The blistering flames proceeded to burn a once peaceful town. It was nothing more than a huge campfire to her eyes. She has seen both vampires and werewolves turn several towns and villages into nothing but a pile of ash. This town, as huge as it was, was no different, it'd burn the same. She stood there with Fang and Vanilla. The three of them were watching from mountain tops as people screamed and the flames grew bigger and bigger. She was used to these screams.
Raine remembered a time where those screams were her beckon call. She'd jump into the carnage and save those in need of her strength. But the war had gotten so out of hand, she couldn't play the hero anymore. She soon realized. She couldn't save everyone. Even, she had her limitations. So there was no point in her risking her life to save a select few. But for some reason, this town burning wasn't hitting her like all the others. She was starting to feel the desire to save them and rush into the flames and risk her life yet again for a pointless battle. But why, it was pointless, a waste of her strength.
"We have to do something." Vanilla's voice broke the long silence growing between the three of them. "We can't just sit here and do nothing, our job is to help humans right? So why aren't we helping those people? They need us."
"They aren't "our" people." Fang explained. "We can't just rush in and save every human in danger. We have to pick our battles."
"Pick our battles," Vanilla repeated. "What about all those people," She pointed back at the burning town. "They need our help. We're just going to abandon them because we need to pick our battles. I thought we were supposed to protect humans from these types of attacks. Not sit there and watch them-,"
"Enough Vanilla," Raine argued. "I'm the leader of this team. I make the decisions, I'm not fighting another pointless battle." She glared at Vanilla. "Say we go down there, we save what? Maybe two or three people, it's a wasted effort. We can't save all of them so it's best to leave them to their fate."
"She's right, we've been there, done that." Fang added. "We tried being the hero and it never works. So we save like a handful of people but at what cost? More than twice that number is already dead. So, I agree with Raine on this one." She crossed her arms. "Plus, there's way too many vampires down there. We run the risk of being killed."
"Yeah but we can't just sit here and do nothing." Vanilla argued. Raine felt a jolt as one of Vanilla's thoughts crept into her mind. "It may be pointless to you but I'd rather save one person than to abandon all of them. I refuse to do nothing." She started to run off but Raine blocked her path.
"You won't go near that town, it's too dangerous." Raine argued. "Jake, put me in charge of protecting you and that's-," Vanilla ran past her and into the town. "Vanilla, why doesn't she ever listen to me." She went to chase after her but Fang stopped her.
"I'll go get her," Fang offered. "The last thing we need is for you to go out there going on a vampire killing spree." She took out her spear and rushed into the burning town. She was trying to catch up to Vanilla but she had a head start on her.
"Fang will get her and bring her back," Raine took a deep breath. "There's no need to worry. Everything will be-," She cringed as burn marks appeared on her arms. These burns? Where did they-? Shit, they're linked, if Vanilla dies, she dies. How could she have been so reckless? That foolish girl is going to get them both killed. "She's in danger, I've got to do something. I need to save her somehow. Come on, think," Raine touched her lip as blood dripped from it. Soon after, she felt pressure on her throat like she was being choked. She dropped to her knees trying to breathe.
"If I don't do something soon, I'm going to die." Raine held her throat as her life was being choked out of her. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. Think, Raine, think, there had to be something she could do. Someway to save Vanilla's life. Surely her master had something that could help her out here. Come on, think. Think. She shut her eyes trying to focus on her master's teachings. There had to be something, anything.
Raine appeared from behind a tree. She was five years old. She had her pink hair fixed up with a butterfly pin. A gift from her master, she was wearing her favorite pink pajamas which also had butterflies on them. As a child, she had no clue why but she was obsessed with butterflies. She thought they were the prettiest thing in existence. Perhaps, even, that too was because of her master. She spotted her master as he was sitting there in the grass. He was wearing a white robe and there were several bright pink butterflies floating around him. His eyes were closed as he sat there in silence, his legs crossed, sitting Indian Style.
"Master, what are you doing out here?" She asked coming out from her hiding place.
"Oh," Her master opened his left eye. She stood there amazed by his glowing pink pupil. She admired his eyes and wanted eyes just like his. Scratch that, she wanted to be like him in every way. She had the coolest teacher ever. "Well, if it isn't my favorite student, come here child." He opened his arms out to her. She ran into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Coming to check on me?"
"Uh huh," Raine nodded. "You disappeared," She sat in his lap. "So I thought," She took hold of her master's long blond hair and began trying to braid it. "Maybe you wanted me to find you. Like hide and seek." She offered. "Well, guess what," She smiled. "I found you," She poked his nose. He gently kissed her forehead. "So what are you doing out here by yourself?"
