Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Illusions ❯ Protecting His Pride ( Chapter 45 )

XxXxXxXxXx

Shattered Illusions

By: Melissa Norvell

Chapter 45: Protecting His Pride

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"What do we do?" Millie was desperate for an answer or anything that might be a key in defeating the possessed king.

"He's really strong. He's stronger than Tsubomi." They could barely defeat Tsubomi last time they fought her. What made anyone think that they were going to so easily defeat Copernicus? Zino didn't have much faith in their abilities.

"We can't shake him, no matter what we do," Shiva had to admit that she found the task hard to accomplish as well.

"Nothing we do seems to be working," Zino was running low on ideas.

"Hizaki's possession is strong," Shiva couldn't deny that the Princess of Illusions' hold was strong. However, she wasn't about to give up just yet.

"Come on, we've got to beat them somehow. We can't let them have him. He's our main objective. We're doing all of this for him," Teru could hardly keep still as he expressed his opinion. He was never too good at not talking with his hands, a habit he had formed in his younger years.

"What do we do? We're just getting beat up this way," Zino had run out of ideas on how to defeat the king. Things were looking more and grimmer for the group of crusaders.

"We need a plan, or else we're going to keep running around like chickens with our heads cut off." At this point, they all looked embarrassing. Horatio wanted to make a steady plan of action.

"But, he hasn't shown any weaknesses yet. We have nothing to work with." Things would have looked a little up if it wasn't for that fact. Millie felt defeated, like she was just wasting her energy no matter what she did.

"Someone needs to fight him one on one and find them out," Teru knew that would be the only way to truly find the vampire's weakness. As much as Copernicus wanted to pretend to be an impenetrable wall, he was clearly not. There had to be something that crippled him, something they could use against him.

Shiva glanced to the red head in thought. "What are you thinking?" Teru didn't just say things for no reason. Usually, if he was propositioning that they did something, it was something he wanted to do himself.

"I'm your man," Teru puffed out his chest and jerked a thumb to his chest proudly.

"Are you sure that you can take him on by yourself?" Shiva was a little worried that the king would be too much for the fiery red head. After all, they couldn't all fight him together much less one-on-one.

Teru shifted his eyes towards the king with a sly grin on his face. "Sure thing, you guys just worry about getting Tsubomi away from Hizaki." That in itself should have told them what Teru's plan had been all along.

"I'm not sure about all of this..." In fact, Shiva was worried that Copernicus was going to end up killing Teru. It wasn't going to be easy to last that long while they go about freeing Tsubomi from Hizaki's grasp. However, there needed to be a distraction in order for it to work. It was better to free one of them instead of none of them.

"You worry too much, sis. Have some confidence, will ya?" Teru waived his hand in dismissal at his sister.

"I suppose you're right," she knew that she couldn't argue with him at this point. Once Teru made up his mind, that was it. "At this point, what have we got to lose?"

"Our lives," Zino answered.

Millie squinted at him and frowned. "Oh yea, real comforting, Zino."

"Sorry, it's true."

"Death doesn't scare me. A knight shouldn't be afraid to face death, knowing that he could die at any moment," Horatio was ready to take on his problems. He didn't care what the cost was; he only knew that they needed to get Copernicus back.

"Knights are about the royalty's lives, not just because they're figure heads, though," Teru remarked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Millie's visage morphed into a quizzical one as she glanced over to the red head.

"The real reason a knight cares so much about the royalty's lives is because they care so little about their own." Honestly, knights were just laying their lives down so senselessly. Teru couldn't even begin to think about why they would live such an expendable life.

Horatio narrowed his eyes. That was an inward strike to his pride, and as much as he wanted to respect Teru's opinion, he found himself gritting his teeth through a response. "Or, perhaps they are very selfless and patriotic, willing to give their lives for the sake of the country." That was part of his reason for being a knight.

"How noble of you to say," Teru commented.

"Or, they love the figurehead or they are their friend..." Millie looked thoughtful. The more she thought about it, the more reasons she found to be a knight. "There could be many reasons really."

