About damn time I posted the last chapter, right? XD This is the final chapter, though there is a short epilogue to this, but I'm uncertain on whether or not I'll post it, since it's an epilogue, but also a sort of prologue for the second BAHD story, so I'm reluctant, especially since I HATE the second edition of the four BAHD stories. Oh well. Hope this works...
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The Seventh Gate to the Heavens
Chapter 22
"Taj! Please! Let's go back!" Kaira begged as Taj dragged her along. She didn't want to leave Kyo alone, but Taj has insisted she come with him. He held her hand as they ran, not paying attention to where they were going. Kaira tried pulling her hand away, but Taj held her tight.
"He's fine Kaira! He said to get away!" Taj yelled back. He finally stopped for her catch her breath. Kaira managed to pull her hand away. Ryo the Dragon looked up at his adoptive mother, not understanding why she was so worried. Kaira began running back the way they had come.
"Kaira! Where are you going?" Taj said, going after her. He grasped her hand again, making her stop.
"We can't just leave him, Taj! Kyo came to find us, we have to go back!" Taj gave her an apologetic look. He looked around quickly, trying to find a legitimate reason not go to back after Kyo had told them to go. He couldn't find one, not one that would convince her to stay.
"I'm going..." Kaira said softly, walking away with her Dragon. Taj sighed, following her again.
"He told us to leave him, Kaira. He knew what he was doing..."
"I'm still going back...we have to go back..."
Kaira kept walking, holding her dragon close. The emerald dragon snuggled close to her. Kaira tried to smile at him, but it wouldn't come.
She stared into the dark night sky. She saw the towers of the Cathedral, and follwed them, quickly making her way towards the plaza. Taj kept an eye out for any Camarians, but he found none. All the Camarians in the area had followed Kyo to the Cathedral's plaza.
Kaira finally found the place where Taj had led her away from Kyo. She ran the way Kyo had left them, entering the plaza of the Cathedral. Taj hesitated, looking around at the dead bodies. He made a face, then went after Kaira. She led them into the main plaza, stained with blood and the bodies of countless Camarians. Her eyes widened at all of the blood and death surrounding her. She knew Kyo had done all of it.
"Where's Kyo...?" Kaira whispered to Taj. Taj was silent, looking up at the Cathedral. The moon's light had brightened the whole city the whole night, but the black obsidian Cathedral seemed like a black hole, eating all light, and leaving only Darkness. Kaira found it beautiful, but in a sad, enigmatic way. She then saw that one of the doors to the Cathedral was slightly cracked open.
"The Cathedral!" Kaira said. She ran across the plaza, leaving taj behind, and avoiding dead bodies. Taj looked after her. He was about to follow when he heard his name called from behind.
"Taj! Kaira!" Taj turned around and saw Roxanne, Caza, Davis, Ken and Jim all running towards him. Taj forgot about Kaira and Kyo momentarily, and smiled with relief.
"Davis! Jim! You guys made it!" Taj yelled, running to meet him. Kaira had not heard her name called, and had proceeded into the Cathedral alone.
"I was getting worried for you two!" Roxanne said happily, meeting Taj first. Ken ran up next. He stopped, watching Kaira leave into the Cathedral.
"Is Ryo here?" Ken asked.
"No, I don't think so..." Taj said slowly.
"Did Kyo ever find you guys? Or is he still out there?" Jim asked. Taj looked down, avoid eye contact.
"No, he found us, but he left me and Kaira to fight..."
"Where is he?" Ken demanded. Taj shook his head. Ken turned back to the Cathedral, and ran towards it. Everyone slowly followed him, leaving just Taj and Davis.
"What happened?" Davis asked, beginning to follow everyone into the Cathedral. Taj followed slower.
"Kaira didn't wanna leave him...so, we came back for him..." Taj said in a low voice. "He killed all of these people I think..."
Kyo had his eyes closed. The pain had died down a bit it seemed, but it might have just numbed from the blood loss he was suffering. His breathing had slowed, and he lied still beneath the tree. Small rays of moonlight filtered through the trees leaves into him. He could have sworn he heard his name being called, but it sounded far off.
Kaira pushed the door of the Cathedral open more, and entered. He gazed around at the inside of the Cathedral a moment, before seeing Kyo lying against the side of the tree across the hall.
