Kai was standing alone in a green meadow that was too familiar for his tastes. It was the cursed meadow where Night had been killed because of him. He had caused the death of that gentle spirit that only wanted peace. He looked up to see cherry blossoms falling from the sky as if they were raindrops.
"Kai."
He turned around to see Night standing alone, some feet away from him. The spirit was dressed in a pure white kimono and wore a black scarf around his neck. Night smiled gently at him before speaking again, "He will not die, Kai. We will save Rin. You will not lose him or Tyson or anyone else. Do you understand?"
"Were you lying?" Kai asked, "Did you see your star nearing the star of death? I know you must have. That's why you didn't hesitate to use yourself as a human shield to save my life."
Night looked away, "I am sorry, Kai. I will not be able to show you how to read the stars like I promised you. And I am sorry that I did not help you save Tyson, Rin and the others. I am afraid I failed you."
Night looked so small and defenseless at that moment. Kai wanted to comfort him, much to his surprise. Then again, Night had always seemed like this powerful, omnipotent being that didn't need comfort. Now, he seemed so human that no one could confuse him for being a centuries old being.
Kai reached out a hand for him, "Night-."
The next moment, there was a black spike embedded on Night's chest, staining the white kimono with his crimson blood. Kai took a step back before he felt comforting hands wrap around his shoulders. He turned his head around slightly and was met with familiar auburn eyes that were warm even though the male's body felt as cold as ice.
"Don't cry, okay?" Tyson muttered weakly as Kai felt a tear roll down. He felt the arms around him tighten, comforting him, "I'm here for you. Please don't cry."
"Tyson, how can I not? Are you expecting me to be strong?" Kai whispered, his voice hoarse despite himself.
"If anyone can pretend to be a tough bastard, it's you." Tyson replied before he let go of Kai. Kai immediately turned around and grabbed Tyson's hand, making the blunette give out a sound of surprise. Kai felt himself gasp when he saw that Tyson was wearing the same clothes that Night had been wearing earlier. The younger teen smiled, placing a hand on Kai's cheek, "Everything's going to be okay, Kai. Just hang on for a while longer."
"What do you mean?"
Tyson shrugged, "You be the judge of that." The wielder of Dragoon began to glow, similar to the way Night had before he died. The next thing Kai knew, Tyson had turned into snow. Kai fell to his knees, a hand reaching out for someone who wasn't even there anymore.
"Are you going to be crying for us for a long time?"
Kai looked up to see Rin looking down at him. He was dressed in a black overcoat, black jeans and a black sweater. The only splash of color he had was the red scarf that Kai had made him when they were younger. His nose and cheeks were pink, a sign that he had been out in the cold for some time.
"Rin?"
Rin smiled in a manner that Kai missed, "Obviously. Come on, get up, zhar-phtitsa. You're better than that." He outstretched his hand and Kai felt a little relieved when he didn't vanish as soon as they made contact. Rin laughed, "You're such a pain, Kai. You made me come out here to find you."
"Sorry." Kai replied as Rin helped him up.
Rin waved his hand in a way that clearly said don't-mention-it, "If you're going to be a pain and not get up on your own, how do you expect to save us, huh?" Rin walked ahead before stopping, pulling his scarf over his nose, "You coming or not?"
"Yeah," Kai said as he walked towards Rin. Rin turned his body half-way to look back at him and then-.
Rin was lying down on the snow, wearing a pure white kimono and black scarf like Tyson and Night had been wearing. Kai ran towards him and stopped when he saw that Rin's wrists were slashed, blood coming out of his wrists. The blood fell on the pure white snow that surrounded them while also staining the red kimono.
Notagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagain.
Kai crouched down and gently gathered Rin into his arms, feeling himself tremble. Rin's lips were blue and the pink tint on his cheeks and nose were gone. He was cold and he hadn't even reacted when he had been picked up.
"Rin?" Kai whispered.
No reaction.
"Rin! Wake up!" Kai yelled, shaking the limp body, feeling like he was thirteen all over again, watching Rin die as the paramedics made their way here. He hated feeling so powerless again.
