons that are very personal to me," Soel gazed into the orb with cold eyes. Her emotion had been locked away from the world as well as her intentions. They were all well-kept secrets and she would make sure that no one found out until the time was right by her standards. "My minions are working well. No one suspects anything so far and if they know of me, it just makes the game more interesting."

"So…no big attacks yet?" The girl continued to ask.

"As they are, there is no big threat," the sorceress remarked. "Not to mention they are going the opposite way of our location. I would be notified by my agent if they were approaching us. I have my eye on them as I have said before."

"Thank you for calling me to go to Hikari Country," Ceres bowed.

"You're wasting time," Soel commented coldly. Ceres should have been gone. She should have taken her opportunity and left in search for Hiroshima but she was still there. Furthermore, she didn't call her to do it. Ceres had asked and she gave her permission.

The red-clad woman clasped her hands together and a puff of white smoke that soon dissipated.

The black-and-white haired women looked towards the spot in which Ceres used to reside and then glanced back towards her mistress. "Do you really think she'll last long? I mean, he's failed twice now."

"People who have achieved nothing should not criticize those who have failed, especially if they value their life and position," her mistress shot as a warning tone. After all, this woman had been with her the entire time and had done nothing. On the other hand, Ceres had been busy attempting to put her plans into action. How would she know that this woman before her would be no better than Ceres?

The blue-eyed woman blinked as she brushed her long bangs from her eye-patch. "Right…"

'Man, she's vicious! I'd better watch my head or she'll cut it off!'

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"I can see why you'd want to abandon this place…I mean, there is nothing here," Ko looked around at all of the bodies that lay around.

"This is terrible," Azmy's face turned into one of sympathy and understanding.

"It's all the Plant Goddesses fault. She deceived me." Eagle replied as he looked down towards the barred brown dirt beneath his feet.

"How did she deceive you?" Tsurugi asked. Of course he knew but he wanted the others to know as well.

"I asked her once if I could use some of her plants for medicinal purposes…As you can see," Eagle gestured to the flat, dry land with barren trees and corpses strew about everywhere. "Hikari Country is desert and the only plants that grow here are cacti and various desert plants. She had told me to go to her next day and that she would give us the plants needed but she sent her elf minions after us and we were forced to retreat."

'He must be talking about Elf Kaizer and Lumina…Come to think of it; they did mention someone named Eagle before they died. This must be that Eagle…' Fife thought to himself after hearing his story.

"Where will we go from here?" His stoic companion questioned.

"We'll probably have to go through Sumeria," Eagle informed.

Fife was dead silent.

"Aren't you from Sumeria, Fife?" Keiji looked to the blue-haired boy.

"Yes, I am," the other replied. His voice was monotone in response as his thoughts ran in anger. 'Damn you, Keiji-kun, putting me on the spot like that.'

He then spoke after a pause. "Sumeria is a place you probably should avoid. It's been in the warring period for quite a while," Fife tried to convince everyone, though he knew it was futile by this point. Everyone was, undoubtedly going towards Sumeria, whether he wanted to or not.

It looked like he'd have to suck it up.

"We still need to go to the outskirts of Hikari Country. There is a protection stone that I need to get before we leave," the darkly clad Eagle's features morphed into a look of fierce determination, combined with slight sorrow and an overriding sickness.

"We've failed…" The purple-haired woman looked down in silent grief for all those who had died.

"No Koryuu, the disease was too powerful…even I am sick from it. I don't know how long I'll last. I want that gem before something terrible befalls you. You're the only one who hasn't gotten sick," Eagle looked towards his assistant and the group of newcomers.

"Maybe we can save you with it," Koryuu really didn't want Eagle to die. Perhaps the gem could somehow neutralize the illness within him and heal him.

"Perhaps," Eagle then looked to everyone. "You all should leave this place too, before the curse of this sickness befalls you."

"The least we could do is make sure that you make it out," Keiji told the two of them and Eagle thanked him.

Undine asked where the protection stone was located. Eagle educated the group on the location of the stone. It had been hidden within the depths of a large temple on the outskirts of Hikari Country. He had hidden it there so that no one in the country would want to covet it. Everyone knew of its power and Eagle had only wanted it to be used for emergency purposes. He had no intentions of bringing paranoia and greed to Hikari Country.

"Um…You don't mind if I stay ten feet away from you, do you?" Chichiri asked from a distance. He didn't know if the sickness was contagious and he didn't want to catch it from anyone.

