It's been a long weekend feels like. And I'm starting to near the end of my first BAHD story. @_@ Doesn't seem that long either...can't believe it's been over two years since I originally wrote this!
My writing back then was terrible...
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Emotionless Honor
Chapter 19
Demon gripped the teleporter with Lion tightly. He closed his eyes before Lion flipped the switch, and darkness took them. A sudden searing pain inflicted his whole body, and he couldn't scream, because for an instant in time, he ceased to exist. When Demon thought his lungs would explode, it all stopped, and the pain was gone as though it had never been there to begin with.
Demon opened his eyes slowly, afraid of what he'd see.
There were people. Lots of people. His eyes opened wider, with both fear and amazement. They were gone. They were really gone from the Razada House and the valley with Kain. Demon looked at his twin brother, smiling.
"We're really gone!" he said happily. Lion didn't say anything he was looking around at the people. None of them seemed to notice two thirteen-year-old boys dressed oddly suddenly appearing in their square. They didn't dress fancy like most of the people in the Razda House. They wore everyday clothes on the cool spring night, and went about on their various businesses.
Overlooking the town square was a great Palace with decorated Gates, and steps leading up to the doors. The Palace was made up of marble and white stone, shining in the evening's moonlight. Lion stared up at the palace, then around the square, trying his best to think of something to do. Luckily, neither of them were wearing very fancy clothes, and seemed to fit right in.
"Demon...where are we?" Lion asked uncertainly.
"What? I don't know, I've never been outside of the valley!"
"Neither have I!" Lion said, looking around again. "Should we ask someone where we are, or do you think we'll look to suspicious if we do?"
"Who cares?!" Demon said happily, looking wildly about. "Who cares?! We're not at the Razada House! We're free to do what we want!"
"Where are we gonna stay then?" Lion asked. Demon looked up at the palace.
"They look rich, let's go ask them."
"We can't do that!"
"Why not?" Lion sighed, remembering Demon wasn't educated the way he was. It didn't make him stupid, he just couldn't understand some things Lion had been taught.
"Kain's gonna be searching for us once he realizes we're missing! We can't go around telling everyone our names if we don't wanna get caught..."
"Oh," Demon said, downtrodden. "Now what?"
Lion looked around again, trying to think of somewhere to go. He'd read about places outside of the valley, but they never explained much, and he had never experienced it before either.
Demon watched the everyday people walk around the square. He looked some of them in the eye. When they saw him starting at him, they gave him a small smile, then went on with their business.
No one minded that I was looking them in the eyes!
"Let's just start walking..." Lion said. They both left the square into one of the many streets leading away from the palace. They wandered aimlessly for awhile, taking in their surroundings.
"I like it here!" Demon said, "Is this part of the Razada's property?"
"I doubt it..." Lion said. "There was supposed to be people north of the valley, but no one said anything about south. We could be anywhere..."
They wandered into what appeared to be a residential area of the city. Lights were on in all of the houses and the streetlamps were lit dimly. Demon stopped in front of a large mansion-like house. It had vines climbing the walls, and appeared to be abandoned with no lights on.
"Let's stay here...it doesn't look like anyone else does," Demon said. Lion looked at the large abandoned house. It had a For Sale sign, but nothing else.
"I don't know..." Lion said. But Demon was already climbing the gate around the house. Lion followed through a hole in the gate.
The inside of the house was dark and it had no lights. Lion and Demon both felt their way around until Lion found an oil lamp. He lit the lamp and they looked around. There was furniture under sheets, but several were without.
"I guess this'll have to do for now..." Lion said.
"Shouldn't we be thinking up names in case someone asks us?" Demon asked.
They both stopped and listened. They heard someone talking, and it sounded like it was getting closer. The front door opened, revealing another two males about the same age. The taller one had blonde hair and golden eyes. The shorter one had jet black hair and gray eyes.
"What? There's people here?" the black-haired one said. Both of them looked on in surprise at Demon and Lion.
"We didn't know people lived here!" Demon said.
"No one does! We're just hiding!" said the shorter one, closing the door behind him. He motioned for them to follow, and he went up the staircase. Lion and Demon exchanged nervous glances before following. They went up the stairs after the blonde and raven haired teenagers into a hallway at the top. They all crouched down in the dark, and the black-haired one shushed them.