"Well, if you must know," He ran fingers through her hair. "I'm checking on something important to me. By closing my eyes and shutting off all my surroundings. While focusing on that certain person, it allows me to see what they see. That way, I can make sure that person is safe. I know," He began undoing the braiding in his hair. "Why don't I teach you?"
Raine's eyes opened as she kept clenching her throat. She didn't have much time left, if she didn't do something soon. She'd die along with Vanilla. "This better work," She crossed her legs ignoring the tight grip on her throat. She shut off her surroundings focusing solely on Vanilla. She began to see flames and a blonde haired vampire choking her. Vanilla's feet were dangling in the air as the woman choked the life out of her. "I have to do something," Wait, Vanilla's weapon it's made of shell, she can control it. She just needed to.
Raine tried to maintain her meditation while forcing her fingers together without breaking the connection. She used what strength she had left to snap her fingers. The second she did, the divine shell on Vanilla's bow expanded. It covered her entire body and enveloped her in light weight armor made entirely out of divine shell. A material she could control. She took control of Vanilla's body and kicked the woman off her.
The tight grip on Raine's throat disappeared and she focused solely on fighting the woman using Vanilla's body to do it. She couldn't maintain it for long having just learned how to connect with Vanilla. So she had to make the fight quick. She had Vanilla create a barricade, so she could run, it was the least she could do under short notice.
"She's safe," Raine rubbed her throat. She returned to her meditation focusing on Vanilla. She watched as Vanilla ran through town saving civilians. She was still wearing the outfit that Raine made her. This was just in case, Raine needed to save her again. Though the moment of peace was short lived.
"What do we have here?" Lord Alexander appeared in front of Vanilla. Raine's eyes shot open and the link was broken. Lord Alexander, he's here? This is bad, Lord Alexander was targeting her and if he found out. Vanilla and her were linked. He'd kill her just to get rid of her. She shut her eyes and began meditating, recreating the link.
"That is an interesting outfit you have on." Lord Alexander began to slowly walk toward her. "Raine really went out of her way to protect you." Vanilla took out her bow aiming her arrows at him. "That must mean you're really important to her," He kept walking closer to her, Vanilla took a step back. "Dare I say that your safety must be a matter of life or death."
"Stay back or I'll shoot." Vanilla warned. "I swear I'll kill you where you stand."
"What was that?" A vampire jumped down. He had long black hair and four swords sheathed on his back. "You dare threaten my king." He pulled out one of his swords. Wait, Raine knew this swordsman. It's the legendary Scythe. "You'd best be able to back them words girl for they will be your last." Just as he was about to attack her. He was stopped by Blaire.
"Master Scythe, you need not waste your talents on such a weak girl." Blaire pulled out her sword. "Let me handle this, I swear it won't take long." She charged at Vanilla, Raine closed her eyes and began to take control of Vanilla's body. Vanilla's bow turned to a sword and she locked swords with Blaire. While they were locked, Blaire's sword ignited with flames. "Foolish girl," She kicked Vanilla back and shot a flame dragon at her.
Vanilla ran up a building doing a backflip causing the dragon to miss. The dragon struck the building leaving it crumbling to the ground. She gathered up energy in her hand creating a sphere of flower petals in the palm of her hand. Vanilla threw the sphere at Blaire, the sphere expanded once it was thrown and unleashed a powerful explosion. The explosion blasted Blaire back and left a large crater in the ground. Glowing pink flower petals scattered through the air each emitting a bright flash of pink light before fading.
"What the-," Blaire forced herself to stand. The moment she did, Vanilla did a front flip and landed beside her. Blaire tried to block with her sword, Vanilla cut her sword in half and held her blade to her throat. Vanilla was out of breath, this wasn't good. Raine was indeed skilled but Vanilla's body wasn't used to the strain Raine was putting on it. In short, Vanilla wouldn't hold out long especially if Raine kept helping her. Still had she had Blaire pinned, that should at least by her time until-. Blaire pulled out a hidden blade and jammed it into Vanilla's side. The shell protected Vanilla causing the blade to break.
"She'll never learn," Raine let out a deep sigh . Vanilla spun and kicked Blaire knocking her out. Blaire's lip was busted as she laid on the ground in defeat.