"Who are you afraid of losing more?" Kai didn't need to look up to know that it was Night speaking. He could feel the presence of the dead spirit next to him, watching over him. "Your best friend? Or your soulmate?"
"What do you mean?" Kai asked, blinking. He gave a start when he saw that he was holding Tyson in his arms instead of Rin. He looked up to see Chaos standing in front of him, holding a limp Rin. Chaos smirked before turning around, walking away with Rin still in his arms.
"Wait!" Kai yelled before he saw Aya run after them, followed by Hiro, Riku, Raul, Julia, Kaori, Hikaru, Shun and Nami. He reached out for them, "Stop! Don't go!"
"This is all a game, what a shame." Chaos said in a sing-song voice laced with so much sadness that Kai felt sadder upon hearing his voice. He wondered briefly if Chaos was hurting just like he was.
"A game with no restart, it pierces my heart. Why can't things be easy? Seems the gods have been busy. They play with the strings of our heart, knowing that it'll only tear us apart. Guess we never learn that these feelings leave a burn."
"Chaos?"
Chaos turned back to Kai, tears going down his eyes as he smiled, "In the end, we both lose."
The whole dreamscape changed completely, leaving Kai to stand in the middle of a room that seemed to be cut-off from the world. There were no doors and there was only one window with bars to keep the person within inside. There was a painting on the wall that depicted a beautiful scenery that had no place in the dirty earth. In the middle of the painting, a younger version of Night was holding a hand out for someone so they could go somewhere together.
Sprawled on the ground was a young woman that appeared to be around seventeen years of age or younger. She had wavy chocolate brown hair that covered her face. She was wearing a black dress and the girl seemed to radiate sorrow. She stirred and opened her eyes, revealing red-rimmed brown eyes. She stared at him for a moment before speaking:
"Please forgive me."
~~~MIAB~~~
Kai woke up with a start, his eyes filled with tears that rolled down his cheeks. He sat up, rubbing the tears away before looking around. It seemed that everyone was still asleep, not that he blamed them. He could hear Max whimpering, clenching his pillow as he suffered through his nightmare.
Kai stood and made his way through the sleeping figures, touching Dranzer's blade that was on his pocket. He took out the blade and stepped outside the dojo, seeing the clearing sky. He felt Dranzer appear by his side and he sighed, "We have work to do."
~~~MIAB~~~
Granger Dojo, Bey City, Japan (August 17)
To Third Elder, it seemed as if the happiness of the teenagers she had met had been taken away the moment that Night had died. It was rare, nowadays, to see them smile. They were too busy dealing with their guilt and grief to do anything.
The ancient elder was sitting down next to the pond, staring passively at Kai. She looked away after a while, seeing the pain in his eyes. It seemed, out of all of them, Kai was the one who felt the most guilt. He trained nonstop for hours and he hardly ate or slept. Everyone could see the black circles under his eyes and his skin was paler than usual.
Third knew that Kai felt that it was his fault that Night had died. She knew that the young man was haunted at night by visions of a dead Night and more tragic visions of Tyson and Rin and everyone else crying out for him to save him as they died. It seemed Kai couldn't find peace in reality or in his dreams.
Two weeks of no activity from either side, Third thought as she clenched her fists, yet the Elders were trying to hurry Seventeenth's trial. Fifteenth insisted vehemently on Seventeen being executed and he had a lot of other Elders that agreed with him on the sentence, especially Sixteenth who wanted Seventeenth punished to get vengeance for Night.
Only Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth supported Third to keep Seventeenth alive while First hadn't decided on anything yet. The whole universe was going to shit, Third thought sadly.
She stood up and walked towards Kai, who ignored her in favor of placing Dranzer back in the launcher and shooting again. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he stiffened. She closed her eyes, "They're calling for me. I'm afraid that Seventeenth needs my support right now."
"What about us?" Kai asked in a voice that seemed too hoarse to belong to him. He clenched the launcher tightly, "Don't we need support from an omnipotent being like yourself?"
"Don't give me that tone, Kai." Third replied, "I know that you need my help but I know that you're going to be okay against the Forsaken Fallen. Unless you think that Night didn't do a good job in helping you train."
