Blah...I hate and love this chaoter at the same time. I hope it's ok...
Ryo-san
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Apocalyptic Angels
Chapter 10
Leo stared blankly at the ceiling. Sleep wouldn't come to him, and he wasn't tired to begin with. He knew they'd be leaving in the morning, as long as Kain couldn't think of some excuse to keep them there. Mainly Ryo...
A gentle knock echoed from his door. Leo looked towards his door lazily. "Yeah?" he called out loud enough for the person behind the door to hear him. The door opened slightly and a maid shyly poked her head in.
"I'm sorry, I know it's late but Master Steel requests that you meet him in the southern drawing room." the maid said softly.
"Okay..." Leo said. The maid took a quick bow before leaving him alone again. "What the hell could Steel want now..." Leo muttered to himself.
Ryo had fallen asleep as soon as he had laid down. Roxanne sat on her bed across from him, holding her knees to her chest. She watched him sleep in silence, smiling. She remembered the first time she had met him. He was only eight, but he still took on the responsibilities of someone much older than him. It was something he and his siblings all shared. In her life, Ryo and Leo had been her only friends. But Ryo had always held a special place in her heart. Years earlier, Roxanne had liked the idea of one day being married to Ryo. She knew now that he cared for her, just not in the way she had hoped.
Roxanne was brought out of her daydreaming by someone knocking at their door. She took a quick glance to make sure Ryo was still sleeping before going to the door. Outside was a maid, looking nervous.
"I'm sorry Roxanne, but you and Demon need to go see Steel, in the southern drawing room," the maid said.
"Steel? What for?" Roxanne asked quietly, glancing back in the room at Ryo.
"I don't know," the maid said. "But one of the quests asked for us to go through the Southern Pass. They said we'd find a sapphire Dragon's corpse, and they want several of its scales, so I'll be gone tonight. You better not keep Master Steel waiting..." The maid then quickly left, followed by some male servants. Roxanne softly closed the door and knelt by Ryo's bed.
"Ryo..." she whispered, gently shaking Ryo's arm.
"Hmm...?" Ryo opened one green eye to look at Roxanne's light green ones.
"We need to go see Steel, in the southern drawing room."
"Goddamn it..." Ryo hissed through his teeth as he sat up. "Well...let's get going..." He led her out of the room, and down the maze of hallways towards the southern side of the house.
"Your daughter seems to be a really nice girl..." Roxanne commented. "What kind of person is her mother?"
"I don't know..." Ryo said quietly. This wasn't something he wanted to talk about with Roxanne. But he figured she should know in a way. "She's nice I guess...she's uh...the Stewardess of Hollow..." Roxanne looked down, feeling ashamed. A Stewardess sounded much better that a maid.
"You changed your name to Ryo...I like it, it's better than your old name..." Roxanne commented.
"Yeah..." Ryo said, not looking at her.
When they reached the hallway where the southern drawing room was at they saw Kalon, Dimi, Leo, Caza, and Steel all waiting in the hallway.
"Good...we're all here then," Steel said as Ryo and Roxanne walked up.
"Yeah we're here....what the hell are we doing?" Kalon said with a cigarette in his mouth.
"I decided I'd tell you what's going on a little early..." Steel said. He opened the door into the drawing room. "Get in." They all filed into the room. In the center of the room was a long rectangular table that seated eight people. Steel motioned for them to sit.
"Couldn't this have waited for tomorrow?" Dimi asked, rubbing his eyes.
"No..." Steel said, peeking out of the door before closing and locking it. "I want to explain things to you without any of your children being present. You may repeat what I tell you later, but for tonight, let's keep this meeting secret." Ryo looked around the table. Steel remained standing. On the opposite side of the table sat Kalon, Caza and Dimi. On his side was Roxanne, Leo and himself. "Let's make this...as simple as possible...with minimum questions..." Steel said, massaging his forehead. He looked and sounded tired. Steel then started slowly pacing around the room and the table.
"Tell me...do any of you find it odd that the six of you are the strongest?" Steel asked. There was a moment of silence.
"We all knew each other in some way..." Leo said quietly. Ryo looked around and saw it was true. Roxanne knew Ryo and Leo, who in return, knew Kalon, Dimi and Caza. Steel smirked at his son.