"Kyo!" Kaira screamed. She sprinted across the hall to him, where she fell to her knees next to him. Kyo's eyes opened slowly, revealing their silver color.
"Kaira...?" Kyo said softly.
"Kyo...what happened to you...?" Kaira saw the multiple stab wounds. She reached out gently and held him closer to her. She tried her best not to start crying, but tears were already rolling down her face.
"We shouldn't have left you!" Kaira cried softly. Kyo shook his head.
Ken entered the Cathedral behind Kaira, followed by Caza, Roxanne, Jim and Davis. Ken ran next to Kaira, while the rest stood farther back, near the door. Taj remained more distant, standing alone.
Kyo felt Kaira shaking softly from her soft crying. He slowly pulled himself up, ignoring her words for him to lie back down. He removed his torn, bloodied trenchcoat and wrapped it around her shoulders before slouching back down against her.
"You look cold..." he said weakly.
"I'm not cold..." Kaira said gently. 'Don't worry Kyo...you're going to be fine..."
"Ken..." Kyo said, looking at him. Ken looked up, his face showed his disbelief in Kyo's condition. Kyo untied his sword sheathe from his waist and handed it to Ken.
"Here...take care of this for me..." he said. Ken hesitated, then slowly accepted the sapphire sword. Kyo smiled weakly, leaning back against Kaira. She held him close, letting her tears fall on him.
"You're going to be all right, Kyo..." Kaira said to him. "You don't need to do that..."
"You're so naive..." Kyo said quietly. "But...it's cute...the way you do it..."
Kyo closed his eyes. Small orbs if light slowly started to dissolve away from his body. They floated upwards, then disappeared. Kaira saw this and held him tight, until his body slowly disintegrated away. She grasped one of the last orbs of light, and held it against her heart. When she removed her hands, it was gone. She looked teary-eyed at Ken next to her. His head was tilted down, looking at Kyo's sword in his hands. Kaira took off Kyo's trenchcoat from around her shoulders and held it close.
Dimi wandered aimlessly through the city with his head lowered. His long blue hair fell over his face, and he paid no attention to where he was going. He held Kalon's Earth enhanced gloves in his left hand. He had been wandering for awhile, heading in a general south direction. Dimi didn't know what he would have done if he had encountered any Camarians. But none showed up, busy in other parts of the city.
Dimi stopped, coming upon a small street with several Camarian bodies. He stared for a moment in silence before moving again. He avoided the bodies and made his way down the street. He sniffled softly, surprising himself. He quickly rubbed his nose and kept walking.
He looked up into the dark sky and saw the towers of the central Cathedral. He followed a street that led into the plaza. Dimi stopped, hearing shuffling behind him. He slowly turned to see five Camarian Users behind him, each with a sword. Dimi remained standing still, not moving. All five Camarians ran at one toward him, and still he didn't move. His face was sad, but serious.
Two gleaming chakrams flew past Dimi's head on either side, striking down two of the Camarians. Dimi blinked, slightly surprised. Three flying needles flew past, striking the last Camarians, and electrifying them. All fell to the ground dead. Dimi turned back around, facing the plaza. Caza and Roxanne stood there, summoning back their weapons.
"Dimi..." Roxanne said gently. "You finally made it..."
Caza just nodded his head at Dimi. Dimi looked past them to see Davis, Jim, Kaira and Ken sitting on the stairs of the cathedral. Taj was behind them, leaning against the doors of the Cathedral.
"Yeah...I made it..." Dimi's voice was unusually serious, and surprised Roxanne and Caza. They gave him questioning looks, as he slowly walked past towards the Cathedral.
"Dad!" Taj said, seeing Dimi. Davis and Jim looked up. Kaira sat between Davis and Ken, staring down at Kyo's trenchcoat. Ken looked up at Dimi, Kyo's sword still in his hands.
"Taj..." Dimi said in a low voice, barely acknowledging him. Dimi sat down on the stairs next to Jim, looking down and letting his hair hang in front of his face.
Roxanne knelt in front of Dimi, looking concerned.
"Dimi...are you feeling all right?" she asked. She lifted some of his hair to examine his face.
