An Angels Pain
Chapter 11: Death
By Sycorax
An Angels Pain
Chapter 11: Death
By Sycorax
Arios looked skeptically at Aeris, staring at the light held before him.
"Arios…..please….." Aeris begged softly, holding the light closer to the archangel.
"But…..what if you…..?"
"I believe I'll be fine, angel. Now take it."
Again, Arios stared at her incredulously then held his hand out, hesitantly touching the light. Immediately the light shot into his fingers and through his arm, encasing his entire body in a burning light. His body began to reform, and he screamed in pain as his bones cracked to reshape and blood burst forth from newly made scars on his back. From these gashes came forth new sets of wings, three pairs adorning the angel's back now. Each wing was cover in brilliantly white and clear feathers, soft as down, yet strong enough for flight. Arios curled up as his hair grew much faster and grew to a longer length than before, his emerald hair falling to the small of his back. Silver armor formed on his torso and his arms, completing his transformation.
When his stood up and looked at Aeris, a sudden new fire glowed in his eyes. Between him and Aeris floated a new saber, its blade coated in intricate runes, and at the base, the inscription "Illixus" adorned the fine new sword.
He gripped the sword, marveling at the strength he could feel from the sentient sword. It flared a bright blue in its new owners grasp.
Aeris smiled, seeing Arios' transformation, but began to fade from view. Arios reached forward.
"Aeris!"
"No! It's alright! Arios, go!"
Arios took one last look at the woman before she disappeared from sight. Anger apparent in his lavender eyes, he similarly disappeared from view, determined to kill the demon responsible for all of this.
"You -what-?"
"You heard me, Cloud." Vincent answered.
Cloud's face contorted in confusion. "But…..but why!? After all of done? I want to kill you! Fuck, I hate you!"
"No, you don't."
Cloud swiped his claw across Vincent's cheek, scaring his porcelain face. Blood trickled down his neck as he turned to face the demon, his face never flinching.
"Don't tell me what I feel and don't feel, bitch. I want nothing more than to kill you."
"Is that so? And what will you do after that?"
Cloud paused. He had never considered it.
"That's what I thought. Cloud, you've been damned. You will continue to be tortured by something, whether it be Tifa's death or mine. I…..can't let you live like this. Not when I know what it's like….."
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Cloud hissed.
Vincent smiled, reversing Cloud's grip. He rolled over so that he now straddled the demon and locked the demon's wrists to the ground. Cloud struggled, but Vincent's renewed strength was too much. Vincent knelt extremely close to Cloud's face.
"What's wrong with me?" He chuckled, his warm breath sending chills down the demon's spine. "I fell in love with you."
Cloud's eyes widened as Vincent closed the gap between them, his lips gazing across his in a last feathery kiss. Vincent retracted one of his hands from Cloud's wrist and placed it on the demon's chest. He closed his eyes and concentrated all his energy into his hand. An iridescent light encased both he and the demon.
"What are you….." Cloud trailed off as he felt a sudden jolt of pain, the light encasing him cleansing his demonic blood. His leathery wings began to meld back into his back and his skin began to return to its normal shade. Yet at the same time, Vincent also began to reform. His feathery wings began to recede, molting feathers all around them. A final scream escaped both of there lips as a super-nova like explosion enlightened the entire area in a blinding light.
Chaos watched the ongoing battle, eyes widening when he saw Vincent pin his creation to the ground.
"What is that damned angel doing to him?" Chaos growled, turning Arios around and shaking him. Arios' limp body lolled over, earning Chaos no reaction. The demon roared in anger.
"Where the fuck are you, archangel!?" He screamed at the limp body. He raised his claw, preparing to lacerate the angel, but paused when he look back at the fight. A shockwave of light was heading straight for them. The light enveloped both Arios' body and Chaos, causing the demon to drop back and shield his eyes.
"NO!" he screamed as the light seared his skin.
When the light passed, Chaos reopened his eyes only to find himself surrounded by complete darkness. It was then he realized he could feel the ground beneath him…..namely because there was no ground. He twisted around, looking about frantically. He didn't recognize this place of darkness.
"Where am I?" he growled, rubbing his eyes tenderly.
"Arios!" the demon roared out.
"You want to know where I am, don't you?" Arios asked, his voice playfully light. Chaos looked about again, unable to place the voice in the void.
