Chapter 1

Introduction

 

“If ever there was a species that deserved to be extinct, it is humans. Ironically, we are also the hardest to kill. Even now, after the majority of our cities and governments have been destroyed by our own self-destructive tendencies and desire for bloodshed, some of us survive. As I sit here in this empty broadcasting station, running on emergency generators, I look outside through the hole ridden walls and see the vast wasteland that was once a beautiful city. Even though I would like to blame this on the Mech technology that allowed us to fast-forward to our demise, I have to admit to myself that those armored suits did not power themselves. It was flesh and blood pilots who did the actual killing, driven by almost magical technology and power-hungry politicians. I can only hope that in time the technology that brought about our annihilation will be forgotten, much like the name of this and other cities. This is Jeff Jackson signing off for the last time, to all survivors out there, even those not listening…good luck to ya, and never forget the costly lessons learned here. May whatever god you believe in protect you…”

Final broadcast by Jeff Jackson,

Radio Talk Show Host.

 

*        *        *

 

“The world has changed much in the centuries after the MechWars.” Said Angel. He was taller than most at five-foot eleven, his brown skin hidden beneath the hood of his cloak. Not a huge man, his cloak did well to hide the shape of his body, but he did walk confidently, leaning only slightly on his battle staff. His black medium length hair hung dryly in a ponytail except for the few strays that had broken away and draped across his face. Although covered by the darkness provided by his hood, Angel’s eyes did sparkle with a telltale glimmer of energy, forever marking him as one of the Armored. His voice was deep yet soft, and although he spoke with a tone of indifference he occasionally allowed his constant companion to know that he did care for her…just not much.

 

“Wellllll?” Asked Alexandra, Angel’s constant yet nonetheless uninvited companion. Whereas Angel seemed to be the embodiment of darkness and battle, Alexandra was one of life and hope, even in the dark times they lived in. The comparisons were striking, where Angel’s cloak hid his form, Alexandra’s clung to her every intimate curve like a love-starved boy. Her royal image was completed by her crystal blue eyes and brownish-blonde hair. Her voice was soft in tone but loud in volume and seemed to always be on the verge of giggles. Her curiosity seemed to have no bounds and unfortunately for her companion, unrestricted by manners despite her background. Age was no longer counted in this world, the low number of years people survived was nothing more than depressing, yet there were phases of a person’s life and Alexandra was in the phase where she was allowed to make her own decisions. Her first being to run away and explore the world with the one-time bodyguard and now traveler, Angel.

 

As they continued through the forest, constantly assaulted by mother nature’s attempt to revitalize herself through constant rain Angel continued “According to my mother and the books she used to read me as a child, we are living in a second Medieval period. Kings and queens, monarchs and knights. Things had not been like this for many centuries. My mother used to say ‘history will repeat itself’ and it looks as if she were right. Despite the technology we have managed to hold onto, we are still living like medieval people, down to the peasants and the royalty.”

 

Alexandra’s head barely came up to Angel’s shoulder and she had a habit of hanging on his arm when they would walk for long periods of time, especially when she was going to ask for something, much like she was now “Would you do it for me?”

 

Angel sighed annoyed and replied “No, it’s a waste of energy.”

 

“Please.” Begged Alexandra, now tugging on his cloak.

 

“No”

 

“If you won’t do it now then I won’t help you when you need me to transform you!” She threatened, emphasizing her point by stopping and crossing her arms.

 

Angel sighed and cast a glance in the shadows of the trees before looking back to the troublesome female. He leaned closer and whispered “Princess it is not my fault that you somehow swallowed my energy crystal. And I only allowed you to come because, by some twisted act of fate you have absorbed its energy, but I will not be blackmailed into entertaining you whenever you are bored. And just so you know, I can still transform without you.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her along as he began walking again, this time slightly faster.

 

Alexandra continued to be pulled along, hopping and skipping in an effort to regain her balance. As she bounced from foot to foot hanging on desperately onto his arm to keep from falling on her face she said “I know you can, but without me you cannot reach full mech form. And I know that you hate that! So if you want my help next time, you will do as I say!”

 

Angel growled and in a single elegant move, turned and pulled Alexandra completely off balance at the same time bringing his staff in front of his face. The mud beneath her gave way as Alexandra fell forward landing face first in the mud as an energy arrow flew past her just barely missing her and exploding into Angel’s staff.

 

“Was that really necessary?!” Screamed Alexandra as she tried to wipe the mud from her face, oblivious to the fact she was almost killed.

 

Angel held his staff in a defensive position as he stood his ground above her. He simply ignored her as he took count of his attackers, four in all, all of them bandits. The one with the laser crossbow took a step forward and raised his weapon to aim while belting out orders “Leave your weapons and the girl and leave, or the next one won’t miss.”

 

Alexandra froze as she realized the voice did not belong to Angel, she wiped the mud from her eyes and continued to look behind him to see another two bandits appear. Between the rain and shadows provided by the forest she could barely make out their appearances. Their clothing was ragged but well suited to the forest, blending them in and blurring their shapes to avoid their prey’s eyes. But something else caught Alexandra’s eye, something not adept at hiding in the shadows, prisoners, hostages. She couldn’t see how many, but there were quite a few tied and bound, hidden just behind the tree line and invisible to anyone on the main road who wasn’t paying attention. Her hand inconspicuously slid over to Angel’s leg and gently squeezed twice.

 

Angel didn’t bother to turn around, but now knew that the count had been raised to six in total. Being attacked didn’t bother him so much, he had noticed that they were being watched a while back but could do nothing so decided to ignore it. What did bother him was that Alexandra was going to get what she wanted after all. He could easily handle normal bandits, even a small army of them, unfortunately these were well armed and even his extraordinary skills were not enough. “Turn around and leave and you shall live to see another day.” He promised.

 

As the bandits laughed Alexandra dragged herself to her feet, never letting a moment pass where she did not have a hand on Angel’s body. Once to her feet she leaned in close, standing on her tiptoes so Angel would not have to compromise his stance and whispered “There are hostages, hidden behind the trees.” Angel didn’t care but knew that she did and if he didn’t do something he also knew that she would hound him about it for the rest of his natural life. As if that wasn’t enough, he was also bound to his code, and protecting the innocent was one of the first rules.

 

The laughter had began to subside and Angel knew that with it went any chance of striking first, with a practiced quickness he swung the staff above his head before launching it at the crossbow carrying assailant. The staff moved like liquid, bending fluidly as its speed increased until the moment Angel released it. It spun much like a throwing knife until hitting the man hard on the head with a sickening crack, knocking him on his back and his weapon to the ground.

 

Alexandra had learned the extents of Angel’s abilities and knew that he wouldn’t need her just yet, so instead of wasting time she ran towards the hostages as he began his transformation. It was understandable to anyone watching why Alexandra so desperately wanted to see Angel’s metamorphosis, winds began to stir around him as he was engulfed in a translucent ball of energy. Rainwater turned to steam as it touched the energy shell, a crater was created in the mud as this nearly unseen force expanded and then filled with darkness. Within the darkness a small ray of red light emerged, no bigger than a pinpoint. Quickly it grew till the darkness was merely a memory. The shell then exploded, raining fragments of sparkling energy into the mud, in its place stood Angel in his Armored form, mere inches under seven foot.

 

Rain outlined his metallic and sharp angled curves, quickly finding ways to slide down his streamlined shape. His body shined with darkness, the black armor contrasted by his red V-like visor accompanied by red energy lines that flowed across his entire body. The sight was breathtaking and normally commanded fear and panic from whoever Angel intended to fight. This time it did not, instead his enemies skipped that step entirely and went directly to the attack.

 

Angel spun around to face the two men behind who had opened fire with some automatic weapons, he raised his hand and turned his head away as their bullets bounced off the force shield he had created. His other hand fired a thin line of metal thread that shined like spider-silk, the thread flew towards his staff, wrapping around several times before coming to a rest. Angel yanked hard and sent the staff flying into one of the charging bandits, bouncing the staff of his head before bringing it back to his hand. The bandit yelped in pain as staff smacked him and sent him flying to the ground.

 

Even the staff transformed once in Angel’s hands, flashing brightly before it changed into a double-edged spear. Unfortunately Angel did not have a lot of time to admire his new weapon, forced to immediately use it to block another attack. The bandit’s energy blade crackled as it met Angel’s spear and even in Armored form he was having a hard time holding both attackers at bay. With bullets bouncing off one side and a hungry energy blade screaming for his blood on the other Angel quickly became tired of being pinned and made his move. He pushed hard against his opponent’s blade and sent him stumbling back. Before the bandit could regain his balance Angel dropped his force shield and leapt high in the air, bullets continued to fly until the gunners realized what they had done. Angel landed in a crouched position just as the outlaw’s bullet-ridden body collapsed.

 

Thankfully Angel’s transformation has provided an excellent distraction that allowed Alexandra the time she needed to begin freeing the hostages. She continued to glance over her shoulder to watch the show being provided by Angel, she loved watching him in action, especially when in Armored form. She had already freed three people, two boys and a girl. To her surprise all three of them had begged her to free their prince and princess before it was too late. Alexandra was not one to disappoint people and quickly moved to find the royal children as Angel continued to fight behind her. She didn’t know how many bandits or captives were left, but she heard another bandit howl in agony forcing her to resist the temptation to look.

 

Angel allowed the body of the last bandit to slowly slide free of his spear, waiting for it to hit the ground before taking one last look at the damage he had done. Bodies littered the field, their blood nourishing the earth as it poured from their broken corpses. Angel felt responsible because he was, but responsibility was far from sorrow. “Never one to disappoint, are you?” asked a familiar female voice behind him.

 

Angel spun around and saw the transparent figure of a beautiful woman, her form and appearance constantly shifting but each more stunning than the previous. The vision was not unwelcome, at the same time it was not exactly desired, a contradiction Angel felt constantly when it came to women. “If you are here than that must mean something bad is going to happen.” He said.

 

The woman laughed heartily and sauntered over to him, her hands seductively traced his armor skin and left sparks wherever they touched. “Always so dark, truly being a hero does not suit you. Unfortunately it is your destiny.” She continued to walk around him her hands never leaving his body. Her voice sounded musical as she explained “You are about to become engulfed in a war you want no piece of. But it is necessary that you participate.”

 

Angel glanced at the woman and scoffed. Normally when in mech form his face was hidden from those around him, the woman he spoke with now had the eerie ability to see past his armor and read his expressions effortlessly, a skill that always managed to unnerve him. “Fate, you know I have my own quest.”

 

“Yes, I know that you serve your master loyally, but you also serve me,” Said Fate. She then quickly pulled away from Angel and folded her arms, pausing a moment to emphasize her accusation “or have you forgotten?”

 

Angel shook his head and quietly asked “What would you have me do?”

 

“Nothing too hard for a man of your talents. As we speak your companion is learning the story, she will have to share it with you because our time is short. Just follow your companion’s decisions and stand behind her, she will lead you the way.”

 

“The princess?” Angel asked incredulously, “She’s nothing but a spoiled brat!”

 

Fate laughed again and placed her hand on Angel’s cheek as she said “And you are nothing but an arrogant warrior, one that I cannot leave alone no matter how much my mind or my sisters say I should. Allow her to make the decisions, her good nature and pure heart will lead you to where you are most needed. Also, the girl must live!”

 

“What girl, Alexandra?”

 

Fate shook her head “No, you will see.” Her form began to shimmer and she slowly faded away, her last words being “Don’t worry about losing the fight, you’ll win next time.”

 

Angel was just about to ask what she was talking about when he heard Alexandra running towards him and screaming “Angel! Watch out!” He quickly spun around raising his spear defensively, he turned just in time to see the ground explode in front of Alexandra sending her flying into a tree. She bounced off and fell limply to the ground, Angel quickly moved to run to her side but was interrupted when the ground exploded around him.

 

The attack was quick and effective, knocking Angel on his back and the spear from his hands, leaving him defenseless. He shook his head a couple of times trying to get the ringing to stop, once he did his eyes fell upon another Armored. The newcomer was in full form, making him nearly twice the size of Angel and armed much more heavily. Angel groaned as he sat up, smoke continued to rise from around him and his own armor, he wasn’t sure how much of the attack he had taken directly but he was afraid to admit that although it hadn’t been that much, it had still hurt a lot.

 

When the smoke settled the new Armored finally spoke, his dark and bone-chilling voice was a shocking contrast to his brightly shining white armor “I didn’t expect to run into an Armored. Tell me brother, is your soul as dark as your armor, I find it hard to believe that if it were, you would still fight me.”

 

Angel discreetly glanced towards his spear. Once he was sure that it was in fact out of his reach he decided to stall for time “Yes, it is.” He said before pausing so that he could cautiously chose his next words “Obviously your armor is not a reflection of your own soul.”

 

The man laughed loudly for a moment before responding “I am always looking for brethren to fight by my side. Join me.”

 

The thought intrigued Angel for a moment, even a loner like himself sometimes had the urge to be among those most like him. As he considered it, thoughts of Fate crossed his mind, followed by old memories buried under years of pain, finally Angel was brought back to the present as his eyes locked on the lifeless body of Alexandra, casually discarded among the corpses that had died in the earlier battle. “I don’t even know your name.” He replied, unsure of what else he could say.

 

“Leothal.”

 

“Mine’s Angel” He said just before lunging for his spear. Angel screamed in pain as Leothal’s energy whip crackled against the metal flesh of his right arm, effectively stopping him. Angel continued to hiss as he examined his forearm, a large steaming gray gash lay across his once magnificent black armor.

 

The whip faded from existence as the energy slid back into the two forefingers on Leothal’s right hand. With arrogance dripping from his every word he said “Next time brother I will not be so kind, I will only ask once more, join me.”

 

Angel continued to grasp his injured forearm, trying to ignore the acid like pain that seemed to seep through his armor-flesh as if it were simply skin. He didn’t know how it was possible, but he thought that his spear had somehow gotten even further away than before. The pain took the carefree tone from his words and stole the sarcastic wit from his tongue, but it did not take away his pride.

