Vampire Princess Miyu Fan Fiction ❯ When Friends are True-A Vampire Miyu Saga ❯ The First Seige ( Chapter 27 )

Author's note (new notes): THIS is the real version of chapter 27! And, personally, one of the few chapters I've been proud of in a really, really long time.

Old stuff: Once again, I sincerely apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. I think one reason was because not only are battle scenes incredibly difficult to write to make everything flow smoothly, but I also was a little unsure of how to properly write Caial's character. For those of you who have read the Shin Miyu manga, you'll notice that this battle is quite different than what takes place in the official story. The real help actually came from Final Fantasy VIII, mainly during the very last battle with Ultimecia. And then again when I was playing through the game, when I had to battle Edea for the first time. I think that the two most evil women of the game perfectly capture if not her character, then definitely Caial's dialogue with the characters. So thank you Final Fantasy, once again! On with the show!

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The First Siege

"Better stand tall when they're calling you out,

Don't bend,

Don't break,

Baby, don't back down."

Bon Jovi, "It's My Life"

"Now what in the hell kind of line is that?"

Those were not exactly the first words that Miyu would have spoken at the very beginning of a battle, but for some reason, they seemed to work. At least someone said something, even if it was left up to Yoshi.

Caial smirked at the group, a smile that made Miyu feel as if she ad been coated head to foot with greasy black oil.

"Well now…isn't this nice?" Her voice reminded Miyu of hot iron being slowly dipped into a bucket of ice water. "A welcoming party, here to witness our conquest of this meaningless little country. Makes me wonder what it was about it that kept it standing the last time. Not that it matters…I have to say I am a little disappointed that the Elders entrusted their precious country in the hands of such children. If you step aside now, then I might let you die easily."

"And once again, your underestimation will be the source of your downfall, Queen of the Devils." Ranka's voice was surprisingly strong and stern, not like its usual soft self. "For you have more to face against this time…and this time, we're ready for you." All around her, the Shinma immediately took up their battle positions, the blades of their swords flashing in the gray light for dramatic emphasis.

As Miyu had expected, Caial did not look in the least bit take Ranka's words to her black heart. "Touching words, child. I heard similar from a Shinma who was remarkably like you last time, but whose face vaguely slips my mind. And you would be…"

Ranka drew herself up even taller than before, and in that moment, she seemed to tower over the other Shinma standing beside her. "I am the Sentinel of the Second Layer, Ranka."

"Sentinel, huh?" An inevitable cruel smile crossed the Queen's face, creating an ugly amused smile. "Oh yes, now I do recognize you. You have your mother's face, child. The same bright eyes. And I wonder if it will look the same as it did when I plucked those same beautiful eyes from her skull?" The pain that flashed across Ranka's eyes was as clear as crystal, and the once proud sentinel, so strong amidst the pressure of situation, shrank back as if she was physically struck. But even in her own moment of gloating, there was a shadow of uneasiness in Caial's eyes as well, as if Ranka's words were actually able to touch a nerve deep inside as she studied the geisha. "A Sentinel, huh…? Well, you were not so incredibly difficult the last time…"

"Then is that why you're making a second attempt of seizing this land?"

The voice the rose from behind Caial was light, playful, and innocent, as out of place as laughter in a cemetery, taking the witch completely by surprise. The voice was, of course, unfamiliar to her, but there was a tickling in the back of her mind that reminded her of someone else, in another time…

Standing behind her with a air that betrayed the actual seriousness of the situation was a little slip of a girl, no older than a child, wearing a traditional white yukata and red obi, her long brown hair pulled to the side and kept bound in a bun and tail. Despite the darkness cast by the clouded sky, her eyes glowed golden, a fire raging in their very orbs, its fury masked by a rather placid and amused face. Even through her youth, even though Caial had never laid eyes on her before, a single word escaped her lips, a name…

"Kyuko…"

Miyu cocked her head to the side for the space of a heartbeat…why had Caial just called her that? But there was no sense in wasting time wondering. "Sorry, but you have me confused with someone else. I am Miyu…the vampire Sentinel of the Japanese Shinma Realm." She smiled playfully, but her seemingly innocent giggle was one to freeze the spines of the weak.