"Night did more than he was supposed to." Kai replied, calling Dranzer back. He tightened his grip on his blade, feeling the same sorrow that overwhelmed him when he remembered the gentle beast.
Third looked down, "He did. That lead to his downfall, I'm afraid. Look, the point is that you are more than capable of defeating Chaos and the others thanks to Night. The one that needs my help is Seventeenth. She might die."
"How does one kill an Elder?" Kai asked.
Third let out a small sigh, "How does one kill a holy beast? The answer to those questions are the same: they can only be killed by their own kind. A bit-beast can be killed by a bit-beast and an Elder can be killed by an Elder."
No one had known that to be certain until the day Chaos had killed Erebus. As far as they had known, they had been immune to death. In the end, everything comes to a conclusion. But Third still believed that certain things never came to an end, no matter how many times they attempted to destroy it. And that was. . .
"Good luck with that, then." Kai interrupted her thoughts, "That trial isn't going to wait for you. You're not the center of the universe."
"Not of this one." Third said with a small chuckle. She looked at the dojo for a brief moment and thought of everyone that was currently inside. All of them deserved a happily ever after. As soon as all of this was over, she was sure that they'd get one. She pushed a stray hair behind her ear, "Help them be brave, Kai, okay?"
"Sure."
She smiled at him, "See you later."
Kai blinked and Third Elder was gone. He sighed and let out a small smile, "I'll tell the others you said goodbye. But you better come back once we win." He didn't know why he said that. But he knew that it would be great if the Elders could see that the world hadn't fallen to shit.
'What a nice way of phrasing that.' Dranzer chuckled while Kai rolled his eyes, forgetting for a moment that his thoughts weren't just his anymore. Dranzer laughed, 'Well, at least you're not thinking about anything depressive anymore. And that's a good thing. And are you going to launch me again? It's not helping, you know.'
'Whatever. Don't you want to be stronger?'
'. . . You're right. One more time, Kai!' Dranzer answered in an upbeat tone that reminded him so much of Tyson that it made Kai falter. He shook his head and concentrated on his blade-.
I have to keep running. I'm almost there. I'm almost home! Their sacrifice must not be in vain! I have to strong for their sakes!
Kai gasped and held his head, trying to stop the barrage of images that were flooding into his mind so quickly that it gave him whiplash. He tried to find order in the images and wasn't reassured when he started seeing those images in order.
Rin was reaching a hand out to him, talking to him but he couldn't hear anything. Brooklyn – or was it Zeus – was smiling at him, trying to calm him down. Aya was on the ground, smiling sadly as he saw Ann getting closer to her. Hiro was running, carrying Riku on his back and yelling at him to keep running. He felt himself falling down a dark chute, seeing Rin cry above him as he was taken away by someone that he couldn't see. Then he was running again-.
'-Kai!' Dranzer's voice broke through the barrage of images, making Kai feel better as he didn't understand what he had been watching, 'Kai, you won't believe it! Dragoon is resonating!'
'Resonating?'
'Yes! That must mean that-.'
Kai's eyes widened and ran to the front of the dojo. It seemed impossible but perhaps this was the universe's way of making him feel better after they took Night away. In the end, it didn't matter if the universe was only playing with his emotions again. He just really hoped that this wasn't dream.
Kai stopped in the front of the dojo, not believing his eyes. If it weren't for the throbbing headache he got after he had tried to make sense of the images that had run through his head so quickly, he would have seriously thought that this was a dream.
There, standing on the archway to enter the dojo was none other than Tyson Granger.
Tyson was dressed in the same robes Kai had often seen Chaos in, which seemed weird because Tyson didn't wear dark colors. He was pale and looked as if he hadn't eaten in days (he probably hadn't). He was holding the side of his stomach as if he was hurt and he was trembling. He was probably close to passing out. And yet . . .
The idiot had the gall to wave weakly at him.
"Hey Kai."
He really hoped that this wasn't a dream. He wouldn't be able to take it if this was some cruel dream. He chuckled and hoped it didn't sound like a sob, "You idiot. How long were you going to keep us waiting?"
Tyson smiled, "Sorry about that. I got held back. Hey, at least I'm back. I get points for that, don't I?"