 

The silver thread once again shot out from the bottom side of Angel’s wrist, this time whipping out across Leothal’s armor instead of towards the spear. The thin whip snapped viciously across Leothal’s cheek and chest, both impacts leaving thin but deep marks, drawing the silver blood of the Armored. Angel tried for one more hit before sending the thread to retrieve his spear, he was stopped as Leothal’s hand shot out and caught it.

 

Leothal allowed the blood to poor freely from his wounds as he tightened his grip on the cord and said “A shame.” His hand pulsed briefly then sent a large bolt of electricity through the thread. Angel growled slightly, his body visibly tensing as the shock passed its course. Unfortunately for Angel, the shock had only been a distraction, the true intent of Leothal was about to be seen. With a powerful heave Leothal managed to pull Angel from his spot and used Angel’s own silver thread to swing him around before throwing him go into one of the numerous trees of the forest.

 

The tree exploded into a shower of bark as Angel’s metallic frame crashed through it. He landed on his back on the other side, his pride injured more than his body. Out of the corner of his eye Angel finally realized Leothal’s true objective for showing up. Bandits, either the few survivors of the earlier battle or new ones that arrived with Leothal had made their way to the captives and stolen away two of them and left the rest for dead. Angel quickly scrambled to his feet and prepared to stop them when he heard Leothal say “Sorry brother, but your journey ends here.”

 

As Angel turned to see what Leothal meant his eyes fell upon the large ball of fire lazily floating in Leothal’s hand. Before Angel could react Leothal hurled the fireball at him. Angel instinctively raised his hands for protection, creating a force shield by reflex more than intent. Mere seconds passed before the force shield shattered under the tremendous power of Leothal’s attack. Flames washed over Angel’s armor as he desperately tried to shield himself. When the attack passed, all that was left among the charred remains of the surrounding trees was a scarred naked man who quickly collapsed to his knees and then to his face.

 

*        *        *

 

“Is he really an Armored?” The voices were hushed and filled with awe, unfortunately they were mere whispers in Angel’s head. Sounds that slowly dragged him from his pain-induced coma back into the world he rather not be in. More hushed whispers, awe mixed with fear, and the only screaming was coming from his body.

 

The next voice he heard was a surprisingly welcome one, “Yes he is an Armored, but he is one of the good guys.” Said Alexandra. Angel groaned and stirred slightly, eliciting another response from Alexandra, this time a more comforting one “Careful there, you took a nasty hit.”

 

With his cloak removed, Angel’s body was revealed for all to see. His hair hung freely across his face, his thin black goatee contrasting nicely against brown skin. Unlike his Mech form, his body was far from steel-like. Not fat, he was well developed from years of training, but lacked the last few inches of sculpture that most warriors seemed to have. Scars littered his body, most of them old but a few of them new. Overall this gave Angel a look of being an average warrior or man, he was neither.

 

Another groan escaped Angel’s lips as he tried to sit up, his body screamed at him again as every muscle burned and throbbed with pain. Alexandra easily pushed him back down, this time keeping her hand against his chest as she explained “You really are stubborn! You need to sit still so I can finish treating your wounds.” Even Angel couldn’t fight both his body and Alexandra, especially when it hurt this much, so instead he just laid down as told.

 

Angel grimaced in pain as Alexandra tended to his wounds, especially the large burn mark on his forearm. As he became fully conscious he realized that they were no longer in the forest, instead were in what looked to be a small camp, and he was surrounded by people, mostly curious looking children. “I thought you were dead.” He said to Alexandra as he tried to ignore the children who were getting braver as time passed, a few even dared to reach out and touch him. Thankfully they were quickly stopped by a gentle slap on their hand by Alexandra.

 

“No, I was only knocked out” She replied as she wrapped a treated bandage over Angel’s forearm. As she prepared another bandage she said “But you, the kids say that after the hit you took you turned back into a human. I did not think that was possible.”

 

Angel sighed and leaned his head back as he tiredly explained “It’s possible, just not easy to do, it has never happened to me before and I pray that it never happens again…hurts too much.” Angel took a deep breath and then slowly stretched, trying to avoid aggravating anymore of his already excessive wounds. “How long was I out?” He asked.

 

“Enough time for the prince and princess to be taken to the bandits’ camp, the prince was used to coerce his sister into willingly entering the camp and then for him to crawl back here barely alive.”

 

“Couple days or a week?” Asked Angel as he moved his free hand over his eyes, uninterested in the rest of her story.

 

“Little over a week.” Said Alexandra as she placed another bandage, this time on a wound that was on his chest. When she spoke next her words were carefully selected for fear of angering him “We have to save her Angel.”

 

“Then we will.”

 

Alexandra gasped in surprise, accidentally pressing harder on his wound causing Angel to flinch. “I’m sorry,” She quickly said, “Do you mean it?”

 

Angel examined his aggravated wound as he sarcastically said “Of course, if I don’t you’ll never let me live it down.”

 

“Is that your only reason?”

 

“Of course it is.” Lied Angel, the children had disappeared, finding other things to hold their short attention spans. He looked into Alexandra’s eyes and asked “What other reason would there be?”

 

“Maybe because it is the right thing to do?”

 

Angel scoffed and half laughed as he said “I wasn’t hit that hard Princess.” He tried to get comfortable as he sarcastically said “Want to tell me what is going on? It might be a good bedtime story.”

 

Alexandra placed a wet towel on his forehead and finished dressing the last of his wounds as she said “Apparently the bandits’ camp is protected by some kind of spell, you need to willingly enter”

 

“Willingly?”

 

“Yes, one has to agree to go in, and then needs permission to leave.”

 

“Was that what you meant when you said the prince was used to coerce the princess?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Angel and Alexandra’s conversation was interrupted as the beaten Prince and his bodyguards approached them. The Prince was no more than a boy, but behind the bruises and scars laid the eyes of someone who had been forced to mature faster than he should have. The bodyguards on the other hand were typical guards, dressed in body armor and all wearing expressions of paranoia and bloodlust. It was the head bodyguard who spoke, the war paint on his face depicting his rank, or so Angel assumed “We leave for the enemy camp at daybreak, you will be coming with us.”

 

Alexandra shot up to her feet, easily dwarfed by the guard she vehemently stood her ground in spite of their size difference. “He is still injured, we cannot move yet.” She said, pointing to Angel.

 

The guard stepped forward with his hand laying threateningly on his weapon. To everyone’s surprise it was Angel who spoke “It’s late Captain” Angel used the title more out of respect and understanding how these men thought, he slowly and painfully sat up placing one hand on Alexandra’s wrist in an attempt to get her to relax. He was surprised at how mature and protective she was acting, Angel was only used to seeing her spoiled princess side. Once she relaxed, as much as she could anyway, he said “I doubt that you plan to move out tonight.”

 

The guard took a few moments before looking away from Alexandra, when he answered his eyes darted up and down as if sizing up Angel “You are right, we plan to leave in the morning.”

 

“How long of a journey till we get there?”

 

“One or two days, once we head out we will not be stopping till we get there.”

 

Angel rolled over and said “We’ll be ready, but in the meantime I need my rest.” The Prince and his companions took their clue and left, leaving Alexandra and Angel to rest.

 

*        *        *

 

The morning passed quickly and by mid-afternoon the party was on horseback, traveling through miles of scenic apocalypse. Cities lay wasted, only existing in the memories of the dead and the few unfortunate survivors who lived long enough to remember the life before the war. The few buildings not reclaimed by nature were often used by people looking for shelter. For someone like Angel, these sights were old and familiar yet still managed to maintain their majestic grace. For someone who spent her life as royalty like Alexandra, such scenes of destruction were breathtaking.

 

Unfortunately for Angel, Alexandra’s breathlessness was short lived and her curiosity once again took over. As they rode, surrounded by soldiers wearing their Prince’s colors, yellow and blue, she asked “May I ask you a question Angel?”

 

Angel sighed and pulled his cloak tighter around him as he answered “It’s not like I am in any condition to stop you.”

 

“How did you get your cloak back? Wasn’t it destroyed along with your other clothes?”

 

Angel chuckled softly and pulled the hood back to reveal his face and all too rare smile. His face softened as he spoke about memories of his past, and in those moments he did not look so much like a battle-hardened man “Not that it is any of your business Princess, but this cloak is enchanted, a gift from an old friend who use to practice the dark arts.”

 

“Enchanted!? How?” Alexandra asked excitedly.

 

“No matter what happens to it, the cloak will always regenerate.” Explained Angel, only telling the bare minimum as usual.

 

“Hmm, maybe she should have made it a little more armor-like, may have helped you in your fight.” Said Alexandra, her tone being completely serious instead of sarcastic.

 

Angel laughed again and for once decided to tell her more “She didn’t make the cloak for any practical purpose except to keep me warm.” He paused and debated on just how much to tell, he continued only to say “It’s a long story.”

 

“Would you please tell me?” pleaded Alexandra. “It would give me something else to think about.”

 

Angel sighed in a rare moment of consideration said “A long time ago, before I came under your father’s employment, I used to travel with a smaller group of friends. Eventually we all went our separate ways until it was just me and my spell-casting friend.”

 

“The one who made the cloak?” Interrupted Alexandra.

 

Angel nodded and continued his story “Anyhow, we traveled together for a while and she finally noticed that I had nothing to keep me warm at night. How come it took her so many years to figure it out I’ll never know, but she was kind of absentminded like that at times. Anyhow she crafted me this cloak, years later she finally decided to leave to marry her soulmate. I asked her that if she was going to leave, to give me something that I would always have to remind me of her, but that whatever it was be durable. My memories are held in the items I possess. When you reach a certain age, there are so many things to remember, sometimes it’s easier to have a keepsake.” Angel once again readjusted the cloak, as if memories would fall out of its many hidden pockets.

 

“Just exactly how old are you?”

 

Angel glanced in Alexandra’s direction and simply shook his head as he answered “Old enough to know what it’s like to be the villain, and young enough to believe that the good guys always win.” He pulled his hood up as cold breeze blew. They had passed the cities and were now passing through what looked to be simple plains. “Anyhow, she spent another year crafting and casting the spell for the cloak. She actually postponed her marriage to finish that spell, the day after she finished we destroyed the cloak, the next morning it was back again and she was gone. I’ve had it ever since.”

 

Alexandra rode silently, once again examining their surroundings. She eventually turned back to Angel and began to say something when he interrupted her “No more questions Princess.”

 

*        *        *

 

Day turned into night and the scenes in the distance melted away under the cover of darkness. Still the army rode, quiet except for soft whispers and snoring from the few able to sleep on horseback. The breeze that had started in the afternoon matured into full blown cold wind, forcing those foolish enough to ride through its wrath to huddle for warmth. As the night continued to encroach on man’s field of vision shadows crowded the hard-riding army, fought back only by the futilely burning torches.

 

Shadows danced just outside the field of light, some of them real, others just figments of imagination created by the paranoid minds of scared soldiers. Angel’s eyes continued to glance towards the shadows, trying to separate the real from the illusions. The ride had been quiet for the most part, Alexandra had fallen asleep on her horse or had tried to anyway. It seemed that every time she began to doze off she would come dangerously close to falling off again. Finally, whether because of frustration or the extreme cold, she defiantly sat up and gave up on sleep. Angel chuckled softly as he teasingly said “You really should get some rest, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

 

Alexandra grumbled incoherently, causing Angel to laugh a little harder as he was sure he heard something very unprincess-like. “How are you supposed to sleep when this damned animal keeps trying to throw you off?” She asked irritably.

 

Another strong laugh rang from Angel’s throat, temporarily relieving some tension from his muscles. After a few venomous glances from Alexandra, he stifled his laugh and instead moved his horse closer to hers. She squealed in surprise as he lifted her up and placed her in front of him on his own horse. “Just don’t get used to this.” He said as he wrapped some of his cloak around her.

 

“May I ask you something?” Asked Alexandra as she leaned back against his chest and rested in his arms.

 

Angel tightened his grip on the reins as he whispered his answer, his eyes constantly scanning the perimeter “If I answer your question, will you finally go to sleep?”

 

Alexandra fingered the edge of Angel’s cloak as she nodded and whispered back “I will try.”

 

“Then ask your question Princess.”

 

The words slid slowly from Alexandra’s lips, heavy with trepidation “How do you transform?”

 

“I’m not going to do it again just because you are bored Princess” Replied Angel sternly.

 

Alexandra turned and tried to look into Angel’s eyes, she finally gave up when the only thing she could see was the darkness provided by his hood and twinkling energy of his eyes. “I am not asking that, I want to know how you do it?”

 

The question took Angel by surprise, so much so that he was actually at a loss for words. Ever since she had swallowed his energy crystal, Angel wondered if he would ever be able to fully transform again, and he knew that it depended almost entirely on her. “Why do you want to know?” He asked, curiosity hanging as apparent in his voice as the anxiety was in hers.

 

The wind picked up and a cold wind brushed through the group, giving life to the trees and inspiring even more paranoia from the riders. Alexandra was now looking down at her hands, speaking just loud enough for Angel to hear, “You need me to transform back into your full mode. I do not know how though…I was hoping that maybe if you told me how it would be easier.”

 

“I see” Said Angel. He took a couple of deep breaths before continuing, his voice was soft and comforting “There is no clear way to explain how to transform. There’s no switch or magic word that will just activate it. It comes from inside, a belief that there is something greater than yourself and that you deserve it. Some might call it a leap of faith, others, arrogance. No matter what you label it, it all comes down to you deciding that you are deserving of the power inside you. If you doubt yourself, even for a moment than it will not happen and for good reason. Inside the both of us lay the power to destroy, protect, and ultimately conquer. That kind of power requires commitment, and rightfully so.”

 

“I am sorry for taking your crystal.”

 

“All things happen for a reason Princess, or so I am told.”

 

“I tried to use it once.” Alexandra said quietly. Angel was again surprised but worked to hide it from her and instead allowed her to tell the story. “It was when I first stole it, before I swallowed it. I remember feeling the power grow inside me, expanding, engulfing, filling me. And I felt like I was losing myself in it, I was so scared that I immediately stopped.” She explained, she continued to look down in shame as she spoke. “After I swallowed it I felt the power inside me, and I knew that I was not going to be able to get rid of it. Even now, every time you fight, I feel relief when I see that you do not need to transform into your full mode.”