However, she had no time to think as blades shot between she and Teru's faces. The two quickly moved out of the way, avoiding being cut by the vicious metal.

"Hey! I'm your man, Copernicus!" Teru taunted the possessed king. It was time to initiate his plan, and he knew exactly how he was going to do that.

He jumped up into the air and flipped, pulling out his long, black whip. The object spiraled around him as he fell back towards the vampire, who simply put up his sword and simply said 'barrier' summoning the energy dome once more. Teru's body hit the magical shield with such force that he bounced off. He caught himself before he went crashing to the ground and dug his heels into the soil, skidding back.

Teru reeled back and flung his weapon forward. It hit the barrier with great force, then was propelled back at him. Unable to stop it, he jumped over it as he traveled behind him. Then he maneuvered the weapon over his head, working with the built up force behind it and slammed it down towards the vampire, but a blade hit it and dug into the ground and pinned his weapon there.

"What?" Teru's face lit up in realization as his eyes laid their sights on his weapon. However, taking his concentration away from the vampire was a mistake. A large, white blast impacted his stomach and propelled his body backwards. The red head was sent back into a bush, crashing among the leaves that scattered through the air in disarray.

'None of them even are a challenge for Copernicus. He's unbelievable as a warrior. Hide taught him to use the Rigatama well.' Dark joy grew as the smirk did on Hizaki's face.

"Hyouzonyuu! Spirit Dragon Attack!" Horatio pointed his blade skyward as white swirls of a foggy, white substance swirled around the blade slowly. They soon formed tiny, fish-like dragons with long, wisping bodies trailed around him. He then pointed his sword forward and they rushed towards the pretty man, threatening to end his life.

"Huh?" Hizaki caught sight of them out of the corner of his eye and turned with widened eyes as he realized his oncoming doom. Anger marred his face as he bore his fangs and vanished into a burst of cherry blossom petals that flew at the knight, ripping past his form and cutting his skin and clothing.

'Foolish knight,' he thought as he reached his hand out. "Meet your death." His fingernails grew and extended towards his face. Horatio dodged only to be blasted by a beam that came out of Hizaki's umbrella tip.

The cross-dressing vampire stood above his form, which laid fallen on the ground. "You dare to challenge me?" Gold eyes, filled with malice looked down upon him.

Shiva popped out her umbrella and summoned her Atomic Shock as waves of sound blasted from her umbrella in invisible waves. Hizaki turned and threw his hand up, making a barrier around himself. "You too, huh?"

"Release Tsubomi," Shiva commanded.

"Do you honestly think I'm just going to hand her over to you?" Surely this woman couldn't be serious. Did she honestly think that she even stood a chance against him?

Teru ran in front of the door that existed in the rose garden. It was a secret entrance into Hide's base, and if he could make it there, then he could bypass Copernicus or even lose him in the corridors and buy himself more time. However, his moves were overshot as the vampire grabbed him by the neck and slammed him down with great force.

The red head's body broke the wooden door, and he could see splinters of wood all around him as he was plunged into the dark abyss. Roses, petals and dirt flew up around him as a crack resonated in his ears.

The two fell down and hit the ground as the taller vampire loomed over him. Grunting, Teru shoved his feet into Coeprnicus' gut, launching him into the air as he tumbled backwards and popped up to his feet. The blade of the Rigatama plunged into the ground shortly after and he barely avoided it.

"This must be a corridor to Hide's underground fortress. Man, this place is huge," Teru scanned the vast space, shrouded in darkness. Silhouettes and shadows were the only defining features that didn't make it look like an open room.

However, Teru didn't have too much time to admire the scenery. Copernicus was on him, weapon raised and ready to strike. When it came down, he blocked himself with the hilt of his whip. Piercing eyes stared into the hollow voids of the vampire. "Come on, king. You've got to pull out of this."

His voice was dire as he stepped to the side as Copernicus stumbled forward. As he lost his balance, Teru shoved him hard, propelling him forward. The brunette fell to the ground but rolled and popped back up with no effort.