"I understand. I wouldn't want to make you ill either," the young, black-haired man replied.

"This protector stone, what does it look like?" Zangetsu asked.

"It's large, round and blue. It is transparent and has many air pockets in it. It's on a purple rosary and can be worn as a necklace."

"Are you sure it's still in the place you left it?" Zangetsu continued.

"What do you mean?" Ko asked.

"Since it has been isolated, it very well could have been moved."

"We've got to go and check," Eagle took off in the direction of the temple. Worry crossed his face as his heart slammed in his chest at the very thought of the gem being stolen. He was in a cold panic as his feet carried him as quickly as they could, despite his disease-ridden body.

He could hear Koryuu call out his name and he soon heard footsteps accompany his own. He then heard several people talking. The first to talk was obviously Hiroshima. He had the deepest voice out of everyone in the group.

"Here we go again," the legend spoke.

"Ah, sweet déjà vu'!" Tsurugi beamed.

"I'm so glad I work out. Otherwise, I'd be really tired," Chichiri jogged along side of the two angels.

"Oh, stop whining," Ko complained for a few feet behind him.

"I'm going to cry," the blonde shit playfully.

"That's exactly what she means." Hiroshima cut in, unamused by their argument.

"How come everyone always picks on me?" As the question ended, the group stopped in front of a large, Greek-looking temple with large pillars and four steps going into it. It was tall and had many fallen and crumbled pillars around it. It looked as if it could be more than one-hundred years old. There were odd symbols that resembled hieroglyphs on the walls and pillars.

Eagle's eye narrowed and a frown crossed his face. 'I don't feel any magical aura here anymore.'

"What an odd temple," Tsurugi took in the ancient sight before him.

"Interesting…" Hiroshima mused aloud as they began to walk into the temple and glanced around at the walls. He had stopped to look at some hieroglyphs on one of the walls. The rest of the group walked ahead but he and Tsurugi continued to stare at two hieroglyphs that stuck out to them. They were of two angelic beings. One had white wings and blonde hair and the other had 6 black wings and green, spiky hair. "This angel looks like you."

"That one looks like you," Tsurugi pointed to the blonde angel on the wall.

"This place is weird," the legend commented.

"You angel picture is quite charming you look so divine," his mate turned his head to look at his boyfriend, who was still glancing at the wall. "As you are in real life," Tsurugi then turned him around and pushed him against the wall and lightly put a hand on the side of his face in a gentle caress.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Hiroshima felt a little awkward leaving everyone going ahead without his watchful eye. He glanced down the hall at their forms that slowly disappeared into the darkness. Tsurugi, however, found it as a prime opportunity to share a special moment between the two of them.

During their course of adventuring, they had been so worried about the kids that they haven't had any time to be together as lovers. He looked to Hiroshima with warm and tender eyes.

"Come on Hiroshima, ever since we met those kids we haven't had much time to ourselves," he moved closer to the other's face. "Let's lose them for a while. Besides, you told me yourself that you'd like to see how well they fare on their own. They are just looking for a gem. No harm will befall them yet."

Tsurugi gently pushed him more against the wall as he leaned into his form. "So relax, you've been too tense, my sweet Hiroshima." His voice was low and seductive.

"You're right. I am a little tense and up tight," Hiroshima sighed and his form became a little more relaxed. He had admitted that he was tense but the kids really had taken a beating on his psyche. He used to only be concerned for himself-how quick the time changes.

"I'll calm you down," Tsurugi's face inched closer to his mate's and the legend could soon feel the other's breath on his face. It was warm against his ivory skin.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Hiroshima purred.

The blonde angel chuckled. "Always so eager."

The spiky-haired man brought his face closer to his face. "Eager is not the word for it," Hiroshima leaned into his lover's embrace and smirked playfully. It was nice to finally spend some time with his boyfriend, even if the moment wasn't right. Tsurugi had a point, finding the gem would be an easy task for them and they were already at the temple. The blonde angel chuckled lightly and then placed a finger to his lips. Hiroshima closed his eyes and gently kissed the other angel's finger.

"You're such a tease."

"That's the fun in the game," Hiroshima smirked playfully.

"You don't even have to do anything to really make you a tease. You're so sexual in nature that even your everyday moves seem sensual. If I didn't know you that well, I'd be jealous," Tsurugi had to admit, if he hadn't known him and saw him simply touch another being, he'd be green with jealousy. It would seem as if he were hitting on the other even when he was not.

"Heh, I don't even mean to be but I guess you're right."

"I love you."