 

Tears streaked Alexandra’s cheek and she sniffled softly as she tried to justify her fears. Angel spoke up, his voice filled with compassion and understanding “The first time is the hardest and the most dangerous, if you do not have faith, or allow your fears and doubts to consume you, then the result can easily become fatal. You are right though, without you I cannot resume my full form. But if you were to die while in the process then you may kill us both, and I am quite content to stay alive even if it means never again being complete.”

 

“Does it ever get easier?”

 

“Yes, when you stop caring about your life. Thankfully I have not quite reached that point yet and I hope you do not as well.”

 

“When I found you in the crater, bleeding and covered in scars. I felt it was my fault.”

 

Angel chuckled and said “I don’t think you would have been able to do much Princess.”

 

Alexandra wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand as she said “I should have helped you transform, that could have changed everything. If you would have died…I…I”

 

“First rule of survival Princess, let your past teach you, not haunt you. I didn’t die, so there is no reason to continue to worry about it.” Said Angel. He adjusted himself so that she could rest more comfortably and gently pulled her back against his chest as he whispered “Get some rest Princess, it will be light soon. And as the darkness surrenders itself to the light, the shadows will no longer be content to hide.”

 

Soft murmurs of agreement escaped Alexandra’s lips as fatigue and emotional exhaustion took its toll. Within minutes she was fast asleep, the warmth and comfort provided by Angel overwhelming in its compelling arguments for rest. Angel continued to ride silently, reins of his horse in one hand, those belonging to Alexandra’s in the other. He waited anxiously for daybreak and evils that would come with it.

 

*        *        *

 

Alexandra awoke to the contradictory sounds of whispered chants in one ear and the loud screams of death and combat in the other. Daylight had started its trek, the sun just rising and giving the heavens a beautiful orange tint. She heard the last of Angel’s chant as she watched wide-eyed with shock and fear as soldiers around her continued to die one by one. Horses neighed loudly and men could be heard screaming both in panic and bloodlust as they tried to fend off their unseen murderer. The attacks were quick and deadly, without warning soldiers would die, ripped from their horses and flung into the air only to land on their comrades. Others were not so lucky, wildly swinging their weapons until they were dismembered by an invisible assailant, or worse, beheaded.

 

The sights of bloody carnage finally caught up with Alexandra’s groggy sleep-filled mind and she began to scream. She was quickly quieted as Angel covered her mouth with his hand. “Shhhh Princess, we are safe for the time being. You must stay calm though, in the midst of chaos, calm is the most effective armor.” He said as he held her close. In front of them another soldier was cut down, the only thing seen before his death was a thin streak of blue light that cleaved cleanly through him, splitting his torso in half. Alexandra turned and tried to hide her face in Angel’s chest but he wouldn’t let her. Instead he forced her to watch as he explained “Closing your eyes will not make it go away Princess, but it could make you go away. Keep your eyes open or you will never be able to close them again without nightmares.”

 

In the few minutes that Alexandra had been awake, more then a third of the soldiers had been slaughtered. The attacker moved quickly, like the wind, one moment striking the front then the next killing another near the rear. The only people unaffected were Angel, Alexandra and the Prince who was surrounded by his most loyal guards. The guards each held a long spear in front of them, making it impossible for anything to get close without their knowing. Unfortunately, the remainder of the soldiers were not so disciplined, panic had gotten the best of them and even their Prince could not order them to shake free.

 

Angel watched as yet another soldier was cut down, his sword arm severed at the elbow in a single slice, and his torso split in two as the blue streak magically flew through his body. Angel’s hand slowly reached to his staff, careful not to draw anymore attention. The spell he had cast earlier was another gift from his spell-casting friend, a spell that allowed one to become unnoticed by those seeking to do harm. Its effects were intended to be used when sleeping in dangerous territory but he assumed that it would work well enough here as well, or so he hoped. He quickly turned right when he heard the scream, another soldier had met his death, impaled on an invisible weapon and shook until his blood rained on his friends. The body then dropped unceremoniously to the ground, its executioner no longer entertained by its limp flapping.

 

Ahead of him Angel caught sight of another telltale blue streak, this time, by some miracle the attack met blade instead of flesh. The soldier’s frantic slashing of his sword managed to deflect the attack, but Angel was sure another was coming and did not want to waste the opportunity. As they galloped forward, Angel leaned to Alexandra and whispered “I am going to jump off, once I am gone go to the Prince and stay there.”

 

Alexandra nodded and took the reins as Angel lifted his staff from its holding place. They continued through the battlefield at full gallop, but were still too late to save the soldier. The second attack did not miss, instead it cut through his leg and continued on through his horse. With an interrupted neigh the horse fell to the ground dragging its rider along with it.

 

Angel didn’t waste any time, as soon as they were close enough he thrust his staff end into the ground at just enough of an angle to lift him off the horse and into the air. Alexandra and the horse continued on towards the Prince as planned while Angel allowed the staff to carry his momentum into a nicely placed kick against the invisible attacker.

 

Immediately following the loud grunt was an even louder thump as the invisible killer landed hard against the ground sending up a much needed cloud of dust. Eager to get in another hit and keep the small advantage he had, Angel grabbed his staff and rolled to his knees for a powerful overhead strike. Using the outline caused by the dust and the soft, almost sneeze-like sound that the assailant had made as a guide for his attack. The staff cut through the air till it finally contacted with a dull but hard whack. Whatever it was he had hit, was now growling angrily and speaking in a guttural language, one thing Angel thought before and had now confirmed was that whatever he was fighting, it wasn’t human.

 

Angel lifted his staff for another attack but was interrupted in mid-swing, something from behind hit him hard and sent him flying. He flew over the body of his first opponent and bounced off the ground a couple of times before coming to a stop. Soft grunts escaped his lips as he tried to get to his feet, a quick glance let him know that he been knocked away from the main road and past the tree line. His staff lay out of his reach and the branches in front of him were quickly getting out of the way, broken and snapped as something rapidly approached. His hand went to the small clasp that held his cloak together, with a simple twist he freed the cloak from his shoulders and waited.

 

When the branches directly ahead of him broke, Angel made his move. Throwing his cloak high in the air as he rolled out of the way and towards his staff. Just as he had hoped the cloak had wrapped around the charging opponent causing it to slam headfirst into the tree Angel had landed in front of. The tree groaned under the heavy weight and impact of the cloak-blinded foe. With staff in hand Angel made a quick strike at the back of the thing’s head, hoping to delay its recovery and then quickly ran towards the one that had been left behind.

 

The other invisible attacker had been severely disorientated by both the dirt and Angel’s staff strike, and was therefore still having trouble getting to its feet. While its outline was still visible in the cloud of dust Angel attacked again, this time swinging his staff like a baseball bat. The monster howled in pain as another bone-cracking crunch echoed out as the staff slammed into what Angel could only assume was its face.

 

Alexandra had safely watched the fight alongside the Prince and his guards but was not content to sit still as Angel placed himself in harm’s way. When the dust revealed the horrid muscular shape of their attackers she got an idea and quickly went to share it with the Prince. Her explanation drew suspicious glances from the Prince’s soldiers but she remained adamant about her plan. Out of the corner of her eye, she continued to watch as the monsters regrouped and redoubled their attacks on Angel, his advantage lost once the dust cleared. He now fought with his eyes tightly closed and every block appeared to be just barely in time, but the successful blocks were becoming few and far between as his opponents pressed their advantage.

 

The Prince had also watched Angel’s heroic display while listening to Alexandra’s plan, but it was not till Angel had fallen to his knees that he said, against his advisor’s wishes, “Shayrrod, do as the girl says. Take five men and follow her lead… quickly.” The Prince’s voice, much like his demeanor and scarred appearance did not fit his adolescent body, instead it was determined, if not jaded and cynical, yet at the same time it demanded respect.

 

“Thank you!” Shouted Alexandra as she rode out towards Angel, five guards following in tight V formation. The small group of riders rode hard and fast, their horses kicking up clouds of dust as they swiftly moved towards the battle. Each of the guards had done as she had ordered and allowed the tips of their spears to drag along behind them kicking up even more dust.

 

Invisible they were, but Angel had learned quickly that his foes were far from stealthy. When he drowned out the other noises around him he was able to hear the subtle sounds of their movement, a sharp ringing tone indicated an attack. The guttural laugh told him where they were, sadly the clues were not enough to give him a fighting chance and instead allowed him to only avoid death for a few more moments. A few moments that were quickly dwindling away, his enemies began coordinating their attacks with deadly intent. No longer where they satisfied to simply take turns striking, now they decided to attack simultaneous. The result was devastating to Angel, had it been a normal battle he would be able to minimize the damage by choosing to block the more dangerous strike. He could not do that now since his enemies were unseen and he only had mere seconds to decide. Indecisiveness struck as did his enemies, quickly bringing him to his knees to await their final assault.

 

Angel heard the sharp, high-pitched song of the bladed weapon slicing through the air, in fact he heard two, but could do nothing except futilely raise his staff to hopefully block at least one. He opened his eyes at the last moment to face death with honor, instead he saw a fast coming horse and heard Alexandra’s voice screaming “Do not let go of the staff!” Instinct took over and Angel tightened his grip just as Alexandra flew past and took hold of it, grunting loudly as she was almost pulled off the horse herself. Angel was ripped from his position and dragged behind her just as the two attacks came down, one hitting the ground and the other hitting the monster farthest from Angel spraying its green blood from its wound like a fountain.

 

“Let go Princess!” Yelled Angel as he finally realized her ingenious plan. Alexandra nodded and released her grip on the staff, taking a moment to inspect her bruised palm as she slowly stopped her horse. His momentum continued as he slid across the ground until miraculously rolling to his hands and feet with catlike grace. Once he came to a stop he launched forward into a sprint towards his revealed demon enemies. When in position he thrusted his staff into the ground and vaulted himself into the air and onto the shoulders of the demon who had its back to him. With his weight and momentum Angel managed to knock the vulnerable demon to the ground, and rode him down until they both hit hard.

 

Angel landed in a crouched position on the back of the face down demon, with his staff in hand he quickly lunged towards the wounded demon and shoved his staff into the exposed heart. Both combatants roared, Angel in defiance, the demon in pain, but neither would give up. Angel continued to press the staff deeper into the wound and the demon’s hand also grabbed the staff in an effort to keep it out. The thin brown cloud of dust had revealed the demon’s muscular frame, and when completely seen the demon was nearly one and a half times bigger than Angel himself.

 

The demon growled as the staff continued to press against its heart, constantly threatening to rip through it. As a final act of defiance the demon raised its scythe-like weapon for a final blow. Angel had seen the raised weapon but before he could move away the demon had changed its grip so that it included Angel’s hand as well as the staff. Having no hope of getting away, Angel was left only a single course of action, impaling the demon on his staff before it was too late.

 

Alexandra had turned around in time to see Angel’s acrobatic performance and watched as it once again took a turn for the worse. She had seen the demon raise its weapon and had yelled for Angel to move away, but for whatever reason he did not. Before she knew it, she was once again in motion, her horse at full gallop she flew past one of the guards who had accompanied her and yanked his spear from him. She cursed loudly as the shaft hit her already bruised palm but continued to ride and to her surprise tightened her grip. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was doing and blamed that to her time around Angel, who seemed to be naturally impulsive, yet all she did know was that if she could not help him transform she could at least help him fight.

 

It wasn’t even midday yet and Angel had escaped death quite a few times, so naturally he assumed that his luck had finally run out. He managed to pull one hand free from the demon’s grasp and attempted to use it to grab the scythe. A battle cry rang throughout the small road that had been transformed into a bloody and corpse-filled battlefield, causing Angel to smile as he once again recognized the voice that had saved him more times than he would like to admit.

 

Angel felt more than saw Alexandra’s attack, the demon’s body jerked back as her spear slammed into its eyeless face. The wooden handle of the spear shattered as her improper grip placed undue pressure on its weak point. The wood splintered in half, leaving the spear tip buried in the face of the demon and the handle in the hand of the dislodged and grounded Alexandra, who had landed with a loud and painful thump.

 

As the demon fell so did Angel, still clinging onto his staff as the weight pulled him forward. It took a few moments and several powerful pulls before he was able dislodge his staff. Blood gurgled from the open wound as Angel stumbled and tripped over the demon’s foot, landing next to Alexandra. “Is he dead?” She asked in between heavy breaths.

 

Angel propped himself up on his elbow and looked at her, except for some dirt and bruises Alexandra seemed to be fine. He silently admitted that she looked good when she was a little dirty, gave her a down to earth look. He quickly shook the thoughts away, attributing them to hitting his head when he fell. Using his staff to get to his feet as he answered “I think so. You got it pretty good with your spear.” He held out his hand to her and asked “How about you, you ok?”

 

“Behind you!” Alexandra suddenly screamed. Angel had heard the telltale shriek of metal slicing through the air but had no time to react. He turned just in time to see the reflection of light off the metal tip before it buried itself in his upper left shoulder, his staff being the only thing that stopped it from ripping completely through him. Angel growled as he pressed his weight into the staff, one end in his hand, the other pressed against the side of his foot, it was mere luck that it was in the right place to block the attack. He continued to push against the weapon and at the same time tried to pull the scythe tip from his shoulder. Each agonizing inch feeling like it took forever to pass.

 

Finally after what felt like an eternity, Angel managed to free himself from the blade, but it wasn’t over. The demon must have realized that his attack was going to fail and instead decided on simply changing tactics. With the dust cloud fading and his opponent slowly regaining its advantage, Angel had little time to react. He saw the glimmer of steel as it was raised for what he could only assume was going to be an angle-down slice. He knew that with the range of the weapon, he couldn’t get away safely and blocking would only knock him down and vulnerable. It was at that moment that he realized that his staff was wet and sticky, he almost laughed at himself as he realized at how untimely the thought actually was. But something about the demon blood on his staff inspired him to do something he might have never thought of on his own.

 

Another battle cry stole the demon’s attention from Angel, a lone soldier on horseback came dashing to the rescue. Sword held high and eyes filled with courage he charged at exactly the moment Angel needed him. The demon easily sidestepped the sword swing of the soldier, effortlessly moving out of range. But the demon’s weapon had nearly twice the range of the sword and without endangering itself the demon swung its mighty scythe and in a single strike impaled the young warrior and ripped him from his horse.

