Post by Guardsman Patrick on Oct 12, 2006 23:10:59 GMT -5
Chapter 20: Memories Consumed
Alex stood atop the great stone dragon, and across from him was his brother, Shade. Both of them stared at each other, consumed in the horrible memories that they had of each other.
"So here we are again, across from each other, you with your blade of Light, and me with mine which is Dark," Shade said, recalling the past battle they had gone through.
"I guess old habits die hard, brother," Alex said, knowing that this was probably the last time they would stand like this, talking to each other cruelly before they fought. This habit was going to be broken now.
"Yes, they do." Shade thought of all the friends and ones he cared for that he had lost to his murderer of a brother. He would avenge them.
"I will tell you now, Shade, this is the last time I intend to stand here, being your opposite. I will not allow you to live past today. This I promise you. I may die in the process, but I will take you with me if it is the last thing I do. I haven’t broken this promise to anyone yet, and I don’t plan on breaking it now." Alex was stern as he spoke. He knew that there was no need in saying that he was guaranteed to live, because he was not, but he knew if he was to die, Shade was not going to live either.
"You already seem stronger, brother. I can tell." Shade was strangely calm about all this. He knew Alex was stronger than when they had last fought. He could tell that Alex wasn’t inferior anymore. He was capable of being equal to him.
"You haven’t changed a bit, I see." Alex looked at Shade's deep green eyes, then, looked him up and down all the way from his head to his toes. There was nothing different at all, nothing except the long jagged scar along his left arm that Alex had left in their last encounter. He planned to leave more than a cut this time.
"I have not trained more than I needed to. I have kept the strength I had when we last encountered, but not any more than that. Though it would have taken you more training than me to catch up." Shade only spoke the truth. Alex was behind him, and now they were simply equal. He smiled slightly at the irony of it all. He didn’t train because he thought Alex was dead, and now he was alive and stronger than ever.
"Shade, I have said this many times before with no backup, but now I have no doubt in what I am about to say. You will fall, so you might as well drop your weapon and make this quick. Let’s not delay the inevitable." Alex thought Shade would find this amusing, but he heard nothing from his brother but silence.
"I know it is inevitable, and I will most likely die, but like you said, if I am to die, you go with me." Shade spoke with a hollow voice. He seemed to be recalling all the events that had haunted his sleep for the past year since they had fought last.
"You were always the stubborn one, but I will let you choose how you die, quickly or slowly." With this, Alex brought his sword into attacking position and waited for Shade to do the same. This was his final fight; he might as well make it worth it.
Shade sliced the air with his large broadsword that glowed green around the large black blade, "Slowly has always been my preference."
They stood, eye to eye, watching for even the slightest twitch. Alex knew Shade would attack first, as he usually did. Shade leapt off the stone wing of the dragon and dove at Alex, who dodged and struck for himself. Shade blocked and swung his large blade towards Alex’s legs. Alex jumped over the blade, knowing Shades style all too well.
"You’re faster, my brother," Shade said as he went for Alex’s head, striking from every angle he could, trying to make an opening. One never came. Alex’s style was nearly flawless. Shade couldn’t find an opening that was worth taking.
"I have used what time I had to train, and it’s paid off." Alex was on the offensive now. He sung his smaller blade at Shade from so many angles that Shade could barely block them all. This match was as even as it got.
The shadow in the sky rippled and clouds began to stir in the atmosphere. Rain began to fall on the stone dragon, darkening the air until lightning split the sky. The battle picked up it’s pace. The steel of the blades began to whistle louder and louder as they flew through the air faster and faster. The drumming of thunder let loose and the sky was split again. Nothing could stop the blades that were constantly clashing, attracted as opposites to each other like magnets.
The ground quaked as the battle grew longer. The combatants remained unscathed and unaffected by the shaking of the earth. They each jumped back and forth between the wings, their feet catching onto the stone perfectly in sync. The world seemed to be falling apart as the Light and the Dark clashed, each wanting to be dominant, each wanting to live on.
Alex gritted his teeth and felt the blade and the Orb begin to take more control of him. He was fighting at a level he didn’t even know existed. He drew energy from what seemed like nothingness. He wasn’t tired at all, though he moved faster than he ever had. He blocked blows without thinking as Shade continued to strike at him, and he finally understood.