"I love you too," the legend replied in a low seductive voice that held deep compassion. He then leaned forward and kissed Tsurugi. He then wrapped his strong around his boyfriend's slender form. In return, the other angel wrapped his arms around Hiroshima's strong, swan-like neck. Tsurugi then felt wings around him as he was embraced in a shroud of and white feathers. He blushed a slight watermelon at the intimate gesture.

"You always make me feel protected," the blonde was given a small peck on the lips. Hiroshima kept his face close to his mate's as he spoke.

"I told you that I would always protect you," he told the other males, who proceeded to kiss his neck and stroked his cheek slowly and sensually. Tsurugi slowly unbuttoned his black, long-sleeved button up shirt. The thin material separated around his pale flesh and revealed his well-developed chest. The blonde planted several burning kisses down his chest as he undone Hiroshima's shirt. Upon kissing his upper torso, just beneath his breast, he noticed a bruise from one of the incidents where an offending object struck him. It may have been one of the rocks that had been hurled at them earlier.

"What are you doing?" Ice blue eyes looked down to the blonde, who had stopped his actions and seemed to be staring at the discoloration with a troubled expression.

"It's a bruise," the blonde replied despondently.

"It's nothing," Hiroshima shrugged the pain off. His body still felt small, dull pains but it wasn't enough to worry him. It simply hurt when pressure was applied to those certain areas. "My body just got slammed around when I was knocked out. I think I hit something when we were being washed away by the waters in the catacombs."

"You dummy, you should heal yourself," Tsurugi smiled playfully.

"I need that energy," Hiroshima wasn't about to use energy unnecessarily. His body would heal in three days, maybe less for something as small as a mere bruising. He needed to conserve energy if they ran into something significant. He didn't want something like the Flora accident happening again. He had been unprepared for that.

He wanted to be prepared this time.

"I'll heal you," Tsurugi offered.

"No."

"No?"

"You'll need yours too," the look on the legend's face was now one of grave emotion.

"You're stronger than me. You always have been."

"Don't start putting yourself down now," Hiroshima gave him a warning glare. He hated it when Tsurugi beat himself up over minor things.

The blonde angel then kissed his bruise sweetly. "Then I'll do some good old fashioned healing," he told his mate gingerly as he spread his opened shirt a little farther towards his arms. Tsurugi went back to kissing every inch of his body as the curl of desire slowly submerged Hiroshima's senses. His eyes shut slowly as he let himself drown in the moment.

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Everyone stared at a small rock podium where the necklace had once resided. No doubt it was stolen by someone before they could even get to its location. The only question was who? Who could have taken it? No one truly knew its whereabouts aside from Eagle and Koryuu. Eagle's eye widened as he asked this question. Koryuu stated that she had placed a spell on the temple so that no one could enter. Not even an infamous witch such as Vespa could have broken her advanced spell.

"It was just here…How can this be?" Eagle dismayed. Without that stone, there was no way that he could save anyone from the deadly disease.

"Maybe someone knew of it," Zangetsu stated. Perhaps there had been talk in Hikari Country of something such as that.

"What if it was someone in the village?" Ko had been thinking along the same lines.

"This is the work of someone who knows magic," Koryuu stated. This was exactly how her spell had been broken. No normal villager could have done anything like this. That she was certain of.

"Do you know any sorcerers or magicians?" Keiji asked. Perhaps someone with magic could have done it in order to save themselves from the disease, or perhaps someone had an old score to settle with the both of them. Koryuu responded in the negative.

"I don't either. We used to have a Sage but he died," Eagle told him.

"Yeah, he was very old and he caught the disease that's been going around," the purple-haired woman replied.

"It made him go crazy and he attempted to kill me but only managed to stab me in the eye. I shot him when he got that close. Other than that, no one even known of it aside from Koryuu, Vespa and I," the dark-haired man informed in sorrow and deep respect of his Sage, whom had been among the first to pass.

"Yes, Vespa gave it to us when everyone began to fall ill. She told us that as long as we had it, it would protect us," Koryuu replied.

"People still died, however."

"But it was still at the temple."

"Well, that's what you think, anyway," an older foxy voice chimed into their conversation. Everyone turned in unison to see Ceres. She took a few steps forward from her dark shroud as the light from a hole in the ceiling above illuminated her red vinyl-clad form. Undine uttered her name in a crucial tone as her round eyes sharpened.