"Yeah...yeah, I'm okay..." Dimi said. He didn't sound believable in his serious state. Roxanne and Caza exchanged worried glances at Dimi's condition.
"Where's Kalon?" Caza asked. Dimi remained silent. Ken stood up and walked in front of Dimi.
"Dimi, where's Kalon? We thought he was with you," Ken said. Dimi slowly raised his head to look at Ken. He looked back down after a second.
"Kalon...he..." Dimi's voice faded out, and he held up his left hand to Ken. In it was a pair of leather gloves with the emblem of Earth. Ken's eyes widened, but he didn't move. Silence followed, and even Kaira looked up at Dimi, her eyes were still watery. Ken slowly took the gloves from Dimi, and held them in his hand.
"Ken...I'm sorry..." Roxanne said. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Ken stared blankly at Kalon's gloves, then he gripped them tightly. He sat down next to Kaira again, holding Kyo's sheathe in one hand and Kalon's gloves in the other.
Caza was staring at the ground, disbelief written on his normally expressionless face. He looked from Ken back to Dimi, but he didn't say anything. He still held his chakrams in his hands. Slowly, Caza walked up the Cathedral steps, and leaned against a door, still staring downward.
Dimi sat quietly. No one talked, or said anything.
"You can...you can come stay with me, Ken...if you want..." Dimi said, not really knowing what he was thinking at the moment. Ken didn't say anything. He didn't hear Dimi's offer.
They could hear gunfire and explosions in the distance.
Steel pressed the barrel of his gun against a Camarian's temple, and fired. He dropped the body then twirled around, firing again into another Camarian. Leo threw several daggers. Each missed their targets deliberately, striking the wall behind them. They exploded, bringing down the building on top of the Camarians. Leo and Ryo both shielded their faces from the dust kicked up in the explosions.
Ryo had his sword drawn and bloodied. He frowned at the blood. He flicked the sword, shedding the blood off. Leo gave him a concerned look behind his back, but didn't say anything. Ryo turned around in time to see Leo look away. He couldn't get rid of the feeling Leo wasn't telling him something.
"Hmm...look, more," Steel said, looking away down the street where more Camarians were coming. Steel strode away casually. "Take care of them for me, Demon. Come on Lion."
Ryo scoffed, but turned to face the oncoming Camarians. Leo hesitantly followed Steel, but looked back at Ryo as he walked.
Ryo stood tall and pointed Eliazar's sword at his enemies. He smiled slightly, not noticing he was doing it. His eyes were their unnatural shade of green. Ryo ran at the Camarians faster than their eyes could follow. He flew past them, then while behind them, he turned and sunk his sword into one of the Camarian's back. He fell to the ground, and Ryo withdrew his sword with ease.
Just as a Camarian was turning to look, Ryo smashed his fist into the Camarian's face. The man stumbled back from the impact, dropping his sword as he did. Ryo turned to the last Camarian, swinging his sword along the man's neck before turning back around to the one he had hit. He lay on the ground, holding his bleeding nose. Ryo made a disgusted face at the helpless, defenseless man. He summoned Darkness to his sword, and slowly pointed it at him. The Camarian saw the dark sword, and crawled backwards away from it.
"No! No, please! Don't hurt me!" he begged. "I didn't want to hurt you! It's just my job!"
"You would have done it anyways..." Ryo said coldly. The man stumbled back to his feet and began running away. Ryo watched him go, considering letting him live. His eyes lowered. He decided against it. He put his sword arm back, then hurled his sword after him. Ryo's blade flew through the air, then struck the man in the head. He fell to the ground with Ryo's sword still protruding from his skull.
Ryo strode over and placed his foot on the man's head. He roughly pulled his sword lose, and flicked it clean again. He stopped a moment, examining Eliazar's blade. The six emblems of the Elements shone bright in the moonlight.
Ryo stopped. He saw a part of his face's reflection in the silver blade. He knew he had green eyes, but in the sword's reflection, he saw that his eyes were deeper and more vibrant than he had imagined or remembered. He tilted the blade to and fro examining them closer. He decided they were a nice shade, and he liked them.
Leo stared back at Ryo, examining himself in his sword's reflection. Leo smiled, thinking Ryo was acting conceded for a moment, checking his looks in his sword. He stopped smiling when he realized he was checking out the color of his green eyes. Steel saw Leo's face, and chuckled softly.
