"Hanako! Just run!!"
How the heck am I supposed to run when I'm scared out of my mind?
I stood as firm as a statue and stared with wide, trembling eyes at the beast that was steadily gaining on me. The strange black liquid in its mouth dripped onto the ground leaving behind a odorous stain, and it seemed to be coming towards me at a mercilessly slow pace, putting me further one edge with each agonizing second. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the end of me. There was no where I could go. I'm done for...
"Hanako, your sword!!" Jeremy shouted.
"No...I won't make that mistake again. Just go."
"We're not leaving you!" Morgan yelled defiantly. "We won't!"
"Just let me die...."
"I'm your guardian, and I won't let you!"
They were all silent for a moment, until General Adams eventually spoke up. "Do what he says."
Jeremy spun around and shot a look of disgust down at the shorter woman. "Like heck I'm going to listen to him. I'm not leaving Hanako here to get eaten by Ignis's pet!"
Ignis's what?!
"I never said I was going to let it eat him, Ironmage," she hissed. "I have a plan. But we need to get out of Hanako's way now, or else."
Jeremy's lip twitched in disagreement, but he let of a sigh of defeat anyway. "Fine. But if anything happens, I'm coming out here straight away to rescue him. So don't screw this up, Adams. Got that?"
"Like I would ever," Suri replied proudly. Then she and Morgan, along with Jeremy carrying Niall, turned around and ran off towards the main building.
I was all alone. Except, that is, for the suspicious, dark, red scarfed figure who refused to be ignored by the beast. The figure cupped its hands over its mouth and shouted at the top of its lungs, "I'm over here you overweight lizard!!!"
Sounds like a boy, but I'm not quite sure...
He reached into his boot and pulled out a small stone, then began tossing it into the air, catching it each time in his hand. "You know what this is, correct?"
The dragon snarled loudly as it twisted its head in the direction of the boy. He snatched the stone out of the air one last time as he noticed the beast eyeing it lustfully. "You know what this can do, right?" He asked, pulling off the black hood that covered his hair and adjusting the muffler so that I could finally see his face. He was indeed a boy. He had scruffy brown hair that fell in messy spikes and reached the tips of his eyes. "Fear not, Hanako!" He called out to me. "I am your prince in shining armor, and I will slay this beast to protect my princess!"
What is this guy talking about? And who the heck is he anyway? I wondered. "I can't...move..." I called back.
"Well then just stand there and watch a master at work."
After uttering this with great confidence, the boy stared at the dragon intimidatingly whilst pressing the stone to his chest. After just a few seconds, the stone began to glow with illuminating colors, reflecting a bright rainbow off the boy's face. "My name is Ezekiel. I may look like just a typical boy, but I assure you, it would not be wise to underestimate me." Now the colorful stone lit up even more, creating a brilliant light that blinded me and caused the dragon to roar in agony. "Feast upon the divinity of the Stone of the Corrupted Angel, you monster!!!"
The blinding light lasted for what seemed like all of a minute, before it gradually began to fade, and a rather astonishing sight came into view. Ezekiel was now wearing an elegant white tunic that reached just below his knees, a golden belt tied loosely around his waist. Outstretched from his spine was a pair of magnificent, pure white wings that looked to be twice the boy's size on their own. Last of all, a shimmering, golden halo hovered above his head, bringing together the whole 'angel' look. The stone had disappeared from his hand and had been replaced by a beautiful scepter that he now held tightly in his grasp.
Ezekiel took a deep breath, then carefully pushed off the ground with one foot, sending him flying into the air, stopping only once he was eye to eye with the dragon. "Listen up, Hanako, 'cuz I got a bit of advice for you," he said. "Every day, you gotta look down deep inside your yourself, and say, 'what am I willing to put up with today?'" He threw out an arm and pointed at the dragon, a furious expression on his face. "Not. Freaking. This!!!" Ezekiel then took his scepter and bopped the beast on the tip of its enormous snout, causing it to snarl in anger.