"Don't let him know we're here! We're trying to lose him," he whispered.
"Lose who?" Lion asked. Seconds later, they heard the front door open, and a voice called out.
"Kalon! Caza! I know you're here! I saw you come in!" a voice whined from down the stairs. He also sounded about their same age. Demon peeked around the staircase to the lit living room. The other one had surprisingly blue hair and eyes.
"Who're you?!" he said in surprise when he saw Demon. Demon quickly withdrew his head out of sight. Roxanne had been the only other person his age he ever dealt with.
He heard the blue-haired one run up the stairs, and when he reached the top, he was tackled by the one with black hair. Demon heard them wrestle in the dark, fighting.
"I won Kalon! I found you! Now it's my turn to hide! But this time, try and find me, okay?"
"I'm not playing with you Dimi! I'm trying to get away from you!" Kalon yelled.
"I can't see anything!" the one with blue hair whined. Lion slowly extended his hands, and created fire, lighting up the dark hallway. Kalon and the one with blue hair stopped wrestling to stare.
"Cool! A Fire User!" Dimi said as Kalon let him go. "And your both twins! Does that make you both Fire Users?"
"Uh...yeah..." Demon said nervously.
"I'm Dimi! I'm a Water User!" Dimi said proudly, pointing to himself and talking very fast. "And he's Kalon, and he's Caza, but he don't talk much! I couldn't figure out what Element Kalon was for the longest time, but then I found out he's an Earth User! Caza can use Wind, so that's cool I guess. What did you say your names were again?"
"We didn't..." Lion said, giving Dimi a weird look.
"What are you doing here?" Kalon asked.
"Uh...I don't know..." Lion said. "We don't live anywhere...we just came here 'cause it was empty."
"We come here all the time!" Dimi said. "And someday, when I actually get a job, I'm gonna buy it!"
"Are you orphans?" Caza asked. His voice surprised Lion and Demon.
"Yeah....I guess..." Lion said.
"What's your name again?" Dimi asked, leaning close to Lion.
"Uh..." Lion stammered.
"Do you have a name?" Dimi asked.
"Yeah...it's Leo..."
"Leo! That's a cool name!" Dimi said. He leaned close to Demon next. "And you?"
"Ryo..." Demon spit out without really thinking.
"Whatever you do, don't go to the orphanage..." Kalon said, spitting. "That place is a real hell hole..."
"Yeah! We all live there, but this old dude is thinking about adopting Kalon!" Dimi said.
"Shut up!" Kalon said. "You don't need to tell everyone we meet what goes on in our lives!"
Kalon and Dimi continued arguing among themselves while Caza sat separate, looking emotionless. Ryo leaned closer to his brother.
"Leo...?" he said. "Is that the name you wanted?"
"It's the name I have now, and I don't mind it," Leo said quietly. "Are you sure you like your name? Ryo?"
Ryo leaned back against the wall in the mansion. He stared at Dimi and Kalon on the floor wrestling again. Kalon was on top of Dimi, and Dimi was reaching for Leo to help him. Ryo watched them for a moment, then a small smile made it's way to his face.
"I like them..." He said.
"Yeah..." Leo said quietly. Caza didn't seem to be paying any attention to them, and Dimi was screaming uncle while Kalon laughed at him.
~
"Damn it..." Ryo cursed when more Camarians appeared before him and Leo. "Where are they coming from?! Every time we kill one, two more appear!"
Leo threw multiple of his Flare Daggers, all of them striking a Camarian in the throat. He was back to back with Ryo, who had his sword drawn and bloodied. Leo flexed his empty fingers and summoned his thrown daggers back to his hands. They ripped their way out of Camarian throats and flew back to his hands spotless.
Ryo's sword blazed with Fire as he stabbed it into the ground before him. A shockwave of flames went fourth from the sword and struck the Camarian Users where they stood. He withdrew his sword from the ground, and looked around for any more he might have missed.
"Was that the last one?" Ryo asked.