 

Angel offered a prayer of thanks to the brave soldier as he quickly went to work. Ignoring the pain, he pressed the staff end into his shoulder wound until it was well covered in his own blood. By now the soldier had been ripped from his horse and was dying a noisy and bloody death, to make matters worse the dust cloud had nearly faded away completely. The Prince’s men had failed to take advantage of the situation and once the demon was invisible they would all be in danger. Angel was to blame as well and he knew it, instead of tending to Alexandra he should have made sure to finish the job, a mistake that had cost a brave young soldier his life.

 

There was no communication between Shayrrod and Angel, yet both inexplicably knew how to capitalize on the other’s move. As Angel finished preparing his weapon, namely bleeding on it, Shayrrod and his horse broke into a full gallop towards the quickly disappearing demon. Shayrrod tossed his spear aside and instead pulled his large battle axe from its sheath, his almost average size body looked minuscule compared to the size of his new weapon. Despite such a difference he managed to wield it with elegance and strength, swinging it above his head to gain momentum while he charged.

 

The staff was ready, covered in Angel’s bright silvery blood, blood that already began reflecting the morning sun’s light. He roared as he swung his staff at the demon’s nearly unseen head. The demon had spun around to attack Angel but had instead received a thunderous smack against his cheek. Angel’s silver blood smeared across the demon’s cheek, which stood out proudly as the sun’s light bounced off it. Unfortunately, the attack had created another casualty, this time one that was close and dear to Angel. The middle of his staff exploded into a million shards immediately after the initial impact, the unexpected loss of resistance sent him spinning until he fell to his knees with his back to the demon.

 

The timing couldn’t have been better, and later Angel would learn the meaning behind his staff’s sacrifice. Just as he fell to his knees, Shayrrod’s horse flew past him axe in mid swing just barely missing the top of Angel’s head. The sharp edge of the blade tore through the demon’s neck. Using Angel’s blood as his guide Shayrrod managed to viciously separate the demon from its head, evoking cheers from his men.

 

A long deep breath escaped from Angel’s lips as he collapsed to his hands, he was out of practice when it came to fighting in his human form, and it showed. Blood seemed to pour from every part of his body, and his stomach was twisted in knots from coming so close to death. In the back of his mind, Angel thought back to a time where battle was easy, almost effortless. A time when he was in Armored mode constantly, alas times had changed and staying permanently Armored was not an option anymore.

 

A puddle of Angel’s blood slowly pooled beneath him, enough so that he could see his own reflection. Silver lines of liquid traced the natural contours of his face until giving in to the effects of gravity and joining the puddle below. He closed his eyes tightly, no longer wanting to see the reflective pool that stood out from the crimson red stains that covered the ground. He silently acknowledged that he could no longer live his life the way he used to, that depending on his Armored form would not be an option, especially since he couldn’t fully transform anyhow. He would have to relearn to fight.

 

When Angel opened his eyes he was no longer alone, Alexandra had kneeled down beside him, also looking into his reflection. “What do you see?” She asked.

 

Angel stared at her mirror image and simply said “The truth.” She wrapped his cloak around him and wrapped her arm around his neck. Together they stared at their contrasted appearances, a princess and a dark knight. Yet by some twist of fate, both felt comfortable. Their silent contemplation was interrupted by the hoof beats of an approaching horse, neither looked up to see who it was.

 

“It is tradition, that when one of our kind does something extremely brave and honorable, that they take a souvenir to remind them of their actions. My men found this blade among the corpses of the demons, and we agree that you deserve it Alexandra.” Said Shayrrod. In one hand he held the demon’s head, in his extended hand he held a short sword wrapped in leather, waiting patiently for Alexandra to accept, which she did.

 

“Thank you.” Alexandra said appreciatively. She removed the leather wrap and gasped slightly as the beautiful blade shined in the early morning sunlight. It was a short sword, but more than enough to hold its own in battle, despite its small stature, she noticed that it was quite heavy, but not naturally so. She gave it a few practice swings, struggling to hold on to it as threatened to overpower her grip and slip away.

 

Shayrrod cleared his throat and humbly said to Angel “You are obviously a great warrior. Your actions were heroic and daring, and if not for you I fear that we may have lost even more men, perhaps even all of us would have come prey to the demons. Sadly, I see nothing that would be of use to such a warrior as yourself, but please feel free to help yourself to anything that the demons had carried. We will not touch the spoils till you have had your pick.”

 

“Spoils do not interest me.” Angel coldly replied. He placed his finger into the blood beneath him and watched uninterestedly as the silver liquid slowly reabsorbed into his body. Once done, he looked up to Shayrrod and said “There is nothing there that is of use to me.”

 

Alexandra spoke next, placing her hand on Angel’s shoulder she softly whispered in his ear “Do you not want a memento of my first real battle?”

 

Seeing that if he didn’t do it, she would be hurt, Angel slowly climbed to his feet and stumbled to the demon corpses. He dropped to his knees, beside the first demon that died. With the bodies dead, their spells had faded away like the dust cloud of earlier, and now they could be seen for the monsters they really were. War paint made from blood covered their grayish muscular bodies. Even in death they looked intimidating, ferocious grins filled with jagged teeth . It was here that Angel would find his trophy.

 

The demon’s face had been pinched inwards by the sharp tip of the spear, it’s perverse smile twisted grotesquely as it’s skin was stretched tautly. Angel wrapped his hands tightly around what was left of the spear handle, he pulled hard on the spear but only managed to loosen it. It took three more tugs and a lot of wiggling back and forth before he was able to free it. Angel landed hard on his back as the spear sprang free of the demon’s face.

 

*        *        *

 

Shadows continued to dance as the campfire raged defiantly, challenging the surrounding darkness to come forward. Many smaller fires had been made around the camp, all staying just behind the forest line, not wanting the revealing light to give away their position.

 

Angel and Alexandra were given their own fire to keep them warm, near the rear of the army but still within the safety of the soldiers. She put the light to good use as she practiced with her new sword, slashing indiscriminately at the shadows. With each swing, the sword threatened to overtake her and pull her to the ground, despite that she continued to practice.

 

While Alexandra trained, Angel stared into the hypnotizing dance of the flames before him. In his lap he held the broken staff, unsure if he would be able to salvage his once faithful weapon. His concentration was broken when Alexandra’s shrieks brought him back to reality just in time to see her sword pierce the ground next to him. “I am sorry!” She said, frantically repeating herself as she crouched down to retrieve her blade.

 

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve done worse when I used to train.” Angel said. He watched as Alexandra struggled with her deeply buried blade. It was when she gave up on trying to pull the sword free that he realized what he would have to do. “Seems that your sword is as stubborn as you are.” He said as he leaned over and forcefully jerked the sword back and forth, weakening the earth’s grip. With Angel’s help she was finally able to pull the sword free.

 

Instead of continuing with her training, Alexandra took a seat beside Angel and asked “What is wrong?”

 

Angel held up the broken and explained “Staff broke…can’t use it anymore.”

 

“Can you not fix it?”

 

“Normally, yes.” Angel began, he tossed the clean side of the staff into the fire and watched as the flame quickly turned black. Alexandra gasped and pulled away, before she could ask what happened, Angel put the bloody side of his broken staff into the flame and removed it as the fire returned to its normal healthy color. “Those demons we fought earlier are more than just killers. Their name eludes me at the moment but I have seen them in action before. Their purpose is to drain the morale of their enemies, they kill silently as you have seen. But along with their magical invisibility, their blood also contain spells, or more accurately, curses.”

 

“A curse?” Alexandra asked, moving closer so that she could hear every detail of his story.

 

“When a weapon strikes those demons and fails to kill it, then that weapon will forever be cursed. It will be a plague on the wielder, failing them whenever possible. On the other hand when a weapon kills one of those demons, it shall be blessed. Unfortunately, I killed one demon and broke my staff on the other. Therefore one half is cursed and one half is blessed.” Angel explained while watching the cursed half of his staff burn within the confines of the campfire.

 

Alexandra reached behind Angel and picked up the broken spear half that was laying behind him. She held it out in front of him and asked “So this is now blessed, even though it is broken?”

 

A small grin slowly spread across Angel’s face as he eagerly grabbed the spear half from her hand. “Yes, it is…” He said remotely, his voice was distant and obviously distracted as held both weapons. He suddenly turned to Alexandra and kissed her on the forehead as he said “You are a genius.”

 

“I know.” Replied Alexandra as she tried to hide her crimson cheeks. Seconds later she realized she had no idea why he had complimented her, but before she could ask he had already gone to work. She paid close attention to Angel as he worked on combining the weapons. Without any of the proper equipment usually needed, she was curious to see what miracle he would perform next.

 

Angel pressed the broken ends of the individual weapons together, their splintered ends badly mismatched. Once he had gotten them as close as they could be he slid both hands over the different handles until they met in the middle, over the cracks. His hands began to glow and change into their Armored form. His silver blood poured from his hands onto the fractured handles, filling the crevices and slithering around with purpose and obvious intent. Soon the shattered ends of the staff were unseen, when the silver liquid returned to Angel’s body, it left behind a perfectly reconstructed weapon. He placed the weapon over the fire and both he and Alexandra watched in silent awe as the fire transformed the weapon into its newest form.

 

Once the weapon was done, Angel stood and went through a few motions to test it out. He smiled as he felt its light weight and good balance. With years of experience guiding his hands, the staff moved like liquid, pouring around his body with a grace that came with practice. With the fire casting shadows and playing tricks on the eyes, Angel’s staff seemed to bend and wrap around him as he trained.

 

Alexandra stood to her feet with weapon in hand and respectfully asked “Would you train me?”

 

The newly created spear stopped quickly as Angel heard her request. To both their surprises he said “Yes.”

 

*        *        *

 

It had only been a couple of hours since they had started training and already Alexandra had shown an innate skill with her new sword. Despite its heavy weight constantly fighting against her, making her every attack dangerously close to throwing her off balance or worse, she still managed to properly attack. Her last attack had been the most devastating, Angel not only blocked her swing but also disarmed her. Using the overbearing weight of her own sword, he managed to knock it free from her hands.

 

“Are you ok?” Angel asked as he lowered his weapon and relaxed his stance.

 

“Yea, just shaken.” Alexandra replied. She reached down to retrieve her weapon and once again found it stuck, instead of waiting for Angel to help, she wiggled it around herself until it came free.

 

“Perhaps we should take a break.” Angel suggested, sitting down cross-legged before the fire. He placed his weapon across his lap and stared into the flames, thoughts danced around his mind and were acted out by the exotic movements of the fire. He saw scenes of his darker past played out within the orange light, screams of innocence, begging, pleading, and sounds of battle.

 

Alexandra sat beside him, placing her weapon across her lap as well. Indeed she was skilled with her new weapon and even believed it herself. But still she worried, the sword continued to rip from her grip seemingly on purpose. She couldn’t help but to think about what Angel had said earlier about weapons being cursed, and she feared that her own weapon would not serve her well. After a long silence she finally gathered the courage to disturb Angel’s quiet introspection. “Angel?” She softly said.

 

The images turned to smoke and drifted away towards the sky, leaving only ashes of memories in their wake. Angel slightly shook his head, his eyes painfully becoming aware of their irritated state. He did not look towards Alexandra and instead continued to face the fire as he replied “Yes?”

 

She tapped her fingers against the blade of her sword nervously as she asked “Do you think that an evil weapon will be good against evil, could it serve me if I am not evil?”

 

“No weapon is better suited to destroy evil, than one forged by evil.”

 

By now both of Alexandra’s hands were fidgeting in one way or the other, one tapping on her sword and the other playing with the tassel the hung from the bottom of its handle. She quietly asked “Is that why you are so good at it?”

 

Angel closed his eyes and licked his lips as he took a deep breath. Finally he asked “Do you really want to know if your weapon will serve you?”

 

Alexandra nodded slowly, biting her lower lip nervously. To her surprise Angel reached out grabbed her sword hand by the wrist. “What the?” She began to ask but her words were turned from speech to whimpers as he held her hand near the fire. She tried to pull away but his grip was overpowering, and as the flames licked at her exposed palm, tears streaked her cheek. She wanted to scream but the sound of his voice had forced her into painful silence.

 

“Weapons are neutral, it is the wielder who creates the energy the weapon will drink from. There are spells and other things, like the demon’s blood that cursed my staff, that can change these truths. But every weapon, no matter what the beliefs and orientation of the creator, unless the creator puts a piece of themselves into the weapon, will be neutral. Of course there are some exceptions, some weapons have been wielded by good or evil for so long that they have been forever tainted and loyal to that side. There are others ways too, like the ritual you are about to perform that can bring a more intimate understanding between weapon and master.”

 

Alexandra whimpered as her words came out in between sobs of pain “Ritual?’

 

“I cannot do the final part for you, all I can say is that if you stop the ritual midway that your hand will not heal properly. When I let go, you must hold it there for another few seconds before removing it. This is your offering to the sword, your way of saying that you will suffer for it much like it will for you.” Angel explained. His free hand moved to her sword and took hold of it, turning it so that’s sharp edge was facing up, he then continued explaining “Once you can no longer take the pain and have still held onto the fire, you must take hold of your blade edge and cut your palm, not deeply, but enough to bleed. Once that is done, take hold of your handle and wait.”

 

Angel took in deep breaths and motioned for her to follow his lead. He could see the pain in her tear filled eyes, her breathing was labored and coming in short gasps as the pain became unbearable. He softly asked “Do you understand?” When she nodded, it was slow and forced. No longer able to slip words out in between her sharp breathing.

 

When he finally let go it took every ounce of will power in Alexandra’s body not to rip her hand free from the torture it was enduring. She could smell her burnt flesh and had to fight back the urge to heave, her breathing now interrupted by her gagging as the smell became overpowering. Black smoke continued to pour from the intimate contact with the unbearable inferno. At some point, she wasn’t sure when, but she could no longer feel her hand, and that hurt and scared her more than any of the pain she had suffered before. It was then that she finally pulled away from the fire, only to be greeted by the eagerly waiting blade in her lap, upturned by her so called guardian.