"You got a problem with me, dearie? Well have I got news for you." He seized the scepter with both hands and raised it high above his head, then brought it down with one, heaving swing onto the dragon's head, and just like that, the most unspeakable thing happened. The once gargantuan monster transformed into but a tiny lizard, and was now running in circles, seeming incredibly confused.
"Eh...?" My eyes narrowed and my head tilted as I tried to comprehend what had just occurred right in front of my eyes. "Wha~...eh...no...that's not right...how could...?"
The angelic boy's high pitched voice broke my train of thought and brought my attention to him. "Hey, princess!!" He called, waving his hand wildly in the air as a signal for me to come over. Unable to do much else but whine silently in distress, I obeyed, and was soon standing face-to-face with Ezekiel.
"Are you impressed yet, princess?"
My eye twitched as I stared questioningly at the lizard. I didn't really know what to think, or say.
Ezekiel chuckled. "Speechless, eh? That's okay. You don't have to say anything. After all, silence speaks when words can't."
I bent over and reached out my arm, then with both hands, scooped up the small reptile and gazed into its tiny white eyes. Its body was still the same colors as before, but every other unique aspect had vanished without a trace, including the black liquid oozing from its teeth. Now, actually, it didn't appear to have any teeth at all. "It looks harmless," I whispered, gently rubbing the lizard's head. "It's actually pretty cute."
"My princess is a lover of animals I see?"
"Not really," I said honestly, mentally asking him to stop referring to me as 'princess'. "It's just, I'm amazed, that's all. How did you manage to pull this off?"
"Does princess really desire to know the secret behind her prince's angelic powers?"
Without thinking, I made a noise of agreement, and the next thing I knew, Ezekiel began rambling on about some nonsense I struggled to comprehend...
"Several thousand years ago, there lived an angel named Natalya. Natalya was a strong, beautiful angel who loved humanity. She would oft times visit earth just to admire the humans from up close. In fact, nothing made her happier. Her brothers and sisters, however, did not approve of this. They tried to warn her of how dangerous it was, and that they were afraid if she spent enough time on earth, she would even go as far as to join a war. And one day, that's what she did. But first off, I'll give some background on Natalya's stone." Ezekiel tossed the stone one time in the air and caught it, just to get my attention.
"Yup. This beauty here belonged to her. When Natalya was born, she was given this stone as a gift. The stone had no real power back then, but over time, it began to attract a mysterious source of strength that seemed to only show itself to Natalya. When she finally found out about the power the stone was hiding, curiosity compelled her to test it out. She was in heaven at the time, and all of her brothers and sisters stood watch as the stone erupted. A gorgeous display of colors shot out from the stone, draping a blanket of rainbows and brilliant light over all of heaven. Of course, I hadn't seen it myself, but it was said to be the most captivating yet indescribable thing that ever occurred, other than the creation of, well, creation.
All of Natalya's siblings were jealous of their sister's gift, and so they all told her never to use it again. Confused and furious about what her siblings said, that was the first day Natalya came to earth. After that, her siblings only grew to despise and envy her more. They warned her countless times never to use the stone on earth, claiming it would not have such a friendly effect, but rather a horrifyingly destructive one. Because Natalya stilled love her brothers and sisters, she chose to listen to them for the time being. But when a certain day came, the day her heart was shattered and her spirits were diminished, Natalya defied her siblings. She used the stone."
Ezekiel paused at the this moment and took a gander at my face. I hadn't realized it then, but my expression clearly suggested that I was interested in his story.
"Ohohoho...princess likes a fairy tale, does she?"
My eyes were wide open, jaw slightly dropped, but I shook my head in refusal as I heard him utter that ridiculous nickname again. "N-no...just...curious, I guess."