"Come out here, angel, so I can finally kill you for what you did to me!"
"What -I- did to you?" Arios asked, his voice still coming from an unknown source. "And what, pray tell, could I have done to cause you to want to kill me so badly?"
"You….." Chaos hissed. The demon struggled to regain himself, for the shockwave of light had taken much of his energy. "You banned me from Vincent's body. You ruined everything."
Arios lowered himself behind Chaos, his body apparently upside-down. He spoke loudly, "Then I suppose you have a right to kill me."
Chaos growled and swung about, sending a claw out to strike the archangel. He failed, only managing to hit the air behind him. Arios tapped him on the shoulder.
"You missed." Arios said coyly.
Chaos growled again as he spun around, claws leading. He stumbled a bit when he struck only air.
"Damn you, angel!" Chaos roared, crimson eyes glowing with fury.
A good ten feet from the demon Arios emerged from his spiritual hiding place.
The demon hissed, holding steady, although there was the slightest twinge of fear evident in his blood red gaze. He sized the angel up and narrowed his eyes. "You've gained a bit of power, angel." He said, eyeing Arios' new wings. "No matter. I'll still have the pleasure of lacerating your body in due time."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you poor demon, you." Arios chided. "You've nothing on your mind but killing. How do you live like that?"
"Easy. When the blood of a fresh kill is warming my claws, then I know it was worth it."
"Sick." Arios muttered, shaking his head in disappointment. "And what do you do when you've killed your prey?" He asked, taking a step towards the demon. Chaos tried to step back, but realized he couldn't take any step in retreat.
"I move on to another." He replied, determined he'd kill this angel one way or another.
Arios paused, then smiled wickedly. "What a pathetic life." He laughed, summoning Illixus to his side. The demon narrowed his dark eyes, but Arios merely leered back, his violet eyes dancing with an inner fire that reflected the angel's anticipation for his next kill.
"Allow me to tell you one thing, demon. The reigning angel gave everything to see you dead. So I give you this gift and I do hope you enjoy it." Though still smiling, Chaos could see the anger in the angel's lavender orbs, as Arios lunged forward, sheathing Illixus within Chaos' evil heart. The demon shuttered as he felt the angelic energy pouring into him, burning him from the inside-out.
"Taste the burn of a power greater than anything you can imagine." Arios hissed.
"What is this?" the demon managed to say, blood spilling from every hole on his body.
"Aeris gave up her power to rid the world of you." Arios growled, twisting the blade. Chaos roared in pain, grasping the wound in a futile attempt to stem the flow.
"Good bye, evil one."
Chaos coughed. "I'll see you in Hell, bitch." He growled before his crimson eyes faded to a darkness blacker than a starless night.
Cloud groaned and rubbed his head gently. He pushed himself off the ground and stumbled due to the throbbing headache he was now experiencing. He shook his head and opened his eyes. At first, he could only see a light blur, but as his vision cleared, his memories of recent events also returned. He looked about until he spotted his goal a few feet away.
"Vincent....." he breathed, his heart pounding nervously as he approached the fallen gunslinger. He laid there on the wet ground, motionless except for the occasional breeze pushing a strand of his ebony hair about. His head lay to the side, eyes wide open but absent of life. His clothes were tattered and Cloud noticed two large gashes on his chest. He winced, remembering it was he who gave him those scars. He knelt next to Vincent, lifting his head in his arms gently.
"Hey, Val. C'mon, let's go home. Everything's alright now." Cloud whispered, stroking the pale man's face. His cheeks were ghostly cold to Cloud's fingertips. When Vincent made no move, Cloud slumped and his sapphire eyes glossed over.
"Vincent…..don't…..don't do this to me. Not now. Not after all we've gone through. You…..you can't leave me!" Cloud held tight to his lover, tears freely streaming down his cheeks. He couldn't believe this. This wasn't right, this wasn't supposed to happen. He lost Tifa…..but Vincent, too? It was too much to bear for the young swordsman. Cloud shook the limp body furiously.
"WAKE UP, DAMN IT!!" He screamed, his voice choking. He buried his face into the crook of his dead lover's neck, sobbing uncontrollably as another rainstorm started up, only adding to the pool of blood and tears Cloud found himself drowning in.