"Very good..." he said. He continued his slow pacing. "You all knew each other...and there's a reason for that. All six of you are naturally drawn together, no matter what. Why do you think that's so?" Steel shot another look around the table, waiting for one of them to answer. No one, not even Leo had an answer.
"It's because of your fate...each of your fates was decided the moment you were born." Steel said, his voice raspy and tired. "And all of you...are Angels." An unnatural silence fell upon the room as Steel's last comment.
"Angels...?" Roxanne asked, breaking the silence. "Us...? How can we be angels? None of us have wings...or halos..." Steel gave a soft, dark chuckle.
"Wings? Halos? All figments created by believers who've never seen a true Angel." Steel laughed. Ryo didn't understand. He couldn't tell what Steel was trying to say exactly. "The Great War..." Steel went on, pacing in the opposite direction. "The Great War poisoned most of the planet...leaving only a small portion for humans to thrive on...and destroying nearly all technology mankind had created before their downfall...but you've all heard this your whole lives...
"After the Great War, mankind was nearly exterminated...in the whole world, only two lands remained unaffected, unpoisoned by the War...the land to the south would become Hollow, the land to the north, Camaria..." The six men and woman at the table gave each other confused looks. Even Dimi appeared to be trying to focus. Was Steel really giving them some sort of history lesson?
"The people who resided in Hollow were much better off than the people stranded in Camaria..." Steel went on, his eyes focused and serious. "Camaria was habitable, but much of it was destroyed...the surviving people were desperate, they could not survive without their ruined technology...so they called upon the Gods to aid them in their fight for survival. The Gods pitied the people of Camaria, and granted them blessings the people did not deserve. The Gods sent six Angels down from the Heavens to live among the humans..."
"Gods?" Caza said. "Why would the Gods grant such a blessing?" Everyone turned to Steel for the answer. Ryo's mind was racing, and he could see Leo's mind working too. Kain had always said Leo was a blessing, and the Blood of Angels ran through his veins strong.
"As far as the Gods were concerned, the people would not live much longer in their War reaped world," Steel said. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed before continuing on. "The Six Angels they were called...The Angels of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Ice, and Lightning...and upon all remaining humanity, they granted the ultimate gift...the ability to summon and control one of the six Elements. That was the dawn of the age of Users, and the age of the world reborn.
"So people learned to use Elements, but they were still weak, and could not use the Elements for very much. But the people who would form Camaria became stronger than the Users in Hollow. This is because of the Seven Gates to Heaven." Steel stopped pacing and leaned against the table. Ryo could see stress and some anger in Steel's face. No one said anything, and waited for Steel to continue.
"The Seven Gates to the Heavens..." Steel said, "Are exactly what they claim to be. Portals, powered be each of the Elements, that lead to the Other World."
"But there are six Elements, what's the seventh Gate?" Ryo asked.
"I'm getting to it!!" Steel snapped, his dark maroon eyes glaring daggers at Ryo. "The Seventh Gate is a Seal...
"The Six Angels chose to live as mortals among the people of Camaria..." Steel went on, not fully explaining the Seventh Gate. "And the Angels had children with mortals...their children were Angels, Angels can't bleed, they aren't human. But their children were part human and part Angels...they were the first Angels who bleed. The six original Angels died, having mated with humans, but their children lived on, carrying on the Lines of the six Angels. And these six families became the unquestionable rulers of Camaria..."
Everyone looked around the room at each other. None of them had ever been taught about the Six Angels of Camaria, or of the six families who ran the country. There were six families, and six Angels of the Elements, and once they got the Ice User, there would be six of them, excluding Ryo. The same thoughts slowly plagued each of their minds. It felt unreal, yet in a distant way, it felt right. Steel saw their faces, interpreting his story, and smiled.
"Years ago, nearly thirty-seven years ago, Camaria decided that they were much superior to Hollow, in both Users and technology." Steel said. He sounded more like himself, with his deep voice and dark maroon eyes. "Camaria, led by the six families, decided they would destroy Hollow from within, then completely demolish the entire country in one attack."