+++
"Very well, I will go on," he said, before clearing his throat and continuing. "As I said before, Natalya had gotten herself into a lot of trouble. Believe it or not, Natalya fought in the Peloponnesian War. She was on the side of the Spartans. It was pretty obvious that the Spartans didn't approve of a woman being in the army, but Natalya, well...let's say she had a way of getting what she wanted. She led an army of her own ahead of the other Spartans, hoping that she would be able to catch the Athenians by surprise. At first, her plan seemed to work. But before long the Athenians counterattacked, and Natalya lost many of her soldiers. She was torn apart, and the loss of these men broke her heart, even to the part where she regretted ever deciding to fight in the war. You see, there was this one man in particular that Natalya came to love. His name was Theseos, I believe. Anyway, Natalya really loved this guy, or whatever, and all along she never wanted him to fight in the war. But he insisted that all he desired was to fight by her side and win the war...or die trying.
Unable to argue with her lover, Natalya agreed, and obviously deeply regretted it later. When she found Theseos's bloody corpse on the battlefield, Natalya lost all control. And at the moment, on that very day, the once kind and innocent angel unleashed her hidden dark side. She reached into her garments and took out the stone, which immediately began to glow with the same, brilliant light as it did in heaven all those years before. But after just a few seconds, the light changed from a magnificent rainbow, to a frightening, dark shadow which slowly began to spread...until it covered nearly every inch of the battlefield. This strange shadow had a rather mysterious affect on the Athenian soldiers. At first, it simply weakened them, to the point where they could hardly even stand. But before long, the shadows began to eat them. It melted their feet and dragged them under the ground. The Athenians were screaming and begging for mercy the entire time, while Natalya simply stood by with a dead expression on her face, chanting, 'For Theseos...for Theseos...'
The entire Athenian army would have been wiped out, had it not been for the Spartan leader that arrived just in time. After securing Natalya and breaking her from her trance, the Spartan leader ordered her to release the Athenians. She did, and of course, the Athenians immediately surrendered. Thus, the end of the war. But in the end, Natalya never got to confess her love to Theseos. And that tore her apart even more. She blamed it mostly on herself, and partially on the stone. That day, Natalya took the stone and chucked it as far as she could away from her, claiming that it was because of the stone's curse that Theseos was dead. And it wasn't until many, many years later that I discovered the stone. Strangely enough, the stone doesn't have the same effect on me, as you witnessed earlier. Weird, huh? But anyway, there you have it. There's the story of how Natalya, the once said-to-be-perfect angel became a corrupted one, and eventually, a member of the Midnight Legion."
I'm sure my jaw had hit the ground by this point. "All that...and she's a member of the Midnight Legion?" I asked in utter disbelief. "But I thought-"
"-that the Midnight Legion was made up of only demons?" He finished. "Well, that's mostly correct. Natalya was originally an angel, but the stone's dark powers corrupted her, and she became a half-demon."
"How is the stone not affecting you so harshly?"
Ezekiel seemed to be stumped by my question, and he stood silent for several moments, before finally shrugging. "I don't really know. Maybe it did the opposite to me as it did to Natalya by making me an angelic being, because I couldn't possibly have gotten any worse than I already was. She was perfect, then made imperfect. I was corrupted, then made slightly less imperfect." His lips curved into a frown, and he let out a heavy sigh. "Ah...just listen to me go on about this silly tale. I apologize, princess. When I start talking, I have trouble shutting up."
I stared at Ezekiel and watched in shock as he transformed from a cheery, enthusiastic boy to a depressed, nostalgic man. My mind began to wander as I tried to expand on what Ezekiel had just told me. An angel...becoming a demon? Is that possible? These thoughts were circling in my mind for what seemed like a long while, and I hadn't even noticed Jeremy approaching me from behind. But his deep, angry voice broke the silence.
"Hey. Brat. What do you think you're doing?"