He was really glad Tyson was back.
~~~MIAB~~~
Ray woke up to Max shaking his shoulder. He was about to tell the blond to let him sleep some more when he saw Max was trembling. There were tear tracks on his cheeks and he looked so terrified. Ray knew that the dream he had must have been about Night or something else related to him. Unlike everyone else that was reeling from the loss, Max had been connected with Night and had felt the sensation of dying thanks to that.
"What's wrong?"
"Tyson." Max muttered, "I dreamt about the day Chaos killed Night but, this time, it was Tyson being stabbed instead of Night and Chaos was Kai and we were forced to watch as Tyson slowly sang himself to death the same way Night did and-."
"Breathe, Max." Ray patted the younger teen's shoulders when he saw the blond was close to hyperventilating. He sighed and sat up, "Let's go to the kitchen-."
"No."
Ray wondered for a moment why Max had immediately turned that down before he remembered-.
"Night? What are you doing?"
"I am preparing breakfast for you and the others. I figured I could help out and prepare the food. I hope you do not mind. This might be the first time I am cooking but I am giving it my best."
"Okay, we're not going to the kitchen. But we should let everyone sleep." Ray answered, motioning towards the futons where Mariah, Emily and Mathilda were sleeping in. Max seemed to understand because he gave a small nod before they both got up and quietly got out of the dojo.
"Things have been tough since Night's passing and we're all suffering from it, including the Forsaken Fallen."
Max snorted, "That didn't stop them from taking Aya, Riku, Hiro, Nami, the twins and Raul." He crossed his arms in front of his chest as they walked to the living room, "They could've left without taking them. But now they're lost to us like Tyson, Julia, Kaori, Brooklyn and Rin."
Ray flinched, knowing that Max had a point. He didn't know what to say now to comfort Max. He sighed, "Max, they're not lost completely. Third told us that they could return if we can defeat the Forsaken Fallen. Tyson, Hiro, Riku, Aya, Rin and everyone else that have been taken will return."
"Night would say the same thing." Max muttered, "Over and over, he'd reassure me that everything would work out in the end. So far, nothing has worked to our favor. And then there's the possibility that I might kill Aya when we battle and I don't want her to die. I don't want anyone else to die."
"And no one will."
Max and Ray jumped at Kai's voice and turned around to face their captain. Ray's eyes widened and Max's jaw fell open when they saw who Kai was carrying in his arms, "No way. Is this real?"
Tyson grinned at them from his spot on Kai's arms, "Long time no see, guys! I gotta say, you don't look as well as I do and that's saying something."
"Tyson, you're okay!" Max yelled as he rushed to his best friend's side. Maybe they were finally getting a break after losing so many of their friends. The Forsaken Fallen probably hadn't expected this, Ray thought with a smile as he walked closer to his friend that he had been certain that he'd never see again.
"Careful," Kai warned them, "Tyson's condition is delicate at the moment. We have to get him to his room and let him rest."
"I told Kai that he should take me to a hospital but he said that was too risky." Tyson whispered to Max, "Apparently, I could easily be kidnapped if I was there."
"He wouldn't be wrong about that, Ty." Max grinned. Ray and Kai felt a little better upon seeing Max smile after three weeks of him being devoid of any emotion but sorrow.
"Not that we're not happy to see you but how in the world did you escape?" Ray asked Tyson. Tyson looked down, his eyes no longer looking as cheery as they had a couple of minutes ago. They all turned serious, wondering what had affected Tyson this badly.
"I guess it's story telling time."
~~~MIAB~~~
Forsaken Fallen Headquarters, Unknown Area
Rin was no stranger to pain. One could even say he was used to it. Broken arms, broken legs, cracked ribs, a broken heart, a fractured skull, you name it. He had probably gone through more things than your average person. Still, it was nothing compared to the mental pain he had endured these past three days.
After the successful escape of Tyson, he had been separated from all the others. The last time he saw Hiro, Aya, Riku and Zeus before he had been locked in here, they hadn't looked so good. Zeus was probably dead, he thought with a shiver. There was no way he and Brooklyn would be left unscathed after they had betrayed them.