"It was then decided. The Decendants of Ice, Water, Wind, and Earth would move, and live in Hollow with each of their sons. There, they would raise their sons to learn the ways of Hollow, grooming them in hopes that one of them would become the next Steward of Hollow. Once the Steward, they would purposely weaken the country for an attack from Camaria."
Ryo's eyes grew in shock. Thirty-seven years ago...
"But as fate would have it..." Steel said, sounding slightly amused, yet angered. "Soon after the four families left for Hollow, the Fire and Lightning families who remained in Camaria lost contact with the Water family...then a few years after we lost the Wind family. And then the Earth family was also lost soon after. All assumed dead, and their sons dead also...The Ice family was the only one that stayed in contact with us here..."
"The Ice User's son...he went on and completed his task, becoming the Steward of Hollow, didn't he...?" Ryo said in a quiet, deadly voice. Everyone, except Roxanne who didn't understand, stared at Steel. It couldn't possibly be...
Steel smiled his wicked smile. His eyes were slitted and dark. "That's right..." he said. "You know him as Janon...in Camaria, he's Ghost, the Decendant of the Angel of Ice... he went on to become the Steward of Hollow." Ryo's head lowered to where his hair hid his face. Roxanne slowly came to understand, and she put a hand on his shoulder for support. Silence took the room once again.
"But Ghost betrayed us..." Steel said. He began pacing again. "Instead of weakening Hollow for an attack, he did the opposite and actually made the country fairly strong. Therefore, he was assassinated...I take it you remember that time, Demon?"
Ryo said nothing.
"The three sons of Water, Earth and Wind were assumed dead...they're still assumed dead. But I..." Steel said, smiling, "I realized that the three sons were still alive...for when we raided the palace in search of Ghost, we encountered three Users, of Water, Wind, and Earth...all of them surpassed any Hollow Element User, and their power levels surpassed those even in Camaria. That got me wondering...were the three sons really dead? Or had they just been orphaned when they were young, and had no idea of who they really were?"
"Oh shit..." Kalon moaned, leaning back in his chair, one of his gloved hands covering his eyes. It was all coming together. Caza's normally emotionless face was now focused and thoughtful. Dimi's mouth simply hung open in disbelief. Roxanne had one hand by her mouth, looking almost scared. Ryo's head was still lowered.
"Caza, Dimi, and Kalon...the three assumed dead Descenders of the Angels of Wind, Water, and Earth..." Steel said in a low voice. He looked the three of them over with satisfaction.
"And you..." Steel said, looking at Roxanne. "You are the last daughter, of the Descendant of the Angel of Lightning. But your House almost completely died out. You were the last one, so the Razada House, the Descenders of the Angel of Fire took you in, in hope that the Lightning Line would survive, where the Earth, Water, Wind, and Ice Lines have died. As far as Camaria's concerned, the Fire and Lightning Descenders are the only families left from the Six Angels, the other four have died out..."
Ryo saw Leo lean back in his chair, his eyes shut. That meant Leo was the Descender of Fire. Roxanne was the only Descender of the Angel of Lightning.
"Why are you telling us all of this Steel?" Leo asked slowly, his red eyes still closed. "You're obviously got nothing to gain..."
Steel's smile faded instantly. "You want to save Hollow from destruction, don't you?" Leo and everyone else nodded silently. "Then you're going to need my help...all Descendants of the Angels need to make prayers on their eighteenth birthday, vowing to be their loyal servants, and in return, become blessed by the Gods. When this is completed, they will gain the knowledge the Gods grant them. I believe Lion and Demon know what I'm talking about....they've seen it happen to May and Nayota."
"They were basically brainwashed to believe anything Kain told them..." Ryo said.
Steel smiled. "But the seven of you, including Ghost are different. None of you made prayers to the Gods at eighteen, therefore, you are condemned as Demons in the Heavens."
"Demons? How can we be Demons and Angels?" Leo asked, finally opening his eyes.
"It sounds impossible, doesn't it?" Steel laughed darkly. "But you are both. You were all born Angels, but you are also humans...when you, Angels, failed to make prayers at eighteen, the Heavens saw it as treason, and you were damned to be Demons. Demons are humans who have had their heart taken...But since you are Angels, you cannot have your hearts taken from you. You are all Angels who Bleed, and Demons with Hearts, the ultimate contradictions in this world's religion...your powers aren't controlled by the Gods."