"I suppose it's my turn," Scythe spun his blade, cutting up wind. He then fired wind blades off his sword striking Vanilla with them. Vanilla held her sword out and blocked them. Scythe kept jumping around trying to get past Vanilla's defense but Raine kept having her block Scythe's attack with her sword. There was nothing else she could do, Vanilla wasn't fast enough to match Scythe's speed. Her only choice was to stay on defense. "Let's see how you fare at close combat," Scythe rushed at her trying to disarm Vanilla of her sword,
"No," Raine's eyes widened. In seconds, Vanilla's sword was on the ground and she had a huge gash on her shoulder. Raine cringed as that same huge gash formed on her shoulder as well. "I have to get to Vanilla fast," She started running on top of the rooftops of the burning buildings. She had her eyes closed still focusing on Vanilla. She ignored the pain as her shoulder continued to bleed. Another gash appeared on her back. Raine cringed but she refused to stop and break the connection. She kept controlling Vanilla's body forcing her to dodge as best she could. At this rate, Scythe was going to kill both of them.
"Come on out Raine," Lord Alexander called out. "We both know this girl hasn't the skill to contend against Scythe." Raine fell to one knee as another gash appeared on her right side. She tried to heal the wound but since it was on Vanilla's body it wouldn't heal. Vanilla had to heal the wound first so she could. Otherwise, it'd just reappear. "You spoke such big words at the Lunar Ball, shrinking my hunting grounds. Forcing my people to starve. I was powerless then but now how the tables have turned. It is you who are at my mercy. Scythe, finish it."
"As you wish," Scythe pulled out a katana. The blade shattered, Raine watched as the blade transformed into a giant serpent like dragon made of metal. The beast let out a loud screeching sound like nails on a chalkboard. It forced Raine to break meditation and lose her connection to Vanilla. Vanilla sat there on the ground fighting to catch her breath. She was exhausted, barely able to move let alone stand. Raine had pushed Vanilla beyond her limits for way too long and now it was taking a toll on her.
"Raine, help me," Vanilla pale blue eyes were filled with a look of shear terror. The dragon rose up like a snake, its eyes glaring at her. Its sharp fangs bared as it wrapped its tail around her for the kill. The dragon kept swirling around her, getting closer and closer until its tail could constrict and encase in her a tomb of sharp needles.
"Get your filthy dragon claws off her," Fang jumped off the top of a building. She did a corkscrew in mid air gathering up water. She struck the dragon through the head with her trident striking it with a powerful burst of water. The impact sent the dragon flying back and reduced it to mere needles. Fang took a deep breath and blew a kiss at the dragon and Scythe. The cool air mixed with the water droplets that filled the air and caused the needles and of all Scythe's swords to freeze. "Be gone with you," She jammed her Trident into the ground. The ice shattered, breaking all of the needles and all of Scythe's swords in one move.
"You okay?" Fang dropped to one knee and began to heal Vanilla with water. She nodded and hugged Fang. "Like I'd let you die on me." She hugged her back. Vanilla's eyes widened as Lord Alexander tossed Scythe a sword made of diamond. Blaire rose to her feet creating her own sword of diamond. The two of them glanced over at each other and both of them created a dragon made of lighting in order to kill Fang.
"Fang, look out," Vanilla yelled. The dragons rushed toward Fang ripping through the ground. Fang turned around as they both came rushing toward her. Fang braced herself for impact, however. Raine jumped down getting in the way. She absorbed both dragons into her body and shot them back at their users at twice the strength. Scythe and Blaire both laid there unconscious defeated by their own attack.
"Oh, Raine, it's so good to finally see you." Lord Alexander smirked. "You've grown strong. That's good, maybe now, you'll actually pose a threat." He snapped his fingers. Several swords appeared above her, he snapped his fingers again and all the swords came crashing down. Raine deflected every sword and charged at the Vampire King. He blocked her using two diamond swords and kicked her back.
Lord Alexander rushed forward and kept striking at Raine with his swords. She blocked his attacks. Diamond spikes appeared beneath her feet , she did a backflip to evade them. He shattered the spikes and fired them off as needles. Raine deflected the needles only to be grabbed by sides by two dragons made of diamond. Their jaws kept trying to bite through Raine's divine shell but couldn't. She strengthened her shell and the dragons broke into shards being forced to release her.
Raine created a flock of butterflies on her arm and hurled them at Lord Alexander. He used layer upon layer of diamond armor to defend himself. The butterflies flew at him exploding, destroying every layer of his defense. She snapped her fingers supercharging herself with lightning and used the speed boost to appear in front of Lord Alexander. He tried to draw his sword, she knocked it out of his hand and held her sword to his throat.
"You've grown so strong," Lord Alexander smirked. "But I've learned your weakness," His eyes remained on red spots on her outfit from where she had been wounded. The wounds were now healed only because Vanilla managed to heal herself which in return healed her. Still he now knew that Raine and Vanilla were connected and by killing Vanilla. He could kill her, if he managed to capture Vanilla. Raine wouldn't have a choice, she'd have to join his side. "You've cursed yourself, Raine, with those eyes. Now release me or-," Raine glanced over to see Vanilla encased in diamond. One snap of his fingers and he could kill her.
