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Davion
Oct 12, 2002, 04:58 PM
The Angelus Saga

Prologue

Heroes. What makes a hero? Is a hero someone who knows what to do in every situation? Someone who can lead responsibly through the darkest night; or melt through a stern deposition with a smile? Is a hero someone whose very life changes the course of history, and inspires even the least of people to do the same? Not always. Most heroes are just ordinary people, who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time and decided to stand their ground no matter the cost.
Three such heroes made that choice. This is their story.


Chapter One

A new world, a new beginning

"Look Daddy, it's leaving!" said a young boy climbing onto his father's shoulders and pointing off towards the sky.
"Yes Seifer, Pioneer 1 is finally on its way." Said a tall, noble man to his the young boy.
"Where is it going?" questioned the man's eldest son.
"Ragol Davion, it's going to our new home," the man said reaching down and putting his strong hands on his two other sons.
"I like our old home, I don't want to leave." said the man's other son, hugging his fathers waist.
"I do to. But Diego, we won't be able to live in our old home for much longer. That's why the Pioneer 1 has to leave. Its job is to take many people to Ragol to colonize it for the rest of us. They will build a settlement there and a central dome."
"Like a big house?" questioned the boy on the man's shoulders.
"Yes Seifer, like a big house."
"I think I'll like living there." returned Seifer.
"I hope we all will." The man said putting his arms around the two boys at his side. "We still have a few more things to do before we leave on Pioneer 2 boys, lets go home." The man and his three sons returned home still gazing up at the starship shooting off through the sky.


The man's name was Artemis Angelus. Artemis was a rich and powerful man on his home planet where he made his fortune as a starship manufacturer. Because of his renown he was asked to help design and build the two gigantic spacecraft for the Pioneer Project. The Pioneer Project was a plan to relocate the entire population of his dieing home planet to another world where they could re-establish themselves. Un-manned probes were sent out to the far reaches of space to find a planet suitable for colonization while construction on the spacecraft began. The probes sent back information on a planet suitable for life named Ragol. It was the perfect planet for colonization. So with the discovery of Ragol Artemis and the people of his world began the pilgrimage to their new home.


Artemis built a home for himself and his sons on Pioneer 2. Angelus Manor was built so that the Artemis and his family could live like they did in their old home, in extravagant luxury. Angelus Manor was a vast estate with many rooms where Artemis and his sons could work, live, and play. Of all the rooms the library was the most impressive. It was where Artemis spent most of his time. It was three stories tall with walls and walls of bookshelves reaching to the ceiling. At one end was an immense window that reached from the floor to the cathedral ceiling and overlooked Pioneer 2's beautiful vistas. Artemis placed his desk at the foot of the window so he could watch the people enjoy the starship he helped create. He was not a man to do things halfheartedly.
The three Angelus boys spent many happy hours in that library. They would race around the library; jumping from ladder to ladder, level to level. It was a pastime their father discouraged but tolerated.


Artemis had lost his wife to sickness a little while after his youngest son was born. Artemis' three sons were all he had left in the world. There was Davion Artemis Angelus, the eldest, the middle brother Diego Gabriel Angelus, and the youngest of the boys, Seifer Alexander Angelus. All three sons bore a great affection for their father, and a great respect. Artemis cared for his sons, and brought them up as best he could. He nurtured them and taught them to be serving to their fellow man and to be just in all their affairs. Because of this upbringing, the three brothers grew up humble, caring, and just.


During the early years that they lived on Pioneer 2, Davion made friends with some of the staff that worked at his home. He made an especially good friend in Dash Henderson whose father was the head of security of all Pioneer 2. Dash was a few years older then him, and tended to beat him at a lot of things. Races and target shooting among others. The one thing Davion could always best him at was fencing, swordplay, games of strength. In this, his biggest rival was no other than his youngest brother Seifer. Seifer trained constantly in order to keep up with his eldest brother, and he was very good at it.


Growing up, Dash and the Angelus brothers were very close. Even before they came to live on Pioneer 2 they were best friends. During their third year onboard Pioneer 2, Artemis enrolled his sons in the Hunter Academy so that they might learn to become strong and disciplined. Not all hunters needed to go to the academy, but Artemis wanted his boys to get the same training he did when he was young. Seifer was allowed to enroll early because his skills showed much potential and because his brothers had already become some of the best students the school had ever seen.
Diego and Dash always seemed to be fascinated by guns. They were all they wanted to play with, practice with, and collect. They soon became Ranger trainees. Seifer and Davion loved bladed weapons. Swords, partisans, and daggers appealed to them. They became Hunter trainees. Davion was always partial towards the large two-handed swords. They gave him a sense of power that he could never attain with more agile weapons. Seifer was never as strong as his oldest brother, so he couldn't wield the large blades Davion loved. Sabers were his forte. The only weight being the hilt that projected a photon blade made is much easier for him to use. He especially liked double sabers. He would practice with long staves when he was young fighting mock battles against many unseen foes. Most of his peers in the school, and some of the teachers, didn't akin to Seifer's unique style of fighting with the twin class of weapons. Most students ridiculed him, confusing Seifer's disregard of normal style as an inability to understand the basics. In reality Seifer was the most skilled of all his fellow students. Being topped only by Davion, and his ability to wield the large swords, of which not many students could use as easily. When Seifer, through tournaments and feats of skill, graduated to the more difficult class of twin usage, he shocked and even angered many of his rivals. Seifer was seen as the oddball of his class, and was looked down upon by many of his peers because of his age. He was thought of as too young to be a hunter. Seifer was determined to prove them wrong. He pushed ahead so much that he actually graduated at the same time as Diego and Davion. This was an impressive feat that finally gained Seifer the respect he had worked these many years for.


At the graduation ceremony, it was customary to have the top ten students perform their specialty. Seifer, Diego, and Davion were the top three of the school. This made their father very proud. Because of the occasion, Artemis purchased new weapons for all of them. He bought Davion a Claymore, Seifer received a Stag Cutlery, and Diego received two guns, a Blaster rifle and a Lockgun sidearm.
At the night of the ceremony, the three brothers stood proud as they and all their classmates received their hunter's certificates. When the graduation was finished the demonstrations began. Many fine presentations of shot, sword, and sorcery were displayed setting the stage for the top three. After the initial seven demonstrations, it was time for Diego. Diego walked into the middle of the arena, surrounded by a multitude of people in the stands.
"Diego Angelus will now demonstrate his amazing marksmanship skills." The announcer declared. Diego nodded that he was ready, and the show began. Several targets were fired into the air as Diego pulled his new Lockgun from its holster, took aim, and fired. He destroyed all of the targets before they had even reached the apex of their flight. More targets popped up fifty yards behind him as he pulled his rifle from his back. He dropped to one knee and destroyed each one in a matter of seconds. The crowd cheered as he stood again. More targets appeared all around the arena. Diego tucked his rifle under his arm as he once again withdrew his Lockgun. Now with both guns he began firing in every direction. Not one of his shots missed. All met their targets much to the satisfaction of the audience. Again more targets appeared but this time they were far towards the ceiling. Diego raised his rifle and fired. From a sheath on top of the stock a hook and chain shot towards the lofty ceiling. The hook caught hold and the strong micro motor began to pull Diego up. He now reached for his hip where he kept a saber. He reached the ceiling and climbed on top of one of the rafters. He took a deep breath and fired his grappling hook at another one of the rafters twenty feet away. As his hook caught hold he leapt from his perch and armed his saber. He swung by one of the targets and cleaved it in two with his blade. He reached the peak of his swing and began to fall back again in a different direction. He flew past a row of targets and hacked through all of them with one swing. But suddenly his hook broke loose from the rafters. Diego began to fall towards the floor. The crowd gasped in fear as he plummeted downward. Quickly Diego fired back up at the ceiling where his grapple caught. He used all his strength to keep a hold on his rifle and lower himself slowly to the ground. As his feet met the dirt the crowd cheered again for their hero whose performance had outranked any Ranger's that had come before.


After he had finished his exhibition, Seifer strode into the ring.
"Now Seifer Angelus will give a display on saber combat."
Seifer stood solemnly as he held his weapon. He spread his legs, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply as he raised his blade. He held the hilt out before him and with one hand turned one of the blades on. The crimson energy of his weapon projected out with a flash. In a blur of light he spun his weapon about. Twisting his lithe and nimble body with the motion of his saber. He jumped and brought it zinging down before him to the ground. He leapt up and jabbed forward withdrew and jabbed again. He left his blade before him this time still gently glowing. But now he grabbed the hilt with his other hand an in a moment another blade had joined the first. Effortlessly he twisted the deadly weapon around his body. His form was enclosed in a scarlet haze created by his magnificent movements. Both man, android, and newman held the unusual style that Seifer practiced in awe. He appeared to be fighting unseen enemies, swinging the weapon with amazing skill, throwing out kicks and blows in every direction while his weapon never ceased its motion. He leapt into the air spinning his weapon above his head before he brought it crashing down to the floor. He quickly stood up and held the saber at arms length before him. He drew a breath and began to spin the blade slowly at first but ever quickening. Soon it was spinning so fast that all one could make out was a crimson disc floating effortlessly on Seifer's hands. For his finale Seifer quickly stopped the blade and withdrew it to behind his back. Now thrust his arm out in front of him. The audience could see a charge build up on his palm. He drove his hand into the air as streaks of lightning began to shower the ground all around him. There was a blinding flash that hid Seifer from view and caused all in the audience to shield their eyes from the brightness. When the light dimmed the audience looked in amazement at Seifer who was now standing proudly with his arms crossed across his chest and his blade strapped at his hip. The crowd roared with approval. Cheers filled the stadium as Seifer walked out of the ring and towards his brothers.

"Good job buddy." said Davion.
"Thanks Dav." replied Seifer, "You're next."
"Ok then." Davion said as he walked out to the middle of the floor, holding with pride the hilt of his new sword swung over his back.

"And now the eldest Angelus Brother, Davion, will exhibit his swordsmanship skills."
Davion stood and took the sword from his back. He gazed about the stadium addressing the onlookers with his noble gaze. Then he closed his eyes drew a deep breath and began his presentation. Plunging the point of his blade into the ground, he switched it on. The sides of the large metal blade flashed and began to glow crimson as the photon edges took life burning the ground in which it was planted. With one powerful swipe he ripped the blade from the floor. He began to swing it in circles around his body. The hum of the photons blended with the swipe of the steel to create a dreadful harmony. Spinning it around again he brought it in front of him. Now he began to slash from left to right with large potent strokes. Its hum could be heard throughout the arena. Next he shouldered his weapon and brought his hands to his sides in fists. He bent over until with a surge of power he slowly raised his hands to the air. Davion's hands glowed ice blue as the ground began to shake as many pillars of ice paid heed to their master's call and rose from the dust. Now he took his blade form his back and dashed out at the frozen columns. He swung his sword from one side to another shattering the pillars like glass. With one column left he swung his weapon to his side and produced from his outstretched had a massive fireball. It collided with the ice and hissed as it plunged through the frost. The crowd was amazed with this display of both magical wisdom and brute force. They all looked intently, waiting for more. Davion was happy to oblige. He swung his blade about and brought it crashing down to the ground. He grabbed the hilt with both hands and flipped it over with the blade pointing down. He began to slash with this inverted swing much to the satisfaction of the crowd. Next he brought his sword to his side and stretched one hand out in front of him. A pulsing red light began to glow from Davion's palm. It rushed up his arm and covered his entire form with a shining power. It was Shifta, a technique that usually only forces could attempt. Now he reached for his hip and withdrew a saber. With one hand he grasped its hilt and with the other he lifted his massive blade. Now he began to cut at the air with both weapons. He sliced faster and faster drawing strength from the magic surrounding him. After an impressive performance using both blades Davion prepared for his final show of strength. He sheathed the saber and crouched down low. With a yell he threw his sword skyward. He leapt to meet his blade nearly ten feet in the air. He flipped over backwards and landed with his arms across his chest moments before his weapon imbedded itself in the ground inches from his foot with a thud. The crowd cheered as he ripped the blade from the ground, and walked back to his brothers. Throwing his arms around them, they walked back to their applauding father, who was watching from a booth in the audience. After the graduation ceremony, they headed home both exhausted and proud.






<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-07-24 19:01 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-07-24 19:05 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-09-03 15:22 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-09-12 11:10 ]</font>

M_BlackHawk
Oct 12, 2002, 09:17 PM
WOah...Davion, you're starting out pretty well. Keep it up.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Oct 13, 2002, 10:49 PM
Thanks. The next chapter will be along in a bit. I have to look it over a bit with my semi co-writer, Seifer01.
Seifer01 is my best friend in real life, and the Seifer in the fic. I need someone I can bounce ideas off of, and get some feedback from. He fits the bill pretty well. Expect the next chapter soon.

Hikosaka
Oct 14, 2002, 02:36 AM
I'm liking it so far. Keep it up. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

RavenTW
Oct 14, 2002, 06:30 AM
Yeah, I like this a lot myself.

Davion
Oct 14, 2002, 04:20 PM
Here's the next chapter.

Chapter Two

A Hunter is Born

The next morning was the day that Pioneer 2 was to depart for Ragol. All three boys donned their best attire and joined their father aboard the control tower. There, their father was gathered with the Principal and other officials of Pioneer 2. Many people stood at the foot of the tower as the rest of the population listened through the broadcast system. Artemis looked at his watch and slowly walked forward towards the podium. After all were silent he began his speech.

"Today is a great day in history. Today is the day that we move to the next chapter of our existence. The day that we depart for a new life on a new world. Now we leave behind the legacy of our ancestors, and reach for the stars. The story of our past is laid out like a book across the ages, and as I survey the pages of this document I see many great accomplishments. I can see many years of prosperity and peace. But as I begin to turn the pages there are other things that come to mind. I can see war, destruction, and hatred. I can see brothers take up arms against brothers. I can see nations engage in vicious battles over petty disagreements. It is with sadness that I survey the hurt we have brought upon ourselves. But today is the day that we turn the page to a new era in our lives. Today we begin the start of something new. We leave behind all that our ancestors had built, all we fought so hard to control. We leave it with the hope of finding something better. My prayer this day is that we together may find it. It is not in my power to write this book, it is in your hands. I challenge you today to change the course of history and embrace tomorrow as one people unified by a love for one another. In this, may we find victory in our greatest challenge. Thank you."

The crowd cheered as Artemis stepped down from the platform. His words were powerful and true and would not be easily forgotten. Now the principal stepped forward.

"I pray that all of us would heed the words of our friend Artemis, that we would extend to our kinsman a gesture of kindness and love. It is with these words that we shall leave our old home. May it begin."

Just as he had finished saying this the ground began to rumble as the starship's massive engines roared to life. The ship slowly began to press forward and as it did there was a moment of silence as all aboard realized that they would never again touch the soils of home.
Artemis now turned to his boys and together they gazed out of the glass dome atop Pioneer 2. Artemis put his arms around his sons as they watched their old home drift away.
"Do you think that Ragol will be like our old planet?" Seifer asked.
"I believe so." Artemis said, "Of course it will be different, but we should be able to manage if we stay united."
"I hope we are able to." Davion said.
"We can my son. If you remain humble and just, others shall see you and learn from your example."
They watched until their planet was no longer in view, and then returned home.

The first few months of the journey were spent mostly at home. As all three brothers had graduated and there was little to occupy their time. They spent most of their days training at home or wandering the streets of Pioneer 2 looking for a good time.
On one such excursion into the streets Seifer found himself lost in a dense commercial district on the backside of town, his new Mag hovering behind him. It was late and many of the shops were already closed. As he walked Seifer eyed a window in a large warehouse. There was light within and over the dull hum of distant traffic Seifer could just make out two voices. Seifer fingered the hilt of his weapon nervously. Something wasn't right. He slowly crept up to the wall and leaned against it, hoping to hear the conversation within.
"It's about time you showed up!" said a man in a harsh whisper.
"Shut up, I got here didn't I?" responded another in the same callous tone.
"Whatever, did you bring it?"
"Right here."
Seifer heard a grinding sound as something was dragged from the shadows within. There was the click of a lock releasing and the slow whine of a box cover opening.
"Very nice. You indeed are a fine businessman. Now if I could just examine them more closely."
"Not so fast." replied the second voice in a stern tone, "I don't trust you. First give me the parts."
"My my, you are a shrewd man. But I fear I must oblige. Here they are." Seifer heard another box open. "One complete RAcaseal, in six parts."
"Very well, here are the weapons you requested, heavy machine guns, rifles, handguns, with a few sabers thrown in for good measure. I'll be glad to get them off my hands. It's just what I don't need, getting caught with stolen weapons. The cops are everywhere these days."
Seifer leaned over, opened the door a bit, and peeked inside. There were two men standing exchanging boxes laden with weapons and android parts. Behind them were about a dozen or so guards overlooking the deal while keeping alert for any who might try to disturb it. Seifer watched as the first man slowly drew a pistol from his side and aimed it at the other who was examining the android.
"Now I really hate to do this but unfortunately I'm a very greedy person," said the dealer, "so I don't think I'll be able to let you leave with the android."
The man on the floor looked up now to see the pistol trained to his head. "You," he said. His voice was trembling from fear and rage, "I trusted you."
"Indeed you did, and how admirable of you to do so. But I'm afraid that your trust was in vain."
"Go to h-!"
"You first." the betrayer interrupted as he fired.
Seifer looked away as the photon bullet ripped through the man's skull. From within he could hear the body drop.
"No honor among thieves." Seifer thought to himself.
"Very good." said the second dealer looking up to the guards; "You all may take half the weapons in exchange for your services. Put them to good use." He now reached for the box of android parts and the remaining weapons. "Now I'll just be on my way."
"Think again!" cried a voice from behind the group. A lone hunter appeared from the shadows wielding a partisan. He flipped over the wall of guards and landed in the middle of the room. Seifer watched as the Hunter ran towards the guards swinging his weapon. The Hunter rammed the end of his partisan into one of the guard's chests. The guard fell to the floor stunned. The lone man continued to swing at the rest who had drawn their own weapons, but by now one of them had made his way behind him. The thug grabbed the Hunter's arms and held the tight. Another thug swung his saber and sliced the man's weapon in half. It clattered to the floor as the thug pounded his fist into the Hunter's chest. The man's body lurched forward again and again as he was ruthlessly pounded.
"Enough!" the dealer yelled as he slowly began to walk towards the beaten Hunter. "Janus, Janus, Janus, when will you learn. You cannot defeat me. Why even bother trying?" the man named Janus said nothing but only stared back at him with a burning hate in his eyes. "You have been a great annoyance to me. I shall enjoy watching you die." The dealer placed the barrel of his gun to the Hunter's forehead. "Goodbye Janus. Say hello to your father for me." Seifer made his move. He burst through the door his saber drawn. The men holding Janus looked just in time to see a ball of fire come rushing towards them. They leapt to the sides; one of them just wasn't fast enough. Janus now free of his captors snatched up the fallen man's weapon and joined his rescuer in disposing of the rest.
Seifer rushed towards the nearest guard. He cut the weapon in two with one slice. With no way to defend himself, the guard could do nothing to repel the leveling kick that Seifer delivered to his head. He fell back lifeless. Janus had now run towards another of the guards and brought his saber crashing down above him. The guard quickly raised his own blade and the two weapons collided in a shower of sparks. The two men were locked there for a few seconds, each pushing with all his might. Then suddenly Janus pushed forward and set the man off balance. With one quick kick he sent the guards weapon high into the air. He caught it and brought it crashing down on his opponent's skull. The man fell down dazed. Meanwhile, Seifer had let lose a barrage of Gizonde that left three more of the guards twitching stunned on the floor. Now they turned to the dealer who was madly trying to open the locked door. Janus marched over to him and lifted him off his feet by his collar.
"Now where were we old friend?" questioned Janus in a sinister tone, "Oh yes, we were at the part where you were going to have me executed." Janus grinned, "I'm considering returning the favor."
"No, please don't kill me. I'll do anything, anything just don't kill me." The dealer trembled in Janus' hands.
"Don't worry I'm not going to kill scum like you; wouldn't want to tarnish my blade now would I? However I believe the police wouldn't mind a chat with you and your friends. What say you we give them a call."
"I'd rather die!" The dealer said.
"That can be arranged." Seifer said spinning his weapon.
"No, no!" the pitiful man cried, "I'll go, I'll go."

About a half hour later all the criminals were in custody and the weapons were off to their rightful owners. Seifer and Janus watched from afar as the criminals were led away in chains. After a short while the police chief came to speak to them.
"I cannot thank you two enough. You have done me a great service," said the chief, "Is there any way that I could repay you two?"
"It was our duty as citizens and hunters. Think nothing of it," responded Seifer.
"I have had my satisfaction in seeing those men thrown into the cooler. I need no greater reward than that." chuckled Janus.
"You are indeed great hunters but even better gentlemen. I thank you again," said the chief, "I shall not soon forget what has happened tonight. Farewell."
"Thank you." said Seifer as he and Janus turned to leave.
The two began to walk towards the residential district of Pioneer 2, pulling the crate with the android behind them. As they walked they talked about the nights events.
"So who exactly were those guys?" questioned Seifer.
"Those men are from an organization called Black Paper." Janus answered.
"Black Paper? I haven't heard of them, who are they?"
"Black Paper is a crime syndicate that participates in the illegal trade of weapons, other technologies, and even people on the black market."
"So I guess the item up for bid tonight was a RAcaseal."
"Yes it was. In fact that's the reason that I came. This RAcaseal that they were selling belongs to me. Actually she belonged to my father but ever since he passed away..." Janus' voice trailed off, "I don't like to talk about it. Well anyway she and I work as hunters to pay the bills. She was out on an assignment with the guild when she went missing. I went out looking for her and found her cornered by the same men we just fought. I didn't have my partisan with me, and there were too many of them. All I could do was watch as they dragged her away."
"So you came tonight to get her back?" Seifer said as they turned a corner.
"Yeah something like that, and partially to get revenge. I've had plenty of confrontations with those guys in the past. Most of them weren't very pleasant so I always did want to see em' get locked up. Anyway I wouldn't have gotten very far with them if you hadn't come. I owe you my greatest thanks for saving me."
"Don't think anything of it, I'm sure you would have done the same for me." Seifer said, "So where will you go now?"
"Home I guess. I want to rest up after that fight. Then tomorrow I'm going to have to take Hal here down to android maintenance to see if we can have her repaired."
"Well, what if you come home with me? It's late, and my home's not too far away. You could get some rest and then repair her tomorrow."
"I guess that sounds like a good idea. Lets go then."
"Great, come this way."

The two new friends began to walk off towards home tired and content. They arrived about a half hour later at Seifer's doorstep. Janus could do naught but gawk at the massive estate that Seifer called his own.
"This is your house?" Janus asked.
"Yes." Seifer answered.
"What's your last name Seifer?" Janus asked suspiciously.
"Angelus. Why do you ask?"
"I thought so." Janus said as they walked up the steps, "You did look a lot like one of Artemis' boys."
"Interesting." Seifer said opening the door. Once inside, Artemis greeted the two warmly.
"Welcome home Seifer. Who is this that you have brought with you?"
"This is Janus father. We met tonight with some very unfriendly criminals who are now enjoying prison gruel."
"Indeed an amazing story, though it troubles me that there exist such evils on this craft. I had indeed hoped that this would be a new beginning, but it seems that our kind has not forsaken its old ways. Nevertheless you two must get some rest."
"Thank you sir." Janus said.
"You're welcome Janus." Artemis said, "Welcome to Angelus Manor."
"Seifer." Janus said after they had walked a bit, "I'd like to repair Hal today, and not wait till tomorrow."
"Ok, I'll show you to the lab then." Seifer said, "Follow me." Janus followed Seifer down the halls towards the lab. On the way, they ran into Davion. He was holding a stack of books, and was on his way to the library.
"Hello Seifer." Davion said, "Who's your friend?"
"This is Janus." Seifer answered, "I'll tell you how we met later. First we have something important to do."
"I don't suppose it has anything to do with that crate you're scuffing up the floors with." Davion said, "Mildred isn't going to like this."
"Oh no!" Seifer exclaimed, "I've already messed up enough lately. If she finds out, she's going to make me scrub all the floors in the mansion!"
"I'll cover for you this time bro." Davion said walking off, "But don't expect me to do this again anytime soon. See you guys later."
"Thanks Davion." Seifer said as he and Janus walked into the lab.
"Nice place you got here." Janus said as they placed Hal's various parts on the lab table.
"Lets get to work." Seifer said as he started Hal's assembly, "Is there anything I should know about Hal before we start?"
"Not really. She's pretty much a normal android. Just be careful ok?"
"Sure, I'll do my best." Seifer said as he pulled out his tools. After a lengthy job of repairing, assembling, and restoring, Hal was finally fully repaired. Janus reached over and turned Hal on. Her eyes flickered and glowed as she sat up on the table.
"Where am I?" she asked, "Janus, what happened?"
"Your in Angelus Manor Hal," Janus said, "This is Seifer Angelus, he helped me save you."
"From who?"
"Black Paper." Janus answered.
"They captured me?"
"Yes." Seifer said, "When I arrived at the warehouse they were meeting in; I saw a man trading your parts for a large crate of weapons."
"Trading me? Oh no, I can't believe I fell for that."
"Fell for what Hal?" Janus asked.
"The mission." Hal answered, "I was asked to follow a man who was believed to be a leader in the organization. I was supposed to find out where they were meeting, and report back to the guild. However, the people who gave me the mission were apparently part of Black Paper themselves. I followed my charge right into a trap. The last thing I remember was a shock in the back of my neck."
"Well I'm glad you two are ok now." Seifer said.
"If it wasn't for you, we'd both of been finished." Janus said patting Seifer on the back.
"Yes thank you Seifer." Hal said hopping off the table.
"You're welcome." Seifer said, "Lets take this conversation to the library. My father and brother should be there. They might be able to help you. Wait till you get to know them, Father especially. There isn't anything he can't figure out."
"Considering the job he did for the Pioneer Project, I'm not surprised." Janus said as Seifer lead them to the library. Artemis and Davion were talking in the ring of chairs and couches they had setup for entertaining.
"And then I said to him...oh hello Seifer, Janus." Artemis said to them, "Who's your friend?"
"This is Hal sir." Janus answered, "She's the reason Seifer and I met in the first place."
"Well, tell me all about it then. And sit down, no need for them to stand while we have all these seats."
"Thank you sir." Janus said sitting down next to Hal on a small couch.
"Now I want to hear the whole story Seifer." Artemis said.
"Yes," Davion said, "I'm very interested as well."
"Very well, it all started when..." Seifer began explaining.

After Seifer finished giving Artemis and Davion a long explanation of what had occurred, Artemis leaned back in his chair and thought for a few seconds.
"Well, It seems to me that Janus here was lured into a trap." Artemis said.
"A trap? What do you mean?" Janus asked.
"Are you currently at odds with Black Paper?" Artemis asked.
"I am trying to bring them down." Janus said, "So I guess I am."
"I believe that Black Paper captured Hal in hopes of getting to you. And if Hal is helping you, they might want her out of the picture too. The same thing now goes for my son Seifer here."
"That's what I was afraid of." Janus said, "But I couldn't just forget about Hal. I had to do something."
"I know, and it was very noble of you." Artemis said.
"But I am worried about Seifer now." Janus said, "It's our fault he had this run in with them in the first place. I know that organization, they'll want him after the higher ups hear about this."
"That's the risk of being a Hunter." Davion said, "Seifer knows what's expected of him. He'd do it again I'm sure."
"Yes, I'm proud to see Seifer becoming the man he should be." Artemis said.
"Thank you Father." Seifer replied.
"I'll have to look into this then." Janus said, "I don't think I have much of a choice. Now there's an even greater risk to our lives. They lost us this time, they won't make the same mistake twice."
"We can help you." Seifer said, "I'm not interested in backing off now."
"Thank you, for everything." Janus said standing up, "But I don't want to bother you anymore, so I think we'll be leaving for home."
"Actually." Artemis said standing up and walking to Janus, "If Black Paper really wants you dead, home is the last place you should go. Now that you've escaped, they'll most likely try to get you there."
"I think your right Mr. Angelus." Janus said, "But where do we go now?"
"Why here of course!" Artemis said smiling, and putting his hands on his shoulders, "I wouldn't want you to be anywhere else."
"But wouldn't they track me here and attack Angelus Manor?" Janus asked.
"Let them. Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to get through. I designed this mansion myself. The security system is impenetrable."
Janus smiled and look at Hal, "Then we'll stay here, ok?"
"Sounds good to me."
"Excellent." Artemis said, "I'll send some of my staff to your home under full bodyguard."
"I'll go with them." Janus said, "I'll tell them what to bring."
"No bother." Artemis said calling the staff, "They'll just bring everything."
"Oh, thank you sir." Janus said.
"Your welcome Janus. Any friend of my son is a son of mine."


EDIT: Just a few grammar changes.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2002-10-14 17:51 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2002-10-26 20:23 ]</font>

Flame
Oct 15, 2002, 03:24 PM
wow keep up the good work Davion!

Toyzferall
Oct 15, 2002, 04:46 PM
*Nods* Good! Gettin' interesting...

Davion
Oct 15, 2002, 09:34 PM
Thanks for all the positive posts guys. Chapter three should be along by the weekend, I have to completely rework some of what I have. I hope you enjoy what I write as much as I enjoy writing it.

Nidarrock
Oct 16, 2002, 10:25 AM
I like it, looking forward to the next chapter. The time in which these chapters are happening is very cool. I never really thought too much about the trip over and such. Keep it up. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Davion
Oct 16, 2002, 08:22 PM
Thanks. On P2 (This is the game now) that lady in green said it had been two years since they left their homeworld. So I thought to myself, I have alot of time to burn.
My fic has alot of conversations and explanations in it. The reason for this is that the plot is very thick and you need to know alot about the characters and their lives if you are going to make any sense of it.

Davion
Oct 21, 2002, 09:41 PM
Chapter three is here. Tell me what you think.

Chapter three

New friends

Later that day Janus and Hal were situated in their new accommodations. Seifer, Janus and Davion went down to the training room for some exercise.
"If you going to be an Angelus for a while, you'll have to train with us." Davion said grabbing his training sword off the wall and pulling on his training garb. The training weapons the Angelus brothers used were just like normal weapons, except that instead of photons the weapons had holographic blades. "We train everyday and expect you to do the same."
"Fine with me." Janus said.
"I see you're a Bluefull Janus." Seifer said spinning his dummy double saber.
"Correct." Janus said.
"Then here's a training partisan." Davion threw him the long weapon.
"Thank you Davion."
"You're welcome." Davion clipped some weights to his sword, "How much do you think I should add this time Seifer?"
"I'd say about, hmm I don't know, thirty pounds maybe."
"That sounds good." Davion added the necessary weight to his training weapon, and he held it straight out. "This feels about right." He swung the blade around a few times and started his training routine.
"How much weight do you want Janus?" Seifer asked as he pulled on heavy wrist weights.
"You know," Janus replied, "I've never heard of this training technique before."
"Really? It's not a very well known technique. It's one of the reason's we Angelus brothers have become as good as we are. Even Diego with his guns uses it. You'd be surprised at how much strength it takes to level a rifle on the fly. I can't add weight to my weapon itself because of its style so I use these wristbands."
"Interesting," Janus said, "I think I'll take ten pounds for starters." Seifer tossed the weights over to Janus and the two Hunters joined Davion in training.

The three Hunters trained for awhile in separate corners. Janus looked around the room as he practiced new skills. It was a marvel of technology and design. It was a large square room with about 10,000 square feet of floor space, and a high ceiling. Janus had already noticed the training suits and weapons the Angelus family used. There were a dozen standard suits, and two dozen weighted suits of varying weight. He saw Seifer spinning his double saber around. He stopped to watch as the young Hunter flipped and twisted his body around with his weapon flashing out.

After about an hour, Janus walked over to the wall and hung up his weapon near all the others, "I'll be going now, I want to check on Hal."
"I think it's about time for me to be going too." Davion said as he hung up his weapon and pulled off his training suit, "I have some work to do."
"Ok." said Seifer, "I'm going to practice some more. I have some things I want to work out." He engaged the program and a dozen holo-fighters appeared in the room.
"That's a lot of guys Seifer. " Janus said, "Shouldn't you start small?"
"He did." Davion said.
"How else do you think I got so good at fighting groups?" Seifer said smirking and turning towards his opponents.
Davion and Janus walked out into the hallway, "Hal's quarters are in the west wing."
"Thanks Davion, for everything. We really appreciate this."
"No problem. It's what friends do."
"But we just met today. Not many people are so helpful."
"We're a friendly family I guess." Davion said walking off towards his room, "We've always tried to be the best neighbors we could be, and we consider everyone on Pioneer 2 our neighbors."
"That's very admirable." Janus said smiling, "See you at dinner."
"Sure thing."

Janus and Hal had a rough time adjusting to the new life the Angelus family offered them in Angelus Manor. It was much fancier then they were used to living. However, They soon made ties with many of the staff, and learned the favorite foods of the cook, Mary. After awhile they became parts of the family. Hal enjoyed target practice with Dash and Diego, while Janus trained with Seifer and Davion. Janus was still searching for clues on Black Paper's whereabouts and dealings. The Angelus family did their best to help him and Hal. Artemis bought Janus a powerful partisan to assist in his quest. Hal received a pair of Vulcans and a good Railgun.
One day, while they were all sitting in the library reading and chatting, Seifer asked Janus about his ordeal with Black Paper started in the first place.
"Yes, I'm sure we're all interested." Davion said after Seifer had asked.

"Well," Janus began, "My family was in the weapons business. We made and sold different types of guns, swords, special wands, and such for hunters and the military. We were well off, not nearly like this, but we were happy. My father ran the business well, and he had many loyal customers. One day, a Newman came into the store. I was with Father at the time, sweeping and doing a few odd jobs, and I saw him walk up to the counter. He asked for a large shipment of very powerful weapons, and didn't want to go through the necessary protocols and background checks. My father refused and asked the man to leave. The man pounded the counter and demanded to be given what he asked for. Father threatened to call the police and the man stormed out of the door. I was younger, so I didn't think much about it.
I wish I had, because about a week later a woman came to our store. I was with my father again, and my mother and sister were at home. She seemed nice enough, and she talked to my father about his business. I walked into the back to get something. After a bit, I found what I was searching for and walked back into the store. I heard a hail of gunfire. My first instinct was to hide, and it will be a choice that will haunt me the rest of my life.
When it was quiet, I came out of hiding. What I saw turned me into a weeping heap on the floor. There, in a bloody mess on the counter, was my father. I couldn't understand it, why did this happen? Who would want to kill my father? Then I remembered what happened a week before. I got up off the floor, but I couldn't look at my father's body. I ran out of the store screaming for help. Many people had already heard the gunfire, and the police came. I was questioned, and cops went into my family's ruined store. I sat down on the sidewalk, and then it hit me. Whoever murdered my father must know where we lived. I was worried about my mother and sister, and Hal of course. I ran back home as fast as I could, but my fears had come true."
"They killed them too, Janus?" Seifer asked.
"Yes." Janus answered lowering his head, "Luckily, Hal was out on an errand, so I still have her." Hal smiled and patted Janus' shoulder, Janus looked over at her.
"I think we've heard enough Janus." Artemis said, "I know recalling this atrocity must be terribly painful."
"Thank you Mr. Angelus." Janus said, "But I'll be ok to finish."
"If you're sure, Janus." Artemis said leaning back into his chair.
"Well, a few days later, after my family was buried, Hal and I stared to pick up the pieces of our broken family. After awhile, and we were relatively resettled, I started to look into the murders of my family. I discovered that an underground organization named Black Paper had done this to my family. It seems that that man who came to the store in the first place was trying to purchase some weapons to sell or trade to who knows who. I came to know that the most of the weapons in the store had been stolen. There must have been a whole lot of them waiting to spring and get what they wanted. I've been at odds with Black Paper ever since."

"That's some story Janus." Davion said leaning back in his chair.
"Yes, I had no idea." Seifer said.
"Janus doesn't tell that story much." Hal said, "He must fell unusually secure here."
"And I do. Back at our apartment, I was always worried that they would find us. Here however." Janus smiled, "I feel that nothing can harm Hal and I."
"We're glad we can be of service Janus, Hal." Artemis said standing up, "Come Janus, I wish to show you something." Artemis walked off. Janus stood up and followed him through the library. Artemis lead him up a ladder and around the walkway to get to a certain bookshelf. "Here we are." he said, "Now where is it. I put it here somewhere...ah here it is." Artemis grabbed a book off the shelf, "This is a favorite book of mine, my wife gave it to me. I read this sometimes when I've had a bad day, or need a lift. It always manages to comfort me. I almost feel that my wife, Emily, is near when I look through its pages. I used to read it to my boys when they were younger, and I think it is one reason they've become as noble as they are. I'd like you to have it."
"Me? No, I can't take this sir. I know how much it must mean to you."
"Don't worry about it, it's ok." Artemis said as he handed Janus the book, "I've read it so many times, I've almost memorized it. Besides, it looks like you could use it more. So please, take it."
Janus looked at the book and smiled, "Thank you Mr. Angelus. I'll take good care of it."
"I know you will." Artemis patted Janus on the shoulder, "I can see that we will become very good friends."
"I'd like that." Janus said as the two men walked back to the group.