 

Alexandra didn’t have the courage to look at her horribly disfigured hand and instead placed it palm down on the sword blade. She sniffled and used her free hand to wipe the fresh tears away before violently sliding her hand across the blade, causing her to yelp submissively in pain. By now the pain had sent her into a state of shock, she didn’t think anything worse could ever happen and with a passive interest she wrapped her hand around the sword handle, gasping as the cold, hard handle brought untold comfort and ache to her wounded hand.

 

Angel’s hand quickly moved over Alexandra’s as he whispered the magical chant that he had learned years ago. Ancient words flowed from his mouth in a language only recently rediscovered but still widely unknown “Trenpa di fensara, sema ana T’na di sunatae. Avol, a ovla rumae. Rumae tisardo…drio.”

 

The words had no meaning to Alexandra, yet they flowed musically to her ears and she had an inexplicable feeling that she knew what they meant. Soon the pain in her hand had subsided, the sizzling of hot flesh cooled on cold metal no longer could be heard. She hesitantly removed her hand and to her utter delight her hand was perfectly healed except for a small scar that crossed her palm horizontally. To her surprise that was not the only thing that had changed, the once plain sword handle now held a beautiful design in the shape of her hand.

 

With a small smile Angel said “I think it likes you” then pulled his hood over his head and went to sleep, exhausted.

 

*        *        *

 

Angel had just managed to fall into a deep sleep, but before his dreams could get a chance to remind him of the things he had tried to forget, a loud squeal and a lot of scuffling brought him back to the edge of reality. And the hard fall of his female companion against his comfortably sleeping body did a more than ample job of startling him over that edge. His hand immediately went for his weapon and reached it, but was stopped as Alexandra’s weight inadvertently pinned him down.

 

Suspicious glares and wild laughter was what Angel awoke to, not to mention a blushing and embarrassed Alexandra spread across him. “Princess, please get up.” He said.

 

Alexandra giggled shyly and carefully struggled in an attempt to get up without squishing him in any way. All the while she continued to apologize until he at last grabbed her shirt and simply rolled her off of him and onto the ground. As she dusted her off she explained “The sword, it feels lighter and well, I kind of overcompensated for my last swing.”

 

“It’s not lighter, you just share its burden. With the both of you working together it will of course be easier to use.” Angel said as he got to his feet and dusted himself off, being next to the training princess was becoming life-threatening and until she wore herself out he wouldn’t be able to close his eyes without worrying about her stray sword flying at him. So he gave up on sleep and simply continued his explanation “You’ve bonded with your weapon, it is now a part of you. Most people do not have that kind of relationship with their weapons for fear.”

 

“Fear?” She asked, no longer swinging her sword aimlessly. She knelt in front of the fire as she continued to examine the sword.

 

Angel placed his hands in front of the fire in an attempt to scare the cold from his body. “That weapon is a part of you, if ever the right enemy gets ahold of it, there could be much trouble. But weapons like true friends, are loyal. If a person has invested the time and energy to bond with it, a good weapon will serve you even when you are not there to wield it.” He said.

 

“But this weapon was used to cut down those who were good…why would it want to help me?”

 

“Let me see your weapon Princess.” Angel said, holding his hand out to her. Alexandra nodded and handed the sword to him, hilt first. He took it and held the blade up towards the light, after close examination at many different angles he said “Perhaps not Princess, it seems that this weapon was also a trophy.”

 

With another story on the horizon, Alexandra couldn’t keep still. She jumped to her feet and quickly moved beside Angel, anxious to get a glimpse of the clues he had seen. “What do you mean?” She asked.

 

“According to this,” Angel began, tilting the blade so that the inscription in the blade could just barely be seen before he continued “This weapon once belonged to a most honorable knight. His story is written in the blade itself.”

 

“Really?!? Read it to me please!!”

 

Angel handed the sword back to Alexandra and said “No, it’s not my place. In time you will see it for yourself.”

 

“How will I read it? I’ve never even seen that language!” Alexandra exclaimed, annoyed that she wasn’t going to get her story after all.

 

“It’s a scribe blade,” Explained Angel, pulling his dagger from its sheath. He paused and cut across his palm, then squeezed his hand in a tight fist above her sword until a single drop of blood oozed onto the blade. Alexandra gasped in surprise as more writing magically appeared, gold traces dancing against the steel as more of the story was unveiled. “The more blood it receives the more of the story it will tell. It seems that the blood of good men will remove the story, and the blood of those that are evil will tell more of the story. Kill enough demons and it may one day tell your story.”

 

Alexandra’s finger traced along the newly written words, still alien to her, she could do nothing but appreciate its elegant beauty. Her gaze stayed concentrated at the inscriptions, yet her thoughts strayed far from their meaning. She never looked at Angel when she asked “If only the blood of evil will cause more of the story to be revealed, how come your blood did so?”

 

With only a few hours of darkness left, and almost three days without sleep, Angel’s ability to gracefully deflect her questions was at an all time low. He yawned tiredly and sat before the fire as he gave her his simple answer “Not all stories are to be shared Princess, but because I know you will continue to pester me till I tell you, and I am too tired to argue. Suffice it to say that, once you have crossed a line there is no going back. Although I have changed the path of which I travel, the darkness has left its mark on me and I will forever be branded with it.”

 

The story written on the sword suddenly seemed less interesting to Alexandra, she sheathed her sword and kneeled down beside Angel, whispering just loud enough for him to hear “Angelus…the Ruinous.” Even with his cloak and hood covering him, she could still see the slight shiver.

 

Angel pulled his cloak around tighter and softly pleaded “Princess, do not ask questions whose answers you do not want to hear. Some things can’t be forgotten and the burden can become maddening. So I ask that you let it go.”

 

Alexandra scooted closer, leaning forward so that her lips were right next to the luxuriously soft material of his hood. She whispered even softer, just barely loud enough for herself to hear, her voice filled with awe and frightful excitement “I still remember the first time I saw you. I was at my father’s side, and to this day I will never forget the look on his face. The color had drained away, he squeezed my hand but could not stop his own trembling. Surrounded by his own personal guard, yet he still had me escorted to my room.

 

“As his guards dragged me away I turned around to get a glimpse of what it was that had scared my father so. All I saw was a single unphased man, surrounded by what at the time looked like an entire battalion of guards. All weapons drawn and most of them pointing directly at you. Men and women that were lucky enough to be in the courtyard to steal a peek could not take their eyes off you. It was like you were, a dream, something that would disappear the minute anyone looked away.”

 

“Princess…” Angel interrupted.

 

His pleas were ignored as Alexandra continued “They called you Angelus the Ruinous, and more that I cannot remember anymore. They spoke of a man with wings of black steel, a fiend with armor for flesh, armor blacker than the darkest night, and still not black enough to properly illustrate the darkness of his soul. Men trembled before his feet and died on then end of your weapon. Angelus the Ruinous…”

 

She struggled to remember the rest, but not for very long. Angel whispered the rest of it for her “Destroyer of hope, killer of man…”

 

“Vanquisher of souls. They used to say that you would rip the hope from the holy sanctuary of a man’s heart and crush it in the palm of your hand as he watched.” Finished Alexandra. “Is it true?”

 

Angel turned to face Alexandra, neither of them pulled away. Light danced across half his face, the hood bathing the other side in appropriate darkness. His glowing eyes peered into her soul as he repeated the words he had said so casually and frequently over the years “Surrender your souls and hope to me, and I shall spare your flesh. Or I shall slaughter you all until your blood rains to the ground and creates a crimson river at my feet.”

 

Heavy silence immediately followed Angel’s words, only disturbed by the crackling of the fire beside them. Alexandra had finally bitten off more than she could chew and as she gazed into his eyes she saw the thing that had inspired so much fear in her father and those that served him. Her hand had somehow moved to her sword without her conscious desire to do so, and now she couldn’t let go. She held tightly on to the handle, unrelenting in her grip till her knuckles were white. Her trembling was slight but obvious and uncontrollable, it took everything in her not to shirk away.

 

“How about we go to sleep?” Angel asked softly, breaking what felt like an eternity of quiet. Without waiting for her reply he pulled his cloak tighter around him and laid on his side staring away from the fire.

 

Alexandra was left there trembling for a few more moments until she had realized that she had somehow drawn the eyes of some of the men around them. A few of them had a lust filled look in their eyes that made her uneasy. If that wasn’t enough, the shadows seemed to be awakening again and earlier memories of blood and carnage flooded her mind. She scooted closer to Angel and before she could ask he opened his cloak invitingly and coldly said “I already told you once, but don’t expect this to become a habit.”

 

“I know.” She answered as she slid under his cloak, arm, and protection. She sighed a small breath of relief when she realized that Angel’s proximity was more than enough to dissuade the interest of some of her admirers, unfortunately, there were others who were not so easily discouraged. She turned her head slightly and whispered “Do you think you could cast that spell?”

 

“The one I used during our battle?” Angel asked as he brought his spear in front of her, making an obvious statement to those he knew were watching.

 

“Yes, I would feel safer if…”

 

Angel’s hand covered her mouth before she could finish, he quickly said “If it will mean that I get to sleep, than yes I’ll do it. Now be quiet.” Alexandra nodded and he moved his hand away, after a few deep cleansing breaths he began. “U diante lun fa do’me, vasten pai di nado’me avado, jinto vio lunde, fensara vio valin, tisardo tae noy riv torda.”

 

Alexandra felt a cold chill as the almost musical words seemed to dance across her ears. Her last sight before going to sleep was the perplexed looks of those who were watching. She made a mental note to ask Angel what it was he was saying but as sleep crept its way into her mind, the thought faded away just like she had to her admirers.

 

*        *        *

 

Where there was fire there was nothing more than smoldering smoke and ashes, where there were soldiers laid bodies and empty cots. Angel had awoken first and immediately realized that something was wrong, the camp was in shambles. Bodies of men and demon alike were spread across the grounds, at first sight it looked as if there were more demon bodies than human. And for the first time since he started this incessant journey that Fate and Alexandra demanded him to, it looked that he had some genuine good luck. He continued to lay still, counting bodies and praying that Alexandra would sleep a bit longer.

 

Although the battle had been fierce, it seemed that for once it was the demons who lost both the fight and suffered the most casualties. Angel counted no more than a third of the Prince’s men. He wanted to investigate, but Alexandra was still sleeping on his cloak and thankfully so, before he could wake her he heard foot steps from around him.

 

The demon was one of the lower level kinds, nothing more than dumb foot soldiers, blood thirsty and sadistic, but dumb nonetheless. One stepped right over them and moved into Angel’s view, its muscles were huge, and it had a deformed hump on its back forcing it to bend forward. Strapped across its bodies were all types of leather belts holding weapons and trophies of all kinds, including the heads of a few unfortunate soldiers that had died on that very day.

 

Angel slowly and carefully slipped his hand from under Alexandra careful not to wake her. His other hand tightened around the shaft of his spear as his newly liberated hand worked to free him from his cloak. The demon suddenly stopped and Angel followed suit, his hand frozen against the clasp as the demon began sniffing the air. Angel knew that demons had a superior sense of smell and could only hope that the carnage around them could mask their scent.

 

Grunts of communication went back and forth between the demons, followed by more vigorous sniffing. Another tense minute passed, the demon had moved closer to Angel’s position and was now on all fours, anxious to find the treasures it had overlooked. Once Angel attacked the spell would be nullified leaving him and Alexandra vulnerable to attacks by who knows how many other demons. Although these demons were nothing more than scavengers, stragglers who waited till the fighting was over to reap their rewards. They still possessed incredible strength and dangerous skill, they just preferred easy prey.

 

Convinced that it was nothing more than a small animal or the tricks played by the corpses of slain soldiers, the demon finally gave up on its search and went back to scavenging. Angel sighed a breath of relief, his heart was racing and he just realized that he had been holding his breath. He quickly removed the clasp, making sure that the cloak remained wrapped around him and Alexandra. Unfortunately his quick movement startled her, a soft whimper and content murmur escaped her lips as she nuzzled closer to Angel. Unluckily, demon hearing is as acute as their sense of smell and before Angel could quiet her the demon had spun around and resumed its search.

 

With one hand holding the edge of his cloak and the other gripped tightly around his spear Angel made his move. He rolled out of the protection of his cloak, making sure not to disturb Alexandra and at the same time drag the cloak over her while he rolled on his side. In spite of the disorientation that he was suffering from, Angel still had the advantage. The demon shrieked in surprise as Angel seemed to appear from thin air. Before it could react, Angel had thrusted his spear into its stomach and out its back.

 

Angel had once again managed to get his weapon stuck in an opponent, and history decided to repeat itself as he was attacked by another. He quickly ripped the dying demon’s axe from its hand and spun around just in time to block the incoming club. The impact threatened to knock him off his feet and although Angel would have appreciated the moment to catch his breath, the demon had other plans as it swung repeatedly.

 

Although strong in his own right, a demon’s axe was an entirely different matter. Even Angel’s enhanced strength had trouble holding onto the massive weapon, and swinging it was not an option. He ducked under another swing and managed to drag the axe blade against the demon’s leg, more annoying it than doing any real damage. Angel continued to dodge as the demon pushed its relentless attack and doing everything in its power to bash him with its oversized club.

 

The last impact rang out as Angel struggled to keep a hold of the axe, its weight combined with the power of the demon’s attack both working against him. The demon pressed its entire weight into the attack, adding another thing for Angel to deal with. Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer he did the one thing he was sure the demon would never expect. He let go of the axe and jumped back out of the range of the club. The demon stumbled forward as the axe fell to the ground without any resistance, its club also hit the ground hard, the entire unexpectedness of the situation was almost enough to make it let go.

 

Angel jumped onto the club, his weight taking advantage of the shocked demon. The club dropped and before the demon could recover, Angel punched it, repeatedly. The demon grunted as each blow slammed against its face, forcing it to stagger back. Despite his efforts he knew that the effects were only temporary, if he didn’t find some way to kill the demon quickly he would still be in trouble.