"What?" Steel asked. Leo looked away from Ryo.
"Nothing..." he said, wishing Steel would leave him be. Steel looked back at Ryo. Ryo lowered his sword from his face and sheathed it. He ran his fingers through his hair before looking up at the sky.
"Why did you chose a Demon over Kain?" Steel asked. He was actually interested, and was expecting Leo to provide an amusing answer.
"I don't know..." Leo said.
"Don't give me that bullshit," Steel said. "I know you're a lot smarter than you let on. Why did you choose him over a life of luxury and power?"
"I just didn't want it..." Leo said, looking down. "I saw what it did to you and Kain, then Nayota. I didn't want to become like them…"
"Me?!" Steel laughed.
"Yes you..." Leo said lowly.
"Haven't we bonded..." Steel said sarcastically. "You would choose a Demon over all of that, huh? You are full of surprises, aren't you?"
"Don't call him a Demon..." Leo said. He almost sounded threatening. "Ryo's not like that...he hasn't been corrupted and he's not a Demon..."
"I wouldn't say that..." Steel commented, his voice lowered. "You've seen them haven't you? His eyes? How they change their shade occasionally?"
Leo gave Steel a questioning look before looking away.
"I don't believe Ryo's like that..." he said softly. "I still don't think he's a Demon..."
"He is one all right," Steel said, hoping he crushed Leo. "His eyes changing their shade is only the first step. When he progresses along farther, I wouldn't get to close to him. He won't be able to tell friend from foe, and he'll hurt people, believe me...someday, he won't be able to resist the temptation to kill, just to watch them bleed."
Leo's eyebrows lowered at the thought. He didn't want to believe it, but the logic side of him told him it was possible. Ryo walked towards them, scratching his head with one eye closed, looking tired. His eyes were no longer their unnatural shade and had become normal again. Ryo saw Leo's worried look, and tilted his head.
"What's wrong?" Ryo asked. Leo looked up, looking slightly surprised.
"My neck hurts...." Leo lied. He rubbed his neck to convince Ryo he wasn't lying. Steel laughed softly, seeing through Leo's lie.
"What's up with him?" Ryo asked, motioning towards Steel when they started moving again.
"He's Steel..." Leo said simply.
"Oh yeah, that's right..." Ryo said. "He likes watching other people get hurt..."
Leo didn't reply. He returned to just thinking silently to himself. Ryo didn't seem to notice or care very much. He was used to Leo being silent sometimes.
Steel led them on in silence. Occasionally he would glance back at Leo and Ryo, but he never said anything.
Kaira felt Kyo's trenchcoat between her fingers. It was made from fine material, and looked expensive. But whenever she thought she was finished crying, she would look at it and start again. She looked over at Ken. He had Kyo's sword resting on the stairs next to him, and Kalon's gloves on his lap.
"Um....Ken...?" Kaira asked gently. Ken looked at her, surprised.
"Yeah?"
"Um...do you want....Kyo's trenchcoat...?" she asked, holding it up to him. Ken looked at the trenchcoat, torn and bloodied in Kaira's hands.
"You don't want it...?" he asked. Kaira shook her head.
"It's not that I don't want it...it's just...I can't look at it without crying, and...it hurts too much..." Kaira didn't know how to exactly tell Ken. But he nodded silently, apparently understanding. He took it in silence, then placed it gently next to Kyo's sapphire sword. Kaira gave Ken a weak smile, before staring down again.
Caza and Roxanne were standing further away from the Cathedral's entrance, fighting Camarians when they happened to enter the square. Few came to the square, but not very many.
"Do you think they've all been killed?" Roxanne asked Caza. She looked at the Needles in her hand, shining in the full moon.
"No," Caza said lowly. "They might be regrouping somewhere else, preparing for another wave of attack...they know we have the advantage here now..."
Caza looked out over the plaza, at the bodies strewn about. Roxanne followed his gaze. She gripped her needles tighter. Caza stood, holding both his chakrams in one hand. The entire plaza seemed painted in blood, reflecting the image of the moon hanging in the sky. It was amazing how something so horrible could create another image of beauty.
"People..." Caza said, tossing one chakram into his free hand. Roxanne looked, seeing three people. She recognized them all.