Life for the Angelus family, and their extended family Janus and Hal, was full of good times, and long conversations in the library. Eventually, after they had stayed with the Angelus family for several weeks, Janus and Hal decided it was time for them to leave and seek out Black Paper more aggressively.
"Are you sure you can't stay?" Artemis asked.
"We're sure Mr. Angelus." Hal answered, "We're very thankful for everything you've done for us."
"It was a pleasure doing so." said Artemis.
"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask us." said Davion.
"Thank you." Janus said walking out the door, "We will."
"Goodbye you two." said Seifer.
"See ya Seifer." Janus said as they walked down the street. At the corner, Hal looked back and waved, then they walked out of sight.
"I'm going to miss those two." Artemis said, "Having Hal around was especially nice, since I never had a daughter. And after your mother died..." Artemis stopped talking. He looked into space for a few moments. Davion looked at his father, his usually strong face seemed saddened and dull. He wasn't used to seeing Artemis that way. A tear seemed to form in his eye, and then quietly, Artemis turned around and walked to his study in the library.
"What's wrong with Dad?" Seifer asked as his father walked out of sight.
"Father must miss Mom." Davion answered.
"Do you remember her Davion?" Diego asked, "You're the only one old enough to have really known her."
"I was only three when she died, so I don't think there's much I can tell you. Diego you were two, and Seifer was just born. I don't remember much; mostly just mannerisms, the sound of her voice, the smell of the perfume she always used, you know things like that. We all know what she looks like; Father has her picture on his desk. Her death must have been very hard on him."
"I suspect so." Seifer said, "He's been going off to his desk like that a lot lately."
The brothers stood silently for a few moments. "Well, lets get going now." Diego said, "We all have a lot of things to do today."
"Quite right Diego." Davion said walking to the closet and pulling out his jacket. He walked out the door, "I'll be at the academy. There are some younger students there that I'm to teach a few things. One of those graduate student things."
"Then get to it." Seifer said, "You don't want to keep them waiting."
"You know me Seifer." Davion headed off to the academy.
"That Davion," Diego said once he was out of earshot, "one of these days he's going to find who can beat him, and when he does..."
"He'll become stronger, and thrash the poor sap who dares defy him." Seifer interrupted, "He always rises to the occasion."
"I guess so." Diego said walking off.
Seifer headed off to the Hunters Guild to see if there was any news. Diego, in the meantime, went to Pioneer 2's target range. Walking down the street, Diego looked around and was in awe of the beautiful city his father helped create. A mother was hurriedly trying to collect her children as they were about to make their way across the street. He thought about how any evil could live in a place like this, with it's shining towers and beautiful vistas. "I won't allow any family to suffer the way Janus' did." Diego thought as he watched the mother take such good care of her family. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and opened it. Inside, Diego had a photo of his family. He laughed as he looked at the idiotic pose Seifer made for the picture. His father was looking as strong as ever, towering over his sons. "I'm glad that my family is ok. I'd give my life for any of them, and I know they'd do the same." The Ranger walked along the beautiful streets until he got to the target range. When he got there, Dash was already leading the Rangers in points.
"Well hello there Diego." Dash said leaning on his rifle.
"Hi Dash." Diego said stepping on to the platform next to his friend, "How's it going?"
"It's going great. I was wondering when you'd finally come around."
"The range at home suits me well, but you made such a big deal about this place, I thought I'd make the trip."
"It's great here Diego." Dash said suavely waving at some of the girls at the bar, "I mean, the targets back at the manor blow up nice enough, but there's a definite lack of people to impress." As Dash finished saying this, a trio of RAmarls walked by.
"Intriguing." Diego said stroking his chin. "I see what you mean Dash."
"Then lets show these other Rangers how it's done."
"All right." Diego and Dash leveled off their guns and tore into the targets.

Seifer, in the meantime, was returning from the Hunters Guild, depressed. "Geez, there just aren't any good missions today." he said to a Ranger standing outside the guild.
"Right you are boy." The Ranger replied, "At least nothing that's worth my skill. I'm heading up to the target range, I heard that there are two Rangers up there outscoring everyone else. I'm going to take those punks to school."
"I don't think so." Seifer said back, "If those two Rangers are who I think they are, don't go. Save yourself the embarrassment."
"Eh?" he said, "I don't think so. I've been a Ranger for years and years. It would take some kind of freak to better me. "
"Ha, good luck." Seifer said walking back towards the estate, "I warned you."

Edit: A few grammar changes.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2002-10-27 13:37 ]</font>

Davion
Oct 23, 2002, 11:20 AM
This last chapter might seem a little boring. As I said before, there is a lot of character development in this fic.

Don't worry if you're not wild about that kind of stuff, there are enough "action scenes" later on. The first few chapters (maybe up to chapter 8 or so) are mostly setting the stage for the rest of the story.

I should tell you that the first main introduction to the main plot is coming along in the next chapter.

What do you think of it so far?

Flame
Oct 28, 2002, 09:01 PM
nice. keep up the good work. I look forward to a compiled version

Davion
Nov 5, 2002, 11:43 PM
I've almost finished reworking the next chapter. Please, if you've read this fanfic, post here and tell me what you think.

Davion
Nov 10, 2002, 12:26 PM
Ok, this is the next chapter. Please tell me what you think. And by please tell me what you think, I mean post.

Chapter Four

A beast in the night

About a week later, Dash was in his office in the Angelus mansion. Paperwork was stacking up on his desk. Salaries needed to be paid, new security officers had to be trained, and there was the constant eye of his father watching him. His new job as head of security at Angelus Manor was hard enough as it is, Dash didn't want to worry about his father's approval. Ever since he took this job at his friends home he'd been pressed for time. There weren't enough hours in the day to support all of his needs. "I really need to hire a secretary or something." he thought to himself as he looked at his watch, "11:00 PM, I have a long night ahead of me." Dash continued working into the night.

At that same time, Artemis was by his desk in the library reading. This night was especially hard for him. Artemis would have been married to his wife, Emily, for thirty-three years. He put down his book and picked up the portrait of his wife, "Emily, I miss you." his thoughts spoke, "The boys miss you just as much as I do, I know it. Seifer has become a great fighter. He reminds me of you more than any of his brothers. He still struggles with his own insecurities, but he'll grow up soon enough and make us even prouder then we already are. And Diego, well he has become the envy of all his friends at the target range. He and Dash hang out there all the time. As for Davion, I see great things in his future. He'll become a great leader, and a hero for many I'm sure. It's almost like I've cloned myself. But he does seem very popular with the ladies, I don't know who he got that from," Artemis laughed, "must be from your side of the family." Artemis smiled and ran his hand down the picture.

Suddenly a strange light appeared above him. He looked up as clouds of blue energy expanded from the light and filled the room. The clouds spun slowly like a vortex, and an evil wind filled the room. Artemis saw a hand reach through, and a demonic creature clawed its way through the rift. It was shaped like a man, but it was dark, twisted, and was engulfed in a blue flame. It landed on Artemis' desk with a thud, sending books and picture frames flying. The creature stood up to its full height and stretched its arms out, flames rising from its muscles. It gave a out a demonic howl that shattered the beautiful windows sending glass raining into the streets below. The monster shook its head and looked down at Artemis.
"By the Great Light! What is this sorcery?" he cried as he fell backwards off his chair and onto the ground. The picture of his wife crashed to the floor, and the glass shattered and sent glass in all directions. The monster jumped off the desk and its feet landed on either side of Artemis. "No! Stop!" Artemis yelled as the monster reached down and grabbed him by the collar.
"Where is it?" the creature yelled as it lifted Artemis off the ground.
"What? What do you mean? What do you want with me?"
"You know of what I speak old fool! Give it to me now!"
"Wha--You!" Artemis stared shocked at the beast, "But it's impossible! How'd you?"
"No questions! Give it to me or I'll--"
"I'll never let you have it!"
the beast pulled back its other arm, ready to strike, "So be it. I'll find it soon enough, when your home is bathed in the blood of your family!" It was at this time that Diego, hearing the howl, came rushing into the room and saw his father held in the air by a horrible creature.
"Father!" Diego yelled pulling his handgun from its holster.
"No Diego! Don't! You don't know what you're dealing with!" Artemis yelled as the skillful ranger fired shot after shot at the creature, but it seemed that the bullets were being absorbed into its dark flesh. The beast threw Artemis to the ground and walked towards Diego.
"You will pay for that, human!" the creature roared. Diego fired continuously at the monster, but it was of no avail. Diego tried to grab his saber as the beast got close, but the demon walked up to him and grabbed his gun. Diego looked into the cold eyes of the monster as it squeezed the sidearm. Diego yelled in pain as his hand and weapon were crushed. "Your pathetic little guns are useless against me!" it said as it pounded Diego to the ground.

"Then how about this!" A voice yelled as a burst of flame flew over Diego's rumpled body and rammed into the creature. The creature stumbled back shaking the fire from its limbs as Davion leaped over his brother, pulled his sword from his back, and slashed at the monster. It jumped back, dodging the blade.
"Ha, so now you think you'll be the one to stop me." it said to Davion.
"What are you, and what do you want with my family?" Davion asked brandishing his sword.
"That is for me to know, and you to never find out!" the monster rushed at Davion. Davion attacked. The beast dodged and slammed Davion with its fist. Davion stumbled back and fell to the ground. The creature grabbed Davion's head with his claws and pounded its knee into his face. Davion's head slammed into the wall behind him, and he slumped to the floor.

Artemis had been knocked unconscious, and lied on the floor while all of this was happening. He woke up and looked over to see the monster about to finish off his eldest son. "I must save him."Artemis thought as he crawled towards Davion, "I won't allow our mistake to hurt my family." he slipped his Durandal out of his coat.

Davion's head drooped down and the creature's claw held it up. Looking into Davion's eyes it spoke, "Now, boy, you will die." it raised its hand and a purple ball of energy formed in its fist, "Son of Angelus, I've waited years for this moment."
"Oh no you don't!" Artemis yelled as he jumped up and sliced his golden saber into the beast's shoulder.
"Aaarrggh!" the monster yelled as it swung its arm back and sent Artemis to the floor, "How dare you!" the gash in the beast body spouted evil fumes and fire as black blood dripped down. The monster grabbed at its wound and dug its claws into its flesh. Beams of dim light shot out from between its fingers, and the demon yelled in pain. After the creature removed it hand, the gash was seared shut.
"It seems you have grown much stronger since last we met." Artemis said.
"What is this thing?" Davion thought to himself as he stared at the monster.
"My master has given me many gifts. Though his existence is forgotten by the people of this age, his power is still strong in the spirits of his servants."
"Stop this madness." Artemis said holding out his hand, "You need not be his slave any longer. I've studied for years, we may still be able to save you."
The monstrous beast starred long and hard at Artemis, "...no."
Artemis' hand dropped and his shoulders lowered. A look of great pain was on his face. "I've given up to much for this, old friend." the creature spoke, "This power is what men dream of!"
"So be it." Artemis solemnly flipped a switch on his saber and a powerful charge shot through the photon blade, "Then it is time for me to finish this."
"You know what I am! How can you possibly think you can defeat me?"
"Even if you defeat me, it is you who will pay the dearest price. I've done what I could for you... but now." Artemis held out his blade, "The only thing I can do to save you from yourself is to destroy the ruin you've become. This night, I will cast you into the abyss you crawled out of, or I will perish trying! Run Davion, you must warn the Principal! He will know what to do."
"No, Father! I can't let you do this alone!" Davion yelled back staggering to his feet.
"Stay down!" the beast yelled as it held out its hand at Davion. An invisible force slammed Davion into the wall. Artemis ran at the demon wielding his saber. The monster lowered its hand, and a purple saber-like beam of energy shot out from its wrist.
"I'll deal with you later, boy." it said, "First your father will feel death's grip." the demon jumped into the air and sped towards Artemis.

"Here I come Artemis!" The creature swung its blade at Artemis, but Artemis spun his saber in a whirling blur and deflected the blow. Although he was old, Artemis hadn't lost any of his skill with a blade. The beast landed and attacked. Artemis twirled his blade and struck back. The blade in the man's hand never stopped its amazing motion as it spun and spun around forming a lethal blur of energy in his hand. Davion watched as his father held his own against the giant creature. He had never seen him like this. Artemis moved like the master he was; dodging, spinning, leaping. Strike after strike, Artemis fought back the beast seeking to end his life. In an amazing display of skill, Artemis dueled with the demon.
After a long fight, the beast backed Artemis up into a corner. Artemis attempted to escape and get to a more strategic location, but there was no escape.
"It's over!" the monster yelled as it retracted its energy beam, and in a flash grabbed Artemis by the shoulders. Artemis ran his saber through the beast's shoulder. Davion watched as the creature wailed. Artemis' blade dimmed, flashed, and went out.
"What is this?" Artemis yelled.
"Ha, ha, ha." The beast laughed, "You gave a good fight, but you still have no comprehension of the power of which I now possess. Now, old friend, you must die!"
"Wha-!" Davion exclaimed as the beast hurled his father into the air. Davion ran at the monster as fast as he could spinning his sword, but he couldn't reach the beast in time. The creature raised its arm and shot a beam of purple energy through Artemis' heart. "FATHER!" Davion yelled as Artemis shuddered in the air and fell to the ground. His body glowed for a second, and he raised his head,
"Davion, get your brother out of he..." Artemis' head dropped and banged into the floor.
"NOOOOO!" Davion yelled as he charged the beast, tears and blood steaming from his face, "You'll pay for this demon!"
It stood there and, in a burst of energy, created a massive sword. It grabbed the devilish blade out of the air with its claws.
"Come child." its cruel voice growled as it stood, waiting, "Show me what you can do."

The fight commenced. The beast swung its sword overhead, and brought it down on top of Davion. Davion blocked and took a swing at its legs; it jumped and stayed in the air. It flew back, and formed a fiery orb of blue and purple energy around itself. The beast rushed at Davion. He tried to dodge it, but it rammed into his chest. It carried Davion across the room and slammed him into the wall. Davion's sword left his hand and flew across the room as the monster jumped back off the wall and, still in midair, fired purple and blue beams of energy at Davion. Davion rolled and dodged the blasts until he reached his sword. He grabbed his blade, and turned around. He put the blade in front of him just as another blast came blitzing at him. It collided with his sword and dissipated. As the beast flew at him, Davion ran towards a ladder. Books fell off their shelves as he hastily climbed onto the second level, and the monster gave chase and engaged him in combat. It was an amazing fighter, deflecting all of Davion's swings with relative ease.
"I ask you again!" Davion shouted as he battled away, "Why did you come here? What did my father ever do to you?"
"It is far beyond anything you can fathom, little one. Besides, it would be a waste of time to tell someone who only has minutes to live."
"We'll see about that!"
"Indeed." the monster and Davion ran along the shelves around the room, fighting all the way, until they reached the end of the walkway. The monster spun around and flew up to the third level.

Diego regained consciousness, and saw his father on the ground. He ran to him and laid Artemis' head on his lap. Diego looked at the large glowing spot on the chest of his fallen father. Looking up to see the battle above he asked, "What did that monster do to you?" Artemis didn't respond.

Seifer ran into the room after he heard what was going on. Dash ran in closely behind him.
"No, Father!" Seifer yelled as he ran up to him.
"What's going on here Diego?" Dash asked, "What happened to Master Artemis?"
Diego answered, "Look above you." Dash and Seifer looked up to see Davion, now standing on the highest level of the library fighting the demon some thirty feet in the air.
"What is that?" Dash said.
Seifer held his hands out towards the beast, "I don't know and I don't care!" Seifer's hands turned red, and he formed two balls of fire in his fists, "It's going down!" Dash pointed his rifle, and fired. Seifer fired a blast of RaFoie at the monster alongside Dash's photon bullets. The fireball flew through the air and collided with the beast. The blast of Rafoie slammed into creature, and engulfed it in fire.
"Got him!" Seifer yelled as he saw his handiwork turn the demon into a fiery ball of fury. "That took care of that Davion." Seifer yelled. Davion stood back and motioned to his brother.

"I'm not so sure about that." he said, "He seems too power-eyah!" a demonic fist, still burning, came crashing out of the fireball and struck Davion in the chest with a crunch. Davion's sword dropped from his hand and fell to Dash's feet. The monster wailed as it blazed with a crimson hellfire. He flung out his arms and threw the flames into the air around him. Now free of his fiery bonds he grabbed Davion.
"Keep at him Seifer!" Dash yelled firing his rifle, "Give him all you got, we're not through with this yet!" Seifer pelted the monster with Foie after Foie as Dash fired continuously.
Diego carefully laid his father's head on the ground and started firing as well. However, all of their efforts were futile. The photon bullets seemed to be absorbed like before, and Seifer's flames merely collected in obit around the monster.

"Pitiful, aren't they." it said to Davion pulling their faces together. Its cold, fiery eyes full of fury, "Don't they know I'm invincible!" "It doesn't matter to them if you are." Davion said, his eyes narrowed, "You can kill me, but they will fight on til the death until you are destroyed."
"Well, you're right about one thing, young Davion." it threw Davion to the middle of the room. Seifer watched as the poor Hunter plummeted to the floor. Davion slammed into the ground with such a force that his body broke the heavy floor tiles.
"Davion!" Seifer yelled.
"Get back!" Davion said with a weakening voice, "Get Father to safety."
"But Dav--"
"Don't argue with me Seifer! Go, now!"
Diego grabbed his father and dragged him out of the room. Dash took hold of Seifer and forced him near Diego. Seifer struggled to break free of Dash's grip as he watched Davion try to get up out of the hole in the floor. Davion looked up and watched the creature land and walk towards him, laughing. It held its demonic sword above Davion's right eye.
"This is for your insolence, boy!" It said as it ripped its blade across Davion's face. There was a blast from Davion's face and the monster's sword that filled the room with a blinding bluish light. The searing pain that shot through Davion's head was incredible! As the light blocked all vision, Davion heard the evil voice reverberate in his mind. When "Remember this night, boy. As long as you live, for I shall return!"the light faded, the beast was gone.






<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-09-15 19:10 ]</font>

Flame
Nov 11, 2002, 02:42 AM
holy crap man. That was intense. E-mail me discriptions of that creature so I can draw the mofo!
I cant wait to hear more about the past of Artimes and this creature's "master!" Bwa ha ha ha ha. I loved how you made it toy with them! Let evil rule the world and darkness envelop the soul!! BWA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

M_BlackHawk
Nov 11, 2002, 09:01 AM
WOAH BOY! Now that's what I call one hell of a battle. Dav, this fic is really getting good. Keep it up.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Nov 19, 2002, 06:21 PM
Thanks. I'm almost done with the next chapter, boy the game DOES own my life...

Anyway, anyone who's read this, and havn't posted, I'd like to hear from what you think.

Destroyer1989
Nov 19, 2002, 09:46 PM
Wow Davion. So far its great.Keep up the good work.I look forward to the next chapter.

Davion
Nov 23, 2002, 10:54 PM
Chapter Five

Aftermath

"What's going on in there?" Seifer asked pacing in front of a hospital room.
"Sir will you please sit down in the waiting room." a nurse said to him, "You're not allowed out here now."
"What do you mean? I'm family." Seifer clenched his hands into fists, "First you tell me I can't be with my father, now you're telling me I can't even wait here for my older brother?" he slammed his fist into the wall, "What kind of hospital is this?"
"Please sir, go sit down, you're scaring the other patients." the nurse demanded anxiously, "If you don't go, I'll have to call security."
"There will be no need for that miss." a strong voice spoke.
"Principal Tyrell!" the nurse exclaimed.
The principal walked forward and put his hands on Seifer's shoulders. "I think Seifer would like to see what's happening to his brother, don't you?"
"Why yes sir but..."
"I would also like to see how young Davion is doing, and I'm sure Seifer won't cause any trouble. Right Seifer?"
"Of course Principal."
"I suppose it would be ok, if you say so." the nurse said motioning for them to follow. As they walked into a door, Principal Tyrell spoke to Seifer, "I've just come from seeing your father."
"Father! How is he?"
"He's doing fine, for now at least." the principal was quiet for a moment, "Diego is with him now."
"I'm worried about him Principal. I let him down, I know I did I keep telling myself that I could of stopped that thing that attacked him, but I wasn't able to. I wasn't strong enough."
"You did all you could do Seifer, I'm sure your father knows that."
"I know."
"Here we are." the nurse said, "Right this way." The nurse opened the door to the observation deck above the emergency room. "Wait here, I'll see if I can get a doctor to come up here and explain to you what's happening to the young man down there." The nurse walked out of the room and closed the door. Seifer and the Principal stood silently looking down at Davion lying on the operation table below. He seemed to be in a stable condition, but the doctors where still checking monitors, inserting new IVs, and running diagnostics. The door to the observation room opened, and a man in a white coat walked in. He was holding some readouts and a disc.
"Hello," the man said, "I'm Dr. Anderson."
"What can you tell us Doctor?" Principal Tyrell asked.
"Well he's in a stable condition now," the doctor inserted the disc into a computer, "but for awhile it seemed like we were going to lose him." The doctor brought up a scanned wire-frame image of Davion's body on the monitor. "When we first brought him in, his body was going through fierce convulsions. It took eight of us just to tie his arms down, but we were finally able to get his body under control by using an unheard of amount of sedatives. He had multiple breaks and fractures throughout his body, as you can see here. His strangest however injury, however, is the gash in the right section of his face. After he was under control, we started surgery. We did what we could, but his wounds were much to severe."
"What did you do to save him then?" the Principal asked.
"That's the strange thing," the doctor said as he zoomed in on the image of Davion's head, "We didn't do anything. We couldn't do anything." he pointed at the slash in Davion's face on the screen, "We had given up all hope of saving him."
"I don't understand." Seifer said.
"We don't either." the doctor explained, "This wound was giving out an intense radiation, a type that we have never encountered. We attempted to discover the cause of the radiation, but it still baffles us."
"How will it affect him?" Seifer asked.
"Well, it doesn't seem to be harmful, yet. If fact, it seems to be the very reason he survived this horrific ordeal, but the future side affects could be life changing."
"What do you mean?" the Principal asked.
"I can't tell much, but what we can tell you is it's spreading."
"Spreading?" Seifer asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, It originally seemed very localized, limited to the wound itself, but about an hour ago it started to spread into the surrounding tissues. By now the radiation has spread to all the parts of his body. And what is even more baffling is the gash's current condition. It almost seems alive.
"Alive?" Seifer asked, "What do you mean? How can a wound be, alive?"
"That, I don't know. We're using all the means available to subdue this strange living wound. From what we can tell, Davion's own body is changing, slowly."
"What's to become of him then?" the Principal asked.
"We don't know, and I doubt we ever will until this power has had it's was with his body. But there is something very odd about this man."
Seifer and the Principal stared down at Davion for a few moments. "Well, we better get going." Principal Tyrell said, "We've taken enough of this kind doctor's time."
"Thank you." Dr. Anderson said, "If you need anything be sure to call." The doctor stepped out of the room.
"Come along Seifer." Principal Tyrell said, "Lets go see how your father is doing. The young Hunter nodded and followed the Principal out of the observation room.

The next day, Davion regained consciousness. There was a thick bandage over the right side of his face, and he felt great pain surge through his body as he tried to move his right eye. "Wow, what a night." he thought to himself. He looked around and saw that he was in a hospital bed in a white room. He looked over at a window into the hallway and saw a strange hooded man in a black coat staring at him through the glass. The man had long gray hair resting on his shoulders, and Davion couldn't see the man's eyes as they were draped in shadow. Davion heard a voice and he saw the man look over his shoulder. The stranger quickly glanced at Davion and hurriedly walked away. A doctor walked up to the window and looked over at where the man had gone. He then turned to Davion, and seeing that he was awake, opened the door and walked in.
"Hello there young sir." the Doctor said, "And how are you feeling this fine morning?"
"How is my father, is he ok?" Davion asked.
"Right now, let us worry about you, shall we?" the doctor opened his handheld computer, and passed it over Davion's face. "Hmmm... now that's interesting."
"What?"
"Oh... nothing." the doctor snapped the device closed, and a soft beeping sound was heard. The doctor held up a communicator to his ear and listened.
A voice came over the device, "Yes, this is Dr. Anderson... Ok, I'll be right there. I'm going to check on Angelus first."
The doctor thrust the communicator in his pocket, an anxious look on his face.
"What's going on?" Davion asked inquisitively, "You're not really a doctor, are you?" The man didn't answer. "I asked you a question, answer me."
"Some other time, Angelus." in saying this, the man darted out of the room.
Davion looked bewildered as Dr. Anderson came walking into the room a few moments later. "Sir, there was a..."
"Don't talk now Davion. You need to save your strength, and by these charts you'll have plenty to spare soon enough."
"What do you mean?"
"It doesn't matter now, time will tell." the doctor paused and flipped the page over on his clipboard, "You seem to be alright now. You wish to know of your father, correct?"
"Yes, tell me everything."
"Well," Dr. Anderson said, "we don't know everything yet, but what I can tell you I will explain as best I can."
"I'm listening." Davion said.
"Artemis seemed to be uninjured physically, he's in incredible shape for a man his age, but he received a strange wound to his chest that seems to have been caused by energy similar to the technique Megid."
"Megid?" Davion asked, "Does that mean..."
"Yes." Dr. Anderson answered, "We did what we could, but his heart is slowly giving out, as is the rest of his body. I'm sorry to say that your father's injury is fatal."
"No..." Davion said, tears welling in his eyes, "Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't I stop it?"
"After the wounds you received, I'm surprised you were able to fight at all." the young hunter looked mournfully into empty space. "I'm sorry Davion, but I need to run some more tests on you, I don't want you to die as well. I know your father would want the same. So rest now." he injected the crestfallen Davion with a sedative, and he drifted into a nightmarish void.

The next day, Davion felt well enough that the doctors said he could see his father. With a nurse's help, Davion got up out of the hospital bed, put on a robe, and sat down in a wheelchair. The nurse pushed Davion out of the room, and led him to where his father was. He was in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
Diego met them at the door; "I'll take him from here." the nurse nodded and walked away. "Father's awake now, he wants to see you."
"Lets not keep him waiting then." Davion said as his brother pushed him into his father's room. Seifer were also there, and as he looked into the room, Davion saw that family friends Zoke Miyama and his android Shino where also there.
"Hello Davion." Zoke said, "Your family was just telling us about your battle with that creature back in the library."
"Yes, we are very impressed." Shino said.
"Thank you, very much." Davion replied, "But I'm afraid I wasn't able to stop that thing."
"Neither was I." Artemis said to his son, "You had no idea what that thing was and still you were willing to fight to the death."
Davion looked over at Artemis. He was very saddened at the sight of his father. He was lying on the hospital bed with I.V. tubes connected into is arms and a strange device over his chest. "Thank you Father." he said.
"Davion, there are things you must know, but I lack the strength to tell you." Artemis said, "Neither do I wish to speak of such evils at this time. As the doctors must of told you, I am dieing. Oh yes, this contraption on top of me is helping to extend my life a few more hours, but it can't keep me alive much longer."
Davion said nothing, and just listened.
"On my desk there is a picture, you'll know which one. Behind the portrait itself there are instructions on how to open the vault."
"Vault?" Davion asked, "We have a vault?"
"Yes, Son. Use the directions. They will guide you in what you must do. I no longer wish to speak of this matter. Let us talk about better times for what time I have left."
"I agree with your father, boys." Zoke said, "I'm sure you'd all love to hear some more stories about your father and I back at the academy."
"Oh do we ever." Seifer said.
"Do you want to tell them about Tyrell's first date Artemis, or should I?" Zoke asked.
"Go ahead Zoke, you always told better tales than I was able to."
"Ok then, hmm, where do I begin... Oh yes, it was the night before the academy ball. Your Father and I had already found our dates of course, but the man you know as Principal Tyrell still hadn't found anyone to go with him yet. We told him it was because he didn't have the same amount of class we had been so graciously bestowed with, but we were jesting. The three of us were well known throughout the campus. Needless to say..." Zoke continued. The Angelus family and their friends continued to talk late into the night, and early morning about their life in the past.
At about 3:00 AM, Artemis Victor Angelus drifted off to sleep for the last time.







<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2002-12-04 13:23 ]</font>

Toyzferall
Nov 24, 2002, 12:54 PM
Aw, sad... Keeps gettin' better! Good job, man. Long chapters with short waits inbetween is good...

Davion
Dec 4, 2002, 04:19 PM
Here's the next chapter. It's not a very long one, sorry. Post what you think please.


Chapter Six

Memories

A few days later, the Angelus family had a small funeral with the manor's staff. The three brothers stood silently as their father's casket was laid into the temporary case that would hold Artemis' body until they arrived at Ragol, where he would be buried. After the casket was placed, Davion, Seifer, and Diego walked back to their home.

With his father dead, Davion became the head of the household. After the funeral, Davion gave the entire staff of Angelus Manor the day off. Seifer and Diego went about their everyday business as routinely as the situation allowed. Davion walked into the library, his left arm in a sling and a cane in his right hand. Davion was weak. Not weak in the normal term. Davion felt as if his very soul was fatigued. His legs could barely support his weight. Davion looked about and noticed the damage his fight with the beast had inflicted on his father's favorite room. The beautiful windows were in process of being repaired, and the fractured floor tiles were removed and were being replaced. He walked slowly over to his father's desk. It had been left untouched out of respect by the house's staff as they cleaned the room. Davion reached down and lifted up his father's chair back onto its legs. He softly rested his hands on the leather of the seat cushion and felt the smooth material. He turned his head, and his eyes landed on a picture frame lying face down in broken glass. He reached down and picked up the picture. He held it up and saw it was a portrait of his mother, Emily Angelus. He felt the image of his mother and pulled out some shards of glass that were sticking into the picture. On piece of glass was stuck, and Davion pulled harder. With a snap the glass popped out of the frame, along with the picture. Davion reached down and grabbed the picture of his mother before it touched the ground, and he lifted it up to place it back, but before he placed the picture back he noticed that there was a slip of paper tucked into the frame. "What's this?" Davion thought, "Oh, wait a minute. This must be..." he pulled the paper out and quickly unfolded it. Davion sat down on his father's desk, wiped off some broken glass, and read the paper.

"Hmm, so I start at the desk," Davion stood up, "the vault is twenty steps back towards the door, and eight steps to the left. It's under the floor. Great, how am I going to lift those tiles?" he walked back. Davion turned to walk the last eight steps. After his fifth step, he stumbled into the hole in the middle of the floor. Davion stood up, brushed himself off, and picked up his cane. "Hey, this is where I crashed. I guess I won't have to lift worry about getting below the floor." Davion reached down and moved pieces of rubble until he came to a small metal door. He read the vault's combination from the paper, and he entered it into the lock. He heard a click, and he pulled the door open. Inside he saw his father's most valued possessions. It took Davion awhile to carry all the objects over to his father's desk. Artemis had an amazing collection of ancient artifacts, manuscripts, star charts, and scrolls with strange characters on them. The thing that caught Davion's attention the most was a large wooden chest. Davion struggled to carry the heavy container because of his condition, but when he placed it on the desk he knew it was well worth the pain. He opened the lid to the chest and found a logbook, a small journal, a picture, and a small metal box. Davion pulled out the picture. It was a picture of his father and three more men. Artemis looked like he was in his mid-twenties, and he had his arms around the shoulders of two of his friends. The three of them where smiling, and they seemed to be the more goofy group of the four in the picture. The forth man had a more subtle smile, and he was standing with his arms crossed. Davion smiled as he looked at the picture. He turned the frame around and looked at the back. On the back, someone had written the first names of the people in the picture, David, Artemis, Magnus, Mikhail. Davion put down the picture and picked up the metal box. Davion paused. He felt that it wasn't time to open the box yet. Davion picked up the large logbook, and opened to the first page.


Project Excelsior
Experiment Logbook

Davion skimmed over the first few pages, "Project Excelsior ?" he thought for a few moments, "Ah yes. I remember from the history lessons Father taught us. Excelsior means higher or to exceed in an ancient language back on Coral. I wonder why they would name a project that, and what does Father have to do with this." Davion sat down at the desk. He flipped to a page towards the middle.

"Project Excelsior , Week four. The relic shows immense potential. Day to day Energy readings are off the charts. The photon field surrounding the test subject is releasing a radiation that, if given prolonged exposure, changes the structure and life-force of every living thing. Those of us who are working on this project have to wear heavy protective gear to keep us safe from the energies."

Davion was startled as the family's cat jumped onto the desk. "Myau! How'd you get in here?" he picked up the little animal and stroked its back. The cat purred and looked up at Davion's face. The Hunter smiled, "That's a good kitty." Davion put the cat on the ground and it scurried off into the bookshelves. "I want to know more about this Excelsior Project." Davion closed the logbook and carried it to his room, where he spent the next day reading.



"David, come quick!" a man in a long white labcoat yelled to his friend, "I think I've found something!"
"What is it Artemis?"
"Look at these readings. What do you see?"
"...Would you look at that. You were right! These photons are much more powerful than any other we've seen thus far. Tyrell will be pleased when he hears about this."
"Tell me about it. With this kind of power, imagine the possibilities."
"Imagine the weapons." David said clenching his fists, "Think of the devastation this could bring if it ever fell into the wrong hands."
"We'll just have to make sure it doesn't then. Go get Magnus and Mikhail, they'll want to see this."
"Ok, I'll be right back." David walked away towards a lift. Artemis pressed some buttons on the keyboard, and turned around. There, in front of him, a six foot tall metal cylinder about four feet in diameter rose out of a large piece of lab equipment in the floor. Steam shot out from the sides as the metal plates on the tube slid open and down the sides. A glass cylinder was revealed, and inside it there was a large crystal object. "It seems just days ago we found this relic on one of Coral's moons. The shrine we found it in hid this well. It just looked like an old ruin from the outside. Who would of guessed..."
"Artemis, We're coming." David's voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Ok," Artemis answered, "It's ready for the final test."
A few moments later, David, Magnus, and Mikhail walked over to Artemis.
"David tells us that you were right, Artemis." Magnus said.
"Indeed, it does seem that all is going to plan." Mikhail said, "I guess we owe you two then."
"Yes you do." David said, "I think that's three hundred meseta from each of you."
"Ok." Magnus and Mikhail regretfully handed David and Artemis the money.
"Tis a pleasure doing business with you." Artemis pocketed the cash, "Now on to more important matters. We all know now that the power in the relic should be sufficient for the final test. You know what to do, get to it men."
"Roger." David said as he walked over to his station. Magnus, Mikhail and Artemis walked over to their respective consoles. The four scientists went about preparing for the final experiment.
"David, make sure the life support systems are ready to go to back up power in case this doesn't work."
"Got it covered Art," David replied, "Magnus, is the main computer's memory backed up?"
"Yup, everything ready Mikhail?"
"I've taken care of everything over here." Mikhail's voice came from his station above, "All's ready Artemis."
"Ok." Artemis held down the intercom, "Attention. This is Artemis Angelus of the main research team. We about to commence final testing stages, prepare for blackout." Artemis released the button and watched the set of six lights on the keyboard. One by one, the lights lit. After all six were lit, Artemis spoke, "Ok guys, all sectors are ready. Hit it!"
David lifted a hatch on his console. "Darn! Artemis, I forgot the key."
"No problem." Artemis said as he reached into his pocket, "I have it. Here." he tossed the key over to his friend. David caught it, placed it into the keyhole, and turned it. Suddenly, all lights in the lab went out, and stayed out.
"What happened? It didn't work." Magnus said, "Looks like you two owe us." A low humming noise was heard, and a light shot out from the crystal. The cylinder containing the relic shook and a surge of power shot through the cables. After a few moments, the lab filled with light as power retuned.
"I don't think so, old friend." Artemis said, "It seems David and I were right after all. Quickly, Mikhail check the readings."
Mikhail spent a few seconds looking at the screen. "Yup, it works. All sectors are running at full power. Wait, it seems that there are higher levels of power now than when we were running off of our normal nuclear reactors. And by the looks of it, the power is only increasing. We should have power indefinitely."
"Yes!" Artemis jumped of his station, "We did it! We found a way to harness the relic's power."
"And what incredible power it is." Mikhail's eyes widened, "This must mean that the relic is what I think it is. That ruin we found it in wasn't just some typical building of antiquity. It was so much more."
"Mikhail, come down. Get in the picture." Artemis called.
"Coming," Mikhail answered, "It's only a matter of time now." he thought as he walked down to his friends.



EDIT: Had a better name for the project.




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2002-12-28 17:26 ]</font>

M_BlackHawk
Dec 10, 2002, 10:12 PM
keep up the good writing, Dav. I'm looking forward to more chapters here..and in the group fic.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Dec 10, 2002, 10:29 PM
Chapter Seven

Sins of the Fathers

Artemis and David were in the lab cleaning up, and preparing for the government to come and take the relic. Now that the tests were completed, it was time for the relic's power to be harnessed for the good of Coral.

"Hey Art," David said, "where's Magnus?"
"I don't know." Artemis answered as he shut down his station, "He and Mikhail must of shut down their sections this morning." David could tell that he was somewhat sad about finishing the project. "Oh well. What do you plan on doing now that the project's done? Are you still going to be working for the government."
"Probably," David answered, "I think I'm going to settle down and raise a family. I'll always be working in a lab of some sort, maybe in the realm of life support systems."
"Sounds great. You've always been good at that sort of thing."
"What about you?" David asked, "What are you going to do? You gonna marry that girl from the academy?"
"Emily?"
"Yes."
"If she accepts my proposal, I already have the ring, and I think I'll be able to provide for a family pretty well. I've drawn up some designs for some large spacecraft that we can use to explore other worlds." Artemis looked around at the lab, "I'm going to miss this place. We've been here every day for so long."
"I know. I don't understand why Tyrell wants this place shut down."
"I'm going to ask him that when I go and see him tonight. We have some things to talk about."
"Well, I must be going. Make sure everything's locked up before you leave." David said.
"I will." Artemis replied, "Besides, the only people with access to this lab are Magnus, Mikhail, Tyrell, and you and I."
"Ok then, see you tomorrow?"
"I think so, I'll be working on some things in another lab."
"Ok, C'ya."
"Bye."

David walked out of the room, and Artemis finished closing down the lab.