"I have no issues with that!" Kalon said loudly, taking out another cigarette. "But how are we supposed to take on Camaria if they're stronger than the Users in Hollow?"
"There is only one way to weaken the Camarian Users back to normal levels..." Steel said in his poisonous voice. "To do that, we need to close the Seven Elemental Gates that are located in the Camarian capital. Six of the Gates are Elemental, one for each Element. Only Descenders of that specific Gate's Element can close them. Then the last Seventh gate is a Seal, a door that closes the doors to the Heavens forever, but for it to be closed, it needs to be powered by a User of all Elements. Once the Seventh Gate is closed and sealed, the Camarian Users will slowly lose their powers until they are normal."
"You want us to each close a Gate? And I have to close the last one?" Ryo asked, surprised. It sounded almost too easy.
"Yes," Steel said, simply. "But it's not that easy, Demon. The last Gate requires the normal six Elements, but to completely seal it, it needs two more...the Elements of Darkness and Light." Ryo opened his mouth to protest, but Steel beat him to it.
"I assure you, they are real, just very difficult to summon, use, and most importantly, control. Light will come easier than Darkness, the Angel blood in you will make it easier. Your real challenge will be to harness the Darkness. Demons are the only ones able to summon Darkness, because Darkness feeds on their hearts, and since they have none, they can use it without dying. But for you Demon, you're a Demon who still has a Heart, you'll have to learn to control the Darkness, and use it without it consuming your very being."
Ryo stared at Steel in complete disbelief. "You want me to learn to summon Elements I didn't even know existed until thirty seconds ago within the next few days?!"
Steel returned Ryo's cold stare. "I can teach you how to summon Light, but Darkness you'll have to learn on your own."
"You still never answered my question..." Leo said, interrupting Steel. "Why are you telling us all of this?" Steel stopped, seeming to consider his answer.
"Because..." Steel said slowly, carefully. "I don't believe in this religion anymore..."
"You don't believe?" Roxanne asked. "How can you not believe? You're part of the Razada family, the strongest family of Angels!"
"The Gods have always protected and ensured the survival of the Six Families!" Steel yelled, "For thousands of years, the Six families have ruled Camaria, so why would they abandon us now, in your generation?! The Gods simply allowed us to believe the Water, Earth, Wind, and Ice Lines have died, yet still they live! Those honored Gods would allow their children to die, and suffer! Kain is a fool to believe the Gods still control this world! Those Angels, those six damn Angels planted a curse upon this world that they cannot themselves remove! Camaria has gained too much power, and is on the brink of starting another Great War, far more terrible than the last! And the Gods in the Heavens are going to allow humanity to be exterminated...I said earlier each of you were contradictions to this religion, and I believe there is a reason for it...I believe there was a reason for your existance, and that reason is so you can all save this dying, pathetic world...you were created, not by the Gods, but by this diseased Earth, in an attempt to cure itself from an infection called Camaria, and it's Users...it's for that reason that I am trying to help you..."
Silence engulfed everyone in the room. They were all shocked, yet touched by Steel's outburst. Ryo almost thought Steel's intentions were good...but there was still something about Steel that didn't give him a good vibe.
"But...Master Steel...if we close the gates, wont we also lose some of our Elemental abilities...?" Roxanne asked shyly, breaking the long silence.
Steel calmed his breathing from his outburst, and stood tall, more relaxed. "No, you wont...you're all Descenders of Angels, your powers were not given to you, you were born with them..."
The Six Angels all stopped and considered their options. Ryo thought about Melody, back in Hollow. He still hadn't seen her, and she was the Stewardess of Hollow. If there was going to be a war between the two countries, she's be one of the most relied on people in the country. Hollow was still unaware of Camaria's existence, and would not be expecting an attack from anyone. If that happened, any chance of being with Melody would be near impossible. Even living in Hollow would be difficult if a war broke out. The Great War had occurred thousands of years earlier, Ryo only had a slight idea of what kind of weapons humans had during their war that nearly destroyed the earth.
"Steel..." Ryo asked. "How old are you?"
Steel hesitated, then sighed. "Seven-thousand, two-hundred and eighty-nine."
"How old does that make Kain?!" Dimi asked.