 

The final punch had little effect, the demon no longer surprised, had simply accepted the blow. Angel had been thrown a little off guard, he swung again and impacted the demon’s cheek perfectly, knocking its head to the side but doing no real damage. His own hands were burning with the abuse that they had taken and it seemed that he was doing more pain to himself than the demon.

 

No longer hurt by Angel’s attacks, the demon raised his hand. The fist it made reminded Angel of the sledgehammers once used by construction workers and still occasionally used as a weapon by soldiers. He was not eager to feel the effect of the demon’s fist and could do nothing but wait for the attack and hope that he would be able to evade. Angel continued to wait but nothing happened except a soft grunt from the demon, he looked up and saw the grimaced but still face of the demon. When he looked back down his eyes came upon the broken flesh of its chest, but just as he saw it, it disappeared.

 

The demon body fell limply to the side like a curtain being moved aside to introduce a new character. Behind the demon stood a disheveled Alexandra, blood covered her hands and sword, her hair was a mess and her eyes were still filled with sleep. She watched as the blade drank the blood of her enemy and converted it to fuel to share more of its story. Angel sighed and as he walked past her to his spear mumbled to himself “This is a bad dream.”

 

Alexandra yelled to him “You are welcome!” She sheathed her sword and surveyed the damage, it was sad but death was becoming second nature to her, at least being around it was, seeing it happen, was still something she was thankfully uncomfortable with. “What happened?” She asked.

 

Angel yanked his spear from the demon and said “They were attacked, looks like they lost another third or so. I would guess that they continued on with the mission, and as soon as we are ready, we will be joining them, or what’s left of them anyhow.”

 

“How could we sleep through this?” Alexandra asked, guilt settling in as she realized that her request to be invisible had spared her life but cost others theirs.

 

“Not our fault. I noticed it a couple days ago, something in this valley has a draining effect on anyone with a crystal. The closer we get the more powerful the effect, since you and I both have crystals we have both been feeling more and more tired. That added with the lack of good sleep, it is only understandable that we slept so heavily.”

 

“Is that why I have been so tired? And is that why you have not transformed during any of those battles?”

 

Angel nodded as he began searching for his cloak. “That is one of the reasons, I do need some more practice in this form as well.” He said.

 

“Why did you not say anything before?”

 

“I did not want our companions to know that I was not as powerful as they believed.” He said, momentarily giving up on his search to turn to her and ask “Where’s my cloak?”

 

Alexandra shrugged and calmly said “I thought you had it.”

 

“What?! You left an invisible cloak alone?!” He exclaimed, thrusting his spear into the ground and then slid his hands over his face in an effort to calm his nerves. “I left it on you so that you would be protected!”

 

“How was I supposed to know?!?! Do you not have an off spell or something?!”

 

Angel growled and with forced restraint said “Go get ready, as soon as I find my cloak we’re leaving for the bandit camp.” Alexandra stormed off to find something to do, mumbling something unladylike just loud enough for him to hear. He tried to suppress his mix of laughter and anger when he heard her curse herself for saving his life. He ignored her vulgar comments and continued to pour through his memories as he tried to find the words that would reveal his cloak, unfortunately his thoughts continued to go back to the foolish princess that let it out of her sight in the first place.

 

Finally the words came back to him, along with a memory of him losing the cloak for the first time. Angel quickly pushed that thought aside for fear of feeling hypocritical for his anger, instead he focused on reciting the spell “Cate rivia fa do’me, sema tae atel vio lunde.” To his delight, the ground shimmered as his cloak slowly returned to sight. He picked it up and dusted it off before throwing it back around his shoulders.

 

“I am glad you found it.” Said Alexandra coldly as she trotted beside him on horseback. In her most self-important and princess-like tone she said “The horses are all gone or dead, this is the last one. You, will have to walk” and before he could reply began trotting away.

 

Angel ripped his spear from the ground and began walking towards the bandit camp, making way through the last plains left. All the while grumbling about his distaste for royalty, particularly princesses.

 

*        *        *

 

“You boys have been very busy.” Angel said to noone in particular as he walked through the plains towards the main encampment. The path leading to the front door of the building the bandits had occupied was littered with the bodies of humans and demons alike. He stepped over another cluster of bodies, once again mostly demons. It was easy to see that lane that had been carved through the demon resistance. Being so close to their goal must have been heartening, Angel thought.

 

Alexandra’s scream grabbed Angel’s attention, forsaking his examination of the corpses he ran towards her. He arrived just as she was tossed from her frenzied horse, Angel wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cringe when he saw her land hard on her rear as the terrified stallion took off at a frantic pace, running hard and fast as far away as it could.

 

“Now I wish I had the common sense to have done that when I first met you.” Angel said jokingly, interrupting Alexandra’s string of curses and fist shaking, as he walked up beside her.

 

“Well it does not surprise me that a horse managed to think of something that you could not.” Alexandra replied rudely, slowly getting to her feet and wiping herself off. The door was open before them, ominous in its invitation. The sounds of battle raged from inside, occasional weapon’s fire along with the loud screams of death, both soldier and bandit. Alexandra’s hand drifted to her weapon as she nervously asked “This is it?”

 

Angel nodded and removed his cloak, he placed it around Alexandra’s shoulders and said “Yes.” He tightened his grip around the staff and took a deep breath, the compound was an abandoned building. There was a definite aura of foreboding power in the area, from what he could see from the front door, there was a large courtyard surrounded by a second story of ledges, each leading to a separate rooms he guessed.

 

Alexandra pulled the cloak tighter and drew her sword, she also took a deep breath, searching deep within herself to find the courage necessary to step through the door. “I will take care of your cloak this time.” She said.

 

“Good, I’ll come back for it after we save the princess. You know what to do I take it?”

 

“Save the princess and let you do the heavy fighting?”

 

“Yes, try to find the Prince as well, he may be able to help you… good luck!” Angel said as he charged through the doors and into the courtyard. As he sprinted through the narrow hall his body began to glow, sparks trailed from where his spear dragged against the wall. His transformation was unseen by anyone trying to get a glimpse of him in the darkened tunnel, a few bolts of electricity and slight hum of power where the only clues. When he emerged from the hallway he was in his Armored form, his newly formed spear gripped tightly in his right hand.

 

The first thing Angel saw when he exited the tunnel was Leothal’s laser whip cut through one of the last remaining soldiers. The bandits had put up a vicious fight but had eventually lost, leaving the remaining soldiers to be dispatched by Leothal himself. Severed corpses lay at his feet, his energy whip dancing in lazy arcs through their ill-equipped armor. By the time Angel had arrived there were only two

 

Even at full speed Angel was unable to save the two men, a thin beam of black light fired from Leothal’s visor and effortlessly sliced through one of the soldiers. But that was not enough for him, Leothal continued to run the beam through the already dead soldier, each pass cutting off another chunk of flesh or limb until the soldier was nothing more than a pile of parts. Perhaps out of boredom, or the realization of Angel’s arrival, but the last soldier was luckier in death. Leothal simply grabbed the man’s head in the palm of his hand and slowly squeezed it till it exploded. Skull and brain fragments fell to the ground along with the headless corpse. “Welcome brother.” Leothal said warmly.

 

Angel skidded to the stop just outside the entrance to the courtyard. Fate had promised him this battle and he was now seeing why she would say such a thing, Leothal, in his infinite arrogance did not feel that the soldiers warranted enough of a threat to fully transform. So instead, he was thinner, smaller, and on equal playing fields with Angel. “This time you will not win!” Angel promised, bringing his spear into position.

 

“I am glad to see that you survived, even in your incomplete state, I would expect nothing less from the infamous Angelus.” Leothal said. His energy whip slowly snaked from his fingers, once it had fully extended he began making circular motions with his wrists, bringing imaginary life to his whip as it slithered in circles.

 

“So you know.” Angel said, dropping into his full stance, feet spread shoulder width, spear held level in front of him with both hands locked on it. He had been mentally trying to keep track of how many soldiers had been lost throughout the day, unfortunately he had lost count along the way and could only guess that four or five were still alive. He hoped that they would be enough to save both the kidnapped princess and Alexandra.

 

“I knew from the moment I saw you. Just like I know that you are nothing more than a distraction while your companion tries to find my sacrifice.”

 

“Sacrifice?”

 

“There is a war coming brother, and you are on the wrong side.”

 

“I hate to tell you, but your side is already off to a bad start, you’ve managed to seriously piss me off.” Angel said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alexandra running across the second floor level, checking room after room. He also knew that Leothal had seen it as well, given the tone of his next comment.

 

“Even if she finds my captive, you can’t leave without my permission.”

 

“Don’t worry, I’ve already planned a way around that.”

 

“And what’s that?”

 

“By taking your life!” Angel screamed as he charged Leothal. The attack was incredibly quick, Angel launched himself in the air and thrusted his spear as he came down. Even without his full form Leothal was far from an easy mark, just as Angel’s spear came down he darted to the side barely evading the attack. Angel landed hard, his spear driven into the ground.

 

Leothal’s whip crackled across the ground as he moved to the side, the ground ripping apart under the power of his steps much like it had done for Angel. Once he came to a stop Leothal swung his arm high in the air and quickly whipped it around sending his whip flying towards the hapless Angel. To Leothal’s dismay Angel’s spear split into two pieces with a simple twist of the wrist. Using the second half of his weapon Angel deflected the energy whip to the ground.

 

Angel was far from done, his spear tip still embedded in the ground he was left with the baton like half-staff in his left hand. He flicked his wrist and released the silver thread, it continued to unravel until it was the length of Leothal’s own whip. With an elegant wave of his arm he flung the cord at Leothal and managed to wrap it around his energy whip hand.

 

“Well brother, I see you have decided to put up a fight this time. Good!” Leothal exclaimed, the arrogance still heavy in his words. He reached for the strand around his wrist but was stopped as Angel’s hurled baton slammed against his face. Leothal’s head snapped back and with his concentration disturbed the energy whip quickly dissipated.

 

“I’m just getting warmed up!” Angel promised, using his own whip to pull Leothal off balance. Leothal’s head bounced back again as Angel bashed him across the face with left hand, his right following up with a blow to the body that sent Leothal staggering back. Again Angel yanked on the cord, pulling Leothal forward against his will, this time he punched him in the stomach with his left again, forcing Leothal to double over. Angel moved behind Leothal and began to wrap the silver thread around Leothal’s throat. Because it was still connected to Leothal’s wrist it had forced his arm to try to wrap around his neck as well.

 

Leothal struggled for breath but received no mercy as Angel pulled the whip taut. “I believe I still owe you for the last time we met.” Angel whispered smugly. He jumped back allowing the slack in the rope to become stretched tight, with both hands firmly gripping the thread he began pulling and spinning. The effect was slow at first, Leothal simply staggered back and followed the forceful guiding provided by his leash, but as Angel put more strength into it Leothal was no longer able to keep his feet on the ground.

 

“Looks like this is the end of your journey, brother.” Angel said as he swung Leothal around, gaining more momentum with each second that passed. Without warning the thread released its grip on Leothal and sent him tumbling through the air and headfirst into the far wall. The wall cratered under the impact but somehow managed to hold on to the dazed Leothal.

 

Individual threads shot out from each of Angel’s wrists, each one wrapping around one half of his disjointed spear. With a hard yank he brought his hands together, the spear ends quickly following. His hands crossed each other as he pulled his weapon back, with his arms overlapping he caught both halves of the spear and swiftly brought them together. He smiled as the confident click promised that his spear was rejoined. He spun the spear in his hands, uncrossing them before returning to his stance.

 

Moans were the only thing that could be heard from Leothal as he attempted to pull himself from the wall. He managed to free most of himself when he heard the battle cry from behind him, he turned his damaged head in time to catch a glimpse of the charging Angel. Silver blood poured freely from the multitude of wounds on his once unmarred Armored body. He was one move from freeing himself when he was impaled and pinned to the wall by Angel’s spear.

 

Blood gushed from the wound in Leothal’s back, covering the wall much like his screams were filling the room. Angel continued to push the spear in deeper, not willing to let go till he was sure he was done. Leothal’s body thrashed upon the spear, squirming violently as he tried to somehow free himself, but it was as futile as his yelling. By now Angel’s front most hand was pressing against Leothal’s back, the silver blood running over his black armored hand and slickening the shaft.

 

Angel grabbed the back of Leothal’s head with his silver stained hands and began smashing his face against the wall until the screams finally subsided. With each terrible impact Leothal’s screams were weakened till it was nothing more than a gurgling whimper. Silver blood coated the wall, Leothal’s facemask splintered like glass and each impact threatened to shatter it completely. “DIE!” Angel yelled with every thunderous crash. Leothal was quieted.

 

Leothal’s body hung limply against the wall, held up only by Angel’s spear, his head hanging back at an impossible angle. The only sound from the courtyard was the dripping sound of Leothal’s blood puddling beneath his feet. Angel had fallen back and was breathing hard as he stared at what he had done. After a few deep breaths he lunged forward and grabbed Leothal’s head one last time and with all the power he had left rammed it deep into the wall, causing blood to splatter onto Angel’s armor.

 

“I think he is dead Angel.” Alexandra said calmly from the balcony behind him.

 

“He thought I was dead last time.” Angel said matter-of-factly, he took another deep breath and wiped some unseen sweat from his armored flesh. He continued to stare at Leothal and didn’t face Alexandra for fear of seeing her reaction.

 

Alexandra sighed understandingly and said “Well…whenever you are finished beating the corpse, I thought you would like to see the princess we worked so hard to rescue.” She turned and went back into the room that held the captive princess, leaving Angel to his decision.

 

Angel slowly turned away, dreading the idea of putting his back to such a powerful enemy, even if that enemy was supposedly dead. He began to walk to the room but stopped when he saw one of the abandoned weapons of the earlier participants of the battle. He bent down and slowly picked up the large mace-like weapon, Angel only hesitated for a second before spinning around and swinging the mace into the back of Leothal’s head. Leothal’s body shuddered under the impact but otherwise remained motionless. Angel took a few deep and calming breaths before letting the mace drop to the ground “It’s a shame, I was really hoping for a challenge.” He taunted as he finally turned and walked away.