My eyes popped and I spun around on one foot, soon finding myself in an awkwardly close stare-down with the stupid cyborg. "I-I'm having a conversation with Ezekiel," I stuttered, suddenly becoming awfully nervous. I could feel Jeremy's cold, heavy breaths on my face, sending shivers throughout my entire body. "And look. The dragon's a l-lizard now." I pointed a quivering hand at the lizard, who was still scampering around in a circle. "And t-there was a stone, a-and an angel, and then...wait...why did you decide to leave me? After you were trying so desperately to get me to come along?"
My question only seemed to increase the awkwardness of the situation, because Jeremy was driven to turn his head away to avoid eye contact. "I'm sorry," he said, which surprised me. "Blame the short lady."
"Ryder, I thought I told you to respect me," I heard Suri snap, and soon she had come out from behind Jeremy, followed by Morgan. Niall wasn't there, though.
Oh, that's right. He's unconscious.
"Hanako! You're okay!!" Morgan cried, and he ran up to me to throw his arms around my neck. "I was so worried..."
"I knew Zeke would resort to using the stone, and I didn't want to get in his way, so that's why I cleared the area for him," Suri explained to me. "Sorry for the scare, Hanako."
I blinked several times whilst gazing into the general's sympathetic eyes. "N-no, it's fine. I'm okay, really," I insisted. "All thanks to Ezekiel."
Ezekiel smiled proudly upon hearing me praise him. "Anything for you, my princess."
I jumped as I felt Jeremy's mechanical hand firmly grip my shoulder. "Niall is currently inside resting, but I think we should check on him anyway."
"Ironmage is right. We should go."
"I don't think Niall would want to see me right now," said Ezekiel, "but I'd still like to know if he's alright."
"Niall is strong, Zeke," Suri said with a sigh. "I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."
After that slightly reassuring message, Ezekiel waved to us as we turned our backs to him and headed back to the headquarters building. Once we arrived at the door, the general sent it flying open with one powerful kick. (Why she hadn't just used the doorknob was beyond me.) We hurried inside, before letting it close forcefully behind us. As I turned my head away from the door, I found myself once again astonished. We had walked into a fairly small and dark room that was only lit by the thin rays of light that poured through a single closed window. Jeremy, Morgan, and I followed the general's lead down a corridor that seemed to stretch on for miles. Eventually, we stopped in front of a white wooden door with the word "INFIRMARY" written in big, bronze letters across it. Suri placed her hand on the knob and turned it slowly, then pushed open the door. Then we all went in.
There, on a single-person bed, lay Niall, fast asleep with a white sheet draped across him. He was back to his normal self. Not in his Reaper form, that is. His facial expression was relaxed, at least much more than it had been lately. This put my nerves slightly at ease, and a feeling of relief washed over me. Although, what he had said earlier still puzzled me. I guess that'll be a question for another day.
"Niall," Suri said with a soft voice as she sat down beside him on the bed. "Niall. Can you hear me, Niall?"
The demon shifted a bit. His mouth opened slightly, and he began muttering something no one could quite understand (again). I managed to make out a few words, though, such as "darkness" and "history repeats" and stuff like that. Same as before.
"Are you sure he'll be okay?" I asked, becoming concerned as I noticed Niall's face tensing up.
"You want my honest opinion?" Suri asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I nodded slowly. "Niall will never really be okay."
My eyes grew wide and I stared questioningly into the general's heavy eyes. "Wait, what do you mean? What do you mean he'll never be okay? He will wake up, won't he?"
"Yeah, sure he will," she replied. "I'm just saying...he's a special one, Niall is. Blue hair, crazy clothing, irregular behavior. Tell me, Hanako, when you first met Niall, what was he like?"
"Strange," I blurted immediately. "He went on and on about the 'uncertainty of the sky,' or something like that. But all in all he seemed like a very positive person."
"Yes, they all start out that way don't they?"
"Pardon?"