"Then, that must make you…the granddaughter of the woman who imprisoned me…" The very air around Caial seemed to darken as she looked over Miyu, looking at Miyu dangerously out of the corners of her blood red eyes…

Then, with the speed and fluidity that reminded Miyu chillingly of a striking cobra, the queen of the Quarl snapped her head in Miyu's direction, her eyes glowing white-hot. Like the flash of lighting, a sickening-colored aura blazed around Caial's form just before Miyu felt the rush of expelled energy rush up to strike her in the face. But, somehow, Larva proved to be faster; Miyu could just catch of a glimpse of his hand lashing out to block her from the attack. Within the space of a heartbeat her guardian was able to create the weaves of a makeshift barrier, but it was still strong enough that the attack dissolved upon impact, but even then the force was enough to shake their senses so strongly that Miyu could feel her teeth rattle. The ground shattered around her feet, the shrapnel flying as she was just barely able to jump out of the way, but not before she felt something sting across her cheek before she could touch down a good ten feet away.

"Miyu, you must keep your guard up!" Ranka warned her from just a few feet away, her voice implying a very strong "this-is-no-time-to-be-playing" tone. "This is no ordinary battle."

The sentinel only half-heard Ranka's words; she was more preoccupied with the small tickling sensation that was making its way down her cheek. With slender fingers, she reached up to brush at the spot, and when she looked at her hand, she saw a thin trail of blood across the digits; a red stain on white silk. "I'm aware of that, Ranka." A small trademark smile tugged at the corner's of Miyu's lips as she licked the blood away. The smile was only there for a second before it was replaced by a look of dead seriousness as Miyu snapped her head around to look back at Caial, her golden eyes blazing. "I will show you no mercy, old lady!"

"All right!" Ichiro cheered, his voice carrying long and loud over the battlefield. "Let's do this!"

That seemed to be the universal cue. The battle for survival was commenced.

Attacks of energy of the soul and magic alike cracked and shattered across the land; anyone watching at a distance might have thought hell had rose up from the bowls of the earth. The sky darkened, lighting crashed and roared, and the very earth seemed to writhe as the first attacks were initiated. However, unlike Ranka, the others did not seem to take it as seriously. Miyu guessed that maybe it was to keep their minds off the fact that this was going to be a battle unlike any other, to help relieve some of the stress and take it one blow at a time. As expected, the Chinese Shinma looked thrilled that it was starting, as if it gave them some sort of mad adrenaline high, and a few of the Western Shinma were not too far behind them. They all took off running at the two Quarls at once, weapons flashing, attacking her with all the power they could muster as an individual. However…

Miyu frowned as she studied the situation back further from the battle, observing to catch any of Caial's more obvious strengths…or her weaknesses, along with their own. And what she saw was hardly encouraging as Caial batted away the attacks like flies. Nothing was touching her! And to make matters worse, she was pushing them back as well. Everyone who seemed hyped up for the battle lost their enthusiasm quickly and were beginning to look more and more distressed. Miyu turned over the information slowly in her mind, trying to think of something from everything she had seen so far in the last few days, searched for something in her memory bank for battles long past for something, anything, that might help.

After just a few seconds Miyu was able to pinpoint the problem. It seemed as if Caial could read the weaves of every spell being woven around her long before it was ever cast, elemental or not, giving her enough time to locate where it was coming from and how to block it. And, at the same time, she was countering with her own magical attacks that took no more energy to cast than it took to blink an eye, with a much wider attack range and twice the damage any of their attacks were causing. The others had not been joking; this was not going to be an easy battle.

What they needed…was not a distraction, exactly, but a way to make her think that one thing was going on while her defenses would be down for the opposite, and the easiest way to do that was with a clash of elements. "Tacha! Water Lipper! I need your help!" Miyu called to the two water-users, who looked confused for a moment but nonetheless responded quickly. "Listen, I need to two of you to cast water spells at the same time, just until I can get mine up. I think I might know how to hit her. Don't ask questions, just do it."