"Rin, stop worrying so much." A voice from the corner of the room whispered. Rin closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears, curling up in a small ball despite the pain he felt on his abdomen where he had been kicked by Hecate. There were cruel ways to torture people and this was one of them.
"You're not real. Go away."
"Rin, don't be so immature." The raven couldn't understand why he could still hear his voice but he didn't want to hear him ever again. He didn't know what was worse: hearing his voice or hearing the voice of his parents.
"Shut up." Rin whispered, trying to block out unwanted memories he had been sure he had locked away so he could never feel so worthless again. It was pathetic that he was reacting like this to his voice. It had been almost a year since he had seen or heard of him yet he still acted as he had before.
He heard him laugh like he used to, "You know you love me. So why don't you quit being stubborn and open your eyes? Come on, do it."
"Leave me alone."
"Rin, look at me. Or does it still hurt to look at me? You're reacting this badly to hearing me, after all. Please, Rin. Just look at me."
He felt so worthless again. Who was still under the mercy of a person they hadn't even seen or talked to in almost a year? Apparently he was. How pathetic. He wondered if the torture that Zeus/Brooklyn were going through for his sake was worth it.
Aya was screaming again and it hurt to know that he couldn't stop her from feeling the pain. He had told her that she would never go through this hell again and that had been a lie. He was a terrible person.
He couldn't stop Aya's pain. He couldn't stop Zeus's torture. He couldn't stop reacting badly to his voice. He hadn't been able to stop Raul, Nami, Hikaru and Shun from falling. He hadn't been able to stop them from hurting Hiro and Riku. He couldn't do anything. In the end, he was just powerless to the will of these higher beings.
"Rin."
"Please be quiet. Leave me alone, Eden."
~~~MIAB~~~
Zeus was glad he was the one controlling this body. Otherwise, Brooklyn would have died from all the pain and that was something that he could never allow. So he was the one that suffered while all the members of the Forsaken Fallen – except for those that occupied Ann, as they were upstairs, taking care of Chaos – did their best to drive him mad with the pain.
'Zeus, switch with me! Stop tormenting yourself! I can handle the pain! You're nearing the limit! You'll end up dying! Zeus!'
"He's being so stubborn." Hecate told Nemesis, who just smirked wickedly down at Zeus. Nemesis nudged Zeus's leg and he hissed. That crazy woman was touching the place where Dark Dranzer had nearly burned his skin off and that hurt like hell.
"How cute. He wants to be tough." Zeus craned his neck to see who had spoken, spotting the four new members of the Forsaken Fallen that had been awakened. He was sure the one who had spoken was Hades.
Hades – Raul – was wearing a black shirt and black pants with a white sash tied around his waist. He had a white scarf around his neck and the golden bracelet he wore on his left arm contained his bit-chip. He had black-silver hair, the front of his hair being silver while the back being black.
Ouranos and Tartarus – twins like Hikaru and Shun – wore identical white kimonos and had matching silver necklaces where their bit-chips were at. Ouranos – Shun – had white hair and sky-blue eyes and had a gash in his right eye where Shun had been hurt before Ouranos had possessed him. Tartarus, on the other hand, had black hair and dark blue eyes that looked black. He had a gash across his cheek where Hikaru had been hurt.
Gaea – Nami – had long dark green hair that was floating all around her and brown eyes. She wore a velvet green dress and a black cloak that seemed to be floating a little. She had a silver bracelet around her right wrist that contained her bit-chip.
"So, what made you think you had the ability to betray us?" Gaea giggled, stepping on Zeus's hand, "After we were so kind to you, too. Is this how you treat everyone who shows you kindness? My, you're such a bad dog."
'Zeus, switch places!'
"You should know better." Tartarus sighed as he walked around the chamber, "After all, weren't you the one who nearly died when you betrayed Erebus and the other members of Eden's Rapture? I guess we should have realized you go traitor often and we shouldn't have trust you."
Ouranos didn't say anything and merely stared impassively at them. Zeus thought about appealing to his kind nature but knew that he'd be punished more if he tried it. Ouranos walked towards the exit and turned around to face them, some of his hair covering his damaged eye, "Let's leave the traitor in here to rot. We have more pending business, if you recall."