 

Despite the somewhat rundown exterior of the compound, the room the princess

was in bordered on majestic. Her bed was covered in silk, the finest rugs lined the floor and candles filled the room. It looked more like something made for a lover than a sacrifice. Alexandra had taken a seat on the luxury bed next to the unconscious girl. Angel stood just outside the door, still in his mech form he quietly asked “Is she ok?”

 

Alexandra nodded and took the girl’s hand into hers “She seems to be ok, but we cannot wake her for some reason” she said. She glanced at Angel and with a tired half smile said “You can come in you know.”

 

“I know,” He started, he leaned against the door, even in his half-form he was taller than the door, it would be a tight fit, but that was not the reason for his hesitation. He sighed and changed the subject “where is the Prince?”

 

“I have not seen him since I arrived, they went to help some of their comrades, or at least that is where they said they were going.” Alexandra said, she left the Princess’ side and went to Angel, taking him by the hand and leading him in. Angel hunched over to fit through the door and followed her lead to the side of the bed.

 

As he got his first glimpse of the unconscious Princess he softly gasped, the breath stolen from him, leaving him only enough to barely whisper “Jewel?” Alexandra opened her mouth to say something but no words came out, in fact everything about her stopped, her breathing, her moving, everything. Angel was preoccupied, but not so much so that he didn’t notice the change around him. Thankfully the new distraction broke him from his daze. He never removed his eyes from the girl on the bed when he said “Hello Fate.”

 

Casually sitting on the other side of the bed was Fate, no longer in her state of flux, she now resembled an older version of the kidnapped Princess. “Hello Angelus.” She casually responded, leaning over to inspect the Princess’ face. “The resemblance is quite eerie isn’t it?” She asked, once again too casually.

 

“What’s going on Fate?” Angel asked seriously, finally looking away from the girl to face Fate.

 

Medium length blonde hair cascaded down across her face, stopping just below her cheeks. Hazel-blue eyes that shined brightly despite the low lighting provided by the candles. Her angelic features were a promise of the beauty that the unconscious child would grow to be, even compared to all the gorgeous forms Fate had taken the last time they spoke, he still thought this one to be the most beautiful. He couldn’t help but compare Fate’s simplistic beauty to the majestic attractiveness that was not just inherent in Alexandra but bred as well.

 

Fate allowed Angel his moment of staring before smiling and saying “Do you believe in second chances?”

 

“Well, I seem to have been given one, so I guess so.”

 

“Well, it seems that certain powers feel that Jewel’s allowing me to use her body, and her sacrifice to protect me, deserves a reward.” Fate said. She crawled over the bed, careful not to disturb the child, until she was in front of Angel. She got to her knees, wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled against him as she whispered “This girl is important.”

 

Angel didn’t move, the weight of her words pinning him in his place, so much so that he didn’t even try to stop her manipulative advances. He shook his head as he tried to break free from her word’s grasp, when that failed too, he simply asked “Why?”

 

“Because, those powers feel that you should be rewarded as well. But not until after you succeed. Jewel is a part of me, she always will be. And when this girl is old enough I shall join with her and let Jewel be reborn in her. Their combined destiny is crucial.” Fate explained.

 

“Crucial to what?’

 

“Not yet.” Fate said, pulling away and tracing the designs in his armor with her fingertips. She looked over at Alexandra and said “You both have lots to do before you will be given this second chance, but you are on the right path.”

 

“No more games Fate.” Angel said, pulling away from her and trying his hardest not to glance at the unconscious reincarnation of his long lost love. “What is all this talk about an upcoming war and sacrifices?” He asked.

 

“Do you trust me?” Fate asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, no longer trying to flirt with him. Her elegant yet simple robe danced around her body, so thin that it threatened to reveal the secrets it promised to hide.

 

Angel was taken aback by the question, since Jewel’s death Fate had treated him more like a pawn than an equal. He glanced past Fate and looked at the reincarnation of Jewel and softly said “You mean I have a choice?”

 

Fate sighed and said “Of course you do. I can’t force you to do anything, I can only create the opportunities, you must choose to take them.” She leaned back and slid her hand across the girl’s body and softly said “When Jewel died, I know it hit you hard, as it did me. But I can’t look at you without feeling her love for you. I know I don’t act like it often, but I could never hurt you, she wouldn’t let me.”

 

“Ok Fate, you’ve convinced me. What do you need me to do?”

 

“Just fight, trust the girl’s opinion” Fate said, pointing to the still frozen Alexandra.

 

“Come on Fate, I need more information than that.” Angel pleaded, moving closer and placing his hand tenderly on her cheek. Fate looked up into his eyes, tears filling her eyes.

 

“Who is Jewel?” Alexandra asked.

 

Angel spun around and saw the reanimated Alexandra, still standing in the same spot and completely unaware of Fate’s presence. “Noone,” He said, quickly turning to Fate while trying to find a way to discretely finish their conversation. It seemed that Fate had already figured it out for him, by ending it. She was nowhere to be seen, no longer on the bed, or anywhere else in the room. “a part of my past I thought I had buried.” He said.

 

“I see.” Alexandra said. In a rare show of maturity and respect she allowed the subject to pass unhindered. In an effort to change the subject she said “We should probably get the Princess out of here.”

 

“Good idea. I wanted to wait for the Prince, but we have to assume the worst. Can you carry the Princess or shall I?”

 

“I will carry her, you need to hold on to your…spear.” Alexandra said, for the first time realizing that Angel was unarmed. She quickly asked “Where is your spear?”

 

“Leothal is holding onto it for me.” Angel said calmly as he stepped out the room.

 

“I see.” Alexandra responded, struggling to pull the unconscious Princess onto her shoulders. She managed to get the Princess to the edge of her bed before momentarily giving up. Alexandra plopped down beside the Princess, curiosity was slowly getting the best of her as she tried to ignore the burning desire to find out more of Angel’s past. She looked back towards the Princess in an attempt to gain some kind of clue, anything, even though deep down she knew it would be hopeless, comatose girls don’t tell stories.

 

But something did show up, while moving the Princess, Alexandra had accidentally shaken loose a previously hidden piece of jewelry. It was a simple necklace, gold or some form of it, relatively uninteresting except for the charm that hung off of it, an X placed on top of a crucifix and both engraved in an opal onyx piece.

 

Alexandra couldn’t help but investigate further, something about it felt familiar. She reached out slowly and carefully took it into her hand, leaning in closer to inspect it. The pure darkness of the onyx piece reminded her of Angel’s armor, but the emblem was nothing like she had ever seen. Again she moved closer, this time pulling the piece closer as well. To her surprise the delicate chain broke, falling limply against the Princess’ fair skin. Alexandra gasped and began mumbling apologies incoherently, her fear quickly turned to shock when the Princess stirred and muttered something incomprehensible.

 

“Angel!! She has awakened!” Alexandra screamed, not only grabbing Angel’s attention but that of the Princess as well.

 

“Where….am…I?” Asked the Princess, still groggy from her long sleep. Suddenly she shot up, her eyes wide with fear as she anxiously asked “Brother!? Where is my brother?”

 

“Calm down.” Alexandra said soothingly, placing her hands on the Princess’ shoulders in an effort to calm her. “He is the one who led the rescue.” She explained, helping the Princess get to her feet while continued “We have to go now, I will explain everything later.”

 

The Princess groaned in response, laying one arm over Alexandra’s shoulder, the other holding her own throbbing head. “Who are you?” She asked.

 

“A friend.” Alexandra responded, slowly walking toward the door with the Princess in tow. Angel was waiting outside the door, still weaponless. He made no effort to look at the girl, if anything tried his hardest to find an excuse not to look at her, his current one being some disturbance on the glass roof.

 

Although Angel made no attempt to look at the Princess, it was the opposite for her, she couldn’t take her eyes off of him and was barely able to whisper “You’re the one from the dream!”

 

A loud scream filled the room, echoing off the walls as the dying body fell to the ground. “Watch out!” Screamed Angel as he stepped in front of Alexandra and the Princess, shielding them. Both women screamed as they saw the bloody soldier flying towards them, with a powerful backhand Angel sent the broken body flying to the courtyard where he and Leothal had met in battle earlier.

 

It was only then that Angel realized what it was that felt different, from his new position he was given a clear view of the wall he had impaled Leothal against. His spear stood alone, still thrust against the wall and coated in Leothal’s blood, but it was alone among corpses and abandoned weapons. Angel slowly looked up, past the shattered glass portion of the roof and saw the unbelievable, Leothal, barely standing on his own two feet but nonetheless alive.

 

“Sister!” Yelled the Prince, charging towards with only a few of surviving guards with him, presumably the last guards. Among them were Shayrrod and a couple other familiar faces, all bearing heavy scars and running on nothing more than adrenaline. The siblings embraced in a long hug, tears streamed down the brother’s cheek.

 

Another scream from the rooftop interrupted the reunion, one of the last soldiers sent to combat Leothal had met his death. With his sister hanging on his shoulder the Prince solemnly asked “What are we to do now? We cannot leave until he is dead and I have no more soldiers to spare except my personal guard. And even they…”

 

“Would only be throwing their lives away.” Interrupted Angel, his silver thread had shot out and retrieved his spear. Just as he began to speak again it was pulled back into his hand “No, you have done all you could. Anyhow, Leothal and I have some unfinished business…this time I will make sure he is dead.” He looked toward the royal siblings and said “Go to the door and wait for my signal. I need only to kill him once more for you to be free.”

 

“And if you fail?” Shayrrod asked, his tone was filled with concern more than anything, although concern for who, Angel wondered.

 

“Then pray.” Angel said before walking past them to the ladder that would lead him to the rooftop.

 

Just as he passed them Alexandra grabbed his arm and pulled him around, in a hushed tone she pleaded “You cannot fight him alone Angel, let me help.”

 

Angel removed Alexandra’s hand from his arm and gently held it in his own as he said “I’m sorry Alexandra, but Fate has not promised me this fight. You must go with the others and help them find a way out in case I fail.”

 

The use of her birth name and not her title stole the last of Alexandra’s resolve. She sighed dejectedly and reluctantly nodded, “Be careful Angelus… Protector of the innocent.”

 

Without further words Angel turned and headed for the rooftop, with only one purpose in mind…to destroy Leothal.

 

*        *        *

 

The early morning had passed, along with the afternoon, leaving only the last moments before night. The sun lit the sky ablaze as it began to set, its red tint bathing both combatants, their independent armors reflecting the sun’s light in different ways. Angel’s simply absorbed the light, giving his armor a glossy look that normally only came by being coated in blood. Leothal’s white armor also looked as if it had been covered, but it lacked the glossy effect of Angel’s. The glass rooftop followed the lead of the warriors and also allowed the sun’s glow to change it, the once see through windows now became a still sea of crimson, blending with the recently spilled blood of soldiers.

 

“It seems we both underestimated the resolve of the other, dear brother.” Leothal said, no longer standing weakly. He was once again in his full Armored mode, though much more intimidating than before. Red plates of added armor lay across his forearm, shoulders, shins, and chest, increasing his mass and already impressive size. No longer did the energy whip flow from his two fingers, instead it now came from a handle that he held firmly in his right hand.

 

“I will not make that mistake again.” Angel replied, moving into his stance. “Shall we finish this?” He asked.

 

“Lets.” Said Leothal as he lashed out with his whip, striking the glass beneath Angel’s feet. The attack was harmless but effective, the energy whip easily sliced through the thick glass before returning to Leothal’s side. Angel had leapt back to avoid the familiar searing taste of Leothal’s energy whip, any ideas of success and safety soon left Angel as he realized the true intent of his opponent’s attack. The surgically clean cut made by Leothal quickly began to splinter the glass as Angel’s weight now become unbearable.

 

With more luck than skill Angel was able to get away before the glass shattered beneath him. Unfortunately, no matter where went the result was the same, a quick strike from Leothal and the window beneath Angel would began to crack and eventually explode under the weight. Angel continued to leap from glass pane to pane, careful not to land too hard and break the glass himself, although he never did, Leothal was constantly willing to fix the problem for Angel.

 

Once again Leothal’s plan became clear to Angel when it was already too late. Angel had been so focused on finding places to land that he didn’t notice that he was being led to somewhere specific. It was only when he landed on the last piece of unbroken glass reachable by him that he understood what Leothal had been planning.

 

Leothal didn’t wait for Angel to gain his balance as he launched his assault. While lashing out with his whip Leothal had created a ball of energy in his free hand, the more he waited the larger the deep purple ball of lightning-like energy became. To Angel’s surprise Leothal didn’t use the ball to attack, instead two vent-like opening appeared on his shoulders and before Angel could even get a good look they fired.

 

The bright white energy raced from Leothal’s shoulder cannons into Angel’s chest, sending him flying back. He screamed as he felt the blast burn against his armor, constantly pushing him across the roof. The burning sensation of the white lasers ripping through his chest was so overwhelming that he didn’t even notice Leothal’s laser whip wrapping against one of his ankles.

 

Angel’s sigh of relief when the first attack finally stopped was short lived, Leothal pulled hard on the whip before either gravity or Angel could regain their composure. Despite attempts to right himself or at least in some way regain some control over the situation, Angel continued to fly back to Leothal like a perverted yo-yo. “You die now brother!” Yelled Leothal as he launched the energy ball at Angel, the ball expanded into a tunnel of light as it engulfed the helpless Angel, lifting him high in the air, only anchored by Leothal’s whip.

 

There were no screams of pain, agony, or anything else from Angel, nothing except for the sizzling sound of his melted armor flesh. The reason there was no sound was not because it didn’t hurt, if anything the opposite was true, he had never felt pain this intense before. Angel didn’t scream because there was simply no time, in the few seconds he was held in the air by Leothal’s attack felt like an eternity, but before Angel could even think to scream, it was over.

 

While Angel had no time to think, Leothal was reveling in the controlled pace he had managed to keep. His last attack had left Angel’s armor charred and damaged, blood poured from multiple wounds, but Leothal was far from finished. With Angel suspended high in the air above him gravity would assist in the final attack. Leothal snapped the whip towards the bottom floor, coupled with gravity, he sent Angel flying through the ceiling and down into the rooms below.