No wonder he had never been able to beat Shade in the past. If this was the way he fought, there was no way the novice Alex once was could’ve defeated him, or even had a hope of it.
The blades bit onto each other in a grapple, not letting go of each other.
"Shade, I remember when you said that I would one day follow your path, and that was the only way I would ever know your power." Alex pushed Shade's heavy blade back towards him, pushing with every bit of strength he had, "I don’t need your path, because you have met your match."
Alex threw Shade's blade backwards over his head, and he did a back flip, catching it in the air, and landed on the other wing. "You will need to do better than this, because you are just my match, you are not my superior yet," Shade said, leaping at Alex, stabbing his blade into the stone wing.
"Touché." Alex struck at Shade who managed to pull his blade out of the rock and block the slash. The sky was split again and the army below looked up at the storm that was gathering. Even Ulptian and Pairon who had finished off the last of the planes gazed at the two warriors that were deep in battle atop the tower.
The waves of the sea grew enormous and rough, and the trees of the forest swayed and groaned, almost to the breaking point. Patrick stood, knowing that this was what happened when the Orbs clashed, but even he was in awe at the sight. This wasn’t natural; this was the power of the Orbs. This is why he had needed so much training before his dad had let him even touch the handle of the blade.
Alex didn’t notice the storm at all; he didn’t notice the people around. He didn’t notice anything at all except for the warrior that so viciously fought before him. The world was nearly falling apart and Alex didn’t notice a thing.
The two engaged again. "I still wonder how you lived, brother. Was it that someone came to your aid, or was it the burning desire to kill me?" Shade gritted his teeth and pushed Alex’s blade back toward him.
"Nothing is ever as it seems, brother, but to tell you the truth, someone came to my aid, but what kept me alive until then was pure desire to kill you," Alex spoke with a harshness that even made Shade tremble.
"So what is the plan now?" Shade said, breaking the grapple and striking, only to be blocked.
"I plan to get what I lived for." Alex struck back at Shade with twice the strength. The red flames of his blade struck the green aura of Shade’s blade, mixing into a twisted black and orange color.
"Do you know what I live for, Alex?" Shade asked as he struck at Alex once more, striking only to be deflected, "I live to be everything that you’re not. I live to be nothing like you. I live so I won’t ever become what you are."
Shade’s fury went out in his blade, making every strike stronger, and every block faster. This battle wasn’t to help make Andorg a better place. That wasn’t why Alex fought against Shade right now. This battle was personal.
Pairon and Ulptian landed beside Patrick who still gazed up toward the top of the tower, entranced by the whipping winds and the two gleaming lights that crashed into each other over and over again. Patrick was just waiting for one of the lights to fall. He hoped it would be the green one, but he wasn’t sure. Alex had never told him about his brother, so he never told him how his brother fought. All Patrick knew was that Shade wielded the Dark Blade, and that meant that he was not to be underestimated.
"What is going on?" Pairon asked in bewilderment as he watched the lightning strike again, stumbling as the ground shook and a fault began to show and separated the tower from the rest of the earth around it. The sea poured into the new crack in the earth, cooling the lava that tried to break the surface, sealing it for now, but not for long.
"the Orbs are clashing. This is what happens," Ulptian seemed calm talking about this, but Patrick could hear that his voice was not its usual fearless tone. It held a sort of awe and fierceness about it, underneath the fear that Patrick heard.
"What will happen?" Pairon seemed extremely worried about Alex. Patrick knew their bond was close, and that Pairon would do anything to help Alex.
"We will have to wait and see," Patrick said and tried to be calm, but he didn’t want any of his new family to die. Alex and Rachel were like his brother and sister now. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost anyone else. He hoped Alex would be able to stand up against Shade.
Patrick knew that he had to help somehow. He knew there had to be something. He closed his eyes and thought back to all the things his father had taught him about the Orbs. There had to be something he could do. Some way he could help turn the tables. That’s when he thought of it.
"Ulptian, I need you to go get Rachel, and bring her here," Patrick drew his blade and stepped forward so Pairon would be behind him. Ulptian leapt up and soared over to Rachel and brought her to the forest’s edge along with the others.