Later that night, Artemis walked into Supervisor Tyrell's office in the lab.
"Ah, Artemis. How are you?" the Supervisor reached over his desk to shake hands with his friend. "Have a seat."
"Thank you. I'm doing fine, Supervisor."
"For the last time, don't call me that. Call me what you guys called me back at the academy."
"You mean..."
"NO, not that! Just call me Tyrell."
Artemis laughed, "Ok Tyrell. Anyway, about the reason you called me."
"Yes that." the Supervisor sat down at his desk, "Things are going well, friend. My superiors are very happy with the work you and your team has done. There is a big promotion in store for you Artemis. And, there is another thing I wanted to talk to you about. There have been a lot of rumors going around this complex lately."
"I know the ones you're talking about. People are saying that the government and military are just using us to create more powerful weapons."
"Among other, much more unsavory rumors. People are acting secretly, and they don't think they can trust me." Tyrell stopped and leaned on his desk, "You know that all I want to do is help the people of Coral."
"Yes."
"And you know that I would do anything to keep them safe."
"Yes."
"Then you must trust me as I say this..."
"What do you mean?"
"Artemis, those rumors are... true."

Artemis jumped up from his chair, "What? Don't tell me you ARE helping the military make weapons!"
"Not just weapons, Artemis. So many things can come from this relic, although..." Tyrell paused for a second, "Never mind, I've told you all you need to know. You just need to trust me."
"What were you saying? Tell me!"
"Calm down Artemis!"
"How can I? All these years... you've lied to us. You promised that you wouldn't let any of the Relic's power be used for destruction."
"Please Artemis. You must understand, I had no other choice. You know the status of Coral."
"Yes, and I don't know why we can't tell the people that Coral is dieing."
"That's just it. This relic might be able to save our world, and there are rumors of powers out there in the cosmos. We need more powerful weapons if we are going to protect our people. You must understand that I've only chosen this path because it's the best one for our people."
"I want to trust you, friend. But you must know how hard it is for me."
"Yes, I understand, but Ar..."

"SUPERVISOR!" Artemis and Tyrell stopped and turned to the vid-phone.
"What is it Charles?"
"Someone has broken into the Relic's lab!"
"What do you mean, broken in? I designed the security system myself. There are five two foot think doors made of solid steel, and with heavy pressure locks." Artemis said, "The only way to get in is with a key-card."
"ThAt'S thE ProBlem."
"Charles, you're breaking up."
"sECurity iS LOckED doWn, ...wHo...er'S... iNs...e... Clos..D... dOor...Be..." the screen went out.
"Charles! Charles can you hear me?"
"What now Tyrell? Those lies have finally come back to bite you."
"Artemis, please do something. I don't know where the other men on your team are, and I need to give orders from here."
"Fine, but you owe me Tyrell."
"Ok, ok. But please just hurry, you don't know what could happen if the Relic falls into the wrong hands."
"I do Supervisor, and that's why I'm so surprised that you did what you did." Artemis stormed out of the office and ran to his locker.
"No old friend. You have no idea what we're dealing with." the Supervisor sat down at his desk and pressed the intercom button.
"Madeline, get me security."


Artemis quickly opened his locker where he kept his Hunter gear incase of an emergency. He grabbed his Durandal and his Celestial shield armband. "I'm glad I had my shield put it this band. I'll need it, and I don't have time to put my suit on." Artemis said to himself as he ran towards the lab. He climbed in an elevator, pressed the button on his saber. As the lift raced down its shaft, Artemis' Durandal sprang to life. "I wonder who it could be?"

Artemis' questions were about to be answered.

Ron
Dec 28, 2002, 05:10 AM
ooooohh on your edge excitment whens the next chapter? I want more

Rolf_Landale
Dec 30, 2002, 04:36 PM
Amazing. When can we get more?

Davion
Dec 30, 2002, 04:43 PM
Soon, I've almost finished the next chapter.

Roontek
Jan 3, 2003, 03:43 AM
Hey the story is comming along very nice, if you want I could maybe get you published, my friends dad does that sorta stuff, so when you get a finished copy, just PM me and we can talk about it, Hey! you never know, it might go big...http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Eum
Jan 3, 2003, 04:25 AM
On 2003-01-03 00:43, Roontek wrote:
Hey the story is comming along very nice, if you want I could maybe get you published, my friends dad does that sorta stuff, so when you get a finished copy, just PM me and we can talk about it, Hey! you never know, it might go big...:)



Sorry to burst your bubble, but copyright laws do exist.

Blenjar
Jan 5, 2003, 11:51 PM
On 2003-01-03 01:25, Vocal wrote:


On 2003-01-03 00:43, Roontek wrote:
Hey the story is comming along very nice, if you want I could maybe get you published, my friends dad does that sorta stuff, so when you get a finished copy, just PM me and we can talk about it, Hey! you never know, it might go big...http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif



Sorry to burst your bubble, but copyright laws do exist.


afdasfdwaa wait wait wait....hahfahhdhahahahhahahaha!Lolololoo lmao....
Other than that...man can't you people right a 2 paragraph story?

Roontek
Jan 7, 2003, 03:42 AM
hmm, very nice over all, only part that bored me a little was Chapter 3, the diolauge was a little too long, but I can understand because this is where you develop characters....I am excited to read more tho, so post 'em when you got 'em!

Davion
Jan 7, 2003, 05:07 PM
oops, hang on, I'll post this soon.

I hit submit instead of preview. My next chapter shoud be posted in a few minutes now.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-01-07 14:09 ]</font>

Blenjar
Jan 7, 2003, 05:41 PM
Oh well, there comes a heavy story, I don't even read my school books and you want me to read this...yea right.

Davion
Jan 7, 2003, 06:22 PM
Chapter Eight

Betrayed

Artemis stood in the shaft, waiting for the doors to open. Many different plans raced through his head as he paced inside the elevator. What would he do if it was one of his partners? How could he protect the Relic? The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. He charged into the hall and raced to the lab.

As soon as he reached the door, he hastily slid his keycard and typed in the code. He had to do this twice in two different checkpoints to gain access to the lab. "The only way anyone could get in here would be with a keycard. That means it has to be someone on the project, but I don't want to think about that. They couldn't... they wouldn't do anything like this, would they?" the last door opened, and Artemis ran inside the lab.

There was smoke filling the large room as he tried to find his way to the Relic's container. Artemis stumbled on a large piece of broken glass as he neared the middle of the lab. As he stood up, he saw a man standing over a large metal box. He seemed to be loading it onto a small hover platform. Artemis slowly stood up and pulled his handgun from its holster.

"Stop it right there!" he yelled as he aimed at the thief. The man turned to run. "I mean it!" Artemis fired a warning shot in front of the man, he stopped and stood still. The smoke cleared enough for Artemis to make out some of the man's features. He saw the long auburn hair, and the black leather robes. "Mikhail?"
The dark man slowly turned, "Don't try to stop me Artemis." he said, "I need to do this."
"Why, what do you mean?"
"I can't tell you, and I don't mean to. But I will tell you this, don't interfere. I don't want to destroy you."
"No Mikhail, wait!" ignoring Artemis, Mikhail threw a telepipe onto the floor near him. He dashed into the warp, Relic in tow. Artemis dove at the warp, but it closed before he could reach it. His finger was caught as it closed, and the its tip was seared off. Artemis grabbed his hand in pain as he stood up. "Where could he be going? I have to check the sensors." he stood up and ran to the door.

Artemis was running to the hanger when he ran into David.
"Artemis! What's going on?"
Artemis ran by David, "Mikhail just took off with the Relic."
"Mikhail?" David ran after his friend, "Why?"
"I don't know, but we have to find the Relic's power levels on the sensors. That's the only way we can find it."
"Then I'm going with you. We'll take my ship and use its close range array, it's close."
"Good idea, but hurry, we don't have much time."

David and Artemis ran to the hanger and into David's ship. David sat down in the pilot's chair and quickly ran through the pre-flight protocols as Artemis activated the sensor array. "Now, where could it be..." Artemis painstakingly starred at the screen. Suddenly, a massive energy reading appeared. "Dave, I found it!"
"Great, where is it?"
"Hmm, it's on the moon?"
"The moon? How could it get there so quickly? Could Mikhail have gotten into the station's transporter?"
"No, there's no way he could get past security with the Relic. Unless... no, that can't be it."
"What?"
"Nothing, just drive."
"You know where the suits are?" David asked.
"Yeah. Get us to the moon, I'll take care of Mikhail." Artemis spun out his handgun, "I can't believe he'd do something like this."
"I know what you mean." David pulled the ship out of the dock and charted a course for Coral's second moon. "We shared our lives with each other....that reminds me, where's Magnus? He must have heard the alarms."
"I don't know." Artemis opened a closet and pulled out a suit and helmet. "I hope he hasn't betrayed us too." He pulled his armband off, put on the gear, and pulled his armband back on. He slid his Durandal into a sheath. Artemis had been a Hunter before he became a scientist, and he knew his way around a battle. However, fighting was never something he wanted to do with his life. Artemis wanted greatly to help his fellow man through science and technology, not destroy them with a sword and gun. Times like this, however, were the times where Artemis knew he must take up arms against a foe, or a friend for that matter.

"We're coming up on the moon, Art," David said, looking back, "where do you want me to put her down?"
"I don't." Artemis closed himself in the airlock.
"Artemis, wait! I'm coming with you." David jumped up and ran back to Artemis.
"Go back to the station, get help." Artemis clipped his helmet onto his suit and looked out through the airlock window. "Don't follow me." He slammed his fist against the large, red button. The door to the outside opened and Artemis was sucked out into space.
"Artemis!" David yelled.

Artemis drifted slowly towards the moon's surface. "I hated to bail out on Dave like that, but I don't want anyone else to get hurt." He flipped up the map readout on his arm. "I should have seen this coming. Lets see, the source of the energy readings should be about five miles away from here." Artemis landed on the dense, cold ground, "I'd better get going if I'm going to get there before it's too late." he took off bounding on the moon's surface.

Elsewhere, David, was trying to find a place to land. David looked at his monitor and zeroed in on the source of the energy readings and noticed that the levels had risen to very high levels. The energy forced David down farther away from the source. As soon as he landed, David raced to put on his helmet and suit. "I have to hurry, Art could already be there." he pulled a key from his pocket and opened a small metal chest in the wall near the pilot's compartment. He opened the chest and picked up his Elysion. "He'll need my help."

Artemis had indeed arrived. He was shocked to see that there was a giant stone complex hidden deep in a crater. He walked through the arch and into a large courtyard. "Wow, what could this be?" Artemis walked up a ramp onto a dais. Many rings of energy were rising out of a disk on the platform. It seemed very similar to the warps used back at the lab. "What's this?"he flipped open his computer and scanned the energy. "It seems to be a functioning teleporter, but, how old is this place? It has to be older than any civilization on Coral. How could a people that old construct something like this?[i] Artemis checked his computer again, [i]"The Relic's energy is very strong in this place, I must have just missed Mikhail." Artemis walked into the warp and disappeared.

David was running along the moon's surface towards the Ruins. "I wish Magnus was here." he thought to himself, "He'd know what to do. I just hope he hasn't... nevermind that now, I have to help Artemis." David's onboard computer beeped loudly. "What's this?" he flipped open the screen and looked at the readout, "...Energy spike detected?" Suddenly a force of incredible power slammed David against the ground. He looked over at one of the larger craters on the moon's face, and he saw a massive pillar of energy shoot up into space. A ring of energy expanded out from the crater followed by a second shockwave. "Well, That isn't normal." David thought as he slowly stood up and tried to make his way to the crater, "I think I've found Mikhail, and Artemis is sure to be there as well."

A few seconds earlier, Artemis found himself on a platform in the middle of a huge crater. Artemis heard a beep coming from his onboard computer. He flipped it open just as a massive explosion ripped him from the pedestal and slammed him against a high wall. Artemis was held against the surface many feet in the air by an immense force. The fierce energy kept him from moving as he looked into the light. A brilliant pillar of energy was shooting out from a pedestal in the center of the structure. Once his eyes adjusted, Artemis saw a person standing near the beam. He was holding a large two-handed sword in his right hand and what seemed like a tablet of some sort in his left. His arms were raised in the air. Artemis struggled to get down from the wall, but before he was able to free himself, the force suddenly stopped and he plummeted to the floor.

David made his way to the crater. The force emanating from the its center was still strong. He reached the brim of the large dent in the moon's surface, and he climbed over it trying to get a better view. David was in awe at what he looked at when he reached the top. There was a giant platform floating in the middle of the crater. It seemed to be suspended in the air by an invisible force. He looked down at the bottom of the depression and saw an abyss that seemed infinitely deep. There were bolts of energy that looked like lightning shooting up from the abyss and licking the bottom of the platform. "What is this?" David thought, "And how am I going to get over that?"

Artemis lied on the hard stone floor. He looked up and saw the person whom he had noticed before. He pulled his handgun out and walked towards him. "You!" he yelled, "Turn around and put your sword on the ground!" The man ignored Artemis' words and kept doing whatever it was that he was doing. "Did you hear me? Put it down and walk away from the...Relic?" Artemis noticed that the Relic was inside pillar of light, placed on top of a pedestal. "Mikhail, what have you done?"
"Ha ha ha, yes Artemis." the man laughed as he turned around and faced Artemis, "You see now, friend, we were deceived. Tyrell and his superiors knew about this all along. This 'Relic' isn't merely the ancient power supply we thought it was. It is so much more, so much more than we could imagine."
"How do you know all this?"
"I've been searching for this artifact for years, but the government beat me to it. I'm not going to let them have this power, they don't deserve it! It's mine, it should be mine! I'm the only one who's earned it, it's my destiny..." Mikhail looked down at Artemis. "I've served my lord faithfully for all these long years, and now the final reward is within my grasp. I will stand as a god among men. Mortals will cower at my might, my foes will beg for a quick death, and the far corners of the galaxy will be forfeit to my will!" Mikhail erupted into volcanic laughter.
Artemis stood up "What's wrong with you Mikhail? You're a scientist, not a barbarian."
"Silence fool! I am neither of the two! I am a priest, the last of my order. Using my body, my lord will regain his dominion over all creation." Mikhail stood quietly, "I have work to do, and I mustn't wait a moment longer. You must go." Mikhail pointed his sword at Artemis. He slammed the tablet in his other hand into the hilt, and a force shot out of the blade. Artemis was flung back through an arch. He slammed his head against a block, and dropped to the ground unconscious.

When Artemis woke, he looked and saw Mikhail standing in the midst of the energy, with his hands on the Relic. "Mikhail! Don't go through with this! It'll be the end of you!"
"That's right Artemis. My life shall end, but I will live on! More powerful than any of the military's weapons, the ones the fools wanted to waste this incredible power on. In my death, I will be reborn!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, but you can't just throw yourself away for this evil endeavor."
"Don't try to stop me Artemis. I've chosen this."
"No Mikhail, do not damn yourself to this life."
"It's too late Artemis." Mikhail turned to Artemis as winds from the relic blew past them and rushed through the arches and passageways in the ancient structure. "It is done!" The tablet in Mikhail's hand disintegrated, and a blue flame covered his body from head to toe. A beam of dark light shot from the Relic and burned through the back of Mikhail's suit. He yelled out in pain as his sword shone brightly. Slowly, the blade transformed into an evil, wing like blade covered in an aura of dark photons.

Artemis jumped back, switched on his shield, and pulled out his Durandal. "I can't let you do this, friend, you know I can't."
"You may try," Mikhail's voice started to change, and two bright blue eyes shone out from behind his visor, "But you stand no chance by yourself!"
"He's not by himself!" a voice from above yelled as Mikhail and Artemis looked up. David came falling from his ship high above the platform, Elysion active. David fell through the giant beam shooting up from the dais. His suit began to burn as he rammed his blade through the Relic. As he cut the great stone, a charge ran up the beam and collided with his ship, destroying it completely.
"NO!" Mikhail shouted as David hit the ground and rolled to a stop. "What have YOU DONE!" The Relic slid apart, and energy erupted from its two pieces as it shattered into hundreds of shards. "YOU FOOL!" Mikhail tried to grasp the broken pieces of the crystal, but he couldn't control his hands. "No! Not now, not yet! Rrraaaaahhgg!" he fell to his knees and his suit swelled as if his body was trying to force it's way out. Artemis rushed to David, and the two friends stood back as an dark spine split through Mikhail's suit and a blue flame shot upwards. Claw like fingers ripped out of the gloves, and he grabbed his head. Mikhail looked at David and Artemis, and his eyes flashed with dark energy.
"Artemis! Wield your blade!" David shouted, "We have to stop him!" Artemis nodded, and they stood ready.
"You have no idea what you've just done! I'll destroy both of you!" Mikhail rushed at his former companions, his blade and body engulfed in hellfire.







<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-09-15 20:25 ]</font>

Hikosaka
Jan 7, 2003, 10:07 PM
On 2003-01-07 14:41, Blenjar wrote:
Oh well, there comes a heavy story, I don't even read my school books and you want me to read this...yea right.



I repeat, if you don't want to read it, then don't.

Your posts in other threads with the exact same complaint can be defined as spam, and that is not tolerated in this forum. Consider this as a warning.

Please, respect the others in this forum and conduct yourself in a civil manner. Thank you.

Davion
Jan 7, 2003, 10:16 PM
On 2003-01-07 19:07, Hikosaka wrote:


On 2003-01-07 14:41, Blenjar wrote:
Oh well, there comes a heavy story, I don't even read my school books and you want me to read this...yea right.



I repeat, if you don't want to read it, then don't.

Your posts in other threads with the exact same complaint can be defined as spam, and that is not tolerated in this forum. Consider this as a warning.

Please, respect the others in this forum and conduct yourself in a civil manner. Thank you.



Thanks Hiko. I'm going to reformat this fic for its possible addition to the Fan Fictions sections, I hope it'll make it in.

M_BlackHawk
Jan 9, 2003, 10:34 AM
Davion, if this fic doesn't make the archive as good as it is, then all the fics I've written, which are nowhere near this quality, have no reason whatsoever to be in the archive.

later

M_BlackHawk

TheTrueJanus
Jan 10, 2003, 04:04 AM
This is a brilliant fanfic and by far the best one I've read in a LONG time. It does a very good job at introducing the characters and showing how the storyline is going to progress, and I'm definitely awaiting the next chapters. By the way, do you know of my character? You almost described him perfectly! LOL. I hope to see those chapters soon!

Davion
Jan 27, 2003, 02:42 PM
Well, I'm almost done with the next chapter in this fic. I also need to do some editing on the old chapters because of some new ideas I've gotten. Please read the fic if you haven't and tell me what you think.

Because I haven't posted any new chapters, this has fallen to the 2nd page. So here it is again. I'll post the next chapter in a few days maybe.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-01-29 11:59 ]</font>

Davion
Jan 29, 2003, 03:08 PM
Chapter 9: Three Blades Shine


Mikhail came rushing, almost flying towards Artemis and David, his blade held high, ready to strike.
"You go right, I'll take him from the left." Artemis said. David nodded. As the possessed warrior came dashing through, the two swordsmen leapt to the sides and struck. Artemis' Durandal tore through the hard external suit, and air flooded out of the gash. David blasted a shot of zonde, and the energy seemed to stun his target. Mikhail slowed and turned, his blade swinging over his head. David blocked the massive sword with his shield, but the force of the swing sent David crashing to the floor. Mikhail planted his sword tip into the ground and pushed himself into the air. He flipped himself into the air and ripped the blade from the floor. Spinning in the air, he brought the blade crashing down upon David. Artemis ran over and slammed his shield into Mikhail's side. Artemis pushed hard and slashed his saber across his face. The dark blade sunk itself deep into the floor inches away from David. David jumped to his feet and ran at Mikhail, his Elysion glowing brightly. Artemis and David attacked from both sides, but Mikhail only seemed to fight that much harder than before. He could wield the massive sword so easily that it seemed he didn't even notice its weight in his hands. Mikhail locked blades with Artemis, and pushed him back towards a wall. Artemis' back pressed against the wall. David stood back and spun his Elysion around as he gestured at Artemis. Artemis saw David and placed his feet against the wall. The Hunter jumped forward and pushed Mikhail back. Mikhail stumbled as David dashed forward and swung his blade. The Elysion cut deep into Mikhail's back. Artemis pushed against Mikhail and leapt straight into the air as he slammed his foe against the floor. Artemis landed with his back to David. He turned around as Mikhail stood up.
"You fools! Is that the best you can do?" Mikhail said as he leaned on his blade. His eyes still burned with a deep, evil fire. "I've had enough of this!" the fallen warrior rose up and grabbed his helmet. It seemed to bulge, and a dark light shot out of the cracks in the glass faceplate. With a thunderous roar, the helmet shattered, and beneath the helmet a hideous face now showed through as the shards of the helmet slowly drifted to the floor.
"There is no doubt about it Art, Mikhail is gone forever."
"The only thing left to do is end his life, if you can call it a life now."
"But how are we going to do that? The Relic is destroyed, but the power has seemed to of completely engulfed his body."
"We have to find a way."
"Think about the power we're dealing with here. If Mikhail really did absorb all the power in that crystal, there's no way we can win."
"It's not just power David, the Relic is so much more than that."
"What?"
"There's no time to tell you. If we survive this, I'll tell you everything I know."
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Mikhail taunted, "Come, come to me. I'll show you the life beyond the stars." David and Artemis ran headlong at him. Artemis brought his blade down at Mikhail's head, Mikhail blocked and slammed Artemis with his fist. Artemis fell to the ground and swung at Mikhail's legs as David fought sword to sword. Mikhail jumped over Artemis' Durandal and kicked David's legs out. David fell and Mikhail readied his blade to pierce his chest. Artemis jumped up and wrapped his arms around Mikhail's neck. He felt his arms burn with the dark fire, but no damage seemed to be done to his suit or flesh.
"Get off of me!" Mikhail grabbed Artemis and tossed him like a rag doll. David kicked out with both feet into Mikhail's chest. Mikhail shuddered and backed up as David stood up and attacked. Mikhail blocked with his massive blade and swung back. Artemis joined David in fighting their former friend.

David and Artemis were both amazing swordsmen, but the amazing and unnatural power behind Mikhail's attacks kept them unbalanced. Swing after swing, Mikhail seemed to deflect all blows coming his way with ease. David's Elysion shone bright in his hand as he made a daring thrust at Mikahil, leaving him wide open to attack. Mikhail took advantage of this and slammed the flat side of his blade into David's chest. David's blade left his hand and slowly fell towards the ground as David slammed into the floor. Mikhail grabbed the Elysion out of the air and threw it at David. Artemis dashed over to his friend and kicked the hilt of the blade, sending it into the air. Artemis grabbed the Elysion and attacked Mikhail with both blades. Twisting and turning, Artemis' quick attacks with both blades took Mikhail off guard. Artemis was able to back his foe up against a wall. Mikhail swung one massive flaming strike at Artemis. It took both the Durandal and Elysion to block Mikhail's giant sword. Artemis held the sword back with his saber and slammed his shield into Mikhail's face. The energy in the shield shot through Mikhail's head and body causing him to fall to the floor. The hellfire that surrounded Mikhail went out, and his eyes went dim.
Artemis walked over to David and helped him to his feet. "I think I got him." he sighed.
David took his Elysion from his friend and looked over at Mikhail, "I hope so. Now how are we going to get off of this rock?"

"RRRRRAAAARRGGG!" Mikhail let out a thunderous roar as the flames on his body sprung to life. "NOW YOU WILL PAY!" Mikhail held his sword up high and ran at David and Artemis. A loud noise filled the air as two shots of energy came shooting down from the sky and collided with Mikhail. "RRRrrrAAggGGG! NOOOO!" the remaining parts of Mikhail's suit flew off and his body slammed into the wall as he was repeatedly blasted from the blasts from above.
"What's this?" David asked as he looked up.
"They came!" Artemis yelled as he saw a Coralian gunship firing its guns down at Mikhail.
"ARTEMIS! DAVID!" Mikhail shouted from the explosions, "YOU HAVE'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME!"the last shot from the gunship blew a hole through the floor and blasted Mikhail deep into the structure.

David looked over at Artemis, "It seems like he's finished."
Artemis reached down and picked up a shard of the Relic, "This may prove useful in the days ahead."
"Artemis?"
"Oh, yes." Artemis quickly slid the shard into his pocket, "I certainly hope so."
"David! Artemis!" a voice from above shouted over a loudspeaker.
"Hey that sounds like Magnus." David said as the two friends looked up. Magnus was standing on top of the gunship waving.
"I have to get you out of here." Magnus said, "The computer says this place is becoming unstable." suddenly the floor shook.
"The computer seems to be right." Artemis said.
"Head to the high tower on the north side of the platform." Magnus said, "I'll pick you up there." with that said, Magnus directed the pilot over to the tower.
"Hurry Artemis." David said as cracks began to form on the surface of the platform, "I see the stairs. We have to be quick, I don't know how much longer this will hold."
"Not long by the looks of things." Artemis said as he surveyed the area. Smaller pillars were starting to topple, wall were crumbling, the bolts of energy from beneath the crater were now blasting through the floor and reaching for space. The giant beam of energy in the middle of the platform seemed to be getting wider and filling with fury.

Artemis and David hastily ran up the steps leading to the north tower. Even though they were running as fast as they could, the destruction behind them seemed to be gaining. Artemis stumbled, but David grabbed his hand and helped him stand. The two friends rushed ever faster to the tower. When they reached it, they looked at disbelief at the bottom of the staircase that wrapped around the outside of the to tower. The first flight was destroyed.
"Well, how are we going to get up that?" David asked.
Artemis thought for a second, "I think I got it. That Elysion of yours can launch a fireball, right?"
"Well yeah, but I doubt it's powerful enough to propel us up that high."
"Not in this gravity."
David gripped the blade's hilt, "You're right, it just might be enough. Of course, the fire could very well burn through our suits, leaving us to die out here."
"What other choice do we have?"
"None." David held his blade towards the floor, "At the count of three, jump."
"Ok."
David started counting, "One..." a wide crack opened underneath them and the floor began to give way, "THREE!" David and Artemis jumped into the air and David shot the fireball from the Elysion. The explosion launched the two men into the air. Artemis, being taller than David, caught hold of the edge, but David missed and began to fall back.
"I got you!" Artemis yelled as he reached down and grabbed hold of David's hand. The two friends dangled there for a few seconds and Artemis pulled David up to the ledge. David grabbed it, and they both pulled themselves on top.
"Thanks Art." David said as they started to run up the steps.
"No problem."

Magnus was waiting for them once they reached the top. Artemis and David quickly climbed up the ladder hanging down from the gunship and into its passenger bay. After a few seconds, the craft was on its way towards the orbital laboratory complex.
"Wait, circle around once." Artemis said.
"Turning around." the pilot repeated as he turned the spacecraft around. David, Magnus, and Artemis looked out of the window. The crater was filling with dark energy, and pieces of the platform were falling into the abyss.
"Mikhail wanted power." David said.
"And what he got was his own destruction." Artemis finished.
Magnus stood, watching his friends, "I see that you've been in a fierce duel. Let me help you get out of that gear." David's Elysion flashed a strange purple as he turned it off, but neither of the three men noticed.

After awhile, the gunship docked with the station.
"What happened there, guys?" Magnus asked.
"I don't know." Artemis answered, "Mikhail's gone now, and the Relic with him."
"Did you see him, Magnus?" David asked as he was visibly shaken by the experience, "Did you see what he became? His eyes...those dark, evil eyes."
"I only saw the energy readings the sensors picked up. It's hard to think that anything that powerful could inhabit the body of a man."
Artemis looked "We were worried that you might have..."
Magnus looked at Artemis and smiled, "Art, you know me better than that. Part of my job is to protect you."

Artemis nodded as he turned and walked towards the airlock.
"Sorry about your ship David." Magnus said.
"She was a good craft, and it served me well." David said, "But I'm glad that it was able to serve in its final flight."
Magnus and David continued to talk as Artemis slipped inside the airlock door. The scientist reached down and pulled the shard from the pocket of his suit. The energy bit at his flesh as he hastily placed the crystal into a small metal case. Artemis placed the box in his pocket and walked back to the main room.
After much conversation, the three friends went to their separate quarters and fell into a deep, troubled sleep.







<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-09-15 21:00 ]</font>

Percival
Jan 29, 2003, 04:43 PM
It's getting really good Davion.

I got so much cathcing up to do. I'm still only at chapter 3 but don't worry, I can read it faster than you can write it. Keep up the good work.

By the way, you might want to check the extra info from my personnal profile I edited it a little bit to add some interesting details on Percival.

Your once opponent,

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Percival on 2003-01-29 14:13 ]</font>

M_BlackHawk
Jan 29, 2003, 11:04 PM
An Excellent chapter, Dav. Honestly, that was a better battle scene than most of the fight scenes in every fic I've written. Anyway, keep the chapters coming, this is one heck of a good read.

later

M_BlackHawk

MaJin
Jan 31, 2003, 10:14 PM
Whew just read the whole thing, pretty tight. Keep it up man and uh thx for adding me into this awsome FanFic http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif.

Davion
Feb 1, 2003, 02:36 AM
On 2003-01-31 19:14, MaJin wrote:
Whew just read the whole thing, pretty tight. Keep it up man and uh thx for adding me into this awsome FanFic http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif.



Thanks. And for those of you who don't know (I.E most everyone here) MaJin here's character K'Dash will be the Dash in my fiction. Dash is the head of security at Angelus Manor. If any of you have characters with the names of any of the other characters in my fic (Besides Seifer and Diego) post up. It would be cool to work PSOWers into it some more.

Davion
Feb 5, 2003, 05:04 PM
To those who read "The Angelus Saga".

I'm on need of ideas for a new name. "The Angelus Saga" was a quick name that I came up with so I could start posting my chapters. I don't like it, it seems too standard. I'd like a name that stands out, but I'm out of ideas right now. That's why I need your help. Could some of you post some ideas for titles? I'd appreciate the help.

Davion
Feb 12, 2003, 09:12 PM
Please all, I really need some help on the name. I've gone through countless names that I don't very much like, and I need some fresh brainpower. Please, if any of you have any ideas for the name of this fic, please post them.

Nidarrock
Feb 13, 2003, 10:48 AM
I actually think that the current name is fine. Being that the story follows both Artemis and his children I think "Saga" fits pretty well. But then again I'm not sure how much longer the story is. Keep writing though, and eventualy you'll come up with an appropriate title. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif By the by nice fic, I'm still reading.

Davion
Feb 13, 2003, 11:45 AM
On 2003-02-13 07:48, Nidarrock wrote:
I actually think that the current name is fine. Being that the story follows both Artemis and his children I think "Saga" fits pretty well. But then again I'm not sure how much longer the story is. Keep writing though, and eventualy you'll come up with an appropriate title. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif By the by nice fic, I'm still reading.



Thank you. As for how long this is, I'm at 90 pages in Works now. I've posted less than 40. I do plan on this fic spanning several decades, so you're right, Saga would be a good name. The only thing that I don't like about it is it seems so normal, alot of names are Saga this Saga that.

Anyway, I think I've solved it. After I finish writing this fic, it'll be around 100 some pages long, about 2-6 pages per chapter. I do plan on writing 3 main fics of semi-equal length, and several smaller informational fics. I guess I'll call the whole thing the Angelus Saga, but I need names for each individual fic. So I guess that's where I need help with a new name.

Davion
Feb 15, 2003, 09:59 PM
Ok, I'm almost done with the next chapter. At the same time, I'm working on a basic information supplementary work which will give a lot of info on the characters in my fic. Since it would hold many spoilers, I'll post that after I'm done with this fic. That will take a long time. I try to make chapters 3-6 pages long, and I'm looking foward to posting the next few. Things really start picking up. When you think about that all of this fic so far is still about one or two months before the explosion, I've really just gotten started.

I hope you all are looking foward to reading them as much as I am posting them.

Davion
Feb 15, 2003, 11:22 PM
Chapter 10: An empty seat at the table


Davion closed his father's journal and put it back inside the logbook.
"Wow. That's something." Davion placed the books down. "So that's what that thing was. But how did it get here?" As he was thinking about this, the vid-phone on his desk went off.
"This is Davion Angelus." he said as the screen flashed to life.
"Davion, how are you feeling?"
"Hi Seifer, I'm feeling ok. What's up?"
"Well, maintenance just finished with the library, everything seems to be ok down here now. We were wondering when you'll be coming down. We haven't heard from you in a while, and we were worried. Dinner's almost ready."
"I'll be down soon, I have many things to tell Diego and you."
"Whenever you can Davion." Seifer closed the transmission.
"Yes, many things to tell you indeed." Davion picked up the books and carried them down to the dining room.

Dinner was a solemn affair. Artemis' seat at the head of the table was empty, and the servants quickly brought in the food and left without saying a word.

Seifer starred at his plate, fork in hand looking at a portion of mashed potatoes. "What are these things you needed to tell us Davion?"
"Yes, what have you learned?" Diego repeated, "You've been in your room all day."

"Well," Davion began, "It seems that the creature that attacked our home was an old friend of Father's. Apparently, Father worked for the government before he met Mother and started his business of working on designing star-craft." Davion took a bite, "From what I've read, there was an incident on one of Coral's moons that transformed one of Father's partners into the beast that ultimately caused his destruction. You guys saw what I'm talking about. I don't want to go into all the details, but what you guys need to know is somehow that partner of his has become everything people fear, and somehow it found us."

"Well, we managed to fight it off once, we can do it again." Seifer said.
"Seifer? Where were you then?" Diego said, "We were all there; you, myself, Davion, Father, and Dash. We couldn't even scratch it. It played with us Seifer, played with us like dolls."
"Diego's right little brother, I understand what you were trying to do. We all need to be optimistic from this point on. We can't let Father's death keep us from doing what we need to do."
"What's that Davion?" Seifer asked.
"We need to take out the monster that took Father's life,." Davion looked over at his father's empty chair, "but I have no idea how we're going to do it. At least not when I'm in this condition."

"Well, we have many things to do before the week's up." Diego said, "Principal Tyrell would like us to hold a service in honor of Father. One that the public can come to. Tyrell feels that everyone owes Father that."
"As he should," Seifer said, "but I'm still worried about that creature. I need to practice more, my skills aren't nearly up to par with that thing. I'm going to increase the weights on my training suit."
"Good idea Seif," Davion said, "We all have to keep our skills up, that thing could attack again at anytime. Now down to business. What are we going to do for the service?"
"We could use the library as the main room." Seifer said.
"And we can have displays of the ships Father designed for the government and military along the walls." Diego added.
"Good, good." said Davion, "I'll let Mary know how much food we'll need. How many do you think will be coming Seifer?"
"At least a few hundred..."

The three brothers continued to make plans for the week. Who would do what and such. It helped keep their minds off the pain they were all feeling. Working together always helped clear their minds, and working together was the thing they did best.

Seifer took charge over what music would be played in each room. He called us some bands to play in the library and other main rooms. Diego worked on how to let the people of Pioneer 2 know about the service. He designed the flyers, and worked on a plan for a notice on the news station. Davion, well he planned almost everything else. He had always been a leader, and his brothers were glad to follow him. He would walk around the streets in Pioneer 2 listening to people talk, finding out what they thought about his father without asking. This helped him decide what to plan. He would have to send personalized invitations to the Principal and other major dignitaries.

During this time of work, Davion's mind drifted back to the battle his father and that man named David had with the creature. "I really have to find out that things name." he thought, "I know it was that man named Mikhail, but I don't even know what it is now. Is it a demon? Is it a mutant created by science? What kind of thing was trapped inside that relic? What turned Father's partner into that thing?" Davion's questions went unanswered, and this was the major cause of stress that weighed him down.

Davion began to feel stronger, his body was beginning to rebuild. It had been days after his stay in the hospital, and the memorial service for his father was only a day away. He still used his cane to get around, and he had some of his servants do the heavy lifting he would normally be able to do himself. He was walking down a hallway when he heard a little voice call.

"Hey Boss." a boy came walking towards him.
Davion smiled, "Yes Benjamin?" he said to the young boy who served as one of the manor's couriers.
"What are we going to do during the memorial service? My family and I were going to go visit my grandparents, but then this came up. My sister and I haven't seen them for a long time. I was wondering..."
"Don't worry about it Ben. Tell your parents that they have the rest of the weekend off. Here," Davion handed the boy a key, "take my vehicle. I see you looking at it when you're cleaning in the garage. It has access to some of the Principal's private lanes through Pioneer 2."
"Really!?" the little boy exclaimed.
"Really. Go ahead and leave now. I'll have someone else take your spots.
"Thanks Dav--err Mr. Angelus."
Davion chuckled, "Have fun. Tell your grand parents I said hi."
"Oh I will." Ben ran off to his family's quarters.
Davion laughed as the boy ran down the hall with the joy of a child, "I remember those days." the Hunter's face turned sad. Those days were over. All he had left was pain. He turned away to finish the work he was doing.

Diego took some empty data cards one of the computers in the library. "Hmm, I know Dad had those plans in here somewhere." He surfed through the manor's network and accessed the main supercomputer. "Ah, here they are. Defender RXII, Envoy Mk. IV, Heavy gunship class C, there're all here." Diego downloaded the plans of each of the crafts his father designed onto one disc each. After all the information was put on the discs, Diego walked over and placed one in the projectors on each of the twenty stands around the library. After he put one in, he switched on the projector. This caused a holographic image of the ship's blueprints float above the stand. This gave the library a very museum like feel.

Dash walked up to him, "Nice work Diego. Mr. Angelus would be proud to see his ships in such splendor."
Diego patted Dash on the shoulder, "Thanks Dash, I think he would too."

Things were going pretty well at the Angelus mansion. The staff seemed to be feeling a great emptiness inside. They had served the same man for so many years, and while they felt that Davion would be a great master of Angelus Manor, things would never be the same again. Artemis had created the Manor to house his family on Ragol when they arrived. He has it all worked out. It was big enough that his sons and their families could live with him until old age took him. Unfortunately, fate had other plans in store for the Angelus family. Laughter was no longer echoing through the halls, but every once in a while you could hear the occasional sob from one of the maids. The very life was taken out of the home, a life named Artemis Angelus.