"It's Ryo!" she said happily. She turned to the rest back at the Cathedral's foot. "It's Ryo! And Leo! They're here!" she yelled back at them.
Davis and Kaira both stood up, hearing their father's names. Dimi looked up half-heartedly at them. Kaira ran down the steps and across the plaza.
"Dad!" she screamed, trying not to trip over bodies. Davis was following her.
Ryo smiled weakly, seeing running towards him. Kaira ran into him, making him stumble backwards from the impact. She instantly began crying again.
"Kaira? What's wrong?" Ryo asked, lookind down at her.
"I'm fine..." Kaira said quietly, burying her face in his chest. "It's K-Kyo, he...."
Ryo looked up to see Caza, Dimi and Roxanne walking over. He saw that Dimi didn't look like his normal, carefree self. His face was serious, and showed some sadness in it. Kaira finally released Ryo, taking a step back and wiping her eyes.
"What happened...?" Leo asked when Caza, Roxanne and Dimi came near.
"A lot..." Roxanne said quietly. "We've been here for awhile, but..." her voice trailed off, and she looked at Caza and Dimi.
"Where's Kalon...?" Ryo asked, noticing he wasn't with them. "Is he in the Cathedral..."
Caza and Dimi exchanged looks. Leo noticed, and a silence followed.
"Wait...you mean he's..." Leo's voice trailed off, and he looked downward.
"What about the other one?" Steel said. His words were cold. "The one with the trenchcoat. He’s dead too?"
Kaira leaned her forehead against Ryo's shoulder, sniffling. Ryo wrapped a reassuring arm around her.
"Yeah...yeah, him too..." Caza said quietly. Another silence followed. It wasn't awkward as much as it was necessary.
"Come on..." Steel broke the silence. "Come with me Demon."
Ryo shot Steel an evil glare. He really didn't give a damn. He released Kaira and slowly went after Steel.
"When did Kalon...?" Ryo asked Dimi. He couldn't finish his words. Dimi didn't answer for a minute.
"Not that long ago...I was...I was with him..." Dimi said lowly. Ryo wanted to ask about Kyo, but he thought he'd wait. Kaira was right next to him.
Steel stopped in front of the Cathedral, and looked around at what was left of his party.
Ryo, Leo, Dimi, Caza, Roxanne, Kaira, Ken, Taj, Davis and Jim.
"All of you stay out here," Steel said to almost everyone. "Me and Demon will go inside and close the Seventh Gate."
"Wait out here? Why can't we go in with you?" Kaira asked her father.
"Why can't they come?" Ryo demanded.
"Because..." Steel's voice was suave. "When the Camarians send the last of their forces here, someone needs to be outside to fend them off..."
"Does it really need to be all of us?" Roxanne asked Steel. She looked up at Ryo as she said it.
"Yes," Steel said bluntly. He turned and began walking up the steps into the Grand Cathedral. "Let's get going Demon!" he called back.
Ryo gave everyone one last look around before following Steel. They entered the Cathedral in silence. Ryo looked around his Cathedral in silent awe. His first step into the building activated some invisible mysterious force, and the glyphs on the walls and ceilings glowed a white light that contrasted the black Cathedral.
Ryo looked at the glyphs, showing images of people living on the earth happily, burning in the fires of the Great War, and praying to the Six Angels. As they walked past the tree Ryo saw stains of blood in the dirt at the base of the tree's trunk. Ryo felt a stab of guilt and pain, now knowing what had happened to Kyo.
"Step on this," Steel ordered, pointing to a spot on the floor. It was a circular rise on the floor, with jagged lines. Ryo stepped onto it, and Steel followed.
"Now summon Light," Steel said. "And power it."
Ryo raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told. The circle shifted in place the instant Ryo summoned white Light around his body. The circle shifted, as though it had been stuck in place too long. It shifted once more, then went lower into the earth on some unseen shaft. Ryo looked around, slightly alarmed the platform was taking them down into the earth. Steel stood with his arms crossed, looking bored.
The platform continued to go down at Ryo's power, until Ryo could no longer see the light of the Cathedral above them.
"How far down?" Ryo asked.