"The Midnight Legion," she said. "When you first meet someone, their personalities are nothing like they are on a regular basis, this having much to do with a little thing called first impression. I bet Niall was trying to make you see the good side of him before it was too late. And I'm glad he was able to do that." Suri's eyelids weighed down even more as her gaze fell on Niall. "I'm worried. I am so very, very worried. Ever since I met Niall, I've known about a certain fate that was to fall on this world. A fate that revolves around Niall's Reaper form. You've seen it. But you haven't seen what it can do, have you? It's dangerous. It's terrifying. I've seen him murder thousands. He'd make a great soldier, I'll give him that. If only he could control himself..."
It wasn't until then that I realized Niall's eyes had fluttered open. He was still lying flat on his back, now looking up at a discolored spot on the ceiling. Blinking several times, he mumbled with a slurred voice, "H'long was I out?"
"Three centuries," said Jeremy. We all stared at him. "You have been unconscious for three centuries."
To my surprise, no one said anything. Probably because we all knew Niall would be able to figure out that Jeremy was lying. Or so we thought. The demon's eyes widened in shock, and he appeared utterly horrified. "W-wait...if I've been asleep for 300 hundred years...how are you still all here?"
"We are robots," said Jeremy monotonously. "We have been given orders by our master to watch over you until you awoke. It took a lot longer than we had anticipated, so our master had our human brains transferred into a mechanical body, as you see before you."
"WHAT?!?"
Niall flipped out. He leapt back in a startled manner, flailing around on the bed until he landed on the floor with a loud 'thump.' "MASTER HANAKO! I HAVE FAILED YOU! FORGIVE ME~!!!"
"Niall! Calm down!" I shouted. "Jeremy was only messing with you. You haven't even been asleep for three hours. Let alone three centuries. Relax."
Niall's heavy breathing relaxed a bit and gradually returned to a normal pace. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief, then chuckled in spite of his gullibility. "Very amusing, Jeremy. Very amusing..."
Jeremy sure seemed to think so.
"I can't believe you thought I was telling the truth! Your face, man..." He wiped away a fake tear from his eye. "...priceless..."
"That's enough playing around, Ironmage," the general scolded, firing him a reprimanding glare. "I swear, you are the most immature, ridiculous excuse for a man if I ever saw one." She heaved an exasperated sigh and turned again to face Niall. "Glad to see you're awake, Niall. I've got something you need to do for me." She leaned over and whispered something into Niall's ear, making the demon's eyes widen in surprise. I could've sworn I heard him curse under his breath.
"We must go and head towards the Eternal Forest."
I flinched upon hearing Niall utter this so unexpectedly. "I...I'm sorry...?"
"Towards the horizon," he said flatly, resembling the sound of someone who had been hypnotized. "We must go...before...she awakes...the stone...is calling her...she will awake...history repeats...repeat...dark days...repeat..."
I understood now what it all meant—what Niall had said before, all because of what Ezekiel told me. "The stone is calling Natalya," I said aloud. "And by dark days you mean the days she fought in the Peloponnesian War...murdering all those Athenians with the stone's power."
Jeremy and Morgan fired demanding looks at me, but my gaze remained fixed on Niall. He nodded slowly at my words. "That is correct."
"Since when have you payed attention in history class?" said Jeremy curiously. "Last time I checked Natalya wasn't recorded in any Spartan history books."
"Ezekiel told me everything," I explained. "He has the stone, and it made him an angel."
"Far from it," scowled Suri. "I thought I told that boy never to use that stone unless means necessary. He never does listen...but I guess I should give him credit this one time. He saved your life after all, didn't he, Hanako?"
"Yeah..." I squinted and peered out the window behind Suri. "Speaking of Ezekiel, where did he go? I don't see him out there."
"He's probably on his way to dispose of that lizard before it turns back into a dragon," she replied. "Honestly...I don't know why he couldn't have done it before bringing the monster here, but either way...he's doing us all a big favor."
"I see..."
I guess I should have thanked him before he left...I hope I run into him again someday. Who knows? Maybe I will. Lately my life has been taking all sorts of crazy turns. I never know what to expect anymore.