Miyu was unfamiliar with the working of water magic, but she knew that there was enough woven around her to draw Caial's attention to it and ready her defense. Hopefully it would make her semi-oblivious to the massive fire spell that Miyu was working behind the dummy shield… And there was only so much energy she could put into it before it started to become unstable…

"All right, break it off!" Miyu shouted to the two water-users when she could no longer control the massive fire-spell she held in her hands. On command Water Lipper and Tacha dropped their spells in the space of a heartbeat, the presence of the water-magic falling away to leave the surrounding air to become instantly smothered in the suffocating energy of the raw fire magic.

"Holy…! Hit the deck!" Yoshi shouted over the din of the battlefield, and everyone who was standing remotely close to Miyu threw themselves to the ground as the fire spell roared over them, missing most by mere inches. The spell crushed through Caial's water-ready shield, vaporizing it on the instant, and scored a direct hit.

From somewhere on the other side of the field, Miyu could hear someone cheering. "All right! That's the stuff! Miyu, keep it up!"

Easy for them to say, Miyu thought, trying to covered the fact that she was breathing awfully hard. I've never made a spell that powerful before. I could maybe do two, three more rounds if I'm lucky, but then what? And, to make matters worse, it appeared as if the attack still had done minimal damage to the Quarl Queen.

Caial laughed once in a very cruel tone. "Well…that was certainly amusing. But as the descendant of Kyuko, I believe that you can do so much better than that, my dear Miyu."

What followed was a fury of fire spells, not quite as powerful as the one before, but their collective power could have done a fair bit of damage…if Caial had not been countering with fire attacks of her own. And as much as Miyu hated to admit it, she was good. It also made it all the more difficult when the fire began to branch off from itself and attack the others as well. There was the old saying "fight fire with fire", but this obviously was not one of those cases.

"Is it just me, Mother, or is it getting hot here?" Cait Sith jeered from Caial's side, a sneer on his lips. Miyu ignored his words, standing unmoving as the flames shot past her, grazing her pale skin like blades of flames. She would not back down. No matter what, she could not show weakness, no matter how slight it might have been; even if it included a flinch from an attack. There was no telling how this witch could turn anything against her.

Besides, it was clear what needed to be done. It was obvious that their individual attacks would never do any good amount of damage on their own. What they needed was a collective, single attack, a mass pooling of all their powers, and that might give them a clean shot at doing some sort of damage, at least. The problem was finding an opening and finding the time to charge an attack of that magnitude…

"Does that feel good, Miyu?" Caial smiled at her, mocking her, hoping to pull some sort of reaction from the young vampire sentinel. It was terribly boring when your pray just sat there, staring at you. Fear always made the final blow so much more delicious.

Miyu, on the other hand, only shrugged, brushing off her comment like a fly. "Sure."

Somewhere to Miyu's left, there was a strangled, guttural cry of rage, and in a flash of oily black cloth, Miyu was just barely able to make out the remaining two Quarl henchmen hurtling her way in a blind fury. Dammit, she had forgotten all about them, and hardly had the chance to react quickly enough. "You arrogant little bitch!" They snarled at her. "Learn some manners!" Like a retreating cat, Miyu prepared to hopefully spring out of harm's way, but did not have the chance to as a night-black cloak covered her in darkness and she felt herself lifted off her feet in the space of a heart-beat.

Still holding Miyu protectively to him, Larva rose one deathly-white hand in the air, the red nails gleaming, and with one clean swipe, the hulking form of Gigi fell into two neat halves, the smell of his foul black blood saturating the air. Gio did not last much longer; in the light of the fire-spells, Miyu faintly caught sight of thin koto strings being woven through the air, as delicate and fine as spider silk, winding their way around the body of the last remaining Quarl before tearing him limb from limb. The bodies of both dead devils fell to bloody pieces on the ground before decomposing into the earth in the instant, the smell of their rotting flesh making the stench of the air all the more unbearable.

Larva's hold on Miyu tightened slightly before he released her; she looked up at him briefly, thanking him silently with her eyes before turning her attentions to the Geisha that stood opposite of her. "Hey Ranka, that wasn't fair…they were my targets!"