"I think so..." Leo said softly, looking at the pools of blood he helped create. He turned around slowly to look at his twin. He saw in the last second, Ryo's deep vibrant eyes reverting back to their normal shade of green. Leo's eyebrows lowered slightly.
"What?" Ryo asked.
"Nothing..." Leo lied, looking away. "Just seeing if you were okay..."
Ryo rubbed his chin. "I look all right?"
"Yeah..."
Ryo sheathed Eliazar's sword while Leo put away his daggers. Leo kept giving Ryo side glances. The first time he saw Ryo's green eyes change their shade, he thought it was only because of the lighting, or some other explainable reason. But now he knew it wasn't because of lightning. It was just Ryo's eyes, changing shade. But he only ever saw it in Ryo's eyes when he became angry, or when he killed someone.
"Ryo...are you feeling okay?" Leo asked cautiously.
"What? Yeah, I'm okay, why?"
"...nothing..."
Ryo tilted his head. "Are you okay? You've been all weird lately..."
"Yeah..." Leo said, he turned away and began walking again in the direction he believed the Fire Gate to be. He figured Ryo was fine for now.
"Don't worry about me Leo, you know I can take care of myself..." Ryo said, following.
Leo didn't say anything. He knew Ryo could, he just felt Ryo needed him more than he thought. The way it had always been.
Kalon turned the steering wheel sharply, sending the truck into a harsh left turn. The truck tilted slightly on two wheels before landing on all four again. Dimi was in the passenger seat, holding onto anything he could for dear life.
Camarian Wind Users flew after the truck, firing their machine guns. Kalon, sore, turned the truck into a narrow ally that took of the side view mirrors of the truck.
"Do something Water Sprite!" Kalon yelled over the sound of machine guns and explosions. Dimi didn't reply at first, still holding onto his door for support. He slowly released one hand, and focused on the power of Water. He summoned a stream of Water in midair behind the truck, and made it form into a wall of water. He sent it flying back, making the Wind Users fly into the wall, stopping them in their flight and dropping their guns.
Kalon drove the truck out of the ally into a wide street. He tried remembering which way he had been going and which way the Earth Cathedral was. Dimi remained clinging to the dashboard of the truck.
"Kalon stop the truck!" Dimi yelled, his eyes squeezed shut.
"Not until we get clear of their fire!" Kalon yelled back. Camarians on the rooftops still held machine guns, and continued their assult on the truck, jumping from roof to roof, trying to follow the truck. Kalon cursed to himself, looking for some way out of these small streets and alleyways. He saw an onramp to a road higher up, away from buildings. He turned the truck onto the road, and it led them away from the buildings and the Camarians.
Kalon brushed some strands of black hair out of his eyes. His forehead was bleeding a small stream down his face where Dimi had headbutted him earlier. He wiped the blood away from his eyes as well. His left arm was still bleeding slightly from the stab wound.
Dimi's forehead was scraped slightly but wasn't bleeding nearly as bad as Kalon's. His temple was scraped deeper from where Kalon had hit him. Dimi ripped off part of his sleeve and fashioned it into a headband. He kept one cautious hand on the dashboard, scared of Kalon's driving.
"There's my Cathedral..." Kalon said quietly. Near the lifted road they were drivng on they could see the rocky towers that made up the Cathedral of Earth.
"We'll ditch the truck..." Kalon said slowly, turning off the expressway. "Then go on foot..."
Dimi said nothing. Kalon drove the car into a deserted street, and shifted into park, and shut off the engine. He let out a long, tired sigh, then rested his forehead on the steering wheel. Dimi slowly released the dashboard, coming to his senses now that the truck had stopped. Kalon waited, wondering if Dimi was still in a serious mood, or if he was normal again.
"That...was....AWESOME!!" Dimi yelled finally, reverting back his normal self. He began talking very fast. "Hey Kalon! You're a scary driver, and it's probably a hazard in every way, shape, and form, but I like it! It was fast, and reckless, and it scared the crap out of me! Hey! When we get back to Hollow, we should pay Professor Bob to make us our own truck! Then we can drive it everyday!"
Kalon laughed weakly. "Yeah...maybe..." he said. He opened the driver's door, and stumbled out of the truck. Dimi looked concerned. He had expected Kalon to yell at him, or call him an idiot.