Teru jumped and spun his black cord around. It shot forward, through the darkness and wrapped around his opponent's neck. Yanking it forward, he tried to slam the other vampire into the wall, but Copernicus only ended up falling to his hands and knees. A foot was dug into his side in a powerful spin-kick. Then Copernicus slammed the end of his sword into his stomach.

Teru landed harshly on his back. Cold, blue eyes stared into his soul as he wiped the spit from the corner of his mouth. One eye was closed in pain as he glared at him in defiance.

"Are you done yet?" Copernicus asked.

"That possession must make you immune to the pain. Man, I'm really feeling mine about now. You're inhuman, I mean, even for a vampire you don't even show any signs of wearing down." Despite the both of them being supernatural entities, they only had a certain amount of expendable energy. Copernicus looked as if he hadn't even broken a sweat. He showed no signs of wear, no panting breath, no layer of sweat on the skin, nothing.

"I won't feel the effects of pain or fatigue as long as I am like this. I get a constant supply of energy from my master." It was common fact that his body was merely controlled by another. He didn't have to act upon his own energy to fight.

"So, that's how it works, huh? It's not really you we have to worry about - it's Hizaki." Damn, he felt like a fool now. Their true enemy was the Illusionary Princess and not the puppet itself.

"Even so, there's no way I'll let you touch him." Blue eyes narrowed and his voice was filled with venom, a break in emotion.

"Well, you can't defend him down here, can you?" Teru shot back with a smirk. So far, his plan was working.

"So, that was your plan? To draw me down here?" Copernicus asked.

"I actually didn't have a plan, and you were the one who tackled me through the door," Teru placed a hand to his back and winced. He still felt the pain of the contact of each stair as they took their tumble. "That roll down the stairs hurt like a bitch though. Anyway, since you're the one who separated us, it was convenient."

Copernicus frowned and ran back up the stairs, trying this best to get back to Hizaki. He had made an error in his ways. This left Hizaki wide open to be attacked by the others, and his psychic abilities were down since he was controlling a puppet.

"You're not getting away that easily. Yah!" Teru swung the black cord around. It wrapped around Copernicus' neck and jerked his body backwards.

The brunette rolled down and stairs awkwardly as the corners dug into his body. He finally landed in a crumpled heap before the red head. "We have a fight to finish. You're not getting away yet."

Copernicus propped himself up and glared in defiance at the younger vampire. "Of course," he replied as blades shot up from the ground.

Teru backflipped to avoid the blades, then shot forward only to have his weapon collide with the blade of the Rigatama once more. They both pushed against each other in a power struggle. Their arms burned with the passion and competitive spirit each one felt.

"Too bad I'm going easy on you. I did promise not to kill you." That was something Teru would keep.

"Die," Copernicus swung his sword as the snake-like chain of blades shot forward. Teru screamed and nearly fell backwards as he avoided being struck. Plunging the sword down, he attempted to stab him again, but Teru rolled out of the way and leaped at his opponent again.

Copernicus tried to stab him again, but Teru evaded his movement and ran off into the darkness.

"You can't escape me." With that, the brunette took off in pursuit of the red head.

'I have no idea in hell where I am going or what I am doing, but I hope I can beat him, somehow.' Teru's mind processed as blades flew at him from behind and he heard Copernicus say 'randomize'. Panic shot through his body as the weapons shot off in multiple directions again.

Quickly, Teru shot around the corner, evading the attack. His breath hitched in his throat and for a moment, he didn't breathe. Sighing in relief, Teru felt more at ease now that they had passed him.

However, his relief was short-lived as he felt cold metal to his temple. His eyes slowly trailed over to see that one of the vampuric guards had a gun pointed to his head. "This is so annoying, annoying, annoying," he spat in anger.

"Stop right there," the guard commanded.