"I don't know his actual age!" Steel snapped at Dimi. "He was the first Angel-Human hybrid to be born, from the Angel of Fire. He's been around since the beginning, he's defanitly over ten-thousand..."
"I had no idea the guy was that old..." Dimi whispered quietly to Caza, who didn't respond.
"But what about Janon? We can't close the Ice Gate without him," Caza asked.
"I realize that, and we can resurrect him tomorrow," Steel said flatly.
Steel walked to the door, and opened it. He stopped before leaving and turned to the rest, rising from their seats. "If you still wish to go close the Gates, and weaken the Camarian Empire, we'll be leaving in the morning. Don't you dare try anything funny." Steel left the room in a quick pace, and shut the door behind him. Those left in the room gazed around at eachother.
"Six Gates....plus the one Ryo has to close..." Leo said thoughtfully.
"Or Kyo could do it, he can use all the Elements!" Dimi said hopefully.
"But he said he can only use Lightning, Ice, and Water good, he might not be enough...kid's got skill though." Kalon said, finishing his cigarette.
"Ryo?" Roxanne asked gently, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine Roxanne..." Ryo said, trying to give her a comforting smile. "I'm just wondering what would be the best course of action..."
"I think we should go to Camaria and close the Gates." Caza said monotonley.
"Really?" Dimi asked.
"Yeah..."
"Do we have to bring back Janon?" Ryo said loudly, not realizing his fists were clenched.
"Well...I can't see how we'll do it without him..." Leo said in an apologetic manner. That was so like Leo, always trying to help Ryo feel better,
"I'm going..." Caza said, turning to leave.
Kalon gave a harsh laugh, following Caza out the door. "Might as well go, I'd rather fight those Camarian bastards on their own turf and ruin their stuff rather than back at Hollow!"
"I wanna go too!" Dimi whined, getting his goofball self back. "You're going too, aren't you Ryo?"
"Of course I'm going!" Ryo said angrily, wrapping his arm around Dimi's shoulders. "This way I can kick Janon's ass! And while I'm at it, I can save Hollow!"
They all left the room, leaving Roxanne and Leo behind.
"Do you really think we can all do it? I mean, none of us have ever actually been to Camaria..." Roxanne said. Her light green eyes shone with worry, mostly for the man she cared for.
"If we're as strong as Steel thinks we are, then I think I'll go..." Leo said. "Besides...I can't let Dimi go by himself, he's an idiot...as for Ryo..." Leo paused, smiling back on the only memory of his mother he had.
"I gotta look after him..."
"Are you gonna go back to your room with Roxanne?" Dimi asked, his voice implying.
"What? No!" Ryo said, hiding his slight blush. "It's not like that Dimi, you're an idiot."
"Okaaaay..." Dimi said, turning up the staircase that led to the guests' room. "Good night Ryo! Don't let Roxanne--I mean--the bed bugs bite!"
"Moron..." Ryo muttered to himself. He went to go down the hallway that led to the servants' quarters, to the room he and Roxanne shared, but stopped. He changed his mind and went up the stairs after Dimi. He looked around to make sure everyone was in their rooms before he slowly slipped into Kaira's room.
Kaira was sleeping in a curled up position on her bed. Ryo the Dragon was curled up against her, and raised his head when he saw Kaira's father enter the room. The fat baby dragon made a small, pathetic growl at him.
"You shush," Ryo whispered at the dragon. "Why'd she name you after me anyways?" The small dragon hiccupped, then curled back down to sleep.
Ryo slowly and quietly walked over to the spare bed on Kaira's room and sat down. He watched her breathe slowly and rhythmically in her sleep, with some small strands of hair in front of her face, no longer held up by her normal hair pins. Ryo smiled to himself. She definitely had her mother's natural beauty, but she had his hair and eyes. He noticed Kaira didn't have her blanket on her, and stood up to cover her. Kaira didn't move in her sleep. The baby dragon squeaked at the blanket.
Ryo smiled, looking down on his daughter. She was so sweet and innocent, yet she willingly chose to follow him to Camaria. Ryo's eyebrows lowered slightly when he remembered Camaria, and everything Steel had told them. They were leaving tomorrow. He now knew why the Razada House was located here, in between the mountains separating Camaria from Hollow. If any traveler ever happened to pass the mountains from Hollow, they would be stopped from discovering Camaria, and revealing it to the rest of Hollow. In the morning, they were going to go furthur north, out of the mountains, into Camaria.