"Kalon...are you okay?" Dimi asked, getting out of his side of the truck.
"Shut up!" Kalon yelled back as he stumbled away from the truck. Dimi saw him gripping his side with one arm.
"Kalon, did I hurt you? 'Cause I'm sorry if I did!"
"Shut up..." Kalon said. "I'll tell you what Water Sprite...once I close my Gate...I'll go with you to find your damn kid..."
Dimi stopped, realizing what he did earlier. He rub bed his head nervously. "Kalon, I didn't mean to really hurt you...I'm sorry, I thought you'd be able to block anything I threw at you, I was just worried and--"
"You idiot, we both had it coming..." Kalon said. He was still holding his side. Dimi went up to Kalon and wrapped Kalon's arm around his shoulder. Kalon tried pulling it back, but Dimi held it firmly in place.
"Now now Kalon!" Dimi said happily, helping him walk. "I kicked your ass, now I have to help you walk!"
"Asshole..." Kalon muttered. "I was the one who kicked your ass..." They walked in silence, until Kalon laughed softly.
"What?" Dimi said. "What's so funny?"
"I was just thinking...." Kalon said. "We must look like shit..."
"Where do we go?!" Taj yelled, running to keep up with Kyo and Kaira.
"Any where but where we are now!" Kyo yelled back. The inercoms all announced their location, and their first priority was getting out of Sector 11 alive. Kaira held on tightly to her small dragon, who kept trying to wriggle his way free.
"Let's go east! Back to the outskirts of the city!" Taj yelled.
"No!" Kaira said. "West! To the Seventh Gate! We all need to congregate there to make sure my Dad closes the last Gate!"
"But that's where all of the Camarians are going!" Kyo yelled. They stopped running to better plan where they would go.
"We still have to go there!" Kaira said. "Isn't that where everyone's going once they finish closing their Gates? We have to go there too!"
"Kaira, they can close the Gates without us, they're gonna be fine..." Taj said, sounding like whining.
"I still think we should go anyways!" Kaira insisted. "Ken, Davis, and Jim are all going, and they're 'not needed'! Then why can't we go help?"
"Talk sense into her!" Taj said to Kyo.
"Do you really want to go...?" Kyo asked. Kaira nodded, and Taj glared at Kyo.
"My dad's gonna be there eventually! We all need to make sure he makes it to the final Gate!"
"But Kalon and Leo still haven't closed their Gates," Taj said, holding Kaira by her shoulders. "Going to the gate right at this moment might not be the best idea..."
"If she really wants to go, then we'll go," Kyo said simply. "At this point, it doesn't matter when we get there, as long as we're all there in the end."
Taj crossed his arms in a pout. "Whatever...as long as we're out of Sector 7, or whatever it was..."
"Why aren't we taking the car again?!" Davis asked.
"Because it's out of gas..." Ken said flatly. Jim and Davis both snickered.
"Does anyone know where we are?" Roxanne asked. She looked around at the identical buildings feeling hopelessly lost.
"I said it's northeast..." Ken said. "It's still far away, it'll take some time..."
"Kalon and my dad haven't closed their Gates yet...we don't have to be there immediately, just when my uncle needs to close the Seventh Gate." Davis said.
"Do you know where Ryo is?" Roxanne asked Caza quietly. He shook his head no, not saying a word as he always did.
"Maybe he's already at his Gate..." Roxanne said, hopefully.
"Maybe. No one we've see has seen him, Leo, or Steel...." Caza said lowly.
"But that's a good thing, right? It means they haven't been caught or anything?"
"I guess..." Ken said. "These Camarians seem vain enough to announce to the whole world when and if they ever manage to catch any of us. And I doubt these Camarians have the brain power to actually organize a successful attack."
Roxanne laughed softly at the thought of it. But then she remembered the announcement had said Kain was getting involved. The people of Camaria depended on the Angel Families to help guide them. And Kain's own warriors would be going to the Gate of Fire, where Leo was supposed to be going. She wondered if Ryo was with him, heading towards the same fate across the city at the Cathedral of Fire.
"Does anyone else think we should be going north?" Roxanne asked everyone. She had stopped walking. Ken and Davis both gave her strange looks.