Patrick had only done this once, and it was time to do it again. Patrick stood his ground and planted his feet into the ground. It was time.
Alex stood atop the great stone dragon, and across from him was his brother, Shade. Both of them stared at each other, consumed in the horrible memories that they had of each other.
"So here we are again, across from each other, you with your blade of Light, and me with mine which is Dark," Shade said, recalling the past battle they had gone through.
"I guess old habits die hard, brother," Alex said, knowing that this was probably the last time they would stand like this, talking to each other cruelly before they fought. This habit was going to be broken now.
"Yes, they do." Shade thought of all the friends and ones he cared for that he had lost to his murderer of a brother. He would avenge them.
"I will tell you now, Shade, this is the last time I intend to stand here, being your opposite. I will not allow you to live past today. This I promise you. I may die in the process, but I will take you with me if it is the last thing I do. I haven’t broken this promise to anyone yet, and I don’t plan on breaking it now." Alex was stern as he spoke. He knew that there was no need in saying that he was guaranteed to live, because he was not, but he knew if he was to die, Shade was not going to live either.
"You already seem stronger, brother. I can tell." Shade was strangely calm about all this. He knew Alex was stronger than when they had last fought. He could tell that Alex wasn’t inferior anymore. He was capable of being equal to him.
"You haven’t changed a bit, I see." Alex looked at Shade's deep green eyes, then, looked him up and down all the way from his head to his toes. There was nothing different at all, nothing except the long jagged scar along his left arm that Alex had left in their last encounter. He planned to leave more than a cut this time.
"I have not trained more than I needed to. I have kept the strength I had when we last encountered, but not any more than that. Though it would have taken you more training than me to catch up." Shade only spoke the truth. Alex was behind him, and now they were simply equal. He smiled slightly at the irony of it all. He didn’t train because he thought Alex was dead, and now he was alive and stronger than ever.
"Shade, I have said this many times before with no backup, but now I have no doubt in what I am about to say. You will fall, so you might as well drop your weapon and make this quick. Let’s not delay the inevitable." Alex thought Shade would find this amusing, but he heard nothing from his brother but silence.
"I know it is inevitable, and I will most likely die, but like you said, if I am to die, you go with me." Shade spoke with a hollow voice. He seemed to be recalling all the events that had haunted his sleep for the past year since they had fought last.
"You were always the stubborn one, but I will let you choose how you die, quickly or slowly." With this, Alex brought his sword into attacking position and waited for Shade to do the same. This was his final fight; he might as well make it worth it.
Shade sliced the air with his large broadsword that glowed green around the large black blade, "Slowly has always been my preference."
They stood, eye to eye, watching for even the slightest twitch. Alex knew Shade would attack first, as he usually did. Shade leapt off the stone wing of the dragon and dove at Alex, who dodged and struck for himself. Shade blocked and swung his large blade towards Alex’s legs. Alex jumped over the blade, knowing Shades style all too well.
"You’re faster, my brother," Shade said as he went for Alex’s head, striking from every angle he could, trying to make an opening. One never came. Alex’s style was nearly flawless. Shade couldn’t find an opening that was worth taking.
"I have used what time I had to train, and it’s paid off." Alex was on the offensive now. He sung his smaller blade at Shade from so many angles that Shade could barely block them all. This match was as even as it got.
The shadow in the sky rippled and clouds began to stir in the atmosphere. Rain began to fall on the stone dragon, darkening the air until lightning split the sky. The battle picked up it’s pace. The steel of the blades began to whistle louder and louder as they flew through the air faster and faster. The drumming of thunder let loose and the sky was split again. Nothing could stop the blades that were constantly clashing, attracted as opposites to each other like magnets.
The ground quaked as the battle grew longer. The combatants remained unscathed and unaffected by the shaking of the earth. They each jumped back and forth between the wings, their feet catching onto the stone perfectly in sync. The world seemed to be falling apart as the Light and the Dark clashed, each wanting to be dominant, each wanting to live on.
Alex gritted his teeth and felt the blade and the Orb begin to take more control of him. He was fighting at a level he didn’t even know existed. He drew energy from what seemed like nothingness. He wasn’t tired at all, though he moved faster than he ever had. He blocked blows without thinking as Shade continued to strike at him, and he finally understood.