"I could not tell you how long I've dreamt of fighting alongside you." Lord Alexander let out a deep sigh. "But I could not force you, joining me must be a choice you make for yourself." The diamond that encased Vanilla shattered. Once Vanilla was free, she rushed over to Raine's side and hugged her.
"Smart move," Raine removed her sword from his throat. She had her eyes fixed on Lord Alexander. Now that he knew her weakness and how to kill her, she could no longer trust him. He was a threat and she had to deal with him somehow.
"Tell me, Raine," Lord Alexander's eyes stared into hers. "Now that you've been cursed with a fate that could only lead to your death. What do you intend to do about it?" He asked, Raine stood there pondering his question. This fate she had chosen for herself. Not even someone as powerful as an Elder could overcome it. It was this curse that killed him. Was she really naive enough to think that she could do what an Elder could not? But to sit there and accept death and not even try, that wasn't her style. She wasn't the type to give up and die. So her answer to this question is-,
"I'll defy it," Raine sheathed her sword.
"It's funny," Lord Alexander's eyes drifted to the ground. "Lord Soren," The sadness in his voice as he spoke of the Great Vampire Elder. "I asked him the same question." He forced a smile. "His answer was the same as yours." He glanced up at her. "Let's hope in your case that those words can finally be true. I don't wish to see you share his fate. I've always wanted to protect you from it but it seems I failed at that and for that. I apologize."
"Protect me, but why?" Raine asked. "I thought you wanted me dead."
"Your existence may cause trouble for me." Lord Alexander watched as his guards collected Scythe and Blaire, "The fact that you choose to fight for the humans will always make you a thorn in my side. But that does not mean that I don't respect you and it does not change the way I see you. You'll always be the daughter, I always wanted, it's for those reasons. I struggle with the idea of seeing you die." He closed his eyes briefly."I really hope that you're the one who breaks the cycle, don't share your master's fate Raine. He wouldn't want that for you. My only regret is that," She watched as a tear fled the King's eye. "I couldn't do my part to save you from it. Now it is I who must watch you pay for my failure. I think after all these years." He lowered his head to hide the tears. "I'm finally starting to understand the pain that my father felt in his final moments."
Raine stood there as Lord Alexander withdrew from the town. His entire army fled alongside him. Those tears in his eyes as he left. Why would her being cursed with the Savior's eyes affect him so badly? Why would protecting her be a concern of his? She's tried to kill him multiple times. So, why protect her? Why view her as a daughter? She should be an enemy and nothing more. None of this made sense. There had to be something Lord Alexander knows and he's choosing to keep it from her. But, what could that be? It didn't matter, right now, her main concern is getting Vanilla somewhere safe.
While the three of them headed back to their stronghold. Raine's eyes remained on Vanilla. Vanilla had made a foolish decision today. It almost cost both of them their lives, it's for that reason. Raine could not keep Vanilla in the dark. She had to tell her about their connection. Otherwise, Vanilla might get them both killed.
"Fang, go on ahead," Raine ordered. "Vanilla and I need to talk." The three of them were in a forest right outside the church. Fang let out a defeated sigh. Once again, she was shutting Fang out. They're teammates but Raine never really told her anything. She had to work on that. If there was anyone she wanted to trust it was Fang.
"I'll see ya back at the stronghold then," Fang glanced over at Vanilla. "You really messed up this time. But no worries, our fearless leader here," She placed her hand on Raine's shoulder. "Will set you straight. I'll leave you to it." She walked off, leaving the two of them to talk.
This place, Raine's eyes wandered the forest. She recognized it. This is the exact same spot where Vanilla and her first met. It's where she fought Siren, the woman who stole Jake from them. It marked her first mistake. She seemed to be making a lot of those lately.
"Vanilla, you can't go running off on your own." Raine began. "What you did almost got all three of us killed. When I tell you to do something then I expect you to do it. No questions asked, I thought you said you were going to start listening to me."
"So you expect me to abandon people who need me." Vanilla argued. "Raine, I can't do that, those vampires were hurting those innocent people. I couldn't just sit there and do nothing. I joined this team to protect humans, to help humans. Not just our humans but all of them. We shouldn't be labeling them." She began pacing back and forth. "Then there's you," She pointed at Raine. "How could you be okay with leaving them like that? Especially after what I saw today, you defeated Lord Alexander, the King of the Vampires. You drove him away by yourself and top of that you defeated two of his elites."