Ranka did not respond right away; she only shot Miyu a look, a signal, that Miyu picked up immediately; the deaths of her last two henchmen were exactly the type of distractions that they needed; Caial had broken her concentration on them, and her defenses had weakened considerably. This was their best shot at hitting her now and hitting her good. "Miyu! Ichirou! Now!"

"Right!" Miyu called back, reaching deep into her soul and pulling forth another fire spell that could have rivaled the first. "Yui!"

Yui rose to the occasion gracefully with Nagi and Senju not too far behind her, the powerful and soulful magic of the Shi blending with the deep-rooted Japanese Shinma atmosphere. The magical currents blended together, bleeding together in elegant and well-blended streams of building magic, complimenting each other and further build each other's power. Another ingredient was added to the mix as the Chinese Shinma readied their own attacks, the powers of their elements adding a shocking contribution to that of the Japanese Magic and the Shi. The dance of magic was completed with the Western Shinma adding their magic to the fusion, and the air surrounding the battle area became so heavy that it would have crushed a human under its spiritual weight and leave behind nothing but a dark smudge on the rocks. Anyone not accustomed to this sort of immense output of power, a rare species born from not one or two, but four Clans of separate beings, would have been overwhelmed, their spirits crushed and reduced to piles of broken emotions.

Caial, however, did not seem to take notice.

Instead, she smiled, extending an arm to keep a suddenly very shifty Cait Sith behind her. "Step back, Cait Sith." She said coolly.

When at last the earth and air could no longer withstand the sheer pressure of such a build-up of raw power, the breaking point was reached, like a match put to a powder-cake, creating a shockwave of pure magical energy that could have leveled a mountain. It plowed towards Caial, churning up the earth, up heaving stones and boulders like mere marbles, but the black witch only smirked and rose her arm as the attack rushed to meet her. Thunder became a whisper, the glaring light of a summer sun a candle flame as the attack hit true, shaking the Japanese Spirit Realm to its very core. All the Shinma in the area had to close their eyes and guard themselves against the after-shock that made the teeth in their heads rattle. For what seemed like centuries their world was filled with blinding white light and a roar that left their ears ringing for days afterwards, until at last it subsided and they were able to open their eyes again to see if they were victorious.

"All right!" Ichirou cheered. "We did it!"

But he spoke too soon.

When the dusty smoke cleared at last, a lone figure could be seen standing in the epicenter of the destruction, a cruel and mocking smile twisting her features. A laugh rose on the wind, as mocking as the smile, a horrible sounds that drove in the true feeling of their defeat.

"My…my God…"

"You're wrong." Cait Sith sneered at the rebelling Shinma, who were all recoiling in horror, unable to believe what they were seeing. "You can never beat my Mama!"

Yui rose her hands to her face, her eyes wild with fear and disbelief. "She doesn't even have a scratch…"

"What a monster…" Nagi whispered, drawing Yui closer to him.

"Well, fuck." Kia said, deflating. "Now what do we do?"

Caial rose her arms, stretched out on either side of her, and the air, although exhausted from the gargantuan magical blast that had taken place only a few moments ago, began to become overwhelmed again by currents of fire magic that made the battle field suddenly feel like a scorching desert. "Now…it's time for a little revenge." Her manner still reminded Miyu of a cat playing with a mouse before the kill, but there was definitely a more dangerous tone to it now. Obviously, their little stunt to take her out in one blow did not make her too happy. "First of all, I'll give to you your favorite, Miyu… And just to be nice, we'll let your friends play too!"

The fire attacks were stronger this time, screaming through the air as they rushed at their targets, and all the surrounding Shinma were just barely able to dive out of the way as it cut past them like possessed razor blades. But these were no ordinary fire spells, for once they missed their targets, they merely turned around and sped right back in the direction in which they came. All around her, the other Shinma were crying out in frustration and pain as the onslaught of attacks became too much for them all to block at once. One of them bit deeply into Spartoi's shoulder, his cloak immediately becoming dark with blood as another sliced through the lower parts of one of Kia's wings, sending up a small flurry of white feathers. The true horror of the situation was that they were so busy running and dodging the flames that they had no chance or opening to counter-attack.

"There's no time to waste!" Nagi shouted as he made an attempt to protect Yui by throwing his cape over her. "This fire's like a knife! We'll be dead before we can get anything accomplished!"