Ryo considered getting Kyo to take Kaira back to Hollow. But a part of him knew Kaira would be persistant to follow him no matter where he went. He noticed Kaira was wearing a red pendant around her neck. The same pendant he had given Mel all those years ago when he had told Mel and Kaira to hide from Steel.
Ryo smiled again to himself as he laid back on the spare bed in Kaira's room. He watched her sleep, finding peace in it until he slipped into a deep sleep himself. He'd explain everything to her and Kyo in the morning.
Roxanne awoke the next morning to find Ryo's bed still empty. She sighed in disappointment, as she got out of bed and got dressed. Instead of wearing her normal gray maid's outfit, she wore tight black short shorts with a black shirt over them that went to her knees. Over them she wore two thin long veils that went alongside of her legs but parted in the front and back. She wore a black tank top lined with yellow and black arm gloves that went to her elbows with a yellow stripe going up the middle. Her boots went halfway to her knees and were made from black leather. She glanced in the mirror to make sure she looked great, and decided she did. She had made her clothes herself, but had never found a time to use them. Roxanne had always been one who wanted to look good, no matter the occasion.
The stopped, remembering one other thing she wanted to take with her. She opened her desk and drew out a small, worn bracelet. She stopped to look at it, remembering when she had gotten it. Years earlier, when Ryo and Leo were still living at the Razada House, Ryo had given her the bracelet. He had made it himself, out of scattered black, silver and golden beads he had found while cleaning the house. It had been his birthday present to her all those years ago...
Roxanne carefully slipped the small bracelet on her right wrist and admired it. She then grabbed her Lightning Needles she had gotten from Professor Bob and left.
She met Steel and Ryo at the front gate, with Kaira, Taj, Kyo, Caza, Jim, Ken, Leo, and Davis. They were all waiting on Dimi and Kalon. Ryo took one look at Roxanne's outfit, and turned away, slightly embarrassed.
"Why'd you dress like that...?" Ryo asked her under his breath when she walked up.
"What? I like it!" Roxanne said, looking down at her clothes.
"I think you look pretty Roxanne," Kaira said, holding Ryo and Dragon. Ryo, as well as the others had al explained to their kids everything Steel had told them. They all had trouble believing it, but in the end, they all accepted it. Every single one of them decided on going to Camaria.
"What the hell is keeping them?" Steel hissed. A maid opened the front door to the house, carrying a large wrapped parcel. She spotted her client and quickly ran to Kyo.
"Here you are sir!" she said quickly, handing Kyo the large parcel.
"Thanks..." Kyo mumbled, taking the parcel and unwrapping it. Taj looked over his shoulder and saw several polished sapphire dragon scales.
"You had them run back and get you that dragon's scales?!" Taj exclaimed, feeling mad.
"The dragon was dead anyway," Kyo said calmly, wrapping the scales back up in the cloth. "Besides...I broke my sword and I need a new one."
"You can make your own sword?" Kaira asked.
"Of course." Taj glared at Kyo, but remained silent.
The front door of the Razada House was suddenly kicked open by Kalon, who looked furious.
"That is the last damn time I room with Dimi!" Kalon yelled, storming down the stairs towards the rest of the group. "That idiot would not wake up! He's worst than a little kid!"
Dimi emerged from the doorway next, rubbing his head where Ryo was sure Kalon had hit him. "I just asked you to put out your cigarette Kalon! You don't need to be so grumpy! I was tired!"
Steel ignored their fight with an annoyed look ad started walking away. Everyone quickly started following him, but Ryo stayed a second, looking back at the House. No one had come out to see them off. May and Nayota no longer cared for him, he knew that, but a part of him still wished to see them at least one more time before leaving again.
"Don't worry about them," Leo said, reading his brother's mind. "Maybe after we close those gates they'll come back around again, huh?"
"Ha...yeah, maybe..." Ryo said half-heartedly.
"Do we really need to bring Janon back Dad?" Kaira asked. She looked scared.