"Soon," Steel said. Seconds later, the platform left the shaft, revealing another sight. An abandoned city underground, beneath Camaria. Large orbs of light hung around the skies of the city, floating in no order. The buildings were ancient, from before the Great War, crumbling and in ruins. The rood of the underground city's air pocket in the earth could not be seen it was so high up. Ryo stared at the abandoned city in wonder.
"What is this place?!" Ryo asked Steel as the platform continued to float down.
"Where the world's first murderer was born, and where the Angels first touched the earth," Steel said. "Babylon. This is where Camaria gets their roots. Every person in Camaria is a descendant of someone who lived here."
The platform lowered itself into an older, identical Cathedral to the one far above their heads. Steel stepped off the platform, and Ryo followed.
"There's your Altar..." Steel said, pointing his metallic arm. It was ruined, and covered in dust. Ryo stepped onto it.
"Focus on the power of Darkness," Steel said. Ryo summoned the Darkness, letting it surround his body. Ancient glyphs in the floor lit up, and circles around the Altar rotated. The more Darkness Ryo put forth, the more they rotated. Then, they stopped, one by one, until each had stopped. They all stopped, forming an image of a man wearing half white and half black.
Ryo stopped flowing his Darkness. He turned to Steel, smiling slightly.
"I did it..." He said. "It's done...the Camarian Users are weak again!"
Steel's wicked smile was demonic and dark. His dark maroon eyes were wide and staring off into the distance.
"No..." Steel said softly, to where Ryo could hardly hear him. "Not quite..."
"What?!" Ryo's voice echoed in the ancient city. "What do you mean we're not done! You said it would be done once I closed the Seventh Gate! Well I closed it, why haven't the Camarians lost their Elemental abilities?! What else am I supposed to do?!"
Steel slowly turned to face Ryo, his head lowered.
"Do you remember, Demon...the reason I brought the fourteen of us here in the first place...?"
"What?" Ryo said in disbelief. "I dunno...you don't believe in the Gods anymore...and you think this world will be better off without Camaria's strong Element Users..."
Steel laughed softly at first. It slowly grew into a loud, ominous, almost hysterical laugh. He threw back his head laughing. Ryo took a cautious step back.
"Very good...Demon..." Steel said. "You have closed the Gate...but it is not Sealed...to Seal the Gate permanently, it needs a sacrifice from an Angel Descendant...it needs the very life of an Angel Descendant..."
Ryo took another uneasy step back. "Steel..."
"One of us needs to die here, Demon...and I'm damn sure...it's not going to be me...I meant what I said. I don't think any Angels deserve to be here anymore..."
Ryo's eyes grew, and he took another step back. Kalon...
"No..." Ryo whispered. "You...you brought us here, not to just close Gates, but...but to kill us?"
"That's right..." Steel's gun cocked, and he pointed it at Ryo without looking. "I'm going to be the one to kill the world's first murderer...and every descendant of Angels...I can't allow an Angel to be alive anymore! Don't you see?! We've ruined this world with our very existence! The only way to fix it is to leave it completely! The Gods won't do it, so we must all die to save it!"
Steel's words became faster and more crazed as he went. His wide eyes showed the hidden insanity that had always been there, just under the surface.
"You're insane!" Ryo yelled. He gripped his sword's hilt. "You brought all of us, even our kids, just to kill us in the end?! You don't know what you're doing!"
Steel laughed again, sounding unstable.
"Insane?! You must be insane to see what the sane cannot!" Steel fired his gun. Ryo flashed Eliazar's sword, reflecting the bullet. Ryo took a step to his left, trying to remain calm and focused. Steel was mad. He always knew that, but this was different. He wanted to kill them all. That was his plan all along, and every one of them had followed willingly, not knowing Steel's true intentions.
"I'm going to kill you...Demon..." Steel said, cocking his arm gun again. "They'll never know..."
"Shut up!" Ryo screamed. He whirled his sword over his head, stabbing it into the ground with tremendous force. The Earth around him erupted, hiding him in a cloud of dust. He heard Steel's machine gun rattle off. Streams of Light energy empowered each of Steel's bullets, revealing Ryo's location. Steel summoned great spheres of Light energy, firing them off with his metallic arm. Ryo summoned Darkness to his blade and severed through each Light sphere.