Miyu hardly flinched in the deadly rain, as much to her silent surprise. It was as if some tiny, unheard voice in her head told her exactly from which side and angle the fire was coming from before she could even see the attack coming, and dodged each one with the fluid grace that would put a cat to shame. She glared hard at the Quarl queen, conjuring up a fire spell in her hand, which she launched at impossible speed in the same direction that one of Caial's dark fireballs was rushing up to meet her. The two fireballs connected…

And the sound of a cracking whip and a flare of bright light, Miyu was hurtled backwards with the force of the backfiring spells, landing hard on her backside.

Maybe that was not such a good idea…

"Miyu!" Larva was at her side in the blink of an eye to make sure she was not hurt, but Miyu only blinked to make sure she could fully grasp the concept of what just happened.

"Amazing…" She mumbled to herself, then actually smiled, grateful for Larva's concern. Just like old times. "Yup! I'm all right, Larva." She stood up, whipping dirt off the white material of her yukata, even though she knew the force at which she landed drove the dirt stains into it.

Behind his mask, Larva breathed a sigh of relief. This was one of the most difficult and intense battles that he had ever seen in his life, and he knew that he could not let his guard down for a second. Some of the best warriors in all the Shinma Realms were fighting in this battle, and they were having a very difficult time getting a direct hit at the enemy. At this rate, they would all be dead in the next hour from sheer exhaustion. We can't survive like this! He thought, looking hopelessly out into the battlefield. All around him, more and more of his companions were showing new wounds and were getting progressively weaker while Caial herself was barely blinking. What can I do…I can't just sit here and wait for our deaths… But Miyu…I have to protect Miyu…

But protecting Miyu would only save her a little longer from the inevitable. They needed something to break this seemingly unending chain, and to do that, they needed to find Caial's weak spot. Unfortunately, he knew, that most of them had only been toddlers during the first Shinma wars, and even if they had been old enough to fight, they would were not able to get close enough to the witch to discover any weak points. There was only one person in this world who contained information like that…

And right now, that was the last person that Larva wanted to talk to, but if they wanted to make it out of here alive, he had no choice.

I must do this…

"Larva!" His train of thought was broken when one of Miyu's fire spells connected with one that had been hurtling in his direction when he had been too wrapped up in his thoughts to take notice. Miyu landed only feet away from him, her golden eyes wild from the battle and the oncoming of exhaustion, grabbing his arm in a way that would suggest panic. "What's wrong? This isn't like you! You have to pay attention!" She was probably right on that level; had she not interfered with that attack, he probably would have lost his head.

"I'm sorry Miyu," he apologized. "But, I have an idea…"

Confusion intermingled with the other mixed emotions in Miyu's face. "What? What are you…" Her words were cut off by a cry of surprise as another knife of fire cut between the pair, missing them both by the space of an inch, driving them apart. Larva wove together the weak makings of a shielding spell, simple in design, but strong enough to blow the dark fire apart upon impact. Seeing it as his only window of opportunity, Larva sent Miyu a message that only she could hear within the turmoil of her mind: I will be right back, Miyu!

And with that, he was gone, vanished to some other part of the Japanese Realm.

"Are you running away, Larva?" Cait Sith screamed over his shoulder, clearly outraged that the Western Shinma had departed, but no one else seemed to notice. No one except for him and Miyu, who could only look on helplessly at the spot where Larva had disappeared.

Larva…where are you going…?

* * *

In the still and nearly complete silence of the ghostly forest, Pazusu awoke with a start.

He had known that the foolish battle against Caial was well-under way; he could feel it from the very moment it began, a strange little prickle at the back of his neck, like a bug biting at his skin. He knew that he should have been out there, helping his companions, but in his current condition… Caial would sense his weakness like a shark drawn to blood in the water, and torn him to shreds just as quickly. Just the thought of it made the stone embedded in her chest burn with newborn pain. Besides, he could not allow Carlua to fight in such a strenuous and dangerous battle… Her magic was strong, and had the potential to become much more so, but she was not ready for such an encounter.