"Yeah...don't worry about him." Ryo said. He found himself putting an arm around her. "I'll watch out for you...and you got Davis, Taj, and Kyo...." Kaira gave off a small laugh that was music to Ryo's ears.
"Yeah, I guess so..."
Steel led them to the northern side of the valley where the hills sloped upwards again. Dimi became bored once again along the way and found his entertainment in annoying Kalon and occasionally Caza. As they approached the top of the hill the wind picked up again, and the warmth of the valley seemed to be blown away.
"Where do we resurrect Janon...or Ghost, or whatever...?" Davis asked no one in particular, pulling his leather coat closer. Kyo saw Kaira shiver slightly, and offered her his jacket.
"At the top there'll be a temple," Steel yelled over the wind. "That's where we'll ressurect Ghost..."
"Ryo, carry me, I'm too cold to walk..." Dimi said helplessly.
"What?! NO!" Ryo yelled.
"Aww come on! How about you Kalon? I helped you cool off when we were in the Dead Lands!" Dimi asked Kalon.
"Get the hell away from me! I'm not carrying you!"
They slowly made their way to the top, and a stone temple came into sight. Its entrance was supported by two large stone pillars and the rest of the temple was built into the mountain itself. Ryo took one last look behind at the Razada House and surrounding valley. It looked like a far off portrait or dream.
"Demon!" Steel called back. Ryo looked back up towards the temple and saw that everyone else had already gone inside. Steel stood by the stone pillar entrance, waiting for him.
"Don't slow us down, Demon." Steel hissed quietly as Ryo passed him into the temple. "Out of everyone here, you're the most important. Everyone else has their replacements..." Ryo made a face. He didn't like Davis, Jim, Ken, and Taj being referred to as 'replacements'.
The inside of the temple wasn't windy, but it was colder than the wind outside. Leo and Davis had lit some old abandoned torches they found along the walls. The temple was surprisingly plain. It had a small stone alter a ways into the room. The floor was cobblestones and dusty, leaving everyone's footprints. Everyone collapsed on the floor, shivering.
"Can't you heat us up?" Kalon shot angrily at Leo.
"I could..." Leo said, "But I don't wanna burn anyone..."
"Do it anyway! I'll take my chances!" Kalon said. Leo focused, and suddenly his whole body burst into flames. The flames licked and ran along his body, but it did him no damage.
"Awesome!" Dimi said, scooting closer, but not too close to Leo, holding his hands out to be heated. Several others also scooted closer to Leo, making him feel slightly uncomfortable. Kalon saw an opportune moment and shoved Dimi too close to the flames, burning some of his arm hair.
"Kalon!" Dimi whined, rubbing his slightly burnt arms. "What was that for?!"
"SHUT UP!" Steel bellowed, his voice echoing in the stone room. "If I'm going to do this you need to stay quiet!"
Leo extinguished himself, much to Dimi and Kalon's disappointment. Steel went to the altar and removed his overcoat. He rolled up his sleeves and held out his flesh arm. He drew a knife out of his belt, and slowly ran it down his palm. His fresh blood dripped onto the dusty alter, then dissappeared.
"O Goddess of the Judged Dead, I call upon thee to answer my request..." Steel mumbled to himself, to where no one else could hear.
The entire room lit up with unseen sources. Ancient marking appeared on the walls and floor that hadn't been there when they entered. The floor at the center of the room lit up the brightest, causing them to shield their eyes with the brightness. Ryo squinted his eyes through the gap in his arms toward the source of the light and saw a woman. Her hair was long and golden, and her eyed glowed white. She wore golden robes that ran near her ankles.
"What is it you want Steel Razada?" spoke the Goddess. Her voice was calmingly deep, and reminded Ryo of some far-off memory. From somewhere in the light, Ryo heard Steel's voice.
"We wish to summon a ressurection for a fallen Angel,"
"A Demon," The Goddess said. She already knew who. "You know the price Steel Razada...give me something that has dark meaning equal to Ghost's..."
Ryo couldn't watch anymore. His eyes burned from the light and some other force he could not see. The light seemed to intensify, and somewhere he heard Steel scream. It was far off, as though Steel was in a distant place, even though Steel was only several feet away.