No wonder he had never been able to beat Shade in the past. If this was the way he fought, there was no way the novice Alex once was could’ve defeated him, or even had a hope of it.
The blades bit onto each other in a grapple, not letting go of each other.
"Shade, I remember when you said that I would one day follow your path, and that was the only way I would ever know your power." Alex pushed Shade's heavy blade back towards him, pushing with every bit of strength he had, "I don’t need your path, because you have met your match."
Alex threw Shade's blade backwards over his head, and he did a back flip, catching it in the air, and landed on the other wing. "You will need to do better than this, because you are just my match, you are not my superior yet," Shade said, leaping at Alex, stabbing his blade into the stone wing.
"Touché." Alex struck at Shade who managed to pull his blade out of the rock and block the slash. The sky was split again and the army below looked up at the storm that was gathering. Even Ulptian and Pairon who had finished off the last of the planes gazed at the two warriors that were deep in battle atop the tower.
The waves of the sea grew enormous and rough, and the trees of the forest swayed and groaned, almost to the breaking point. Patrick stood, knowing that this was what happened when the Orbs clashed, but even he was in awe at the sight. This wasn’t natural; this was the power of the Orbs. This is why he had needed so much training before his dad had let him even touch the handle of the blade.
Alex didn’t notice the storm at all; he didn’t notice the people around. He didn’t notice anything at all except for the warrior that so viciously fought before him. The world was nearly falling apart and Alex didn’t notice a thing.
The two engaged again. "I still wonder how you lived, brother. Was it that someone came to your aid, or was it the burning desire to kill me?" Shade gritted his teeth and pushed Alex’s blade back toward him.
"Nothing is ever as it seems, brother, but to tell you the truth, someone came to my aid, but what kept me alive until then was pure desire to kill you," Alex spoke with a harshness that even made Shade tremble.
"So what is the plan now?" Shade said, breaking the grapple and striking, only to be blocked.
"I plan to get what I lived for." Alex struck back at Shade with twice the strength. The red flames of his blade struck the green aura of Shade’s blade, mixing into a twisted black and orange color.
"Do you know what I live for, Alex?" Shade asked as he struck at Alex once more, striking only to be deflected, "I live to be everything that you’re not. I live to be nothing like you. I live so I won’t ever become what you are."
Shade’s fury went out in his blade, making every strike stronger, and every block faster. This battle wasn’t to help make Andorg a better place. That wasn’t why Alex fought against Shade right now. This battle was personal.
* * *
Pairon and Ulptian landed beside Patrick who still gazed up toward the top of the tower, entranced by the whipping winds and the two gleaming lights that crashed into each other over and over again. Patrick was just waiting for one of the lights to fall. He hoped it would be the green one, but he wasn’t sure. Alex had never told him about his brother, so he never told him how his brother fought. All Patrick knew was that Shade wielded the Dark Blade, and that meant that he was not to be underestimated.
"What is going on?" Pairon asked in bewilderment as he watched the lightning strike again, stumbling as the ground shook and a fault began to show and separated the tower from the rest of the earth around it. The sea poured into the new crack in the earth, cooling the lava that tried to break the surface, sealing it for now, but not for long.
"the Orbs are clashing. This is what happens," Ulptian seemed calm talking about this, but Patrick could hear that his voice was not its usual fearless tone. It held a sort of awe and fierceness about it, underneath the fear that Patrick heard.
"What will happen?" Pairon seemed extremely worried about Alex. Patrick knew their bond was close, and that Pairon would do anything to help Alex.
"We will have to wait and see," Patrick said and tried to be calm, but he didn’t want any of his new family to die. Alex and Rachel were like his brother and sister now. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost anyone else. He hoped Alex would be able to stand up against Shade.
Patrick knew that he had to help somehow. He knew there had to be something. He closed his eyes and thought back to all the things his father had taught him about the Orbs. There had to be something he could do. Some way he could help turn the tables. That’s when he thought of it.
"Ulptian, I need you to go get Rachel, and bring her here," Patrick drew his blade and stepped forward so Pairon would be behind him. Ulptian leapt up and soared over to Rachel and brought her to the forest’s edge along with the others.
Patrick had only done this once, and it was time to do it again. Patrick stood his ground and planted his feet into the ground. It was time.