<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-09-15 21:03 ]</font>

Cross689
Feb 18, 2003, 02:37 AM
wow that was a simply awesome FanFic i mean i havent ever read somein that long and still cared i feel like i should have paid to read that. i saw a few missing articles here and there but other wise flawless.

M_BlackHawk
Feb 20, 2003, 10:15 AM
Dav, if you don't keep up this fic, I'll NEVER come back online again, and that is an ultimatum. ^_^

Great work, friend. Keep it up.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Feb 22, 2003, 10:58 PM
This next chapter is a little short compared to my normal ones. I really wanted to post this quickly, because I feel this will be the starting point when my fic really starts up.


Chapter 11:Memorial

Davion stood by the door, greeting people as they walked in. It seemed like hours. After the first dozen people or so, it began to get very old. When Diego came to relieve him, Davion walked off into the library.

He walked around the massive room, trying to avoid eye contact and conversations. This was about people remembering his father, not him. The young man walked around a large section of bookshelves and into a small alcove. Davion leaned on his cane as he lowered his body into an armchair. He sat there for a while, thinking. His father's murder still lived in his mind. The image of his death, and the creature that caused it, still haunted him. Davion promised himself that he would never let that thing get away with it. Something was wrong. The pain in his scar had been gone for a few days, but now it was back. He rubbed the stinging gash and felt the cloth of the eye patch that covered his now dead eye. In all the days before that night, Davion felt secure about himself. He was always confident in his abilities, but that night changed everything. He felt like a failure, and this new circumstance held his life in fear.

Seifer in the mean time had taken Diego's place at the door. A few androids walked in, and a small family after them. Seifer just stood there. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable with everything. After some time had passed, something caught Seifer's eye. A strong looking man with blonde hair pushing a Newman woman in a wheelchair.
"Hello." the man said, "My name is Mike Blackhawk."

Diego was walking around in the library, talking to some people and checking in with the servants who were walking around with trays of refreshments.
The Ranger felt a strong hand on his shoulder, "Hello Diego."
Diego recognized the voice, "Hello Mr. Miyama." he turned and faced his friend, "Thank you for coming."
"Thank you for having this for your father." Zoke said as he looked at one of the displays, "He was a great man, and a good friend. We shall miss him terribly."
"Thank you, that means a lot to us."

Diego and Zoke walked through the library talking about the past and future. While they were at one of the displays, Diego noticed a man in a dark suit with a headset.
"There seems to be someone following us Mr. Miyama."
"Indeed there is." Zoke answered, "I usually notice a few of them a day. It seems the government really does want to keep track of me."
"Strange, Davion has talked about being followed sometimes when he was out in the city."
"That is strange. What could they see in him?"
"I don't know." Diego paused, "They've only shown up recently, right after Father's death."
"That would indicate that they know something we don't. I don't like it."
"What do you think we should do?"
"Ignore them. For as long as you can. I've lived with it for quite some time now. Davion should be able to take care of himself, he's a smart boy." Zoke looked around, "By the way, where is Davion?"

Davion was still sitting in the alcove when Diego found him.
"Hey Dav, Mr. Miyama is here. He's wondering where you are."
Davion looked up, "Is he?" he stood up and walked towards his brother, "Then take me to him, I don't want to keep him waiting."

Zoke was sitting in a chair at the end of the library. People seemed to avoid him as he sat there, and he could still notice his followers watching him from a distance.
"I hope Shino's ok by herself." he thought.
Davion and Diego walked up to Zoke, "Hi Mr. Miyama, sorry to keep you waiting."
"Davion, good to see you up and about again."
"Thank you sir."
"Diego told me about people keeping tabs on you."
"Yes, it does seem that way. Even when I was in the hospital people seemed to be watching."
"Did any of them look like that fellow over there?" Zoke pointed to a man in the corner.
"Hmm, yes. I've seen quite a few of them around lately."
"I don't quite understand it. They must see something special in you."

"Master Zoke?" a voice called from behind.
"Michael BlackHawk." Zoke said as he stood and turned, "Fancy meeting you here. How are your skills keeping up?"
"Fine Master Zoke."
"Davion," Zoke said, "I don't think you've met Mike BlackHawk."
"No, I haven't had the pleasure." Davion shook hands with the Hunter.
"Then allow me to introduce you to him. Mike, this is Davion Angelus. His father was a friend of mine back at the academy. And Davion, Mike here was a student of mine. I taught the boy everything he knows." Zoke proudly patted Mike's shoulder, "I'm very proud of this one."
"Thank you sir." Mike said, "And it's great to meet you Davion. I'm sorry about your father."
"Thank you, Mike. Thank you for coming."
"And who is this young lady you have here Mike?" Zoke asked.
"This is my fiance. Rhiannon, Lara, Mano." Mike replied.
"Please, call me Lara." she said.
"Lara it is then. I'm very happy for both of you." Zoke said as he looked at his watch, "Well, I'm sorry everyone, but I must be going."
"So soon?" Davion asked.
"Yes. I'm very sorry, but something has come to my attention. I must see to it immediately." Zoke stood up, "Please, get to know each other Mike, Davion. I feel that your paths with join someday. I see great things in both your futures, and you may find each other to be powerful allies." Zoke looked over at the corner, the man was gone. "I must be off. Goodbye everyone."
"Goodbye Mr. Miyama." Davion said, "Thank you for coming."

Everyone said their goodbyes, and Great Sword Zoke left the library. Mike pushed Lara's wheelchair into the circle of chairs and took a seat next to her. People for the most part had stopped coming so Seifer walked over and joined his brothers.

"Mr. Miyama just left." he said.
"Yes, we were just talking to him." Davion said.
Seifer noticed Mike and Lara, "Ah, I see you've met."
"Yes we have." Mike said, "This certainly is a nice place you got here."
"Thank you." Davion said, "Our father built it for us to live in on Ragol."
"On Ragol?" Lara asked, "How is this going to get there?"
"That's the fun part." Diego said, "Father built this entire building on a giant teleporter pad."
"What?" Mike said, "A pad this size? How did he manage to pull that off?"
"That's the other thing." Seifer said, "This place is modular. There are a few thousand more square feet of Angelus Manor in storage on Pioneer 2."
"This mansion was created to serve as a secondary headquarters for the Pioneer project should anything go awry." Davion said, "Pioneer 1 has already built a foundation on Ragol."
"That's something." Lara said, "So this place could replace the Central Dome?"
"Only administratively." Diego said, "This would be where Ragol's colonies would be governed in emergencies."
"I see." That must of allowed your father to build quite a place here."
"It certainly did." Davion said, "Well, enough about this place. So your Mr. Miyama's prize student. He has mentioned you, not by name, and we always knew that you would have to be as good as he said you were."
"Master Zoke doesn't lie," Mike said, "But I wasn't his only student. I'd rather not get into that though."
"We won't ask you to." Seifer said, "Although, I'd be hard pressed to believe that you could better Davion here in a duel."
"Be quiet Seifer." Davion said, tapping his younger brother's knee with his cane, "Mike here knows the Soaring Heaven's style, I remember that much from what Mr. Miyama told us. He's much more prone to dueling than I. Swords weren't meant to duel with, and I'm no master of the saber."
"Sword wielders have their own skills Davion." Mike said, "Master Zoke said something about a partner he had who was amazing with the sword. A J-Sword I think. He could use that giant blade in such a way that almost no one could beat him."
"Ah, now there's a man I'd like to meet." Davion said.
"I'm sorry to say that I don't think that will be possible." Mike said.
"How so?" Diego asked.
"That man disappeared some years ago. Something about his brother, Master Zoke didn't talk about him much."
"I understand." Davion said, "Family makes people do strange things sometimes."

"Now, about your father," Lara said, "Artemis Angelus right?"
"Correct." Seifer said.
"What did he do before he went into designing these ships of his?" Lara asked.
"He never said what he did before he met Mother." Davion answered, "But I did find his journal and a picture a few says ago. I'm not sure I like what I read though."
"How so?" Mike asked, "And can I see the picture?"
"Certainly." Davion reached over to a small table near his chair and grabbed the frame, "This is it." he read the names on the back of the picture, "David, Artemis, Mikhail, Magnus."
"David?" Mike asked as he hastily took the picture from Davion, "That's my father's name." Mike took a look at the photo, "That IS my father!"
"What?" Davion said as he looked over at Mike.
"My father! That's him!" Mike said as he looked up at Davion, "What is this?"
Davion rested his chin on his hands, his eyes focused hard on Mike. "Allow me to explain. Seifer, would you and Diego be kind enough to see everyone out when they leave? I have some things to explain to Mike and Lara."
"Yes Davion." Seifer said.
"I'll send in a maid with some coffee." Diego said, "I take it you're going to need it."
"Thank you very much Diego, Seifer." Lara said. She looked at Davion and Mike, their eyes fixed on each other, "It seems Mr. Miyama was right about These men."










<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-02-23 10:27 ]</font>

M_BlackHawk
Feb 23, 2003, 09:52 AM
Dav, you sure better continue this fic. It's getting better and better, and I'm not just saying that because our characters are now intertwined in more than 2 fics. This story is really getting interesting.

later

M_BlackHawk

StrikerMeganani
Feb 24, 2003, 09:05 PM
Davion,
Your stories are incredible. The depth that you put into creating a bacround for all the characters is amazing. I really look forward to reading more stuff by you. Keep writing.


LeaderOfTeamAvalanche
=Striker=

Percival
Feb 25, 2003, 03:44 PM
I've read it all. I've said it before but here I'll go again: VERY interesting. You're story is building up to something. New alliances forging? Sounds like a big event will happen very soon. Anyway, Davion is almost back on his feet so... I guess we'll see in a chapter or two. Good variety of characters.

Unfortunatly, I've read it over a long period of time I had to occasionally go back and read an earlier chapter to make sure who is who (my bad). Not a major hassle though. Maybe you could post an alphabetical list of all your characters and supporting characters accompanied by short bios and update it when new chapters come along. Just a suggestion from a fan.

Another little question (out of curiosity) The ship is still speeding toward ragol right? How far has it travelled yet? (sounds like a "Are we there yet? ^_^) Has it just departed? Is it halfway?

Keep 'em coming Davion ^_^

Davion
Feb 25, 2003, 04:01 PM
Thanks Perc. I'll post somthing about all the characters soon. And as far as I know, I think there's still one year of travel before P2 gets to Ragol. That's rough though. I'll be posting the next chapter later tonight or tomorrow.


EDIT: I have created several short bios for the characters, but I don't want to post them yet because they'll be spoilers. After the next three or four chapters. I'll post a complete list of bios(thus far) in Fan Works and link to it from the first page of this fic.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-02-25 13:04 ]</font>

Davion
Feb 27, 2003, 06:29 PM
Chapter 12: The Beginning of Discoveries

The library had emptied out now. It had been a long night, and everyone had left. Everyone but Mike and Lara that is. Davion had led Mike and Lara over to his father's desk. Mike and Davion poured over everything they could find about their fathers. Lara helped where she could, but she didn't want to move much. The incident on the Parma had left her with some injuries.

Davion explained the story of the Relic, and the night Artemis was attacked. Mike and Lara were very interested in the story.
"So that's what Dad did before the Pioneer Project." Mike said.
"I wonder why they never told you two." Lara said.
"Well," Davion began, "since the Relic was destroyed, the project ended. The government has also disavowed that the project ever existed in the first place."
"That makes sense." Mike said, "I don't think they'd want anyone to know what happened there."
"I wonder who knows about it" Davion said.
"It seems the Principal does." Mike said. Lara nodded.
"I know, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt." Davion said, "He's been a family friend for years."
"Yeah, we saw him talking with some families earlier." Lara said, "He wouldn't come to just any memorial."
"I still don't think I trust him fully." Mike said, "I don't know, I've always had a strange feeling about it."
"Well," Davion said, "I don't think our fathers would be part of anything corrupt. At least, anything they thought was corrupt. They both have had important roles in the Pioneer Project."
"Either that or they knew and still wanted to help save the lives of Coral." Mike said.
"Yeah, that could have been it." Davion said, "Father always put others first."
"But that doesn't mean the Principal thinks the same way." Mike said.
"I'm hoping that he was just acting under orders back then." Davion said, "And I think it would be good if none of us talked to him about it. We don't know where he stands yet, or if he knows we know."
"Sounds good to me." Lara said

Mike picked up the logbook, "Hey Davion," he said, "Mind if I take a look at this?"
"Of course not." Davion said, "I doubt you'll find anything in there though. I've already looked through the entire thing."
Mike flipped through a few pages. "Did you see this?" Mike showed Davion a place in the back of the book. Water must of gotten in an caused the last page to stick to the back cover.
"Hmm, no I didn't." Davion said as he carefully peeled the page back.
"It seems they signed their names here." Mike said, "Artemis Angelus, David BlackHawk, Mikhail Samsonov, and Magnus? Hmm, it seems this part has been smudged out."
"Oh well." Lara said, "At least we know what they were doing back then."
"And knowing that thing is still around doesn't make my life any less stressful." Davion said.

Seifer and Diego walked up to Davion, Mike, and Lara. "Dav, it's getting really late." Seifer said, "We've been told to make sure you get plenty of rest."
"And I'm sure Mike and Lara here need some sleep too." Diego said.
"How late is it?" Davion asked as he looked at his watch, "Wow, you're right. Well, Mike, Lara, I think we should call it a night. Or morning rather. You can stay in our guest rooms if you don't wish to make the long trek home."
"Thank you for offering, Davion." Mike said, "But we should be going."
"We could come back tomorrow," Lara said, "If that's ok with you."
"That would be wonderful." Davion said as he walked them to the door, Seifer and Diego by his side, "Come over around lunchtime if you wish."
"We will." Mike said, "G'night"
"Good night Mike, Lara." Davion said.

When they had left, Davion, Seifer, and Diego talked by themselves for a few minutes before going to their separate rooms.

The next morning, Seifer walked down from his room in his robe. The staff had already cleaned up after the memorial, and he saw three places at the table waiting for him and his brothers to sit down. By the looks of it, Diego had already eaten. It was around 8:00 in the morning as Seifer sat down in his seat. He ran his hand through his hair as a maid walked in. She asked him if he wanted eggs and coffee. He nodded. As she turned and walked back to the kitchen, Seifer leaned on the table and thought. He wondered how this new facet of the brothers' destiny, mainly Mike and Lara, would affect their future dealings. He also thought about Janus and Hal. It had been a while since the enigmatic Hunter and his android companion left Angelus Manor. He wondered what had become of them. Their dealings with Black Paper didn't give them an easy life, and it was entirely possible that Seifer would never see them again.
Seifer now looked at the future as a daunting and forbidding place. The maid brought in Seifer's breakfast. He thanked her and began to eat.

Diego had been up for an hour already. He was sitting in his room at his desk, working. He had found some of the trigrinders he had in storage and was starting to upgrade his favorite handgun. This was the one his father gave him when he graduated from the academy, and he cared for it deeply, now more than ever. He closed up the gun, spun it around in his hand a few times, and shot at the target at the other side of his room. Bulls-eye.

Davion was still in bed. He had not slept well that night. He rarely did. His alarm went off for the third time, and he whacked it with his fist. The Hunter went back to sleep not even noticing that he had smashed the clock to bits. He slept for another hour. Only waking up after he heard another sound go off.
"For crying out loud." he said as he turned to stop his alarm, "How many times do I have to...huh?" he noticed that the alarm was broken, and he wondered where the sound was coming from. He sat up in bed and looked over at his door. It seemed to be coming from there. He got up, wrapped his robe around himself, and opened the door. There, standing innocently was little Ben. He was holding out the keys to Davion's personal transport in his little hands.
"Mommy told me to bring this back to you." Davion picked it up out of the boys hand, "I was going to anyways, but she thought sooner than later."
"Thanks." Davion said as he ruffled the little boy's hair and bending down to his level, "Did you like it?"
"Oh, very much. Thanks a lot." he said.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, but what are you doing back so soon?"
"We wanted to help. We thought there might be some things we can do for you."
"Thanks for thinking of us, Ben." Davion said as he stood up, "Run along to Mary now. Maybe she'll have something for you to do."
"Thanks, Mr. Davion." he said as he ran along. Davion smiled as he turned back into his room.

A few minutes later Davion was downstairs eating when Diego walked in.
"I see you have your old gun, Diego." he said in between bites.
"After last night, I felt I wanted to do something with it. I'm heading to our training room to test out the new upgrades I've put in it."
"Go ahead. Tell me how it goes." Davion said. Diego nodded and he walked over to the hallway leading to the training room.

For the next few hours, the brothers did their own things throughout the manor. Seifer took to the lounge and read a book, Diego kept testing his gun, and Davion headed to the lab. He took with him all the contents of the box he found in the floor of the library. He was particularly interested in the little metal box he left closed the first time he found it. Now that Mike BlackHawk was going to be helping discover the mysteries of their fathers' pasts, Davion wanted to looked at everything he had available. Davion felt reenergized, and he didn't even notice that he wasn't using his cane to get around anymore.

At an hour after noon, there was a knock at the door. Of course, since the house was so large, no one heard it. A few seconds later, another knock. Yet again there was no answer. A few seconds later the home's bell rang. That, people heard. The manor's chief butler, Willem Stockton, opened the door.
"Why Master BlackHawk, and Lady Mano." he said as he backed up and let the couple in, "Welcome back to Angelus Manor. My name is Willem. We have been expecting you, but who is this lovely girl you've brought with you?"
"Thank you." Lara said as Mike pushed her wheelchair through the door. A large metal case was hanging on the chair. "This is Amelia, Mike's younger sister."
The Young FOmarl curtsied, "Hello, I hope it's not a problem. Me coming along I mean."
"What a delightful young lady." Willem said bowing low, "It would be our pleasure to have you join us."
"Thank you." Amelia said.
"Please, follow me." Willem said as he walked to the dining room, "Master Seifer and Master Diego are waiting for you."
"And Davion?" Mike asked.
"Master Davion had some things to tend to down in the lab. I shall lead you there after you've eaten."
"Could you take me to him after I drop Lara and Amelia off at the table?" Mike asked, "I'd like to see how I can help him."
"I see." Willem said, "Allow me to escort the ladies into the dining room for you." Willem called a maid, "Miss Marie will lead you to the lab. I'll be down shortly with a plate of food for you and one for Master Davion."
"Thank you." Mike said as he took the case from the chair, "I'll see you soon, ladies."
"I'll be down after lunch is finished." Lara said.
"I might join her," Amelia said, "but I've been itching o see that library ever since you told me about it."
"I'm sure Master Seifer would be glad to show you the library. It should be cleaned from last night. Some people left such a mess. To think that they were some of Pioneer 2's social elite."
"Ok." Mike answered as the maid motioned for him to follow her, "I'll see you soon." he followed the maid down to the lab.

The lab was a medium sized room just under the first floor. Davion stood leaning on the table in the middle of the room, the contents of the large metal box laid out before him. His mind was currently focused on a certain part of the logbook that dealt with the strange energies the Relic possessed. It seemed that the Relic was purple in color, probably due to the coloration of the minerals on whatever planet the large crystal was formed. That could be the case, but Davion still had his doubts. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Davion said.
Mike walked through the door, "Hey Davion."
"Mike?" Davion asked as he turned around, "What are you doing down here now? Aren't you going to eat with the others?"
"Willem is going to bring some things down for us soon." Mike answered, "Oh, and I brought my sister with me. She wanted to see your library."
"That's fine. I'll have someone bring her."
"Willem already took care of it. Seifer is going to take her."
"Good, how old is she?"
"Around sixteen. Why do you ask?"
Davion smiled, "Well it just so happens that Seifer is sixteen as well."
Mike and Davion laughed, "Oh." Mike said walking over to the table, "I brought something you might want to see."
"Then let's see it." Davion said as Mike opened the case.
"This is my Father's weapon."
"The Elysion?"
"Yes. I thought you might want to see what we can learn from it."
"Good, good." Davion said taking the weapon's hilt. A quick shot of intense pain shot through his arm when he touched it. Davion grimaced.
"Something wrong Davion?" Mike asked.
"No, nothing's wrong." Davion motioned and a small hovering robot with three tiny legs flew over to him. Davion reached up and gave the little thing the weapon. "I'm going to run some tests on this." Davion punched some numbers on the table's keyboard. "Oh! I almost forgot." the Hunter picked up the small box, "I've been waiting to open this. I don't know why, but I think now's the time."
"Fine by me." Mike said, "Let's see what's inside."
Davion started to open the box, but he felt the same pain that he felt when he held the Elysion in his hands. "On second thought, you open it." Davion handed the box to Mike.
"Me? Why?"
"Please. Just do it."
"Ok, Davion." Mike slowly opened the small box, and a purple light radiated out from the sides. There, inside the box, was a shard of purple crystal around three inches long. The box was lined with a dark purple cloth that seemed like velvet. Whatever this was, Artemis had enough sense to store it well. "Is that what I think it is?" Mike asked as he reached for the shard.

"Don't touch it!" Davion yelled. Mike's hand shrank back, "That's it. The shard of the Relic my Father kept." Davion pulled on a pair of thick gloves, "We should be careful holding it." Mike reached at pulled on his own gloves. Davion knew the real reason he and Mike were putting on the gloves. Davion felt the pain, he knew there was something evil inside that shard. Whatever it was, it had a strange affect on him.

M_BlackHawk
Feb 28, 2003, 08:36 PM
once again, another stellar chapter, Davion. Keep it up. I'm almost finished with the 4th chapter of "Back from the Abyss".

BTW: I need you to AIM msg me when you get a chance.

later

M_BlackHawk

StrikerMeganani
Mar 1, 2003, 09:04 PM
Nice new chapter its very interesting and leaves off for more to come.

LeaderOfTeamAvalanche
=Striker=

Hikosaka
Mar 2, 2003, 06:40 AM
I'm enjoying what's been going on so far. With a story in epic proportions like this, I'm really anticipating the coming chapters. Keep up the good work. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

As for titles for the fics, I'm not that great at them myself, hehe. If I think of any, I'll post them.

Davion
Mar 2, 2003, 08:44 PM
Thanks. I'm going to make some more topics (maybe, and with mod aproval) that are Bios and information for my fic. I'll link to them on the first page of this fic so people could get some info. My fic is very complicated. I'm not trying to brag or anything, I just put a lot of thought into what happens and why, and sometimes it's hard to keep track of it all.

Davion
Mar 4, 2003, 11:07 PM
Chapter 13: Questions

Seifer and Diego were standing in the dining room. Seifer was in a white shirt and a pair of black pants. Both of which complemented his white hair. If you looked close enough, you could see that Seifer had his twin saber hanging on the back of his belt. Diego, like his brother, was wearing civilian clothes. His hair was brushed differently than usual because he usually had it in the headgear of a RAmar. Diego had his handgun locked in its holster on his waist. Even in times of peace, the Angelus brothers were ever ready for combat.
The door to the dining room opened, and the two brothers turned to face it. Willem stepped inside and wedged the door open with the stopper. He walked back through the door and wheeled Lara in, Amelia walking at her side.
"Thank you, Willem." Seifer said, "And hello ladies."
Lara and Amelia nodded as if to say hello back. Willem introduced Amelia and told Seifer and Diego that Mike would be joining Davion down in the lab immediately, and not joining the them for lunch.
"As I thought he would." Diego said, "Mike never wanted to leave last night. He and Davion were just starting to make progress."
While Diego continued talking, Seifer's eyes fell on Mike's sister. In fact, his eyes stayed there for quite a while. Quickly looking away when she looked over at him, Seifer pulled out a chair for her to sit in, "Please, have a seat."
"Thank you." Amelia said as Seifer pushed her closer to the table. He took his seat opposite hers, while Willem pushed Lara's wheelchair to a comfortable distance from the table.
"Seifer," Lara said after Willem had walked off to start bringing in the food, "I was wondering, are you blood related to Davion and Diego?"
"Why yes, of course I am." Seifer answered.
"I see. You must understand why I though that, it had been bothering me last night. You see, your hair is white-"
"And they're blonde, yes I understand." Seifer said, "I used to wonder that myself, until Father explained that all of our hair started out white, even his."
"Over the years, it would gradually darken and turn blonde." Diego said, "That never happened with Seifer here. He stayed this way since birth. There have been stories similar to that in our family's history. Those Angelus men or women were always destined to greatness."
"I see." Lara said smiling, "So Seifer fits that description, yes?"
"I'd like to think so." Seifer replied.
"It looks good on you too." Amelia said. Seifer looked over at her, only to have her bury her face in her water glass. Seifer smiled, and then the doors to the kitchen opened. Willem headed the group of butlers and maids bringing out the food. After they had placed all the platters down, they walked off. Willem stayed behind and stood in a corner, waiting for the time when he might be needed. Seifer, Diego, Lara, and Amelia started eating.

Just a minute earlier, Willem had brought down two plates of food for Mike and Davion. Even though he knew Davion wouldn't eat at a time like this, he brought it anyway. It was his job to serve, even if his service wasn't required. He had decided long ago to serve this family for the rest of his days, and protect them with his life if need be. Willem held his arms behind his back. He touched the small gun he had hidden as he watched his masters sit and eat, hoping he would never have to use it.

After the meal, Seifer stood up and walked over to Amelia.
"So, you want to see the library." Seifer said to the young Force.
"Yes, yes I do." she answered, "I've heard it's huge."
"And you'd be right about that." Seifer said pulling out her chair and helping her to her feet. "Few civilian rooms can rival it in shear size."

As Seifer led Amelia to the library, Diego took Lara to the training room. She had seemed very interested in it, even thought she couldn't use it for the time being. She and Diego both thought it would be better to let Mike and Davion work alone in the lab.

That would prove to be a good decision. Mike and Davion hadn't touched the food in front of them, they were only interested in finding out what the Relic's shard was made out of. A light on the table blinked on "Hey," Davion said, "it looks like the scanner's done with the Elysion."
"Great, lets see what it found." Davion nodded as he pressed a few buttons. The little robot floated over to the computer and grabbed the Elysion's hilt. It flew over to Davion and placed it in his hand. Davion handed it back to Mike. As Mike as putting the blade back in the case, Davion brought up the information the computer gathered.
"Hmm, this indicates a large amount of strange energy."
"The Elysion is a strange weapon." Mike said, "Could that be it?"
"No, I don't think so. The energy seems...familiar." Davion's eyes seemed to shake a bit. They seemed, unfocused.
"You ok, Davion?" Mike asked.
"Yes," Davion said, shaking his head, "I'm fine, really."
"I don't think so. I don't know you so well, but I'd say you're not acting normal. By what you've told me, the Elysion sliced through the Relic. This shard is also from that crystal, and you don't seem keen on touching either of them."
"You know what happened to me, Mike. You see my scar. This shard represents the very thing that killed my Father, and almost killed me. If it has anything to do with that...demon, I want to be extra careful around it." Davion looked at the computer's screen, "And by the looks of this, that energy is disappearing from the Elysion. In fact, it should all be gone by now." Davion took off his glove and asked for the Elysion. Mike handed the hilt to Davion. Davion hesitated for a second, and then he grabbed the hilt and turned it on. The mystical blade sprung to life. Davion held it hard, waiting, but the pain never came. He smiled, and spun the blade around a few times before handing it back to Mike. "It seems fine now." Davion said, "I guess something in that scanner helped to purge that energy." Mike nodded as he turned the blade off and placed it back in the case. Like their fathers before them, Mike and Davion didn't notice the purple hue that flashed over the hilt as the case's lid closed.

"Wow, this place is bigger than I thought." those were the words Amelia chose to describe the expansive, book filled room.
"Yeah, I sometimes think that myself." Seifer said, "Even if it is my house."

The two young people walked around the library. Seifer answered all the questions he could as he was assaulted by inquires. Amelia wanted to know everything she could, and Seifer tried to oblige. He showed her where the history books were. Some ancient texts kept in controlled environmental cases. Many data disks were placed in the racks alongside the other books.

"Do you have any Force information?" Amelia asked.
"Plenty." Seifer answered, "Over here. We have some technique disks ranging from the first elementary levels to the highest caliber."
"Wow, that's a good collection, where is it?"
"Right here."
"Where?"
"Here."
"Where on these shelves?"
"It is these shelves."

Amelia looked up and around. Seifer had led her into a small section of the library where his family kept their Force literature. With wide eyes she looked over at the massive collection of disks and textbooks. There must have been twelve shelves full of books, technique disks, history books, and manuals.

"This is amazing." Amelia said, "I've never seen this much Force information since the academy."
"That would be a good guess. Sometimes the teachers there come over to read through some of the things we have." Seifer pointed out the different areas of the section.

"Seifer," Amelia asked, "is this where you and your brothers study techniques?"
"Yeah, I can't tell you how long Davion and I spent in here. Diego wasn't that worried about techniques, but Davion and I knew we'd need them in our line of combat. Davion must of spent years learning Shifta."
"He learned Shifta?"
"Yes. Davion knew that he wouldn't always have a Force with him so he forced himself to learn it incase he ever needed a power boost."
"That's something. What level is his Shifta?"
"Well, Davion used it at is demonstration back when we graduated. I think it was level fourteen then. By now, it must be up to fifteen."
"What!? Level fifteen!?" Amelia exclaimed.
"Yes, he always had a knack for things relating to the mind. In fact, he managed to get his other techniques up to level twenty."
"That's very interesting." Amelia said, "Not many Hunters can do that."
"Not many indeed."
"How about you, anything special you know?"
"Well, I learned up to a level five Deband, but it's not enough to make that much of a difference."
"When did you learn that?"
"Sometime between my junior year and now."
"Why didn't you use it during your demonstration?"
"My demonstration? Oh you mean back at the academy."
"Yes, I was watching back then. I was very impressed with the three of you."
"Thank you. To tell you the truth, I was to scared to mess up that tech. I didn't want to risk ruining my display, so I stuck to what I knew well."
"That makes sense, Seifer. Speaking of Davion, do you have any idea what's wrong with him?"
"No idea whatsoever. Davion hasn't told us much about it, and we're not pressing him to."
"I understand. Sometimes the best way to support someone is not to ask questions."
"Yes, that fit's the situation well." Amelia smiled, Seifer smiled back.

Diego was shooting some targets as Lara looked around the room.
"Nice place ya got here." she said.
"Thanks. Father wanted us to be able to train by ourselves. He thought separating us from other Hunters and Rangers would force us to make decisions based on our own feelings, not what others were doing. That's how he taught us to be independent thinkers."
"Your father was a wise man." Lara said.
"Yes, yes he was." Diego lowered his rifle and looked at the floor for a few seconds. The Ranger shouldered his gun and shot a dozen shots in rapid order into the target. "I'm going to keep practicing till no one can out match me. I'm not going to let anyone go through what happened to us."
"You seem to care for others very much. Your brothers and you."
"That's another thing Father taught us. Always place people ahead of yourself, protect those who can't protect themselves, and always do what you know is right. Even if that right thing is wrong in the eyes of your peers."
Lara looked at Diego. When she first met him, he was a quiet young man. Now, when his father is brought up, he seemed filled with a rage that was barely contained inside the confines of his body.
"I promise you, Lara, I won't rest while that thing lives." Diego walked over to the shelf, hung up his rifle, and stood near the door, his back to Lara. "I'm sorry, it's just that my world has been falling down on all sides. My father was everything to me, to us. We all would of taken his place; Seifer, Davion...me..." Diego touched his hand to his face. Lara could tell that he was wiping away a tear. "Lara, do you know what it's like to lose someone? Not just anyone. He wasn't anyone. When he was murdered, I lost more than a father, I lost my best friend, my mentor, the man who told me that I could do things I never thought I could do no matter what people told me." he slammed his fist into the wall and lowered his head, "I'm slipping underneath the sands, and I don't know if I can ever lift myself out."
Lara said nothing. Maybe Diego just wanted someone outside his family to talk to, someone to listen to how he was feeling. Lara decided to be that person.

"Strange." Davion said, "This material doesn't match anything in our computers."
"Hmm, I thought that maybe the database might have been updated by now."
"I doubt we'll be able to find any information. This didn't happen, remember?"
"Yeah. Can we get into Pioneer 2's computers? No never mind, I've already tried. They don't let anyone through."
"You don't know this house very well, do you?" Davion smiled.
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"The second most powerful computer on this ship is in this building. We have access to almost every database on the starship."
"Second most powerful?"
"Remember, this is a secondary headquarters for Ragol. They had to put it in. And I think it might be time for me to introduce you to her."
"Her?"
"The manor's A.I."

Davion led Mike through a hidden door in the lab, and along a dark hallway into the heart of Angelus Manor.

"Caris, it's Davion." Davion and Mike walked over to a pair of chairs in the middle of a ring shaped desk in the middle of a room with three large screens facing towards the center. The lights slowly brightened and Mike saw an amazing room. The screens on the walls flashed to life, and a voice came from all around.
"Hello Master Davion. How may I be of service?"
"We need to see what information Pioneer 2's computers have on something called the Excelsior Project. Can you see what information is available?" Davion pulled a small flat-screen monitor over to him and flipped it on.
"Certainly."
"Oh, and why your at it, search for a man named Magnus. Umm, his last name is unknown.
"I'll see what I can turn up."
"Wow, this is some place." Mike said, "And why do I feel that Lara and Amelia have said the same thing..."
Davion smiled, "Hmm, take a look at this, Mike. Caris, what is this?"
"That is all that I could find concerning the experiments held on the orbital research facility back on Coral. There doesn't seem to be any mention of this Excelsior Project."
Davion touched a few symbols on the touch-screen, "So no mention? I would think there would be at least some references. Try looking for anything related to Artemis Angelus, Mikhail Samsonov, or David BlackHawk."
"Immediately Sir, and I've sent all information on men named Magnus to your console."
"Thank you. Lets see, Magnus Turk, Magnus Williamson, Sir Magnus Black, It'll be impossible to find our Magnus this way."
"Sounds like it." Mike pulled over another screen, "May I?"
"Go right ahead. Lets see what we can turn up."

Mike and Davion continued to search for any information regarding their fathers and their shared past, hoping to find answers.

Tigaj
Mar 5, 2003, 12:55 AM
Davion this is awesome! one thing though....why is it called Chapter 13. Or is this a chapter with chapters, part of some other large story you've made? At the moment, I've only just started reading it, and am on Chapter 3. I'll be coming back though. I'm lovin it!

Davion
Mar 5, 2003, 01:15 PM
On 2003-03-04 21:55, Tigaj wrote:
Davion this is awesome! one thing though....why is it called Chapter 13. Or is this a chapter with chapters, part of some other large story you've made? At the moment, I've only just started reading it, and am on Chapter 3. I'll be coming back though. I'm lovin it!



Thanks. Well, this is my first fic. I'm separating it into chapters with names so I don't overwhelm readers by posting the whole thing. I've posted, so far, 54ish pages from Microsoft Works. currently, my page total is 106 pages. That last chapter was a 5.5 pager.

This, like I said, is my first fic. There'll be others to come after this is done. I have some ideas for fics that are being worked into some of M_BlackHawk's fics.
As some of you might of noticed, some of my characters were in that last fic of his. So keep an eye out on the other fics, you never know when my characters will show up. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Tigaj
Mar 5, 2003, 08:20 PM
what? im done? noooooooooooooooo! like i said i was on chapter 3 but now im done....but i want more!!! haha i've never found anything online that held my interest like a book, especially a fan fic! awesome work!

u mentioned a few times to report any grammar errors, and spelling i assume....well ive found lots, none so bad i couldnt figure out whats going on (i dont mean to sound harsh), but i cant recount every error and what not. i realize that by the way i type, with no caps and whatnot it may not seem like i know what im talking about but when it comes to typing im just lazy. perhaps if i could take the pages and underline things i corrected and send em back to you....

keep up the good work!



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Tigaj on 2003-03-05 17:22 ]</font>

cajun
Mar 5, 2003, 08:44 PM
Davion this has got to be one of the greatest stories of all time. It has me holding on to every word. Keep up the good work.

M_BlackHawk
Mar 5, 2003, 09:59 PM
I've been reading this fic since it started and have enjoyied every single paragraph. Dav's got a style all his own, and puts up a very good story.

I kinda consider myself privileged to work with him on some of my fic ideas, as it helps me in my own creative process.

I wrote my first fic, "Shadows of the Past"..well, I think it's been a year ago, and since then, I've been trying to improve the quality of my fics. I think this collaboration with Davion is helping.

Dav, keep up the excellent story, and I'm looking very much forward to the next chapter.

later

M_BlackHawk

StrikerMeganani
Mar 6, 2003, 10:44 AM
Wow... I mean i have no other words. Your stories are amazingly writen, and the story is awesom. The sword and the relic, can't wait to see what happens with those two items. Me and Cajun are still working on our fan fic and you will be the first to read it. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif Keep up the good work.

LeaderOfTeamAvalanche
=Striker=

Davion
Mar 10, 2003, 08:08 PM
Next chapter is coming soon. If you've read this fic, and haven't posted, please do so and tell me what you think. I don't know how I'm doing without feedback.

Zeebo
Mar 10, 2003, 10:38 PM
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HUmarNecron
Mar 15, 2003, 11:14 PM
Davion, i just got done with ch.13 and i'm amazed. I've been grounded for awhile and my friends Striker and Cajun told me about your story and told me to read it. I remember you saying that you would like to put other PSOers in your fic, well if u can fit me in i would love to be in your story. My name is necron, i'm a HUmar, my weapon of choice is flowens sword, but i'm workin on the dark flow...jesus i want that thing so bad, heh. i have black short hair and white armor. if u can please put me in. Keep on writin, this is awesome.