None of them were, he thought with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

But what had just woken him up was not the energy force of a Quarl, no any backlash of spells from the attacks that were happening somewhere along the outsides of the Spirit Realm. It was instead of someone coming this way, one of their own… And he had a very good suspicion of who it was.

"Carlua." The girl had been asleep too, curled up against his chest, unaffected by the events that had been taking place for the last half hour or so. But at the sound of his voice she stirred, opening one sky-blue eye and taking a moment to remember where she was. "I need you to do me a favor."

The blonde girl yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Yes, Lord Pazusu?"

"I need you to inform Mori of the current standings. It seems as if the others aren't going to be able to hold Caial off on her own…she needs to send back up. And don't worry, she won't hurt you."

"I know that." Carlua said with a small nod, but there was a deep concern in her eyes. "But what about…"

Smiling, Pazusu gently took her face in his hands and tenderly kissed her forehead. "Just go, and be careful. I'm all right."

The look of worry lightened a bit in her eyes, but did not disappear completely as Carlua rose and began walking towards the thick forest. "Okay, but only as long as you stay put right there." A small smile lit up her delicate features as she said a word that Pazusu was least expecting to hear.

"Father…"

At first, the older man was completely caught off guard. It was very rare when either Carlua or Larva verbally addressed him as a parent, but even in the few fleeting times when they did, it always touched him to the core, and he smiled warmly at her. "All right…"

"I'll see you later, then!" Carlua smiled brightly, turned, and disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

The air chilled to sub-zero temperatures, freezing the fire where they came speeding towards him and dropping like dead flies. But even with the air itself nearly frozen, Yoto paused to wipe a mixture of sweat and blood off his brow. How much longer could they hold off? He was one of the singly most powerful Shinma in his realm, being the First Heir to the Throne, but even he found himself having a harder and harder time withstanding the constant rain of attacks.

Then, among the roar of the battle, he heard a voice rise to his ears and his ears alone. Why him and when exactly it happened when it did, he never knew. Maybe it was because with the world as frozen around him as the poles of his world, making him more adapt to his environment, or because of fate, he would never know, but still, it was there. A cold and merciless hiss that was more of a shaping of words among exhaled air rather than being physically spoken; not of a Quarl, but rather one of the renegade Shi that had been assisting the devils.

The girl Western Shinma is on the move, and alone… Kill her…

To be ambushed, completely unguarded and unprepared…

He certainly was not going to allow for that.

Without thinking of what consequences it might have later, Yoto ducked out of the battle, vanishing in a swirl of icy wind, deeper into the forests of the Japanese Shinma Realm.

* * *

Pazusu knew who was coming, and he knew that he could not allow his foster son to see him in such a condition. There was still blood on the front of his cloak, and he knew that it would distract the man away from what he really needed to tell him, and Pazusu, above anyone else, knew that they did not have that kind of time to waste.

Gathering up his energy, the Western Shinma wove together the makings of a powerful healing spell, mixed with the threads of a time-reversal spell, in which he focused entirely on the wound in the chest. It took an incredible amount of energy and strength to uphold, but he could feel flesh knitting together under his clothing as the blood that stained the cloth of his cloak began to disappear until not even a smudge was left. The blood may have been completely gone, but the wound was still tender; any blow with a minimum amount of power could open it up, and if that happened…

He could not think of the consequences. Right now, he stood, crossing his arms, as unmovable and strong as a statue, and awaited his guest to arrive. "I am here, Larva."

Before him, the shadows began to move, to blend and swirl together until they took form of a physical and solid body, of a tall man shrouded in a flowing black cape and an eerie white mask hiding his face. With a pale hand, he reached towards his face, slender fingers tipped with blood-red nails removing the sorrowful-looking mask. The hood of the cloak fell, revealing powder-blue hair, finer than silk, than satin, and under the mask, the face of an angel. An angel whose eyes were the color of freshly spilt blood, of death itself.

Larva narrowed his eyes at the man who stood opposite of him, not at all phased by his stone-cold face, nor in inflexible determination in his hard eyes.

"Pazusu…"

It was only one word spoken, but it had set the entire tone of what was to take place between the two men; once father and son, now as good as enemies on that one faithful encounter.

An encounter that would change everything….

-------

To Be Continued…

------