"I don't have time for this," Teru kicked the gun out of the guard's hands, then shot forward and planted his foot into his stomach and took off running down the corridor with Copernicus in hot pursuit.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Ha!" Hizaki called out as he tried to stab Shiva with his nails. She hopped back and threw up her arms to avoid his sword-like nails. He barely missed her. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

Throwing her umbrella, it spiraled into the air and collected energy. Streams of a light lavender were sucked into the object, but Hizaki dodged it and turned to her with an arrogant smirk. "Do you think that childish toy will hurt me?"

The umbrella shot back, nearly hitting the cross dresser. Hizaki dodged, but he wasn't without taking his damage. It managed to tear through the layers of his beautifully-crafted, Victorian dress.

Hizaki was outraged.

"My dress!" His face lit up in horror before it morphed into malice. "You bitch, you'll pay for that!"

Hizaki swung his long nails around, utilizing them like a sword blade as he attempted to cut Shiva in half. However, she jumped backwards and barely missed the tips of the hardened nails. Hizaki struck again, attempting to get her a second time, but before his nails could land their mark a wave of neon energy blasted him in the stomach. The cross-dresser flew back like a discarded doll and landed in the nearby rose bushes.

"Princess Shiva!" Millie attempted to run after her.

"You can die, too!" Hizaki sat up, sending his fingernails extending towards the girls legs. She jumped out of the way as they made contact with the soil, barely missing her feet.

Turning as she jumped, the gun slinger pulled out her weapon and was about the shoot the feminine vampire, her vision blurred. Pupils widening in horror, Millie's feet hit the ground. "What? What's going on?"

In that moment, she felt her skin being sliced and could feel her clothes being ripped away from her body. Blue and white blood bsoaked threads sailed through the air as a searing pain scorched her shoulder, hip and ribs. She yelled and fell backwards as Hizaki went down for another strike. The word die was shouted as long, red nails shot through the air, threatening to pierce her chest.

However, he was stopped by the end of Shiva's umbrella, penetrating his shoulder. The end acted like a bayonet and rich, red essence bled through as the dark-skinned woman looked upon him with discontent.

"Electro-Shock!" She called forth waves of electricity that surged through the psivamp's form. His body spazzed and undulated as he cried out in pain from the current ripping through his body.

As an act of defense and self-preservation, he allowed his nails to extend once more in an attempt to pierce Shiva, but she jumped back and evaded his attack. Hizaki seized her umbrella, but the device exploded into a burst of fire and debris. The blast sent Shiva and Millie's forms backwards as it knocked them off of their feet.

The gunslinger felt weightless for a few moments before she was grabbed harshly and slammed into a rock. The pain registered throughout her form as widened eyes caught glimpse of her assailant. It was Hizaki, and he was more than livid at her. She didn't have any time to react before his knee made contact with her stomach, driving her into the rock even harder than before. She barely cried out in pain due to the fact that her breath was being beaten out of her.

Tsubomi glanced to the umbrella, then pulled her tired form from the ground as she walked over to it. Grabbing the item, the tom boy held it defensively. It was now nothing but mangled wire and metal, but it would do for the purpose she had intended for it.

Shiva pulled herself from the dirt as Millie delivered a swift but powerful kick to Hizaki's stomach, sending his form propelling backwards. Quickly, Horatio positioned himself behind the psivamp, ready to deliver a swift cut that would end his life, but his form burst into flower petals before launching themselves at him.

"Not this again," the knight held out his sword and created a barrier that deflected them. The razors of the petals sounded like rain against the barrier's surface.

However, he had little time to think as Hizaki materialized behind him, ready to strike him again.

XxXxXxXx

Copernicus came from behind and tried to cut Teru in half with the Rigatama as the two ventured farther into the building. The red head dodged his strike. "There's no escape from me."

"Who said I was escaping?" Teru asked, standing in front of a finely crafted portrait of Hide.

The Inheritor King walked towards him, wordlessly and out of reaction, Teru grabbed the picture from the wall and hurled it at the approaching male, who simply cut it in half in one, clean, swift stoke.

Teru took off running through the dimly lit hallway, past a row of windows. Copernicus ran in tandem with him, gazing at him with intent through the passing windows. Taking a sudden detour, he jumped through, glass shattering all around him as his blade clashed with Teru's oversized whip. The red-head stumbled backwards and flung his weapon out once more. The possessed vampire leaned backwards as it shot through another window, showering the two with shards of glass.