Necron

Davion
Mar 16, 2003, 04:12 PM
On 2003-03-15 20:14, HUmarNecron wrote:
Davion, i just got done with ch.13 and i'm amazed. I've been grounded for awhile and my friends Striker and Cajun told me about your story and told me to read it. I remember you saying that you would like to put other PSOers in your fic, well if u can fit me in i would love to be in your story. My name is necron, i'm a HUmar, my weapon of choice is flowens sword, but i'm workin on the dark flow...jesus i want that thing so bad, heh. i have black short hair and white armor. if u can please put me in. Keep on writin, this is awesome.

Necron



Thanks, I'll see what I can do.

magi_drakee
Mar 17, 2003, 01:35 PM
Hey I like your story. It's pretty creative thinking up a whole story for your characters. I have a personal PSO site thats almost complete and it has some fiction in it too. I have 4 characters and I made a little story involving all of them. Of course I'm not as dedicated and good at writing as you are, but I just thought you should check out the site, maybe you can give me a few pointers or something.
http://www.geocities.com/pso_heroes03
Again, great story.

Davion
Mar 17, 2003, 01:48 PM
On 2003-03-17 10:35, magi_drakee wrote:
Hey I like your story. It's pretty creative thinking up a whole story for your characters. I have a personal PSO site thats almost complete and it has some fiction in it too. I have 4 characters and I made a little story involving all of them. Of course I'm not as dedicated and good at writing as you are, but I just thought you should check out the site, maybe you can give me a few pointers or something.
http://www.geocities.com/pso_heroes03
Again, great story.




Thanks, I'll look into it and see what I can do.

EDIT: I checked the link. I don't seem to be able to go anywhere from it. Is that the right link? I'd like to be able to read the BIOs and stuff you mentioned.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-03-17 10:53 ]</font>

Davion
Mar 17, 2003, 04:34 PM
Never mind. I found what I was looking for.

Davion
Mar 18, 2003, 06:37 PM
Sorry everyone, the next chapter is coming along slowly, but pleae feel free to re-read some of the chapters. I know it might get confusing.

Please post what you think about this fic.

Davion
Mar 22, 2003, 04:14 PM
Chapter 14: Answers waiting in the wings



Seifer and Amelia climbed to the highest part of the library. On the far west wall, near the ceiling, there was a small gazebo shaped room built into the wall. Inside, were some chairs, special books, and other family artifacts.
"This is where my father would spend a lot of his time. He was always reading or working on a new project, up here or on his desk down by the window. This was a great place for us. We'd talk up here, Father and I, about many things." Seifer looked over at a chair, remembering his father sitting in it with a book on his lap. "What was that book he was always reading?" Seifer thought out loud as he looked around.
"What are you looking for?" Amelia asked.
"Well, there was something Father used to read, he based a lot of his experiments on it, and he was always interested in it. I'm beginning to think of something."

"What kind of house is this?" Mike asked himself. He had never seen this kind of technology in the private sector. He didn't know something like this room could be hidden inside Davion's home, or that the government would put so much trust in his family. Did they? Maybe there is something more to this family that meets the eye. Every minute Mike spent in that chair alongside Davion, the more in awe he was. There was a deep sense of doubt in the mind of the man sitting there in that room. Mike still felt things about the government, but this family seemed very trusting. Even after they had learned about the secret project that went on in shadows of the past. Mike looked over at Davion and looked him over. He could see that even though Davion was a few years younger than himself, there seemed to be immense maturity lurking inside the HUmar. Davion seemed worried about his uncertain future, but the look on his face was calm and ready for anything. Davion was a large man, maybe around 6' 3" or 6' 4". Mike had watched Davion perform at the academy. He was surprised when he used shifta and was impressed at the strength and skill he showed. Many warriors chose swords to be their patron weapon, but Davion seemed especially in tune with the massive blades. It was if it was in his blood; passed down from one generation to the next.

Davion, in the meantime, was examining Mike. He seemed slightly shorter than himself. Maybe by two or three inches. Davion could tell a lot about a person by looking at him or her. The way the person acted also said something to him. Davion could tell what kind of person Mike was. It was one of his gifts. His father had noticed that trait and knew that it was an important attribute of a leader. Davion looked over at Mike when he wasn't looking. He felt what Mike must have been feeling. The look in his eyes, the way he carried himself, the way his face lit up when he saw Lara. These were all things Davion noticed. He could tell that Mike loved his family, and only a fool would try to harm them while there was still life in his veins.

The two men kept searching through the archives. Both of them watching each other. Both of them becoming friends without words.

Diego wheeled Lara into the library to meet up with Seifer and Amelia.
"Seifer!" Diego yelled into the cavernous room, "Where are you?"
A voice from above called back. "We're up here."
"We'll be right down." Amelia called down, "Seifer just thought of something."
"Great, can't wait to hear it." Lara said. Diego and Lara waited for Seifer and Amelia as they climbed down the ladders to the bottom level. Amelia went first, by Seifer's urging, in order to save her modesty. She was wearing a dress after all.

"Kind of strange." Lara said.
"What?"
"Talking over such a large space."
Diego nodded.

"Diego." Seifer said once they had walked over, "We have to get this to Davion. I think we might of just figured something important out. He'll want to see this."
"Is it about Father?"
"Sorta. I think this book will answer some questions."
This was the first time Diego noticed the book in Seifer's hand. It was old and dusty. It must have been very old, one of the books his father kept in his reading place.
"Is that the old legend book Father was given back on Coral?"
"Yup, the one and only."
"What could you have found in that dusty old tome?"
"Something that we once thought was just legend. Maybe it's time for us to look at them again in light of recent events."
"Well, lets head down to the lab then."

And they did so.

Davion and Mike had left the hub by now, and they were once again sitting in the lab.
"Well, we searched and searched and still we've come up empty handed." Mike said as Davion leaned in the corner munching on a cold piece of bread
"Yeah. However, we got a good amount of information based on what we didn't find."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we know that the government doesn't want anyone finding out about this, and they've gone to great lengths to hide all information relating it. We know what to look for, so we can see holes in the past they've left empty."
"Ah, I see what you mean, Dav. Now that we know what to look for, we will know when things don't look right."
"Yes, but this doesn't look like it's going to be easy." Davion walked over to the desk, "We have the better part of two years before we get to Ragol ahead of us. We have to figure this out before then. I feel worried about this whole thing."

Mike looked as Davion slipped on his gloves and picked up the Relic shard.

"It's funny, really. My father died over this thing. I just remembered something that was said that night. The creature was looking for something, and this is it." he held the shard up into the light, "It'll be back, Mike, and I have to stop it. For good."

Mike was about to respond when a knock was heard at the door. Davion nodded as he put the shard back in its cased. Mike opened the door. Amelia walked in carrying the book, and Diego and Seifer placed Lara's wheelchair on the ground.
"Seifer thought you might want to read this." Amelia said as she handed the book to Davion.
Davion briefly looked through the pages, "Hmm, what in this caught your eye, Seifer?"
"I think I might of discovered what that thing was." Seifer replied.
"What thing? We already know what the beast was." Davion responded.
"But we didn't know anything about what turned the man into that. In this book, there is a culture with no name -at least, not one we know of- that seems to be behind the construction of the ruined temple on Coral's moon."
"Explain to me what you found."
"Well, I don't have much of a clue what I'm talking about, but I think these legends Father used to talk about aren't really legends at all. The people in this book were an amazing civilization. So powerful, in fact, that it is a wonder they ever fell from power."
"What if they just didn't exist in the first place and those legends are nothing more than tales?" Diego asked.
"The news of the temple on Coral's moon, and the type of power the beast seemed to utilize, begs to differ. There are strange parallels between what you've told us you've read and what I remember from this book. Mostly the descriptions of the temple's look and structure. That gives me enough reason to think there might be something to this."
"There might be at that." Davion looked down at the book, "I think I'll spend some time with this in the library. I know of some other books related to this one, but I never thought to look at them."

"Well, I think it's time we left then." Lara said.
"Yes, we have some things to do today, and I'm sure Davion, Seifer, and Diego here need to finish some things too."
"Indeed we do. You can take the Elysion back, Mike. I think I've gotten all the information I can out of it."
"Ok. Just give me a call if you need anything else."
"Will do." Mike and Davion shook hands.

"Now to get Lara up those stairs." Mike said. "I'm sorry you guys had to carry her down."
"Oh don't worry about it." Diego said.
"Besides." Davion said walking over to a blank wall and pressing a button, "I think I can take care of you getting out."

A few seconds later, Mike and the others were standing outside Angelus Manor's main door.
"What next." Mike asked.
"Oh, our coats." Amelia said, "We left them inside."

They heard a creaking sound and Willem was standing in the doorway. "I think you forgot these."

Mike just smiled.








<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-03-26 09:55 ]</font>

cajun
Mar 22, 2003, 04:30 PM
Nice chapter Davion. I like how you let everyone know how much time was left until they reach Ragol. This is a awesome fanfiction.

M_BlackHawk
Mar 22, 2003, 09:39 PM
keep it up, Dav. This story is getting more and more interesting.


later

M_BlackHawk.

Davion
Mar 25, 2003, 06:51 PM
On 2003-03-22 18:39, M_BlackHawk wrote:
keep it up, Dav. This story is getting more and more interesting.


later

M_BlackHawk.



Thanks. Next chapter is on the way, but I'd like to know what people think of the current one so I know what to change in my next chapters.

RubyEclipse
Mar 25, 2003, 09:31 PM
Oh good god...*faints..* that was...a long....series of chapters........

Whew... I'm rather tired now but I think you are doing a great job on your Fanfic! One thing, though, and please take this in a good light...


...Long chapters....

zzzzzzzzz....

Keep up the Good Work,
Ruby Eclipse

Tigaj
Mar 25, 2003, 11:46 PM
good stuff. i dont know if it was just me but i read that last one too fast. there was a spot in there where u forgot to put a word in. Seifer says "Something that we once that was just legend." Change the second "that" to "thought" so it reads "Something that we once thought was just legend." Keep up the good word. i wish u didnt take weeks to get up new chapters, this thing is like a book, and its torture waiting to find out what happens next!

Davion
Mar 26, 2003, 09:51 AM
On 2003-03-25 20:46, Tigaj wrote:
good stuff. i dont know if it was just me but i read that last one too fast. there was a spot in there where u forgot to put a word in. Seifer says "Something that we once that was just legend." Change the second "that" to "thought" so it reads "Something that we once thought was just legend." Keep up the good word. i wish u didnt take weeks to get up new chapters, this thing is like a book, and its torture waiting to find out what happens next!



Thanks. I'll look into that.

Davion
Mar 26, 2003, 09:52 AM
On 2003-03-25 18:31, RubyEclipse wrote:
Oh good god...*faints..* that was...a long....series of chapters........

Whew... I'm rather tired now but I think you are doing a great job on your Fanfic! One thing, though, and please take this in a good light...


...Long chapters....

zzzzzzzzz....

Keep up the Good Work,
Ruby Eclipse



I try to make chapters worth reading. So they'll be around 3-6 pages each time I post them.

Davion
Apr 1, 2003, 01:23 PM
My next chapter is almost done. It'll be a bit shorter than my normal ones, but it should still be good.

Davion
Apr 1, 2003, 09:23 PM
Chapter 15: Turning point



Days past. Day had turned to night and back again several times as Davion kept up a communication line ready incase he needed to contact Mike. Davion's days were filled with the pursuit of the truth. He had given up on finding out who Magnus was, at least for the time being. Seifer and Diego had hardly talked to Davion. He seemed to be backing away from things and devoting himself to what he thought was most important, discovering how he, his brothers, and indeed all of Pioneer 2 would be able to survive with such a creature stalking them. The book Seifer gave Davion brought much information. Even if it was only legend. Davion had also delved deeper into the logbook of the Excelsior Project. He had learned much about the past by reading his manuscript. It gave him many things to wonder about. Whether or not the government could be trusted was the one most often on his mind. If they couldn't, Davion and his brothers were in more trouble than he thought. Just who was that person looking in at Davion when he was back in the hospital? Who was that man that rushed in and out without so much as an explanation, but rather a threat? What was to become of him? These strange changes in his body, these strange dreams; what will be next?
Davion had felt stronger over the past few days. Not like he just regained his old strength, but he felt stronger than before. That day, he had gone down to the training room to clear his mind. He put on his normal weighted suit, but it seemed lighter than usual. He checked the tag to make sure. Maybe Seifer had changed them. Maybe Davion's brothers made it lighter so he could train like he used to while he was recovering. Davion read the tag, this was his normal weight suit. Fifty pounds of weight spread out over his body. "Strange." he thought, this isn't normal. He tried taking some of Seifer's weight bands, about thirty pounds worth. Still no change. He didn't feel strained at all. It's like he didn't even add any at all. Again, Davion changed the weights to fifty pound weights. He used four twenty-five pounders on his arms. One on each of his upper arms and lower arms. Only with his arms weighed down with one hundred pounds did it feel normal. Davion added more fifty pound bands onto his legs. He strapped them around his shins and walked around. He felt weighed down, as usual. Davion picked up his training blade. His sword felt as light as a saber. This in itself was strange. Davion didn't worry about slowly building up now, he added another fifty pounds to the length of the blade. It felt more like a normal sword, but it still seemed light. Davion didn't worry about it and he began his routine.
The hunter swung the mock-weapon around his body as he walked around the room. After a few minutes, he placed down his sword and did some chin-ups on the reinforced bar. Sweat built up inside the suit, and the built in cooling units activated and vented out the heat and perspiration.
After an hour, Davion felt better. As he took off his gear, he remembered the added weights he had to use. His normal fifty pound suit, four twenty-five pound arm bands, and two fifty pound leg bands. Davion added up the weights. 250 pounds. "That's quite a change." Davion thought. "That's a 500% increase in the weight of my training equipment." Davion wondered for a bit. "That means I'm five times stronger than the last time I worked out. Heh, I guess these changes I've been feeling are for the better. At least for now."
Davion walked out of the shower. "Maybe it's time for me to give Dr. Reynolds a call."

Seifer and Diego were just finishing lunch when Davion walked up to them.
"Davion, what have you been up to?" Seifer asked.
"Things, Seifer, things."
"That's not the answer we were looking for." Diego replied.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking, guys, and I think I need to see Dr. Reynolds."
"That might prove to be a problem." Seifer said, "I already tried contacting him. It seems the government needs him to run some tests for them in the lab complex."
"Lab complex." Davion said, "I don't like hearing those words anymore. Too many hidden things go on in those places."
"I understand what you mean." Diego said, "I've been hearing some strange things at the range."
"Really, explain if you would." Davion said as he sat down in his chair at the table.
"There are rumors going around about the attack that took place here. People are talking. Of course, not when Dash and I are around, but we know what's been going on in those preparation rooms. Some think that you did it , Davion. Some sort of assassination so you would gain control of Father's assets. Others think the whole thing was a plan by the military itself. Maybe to get Father out of the way, and they think you might be the next target. Of course then that leaves me in command of Angelus Manor, so I'm suspected to. They don't even know what to think about Seifer here."
"All those ideas are ridiculous." Davion said, "They have no idea what happened."
"That's the problem." Diego continued, "The majority of the speculation is leading people to the idea that it was the government's idea. The people know there's something special about Angelus Manor, but they don't know what. They don't know this is a secondary control building, they think we might be holding a treasure the government wants."
"Well, they're half right." Davion said.
"What do you mean?"
"We do have something the government wants, but they don't even know we have it. But I'm beginning to get worried that they might suspect something. As you know, whenever I leave the house, I'm followed by someone or something. I didn't know why, but now I'm beginning to discover what they saw in me back in the hospital."
"What did they see that we didn't?" Seifer asked.
"Something I've just come to know myself before I came up here. You know those strange readings the hospital's computers were getting from me, right?" Davion's brothers nodded, "Well, it hit me when I was down with Caris last night. If she can access those computers and get that information, the government can too. Something they saw in those readings made them think I wasn't just a normal patient. Of course, the fact I survived at all would give them reason enough to notice me, but that wouldn't make them keep me under watch. Caris has notified me that the government has been trying to hack into our computers and access our recording systems. They've been trying to gain control over some of the cameras and other recorders throughout this building, but Caris has found them and shut them out. Since it looks like a security protocol from the outside, the government doesn't know we know about them."
"I didn't know they didn't know about us knowing that what we don't know." Seifer said. "Or something like that anyway."
Davion and Diego looked amusingly at their younger brother. "Indeed." Davion said, "But know we do know we have something they want. Even if it's just me they're looking at, they will soon find out we have a piece of the Relic here in the manor's lab. And when they do, I don't know what will stop them from taking it."
"Davion, just what about you is the government so interested in?" Seifer asked
"I've just discovered something very interesting. I'm stronger than I ever was before, at least five times what I used to be. I've put myself through the scanners here in the lab, and they've come up with some interesting readings of their own, but they're not as good as the ones we could get from Dr. Reynolds."
"What readings did you get?" Diego asked.
"I'm getting to that part. There seem to be some interesting energies in my system. They're beginning to bond to parts of my body. Things like my bones and muscles. From what the readouts are telling me, they're infusing me with a low level of the energy found in the Relic shard. The manor's in house scanners picked up an enormous amount of that energy in the library at the time Father was attacked. I've put the shard through the computer and it has a residual trace of the energy the creature radiated. So we know for certain something from the Relic infused itself with Mikhail and turned him into the beast we saw back then, and that is the same energy now in my system."
"But that means..."
"Yes, and that's what I'm afraid of. The same thing is happening to me, albeit a bit slower. "
Seifer and Diego looked over at their older brother.
"I know what you're thinking, and I must tell you, I feel the same thing. Whatever it is, it's happening slowly. I think I can use some of the information from the experiments back on Coral to keep it from taking to much affect, but there's no telling how long it will last. I really need to see Dr. Reynolds soon."

The three brothers sat in the room in silence as the door behind them creaked shut. The little boy named Benjamin ran back through the rooms of Angelus Manor to his family's quarters.
The door to his home slammed behind him as he called to his parents, "Mommy! Daddy!"
The little boy's parents looked over at their son and ran over to meet him. He wrapped his arms around his father's waist. "What's wrong Benny?" the man asked his son.
"What's happening to Mister Davion?"
"I don't know honey," his mother answered, "but I'm sure Mister Angelus and his brothers will be able to take care of it."
"I hope so." the little boy said.
"We hope so too." his father said, "We hope so too."



The days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. The Angelus and BlackHawk families became very close. Close enough, in fact, that Davion served as best man at Mike and Lara's wedding, and about a month later the new couple announced to the brothers that they were expecting a baby.

This was a good time for Davion and his brothers. The BlackHawks became friends that the brothers could talk to without worry. Besides Dash and Willem, Davion, Seifer, and Diego didn't have many real friends. Davion and Seifer were hated by their fellow students at the academy. Diego wasn't so popular either. Of course the teachers loved them, but Davion was always seen as the teacher's pet, even though he didn't deserve it. Seifer outraged his peers by graduating ahead of them, and Diego's amazing eyesight earned the resentment of almost all of his fellow rangers.

Mike and Lara were real friends, and they proved that. With all the things going on in the Angelus family, sometimes all they had to do was listen. Mike was older that Davion. Not by much, but Davion still looked up to him. Mike had a wife and soon a child. Davion wanted that, but with this new infection of sorts that he now possessed, it looked like he may never be able to have children. And even if he could, they would never have a chance at a normal life. This above all things hurt Davion the most. He could deal with demons. He could deal with the uncertainty of his future. . He could deal the new instability in his life as his body jumped between immense strength and incredible frailness. He could even deal with the prospect of his own demise, but the thought of having his son or daughter go through the same thing wasn't something Davion could look away from.

Over the months that followed the BlackHawk's wedding, Davion noticed the changes in his body were getting to a point of such flux that one day he could lift amazing weight in the training room but the next day even menial tasks were too much for his body. Davion found the strength to be more enjoyable than the weakness, of course, but even then he knew that everything he could do then could be taken away at a moments notice and he would be thrust back into a weakling body. Davion wanted to take back control of his body. He didn't want to fear at night if he was even going to wake in the morning. Davion and his brothers devoted themselves to finding a way to return Davion to normal balance, but all attempts failed. More months went by with Davion living day to day unaware of how his future looked.

One morning, Davion awoke to his alarm. He pulled the covers off his face and activated the scanner to his right. He lied still as a light from above scanned his body from top to bottom.
The lights flashed out and a voice spoke, "Good morning Master Davion."
"Good morning Caris. How do I look today?"
"It seems that your body is in one of its strong stages today. Maybe not as strong as usual. You should be happy to hear that you almost seem normal this morning."
"That's good." Davion placed his feet on the floor and sat up in bed, "I'm looking forward to a normal day. I needed one."
"Your clothes for the day are over in the closet."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you chose to allow me to assist you these past months."
"I needed it, Caris. I owe Seifer for suggesting it. I don't know how I'd be able to function on some days without you."
"Whatever I can do to help, I am most glad to do it."
Davion dressed himself and made his bed, "Any messages for me?"
"I've placed the important ones in your mailbox program. You got your usual fifty messages ranging from foolish to absurd. It also seems that the academy once again wants you to run a workshop for a group of promising young hunters."
"How can they ask me that? They know enough about what's happening to me to see that wouldn't be possible."
"They don't know much about you, Davion. In fact, no one outside this home really knows what happened here."
"Mike and Lara."
"I count the BlackHawks as part of this family, so you could say they are inside this home."
"I agree with you there. There are still people out there in Pioneer 2 who think I was responsible for Father's death or that the government did it."
"I'm still not certain the government didn't do it."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the government is still semi-responsible for Master Artemis' death. They knew enough that they could have stopped this before it happened."
"If you're referring to present day, you're mistaken. I don't think the military has any weapon presently that could work against that thing. But if you mean immediately after Father's fight with that Mikhail fellow back on Coral's moon you do have a point. They seemed more concerned with distancing themselves from the tragic end to the Excelsior Project than actually making sure that thing wouldn't come back."
"You are correct in the latter assumption. The past may still come back to bite them as it has you."
"Who knows."

Davion sat down on his desk and started to read through his mail. He checked the date. Almost two years had past since the death of his father. Mike and Lara's child was born. A girl that they named Jessica. One of his messages was from the BlackHawks with some new pictures. Davion looked through them and smiled. He felt like an uncle. He saved the pictures onto the computer's hard drive and clicked on another message. Davion was overjoyed! It was from Dr. Reynolds' office. Davion brought the message up to full screen. It read:

Mr. Angelus,

Dr. Reynolds has now become available and he wishes to meet with you as soon as possible.
Please respond so an appointment may be set up.

Sincerely,

Dr. Reynolds Office

The first thing Davion did before he went downstairs that morning was send a reply. "This is wonderful." Davion thought, "I might finally be able to get some real answers. I wonder why he wasn't available all this time. I'll have to ask him that when I meet up with him."

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-04-07 16:16 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-04-08 16:29 ]</font>

M_BlackHawk
Apr 2, 2003, 03:31 PM
Dav, that was another great chapter. I've been impressed by your writing since this fic began. Keep it up. I'm still busy working on "Dark History" Chapter 3, which is coming along slower than I thought.

later

M_BlackHawk

cajun
Apr 3, 2003, 02:44 PM
Nice chapter Davion. It is cool how...Davion is getting stronger, maybe to strong for his own good. lol idk, but this is a great chapter not to metion fic.

Tigaj
Apr 3, 2003, 09:12 PM
i love it. i wish i could just flaunt 250 pounds of stuff all over me hahaha. keep it up. i havent noticed any errors but i AM the grammar king so...look out! great job

Davion
Apr 7, 2003, 10:41 AM
On 2003-04-03 18:12, Tigaj wrote:
i love it. ... i havent noticed any errors but i AM the grammar king so...look out! great job



Thanks. Let me know when you see any. PMs might get to me faster.

Anyway, the next chapter is on it's way. It's been coming a little slow nowadays. It starts to get really complicated for me now because I've already written the next 60ish pages and they all need to be re-done for the new ideas I keep getting.

I would suggest that any readers of this fic read any or all of M_BlackHawk's fanfictions in both the archive and the fan works forum - one of them might be on the second page or so, but look for it. It's food stuff and there are a lot of connections betwixt BlackHawk's fics and mine.

Tigaj
Apr 7, 2003, 06:00 PM
haha betwixt. dont use too old of words haha

Davion
Apr 7, 2003, 06:18 PM
Instead of posting a new chapter, I updated the last one. I couldn't think of a name, and I thought both chapters were a little short. The latter half of chapter 15 is new.

M_BlackHawk
Apr 7, 2003, 10:03 PM
well, Dav, what you updated was some good stuff. I really can't wait to see where you go with this situation.

And actually, the fics of mine that I'd suggest reading are "Shadows of the Past", "The Beginning of a Hunter Dynasty", "The Search", "Dark History", and "Back From The Abyss". The others have something to do with the character timeline, but not as much as those listed above. The only other one that actually has any meaning, actually, is "Maya's New Beginning", which focuses on my android character who went from a RAcaseal, to a HUcaseal between v2 and Ep. 1 & 2.

later, pal


M_BlackHawk

Tigaj
Apr 8, 2003, 05:00 PM
lordy im glad i dont need to wait for new chapters to books, i'd die! i like this new development. and, being King of Grammar i spotted a mistake. in the latter half of the chapter, the new part, this is said. "They knew enough that they could of stopped this before it happened."

is should read "They knew enough that they could have stopped this before it happened.

love the fic!!

Davion
Apr 8, 2003, 06:27 PM
On 2003-04-08 15:00, Tigaj wrote:
lordy im glad i dont need to wait for new chapters to books, i'd die! i like this new development. and, being King of Grammar i spotted a mistake. in the latter half of the chapter, the new part, this is said. "They knew enough that they could of stopped this before it happened."

is should read "They knew enough that they could have stopped this before it happened.

love the fic!!



Thanks, I'll edit it soon.

TheTrueJanus
Apr 14, 2003, 10:36 PM
Hey there, I know I haven't talked to you in a while Davion, but I'm still reading your Fanfic and I'm still enjoying it just as much. I love the progress in your story and I can't wait to see the future chapters. If you ever need any help with it, then I would be glad to help. Once again, the story is going great, hope to see more of it soon.

Zeebo
Apr 14, 2003, 10:50 PM
Wow, that last chapter was the best...

Yoda86
Apr 15, 2003, 07:58 AM
Wow, I must say that this whole story is awesome. Nice job and keep up the good work, you seem to be always busy making chapters and working on sigs Davion http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Davion
Apr 15, 2003, 01:25 PM
Chapter 16: Arrival


The next day, Davion and his brothers headed over to Dr. Reynolds' office. The brothers walked into the front office and waited until the secretary said it was ok for them to go in.
"Dr. Reynolds will see you now." she said.
"Thank you." Davion said as he and his brothers walked through the door and down a hallway until they came to the room where they were to meet the doctor. In his pocket, Davion carried the small metal box with the Relic shard.

"Davion, how are you?" Dr. Reynolds said as he walked over and shook the hands of the Angelus brothers, "I haven't seen you three in a long time."
"Indeed you haven't." replied Davion, "It's good to see you."
"And it's good to see you too. Every time I see you three it reminds me of my son, Dallas. He was on Pioneer 1 as you know."
"We all pray for his safety." Davion said, "Are you able to tell us why you couldn't see us all this time?"
"Actually, I'm not, but I will say what I can. I have been working for the government, and more specifically in the main lab. There were some things they wanted someone from the outside to do."
"So if something went haywire they could blame it on you." Seifer said.
"You've probably guessed right, but nothing like that happened. They contacted me shortly after I heard of your father's death."
"Really." Davion said, "Oddly enough I've been being followed ever since then myself. They seem to be the same people keeping tabs on Mr. Miyama."
"They are." Dr. Reynolds looked awkwardly at Davion, "They have been keeping you under watch. Something about you scares them, at least as much as Zoke does."
"But why would they be afraid of him?" Seifer asked.
"Why do you think, Seifer." Diego answered, "You know what's happening to Davion."
"What's happening to Davion?" Dr. Reynolds asked, "I've heard strange things coming from the mouths of scientists and military personal, but I don't know what to believe."
"We must explain it to you then." Davion replied, "Because right now, the truth is our most powerful ally."

For the next hour or so, Davion and his brothers told Dr. Reynolds everything they could about the demon that attacked them. However, they didn't say anything about the government's involvement. A doctor's confidentiality was significant, but there were things Davion didn't want anyone in the outside world to know.

Davion opened the metal box and held it out for Dr. Reynolds to see.
"Is this what that creature was looking for?"
"Yes." Davion said, "At least, it's part of it. I've already had Caris do some testing on this, but she can't find its point of origin or even what it's made of. We know some things, but nothing more than what we've already told you."
"And I take it you wish for me to scan you as well."
"That's correct. As I've already told you, Caris scans me every morning and night, but the instruments back at home aren't nearly as sensitive as yours are."
"That's correct as well." Dr. Reynolds opened the door and motioned for the brothers to follow him, "I'll take you to the main lab now."
"Main lab? You mean Pioneer 2's?"
"No, Seifer. This complex's main lab. I wouldn't take Davion into that lab if his life depended on it. Some things are worse than death."

The Angelus brothers were happy to have someone who really cared about their well being in the scientific world. The room to which he led them was in the middle of the complex. It housed the most powerful equipment of the labs. Dr. Reynolds placed the shard and Davion in the scanners and he started looking over them. Like Angelus Manor, a line of light shown over Davion's body. After a minute or so, Dr. Reynolds told Davion to stand up and come over to the computer. He ejected the Relic shard from its smaller scanner and he placed it back in its box.

"This thing is defiantly a strange piece of rock." he said, "I have a chart of the structure of the shard here, but there is a strange impurity that I can't make any sense of."
"Explain the structure first, if you can." Davion asked.
"Well," the doctor brought up an image of the shard's composition, "You can see here the molecular design of this stone is unlike any other we know of."
The brothers couldn't see what he meant, but they took his word for it.
Dr. Reynolds continued, "There is no record of anything matching this design in any computer database, anywhere. I would have to say that this is of a distant alien origin. I would of thought there would be a few trace elements from Coral's moon, but something in the crystal is keeping anything foreign from attaching to the structure. As for the impurities I told you about, there seem to be strange groupings of biological photon traces. They seem imbedded inside the crystal, and it looks like they were put there by something.
As for you Davion, I've been able to confirm what you told me about your system. The same kind of energy inside this shard is bonding to your body. From these tests, it seems that it's happening slowly, but you should start seeing dramatic changes in the next few years. I know something about biology, but I'm not qualified to make any more decisions about this."
"Well, at least I have some time to find a way to stop this." Davion said.
"I think you should take this to Dr. Montague. He's an expert on Biotechnology. He'll be able to help you in the areas I cannot."
"I was thinking that might have to happen." Davion replied, "I wanted to see what you could figure out first. I don't know about that Montague fellow."
"He's fine, really." Dr. Reynolds said handing Davion the small metal box, "Don't let his choice of dress scare you away. Give him a call, doctor's orders."
Davion laughed, "If you say so."

The Angelus brothers went home. Davion was planning on giving Dr. Montague a call, but as soon as he sat down at his computer, a message was there waiting for him. It was from the Principal. In the letter, Tyrell asked Davion to join the first group of people from Pioneer 2 to go down to the Ragol colony. Artemis was supposed to be the one going down, but Davion would have to take his place for the occasion.

"I almost forgot." Davion thought, "We're only a week away from Ragol. Montague's labs must be amazingly busy currently. I'll have to wait until after we arrive if I'm going to get any answers to the questions raised by my visit to Dr. Reynolds."

More days past. With Mike's help, the Angelus brothers began to unravel the mysteries behind Davion's affliction. The information Dr. Reynolds relayed to Caris proved most useful as they searched for the Relic's origin.

Pioneer 2 was a mere two days away from the new world. People were preparing for their trip down to the planet, families were looking forward to seeing loved ones on Ragol, and the Angelus and BlackHawk families were making plans. Mike's parents were onboard Pioneer 1 and Davion and Mike both agreed that he would be the best person to talk to about the Relic. Mike was also looking forward to introducing his new wife and family to the rest of his family on Ragol. These days were filled with joy for the BlackHawks. For the Angelus family, things weren't nearly as pleasant. The day they had been waiting for was so close, and the man who had made it all possible was no longer with them. The thoughts of the future brought back memories of the past, and the father they had shared them with. Davion emptied himself into his work. To him, the work he did delving into his father's experiments gave him some connection. It was in this work that Davion felt close to his father. Seifer helped as often as he could. While Davion took to the science well enough, Seifer took to it like a bird to flight. It became clear to the brothers that Seifer had the best mind for this work, but Davion was still in the best position to learn the most. The fact that Davion held within him the same power that transformed Mikhail Samsonov all those years ago gave him amazing insight that even his father could never have. Seifer, Davion, and Mike all labored tirelessly, and the work paid off. Davion could feel the changes in his body slow down as they injected various concoctions into his system to combat the fusion of the energy to his bones and muscles.

Diego believed that he was no help at all. He was no scientist, and while Mike assured him that he wasn't either, Diego was still reluctant to work in the lab with them. Diego wandered in the streets listening to people. He and Dash used their connections to ex-military personal to gather any information they could on the government and the military's involvement with past scientific endeavors. They gave this information to Caris, and she ran it through her records. Any and all information was directly relayed to the computers in the Angelus lab.

Some things that Davion and Seifer discovered one night had a dramatic influence on how they perceived the Relic shard. It seemed that there was constantly an energy buildup going on inside the crystal. They couldn't determine where it came from, and after many experiments they came to the belief that the molecular structure of the Relic as a whole was capable of generating energy out of nothing. It just made it, there was no observable cause. Simulations on the computer told that a piece of this crystal the size of the Relic would overload and the energy would cause an explosion the size of a nuclear warhead without something to use up the excess energy. More simulations showed that the excess energy, at least in the shard, went to containing the foreign energy traces. Using this information, they decided that the energy being generated by the Relic was used directly to contain whatever entity it imprisoned. The photonic traces in the Relic shard were believed to be small amounts of the very essence of the being trapped inside the large crystal. There were no real signs of life in the photons, but they had to be alive somehow. Not alive like humans thought life was, but a half-life. A life that was incomplete. It needed something else to make it sentient and animated. It was merely an existence. It existed but all information showed that by all rules of nature it shouldn't be there. There was something unworldly about this, and what scared Davion the most was the thought that those very things were binding themselves to him. Ending their half-lives and transforming him into a new life form. Davion believed in his heart of hearts that already he was no longer human, but something more. Something darker. It was this fear that he turned into resolve. A resolve to discover what he was to become before it was too late.


Once again, Davion's alarm went off. Once again he bent over and activated the scanner, and once again he began the day not knowing what was to become of him.

"Today's the day, Davion."
"Ah, yes. Is my suit ready?"
"Both your containment suit and your dress suit."
The containment suit Caris spoke of was something Seifer thought of. It was a device like an armor or frame that covered Davion's body and emitted a field of energy that had some negating affect on the energy welling up inside him. With the suit on, Davion felt like a normal person. His abnormal strength might of seemed like a blessing to most hunters, but to Davion it was a sign that day by day he was losing his humanity. Losing himself into a void of darkness that threatened to destroy him and through him his family and all those who he cared for. Indeed, all of Pioneer 2 was in danger if Davion lost himself.

Caris could tell what Davion was thinking,"Davion, don't worry. Today we arrive at Ragol, and David will be sure to help us."
"Don't forget all the bodies of water I can hurl myself into if things don't turn out in my favor. At least then I might not be a burden on Ragol, and the people will have a better chance at a peaceful life."
"Don't talk like that Davion. You can't look at that as an option."
"But it is Caris. It's the only option that I can see. I see it clearly like a lighthouse in this deep fog I live in.
"At least forget about it for today. This is a great day. Your father's dream is coming true, and the least you can do for him is to make his gift to you and all the people of Coral worth his death."
Davion finished putting on his dress suit over his containment gear, "I guess you're right Caris."
"Of course I am. Now get ready, the Principal is expecting you soon."
"Yes ma'am."

An hour later, Davion was standing in the Principal's tower with the group of people who were to go down to Ragol after connections were made with the Central Dome. Davion fingered his collar. Was it as hard for everyone else to breath as it was for him?

"Davion." the Principal called, "Come over here to my desk."
Davion walked over.
"Davion, I know this must be hard for you, taking your father's place. But you must know that you really aren't. Artemis insisted that you were to join him here this day. In some respect, he's still here."

"Kind words, Principal, but where were you when my father was murdered?" Davion thought, "Where were you after the Excelsior project was terminated? What did you do to keep that thing back where it came from?"

The Principal continued, "I hope that you will find the peace you are looking for on our new home."
"Thank you sir." Davion reached over and shook hands with the Principal. When he turned back, he could see Ragol. They were close enough now that Davion could make out the seas and oceans. What new life could be there? What future would the people of the Pioneer Project have there? What about their children? What about Davion, what future did he have? Davion watched as a giant beam of light shot down from the colony ship, and another beam from Ragol shot up to meet it. All was going well, that is, until the beams met. The lights in the tower, and indeed all of Pioneer two flickered as a disturbance was detected in Ragol's forest colony. Davion knew something was amiss and he ran to the front of the tower and looked out the large window. A massive explosion ripped through the atmosphere and rose into space. People in the tower gasped and Davion looked at the energy waves with great suspicion as well as horror. It looked far to familiar to him. Davion turned to look at the Principal and the look on his face showed that he too thought the same thing, but he was more terrified than anything else.