"Come on, they're almost gone." Hecate replied, tossing her hair back, "Aya, Hiro, Riku and Rin are so close to falling deep into the recesses of their mind. I would worry about how Chaos is coping."
They all stiffened, including Zeus. Ever since Night's passing, they hadn't seen Chaos. The only ones in his room were the dark halves of Dragoon, Driger, Draciel and Dranzer and they barred entrance to everyone. It made them wonder if Chaos would give up this crusade and be sealed away again.
"Chaos will be fine." Ouranos whispered, even though he didn't look certain about that, "Let's just prepare the last four hosts. The time of the deciding battle approaches."
~~~MIAB~~~
Chaos had been in and out dreams for two weeks. As soon as Night had died, he had felt a part of him break. The others had immediately taken him away and Dark Dranzer lulled him to sleep. She didn't allow him to return to reality, something he was glad for because reality was like a nightmare for him now.
He was currently in his old home where the sky was littered with stars and anyone could see planets and galaxies in the large, dark sky. The meadow was filled with flowers that glowed like stars while a gentle breeze moved his hair and clothes. He brushed his hair behind his ear, looking around before he saw a familiar figure in the distance.
"Sasha?" He asked, recognizing the purple hair that was moving thanks to the wind. The young mortal girl caught sight of him and stared at him with her sad blue eyes that had been so dead the last time he had seen them. He ran towards her when he saw her walking away, "Sasha, wait!"
When he caught up to her, he grabbed her wrist to stop her from leaving. He frowned, "Sasha, where are you going?" She turned around to face him and Chaos gave out a small gasp of shock when he saw Night instead of Sasha.
"Is it really so surprising to see me, Chaos?" Night asked before smiling gently and pulling Chaos forward, "Come with me."
"Night . . ." Chaos looked away, eyes shiny with unshed tears, "Am I still worthy of you?"
"Huh?"
"I killed you!" He cried out, releasing his hold on Night's wrist and turning around. He fell to his knees, hugging himself as he felt fresh tears run down his cheeks, "I don't even deserve being so close to you. You should hate me, dammit! I want you to hate me so I can have an excuse to die!"
He felt Night crouch next to him and felt warm arms wrap themselves around him. He leaned forward, wanting to be comforted but not saying that out loud to Night. Night knew him and knew when he needed comfort. He felt a hand run over his hair and he stiffened.
This wasn't Night. Whenever Chaos was in the brink of hysterics or needed to be calm, Night would sing for him. Night didn't even need to ask him if he needed a song; he would just sing. He would run a hand over his hair in a soothing manner as he sang. This was not Night.
He heard the person hugging him chuckle before they spoke, "Did you cry this much when you killed me? Or should I be jealous of my own brother?"
Chaos began to struggle against the arms around his body, "Erebus, let go of me!" He didn't want to be haunted by the ghost of another holy beast that he had killed. He felt the arms around him tighten and he shook his head, "Go away! Haunt someone else."
"That wasn't something you would say to Night." Erebus snapped before he pushed Chaos to the ground, "If you hadn't gotten in my way, I would've been the ruler of this world. You should've let me take care of you. Unlike Night, I wouldn't have made you cry."
Chaos glared up at him, "You wouldn't have made me cry?! You killed Sasha and planned to kill all of the Elders, including Seventeenth! Our brothers and sisters would've opposed you and you wouldn't have hesitated to kill them! You'd break my heart in a manner that would shatter me."
Erebus sighed, placing a hand on Chaos's cheek and his eyes dancing with what appeared to be dismay, "Don't fret too much, my dear Chaos. I'll come for you soon. So be a good boy and wait, okay?"
"What the hell are you saying, bastard?" Chaos asked in disgust, "You're dead and you have stayed that way for centuries!"
Erebus laughed before placing his lips on Chaos's forehead, "In time, you will find out what I mean. But be prepared, Chaos. Not everything is the way that it seems." He laughed before vanishing, leaving behind only a black feather. Chaos sat up and was now sitting down next to Seventeenth.