 

The balcony exploded under the weight of Angel’s impact, sending debris flying in all directions until it eventually rained down to the center of the courtyard, joining the glass from the shattered ceiling windows. Angel had landed directly on the balcony, leaving half of him hanging below where the balcony ground used to be, his other half held on tightly to the remaining ledge keep from falling. Unfortunately he was not only fighting gravity but unconsciousness as well, his grip continued to weaken as his body and mind struggled to keep him not only in Armored form but awake as well.

 

“Angel!” Screamed Alexandra as she ran to him, diving just in time to catch his hand before it inevitably slipped. She grasped his hand tightly, giving him the last bit of grip he needed to keep from falling. His other hand did give though and he swung towards her, desperately burying his hand into the hard floor, trying to buy a few more seconds before falling to the next battlefield and his death. “Just hang on Angel!” Alexandra pleaded as she took hold of his other hand and attempted to hold him up.

 

“Come now brother, let us finish this!” Leothal taunted, pacing patiently with his energy whip snaking across the ground to occupy himself while he waited.

 

“Leave Princess.” Angel said, his once beautiful black helmet was a smoldering gray, his visor cracked and bleeding. No longer majestic or intimidating, he was nothing more than a walking corpse.

 

Single tears streaked each of Alexandra’s cheeks as she shook her head and said “I will not, I cannot just leave you to die.” Angel’s weight continued to pull him down, forcing her to constantly readjust or her grip or lose him. Her eyes glanced at Leothal, pacing anxiously like a caged tiger waiting for his next meal. “You will lose if you fight him.”

 

“And he will hunt me down if I run.” Angel said in between heavy breaths. He took a deep breath and whispered “I’m sorry Princess, but we have no other choice.” He ripped one hand free from her grasp and hung by his one hand, which was tightly held by both of hers.

 

Alexandra tightened her grip forcing her to hang precariously over the edge. “Yes we do.” She said solemnly, when Angel turned to face her she shook the last of her fresh tears aside and continued “You can win…if I help.”

 

“You’re not ready!”

 

“Then I will simply have to be.” She said resolutely, a hint of arrogance creeping into her voice.

 

“If you won’t come to me brother then I shall have to come to you and your pretty little friend!” Leothal said. His laser whip no longer danced lazily across the ground, now jumping restlessly and sending sparks into the air.

 

Angel turned to face Leothal, the last threat breathing fresh will into his tired and abused body. He looked back to Alexandra and ordered “Run...”

 

“No.” Alexandra said, quickly closing her eyes before Angel could tell her not to try. Deep down inside herself she touched the intangible crystal and the power trapped within it. Light filled her mind, consumed her being, gently tearing her to pieces as it rearranged her as it saw fit. Suddenly there was another mind beside hers, and even though she felt the phantom presence of what once was her body, she was no longer in control.

 

In front of her Angel stood naked, blurry and surreal, only his eyes covered by his gleaming red visor. To her surprise she was nude as well, but it didn’t seem to matter because nothing around them felt real anymore. Curved walls of cascading lights, black, red, yellow, and green swirled around them. Fog danced across their bodies, a last chance at modesty as the whisky see-through vapor danced around her. “Are you sure of this Princess?” Angel asked, his outstretched hand patiently awaiting her answer.

 

With less hesitation than she expected she said “Yes.” In a world of mist and lights, where no force seemed to exist except the both of them, nothing felt more real than touch of his hand. She sighed a small breath of relief as she laid her hand in his and allowed him to pull her closer. The mist parted as she came closer, moved by an unseen force. With her final acceptance of her fate and the risks associated, something inside her guided her into position. Slowly she floated behind him, wrapping her legs around his waist, laying her head against the back of his, her arms outstretched behind her.

 

Angel emerged from the cocoon of light just as it touched the ground. No longer bloody and beaten, his Armored flesh regenerated and fully formed. His large black and gold wings flared out from behind him, making him look bigger and fiercer, his once simple black armor was now adorned with gold plates much like Leothal’s, but were much more numerous and thicker. Around his waste laid a golden belt, elegant and feminine in shape. “Let us see what you are capable of when the advantage is not so heavily steeped in your favor.” Angel said, his voice slightly echoed by Alexandra’s voice. As he stepped forwards his wings folded around his shoulders like a cloak, glowing brightly before melding into his armor, leaving two crisscrossing gold streaks across his chest.

 

Leothal inadvertently took a step back as the new Angel stood before him, his voice desperately tried to hide his fear as he said “So this is the famed Angelus. I offer you one more chance to join me brother.” As he spoke, the familiar spheres of energy began growing in his hand, more hurriedly than before.

 

“He is scared” whispered Alexandra, her voice echoed in Angel’s mind having no real essence or sound, but existed nonetheless.

 

“I told you before, I will not join you.” Angel said, lifting his hand to the sky. The ceiling shook and the remaining pieces of small glass lodged in the window pane fell to the ground as his staff came to life and bounced across the ceiling, searching for a way to return to its master. Finally it found an open hole and slid through, falling quickly and piercing the ground in front of him.

 

Leothal growled and said “Then you will die!” He stepped forward defiantly and clapped his hands together squeezing the twin spheres together till they exploded violently. The combined energy flew towards Angel, tearing the ground apart and tossing nearby bodies aside, those that were too close were instantly seared.

 

“I think not.” Angel said, casually raising his open hand. There was a definite force shield deflecting the attack, but it was not coming from Angel’s hand. Instead the attack was stopped before it ever got close to him. In front of his open palm was the wraithly image of Alexandra, created from gold dust instead of skin. The image was thin, the gold dust scarce and only able to create a faint outline of her. In spite of her ghost-like appearance, her power was undeniable, the shield created by her tiny hand easily stopped the destructive energy.

 

The ground burned as the power was pushed away and sent into random directions. As quickly as she appeared, she was gone, the only evidence of her presence was the smoke rising from the charred earth. Angel stepped forward through the smoke, plucking his spear from the ground he said “Perhaps it is time that I show you what true power is.” He charged towards Leothal and leapt high into the air, bringing the staff down hard.

 

The ground erupted as Angel’s attack created a huge crater in the ground, unfortunately the ground was the only thing he hit. Leothal had jumped out of the way, barely keeping his balance as the earth shook beneath him. The pace of their earlier battles was nothing compared to the sheer power and speed both combatants were exhibiting now. Before Leothal even landed he had lashed out with the whip, sending it flying towards Angel only to have it parried by his staff.

 

Angel took off towards Leothal using his staff to continually deflect the whip attacks, until he was close enough to strike again with the staff, this time a horizontal slash. Leothal blocked with one of his gauntleted arms, a small grunt escaping his lips as the hard impact left a noticeable dent, his whip immediately shot out in an attempt to take advantage of the Angel’s momentary vulnerability. The whip met with the same result as the staff, the two fighters stayed close, each having a grip on the others’ weapon.

 

“You depend too much on your energy weapons!” Angel said as he let go of his own spear and punched Leothal, repeatedly. Leothal’s head snapped back as each impact sent him stumbling back until his energy whip finally dropped from his hands and he was forced to fight unarmed. Angel, with both of his hands free attacked with renewed vigor. No longer satisfied to just throw random punches he also drove his knee into Leothal’s stomach, doubling him over. Angel raised both fists and brought them down hard on each of Leothal’s exposed shoulders, forcing him to his knees.

 

Without the burden of his whip Leothal was able to fight much harder than before, lunging from his kneeled position to interrupt Angel’s momentum. Angel grunted as he was lifted off his feet and slammed against a wall, shaking debris and large wall fragments down upon them. Leothal than threw Angel away from the wall and onto his back, fortunately for Leothal, Angel made an amateur mistake and rushed to his feet just in time to meet Leothal’s fist. The first strike managed to knock Angel off balance and stumbling, each impact shaking the walls with its ferocity and power. Leothal continued to pound on Angel’s armor, forcing him to stagger back from each hit, his last punch was a little wide, the left hook. Angel quickly grabbed Leothal’s arm and used his own momentum to throw him, as Leothal was being tossed Angel dug his clawed fingertips deep into Leothal’s arm.

 

Right after Leothal slammed into the ground Angel attempted to stomp on him, his foot missing barely as Leothal managed to roll away and put some distance between them. As Angel ripped his foot from the hole he had created Leothal said “Very impressive. But I tire of this.” The vent-like weapon on his shoulders tried to open, only getting halfway before stopping. “What?” He exclaimed, to his surprise both of his shoulder weapons had been heavily dented and damaged, bent inward to the point that they couldn’t open fully.

 

Angel laughed, still echoed by his female counterpart, he slowly came to a stop and then said “There is nothing random in my attacks fool.”

 

“You think you have won because you managed to do some minor damage to me? You shall pay for your arrogance!” Leothal said, raising his hands. Moments passed and nothing happened, his arms visibly shaking from the strain of trying to create his energy attack. The only thing he succeeded in creating were sparks and the small core of energy, but nowhere near the power he had shown before. The harder he tried the more sparks flew from his damaged arms.

 

“Had you chosen to fight honorably, you may have had a chance.” Angel said, shaking his head in disappointment. His visor flashed a violent red as his wings once again appeared and unfolded to their full span. “But since you want to take this to the next level, I guess I have no choice but to show you what a true energy attack is. Make no mistake Leothal, I will enjoy this!” he said as his wings curved in front of him, hiding him from view.

 

“Nooooo!” Leothal screamed as he charged Angel in a final desperate attack.

 

Angel’s wings flared open creating a powerful surge of wind strong enough to slow Leothal’s advance. Alexandra’s gold covered presence appeared again, she leapt forward just as Leothal got close enough and with a touch that belied her transparent appearance lifted him high in the air. “Fret not… brother. You never truly had a chance” Angel said as his massive chest plates flipped open revealing two red pulsing inwardly curved panels.

 

Before Leothal could speak Angel fired, the large blasts of raw power slid through Alexandra’s barely defined form and changed colors after experiencing her touch. No long simply red, it now had touches of gold. Leothal screamed as the searing heat of the attack melted away his armor skin. Alexandra leaned closer and whispered, her voice was clear and lacked the echo of Angel’s “Do not mess with MY knight!”

 

The last of the Leothal’s screams faded away becoming nothing more than memories of echoes as his charred body fell lifelessly to the ground, bouncing grotesquely before coming to a rest. Angel stood alone in the courtyard, wings wrapped around his shoulders like a cloak as he walked towards the dead body of his enemy. “Is he dead?” Alexandra asked.

 

Angel crouched down and forcefully thrust his hand into Leothal’s chest. Minutes of feeling around and maneuvering through the charred remains of his chest finally revealed the treasure Angel was searching for. With a triumphant grunt he pulled Leothal’s crystal free from his chest. “Now he is.” Angel said silently to Alexandra.

 

The last words she thought were “I’m glad.” Angel’s wings faded from view, the gold armor plates and lines traveled to the middle of his chest before disappearing. Angel himself had reverted back to his human mode, his armor melting away to reveal his clothed self. A gold ball of light formed in front of his chest, patiently waiting for him. He quickly stuffed the crystal into his pocket and held out his arms, seconds later the ball unfolded into a single line of gold light that stretched out across his arms. It continued to grow in size till it finally took a decidedly feminine form. When the light died down, Alexandra lay silently across his arms.

 

“Thank you Princess Alexandra.” Angel whispered.

 

Alexandra groaned weakly and stirred, she softly muttered “I prefer Alexa.”

 

Cheers rang out towards the front entrance to the building, as the last survivors found that the doors opened for them. In the courtyard Angel laughed heartily, unable to stop himself and not really wanting to either. His laughter echoed across the courtyard as he carried Alexa outside.

 

*        *        *

 

Days of celebration and thanks had passed since Angel and Alexa had defeated Leothal. Most of those days were filled with merriment, drinks, and music, but also dedicated to those who lost their lives. In the end it was a welcome change from the blood-filled norm that had filled their waking hours in the last days. But the time came for the festivities to end, and for Angel and Alexa to get back to their journey.

 

Angel had said his goodbyes already, not being one for dragging it out. While Alexa happily chatted to the Prince, a man obviously destined for greatness, a greatness easily seen in the salvaged love that hid behind his scarred features. Angel spoke to Shayrrod for the last time. “It’s up to you if you want to use this power, with it comes great power and trouble.” Angel said as he placed Leothal’s crystal in Shayrrod’s hand.

 

“Thank you.” Shayrrod said, closing his hand around the crystal and holding it close to his heart. “Take care of yourself Angel. We are forever in your debt, and if you are ever in need of assistance, please do not hesitate to ask.”

 

“I won’t.” Angel said. He nodded as Shayrrod pulled his horse away and rode towards Alexa to say his goodbyes to her as well. Angel waited patiently as Alexa continued to chat away without a care in the world. Finally losing his patience, he yelled “Come on Princess, we must be leaving.”

 

Alexa shot him a glare over her shoulder and then finally said her goodbyes. Mounting her horse she rode beside Angel, and as they rode off side by side she asked “What will happen to them?”

 

Angel pulled his cloak over his head and said “Don’t know Princess, that’s not our story.”

 

As her horse began to disobey her commands Alexa asked “Can I ride with you? This beast will not listen to me.”

 

“No!” Angel replied quickly, whipping the reins so his horse would put some distance between him and Alexa.

 

“Will you at least tell me a story then?” Alexa asked indignantly, as she forced her horse to keep pace.

 

“Will it keep you quiet?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Fine I’ll tell you a story then.”

 

Alexa cheered as she pulled her horse closer to make sure to catch every detail. Once she was comfortable she said “You may begin.”

 

Angel growled softly and shook his head as he began “This is a story about a spoiled princess and her knight.”

 

“Was the princess pretty?”

 

Another soft growl escaped Angel’s lips, but underneath the protection of his hood, he smiled and said “She was the most beautiful princess in the land.”

 

“Good. Was the knight handsome? I like handsome knights.”

 

“Yes the knight was handsome in his own way. May I continue?”

 

“Yes you may.”

 

“So the handsome knight and the annoying princess traveled day and night.”

 

Alexa loudly voiced her opinion about the princess being annoying, eliciting a soft laugh from Angel as he playfully teased her about it being his story. The two continued to bicker back and forth as they rode down the path leaving their first combined adventure behind them. And further down the rode, Angel did change the story, the princess was no longer described as “annoying”, instead she was “bothersome”.