Unofficially, the landing party from Pioneer 2 was disbanded as people rushed down to their homes. Davion stood waiting, leaning against the wall until everyone was gone. People were rushing around at the computers trying to determine what had happened, but Davion already knew. There was some connection between the explosion and the creature that killed his father. There had to be even thought he didn't know exactly what, he could feel it.
"What's wrong with you!?" someone asked him, "Don't you see what's happened?"
Davion saw, but to him the shock was nothing compared to the feelings rising inside him. The anxiety Davion felt before today, what did that mean now? Was it just the same nervousness everyone else felt? Was it fear for his own life? Or was it the knowledge that even though Ragol was close, the danger had just begun. He saw the Principal's face. He saw the fear, but it wasn't the fear everyone else showed.
"He must have been worried about something like this." Davion thought as he walked into the transporter, "I was right all along, there will be no peace for me on Ragol." Davion warped down to the city and made his way back home.

The people he past on the streets were running around like mice. The joy they had felt was turned to utter terror, and Davion was partly ashamed that he didn't share the same fear. To him, the explosion was a sign that things would only get worse for him. What caused the explosion? Was it the very same creature that murdered Artemis? Was it some new threat? Davion reached his home and walked inside.
"There's only one thing I can do to help the people here. I must destroy the demon, and then myself. That's the only thing I can do. The only way I can rid this world of that beast. Seifer and Diego, they can handle themselves. I'm sure that one way or another they or other people like them will find a way to deal with this new threat on Ragol. My cup has been poured in front of me. I must drink of it and leave my life in the hands of fate. Heaven help me."

M_BlackHawk
Apr 15, 2003, 01:34 PM
Woah, Dav. That chapter was some deep. Post more soon.

later

M_BlackHawk

cajun
Apr 15, 2003, 02:28 PM
Wow that was a nice chapter. Keep it up man.

Davion
Apr 17, 2003, 10:11 AM
Thanks everyone. The next chapter will be posted today. M_BlackHawk gave me some help with this one.

M_BlackHawk
Apr 17, 2003, 10:25 AM
Well, Dav..I must admit that I'm looking forward to this next chapter. I'll make sure to give it a read when its posted.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Apr 17, 2003, 07:21 PM
Chapter 17: Flight to Ragol



"It has awakened."
"Indeed. We knew this day would come."
"How long? How many years has it been?"
"Too many to count."
"Even for you, ancient one?
"Most assuredly. My eyes are dim and my body frail. I still remember the stories and legends, but with great difficulty. Even with great wisdom, the annals of history are difficult to grasp at my age."
"But with great age comes great wisdom."
"With great wisdom comes great fear as well. The fears of the past, the present, the future."
"Fears? Fears of what?"
"These are perilous times. It is an age like those in the past. Ages in which both great deeds and great misfortunes rained upon the children of men. It is those misfortunes revisiting the cosmos I fear."
"If you, great one, are restless how will the children below react?"
"As a whole, terrified. Individually... Already there are those who are preparing to fight. Already there are those ready to use this time to take advantage of their neighbors."
"True. The pursuit of power over one's fellow man is the driving force behind all of those who live on those ships. There are those who wish to use this power for good, but deep inside their inner being, power is the one thing they all desire."
"Don't be so negative. You may be wise, but you still have much to learn."
"You know what I mean, teacher. It is in peoples' nature to wish to gain power, to dominate, to rule."
"That may be true, but there is one man. One man who fears the power thrust upon him. One man who doesn't wish to dominate. Yes, it is in he where we shall place our trust."


The government declared a lock down on all transporters capable of reaching Ragol's surface. Until things were resolved, only those allowed by the military or government were capable of reaching Ragol. Certain hunters were hired out to do missions on the surface to discover what had happened. The Angelus brothers, while they were members of the hunters guild, didn't take any missions. They didn't even try to enter the guild, they were just given their Section IDs immediately after their graduation from the academy because of how well they did in school and the promise they showed. In truth, none of the brothers ever had to work again. The great fortune their father assembled and the royalties the military owed him were more than enough to provide a comfortable life until they died of old age, but they wanted to work. It was one of the reasons why they all wished to become men of combat. Life without meaning was just an existence. Davion, Diego, and Seifer all felt fulfilled when they handled their weapons.

If it wasn't for the constant work trying to discover a way to save Davion and to defeat the murderous demon, the Angelus brothers would all have taken positions in the military or government. Davion was even rumored to become a commander like the great Heathcliff Flowen himself back when he was in the academy. His teachers always told him that Davion was born to be a leader of men, but Davion felt that it would always be his place to serve others. Like his father, Davion knew that the only way a person could make a positive impact on the world was by helping people. Power, wealth, and prestige will always fade away. People were the only things worth devoting your life to. It was this mindset that led Davion down a path of discovery. To discover the knowledge of the past, and to find a way to preserve the future for people of Coral.

It was one day after the explosion. Needless to say, the population of Pioneer 2 was extremely worried about their friends and family on Ragol. They knew that their own lives were in danger as well, and that scared them most of all. None of them would admit it, but even though they wished no evil on the people of Pioneer 1, secretly they were glad that it was those people and not themselves who were in peril on the planet's surface.

The vid-phone buzzed back at Angelus Manor. Seifer picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Seifer?" a worried voice said from the other end.
"Mike? What's wrong?"
"It's Amelia. She's gone down to Ragol."
"What? But how? All transporters are locked down today."
"She somehow rigged one of the smaller transporters to be used with a Ryurker tech and she got herself beamed down near to the Central Dome."
"Can you follow her?"
"No. The transporter could only make one trip. She made sure no one could follow her, and I can't find a transporter that will let me reach her."
"What are we going to do then?"
"Is there a way you can head down? You're an Angelus, they might let you past."
"Are you kidding? You know what's going on with Davion. We're the last people they'd let off this ship."
"Is there any other way?"
Seifer thought for a few seconds, "There might be one thing we can do, but I'll need your help. I can't reach Davion or Diego and I don't want to go down there solo if something's going down. I might need some help."
"I'm on my way." Mike hung up and Seifer headed downstairs.

On the way he passed the butler. "Willem, when Mike comes by, send him down to the basement."
"Are you doing what I think you're doing, Master Seifer?"
Seifer just smiled and ran down the stairs.
"I thought so." Willem said as he walked over to the front door to wait for Mike. He could tell that time was short.

Seifer was messing around with some wires when Mike ran in.
"Ah, Mike. Just in time."
"What's that, Seifer?"
"Remember what this building is?"
"A backup headquarters for the Ragol colony?"
"Right, and how do people get around quickly nowadays?"
"Transpor... Seifer, what are you doing?"
Seifer answered by flicking a switch. A large ring of energy appeared that engulfed the room.
"I should have expected this." Mike said as he walked into the transporter with Seifer.
Seifer laughed, "Gird yer loins Mike BlackHawk, We're going down." In a flash, they were standing in the forest.


Seifer checked his shield and spun his twin saber around to loosen his wrists. Mike pulled out his katana and slipped his handgun in and out of its holster to make sure it didn't stick.
"I'll head this way and search the forest for Amelia and any survivors." Mike said, "If there are any. Sound good?"
"Sounds fine. I'll head directly for the Central Dome and look there."
Mike and Seifer went off in their separate directions.

Running through the forests as quickly as his legs could carry him, Mike BlackHawk found rough resistance from the native animals of Ragol. The skills that Master Zoke Miyama had taught him came in quite handy against the native booma creatures, while the sidearm at his waist came in more handy against the savage wolves that wandered this wooded area. Mike's mind turned to his family who had been on Pioneer 1. He was worried, and he was determined not to leave Amelia to the same fate.

Seifer rushed along through the forest in the opposite way Mike went. Things were moving amongst the trees, and he could hear faint growling sounds from under the foliage. Seifer climbed up a large tree and looked out over the forest. He could see the Central Dome.
"I guess I'll head that way then." Seifer thought as he jumped down and ran to the dome.

"Dammit," Mike thought to himself, "Just how far could Amelia have gotten in this short of a time?" He idly dismisses the thought as a booma charges at him. The HUmar leaps into the air, and then drives his blade down into the booma's flesh upon descent. "Seifer," he says out loud, "I hope you're having better luck than I am."

Seifer had been thinking the same thig, but his luck was about to change. When Seifer made it to the Central Dome's surrounding area he began to hear what sounded like blasts of foie and other techniques.
"That has to be her." he thought, "I just hope I'm not too late."
The young hunter ran along through the enclosed habitable areas of the forest. A light rain had started, and the rustling of the wind in the trees combined with the soft pattering of raindrops created an eerie atmosphere.
"Amelia!" Seifer shouted, "Amelia! Where are you!?"
Seifer heard a muffled cry from the Central Dome.
"Hang on, I'm coming!" he yelled as he made his way to where he heard the cry. Seifer opened up a communication line with Mike. "Mike, get over to the dome, fast. I found her, and it looks like we've got company."
"I'm on my way." Mike messaged back.
"Just hurry." Seifer said as he opened the door leading to one of the inner sections of the forest and climbed up to the platform around the giant dome. Seifer could hear growling and roars as he ran to where he was sure Amelia was.

As he feared, Amelia was backed up in a corner fending off a dozen or so creatures of the Forest. There were several of the booma and wolve creatures and a giant Hildebear. For some reason they ignored each other and focused on attacking the poor FOmarl trapped In the corner.
"Amelia!" Seifer yelled as he rushed at the grouping of creatures, "I'm coming!" Seifer jumped into the air and spun his twin bladed weapon around his body and brought it crashing down upon one of the boomas. Blood and other less desirable elements covered the young hunter as he swung his blades around in a twisting furry of sawn off limbs and bodies.
"Seifer! What are you doing here?" Amelia asked as she cast shifta and deband on Seifer.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Seifer said as he ended the life of yet another beast.
"You're trying desperately to impress me with your fighting skills." Amelia said sarcastically as she tried to keep the Hildebear back with foie after foie, "It won't work again."
"Not likely." Seifer said, "But this close to the fray is no place for you."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Sorry." Seifer said, and with the shifta adding to his strength he grabbed Amelia and hurled her over the line of monsters, "That's not your choice to make." Needless to say, Amelia wasn't very happy about Seifer's choice to send her from the corner. Nor did she like the way he went about it.
"Hey! Watch it!" she yelled when she tumbled to a stop beyond the ring of combat.
"Sorry, I didn't know any other way to get you out of here-whoa!" Seifer yelled over the noise as he dodged the giant fist of the Hildebear, "Get near that door and do what you can, but stay away from these things. I have no idea what they're capable of." Amelia reluctantly did what Seifer said as more creatures joined the fray. It seemed that they regarded Seifer as a bigger threat than Amelia. They were almost ignoring her.
Seifer kicked the front legs out from under a wolf and rammed his blade through it skull as it tripped. "Darn it! Where is that Mike?"

As if to answer that question, a couple of the creatures fell to the ground with bullet holes in their heads. Seifer and Amelia looked over to see Mike running at the fight with a handgun in one hand and a katana in the other. Mike jumped into the air, landed on top of one of the boomas, and jumped off it into the air. Blasting the booma below him with his handgun, Mike flipped over the other beasts and landed next to Seifer. He holstered his sidearm and started helping Seifer push back the onslaught.
"Bout time you showed up, Mike." Seifer said to his friend.
"I got here didn't I?" Mike said as he sliced through a wolf's side and stepping out of the way of the hildebear's attack.
"Yes, yes you did. Now give me a hand with this giant overgrown teddy bear here."
"With pleasure." Mike said as Seifer held down his hands for him. Mike stepped on them and jumped as Seifer tossed him into the air. Mike landed on the bear's shoulders and positioned his blade to pierce the beast's skull. It reached up to grab him as Seifer held out his twinsaber in front of him and dove through the beat's legs. The photon blades tore through its flesh as Mike rammed his blade between the eyes of the hildebear. Mike and Seifer jumped out of the way as the great beast fell to the ground. Seeing that the strongest creature had been killed, the other lesser creatures disappeared into the trees.

Mike walked over and pulled his weapon out from the large animal's skull and cleaned it off with a cloth. He then tossed the cloth to his fellow hunter and Seifer cleaned off his face and suit. "Well." Mike said, "That was messy."
"Undeniably messy." Seifer replied as he flicked an organ of some sort off his shoulder.

"What were you thinking Amelia?" Mike asked.
"I thought I might be able to do some good down here." she answered, "I was getting tired of waiting up there. I don't think I should be kept up there waiting for the government to say it was ok for me to try and help people. But it looks like I'm already too late."
"Well, at least now you're safe. Right Seifer?" Mike said as he turned to his friend, "Seifer?"
Seifer wasn't paying attention. He was standing still in the middle of the floor, twinsaber turned off at his side.
"Seifer, are you ok?" Amelia asked.
The hunter continued to ignore them.
"Seif-"
"Shh, something's here." Seifer interrupted. He slowly turned to face the forest. "Mike, you need to get Amelia out of here, now."
"What is it? What's wrong?" Mike asked as the air around them began to darken.
"I'm not going anywhere as long as you're still down here." Amelia said.
"Heh heh heh." a dark voice laughed from out of sight and a foul wind swept past the group, "It would be wise for you to follow young Angelus' orders."
"No, it couldn't be." Mike said as he stood closer to Amelia and held out his katana. "Could it?" he thought as Seifer scanned the woods with his eyes, then he quickly jerked his head back and stared into one section of the forest.
He spoke softly and his weapon flashed to life, "He's here."
A crash came from the trees and the monstrous demon charged out and seemed to fly straight at Seifer. With a twist of his blade, Seifer deflected the massive sword that was being swung at him. The blade crashed into the ground and Seifer jumped back dodging a swing from the beast's arm.
The creature stood up straight, stretched its bulk, and planted the tip of his sword into the floor. A dark fire from the beast's flesh licked the floor as he pointed his claw like finger at Mike and Amelia. "The two of you may go. This is not your fight."
"So this is what murdered Artemis." Mike thought as he looked the monster over. Mike lowered his blade at the creature. "This is as much my fight as it is Seifer's."
"And who do you think you are? I said you may go, now leave or I shall split you to scrap meat and feed you to the beasts."
"I am Michael Stephen BlackHawk." the red clad hunter replied as he held his blade to his face, "Many years ago my father joined Artemis Angelus in your defeat, and I shall stand by Seifer's side like my father stood along side his."
"So be it then. Today, I shall send you both to meet them. Angelus and BlackHawk, both meddlesome simpletons. Once you're out of the way, your families will follow you to hell."
"We'll make you eat those words." Seifer said. His eyes grew grim, "Amelia, get out of here. Mike and I will handle this."
"No one can handle me, child. It's been far too long for that to ever be the case."
Seifer wondered about what this could mean, but he put the thought out of his mind when he saw the creature pull his blade out of the ground.









<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-04-17 17:22 ]</font>

HUmarNecron
Apr 17, 2003, 07:41 PM
nice chapter man, i'm liking the way u discribe the fights, the detail is awesome.

cajun
Apr 17, 2003, 07:45 PM
Noooo, it just leaves off. What could happen to seifer and mike, I guess i will just have to wait. Nice chapter Davion keep it up.

M_BlackHawk
Apr 17, 2003, 08:25 PM
Wicked cool Chapter, Davion. BTW: Check your PM's.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Apr 19, 2003, 06:34 PM
Next chapter is coming along, but slowly. I'll post when I can.

M_BlackHawk
Apr 24, 2003, 09:52 PM
Well, take your time and make it a good one, buddy. Looking forward to reading your next chapter.

later

M_BlackHawk

Seifer01
Apr 26, 2003, 05:22 PM
As always, impressive work. I'm rather fond of this chapter seeing as Seifer gets his groove on here. Keep it up Davion.

blazeking240
Apr 26, 2003, 08:03 PM
i love it it was so awsome

Davion
Apr 28, 2003, 02:58 PM
Chapter 18: Face Off at the Dome


Seifer and Mike readied themselves. The demon's blade shone in the sun as the creature tightened every muscle in its body. There seemed to be cracks or seams running throughout the creature's body, and as he moved a dark light shone out from within them like plates of hardened rock over molten magma. It held the blade out at Seifer and Mike.
"You have chosen your path then?"
The two hunters nodded.
"So be it." and with those words the fight began. Mike ran straight at the monster while Seifer waited. As soon as Mike's blade touched the creature's, Seifer threw himself through the air over the two battlers and attacked from behind. Without turning his attention from Mike, the creature blocked Seifer's strike by grabbing and twisting the middle of the twin saber. A saber like energy beam shot out from the beast's left arm while Seifer and Mike stood on either side of their foe trying to get a clean hit on its head or chest, but they couldn't get through. Every attack they made was blocked at every turn. Even Mike with his blazing fast attacks couldn't take it off guard. It was almost like it knew what they were going to do before they even knew it themselves. Mike and Seifer understood the frustration Davion must have felt when he faced the demon himself back in Angelus Manor. Mike and Seifer jumped back to regroup, and the creature seemed to let them.

"He's toying with us." Mike thought as he prepared himself for round two, "Even now he's letting us back off."

Seifer was the first to begin attacking again. With amazing speed the creature slammed the flat side of his sword into the young hunter. Seifer's twin saber fell to the ground as his body slammed into the Central Dome's wall with a thud.

"Seifer!" Mike yelled as he looked over to see his friend's body sprawled upon the floor.

No pity for Seifer in the creature's eyes. As soon as Seifer's body hit the floor the creature dashed at Mike. With a swipe of his arm, the beast sent Mike's katana flying from his hands. Mike reached for the blade as it flew away from him.
"Poor child, lost your toy?"
Mike's eyes narrowed as he grabbed his handgun from it's holster and fired a shot right into the beast's face. To Mike's disbelief the photon bullet stopped dead in the air a fraction of an inch away from the beast's flesh. In a flash the bullet disappeared and Mike could do nothing to block the fist to his face.

"Amazing." the creature said as Mike fell to the ground, "Two stupid men who throw their lives away. You, Angelus, you saw your father die and your brother fail miserably in his attempt to stop me. However you deluded yourself to make your frail mind believe a weakling like you could even contend with me is simply astonishing. I could understand you BlackHawk. You're just like your father." It bent down and placed his face near Mike's. "Stupid as all Hell." The rain from the sky dripped into Mike's face as he looked deep into the fiery eyes of the demon. "Oh I know, believe me." The creature stood up and held his blade down to Mike's face. "Funny really. Not so long ago I faced a boy like you. I believe you know who I'm talking about. I shall let you share in his future."

Suddenly, a light flashed high above the platform and Mike saw a body fall from the sky. The demon jumped to the side as a giant katana like sword slammed into the ground where he once stood. A man dressed in a long black cloak pulled his blade out of the ground and jumped at the creature. Several telepipes crashed into the ground around Mike and Seifer as the creature's blade met the mysterious man's.
"You!?" the demon yelled as he jumped back, "How are you still alive!?"
"I can ask the same thing about you, Mikhail."
"That man is dead now!"

Seifer regained his consciousness, and he looked over to see the cloaked man standing with his giant blade at the ready. For the first time, Seifer seemed to notice anxiety in the demon's voice.

"Is this what you've become now, Mikhail? A slave to your new master?"
"Stop calling me that! How many times do I need to tell you fools that the man you knew as Mikhail wanted this more than anything!? It's the reason he joined that pitiful project to begin with. Only he knew the true power I held, only he took hold of it."
"Don't you think I knew? What kind of fool do you think I am? Why else do you think I was given my orders?"
"What!? Does this mean she's still alive?"
The man nodded.
"Rrrraagghh! NO!" the demon yelled as he dashed at the cloaked man.

The stranger swung his arms out to the sides, flinging his cloak open into the wind. "I have waited too long for this!" he yelled as he pulled back his hood and swung his massive blade through the air. In a clash the demonic blade met the long steel blade. The man must have been impossibly strong for him to wield such a blade so quickly and precise. His motions were so difficult to track as he fought in a style Seifer and Mike had never seen before. The strange man grabbed his blade with his right hand and, in a twisting pattern of smooth and staccato motions, fought back the demon while he charged a ball of light in his left hand. The man jumped back and slammed the charge of light into the hilt of his blade. Instantly, the light spread along the length of the sword. It was so bright it looked like the man was holding a gigantic saber, and the surrounding area seemed to turn dim in its presence. With his newly powered sword twisting around his body, the man dashed back at his foe. Every swing of his blade seemed to release a small pulse of light into the air around him, and with every clash of blades it seemed that darkness and light themselves were doing battle on the surface of Ragol. The frenzy of blades was amazing. Whoever this man was, he knew his way around a battle better than anyone else Seifer or Mike had ever known. That included Mike's Master Zoke.

In a flash, the two combatants leaped back from each other, their eyes penetrating deep into the other's.

At that time, Davion, Lara , Dash, and Diego stepped out of the telepipes with bewildered looks on their faces.
"Seifer, Mike!" Davion yelled as he began to run at his friend and brother, but his eyes fell upon the cloaked man and the demon he stood against. Dash and Diego leveled their rifles as Davion and Lara activated their weapons.

"Stand back, everyone." the cloaked man said, "This fight is beyond any of your abilities."

"Correction, this fight is over!" the monster jumped into the air and landed on top of one of the pillars that stood around the dome, "I shall see you again. Heh, old friends always keep in touch." in a swirl of blue flames the creature was gone, its cruel laughter still lingering in the air.

Lara ran over to Mike and looked over his injuries, Diego checked on Seifer, and Dash walked to the pillar to see if any trace of the creature could be found. Davion gripped his sword as he looked over a the cloaked man.

"What's going on here?" Davion asked, "Who are you?"
"A friend, a watcher." the man answered as he began to walk towards the edge of the platform. His voice was strong and kind, but there was a deep pain in it. A feeling of sorrow came over Davion when he heard the voice. "I have things to see to, as do you. I must go now, but keep vigilant, always be on your guard. That demon knows what he wants, and I will not be able to stand between you and your fate for much longer. Soon, son of Angelus, you must stand up to take your rightful place." he swung his blade and the light flashed out. The steel shone dimly in the light of the clouded sun.
"What place?" Davion pleaded, "Please tell me something, anything. You have no idea what it's like to live this way."

The man laughed, "What can you know of me? Nothing. Do you even know what I am?"
"Please then, just tell me your name."
"I'm sorry, I can't do that. But what I can do, I do for you now." Davion heard the sound of something metal falling onto the floor underneath the man's cloak. "Farewell." he threw a telepipe onto the ground below and jumped off the platform into its swirling energy. Davion ran to the edge and looked down as the warp closed.

"What's going on?" Davion thought as his eyes fell to a small metal case on the ground. The hunter reached down and picked it up. He opened it and took out a small memory chip. The label on the inside of the lid said Artemis.

"No trace of it." Dash said, "I'm going to try scanning it over again. Maybe I can find some kind of energy reading."

Davion just knelt at the end of the platform, water dripping from his face, as the others tended to Seifer, Mike, and Amelia. The young FOmarl had been hiding behind the door during the fight.
"Amelia, what do you think you were you doing?" Lara asked.
"Don't worry about it, Lara." Mike said, "We've already taken care of it. What I want to know is how you guys got down here."
"Yeah." Seifer said, "All the transporters are down back on Pioneer 2 after all."
"We don't know what happened." Diego said, "We were just standing in the library trying to figure out what to do with you guys when these pipes showed up on one side of the room."
"So you just waltzed right in not knowing where you'd show up?" Mike asked.
"Something like that." Dash answered as he walked back to the group, "Still no luck with those readings."
"Well." Lara said, "Now that we're down here, you guys think we should take a look around?"
"That sounds like a good idea." Seifer answered as he stood up, "What do you think Davion?"

Davion was silent.

"Davion?"

Slowly, the hunter stood up and walked back to his friends. He never looked up from the small box in his hand as he spoke, "We shouldn't be down here. It's too dangerous. I don't know what force is here, but I feel that I can not trust myself with your safety while we're standing in this forest."

Davion's friends looked at him with a strange mixture of fear and awe. There was love in their eyes too. Davion couldn't help the force inside him after all. Or could he? There was still so much to learn.

"I think we should do what Davion is suggesting." Mike said, "Besides, I think my nose is broken. And Seifer must not be doing too well either. I think that the best thing to do is go back to Pioneer 2 and regroup before we do anything else."
"Yeah, we did what we came here to do." Seifer said, "Amelia's safe, and so are the rest of us."
"Lets keep it that way." Davion said gloomily as he walked into the telepipe. Everyone soon followed him.

While everyone stayed in the library tending to Seifer and Mike, Davion snuck away down to the lab and placed the chip the stranger dropped into Caris' main computer.
"Play this for me, I think this might be the break we've been waiting for."
"Hmm, this is interesting." Caris said after she looked over the information on the card, "There's some strange encoding on this. It looks like whoever made this didn't want anyone but the right people to see what's on this card."
"Well, if anyone can find out what's on that, you can." Davion said as he walked back to the door.
"You sound very certain of this, Davion. Do you know something I don't?"
"Not after I tell you this. That 'whoever' person was my father."

cajun
Apr 28, 2003, 04:49 PM
Nice new chapter Davion. Can't wait to see what is in the next one.

M_BlackHawk
Apr 28, 2003, 09:48 PM
Woah..Dav..that's deep.

amazing chapter, friend..keep it up.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Apr 30, 2003, 08:26 PM
Thanks guys. The next chapter should be done sometime soon. I'll post it as soon as I can.

Davion
May 6, 2003, 09:58 PM
Ok, this is it. By tomorrow I should have my next chapter posted. Please make sure to tell me what you think about this fic, and please tell me if you see any grammar mistakes.

Davion
May 7, 2003, 01:50 PM
Chapter 19: Meeting Fate


"The time is drawing close."
"I never thought he would reveal himself so soon."
"Even then, young Angelus still has other thoughts on who the Watcher is."
"His father was very important to him. It is expected that he would think that given the chance."
"But what about this new revelation? She still lives? How could this be true, and how has this been hidden from us for all these years?"
"The news that the she is still alive brings new hope to my heart as I think of the future ahead of us. As for how he kept her a secret from us all these years, the Watcher knows much about us. He is a man of much wisdom and of great age. We would defy the nature of our wisdom to underestimate him."
"You forgot to mention his power. In the history of man, few times has one emerged with such authority over his environment."
"This new warrior he protects. There is something evil lurking inside him."
"The evil Angelus has enclosed deep within his body is a mighty force indeed, but it is nothing compared to the evil now seeping into his soul. Soon he will not be able to contain the darkness."
"Indeed, the time is drawing close."
"And with greater haste than even we imagined."
"May the Great Light show favor on his soul."

Davion's mind was full of many thoughts. Who was that man down on Ragol? Could he have been his father? If not, who was he and how did he seem to know so much about Davion? While he waited for Caris to finish examining the chip, Davion trained harder than he ever had before down in the training room. The practice helped clear his mind of all the problems he was facing.

Seifer was also down in the training room. He was infuriated that he was taken out so easily, and he was determined never to let it happen again.

"Davion, what are we going to do now?" he asked.
"I don't know, Seifer." Davion pushed the tip of his training weapon into the floor and rested his hands on its hilt. "I think you still know more than I do about what happened down at the dome anyway. I think I should be asking you that question."
"What do I know that you don't already?"
"What happened there before I came down?"
"That man just showed up and fought back the creature. Nothing really special about it... Except for one thing, now that I think about it."
"And that is?"
"It seemed scared, or at least worried that the man was there. The demon showed the only fear I've ever seen him express. You and father were strong fighters back then, and you're much stronger now. But whoever that man is, he might be the only thing that's keeping us alive right now."
"But not for long. You must not of heard him when he spoke to me. He said something along the lines of him not being able to protect us for much longer. I fear the time of reckoning is close."

Seifer stood still on the mat. "Davion, I need you to fight me."
"What? You mean now?"
"Yes. I didn't stand a chance against that thing. Even Mike wasn't a match for him, and the both of us combined still left much to be desired. You're strong, stronger than you've ever been. Stronger than anyone I've ever met. If I can't beat you, I have no chance against that creature."
Davion looked over at his younger brother. There was fear mixed with rage in his green eyes. Not yet 18 and already he feels so close to death. "Fine then. I will fight you, but I'm not going to hold anything back. You could get hurt. I still don't know what I'm capable of."
"I don't care. Beat me, bruise me, take me out as fast as you can. If I see that you're taking it lightly, you'll regret it."
"Don't make threats you can't keep."
Seifer laughed, "Oh, I have ways."
Davion smiled, "Ready yourself then. Let's see how you fare against your big brother."
"Big nothing, you get ready." with those words, Seifer jumped at Davion.

Seifer's holographic twinsaber spun at his older brother. Davion answered the attack with a sidestep and slammed the hilt of his sword into Seifer's back.
Seifer stumbled, "Ughh, I know you can hit harder than that."
"Boy, you really don't want me to hold back anything do you?"

Seifer's answer came in the form of foie blast. The fire singed Davion's hair and clothes as he replied with his own fireball. Seifer, being quicker than Davion, dodged and then dashed foward. Seifer's blades flew rapidly through the air as Davion spun his blade around blocking and repelling. Back when they used to fight, Seifer's edge was always his speed. Davion, with his larger sword, was always a much slower fighter. But now, Davion's new strength allowed him to use his sword with amazing speed. It was as light as a saber in his hands. Seifer was still much quicker on his feet, but now he had a much harder time keeping ahead of his older brother. The two hunters' fight covered the entire room. Sometimes they were running at full speed across the room while attacking. Seifer tried to kick Davion's legs out from underneath him, but Davion jumped twisting into the air and landed behind Seifer. Davion planted his sword and wrapped his arms around Seifer's shoulders.
"Got ya." Davion laughed.
Seifer slammed the back of his head into Davion's face and then slammed his elbow into Davion's stomach. Davion stepped back, holding his bleeding nose.

"Ok, now you're asking for it." Davion said as he pulled his sword out of the ground, "Off come the kid gloves."
Seifer stood ready.

Davion jumped into the air and spun his sword around his body. The added momentum of Davion's leap combined with movement around his body was too much for Seifer's twinsaber to handle. When Davion's blade met Seifer's, the holo-blade flicked off under the stress and the flat side of Davion's sword slammed Seifer to the floor. Seifer fell to the ground and bent double over his knees. Davion walked up to Seifer, satisfied that he had won the match, but Seifer had other plans. When Davion was close, Seifer bent up and pressed his hands into Davion's chest. Davion felt the heat but he didn't have enough time to stop the blast of rafoie that sent him crashing backwards. Now Davion was mad.

Seifer stood up, shaking the fire from his body and banging his twinsaber against his hip until the second blade started up again. Then Seifer spun the blades around to make sure it was activated properly. In that instant, Davion sprung from the ground and dove at his brother.
"You little punk! I'll teach you something about fire!"
Seifer wasn't expecting Davion to attack him like this. Davion's hands grabbed Seifer's chest and he slammed him to the ground.
"Whoa, wait! Davion hang on a sec!"
Seifer's pleads went unheeded as Davion punched Seifer across the face and lifted him into the air.
"Thought you could stand a chance against me, huh?" Davion grinned maliciously, "I'll make you pay for that!" Davion held Seifer high above the floor with a fully outstretched left arm.

"Davion?! What the hell are you Doing?!" Diego, who had just run into the training room, yelled as Davion charged a blast of fire in his right hand.
Davion ignored him as he spoke to Seifer. "You'll wish you nEver faced me, FOOL!"
Seifer closed his eyes, waiting for the blast, but he felt the heat of the fireball skim past his face and he fell to the floor as Davion's hand went limp. Seifer looked up to see Diego trembling and holding out his rifle at Davion. Seifer looked down at his eldest brother to see a photon burn on the side of his head. He didn't remember much after that.


"Seifer, what happened? I came as soon as I heard." It was Mike who came running down the hallway to where Seifer was standing in the hospital.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"What, why?"
"I just don't, ok!?"
"Hey now, I'm sorry Seifer. I didn't have any idea you felt that way."
Seifer didn't respond.
"Lara says she wish she could be here. Jess has been getting strangely sick lately, and Lara has to stay nearby."
Still, Seifer ignored his friend.
"Look, if you don't want to talk, that's fine. You don't need to be so uptight about it." Mike said as he walked off.
Seifer turned and looked over at his friend as he was walking away, "Mike, wait."
Mike stopped, but he didn't turn around.
"I'm sorry for being so rude. It's just..."
"Just what, Seifer?" Mike asked as he turned around to face his friend, "What's wrong? You can tell me."
"Something... something happened. Something horrible, and now I'm worried Davion won't be able to pull out of it this time."
"What? What do you mean? What happened?"
"I... I don't know what to say. Davion and I got into a fight. Not some brotherly dispute or argument, just a training duel, but something inside Davion snapped and he went berserk. He's never done anything like that before. It's not like him, it's not Davion."
"Snapped? How? Do you mean-"
"Yes. It's finally beginning to happen. We're losing him, Mike. Losing him to that thing inside him. That virus, that disease."
"Did somthing happen to Diego? Why isn't he here?"
"Diego's one of the reasons Davion's here in the first place. He did it to save me, but now he's just sitting there, locked in the training room. Even when the paramedics came to get Davion he just sat there, trembling. It was me or Davion in his mind. He had to make a choice." Seifer formed his hands into fists and stared at the ground, "He chose me."

"Mr. Angel." a voice from behind called.
"It's Angelus, and what do you want?" Seifer answered harshly.
"Oh, sorry. The doctor wants to see you. He has some questions he needs to be answered."
"Fine, I'll answer them." Seifer said as he turned to follow the man, "Mike, would you go back to the manor and check on Diego? He's locked himself in there and none of the staff can get in. Maybe he'll talk to you."
"Sure, I'll do anything I can."

Mike left and Seifer followed the man into a small room off the main hallway. There was a doctor and a man in a black suit with dark glasses standing in the room. Seifer recognized the doctor. He was the man who looked over Davion and his father after the fight with the creature, but the man in the corner seemed suspicious to him.
"Thank you for coming."
"What is it you need to ask me?"
"Well, you might remember some of what I told you the last time we talked, but I'll remind you. About two years ago, I ran some tests on your older brother. There were strange traces of energy flowing throughout his system then, and now there seems to be something even more peculiar is happening."
"What do you mean?"
"His body has changed. Back then, we just thought this might happen, but now it looks like his condition has progressed dramatically. The region around the scar on his right eye has had the most changes. Let me show you." The doctor pulled up an image of Davion on the screen. "This is the old scan from two years ago." He touched the display, "This is one we took just now."
Seifer was shocked at what he saw, "What is that?"
"That was the muscle on Davion's face, but as you can see some things have changed. The scans show a strange growth underneath his skin. We haven't gone in surgically yet, but we can tell that whatever it is, it's spreading. The parts of Davion's body that seem to be the most infected at this time are his bones and joints. His muscles have gotten much stronger, but there isn't a noticeable change in their appearance. Take a look at these two pictures together. You can see that his joints and bones look different in the new image. We've done some tests and we've come to the conclusion that these changes occurred roughly two months ago."
"Two months ago? That was the time Davion was bedridden. He was complaining about severe pains and he didn't leave his room for several weeks."
"That pain must have been his joints and bones transforming themselves into their new forms. The new joints aren't that much different from the old ones, but we can say now that their structure seems to be several times stronger than before. His bones can also take much more pressure than his old ones can. By the looks of this, his bones have been completely replaced. This information will revolutionize the way replacement limbs are built for amputees. The same data could also help with the construction of newer, more powerful androids."
"I'm so glad my brother's body could be of service." Seifer said snidely.
"No need to get irritated, Mr. Angelus. This is science, not just medicine. You're brother isn't a normal patient. We'll be keeping him here for the next week or two to monitor his changes. I'll have to ask that you and your family stay away for the time being."
"That's crazy!" Seifer yelled, "There's no way you're keeping us away for that long."
"It would be best if you agreed, boy." the man in the corner said.
"Please, I can handle this." the doctor replied.
The man in the corner ignored the doctor, "Just know that we will keep you from coming, even if it means house arrest."
"You have no right to do that to us!"
"Oh, but I think we do." the man opened the door, "Don't play with the big dogs, boy. You have no idea who you're dealing with."

After he left, Seifer's fuming anger was noticed by the doctor. "Please, Mr. Angelus, calm down. I'm sorry, but I have to-"

"Doctor!" a nurse interrupted as she came rushing in the open door.
"What is it?"
"The patient, he escaped!"
"Escaped!? What do you mean!? How could he get out of there with all the security everywhere?"
"...He didn't use the door."
The doctor's face went pale. "Those fools!" he said, "I told them he was unpredictable, but they didn't listen, did they!" the doctor followed the nurse out of the room. "Mr. Angelus, if you don't leave soon I'll be force to have security escort you off the premises."
"Well, thanks for being so nice. Fine, I'm going, but not until you tell me what's going on."
"I'm sorry, really I am, but I can't do that." and with those words, the doctor was gone.


"What happened here?" the doctor asked the men standing outside the hospital room, "How did he get out?"
One of the men answered, "Those men from the labs went into the room. We tried to stop them, but they seemed to have all the right paperwork. We had to let them in, and the next thing we knew there was some yelling, gunshots, and the sounds of things crashing all over the room. When we managed to unlock the door, we found... well, just come and see for yourself. We haven't touched anything."

They opened the door and let the doctor in. He placed his hand on his forehead in frustration as he looked around the room. The most noticeable thing was the outside wall blown open exposing the city outside. The doctor's eyes fell from the gaping hole to the men lying in the floor, dead. There were three of them. One of them was the man in the dark glasses that was in the room with Seifer and himself. The doctor could tell it was him by the patch on his jacket, not by his face, because there was no face to be seen. In fact, the entire head was missing. The doctor decided not to look for it as he noticed the strange burn marks all over the room. It didn't look like normal burns, in fact it seemed heat had nothing to do with it. The bed was also a wreak. All the ties that were supposed to hold him down were strewn all over the room and the bed was in pieces.