"The real gem is with my mistress, she switched it out for a false one that was filled with disease. It dissolved and killed everyone. Even now you are infected and you both will eventually die unless you can take it from me." She replied as she ran a hand through her long, black hair and held out the rosary-type necklace that possessed the vital gem.

Eagle glared at the scantily clad woman as his balled fist tightened.

"Why would you do this?" His forced himself to speak calmly, despite his encased anger. Inside he boiled over with hatred; outside reflected a calm demeanor, despite the hell he'd been through. "Why would you kill my country's people all for a gem? If I knew it would have come to this, I would have let you have it."

"There's no use for you. This land will soon become Mistress Soel's domain and there's nothing you can do about it," Ceres smirked in arrogance.

"That's where you're wrong. We'll fight to defend this land."

"It doesn't matter if we are diseased and the only ones left. We will not go down in vain," Koryuu took a step forward and placed herself beside of Eagle.

"My, how touching," Ceres put a hand over her heart and gave a false look of compassion, then ripped it from her features with one of superciliousness. "I wished that I cared."

Eagle drew his sword and charged at her out of pure anger. His fierce determination and rage towards those who needlessly killed his people fueled his desire to make both he and his country whole. He heard Undine faintly as she spoke to him.

"You idiot! You can't take her on like that," but he didn't care what she had to say. Still he ran, and he came closer and closer to his destination. Then, with a simple wave of her arm, Ceres knocked his weakened form backwards with a single blast of power. He landed on his side in the harsh, hard ground.

The dark-haired man slowly opened his one eye to see a pair of black Mary Janes. The long-haired girl looked down on him with her usual stoic expression. "I told you," she responded simply with no hint of any emotion as Eagle slowly peeled himself from the ground. His body was exhausted from illness but he refused to give up.

"Where are Hiroshima and Tsurugi?" Keiji glanced around. He had just now noticed that the two of them had disappeared. What were they thinking? Ceres had just showed up and they decided to get out of everyone's sights.

"I don't know. I didn't see then follow us. They were looking at pictures on the wall, I think," Fife told him, as if it weren't that important.

"What a fine time for them to go sightseeing," Ko didn't know what to do in a situation like this. Now that the angels were gone, she seemed a little lost.

"All we can do is help them," Zangetsu replied.

"I've never fought Ceres personally but she's very strong. I don't think we can beat her," the white-haired singer admitted. She was actually a little afraid to go up against someone like Ceres. She didn't think that she was strong enough at all to even stand a chance against a powerful sorceress like her.

"Well, she's not going to let us get by without a fight. It's inevitable that we defeat her, and then she'll tell us about Soel," Undine looked at the woman before them. It would be a tough fight, especially without the angels present but they could not simply sit back and let her destroy what was left of Hikari Country and its people.

"Right, I just have to figure a way out of this place before we start to catch the disease," Keiji stated.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot that's in the air all around me," Chichiri looked around as if he were paranoid of the very air itself. He didn't want to be infected and he certainly didn't want to die.

"Fools, you honestly think you can beat me and what if you do? What will you accomplish? Everyone here dead," Ceres laughed at their attempted heroism. Who were they to be so brave? What were they defending? Everyone in Hikari Country was dead! They had nothing to defend.

They truly were fools.

"We're not looking to achieve the impossible. We just want to leave this land," Eagle closed his eye and frowned in dismay.

"Why don't you just let them leave?" Chichiri didn't know what the big deal was. If they didn't want Eagle and Koryuu there, she should just let them leave. What harm could be in it?

'I don't want to go to Sumeria.' Fife knew that if there was a small chance of them simply leaving without a confrontation, Sumeria was just ahead. It was a destiny that he could no longer run from.

"I'm not stopping them. They are the ones who want that gem. They can simply leave and I'll just kick your asses," Ceres dared them to come past her and try to take the gem. She knew that their temptation was just too strong. The woman knew that they wouldn't leave without it and that was exactly why they haven't advanced yet. That was exactly why they stood in their places and anticipated the fight.

They would rather go down in vain then let the disease kill them off silently, without a word.

Keiji glared down the woman. This had been his second time in combat with her and a part of him still recalled what she'd done to Fife. That part of him wanted to severely kill her, or at least make her pay for humiliating him as she did.

"We're not backing down. We'd rather die here," Koryuu stated strongly.

"Suit yourself!" Ceres spun around once and created her infamous fire whip. The long piece of energy flowed in a snake-like way around her body. She then swiftly and powerfully brought her arm to one side and sent it towards Koryuu and Eagle as she called out one word.

Die.

To Be Continued…