"Is this my curse?" He asked, looking to the distance so he wouldn't meet the eyes of the being that he considered his mother, sister and friend, "Is this the power of Natasha's curse?"
"Probably." Seventeenth said, her voice sounding hoarse. Chaos wondered briefly if she, like everyone else, was mourning Night's death. She probably was. She had mourned the death of Erebus and the others of Eden's Rapture when no one else did.
"Will you die?"
"I think I will, I'm afraid."
"Why can't you just run away, huh?" Chaos asked, reaching out to touch her. He hadn't seen her in some time. He wanted to be close to her before she was sentenced to a trial that would probably result in her demise. "I've lost too many people already. Don't go away."
"Sasha, Erebus, Night and me. We're in your heart and used to be your light, your hope. Then Erebus killed Sasha and you killed Erebus. Now, you've killed Night and I will soon fall. It seems you need to reach out for others that aren't doomed to such a terrible fate." Seventeenth replied, outstretching her arm and closing her hand around Chaos's.
Chaos squeezed her hand, "Maybe I should do my best to protect you and make sure you don't die." He saw her look away and he tried his best to smile for her, "Seventeen, hang on, alright? I'll save you."
"Is that so? So, that is your resolve." Seventeenth ran her free hand through Chaos's hair, "Please, you can stop now. Please don't do this."
"I have to do this. Night's death made me realize that it would have never happened if humans never existed. They have to be destroyed so that they can stop tainting the world Night died to protect." He stood up, releasing his hold on Seventeenth's hand. He smiled, "And when that's over, I'll challenge and defeat First, thus saving your life. So, wait for me."
"Idiot." Seventeen said, shaking her head and staring at him with a forlorn smile, "Couldn't stop while you were ahead, huh? You're such a stubborn mule. Oh well, I guess that's my fault. Fine. Go ahead. Do your stupid crusade. Just don't come crying to me when it doesn't turn out the way you wanted."
Chaos smirked down at her, "I know that won't happen."
~~~MIAB~~~
After resting for so long, it felt good to wake up. Chaos stretched and smiled when he noticed that this human's body felt as good as new. He supposed that the rest had paid off.
"How are you feeling?" Huh. Only four voices, excluding Ann's. He looked at the currently possessed female and was glad that only Dark Dragoon, Dark Driger, Dark Dranzer and Dark Draciel had been around to watch him in such a vulnerable position.
"Better, if you can believe that." He replied, slowly getting out of bed. Man, human bodies felt so heavy after they rested for so long, he noted as he tried to get feeling back to his legs. He supposed that humans didn't slumber as long as holy beasts when they truly needed rest. He yawned, "So, what did I miss?"
"Gaea, Tartarus, Ouranos and Hades have successfully entered their tamer's bodies." Ann reported as they paced around the room, "Only our tamers are still being stubborn."
"Tyson escaped, didn't he?" Chaos asked and Ann stiffened. He smirked at her and was surprised to see her looking apprehensive, "There was no way that I'd miss the fact that his presence is no longer here. Oh well, it was too be expected."
"Because you let him escape?" Chaos scowled at the female possessed by his four most loyal brothers and sisters and Ann crossed her arms in front of her chest, "You can deceive everyone but us. So, why would you let him go? Was it out of guilt? Did he remind you so much of Night?"
"Let's just say that Night and I discussed his possible future, along with Kai Hiwatari's." Chaos muttered, remembering that night, "Anyways, I did want to ask you if you felt any unfamiliar auras during my slumber."
Ann cleared her throat, suddenly looking serious, "As a matter of fact, I did. A lot of them and that worried me. It's as if our recent activities awakened them the way Zeus and Dragoon woke us up." She looked down, biting her lower lip, "How do you think they did it?"
"I'm sure Fifteen helped them. He'd do anything to spite me and Seventeen, after all." Chaos growled, running a hand through his hair, "Anyways, we should focus on the current task at hand."
"Defeating the sacred spirits or making our tamers finally fall?" Ann asked, eyes flashing golden.
"Both, my brothers and sisters. Now, let's see your tamers again. I'm sure they'll change their minds now about their destinies."