"How do you think he escaped?" the doctor asked.
"Do you really need to ask?" the man next to him said, "Don't you see the wall, or rather the lack of a wall?"
The doctor glared menacingly at his colleague, "Of course I did you nitwit, but how could he have gotten down from here? We're almost ten stories high."
"You have noticed the room, haven't you? If a man can manage to do this, what makes you think he can't find a way down a ten story building?"
"Call the military, tell them he's in the city. They'll know who you're talking about. They're going to kill me for letting him get away again."
"What was that? You mean it's true?"
"What's true?"
"There's been talk throughout the hospital about a certain patient been wanted by the military, and the doctor who was going to give him to them. I thought it was all rumors. It sounded so absurd."
"Yes, yes it was true. But you understand now, don't you? That man is dangerous, this proves that. The only way we can save our hides now is if they either capture or kill him."
"We? I had nothing to do with this. You're the one in trouble if word of this gets out."
"And what makes you think I'm going down by myself?"
The two men looked angrily at each other.

"Did you get that, Caris?" Seifer asked quietly as he stood out of sight.
"Every incriminating word. Heh, these hospital firewalls are nothing. I'm surprised how easily I got in to their security cameras."
Seifer held the com unit up to his face as he stepped into an elevator, "What would we do without you."

Seifer closed the doors and pressed the button leading to the lobby, "Indeed." he thought, "The time of reckoning is at hand."







<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-05-07 11:51 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-09-15 21:11 ]</font>

cajun
May 7, 2003, 04:05 PM
Cool chapter Davion, What will become of the new Davion. I guess i will just have to wait.

M_BlackHawk
May 7, 2003, 06:36 PM
Intense chapter, Dav. Keep this fic going, pal.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
May 12, 2003, 11:16 AM
Thanks alot everyone. I reaally appreciate all the posts. I know a good amount of people are reading this, and not posting anything. I'd really like to know how people feel about my writing. Please, if you've read this fic in any amount, post what you think.

Anyway, the next chapter is coming up.

Davion
May 12, 2003, 11:25 AM
Chapter 20: The Begining of the End?



"Well, what are we going to do now?"
"How am I supposed to know? You're supposed to be the brains behind this operation."

The voices came from two of the half-dozen men who were meeting in a dark room somewhere on Pioneer 2.

"I am, but that doesn't mean I know everything."
"Fine then, but right now we're in big trouble, no matter who's fault this is."
"I have to agree with you there. I had no idea he was that powerful."
"He doesn't either. Our friends at the hospital haven't told him or his family everything."
"Remind me to punish that doctor. He told the youngest Angelus far too much already. We must have him terminated."
"Don't be so hasty. We can still use him. The main problem we have now is Angelus. He's in the city now, and he could be dangerous."
"Dangerous isn't strong enough a word to describe him. He has to know we're after him now after that little stunt your men pulled in his hospital room. He might come after us."
"Tell the lab to pick up the pace. We need those androids completed and in top combat shape if Angelus gets hostile."
"Gets hostile? You didn't see what he did in the hospital?"
"In all honesty we were the aggressors. Davion was just defending himself. How could you expect anything else from him?"
"You almost sound like you're on his side."
"And why shouldn't I think this way? It's not his fault that Samsonov returned. It's not his fault that it chose to attack Artemis and not us. It's not his fault that his body is changing so much and his life is in greater jeopardy every morning. And it's not his fault there are people in this room that want to use his suffering for their own gain."
"Keep talking like that and you'll be taken off the project. I won't let anyone let their personal feelings get in to way of all these years of planning. I'm going to see this through because I won't let all our work go to waste. I've spent far too much of my life on this. I'm reviving Project Excelsior."
"What!? Are you mad? We don't have anywhere to run the experiments. Even if we had the Relic, the energy would be too much to be kept hidden in the labs. And we can't very well use Pioneer 1's lab system. Not after this explosion at least."
"Yes, the explosion. What are we going to do about that? I'm sure you all must know what happened down there."
"You would that think we would have learned from Coral that we can't mess with these things. There are some things man was never meant to know or possess."
"What I've learned from Coral was that we were too weak. We should have given the Relic directly to the military. Letting Angelus and the others near it was too much of a security risk."
"The military didn't have anyone qualified to experiment on that piece of crystal at the time. We had no choice but to let them work on it. Besides, Samsonov was military personal. Look what happened to him."
"Enough of this. I'm still reviving the project, and that's final. I only hope we can find Osto alive down there. His help with the Relic would be greatly appreciated. "
"But what are we going to experiment on? The Relic was destroyed back on Coral."
"Not completely. I know that we have several shards left over. We've been using them to try and find the other shards that were stolen back when Pioneer 1 left Coral's orbit."
"We still have pieces? Why wasn't I made aware of this?"
"You didn't need to know. Just keep the people ignorant, that's what's important right now. For you at least."
"Yes, you can trust me to do my job."
"Good. And now for the other business at hand. We have to reopen the transporters to Ragol. Notify the Hunter's Guild that we will be starting them up for operations on the surface. Maybe we can use the hunters to discover some information about the explosion and still keep a cap on the flow of information to the public."
"Why not just use the soldiers?"
"We need them for other reasons. Besides, some of those hunters have some real talents."
"I'm aware of one new family that might serve our purposes well. The BlackHawks completed the tasks given them back during the Parma incident with startling efficiency."
"Why did we need to use them in the first place? Couldn't we have just sent our own men?"
"We did, they didn't stand a chance. They lost themselves to that experiment too, just like the crew."
"Once again I think we should have learned better from the past."
"Once again I warn you to watch your tongue. The bottom line is that we need the hunters. Some things are far too powerful."
"Fine, we can use them. I'll notify the guild."
"What about the rest of the Angelus household? We can't just give them any missions."
"But we can't vex them either. Otherwise people would begin to wonder."
"Yes, the Angelus family is a very powerful force in the mind of public opinion. Almost everyone knows about Artemis. At least what we let them know. That's another reason we can't let anyone know that it's Davion Angelus who escaped. Have the medical center to tell the news that a mental patient escaped. That way we can get help in finding him, and people will still be in the dark."
"We'll have to put his face up on the screen so people will know who to look for. Wouldn't that give his identity away?"
"Few people have ever seen him in person. At least, not after that convenient scar on his face.
"We can only hope. I'll get on that."
"Good, then I think that is all. Gentlemen, we have a lot of work to do. Lets get to it then. Consider this meeting adjourned."

There was a shuffle of paper and feet as the room cleared. One man stayed sitting at the table as one of his colleagues walked up to him.

"I have a real problem with this, Karl." The man sitting at the table said, "I know the Angelus family. They're good people, and they wouldn't hurt anyone unless they needed too."
"What are you worried about Tyrell? Scared of a few boys?"
"Don't underestimate them. What I'm scared of is the fact that we're declaring war on them by doing this. You know what happens in a war, don't you Karl. You military boys must know that one military action deserves another."
"What makes you think that we can't take care of them?"
"Like you took care of that Flowen? Is that what you plan on doing to them?"
"Heh, you don't know me as well as you think you do, Tyrell."
"I know enough to know that you think far too much of yourself."
"Then I'm guilty of being perfect."

With those words the conversation ended.


As soon as Davion reached the ground, he made a break for an alley. His body was in amazing pain, and he would periodically lose control of his limbs. He finally was able to stumble into the corner of one of the gaps between two buildings. His body ripped itself from Davion's control and slammed him against the wall. Davion cried out as he pounded in the wall with his fists. His hands left large dent in the flat, metallic surface of the building as Davion banged his head against the wall, trying desperately to control himself. After slamming his face into the wall several times, Davion crumpled to the ground unconscious.


There were knocks coming from the outside of the training room's door.
"Go away." Diego called, "I just want to be alone."
"Come on, Diego. Open up! It's Mike, we need to talk."
"No, when I say I want to be alone I mean it."


Back in the alley, Davion shook himself awake. He still felt the pain in his bones, in his mind, in his flesh. It took all his strength, but he was able to stand and hold himself straight. His mind was moving in and out of lucidity and he struggled to remain awake. Slowly, the warrior walked out into the city.


"I don't want to force my way in there, but I can." The voice was Willem's this time.
"Willem, I'm ordering you to stay out and keep anyone from disturbing me again. Do you understand me?"

Apparently he didn't, or he chose to ignore the order, because Willem had Caris force the door to open. Diego just glared at his friend as Mike came over and stood near him.


"That much for a calibur?"
"Yes, this one here is of high quality. It'll serve a master for a long time. You won't have to worry about recharging or repairing it for awhile."

Davion bent over the counter. He held his head and closed his eyes as he tried to remain in control.

"Sir, Are you ok?"
"...Huh? Oh...yeah I'm fine. Just a headache. I'll take the calibur." Davion purchased the weapon and strapped it to his back as the TV flashed to a public warning.

"There is a warning out for this man." an image of Davion's face showed up on the screen, "This man escaped from the mental wing of the Pioneer 2 medical center. People in the eight blocks surrounding the medical center are advised to stay in groups and contact the police if you come across any signs of the escapee. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program."

"Hmm." the clerk said to Davion, "This store is close to the Medial Center. I guess I should keep a lookout, huh?"

Davion turned his back to the clerk to hide his face as he made his way to the door, "Yeah, I guess so."


Diego and Mike were talking in the training room when they were interrupted by Caris.

"Mike, Diego, you guys need to see this. I just took this off a news broadcast that went over every channel to every screen on Pioneer 2." a screen on the wall near the two friends flashed on and Caris played the message. After they the segment ended Caris turned off the screen and Diego and Mike left the room. No words were needed, they knew what they had to do.


At around the same time, three young hunters stood together in Pioneer 2's park. They were eating a meal and they had just seen the same message everyone on Pioneer 2 saw warning them about Davion's escape.
"Hmm, wouldn't you say that guy looked a little familiar, Cajun?"
"Yeah Necron, I think that was Davion Angelus. I remember his picture from the academy's archive."
"Wasn't he the guy who graduated top of the class a year ahead of us?"
"Yeah, Striker." The hunter named Cajun replied, "And his brothers right behind him."
"I can't imagine that he would be in the mental wing. I know his father's death must have been hard on him, but he's strong. That wouldn't shake him too much."
"Who really knows. Hey, what's that?"
The two other hunters looked over to where their friend was pointing. Smoke was rising from the warehouse district and sirens were beginning to go off.
"Could that be Davion?" the hunter named Striker asked, "Maybe he really did flip out."
"It could be, let's check it out." Cajun replied. The three hunters, Cajun, Necron, and Striker, checked their weapons and made their way to the warehouse district.

"The time has come."
"So soon? I find it hard to believe that it's come down to this already."
"Even so, it has started, and at the end there will be only one outcome. The two tainted warriors will wage their steel against eachother, and only one of them will come out of it standing. It may be too late to save young Angelus' soul, but the fate of us all rests on this battle."
"True. Either Angelus will fall and his body and soul turned into a horseman of the Great Evil, or he is victorious and only prolongs the inevitable."

Three young warriors run towards the smoke rising to the north.

Two friends search for their comrade and brother.

The smoke clears in the warehouse on the south side of the district. A figure emerges covered in dark flame.

A lone silhouette is cast on the hard, metal ground, A golden blade shines in a strong fist, and the ruined soul of a battered warrior stirs in its anticipation for the end of it all.

HUmarNecron
May 12, 2003, 02:33 PM
Oh yeah, were in the fic. Cant wait to see what were going to see. later

cajun
May 12, 2003, 05:31 PM
Great new chapter Davion. The best part...me and those other two thanks for putting us in the fic. Keep it up.

M_BlackHawk
May 12, 2003, 08:31 PM
Wicked new chapter, Davion. Can't wait to see where you go with this. Keep it up.

BTW: Check your PM's.

later

M_BlackHawk

Tigaj
May 12, 2003, 10:35 PM
whooooooa man! i love it. who the hell was that cloaked cool man! man...they should give u the option of having a cloak, or other fun accessory, on pso

Davion
May 17, 2003, 09:13 AM
In honor of this topic's 2230th view, I hereby do this...

*Bump.

Yeah, well anyways, the next chapter should be along in a bit. Thanks for all the feedback.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-05-19 10:05 ]</font>

ZechsMarquis
May 18, 2003, 08:04 PM
*in awe* whoa, good job! keep it up, i cant wait for the next chapter!

Davion
May 19, 2003, 10:38 PM
Chapter 21: The Battle Begins


Striker, Cajun, and Necron made their way through the streets. After about five minutes they reached the main storage district on Pioneer 2. They seemed to have arrived before any of the fire fighters or police because the place was deserted. Cajun walked ahead of his friends and looked around the corner. There, perched upon the highest point of the closest warehouse, was a creature he had never seen before.
"If that's Davion Angelus then I'm a skunk."
Striker and Necron walked beside their friend and looked up at the demon. It was standing still with its arms crossed as it stared out into the city, waiting.
"Well, what now?" Necron asked, "Are we going to fight it or not?"
Striker handled his weapon, a twin brand. "I think the three of us can take him...it...whatever it is."
"I don't know, Striker. Take a look at that thing. It doesn't look normal."
"It doesn't even have a weapon, look it's just standing there, and we don't know what that thing could do if we just let it sit there." Striker replied, "We need to do something before it hurts someone. I say we try."
"Fine then," Necron said, "but boy do I wish we had a force with shifta and deband."

The three hunters quickly snuck along the walls of the large warehouses, each of them trying to be quiet as they could be as they made their way up to the roof where the demon was standing.

"That's it, come to me." the demon said quietly, "Come and face me, and I shall show you my dark eternity."


"Where could he have gone?" Diego asked Mike as they hurried along through the streets.
"I have no idea. Where would you go if your soul was tearing itself apart?"
"Can't say that I have any idea regarding that. I just wish we knew where to start."

"I think we can help you with that." a familiar voice said from behind.
"Janus?" Diego asked as he turned around to face the voice, "Janus, it is you! And Hal, what are you guys doing here?"
"We're doing the same thing you guys are." Janus replied, "When we saw Davion's face on that news report, Hal and I grabbed our weapons and rushed out of the door."
"Well, I don't know who you are," Mike said, "but it's great to have you with us. You said you could help, what do you know that we don't?"
"You guys must have missed it then." Hal replied.
"Missed what?" Diego asked.
"The other story on the news." Janus answered
"There have been several explosions in the warehouse district." Hal said, "If you look over there, you should be able to see the smoke. Janus and I where headed their ourselves until we ran into you two."

Diego and Mike looked over to where the RAcaseal was pointing and sure enough there was smoke rising from the north.
"That must be where Davion is." Diego said, "I guess that's where we have to go."

The others nodded as they started running towards the district.


Slowly, a warrior walked through the alleys. His jaw was set in grim determination as one thought kept floating through his mind. "Here I come destiny. Never before have I longed to commune with something more."


Cajun looked over the ridge of the roof, "It's there, and it doesn't look like it's noticed us yet."
"Good." Necron said, "Striker, you go to the right. Cajun, to the left. I'll take the middle."

Striker and Cajun nodded as they pulled themselves up onto the roof. Necron soon followed. Striker held his twinsaber out at the ready, Cajun's Yamato was charged, and Necron's replica Flowen's Sword was out in front of his body. They walked closer to the demon's back and raised their weapons to strike.

Suddenly, the three hunters felt their weapons fly from their hands and float in the air above them.
"Thought you could sneak up on me, didn't you." The blades drifted through the air towards the demon. "Lesson one, always expect the unexpected." The creature turned to face the shocked hunters. "Lesson two, never underestimate your enemy." The stolen weapons slowly hovered in orbit around its body, "And lesson three, don't ever mess with things this far out of your reach."

The creature held out his hands and the weapons floated back to their respective owners. "Now, as for you. I'm waiting for someone, but I wouldn't mind playing for a few seconds while you're here. The choice is yours to make. Fight and die, or run and die. Keep in mind that either way you'll be in hell tonight."

Necron looked to his friends. None of them really knew what to do, but they had to make a choice.
"We came here to fight, and fight we shall." Striker told the demon standing in front of them, "I don't know what you are, but we wouldn't be hunters if we walked away from a battle."
"Then prepare yourselves. I find it amazing how many times I have to fight such children."

Necron started the fight with a downwards strike with his sword. Cajun followed with an attack of his own. With a flick of its wrist the demon deflected the blade downward. The glasslike blade buried itself into the floor as the demon's fist came pounding into Necron's face. Cajun's Yamato slashed at the demon's waist, but it dodged and sent its knee slamming into the hunter's chest. Striker jumped over his falling friend and dove headfirst at his foe. The demon reached out and grabbed the hunter by the neck. Striker's body violently straightened out as the demon held him in the air.

Necron pulled his blade out of the ground and swung it at the arm holding his friend in above the floor in an attempt to free his friend. The demon quickly reached up and grabbed the blade with his other hand. Necron fell to the ground as his legs were kicked out from under him. The demon pressed down on Necron's chest with its foot as he spun the sword around and grabbed it by the hilt. Necron struggled to free himself as he watched the demon position the large blade to pierce Striker's chest.

"Now to finish you off." it said to Striker, "Your friends will follow you soon enough."

"Forget lesson one, beast!?" Cajun's voice yelled out as he dug his blades into the demon's legs.

"AAaarrrghhh!" the demon yelled as it thrust the sword into the ground a fraction from Necron's face, "Now you're asking for it!" Striker was thrown through the air as the creature shifted its attention to the photon blades in his leg. Cajun attempted to pull his blades out of the creature's flesh, but it seemed to heal around the photon katanas. Cajun felt a surge through his body as his blades flickered off.
"What the-!" Cajun was interrupted by a foot slamming into his face.

Striker slowly rose to his feet as he looked over and saw the demon lifting both his friends into the air. "Cajun! Necron!" he yelled as he dashed forward wielding his twinsaber. Striker lunged at the demon and buried one side of his blade into the creature's right shoulder. With a roar the monster dropped the two hunters and grabbed Striker by his shoulders. Striker pushed his blade deeper into his enemy's chest as he felt his shoulders being crushed by the demon's mighty hands. Suddenly, the photon blades on his weapon faded and flickered off just like Cajun's weapons. Striker's eyes were filled with fear as the face of his enemy seemed to grin at him.

Cajun looked up and saw Striker's predicament. The hunter laid with his back on the floor as he raised his right arm and formed a ball of fire in the palm of his hand. "I have to be careful." he thought, "I don't want to hurt Striker." The hunter focused the power to a very tight gathering of energy that he then fired at the head of the demon. Yelling out in pain the creature threw Striker into the air and grabbed its face as the concentrated blast of fire slammed into his eye.

Necron and Cajun got off the floor and ran over to their friend and helped him to his feet as the demon regained its composure and turned to face the three hunters.
"Enough of this! I'm through playing with you!" The demon held out its arm and pulled his sword from the rift between the planes. The evil blade shone with dark fire as it made the transition into normal space. "Now I shall show you what true power really is!"

The three hunters stood shoulder to shoulder as Necron held out his sword. Striker and Cajun tried to activate their weapons, but the photon blades refused to activate.
"What's going on?" Striker asked, "Who are you?"
"Who am I you ask? What am I would be a better question for indeed I am much more than something that can be described as a person or another simple creature."
"What would you call yourself then?" Cajun asked.
"Darkness, hate, fear; I am all of those things and more personified. My very being is crawling with the vile and wicked desires of lesser mortals. I am the darkness that crawls through your nightmares. I am what drives a soul to suicide and a spirit to its flight. I am the rage in the eyes of all murderous men. And I am what you feel just before you lose your grasp on the threads of your life. I have seen the destruction of countless souls. All of them trapped, thrown into the dark abyss from which there is no return. One more soul must be added to them, but before he comes you need to be dealt with."

"I'm the only one you'll be dealing with now, demonspawn of hades." A strong voice called out; the words echoing off of the surrounding walls. "My soul is my own, and tainted as it is I will not give it up easily. You're fight is with me, leave those hunters out of this."
"I will decide who I will leave out of this, son of Angelus! There is no living thing on this ship or the planet below that I will not control. Everything is involved in this, and your soul is no different!"
"Bold words." a warrior holding a golden sword stepped onto the roof, "Very bold words; especially for someone about to lose it all."
"Foolish words from someone who knows enough about his enemy that he knows his chances at victory are nil."
"Victory is not what I am seeking here."
"Then you come with a death wish."
"Yes, indeed I do. It's time for me to finish this, once and for all of time to come! I care not about what happens to me after this night, but one thing I do know, I shall this night put an end to the curse you have placed over my family!"
"Oh no, child. You still don't understand. Your hell has just begun!"

The demon rushed right past Cajun, Striker, and Necron as its attention focused on the one he'd been waiting for. Davion swung his blade up to meet the devlish blade as it came down upon him. Swing after swing and blow after blow Davion fought off his foe's attacks. It was during this phase that Davion was fighting defencivly as he weighed his own strength against his enemy's. With every clash Davion felt as the two swords met he was reminded of that day years before when he fought for his life. The shock of the blows were different now; not as powerful it seemed to him. The demon was pushing Davion back as the hunter prepared for his own assault.
"Scared, aren't you! Don't tell me no, I can see the fear in your eyes."
"I'm not some little boy you can knock around anymore, fool! You of all people must know what I've become now. I'd say you're the scared one here."
"I am fear, Angelus! I have nothing to fear in you!"

Davion jumped back from the fight, "Then you're more of a fool than thought. You should know better than to underestimate your own power, demon. I'll show you what I've become." Davion felt a power surge inside him and he held his hand out in front his chest. He looked down at his hand as it seemed to glow with a dark power. "Just what have I become?" he thought to himself as his arm shook. He grabbed his wrist and pointed his arm towards the creature in front of him. "Yes, I'll show you my power!"


Diego, Mike, Janus, Hal were running through the streets when the RAcaseal stopped and stood still.
"Anything wrong, Hal?" Janus asked.
"Can't you feel it? There's something in the air. My scanners are picking up unusual photon readings, and it seems there's a change in air pressure."
"Change in air pressure?" Seifer asked, "The air's always the same on this ship."
"It's the strange photon readings that worry me." Mike said.
"We need to hurry." Janus said, "Who knows what could be happening there now."




As his brother and friends ran to the warehouse district, Seifer was busy back at Angelus Manor. He was completely unaware of the goings outside his home until Caris relayed the information from Pioneer 2's scanners to the terminal he was working at.
"Something's happening at the warehouse district. There seems to be a large accumulation of strange photons gathering over there."
"Hmm, these readings are a little odd...wait! Caris, overlay these readings on the ones taken recently after the Central Dome explosion."
"Immediately."

After a few seconds Caris showed Seifer the results. "They're almost a perfect match. However, there's this one pattern of energy that is adamantly different."
"Try adding the data recorded from the demon's attack. I want to see what that looks like."

Caris added the other information. The new readings matched up with near perfection with the data from the demon, but there was a slight deviation. "Wait a minute. There are two readings coming from the scanners. I'm going to try and isolate them."
"What could be making them?"
"By these readings, one of them is the demon itself. The other is...Dav-"

Those were the last things Seifer heard Caris say because in a flash the lights went out and Seifer was plunged into darkness.

"Caris, Caris!" Seifer yelled as he stood up and stumbled over a seat, "Caris, what's going on!?"
No answer.
"What is this?" Seifer thought to himself as he groped along the wall trying to reach the door, "Could this have to do with the strange readings?" He slammed his fist against the button on the wall that was supposed to open the door, but there was no power to move the steel slab. Seifer was trapped in the manor's core.


A few seconds earlier Diego, Mike, and the others were sent crashing to the floor as a blue bubble of energy formed over the warehouse district and expanded into a massive explosion that ripped through the city in space. The sound was deafening, and people screamed in terror throughout the streets as the lights went out all around them. In seconds, Pioneer 2 was consumed by darkness.
"What the blazes is going on now?" Diego asked as he slowly stood up.
"We're out of time." Mike answered.
"Out of time?" Janus asked, "What timeframe were we working with?"
"It doesn't matter now." Mike said as he turned his face to the source of the explosion. Nothing we do now matters. At this time we're a non factor."

Necron, Striker, and Cajun lied still on the ground. Striker and Cajun were out, and Necron was barely holding onto consciousness. The warehouse they were standing on only seconds before was now all but destroyed. They had been flung through the air to the place they were now lying. The injured hunter felt for his blade, but as he looked his eyes fell on the two warriors facing each other not a hundred yards away. The stars were now the only source of light besides the glowing figures in the distance. One was dark, the purple and blue hues that surrounded him hung in the air about him like fire and the demonic blade in its claw was full of the hellish wrath of a thousand ruined souls. The other warrior's body was trembling with the new power that had burst forth so violently. The golden blade in his hand shone brightly in the darkness, the only source of pure light in the dismal and shadowy scene. That image stayed in the hunter's mind as he drifted into unconsciousness.

"That's it!" Davion gripped his blade tighter and held it at the ready. "I'm done with this, Mikhail! Come, take me! I care not for this mockery of life anymore!"
"If it's annihilation you wish, I'll be glad to send you there."
"Enough of this confounded arrogance, demon! Don't underestimate me for then you mock yourself. You know what I am, you know what you fashioned from my body. You are fear, but now I am too! You are death; now the same power flows through my body. You are darkness, and I have now stepped in to that realm myself. Whatever you are, I am the same, and that's the fear you feel. The fear that you've created something you can't control!"

Davion's eyes shone over with a dark haze as he stepped forward. "You, you did this to me; now reap the destruction you've sown!"






<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-05-30 11:00 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-05-30 12:26 ]</font>

M_BlackHawk
May 19, 2003, 10:46 PM
Very good chapter, Davion. I can't wait to see how this battle turns out. Keep it up, bud.

later

M_BlackHawk.

HUmarNecron
May 20, 2003, 02:20 PM
awesome chapter, kinda shorter then the others but still very good. keep up the awesome work.

cajun
May 20, 2003, 02:29 PM
Awesome fight Davion, can't wait to see how it concludes. keep it up.

StrikerMeganani
May 20, 2003, 08:03 PM
Dav your chapters get better and better, and I'm not just saying that because we are finally in it. The fight rocks and i can't wait to see how it turns out. I expect great things from this story and I'm sure you will meet those expectations.

LeaderOfTeamAvalanche,
=Striker=

Tigaj
May 21, 2003, 07:05 PM
as always, i like. one thing tho...how is it that this time the demon actually gets hurt? normally it ALWAYS blocks everything, this time he got hit a bunch. o well, keep up the good work! http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Davion
May 26, 2003, 08:19 PM
Honestly, I didn't like how that chapter ended. Instead of writing a new one, I'm going to post an updated version of that last one. It'll be up in a bit.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-05-26 18:19 ]</font>

Davion
May 30, 2003, 01:02 PM
Ok, I updated the last chapter. Give it a read over and tell me what you think.

cajun
May 30, 2003, 02:28 PM
Nice update, it is cool how you brought Janus and Hal back I was wondering what happened to them.

Tigaj
May 31, 2003, 07:44 PM
ooo i very much like this new update. "reap the destruction you've sewn.

Sharkyland
Jun 4, 2003, 03:08 AM
I've taken into the drug and now I'm am addict...

M_BlackHawk
Jun 4, 2003, 09:10 AM
I must say that I am getting more and more anxious to see how this battle ends. Continue the fic, Davion.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Jun 9, 2003, 08:58 AM
Thanks everyone. The next chapter should be up soon. I just have to work out a few bugs.

RavenTW
Jun 9, 2003, 06:49 PM
Yes, Davion, I actually sat down and read this today. So you don't have to IM me anymore asking if I did.

That said, I reiterate what I said at the very first page, that I really like this fic. Your battle scenes are great in that they are graphic, but not overly thourough. But it surprises me that you have this at Word, and still have quite a few minor misspelings, which usually revolve around forgetting to put in a letter, such as "a" instead of "at".

And don't kill the demon outright! I like the demon, I don't wanna see him dead, especially if you carefully explain it to put a little more emotion into it.

Davion
Jun 11, 2003, 12:56 PM
On 2003-06-09 16:49, RavenTW wrote:

...But it surprises me that you have this at Word, and still have quite a few minor misspelings, which usually revolve around forgetting to put in a letter, such as "a" instead of "at"...



Yeah, I did notice those typos and such. MS word, for the most part, won't catch something if it's spelled right and just the wrong word in a sentence. I'm going to go through the entire thing after I've posted the last chapter and fix them all before it gets in the database. That is, if it gets in. I hope it does.

RavenTW
Jun 11, 2003, 02:03 PM
IF? My friend, "If" was gone with since the second page! This thing IS getting in, and if it doesn't, I'm not even gonna try to send in mine!

Davion
Jun 11, 2003, 02:40 PM
On 2003-06-11 12:03, RavenTW wrote:
IF? My friend, "If" was gone with since the second page! This thing IS getting in, and if it doesn't, I'm not even gonna try to send in mine!



http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/blush.gif Thanks a lot. I'm just doing my best, and I'll keep trying. That means, of course, that I'm not going to be perfect because my best isn't good enough to be that, but any help in pointing out mistakes in my writing would help a lot.

Davion
Jun 16, 2003, 09:34 PM
Ok, this time I mean it. I REALLY am going to post the new chapter soon. I've decided to break the fic into three parts. What you've been reading so far is most of the first. I've come to believe that I'm going to be introducing too many new concepts and characters in the next few chapters, and I think that the only way to preserve the fic as a whole is to break it up.

I've also been rethinking a few things. I'll be posting soon, and I mean it this time. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

Davion
Jun 17, 2003, 04:36 PM
Chapter 22: Duel in the Dark



Davion and the demon ran headlong at each other. Davion twisted his sword in his hand and slammed it into the demon's blade. The clash created a pulse of energy that blasted out from the two combatants as they battled. The two blades sung a deadly duet and a droning aura of dark power filled the air as the two tainted warriors danced the dance they had lived to fight.

The demon swung at Davion, but the hunter jumped back and slammed the flat side of his sword against his enemy's head. The demon stumbled backwards and Davion charged in to strike. As the hunter swung his blade, the demon dove to the ground and slashed at Davion's legs. Davion planted his sword in the ground near his foot and blocked the blade as he bashed the demon's face with his boot. Davion pulled his blade from the ground and aimed to impale his enemy to the ground, but just as the sword was about to touch the demon's back, a terrible pain shot through his head. Davion dropped his weapon and fell to his knees as he grabbed his head with his hands.

The demon laughed as it stood up. "Did you actually think you could win? Don't you know what I am? Don't you know what you are?"

Davion roared in rage as he jumped up and pounded his elbow into the demon's chest. The blow stunned his enemy long enough for Davion to grab the hilt of his weapon just in time to block a counterattack. Through raging eyes Davion battled away, feeling himself slip further away with each swing as he lost control of his soul and mind. This had to end, and he knew it. As he fought, he felt something well up inside him. It gave him strength, but with that strength came pain as his body tried to fight back against the force.

"You're feeling it, Davion. I know you are."the demon said as he locked his blade against Davion's. "You feel the power, you want the power. You know you do! Take it, use it. Use it against me. Then you shall see that there is nothing can withstand the power I can create. The power we can use."

Davion felt those words in his heart, and they were true. Deep inside Davion did want it, and he hated himself for it. He also felt the unstoppable evil behind the power and that made him hate himself even more.

The demon jumped back from the fight and held its hand out at Davion. "Stop this foolish fight, Davion. You know you can't defeat me. Heh, even your own body won't let you. You're strong; stronger than any of the pitiful humans that surround you, but I am far more powerful than anything these people have ever encountered! Both of us contain a force of unstoppable power. The same power your leaders have been searching for! Why? Because they don't have anything compared to this! How could they stand against us? How could those simpleminded humans even begin to fight back against the two of us? We could rule, Davion. Rule over all, and now that the Dark One has been unleashed there is nothing that can stand in our way!"

Something began to stir in Davion's mind. Something from outside. Something dark and powerful. Davion could feel it reaching for him. Reaching, grasping, invading. He could hear a voice, but it wasn't like anything he'd ever heard before. It was a feeling, an emotion, a spirit. It seemed to say, "Come. Come to me. Follow your thoughts. Join with me, escape, be free, evolve."

The demon looked almost softly over at Davion and the fire on his body subsided so he looked less monstrous, "Come Davion, join with me. Join with us. Become what you always wanted to be."

These thoughts awakened something lurking inside Davion's soul. Something that had been placed there two years ago. Davion's mind began to cloud as he felt himself slipping away into darkness. It swallowed him like an abyss. Davion couldn't resist the draw of it. This power and the promise of greatness was tempting him like a spring in the desert. Tempting him to plunge himself below the waters and never return to the barren, fading life the above offered. It seemed so easy, and Davion was tired of living each day in fear.

Just as Davion was about to give in to the growing evil inside him, his world was snapped back into focus by the sound of his name.
"Davion!" The voice was the sound of a brother; loving and concerned.
"Davion!" The voice was that of a long gone friend; roguish but caring.
"Davion!" The voice seemed synthesized, but still full of friendship.
"Davion, we're here!" The voice was that of close friend; strong and kind.

Davion's mind returned to him as he slowly turned around to face the voices from the darkness. There, standing amongst the rubble in the dim city, stood Mike, Diego, Janus, and Hal. They looked at Davion and Davion looked back with fiery eyes. As Davion saw the love in the eyes of his friends he was reminded of the other power in his life. A power that was just as strong as evil if not stronger. Davion knew what he had to do; for his friends, his family, and everyone on Pioneer 2. Davion turned back to his foe. His friends began to walk forward to join in the battle, but Diego held them back.

"Don't go. Leave Davion to wage his own battle for he alone must do this. This encounter is something we can't help him in."
"Diego's right." Mike said as they watched Davion slowly walk forward, "Just stand back. let Davion know that we're here for him. That's all we can do for him now."

Davion's mind was in incredible pain as he strived to keep the evil inside him at bay, but he continued to move forward. "You're going to have to try harder if you want to control this warrior, demon!"

The demon seemed to sigh, but then the flames on his body sprung back to life with rage.
"Control? Who ever said I wanted to control you? Your destruction shall be good enough for me, but I'm no fool. In my line of work, good allies are hard to come by."
"You won't find an ally in me. Of that I can assure you."
"Then destruction it is." With those words he formed a fiery ball of dark energy in his right hand, "Now it's my turn to show you could have been!" In a flash the demon hurled the ball of energy at Davion.

Davion's eyes opened wide as he watched the orb of energy fly at his face. As he prepared to dodge, some kind of instinct took over and he felt his hand shoot up in front of his face to seemingly catch the speeding energy projectile. Davion closed his eyes and ducked as the blast collided with his hand, but the explosion he expected didn't come. A pulse of energy shot through Davion's body as the blast was absorbed into his flesh. The power surged through his system; filling every cell. After a few seconds, Davion's skin began take on a slight dark glow.

"What's this?" the demon thought as he looked over at the confused hunter, "It's impossible! There's no way his body could have evolved this fast so quickly. He's already capable of canceling out my power. Does that mean that he's already reached the second stage?"?"

Davion could feel something coming alive in him. Something with a power that he couldn't comprehend. He could feel darkness coming over him again, and he struggled to hold it back. "Not again! I can't take this any longer! I can't...I can't do this by myself!"

A strange dark haze gathered around Davion and ripples of dark light flowed over his body like waves of a dead sea. "NO!" Davion cried out as he tossed his arms wide and threw his head back, "No more! Please! HEEELP MEEEE!"

Diego, Janus, and Hal began to rush in again, but this time Mike was the one to stop them.
"I don't know why, but I have a feeling he's not talking to us." He and the others looked over at Davion as the dark haze around began to swell into a bubble of energy that hid his body from view. Davion felt the pressure on his body increase. It pressed him down and he felt defeated. He bent down low as he felt his sword drop from his grasp and fall to the floor.

"Heh heh, it looks like I may be able to use him after all." the demon thought happily as he crossed his arms in front of him. "I knew it was only a matter of time. Wait a minute! What's going on? No! Not that!"

From underneath the bubble of dark energy, a single point of white light appeared out of nowhere. As his friends and foe watched, the light turned golden and spread over Davion's body until it shone through the darkness surrounding him.

Davion heard a voice resound softly in his mind. "You have called out, and I' have answered. Arise, and remember; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness could not extinguish it."

This voice was different than the other one he had heard and bent to. This voice wasn't invading; it was coming alongside, helping, showing the way. It gave Davion strength and he rose up to his full height. Davion held his arms to the side and the bubble that surrounded him seemed to break in two. There was a brilliant flash of light as the two shells of dark energy were flung off Davion and revealed his body. The golden hue that covered Davion's body slowly faded, but the light in his eyes remained. Davion held his hand out in front of him and the sword on the ground flew up into his grasp.

"What's happened to him?" Diego thought as he watched his older brother.
"Hey look over there!" Hal yelled out as she pointed to the three hunters lying on the ground. "I wonder how long they've been there."
"Come on." Janus said, "Let Davion fight, let's see if we can help them."

The demon spread out its legs and firmly planted himself into the ground. "You impress me, Angelus, but I'll show you the stage you'll never reach because won't let you reach it! You'll see that you could never defeat the likes of me!" the demonic blade glowed with a dark power as it yearned for the taste of human blood, "You may be powerful, but I'll show you the full power of a Dark Force!"

Davion was shocked as he heard those words. A Dark Force? Is that what this thing was? Is that what he would become? Davion put the thought out of his mind as he prepared for the onslaught. He didn't plan on living that long anyway.

The demon shot forward engulfed in dark fire with its sword flaring menacingly in front. Davion jumped forward to meet him and once again the two blades met in an ear shattering clash.


Below Angelus Manor, the steel around the doorway began to cool long after a photon blade had sliced an escape route. Above, on the surface of Pioneer 2, swift and solid footsteps of a determined hunter made their way through the panicked crowds in the darkened streets.


Mike and the others dragged the three hunters to the safety of an alcove created by the rubble of a nearby building as Davion battled the creature. As Diego, Janus, and Hal tended to them Mike turned and watched his friend fight ever on. It seemed so strange being a non-factor. Mike was a strong warrior. He didn't like standing on the sidelines and watching his friend in harm's way, but whatever was going on, he knew that this wasn't his fight.