"I'd hardly call his daughter an Elite." Raine added.
"That's not the point," Vanilla raised her voice. "Raine, you're powerful with your strength you can help so many people. Yet, you choose to help only a handful." She put her hands on her hips. "How could you be so...," Vanilla was trying to hold back her words. Raine could tell, she had something to say but she was scared to say it. With good reason, Raine would kill someone for the slightest insult. "Selfish." - Selfish?-
Raine glared at Vanilla. She dared to call her selfish. She hasn't the slightest idea. The amount of sacrifices Raine has made to aid the humans. The amount of people, she's tried to help only for them to be angry that she couldn't save all of them. The amount of times she's tried to play the hero only to arrive too late. She's tired of failing, she's tired of saving only a few and being judged for it because she missed a person's wife or because she wasn't quick enough to save his daughter. She did the best she could and it was never enough for them. So, she stopped being the hero so maybe over the years. She grew a bit selfish but it's with good reason.
"Think what you want of me," Raine crossed her arms. "I don't really care. I only wanted to tell you that. You can't be making reckless decisions anymore. If I tell you to do something, you do it, end of discussion. You're putting both of our lives in danger."
"How so?" Vanilla raised her brow.
"Well, for one, we're linked, Vanilla." Raine snapped her fingers. A glowing pink chain appeared out of her chest. The light of the chain looked as if it was coated in a sheen layer of pink glitter, sparkling like stars. This chain connected her to Vanilla. "I possess the power of the Great Vampire Elder. He entrusted it to me, it's my job to protect it from those who would want to steal it." She snapped her fingers and the chain disappeared. "I messed up, I forgot about the side effects that happen when I share that power with someone else."
"So wait, that bow you gave me?" Vanilla started backing up, Raine nodded. "You used that power to make it." Raine nodded. "Then how can I do this?" She took her stance and the glowing pink bow appeared in her hands.
"I shared my powers with you." Raine explained. "This allows you to control it to some extent. The material is called Divine Shell. Stronger than diamond and practically weightless. It can make weapons sharper, it can be infused with certain types of magic to make them more powerful. There's so many uses for it. I could go over them all but that'd take all day."
"I see, so," Vanilla lowered her stance. The bow disappeared, turning into a glowing pink floral hair tie. "What happens when you share the ability to control the Divine Shell with someone else?" She sat down in the grass. "Like, what does the chain that connects us mean?"
"It means a lot of things," Raine sat next to her. "It means my powers have grown stronger and I can't be killed. That is unless," She let out a deep sigh. "They manage to kill you, any damage dealt to you is dealt to me. The damage can not be healed unless it is healed on you first, my wounds would just reappear. See for yourself," She unzipped her vest and showed Vanilla a cut on her shoulder from Scythe's sword. Vanilla had a cut in the exact same location. "I've tried healing it myself but it doesn't heal." She zipped her vest. "But watch," She coated her hand in healing energy and healed Vanilla's shoulder.
The wound on Vanilla's shoulder healed. Once it was healed, Raine revealed her wound again and it was healed as well. She zipped her vest up again and rose to her feet. Vanilla placed her hand on her wound that was now healed.
"So, what happens to me, happens to you." Vanilla rose to her feet. "So earlier, I lost control of my body and-,"
"I used my ability to control the Divine Shell and used it to take control of your body. It was difficult to do from a distance. But, it was the only way I could save you. From here on, you've got to be more careful. You can't be reckless because it's not just your life you're putting in danger but mine too. Which is why," Raine let out a deep sigh. "If you insist on playing the hero then I see no other option, we've got to make you stronger."
"Right," Vanilla agreed. "So um, does that mean our emotions and thoughts are connected too?"
"Unfortunately yes," Raine hated that part the most. "Just try your best not to read my thoughts and emotions. I don't like sharing my feelings with other people. I prefer to deal with my problems on my own."
"But you're not alone," Vanilla smiled. "At least not anymore." Raine rolled her eyes. "So, from what I've picked up, You don't like trusting people do you?" She pointed at Raine. No, she doesn't. Trusting others is what gets you killed or worse. "Well, don't worry, Raine, I plan to fix that, we're going to work on your trust issues together."
"Let's just focus on your training," Raine unsheathed her sword and Vanilla took out her bow. Raine's goal was to teach Vanilla how to shoot a fast moving target as well as evasion. If Vanilla was dead set on protecting others then she could do it relying on her own strength and not Raine's. She was going to transform Vanilla into a seasoned fighter. Her life depended on Vanilla's safety and unlike her master. Raine wasn't going to let the curse of Savior's eye claim her. She'd defy her fate or die trying.