The light suddenly died, leaving them back in the torch-lit room once again. "It is done..." echoed the Goddess's voice. When Ryo looked again, she was gone, and in her place, stood the man he loathed to no end. The late Steward of Hollow, The Murderer of Melody's father. Ghost.
Janon.
Janon's hair looked as greasy as ever, slicked back and his ice blue eyes shone with their brilliance. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt with black markings and black pants with black shoes. He stood silently at first, his slender snake-like face blank and expressionless. Then slowly, his face became more human, and his natural untrusting face appeared, looking quite pleased with himself. Ryo's fingernails dug into his palms from his fists. He wanted nothing more than to punch Janon's face in for what he did to Melody's father and Kaira.
Janon looked towards the group of twelve, his face smiling its sick smile. "Why hello Demon...Kaira..." Ryo felt Kaira grab his hand from behind him.
Ryo then saw past Janon to Steel. Steel was kneeling on the ground, gripping his right shoulder. His entire metal right arm was missing, along with some flesh from his shoulder. It was bleeding freely, and Steel's face was screwed up in pain.
"Ghost..." Steel said through his pain, looking up at the Descender of the Angel of Ice. Janon looked at Steel, looking surprised.
"You were the one who brought me back Steel? Weren't you the one who framed Ryo and assassinated me?" Janon asked in his cruel voice.
"Cut the arrogant crap," Steel said. Janon's eyes glared in annoyance, but he seemed more cautious. "You're only back because you were needed...I doubt anyone missed you." Janon looked back over at Ryo. Ice blue and green eyes met, and Ryo felt a deep urge to put Eliazar's sword through Janon's stomach. His right hand gripped the sword's hilt, but Leo put his hand over Ryo's.
"Just wait Ryo, you'll get your chance..." Leo whispered. "Just wait a little while...don't do anything reckless..."
"Get my bag..." Steel murmured. Jim quickly fetched Steel's bag and brought it to him. "Demon...Lion...get over here." Leo looked slightly surprised and started walking towards Steel. Ryo stared at Janon a second longer before following Leo. Janon smiled and closed his eyes, walking to join the rest of the group. As Ryo and Janon passed each other, Janon opened his eyes and gave Ryo a sideways glance. It took everything in Ryo's willpower to not kill him.
"Open my bag Demon...take it out..." Steel said, still gripping his bleeding shoulder. Ryo did as he was told and found a hunk of metal. He withdrew the metal, and saw what it was. It was another metal arm. It appeared to be made from them same metal as Steel's last arm, but with more functions. Inside the arm Ryo saw knives and a thing that resembled what Professor Bob had called a gun.
"You traded your arm for Janon?" Leo asked skeptically.
"It was forged by Kain himself...with dark metal...it was worth Janon's life." Steel said. "Now singe the wound and make it stop bleeding..." Leo drew one of his daggers, and focused Fire energy to the blade. The dagger quickly turned white with heat, and he pressed it against Steel's bleeding wound. Steel let out a short grunt of pain, but knelt still. The rest of the group stood separate from Janon and stared in Steel, Ryo, and Leo's direction, trying to watch without being too close.
"Okay, it's shut..." Leo said, cooling off his dagger and putting it away.
"Hold the metal arm against my arm now and push, both of you..." Steel said, bracing himself. Ryo gave Leo an uncertain look, but Leo placed the metal arm against Steel's shoulder. Leo counted to three, then they both pushed the metal shoulder into Steel. A metal prong pierced Steel's shoulder and embedded itself into his flesh. Small metal claws sprang from the metallic arm and clasped firmly onto Steel's torso. When Ryo and Leo stopped pushing, the arm was in place. Steel flexed his arm testing it.
"Look at it Demon..." Steel said, still flexing his new metallic arm and switching his metal hand for a knife and gun. "Every time you look at it you'll remember when you severed my arm..."
Ryo didn't respond. He couldn't feel sympathy for Steel. He looked back over at Janon standing alone. Janon had a smug look on his face.
"I think I'm going to enjoy being back Demon..." Janon commented, seeing Ryo glare at him.
"Don't call me Demon..." Ryo said, death dripping off his words.
Janon smiled his cruel smile, crossing his arms. "I'm going to have to watch my back very carefully, aren't I?"