Reaching up, Copernicus grabbed the whip and yanked it back, pulling Teru towards him. When the red head was close enough, he gripped his shoulders and slammed him through another window. The glass dug into his body, cutting him mercilessly as he landed in a pile of broke glass. Quickly, he rolled back, his body covered in biting spikes of the clear substance only to be met with more blades. He jumped back, barely avoiding them. His breath was heavy as he stared at the possessed king.

'Man, this is not good. I'm wearing down too fast, and he won't run out of energy because he's a freak like that. It's just me and him. What the hell am I going to do now?' His eyes darted around the room, frantic for anything that would give him an idea on what to do. He spied an elaborate, large chandelier and his face lit up with an idea.

"Ha! Got it!" He exclaimed as he threw his weapon upwards. It wrapped around the base of the chandelier but before anything could happen, Copernicus charged at him and kicked him in the chest, sending him back into a wooden chair. The chair tipped backwards and Teru went with it.

Copernicus swung at him again, destroying the chair as Teru scrambled out of it. Just then, Teru remembered something and looked up to see that the massive chandelier was plummeting towards him. He tried to get out of the way as it crashed to the ground, sending pieces everywhere.

"That was close." He held a hand to his chest, trying to calm his beating heart as the vampire closed in on him and swung his blade, trying to decapitate him. Quickly, Teru back flipped and charged his whip with a red, glowing energy. He thrusted the weapon forward, creating a string of energy that he launched at his opponent. Then he landed and jumped over Copernicus and shot off towards the entry way.

"This is futile." Copernicus said as he too chase to him once again.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Raging Dragon!" Horatio summoned his attack once more.

It made contact with Hizaki and the vampire's image exploded on contact, sending powerful waves out that knocked the knight backwards. Zino took off, running through the fire and debris of the explosion and tried to cut the Illusionary Princess in half, but he merely teleported and reappeared behind him and brought his clasped hands above his head. Hizaki was about to deliver a powerful axe handle him to but Zino delivered a harsh punch to his face.

"You'll pay for touching my face! Die!" Hizaki shouted in malice and extended his fingernails towards the dark-haired man. They nearly reached his face until they were shot off by Millie.

After sighing in relief, Zino thanked the girl.

Millie pointed the gun up with a smile. "Thank god for dad insisting that I should take up sharp shooting. Little did I know it would actually be useful for something."

Hizaki shoved the nails on his other hand into the ground. When they made contact, they exploded and sent the screaming gunslinger backwards with the force of the blast.

Tsubomi dug the end of the umbrella into the ground as she desperately tried to keep her balance. Determined, navy eyes peered through the blast. 'I need to gather energy. It's really hard when I've been completely drained of everything I had. I can't sit here, hating myself or nothing will get done. I feel guilty for staying here and watching as everyone else is getting slammed around by Copernicus.' Her eyes were drawn to the hole in the ground that Teru and Copernicus fell through. 'It's been a while since they've been down there. I wonder if Prince Teru is alright.'

Suddenly, in a burst of leaves and roses, the red head shot up through the air and landed on the edge of the hole on one knee. Tsubomi's eyes widened a little and she blinked in shock.

She didn't expect him to just pop up like that.

"Teru...Hm?" Her eyes were then drawn to her possessed master, who calmly walked up the stairs towards her.

Defensively, she held out her umbrella to him, poised and ready to stab him if she needed to. Her muscles tensed and she bore her clenched teeth like an animal backed into a corner. "Stay back," she warned.

"You belong to me...So, if I order to drink your blood, then you must comply." Copernicus was right. She was his donor, and she was to serve her master no matter what the circumstances. That was the terms of their contract.

"Usually, I wouldn't mind but right now, there's no way in hell," Tsubomi wasn't going to fall for that load of garbage. She wasn't helping him kill her friends.

"Then I will just take it by force."

...To Be Continued