In an opening, Ryo swung his blade again, sending a Dark blade flying at Steel. Steel raised his metal arm in defense, dissolving the dark razor on impact.
"The first one of us to die here in Babylon will Seal the Gates completely!" Steel called out. "If you leave Babylon, then the Gate will not be Sealed! As long as each of us live, this Gate will remain open! If I win, I kill us all!"
"Go to hell!" Ryo yelled. He ran through a hole in the wall, into the ancient street outside. He ran down the street away from the temple, his mind racing on what to do.
"What's taking them so long?" Roxanne said. She ran to the Cathedral's entrance and peeked inside. "They're not in there!"
"They might be underground..." Leo said. "The Fire Gate was like that..."
"Camarians..." Caza said, standing up. Everyone around him stood up as well. Camarians were coming from every direction. From the streets, and Wind and Lightning Users flew in from the skies. Caza looked around. They were surrounded.
"I don't want to fight anymore..." Dimi said. "I'm tired of it..."
"We have to Dimi..." Ken said, standing.
Caza held his chakrams at the ready. Leo and Roxanne both had their weapons held between their fingers. Dimi reluctantly drew his twin swords from his back. The rest took their stances, even Kaira, leaving her Dragon tied up in Dimi's drink bag.
The Camarian forces surrounded the Cathedral, their forces lined and ready. All of the Descendants of Angels exchanges looks.
"For Kalon and Kyo..." Dimi said softly. Dimi and Ken were the first to start running at the Camarian lines, screaming. They were quickly followed by the others.
Steel sent gigantic spheres of Light energy flying through the city. They disintegrated everything in their path, tearing down buildings and demolishing the ground, leaving giant grooves where it traveled along the earth. Ryo ran at full speed, dodging these attacks. He sent identical spheres of Darkness back at Steel. Neither could hit the other.
Ryo ran into an empty ancient street, and saw Steel at the opposite end. He was breathing hard, but raised his sword readily. Steel smiled his wicked smile, and ran at Ryo. Ryo braced himself then ran to Steel. As he ran, Ryo summoned a Dark sphere around his body, while Steel summoned one of Light. Both force fields collided harshly, making sparks of Lightning and Fire. They reflected off each other, then ran again. Ryo hurled his sword as he passed Steel a second time. His sword met Steel's metal arm, glowing bright with Light. Ryo spun about, slashing at Steel again and again, hoping to breach his defenses. Steel met him blow for blow, still smiling.
Steel swung his arm deliberately into Ryo's sword, getting his sword caught in his arm's machinery. Steel pulled his arm back, and Ryo gripped his sword tighter, unwilling to give it up. He twisted the sword violently, getting it unjammed and free. As he did so, he felt some of the arm's machinery break and snap. Steel appeared unphased.
Ryo gritted his teeth, and ran at Steel again. Steel stood his ground, taking s defensive stance. Ryo leapt into the air, spinning round to strike Steel from above with his dark blade. Steel raised his arm of Light to meet Ryo's sword. A static eruption of Light and Dark exploded when their weapons collided, blasting Ryo back. He lost balance and grinded along the ground, losing his sword in the fall.
Steel summoned another giant sphere of Light, sending it flying at Ryo. Ryo rolled onto his stomach and pressed his head down, narrowly missing the attack. After it passed he looked around frantically for his sword before Steel could summon another sphere of Light. He saw it lying a ways away. He got up, and sprinted for it. Steel threw his flesh arm upwards. A bright, powerful beam of Light came down upon Ryo, sucking away is strength. Ryo fell to the ground a second time, but quickly got to his feet. He managed to grasp his sword, and raised it again to Steel.
Steel let off another laugh, summoning the power of Light to his arm. Ryo focused on summoning Darkness to his sword. Ryo's vibrant green eyes glowed in the dim lighting of Babylon, enabling him to see Steel clearly. He ran at Steel the fastest his body would allow, and Steel ran at him. Ryo let out a scream, and thrusted his sword forward, summoning all the Darkness he could into Eliazar's sword. Steel held out his metallic arm to meet Ryo's sword. His metal palm met the tip of Ryo's Dark sword.
Light and Dark clashed violently, but neither could defeat the other. Ryo pressed his whole body's weight against Steel's arm, and Steel pressed back equally as hard. Their Light and Darkness blasted and repelled the other harshly.