"North? To the Gate of Fire?" Ken asked.
"Yes..." Roxanne said. "They said Kain would be sending protection for the Gate of Fire. None of us knows what that means exactly, and it could be anything. What if Leo goes there, and he can't close his Gate? I think we should go there to make sure he can close it."
Davis looked thoughtful. Ken shook his head.
"I don't think we should," Davis said.
"But why not?" Roxanne asked, feeling confused, and slightly embarassed.
"Because..." Davis said. "My dad's not stupid. He won't fight a fight he doesn't believe he can win. If he thinks there's a possibility he'll die, he'd get himself and anyone else with him away from there as soon as he could. He puts lives before anything else. And I think he can do it without our help."
"We should just keep going to the Seventh Gate," Ken said softly. "That's where a majority of Camarians will be. The best thing for us to do is go there, and start to cut them down, for when Ryo gets there, if he already isn't."
"Okay...sorry..." Roxanne said quietly.
"It's all right..." Jim said. "Just be thankful none of us have been caught yet!"
Caza didn't say anything in their conversation. His face was as expressionless, with a hint of boredom. He walked ahead of them, doing his best to lead them in a general northeast direction. The moon was still full in the sky with some spots of clouds. The stars glimmered weak in the sky, overshadowed by the moon. Caza glanced up at the sky, still silent. He did wonder silently what the others were doing, he just didn't show it. Roxanne's suggestion to go to the Fire Gate did have it's reasons, but he figured the Seventh Gate was their best bet at the moment.
He rounded into a small plaza in the city and stopped, making the others behind him stop as well. The plaza was full of Camarian Users, all in respective rows based on their Element, facing towards them. The second they saw Caza turn into the plaza, the first row of Fire Users took identical stances, summoning flames to their fists and arms. The row behind them, Earth and Lightning Users mixed, also took stances, ready to strike at their officer's command.
Caza stood completely still, his face now showing slight surprise. They seemed to have been expecting them to come this way. His chakrams remained tied to his belt, and his hands in his pockets.
"Great..." Ken said sarcastically, taking a step back and getting into his own stance. Jim, Davis and Roxanne all did the same, all taking weary steps backwards.
"Wait..." Caza said softly to where they scarcely heard him.
"Wait? For what?" Jim asked.
A Camarian officer stepped before his army. "Is there an Angel amongst you?" he called out. Roxanne stood her ground, unsure of what to do. To their surprise, Caza took a step forward.
"Caza, what're you--"
"Get them out of here Roxanne..." Caza whispered back to them. "I'll hold them off while you do."
"What?!" Roxanne whispered back harshly. "We can't just leave you!"
"Just go!" Caza said, untying his chakrams. "I'll find you guys after!"
"Let's just go..." Davis said, walking backwards. "Caza can take care of himself!"
Jim gave his father one last concerned look, then followed Davis. Ken waited, still looking at Caza.
"Come on Ken..." Roxanne said to him softly. She held his arm, and gently pulled him away, back the way they came from. Ken reluctantly followed her, leaving Caza alone with the Camarian Users still facing him.
"Get a group together to follow those four!" the Camarian officer shouted orders to his troops. Several Wind and Lightning Users got ready to leave.
Caza lowered his eyebrows, hearing their commands. The first row of Fire Users sent waves of flame and charcoal towards him. Caza kicked off the ground towards the nearest building. He ran up the side of the building, easily dodging lashes of lightning and water. When he reached the top, he kicked off the wall, soaring above the lines of Users.
He turned in midair, and slung a chakram towards the Lighting and Wind Users who began their move after Jim, Davis, Ken and Roxanne. He manipulated the air, sending the chakram into their ranks, severing their bodies down the middle.
In the same turn in midair, Caza threw his second chakram straight down, whirling it as it went. The twirling chakram joined with more Wind Caza summoned, creating a small tornado of chakram blades and yellow Wind Energy. The tornado touched down amongst the Camarian officers, kicking up dust and sand, blinding them.
Caza's first chakram flew back to his open hand as he landed gently on the ground. He watched his tornado suck up unprotected Fire and Earth Users, satisfied, before throwing his chakram for a second volley.