Ryo thought about Kalon and Kyo, and Kaira and Leo, everyone back on the surface. All of them were fighting above him. He couldn't let them down. Ryo let out one final scream, and his Darkness shattered Steel's Light. He felt his sword sink into something soft, and felt it scrape bone. His blade sunk into Steel's heart. Ryo held it firmly in place, while Steel let out a groan. Steel placed his flash hand over Ryo's on his sword's hilt, and pulled him closer, letting the blade sink in deeper.
Steel switched out his metallic hand for a dagger, and stabbed it into Ryo's shoulder. Ryo screamed, then twisted his sword, and Steel's heart.
A shockwave emitted from Steel's body upon his death, blasting Ryo back. On the surface, the same shockwave hit the Descendants of Angels who were fighting the Camarian Hordes. Camarians hit by the shockwave were stripped of their Elemental abilities, and blasted back. The shockwave traveled across the earth, taking away Elemental Users' powers, making their Elements weak and feeble.
Leo, Caza, Dimi and Roxanne all stopped amongst their fighting, and looked toward the Seventh Gate to the Heavens.
Down below them, Ryo lied still, holding his bleeding left shoulder.
"What are we doing...?" Ryo mumbled to himself in his pain. Steel's corpse lay several feet from him, the sword still stuck in his chest. "What am I doing...?"
Get up, Ryo...
Ryo's eyes snapped open. "Eliazar...?"
Get up. You're stronger that this.
Ryo slowly rolled onto his stomach and rose to his knees. He looked around for some explanation to the voice he believed he heard. He staggered to his feet and walked to Steel's body. He knelt down and closed Steel's dead, dark maroon eyes. He removed his sword, flicking it the way he always did to get the blood off.
The Camarians had all stopped their fighting, and some were fleeing, terrified to fight without their strong Elements. Leo ran towards the Cathedral and up the stairs. He pushed the doors open with Dimi and Caza's help. They looked around for Ryo and Steel, but couldn't find them. Leo looked around, slowly approaching the hole in the floor the platform had been. Slowly, an arm reached out of the hole, and Ryo dragged himself out, having flown up.
"Ryo!" Roxanne ran to his side and helped him stand up.
"What happened to Steel?" Dimi asked, looking down into the hole.
"Dead..." Ryo said, still gripping his shoulder. "I killed him..."
They all exchanged glances, but no one questioned it.
"Come on..." Leo said, helping Ryo walk. "Let's get the hell out of here."
They all walked back outside where most of the Camarians had fled. Ken was away in the plaza, examining Camarian military vehicles. Kaira saw her father, and ran up to him, worried.
"Dad! Are you all right?!" she screamed, seeing him.
"I'm all right..." Ryo said, giving her a weak smile.
"Come on!" Ken called over from a military vehicle. "Let's take one of these! They're big enough for all of us!"
Leo helped Ryo into the truck, and everyone climbed in. Ken revved up the engine, and checked the back, and found extra tanks of gas.
"This should get us back..." Ken said, driving the military truck down the road. Ryo looked out of the window at the sky. The sun was rising in the east, showing streaks of red and purple. It had seemed like days ago when they had started out, going to the Gates of Wind and Ice in two separate groups, when really, it had only been several hours. He sighed and let his head rest against the wall.
Ken drove the car out of Camaria with no opposition. Everyone in the back sat around, not speaking. Ryo sat between Leo and Kaira. Kaira was resting her head on his unwounded shoulder, falling asleep from exhaustion. Leo at on his other side, wrapping his stabbed shoulder. Jim and Taj had also fallen asleep, their heads lowered. Roxanne sat across from Ryo, looking at him with concern and worry. Caza and Dimi sat next to each other, not talking, just looking down in silence, with Dimi's bag of drinks in front of him. Davis sat across from Kaira looking tired. Ken was in the driver's seat, with Kalon and Kyo's belongings on the seat besides him.
Ryo looked around at everyone, laughing softly. His eyes were back to normal again.
"What are you laughing about?" Leo asked, finishing with Ryo's shoulder.
"It's nothing..." Ryo said. He rested his head back and closed his eyes.
We're not normal...he thought vaguely. We can't ever be normal again...can we?