The two warriors fought with unworldly power as their weapons glowed in the darkness. Davion's blade began to grow dim as he fought. The energy in the air was draining the photon power cell and he knew that he had to find a way to recharge it. Davion swung hard at the demon's head, but the dark warrior ducked and slammed his fist into his the hunter's face. Davion fell backward after the blow, but he swung his blade back at the demon's waist on his way down. The demon jumped high into the air over the blade then hurled his weapon down at Davion. The hunter rolled onto his side as the sword dug itself into the ground inches from his back. Davion reached up to grab the sword, but as soon as he touched the hilt a dark flame erupted from the sword and covered his arm. Davion pulled his hand away from the sword just as the demon came crashing from above and landed with both feet on Davion's chest.

Davion cried out in pain as he felt his ribs crack under the pressure. Davion grabbed at his enemy's legs as it pulled the demonic blade from the ground.
"Heh, heh. What's the matter, Davion?" the demon asked wickedly as the final light left the photon blade. The creature bent its knees and pressed its face against Davion's, "Feeling a little drained?"

Davion grabbed the hilt of his dead calibur.

"You put up a better fight than last time, child, but this is where it ends for you. You chose to fight me, now you've fought your last battle!" The demon laughed as it held its sword above its head ready to impale Davion.
"Then at least I'll take you with me!" Davion yelled as he thrust the still sharp end of his blade through his enemy's sternum. The evil light in the demon's eyes wavered as it let out a hideous shriek that shattered glass on all the nearby buildings. People all over Pioneer 2 stopped dead in their tracks and stood silent as their blood ran cold.

The fires on the demon's body flared with unsurpassed rage, "NO! How can this be possible!" The demon yelled as it plunged its blade down at Davion. The hunter twisted his body to try and dodge the sword, but he wasn't able to avoid it. The demonic blade pierced Davion's left shoulder and dug into the ground below. Davion yelled out in pain as he felt the blade spilt his bone down the middle; his marrow torn asunder. He looked up with great fear as he saw the demon's chest beginning to heal around the blade.

Davion gripped the hilt of his blade with both hands and focused everything he had on them. Davion felt the voice's presence in his mind again and he pleaded, "Help me again, this one last time."
Davion felt a power in his hands that wasn't there before. Something from the outside began to gather in his hands as they shook and began to glow.
"NO! STOP!" the demon yelled as he grabbed the powerless blade of the Calibur. In a flash the claw-like hands and the hardened flesh that had healed around the sword were vaporized as Davion's blade blazed back to life. The demon cried out again and a dark cloud of energy began to gather around the two combatants. "I won't ever let you win, son of Angelus! You might be able to destroy me now, but your future still holds your damnation!"
"Then damned I shall be!" Davion answered, "My only purpose in life now is to defeat the evil you represent! I don't care what happens to me, but this ends NOW!" Davion gathered all the strength he had left and ripped the blade up through the demon's body. Cracks spread throughout its body revealing a dark core of energy as the flame that surrounded it began to swirl around like a vortex. The cracks of energy spread and covered the demon's entire body as a bubble of energy formed around it and Davion. Pioneer 2 was once again rocked by a powerful explosion from the warehouse district.

Mike, Janus, and Diego threw their bodies over Hal and the fallen fighters they were protecting as the burst of energy sent rubble crashing at them. In seconds they were buried.
Diego called out to his brother, but his words were lost in the explosion around them.

The thunderous roar and the shockwave that followed knocked Seifer to his back.
"What's this?" he said aloud, "No! I'm too late!" Seifer quickly jumped to his feet and ran with every ounce of strength he had, tears streaming from his face.

When Seifer made it to the district, there was a strange light that seemed to hang in the air and a dark ash covered everything like a shroud. Seifer looked over towards the center of the mist and he made out two dark figures standing tall and silent. Seifer couldn't make out any features, but he could tell that both of them were both wearing long cloaks that touched the floor, and just the sight of them brought shivers down the hunter's spine. The taller and broader of the two figures bent down to something lying crumpled on the floor. It reached down and picked up the object, it was a body with a sword held tightly in its grasp. Seifer's eyes widened with horror as he recognized the limp physique. "Davion!"

The two figures looked over in Seifer's direction when they heard the call. Seifer began to run at them, but the smaller of the two figures held out its right arm and a massive barrier of a strange purple energy formed blocking Seifer's path. The hunter skidded to a stop in front of the wall.

"NO! Stop! You can't have him!" Seifer yelled out as the figure hung Davion's body over his shoulder and stood up. The smaller figure raised his left arm straight into the air and a ring of light formed around them. In a flash they disappeared; leaving the hunter slamming his fists against the barrier in distressed rage. The hunter dropped to his knees, "You...can't...have him..." The barrier dissipated and Seifer fell over on his face, weeping.

Slicer238
Jun 17, 2003, 06:00 PM
He shoots ....he scores the Bulls win by 1 er I mean good chapter. ( disappear before I get noticed.)

HUmarNecron
Jun 17, 2003, 06:13 PM
that was intense, i wonder, is this what u mean by back from the void? hmmmmm....

Neonlantern
Jun 17, 2003, 06:24 PM
wow! THAT was one good fan fic
I can safely say this fic will be around for a while.

RavenTW
Jun 17, 2003, 06:31 PM
An ending? Or a beginning? Hmmm...kinda makes you wonder there.

All philosophy aside, this was probably the best chapter yet. But that's not saying much, seeing every chapter is better than the ones behind it. *can't wait for chapter 23*

M_BlackHawk
Jun 17, 2003, 06:43 PM
a cool chapter, Dav. Can't wait for 23.

later

M_BlackHawk

cajun
Jun 17, 2003, 09:41 PM
Wow, that chapter was worth the wait. Keep it going dude.

Davion
Jun 18, 2003, 11:31 AM
Wow, thanks guys. These are the most views and posts I've ever gotten after I posted a chapter. I've also noticed that there are many more people who have been reading this than have posted. At least it seems so. This fic is almost done now, but I'll start reworking it from the first chapter as soon as I post the epilogue. Those typos are really beginning to bug me.

Feedback is important to me, and if you've read this fic but haven't posted, I'd really appreciate it if you did and let me know what you think.

Sharkyland
Jun 18, 2003, 11:41 PM
The drug just keeps getting stronger... difficult to withdraw. Very good and excellent fanfic, Davion. Yes, I want more drugs... I mean Chapter XXIII.

Sharkyland
Jun 18, 2003, 11:43 PM
The drug just keeps getting stronger... difficult to withdraw. Very good and excellent fanfic, Davion. Yes, I want more drugs... I mean Chapter XXIII.

Davion
Jun 25, 2003, 02:46 PM
Ok, I just got back from a fishing trip and I'm starting to work on the next chapter again. It'll be done and posted soon.

Jehosaphaty
Jun 28, 2003, 05:27 PM
ive read bits and pieces of this, and its a pretty cool read. one o these days, or nites, when i get an uninterupted block of time, im gonna try and read it straight through. keep it up, its a real nice piece o work.

Tigaj
Jun 28, 2003, 09:20 PM
lordy this is a good story. but there's so much im confused about, i need closer!

Davion
Jul 1, 2003, 11:00 AM
Alas, my readers, this story won't be able to be entered in that new contest, and I'm not sure if I'm going to enter at all. Oh how I wish there was a competition for "Best LONG story".

Like I stated im the contest thread, I might try for the fight scene, but I'm really not sure.

DarkStar109
Jul 1, 2003, 01:42 PM
keep up the good work this is the best fan fic I've ever read

Davion
Jul 3, 2003, 01:23 PM
Thanks alot. Well, I'm leaving on the 7th to build houses in Mexico, and I'll be back the around the 18th. I have some other things I'm working on, so you can expect the next chapter sometime after then.

Until then (and I know I always say this) if you haven't posted in this thread, and you have been reading my fanfiction, please post what you think.

M_BlackHawk
Jul 16, 2003, 12:54 PM
Well, hurry on back, Dav. The fan works forum is getting an insurgance of pretty good writers here.

Oh, I guess I'll just give this fic a bump, while I'm at it, so those who haven't can get started reading, and hopefully be done by the time you post chapter 23.

later

M_BlackHawk

Musashi_D
Jul 16, 2003, 01:16 PM
Finally, Davion decides to post SOmething

j/k

>D

Davion
Jul 18, 2003, 01:02 PM
I'M BAACK! Hello everyone.

Well, I've just gotten back from Mexico where my team built two houses. It was a great trip, but now I'm back home and I've started working on finishing the new chapter.

Thanks for waiting.

Sharkyland
Jul 18, 2003, 01:11 PM
Yay, he's back o/' and he's better than ever... oh la, Davion's back... o/'

AUTO_
Jul 18, 2003, 01:48 PM
*Home-builder by day...awesome fic writer by night*

This is...the story of Davion

http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

M_BlackHawk
Jul 18, 2003, 05:26 PM
Welcome back, Dav. Looking forward to your next chapter.

later

M_BlackHawk

RavenTW
Jul 20, 2003, 02:47 PM
*bump*

Gotta make sure an awesome fic such as this doesn't get to the second page right? Welcome back Davion. I've just gotten back from a Floridan vacation myself.

odie2088
Jul 22, 2003, 01:59 AM
THIS IS FREAKIN AWESOME! i havent read it all, but im gonna get in trouble for stayin up til 3 am readin what i did, but it is freakin worth it! this fic is AWESOME! i kinda wanna write one, but it'll probably bite...especially compared to this one...lol, oh gee, who thinks im an idiot? just raise your hand!!!!! *raises hand*

Sharkyland
Jul 22, 2003, 06:36 AM
THIS IS FREAKIN AWESOME! i havent read it all, but im gonna get in trouble for stayin up til 3 am readin what i did, but it is freakin worth it! this fic is AWESOME! i kinda wanna write one, but it'll probably bite...especially compared to this one...lol, oh gee, who thinks im an idiot? just raise your hand!!!!! *raises hand*

I stayed up the WHOLE night reading this fanfiction though I'm writing my own fanfiction and it ties with this one and M_Blackhawk's fanfiction.

RavenTW
Jul 22, 2003, 07:51 AM
On 2003-07-21 23:59, odie2088 wrote:
THIS IS FREAKIN AWESOME! i havent read it all, but im gonna get in trouble for stayin up til 3 am readin what i did, but it is freakin worth it! this fic is AWESOME! i kinda wanna write one, but it'll probably bite...especially compared to this one...lol, oh gee, who thinks im an idiot? just raise your hand!!!!! *raises hand*



Just because people may not read yours more than they will others doesn't mean you shouldn't try to post a fanfic. And who knows? Most artists were famous only after a long period of time. Just recently I've had people tell me how awesome Eternal Hunter is, a fanfic I did one or two years ago. So you never know, just try and go for it.

M_BlackHawk
Jul 22, 2003, 08:58 AM
On 2003-07-22 05:51, RavenTW wrote:


On 2003-07-21 23:59, odie2088 wrote:
THIS IS FREAKIN AWESOME! i havent read it all, but im gonna get in trouble for stayin up til 3 am readin what i did, but it is freakin worth it! this fic is AWESOME! i kinda wanna write one, but it'll probably bite...especially compared to this one...lol, oh gee, who thinks im an idiot? just raise your hand!!!!! *raises hand*



Just because people may not read yours more than they will others doesn't mean you shouldn't try to post a fanfic. And who knows? Most artists were famous only after a long period of time. Just recently I've had people tell me how awesome Eternal Hunter is, a fanfic I did one or two years ago. So you never know, just try and go for it.



Shoot, my fics didn't get that much notice until after those 3 group fics I did with Hikosaka, BWS-1 and Kodiax987. After those 3 group fics, I incorporated the plots of all 3 into my own fic timeline, and now that I'm collaborating with Davion on some future storylines, I'm really starting to realize a story I had been planning for over 7 years.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Jul 22, 2003, 09:23 AM
odie2088, thanks a lot for your complements, but don't worry about writing your fic because you like mine so much. I started posting my fic around the time New_Ultimate had his amazingly popular fic. I was pretty worried that it wouldn't compare to it, but I guess you could say my fic was successful in its own right. Go ahead and write it, and feel free to ask myself or any of the other writers here for any pointers if you feel the need.

odie2088
Jul 24, 2003, 01:46 AM
*sniff* i feel so loved! somebody hold me! jk, but thanks for the help and everything, and god knows i have enough time...i play pso, play runescape, surf the web, play ps2, watch tv, sleep, rinse lather repeat. that's my day in a nutshell, lol...yes, i'm a freak, got a problem? well, i don't care if you do, so nyah!

Davion
Jul 24, 2003, 09:00 PM
Chapter 23: Shadows of Pioneer 2


"Aravis! Quickly, come over here!" a deep, strong voice boomed in the dark.
"What is it Father?" a soft, feminine voice answered.
"It's happening again."
"You mean the hunter?"
"Yes, his breath is weakening. We need more candles. Hurry now!"
"Yes Father."
"Stand back. I'm going to try again." another voice spoke out.
"Make sure you don't overdo it, Sedyne. We don't want to lose him. The darkness has overwhelmed this man, it's become integrated into his very life force. You can't eradicate it outright without irreversibly damaging him."
"I'll be careful, I'll be careful. By the fates! Where is that girl with those candles?"
"I'm right here. Sorry, it's hard to find things in the dark. That explosion must have neutralized all power on the entire ship."
"Thank you, Aravis. Set those up on the shelf above here, I'll take care of lighting them."
The woman placed the candles on the shelf that was indicated and with a wave of his arm the man brought the wicks to life. The flames cast a dim, warm light on the table bellow where an injured hunter was lying unconscious. She reached down and moved her hand along the scar that ran over his eye and down his face, "So this is the man we've been looking for."
"Stand back, Aravis. We still have work to do if we're going to save his life. We've searched far too long to have it end here."
"Yes, Father." the young woman looked back down at the man on the table and then walked out of the room.

"Now be careful, Sedyne."
"I heard you the first time, I know what I'm doing."
"No need to be harsh with me; I meant no wrong. You must know how important this is."
"Yes, yes I do, and that's why I am going to be careful." He reached down and placed both of his hands flat on the hunter's chest. A soft glow radiated out from his fingers and the hunter hastened in his breathing. The man standing over the hunter closed his eyes and pressed down hard. The hunter's body shook and a flash of light filled the dark room for an instant. The man repeated the action over half a dozen times. After the last time, he stepped back and pressed his ear against the hunter's chest. "His breathing is steady now, but I can still sense the darkness welling up."
"There's nothing we can do about that. We have many healing powers, but this darkness is beyond us, far beyond. This force will remain with him until the end of his days."
"Which might be sooner than we would like. I don't like the look of his shoulder. There's still a shard of that hellish blade in there."
"True, his bone fused around it before we could get to it."
"I say we cut it off now. It can't be good for him."
"No. The arm must stay. He'll need both his arms in as good a condition as they can be for the days ahead."
"But that shard could have a devastating influence on his life in the long run."
"We can't worry about that now. The present is dire as it is. Tomorrow will be the start of the end of the life he once knew."
"That is, if he survives the night. By the way, what did you do with his sword?"
"The calibur? I placed it in my chambers. I don't want Aravis going anywhere near it, or you for that matter."
"Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I do, Sedyne. But you must understand that there is something...strange about that blade now. No weapon forged by man can touch the Dark One and remain untainted."
"And why would you fear me?"
"I fear myself, friend. Darkness works in strange ways, but so does light." The man looked down at the hunter, "Yes, light does indeed."
"But what of his arm? We have to do something to it. We can't just let that shard sit there. There's No telling what could happen to him while it's in there."
"It's too late, what's done is done. We might be able to wrap something around the arm to suppress the energy."
"I think I know what we could use. Wait here, I'm going to get something."
"Go ahead."

The robed man walked out of the room as the tall figure turned back to the man on the table. He placed his strong hand on the young man's head. As the thick robe fell back, the dim light shone on a strange circular tattoo etched into the top of the man's hand.


Seifer lied still on the ground with his face in the rubble. "Why Father? Why Davion? Why not me?" Seifer pounded his hands into the ground as he lifted his head and shouted at the sky, "Why not me!"

"Seifer?" a faint voice called from behind.
"Diego?" Seifer asked as he lifted himself up off the ground, "Where are you?"
"Over here. Give us a hand." Seifer turned around to face where the voice was coming from and he saw his brother trying to pry himself from the rubble.
"I'm on my way." Seifer said as he ran over. The hunter grabbed the large piece of debris and lifted it off his brother.
"Thanks, Seif." Diego said as Seifer pulled him out of the rubble, "Give me a hand with Janus here. Mike, are you ok?"
"I'm fine, for now. I'm trying to hold this piece up so it doesn't crush these hunters, but I don't think I can last much longer."
"I'll take care of Mike, Diego." Seifer said, "You try to free Janus."
Diego nodded as he pried Janus loose. He was unconscious and lying on top of Hal. He had taken the full force of the falling wreckage in his attempt to protect his friend.
"Hurry, get him off me!" Hal said, "I don't hear him breathing!" Diego grabbed Janus by his shoulders and lifted him off the android. As Seifer worked on freeing Mike, and the hunters below him, Diego and Hal tried to revive Janus.
"Come on Janus, come on!" Hal cried, "He's still not breathing!"
"Let me try something." Diego said as he pressed his hands on Janus' chest, "I'm no Force, but let me try a resta." there was a small flash of light and a second later Janus started coughing.
"Janus!" Hal said as he opened his eyes, "Are you ok?"
"I don't know." Janus replied, "Am I?"
"You're fine, Janus." Seifer said with a smile after Mike was freed, "Now Mike, are those three awake yet?"
"This one's coming around now." Mike patted the head of the hunter, "So, what's your name?"

The hunter woke up in a daze as he looked at the crew around him. "Wha? Who...who are you?"
"I'm Mike BlackHawk. This is Seifer and Diego Angelus. Hal, and Janus... Janus, what is your last name?"
"Highland."
"Janus Highland then." Mike said as he offered his hand to the hunter, "What's your name?"
"I'm Striker...Where's Necron and Cajun!?"
"I take it you mean those two fellows." Hal replied as she pointed to the two unconscious hunters on the ground.
"Are they ok?"
"They're fine, we're working on reviving him, but what happened to you guys?"
"I don't remember much, there was that creature... We fought it, but we didn't stand a chance. Not a chance... Then, then someone came, but that's all I can remember. I was out after that."

Mike stood up and turned back towards the center of the wreckage. "I can guess who that someone was, but how did Davion manage this?"
"Davion?" Striker said as he tried to lift his back from the ground, "So you're saying that it was Davion Angleus back there?"
"Was...There doesn't seem to be any signs that he's alive here." Mike replied as he looked sorrowfully at the spot where he last saw his friend.
"I think he's still alive, for now at least." Seifer said, "There were these two men, they came and took his body. I tried to stop them, but I couldn't even get near them."
"What do you mean?" Mike asked, "They took him? Who are they, and how did his body even survive that? It doesn't make sense, that explosion was too powerful. "
"This whole thing doesn't make any sense." Seifer replied, "But I fear that the
military might have sent those two to retrieve Davion. There've been some strange
happenings lately."
"Think Black Paper could have anything to do with it?" Janus asked.
"That would make sense." Mike said, "However, I think it goes up higher than that."

Diego stood up and walked over to Mike, "You should head home now. You have family to worry about. Lara's bound to be worried about you, and she'll need you until the power comes back. Seifer, Janus, Hal, and I will take these three back to the hospital."
"I wouldn't go near the hospital if you asked me." Seifer said, "There's something going on there. I don't like it."
"Then our list of friends seems to be waning." Mike said, "I'm afraid it'll be impossible to trust anyone completely, but even if we don't fully trust them, we have to put some faith in those that lead us. Otherwise, we might find ourselves on a ship that's completely out to get us."
"I'm afraid that it already is." Janus said, "There's been talk about the Angelus boys lately and it's not good news. It's one of the reasons I've been so distant these past few years. In the circles I work in, you three aren't thought of so highly."
"Why's that Janus?" Diego asked.
"There've been these rumors about Davion being the one that murdered your father, among other...darker things. Making deals with the devil and other things of a more unsavory nature."
"That's crazy!" Seifer yelled, "Where could people get that idea?"
"Look around you, Seifer." Hal said, "That demon didn't do this, Davion did."
"Are you saying that those rumors are true!?"
"No, no, no, no, no. Of course I didn't mean that, but you have to admit that if people knew that those explosions came from Davion, all three of you would be in big trouble. If this doesn't look like the work of the devil, I don't know what does."
"Hal is right, Seifer." Mike said, "We know Davion as a person, but people only know him as a figure. The son of Artemis Angelus the architect and one of the wealthiest men on all of Pioneer 2. That's the person they see. They don't look at him with care or love, they look at him with envy, adoration, or even hatred."
"Why would anyone hate Davion?" Seifer asked, "They don't even know him?"
"That's the point, they don't know. They don't know the whole story so they make up lies based on fear or speculation and they spread them like wildfire. It's one of the foul consequences of gossip."
"What can we do then?" Diego asked.
"There's really nothing you can do but stay at home and try not to attract more attention than you need to." Janus said, "I'll try to start fighting those rumors, but I can't risk giving myself away. I've almost broken this case wide open, and I need all the time I can get."
"Don't worry about it, Janus." Diego replied, "Don't do anymore than is safe."
"I'll be careful, but Mike, there are some things you need to do."
"Like what?" Mike asked.
"The public eye is very fickle. One day you might be a hero nearly worshiped by the masses, but the next day they could call out for your blood. Such is the fate of Davion and his brothers, and thereby you if you remain so publicly close to them."
"What do you mean?"
"I wouldn't be seen walking around with Seifer or Diego anymore, and be extra careful when you're thinking about heading to their home. Remember, this entire vessel is controlled by the government. That includes all security cameras not under direct control by someone else. Even then, they could hack into them."
"You could send us messages once the grid gets back online." Seifer said, "Caris should be able to erase any forms following the message back to its source once she gets online. That is, if she gets online."
"Don't think that just walking to the front door will be a problem, Mike. Just be careful not to do it often."
"Ok, thanks for the advice. I really should be heading home now."
"Yes, go ahead. We'll take these three home with us. If we can't trust the hospital, we'll just have to tend to them ourselves."

The hunter known as Striker assisted Janus, Seifer, and Diego in carrying his two comrades back to Angelus Manor. Hal walked in front with her rifle at the ready in case anything happened. She had engaged the light alongside the sight of her rifle and lit the way ahead. As they walked through the alleys and streets they noticed that not only were the lights out, but everything that required energy to run was sitting cold in the darkness. Hal stumbled on something and she looked down. There was an android lying still in the middle of the street with all indications of activation off.
After the initial shock wore off, Hal spoke. "I wonder why I wasn't affected."
"We're still pretty close to the epicenter of that explosion. I'd say that this particular android was within the blast radius so it was affected." Janus answered.
"But then why was all of Pioneer 2 affected?" Seifer asked.
"I'd guess that's because all of Pioneer 2 is connected to the same mainframe." Diego answered, "It's almost like the explosion sucked the power from every powerline on the ship."
"That's an interesting idea, but that would mean that the energy in that explosion doesn't work like normal energy." Janus said.
"That's just what a doctor said about the energy inside Davion back just after Father was killed." Seifer said, "I guess it's finally beginning to take over."
"If it already has, it might be better off for the rest of us if he is dead." Janus replied.
"Janus! How could you say anything like that?!" Seifer yelled back.
"I'm sorry, Seifer, but you have to admit that Davion is very dangerous now. if he turns hostile... I mean, just think about what would happen."
"There would be no stopping him." Diego said quietly, "Do you think Davion finally defeated the demon, only to become a demon himself?"

Hidden deep in Pioneer 2, a warrior stirs in his sleep as his blade calls out in the darkness.

Sharkyland
Jul 24, 2003, 09:17 PM
It's looking great like always. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

HUmarNecron
Jul 24, 2003, 09:21 PM
i like how the three hunters are going to the manor. bah, i'm still knocked out though lol. well i'm lookin forward to our recovery and the next chapter, seeya

cajun
Jul 24, 2003, 09:39 PM
Awesome as always lol. Keep it going it keeps getting more and more interesting.

StrikerMeganani
Jul 24, 2003, 10:09 PM
Dav, your chaps keep getting more intense every time i read them. Love how my character acctually gets to interact with the main guys and help out. In your face Cajun and Necron... lmao j/p. Keep it coming, and like i said b4 you need to get this story published into a book or at least a comic http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

LeaderOfTeamAvalanche,
=Striker Meganani

Davion
Jul 24, 2003, 10:12 PM
On 2003-07-24 20:09, LeaderOfTeamAvalanche wrote:
Love how my character acctually gets to interact with the main guys and help out. In your face Cajun and Necron...


*Note to self*

Humiliate Striker character in future chapter.

*File stored*

HUmarNecron
Jul 25, 2003, 10:25 AM
lmao, i love the comedy

cajun
Jul 25, 2003, 11:13 AM
lol, see what you get striker.

M_BlackHawk
Jul 25, 2003, 08:51 PM
intense...that's all I can really say, Davion. Intense.

Great work

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Jul 27, 2003, 03:35 PM
Thanks alot, everyone. Posts really mean a lot to me.

I'll be heading off on vacation today, and I'll be back the 16th. Kinda odd huh? I was gone for 10 days building houses, and now I'm leaving again. Once I get back I'll be leaving again (after a few days) on ANOTHER vacation. Don't worry though, I'm bringing a laptop with me and I'll still be working on the fic.

If any artists are reading this, It'd be great if you could draw some artwork based on this fic. I'm still working on what the demon really looks like. I have it in my head, but I don't really know how to discribe it. I'm working with someone to draw it step-by-step so soon that will be done.

If you want to know what the Angelus Brothers look like, check the personal photos of myself, Seifer01, and DiegoAngelus. Hikosaka drew a pic of Davion that's on page 8 of the art gallery that you could use as a base to draw his look, but drawing pics of Davion before he reached that stage could always work too. Just make sure his weapon is a calibur.

Well, I just threw that out just incase anyone wanted to draw anything. I'll be back soon, thanks for reading!

RavenTW
Jul 27, 2003, 04:17 PM
Heh, three vacations, eh? I just got back from a trio of 'em myself. Have fun Dav, we'll miss you.

Flame
Jul 29, 2003, 03:15 AM
epic man. . getting epic. . artist eh? pictures eh? Demons eh? Drop me a line, I wanna help!

cajun
Aug 1, 2003, 02:50 PM
Hey have a good time while your away and do some writing lol j/k. This Fic is good to re-read everyone, so do so.

Sharkyland
Aug 1, 2003, 02:57 PM
I got three vacations coming up...

HUmarNecron
Aug 3, 2003, 10:49 PM
dav, the fic is getting more and more awesome by the chapter, i cant wait for the next one.

Flame
Aug 6, 2003, 02:13 PM
when did you say you were coming back?

Flame
Aug 10, 2003, 02:54 AM
ok, for those of you that dont know, hes coming back around the 16th.

cajun
Aug 12, 2003, 07:25 AM
Great by the time he gets back im leaving on mine lol. Oh well just something to look forward to.

Davion
Aug 16, 2003, 12:21 PM
Well, I'm back again, but just to clarify Mexico wasn't a vacation. Well, it was if you like having to pick your toliet paper out of the can with a "fishing pole" if you were stupid enough to drop it.
(The TP clogs the pipes and would backup into the showers http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_barf.gif)

I still enjoyed it, so you might call it a vacation anyway, n the this last one I was on for the past 3 weeks I managed to write most of the next chapter and several work-in-progress segments for my future work. I should be posting the new chapter soon enough.

My it's great to look at a desktop monitor again.

-Dav

HUmarNecron
Aug 17, 2003, 11:20 AM
welcome back dav, its good to see u posting on here again, i'm really looking forward to the next chapter so i hope its good, heh what am i saying, u cant write anything thats bad so its gonna be good, cant wait!

Necron

BWS-1
Aug 21, 2003, 10:11 AM
Man, truely you've got potential to be a serial novel writer! Keep working those writting skills ( IF their is anything to work at in that area, seems near perfect to me! )


Well, I'll go back read some more, whenever I'm done reading a chapter, you came up with 3 new ones! XD

iamthehbomb
Aug 22, 2003, 06:44 AM
Wow,

Really fantastic. I read all 23 chapters in one sitting after getting home from 3rd shift at my job. I love how you manage to juggle a large amount of characters and give them all a distinct personality. I feel inspired to write a story of my own involving my three chars. Maybe you can give my main dude - Silverbolt - a cameo somewhere in your story. (A HUcast mercenary who loves his chainsawd). Keep up the great writing!

Davion
Aug 22, 2003, 09:43 AM
On 2003-08-22 04:44, iamthehbomb wrote:
Wow,

Really fantastic. I read all 23 chapters in one sitting after getting home from 3rd shift at my job. I love how you manage to juggle a large amount of characters and give them all a distinct personality. I feel inspired to write a story of my own involving my three chars. Maybe you can give my main dude - Silverbolt - a cameo somewhere in your story. (A HUcast mercenary who loves his chainsawd). Keep up the great writing!



Thank you. I get a lot of requests like this, and before I can decide whether or not I can include you I need some character info. Class, personality, and other fictions you might be in are some of the things I need to know.

This goes for anyone who's thinking about asking me to be a part of this fic. Just send me a PM and I'll see what I can do.

Da__Ad__Man
Aug 23, 2003, 07:32 PM
HOLY, Dav man u got skills in writing i really hope u keep up with writing. I hope some time when i go book shopping Ill see one of your books in there.

cajun
Aug 23, 2003, 08:23 PM
Welcome back Dav i just got back myself lol not that anyone knew. anywho keep up the good writing dood lol.

Davion
Aug 23, 2003, 10:25 PM
Thanks again, guys. Tomorrow I'm leaving again for another week. The next few chapters will be some of the longest I've written so far. The next one is 7 pages so far, and I still have a lot to write for it.

I'll be bringing the laptop with me again, and I should be able to finish most of the next few chapters. I'm planning on there being at least 2 more chapters if not another one after that. There's also the epilouge so there's still a good amount of fic left to read.

Well, I'll be around for a bit tonight, but I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Thanks for reading.

-Dav

StrikerMeganani
Aug 23, 2003, 11:15 PM
Hey Dav, Have fun on your next adventure man lol. seems like your always gone now adays j/p. Can't wait to see how this whole story finally ends... although that day will be the saddest day in the history of PSOW. How will we all say goodbye to Davion and the rest of the cast of the Angelus Saga.
Anyways enough of that bummer sh!t. Keep it comin.

-Striker Meganani

Davion
Aug 23, 2003, 11:45 PM
On 2003-08-23 21:15, StrikerMeganani wrote:
Hey Dav, Have fun on your next adventure man lol. seems like your always gone now adays j/p. Can't wait to see how this whole story finally ends... although that day will be the saddest day in the history of PSOW. How will we all say goodbye to Davion and the rest of the cast of the Angelus Saga.
Anyways enough of that bummer sh!t. Keep it comin.

-Striker Meganani



Lol thanks, but don't worry, there will be at least a sequel to this. It'll be just as long too, and I might write a 3rd.

I'm off. See ya guys and gals later!

-Dav

cajun
Aug 29, 2003, 03:20 PM
Hey dav get your butt back lol jk jk, but seriously can't wait for the next chapters.

Davion
Aug 30, 2003, 10:47 PM
Ok, I'm back. I've just finished writing the remaining chapters of the fic, but I can't post them for a bit as I am having some trouble with my computer. Thanks for your patience, everyone.

-Dav

StrikerMeganani
Aug 30, 2003, 11:07 PM
Geez... Dav, First your gone now there is technical difficulties. I don't think this next chapter is ever giong to happen... lol j/k. Hope you get it fixed soon.

-Striker Meganani

M_BlackHawk
Aug 31, 2003, 09:03 AM
On 2003-08-30 21:07, StrikerMeganani wrote:
Geez... Dav, First your gone now there is technical difficulties. I don't think this next chapter is ever giong to happen... lol j/k. Hope you get it fixed soon.

-Striker Meganani



I'm not going to spoil anything, but I will say that you'll be pleasantly surprised at the next chapter. Dav, as soon as you can, post the next chapters. I can't wait for the next fic.

later

M_BlackHawk

Davion
Sep 3, 2003, 05:22 PM
Chapter 24: The path to damnation; the road to salvation.



"I don't know about this, Master. I don't trust Angelus. His mind is too weak. He's not strong enough to resist the powers of darkness."
"We must have faith in him. The Watcher believes in young Davion, and we are in no place to disregard his judgment. Besides, there are few even in our order that can withstand the kind of torment Angelus has been subjected to."
"It has nothing to do with him. He's only able to survive because of the Light working in him."
"That alone should be enough for you to see that he is the one we've been waiting for. The Light showed its power to him. That's an event that hasn't occurred for millennia to anyone outside our kind."
"Even then, this is too risky. There's no telling what could happen if he turns on us."
"Sometimes the most kind and caring people can be the most dangerous, and sometimes the most evil of creatures is harmless."
"Yes, and it's the danger he poses that has me worried. He could plunge us into hell itself!"
"Sometimes we must take a leap through the fires of hell to reach freedom."
"Freedom indeed. You expect me to put my life, and the lives of every person in the empire, at such risk? Or think about the people onboard that ship for that matter! Think about them. I've seen power, great one, I've seen the powers of darkness and light at work in the lives of many beings, but I've never seen power like this before. Such a fusion of light and darkness is unheard of in the souls of men."
"I know, but that's the power we're dealing with. The forces at work in his body are daily tearing him apart, and that makes him very unstable. However, once he's been brought down to a manageable level, he should be in full control of his body and mind. We need him, and we can't just ignore the signs because we don't understand the full plan."
"Master, I've been your student for many years. You know my heart and my desires to see us regain our lost honor."
"Then you must understand that this is a risk we have to take."
"I do."
"You must meditate more often, young one. Let the Light show you your path."
"Yes... yes, Master."

In the darkness of the room, the young woman known as Aravis kept watch over Davion as he slept. She looked over at his left shoulder where the mage Sedyne had placed a cloth that seemed to glow a dim purple color. She took note of its features. It was made of a metallic material, but it was still soft and smooth like silk. Anytime Davion began to breath heavily, it began to glow brighter as it seemed to ease his pain. It had strange runes spread about it that glowed brighter than the rest of the cloth, and sometimes they would fade away only to come back as a different symbol. Aravis thought they looked oddly familiar. She had seen something similar to them on her father's hand and on the palms of Sedyne, but that wasn't that similarity she was thinking about. It was like there was a deeper memory hidden somewhere in the back of her mind. And what of this man, who is he? Why is here? Does he have a family? Does he have a girlfriend? Aravis smiled. She thought of these things as she drifted off to sleep. Her head came to rest on the edge of Davion's bed.

All was quiet in that small hideout. Sedyne and Aravis were asleep, and the dark, cloaked man meditated in his candlelit training chamber. This night he was meditating deeper than he ever had, probing the realm of his mind deeper and deeper as he searched for answers. Sedyne slept quietly, subconsciously muttering his various spells and incantations to himself.

At about five in the morning, it called. The cloth on Davion's arm flashed brightly over and over again until it finally dimmed and crumbled to dust. Davion's weakened mind listened to the evil voice calling his name in the darkness, and the darkness was too powerful to be stopped. Regardless of his struggle, he could feel his soul being dragged down into an abyss by weighted chains as light faded into nothingness. He was bound to the darkness, and it consumed every portion of his body and soul. Davion's eyes opened, but he never saw the room or the woman sleeping by his side. All he could see were the walls of the abyss that consumed him.

In the darkness, it called.

Davion's eyes glowed dark blue as his body silently sat up and stepped to the floor.

In the darkness, it called.

An unseen force silenced Davion's steps as he ghosted through the hallway.

In the darkness, it called.

Davion's hand reached for the handle of a door as a dark cloud began to form around his arm, silencing the creaking metal.

In the darkness, it called.

Davion walked over to the desk and unwrapped the cloth around his blade and more dark clouds drifted out of the wrappings, beckoning.

In the darkness, it called. In the darkness, he answered.

Davion reached down grabbed the hilt of the sword and instantly the blade flashed to life. "Now you're mine."

In his chamber, the dark man rose abruptly to his feet and ran to the door. "Sedyne! Aravis!" he shouted, "Quickly, arise!" he burst through the door brandishing his blade as Sedyne and Aravis jumped into the hallway.

Davion held the blade straight up in front of himself. The golden photons on the sword seemed to be swaying like fire, and bolts of bluish lightning ran up and down the length of the blade. The hunter's face turned pale, and the veins in his skin swelled with dark blood. Small blue flames licked up at the sides of Davion's eyes as his face grew into an evil grin.

At that time, Sedyne rushed through the door. His face grew furious as every sinew in his body tightened. The mage tossed away his cloak as he spread his legs apart and bent his arms at his side. "I knew this would happen!" he yelled as he held his palm towards Davion's back, "Why didn't anyone listen to me!?"
"Sedyne, don't!" Aravis called as the mage fired a wavy blast of golden energy at the hunter. The blast slammed into Davion's back and he lurched forward as the clothes on his back burned off. Sedyne stepped back, his eyes fuming. He was shocked that the blast didn't do more damage.

"You fool." Davion's voice began to change as he spoke. The energy residue left on his back began to absorb into the skin exposed by the blast. Davion turned, his pale face strikingly calm. "When will you people learn?" the warrior raised his right hand at Sedyne and held his sword in the other. The fires on the blade leapt higher as a double helix of energy formed around the hunter's right arm. "Don't you see!?" Davion's face filled with seething rage, "This man's body you stare at; he's your failure!" In a flash, the two strands of energy crashed together in his palm and fired a massive beam at the two people standing in the doorway.

At that time the dark man dove forward and pushed Aravis and Sedyne out of the way of the blast. When the beam subsided, Davion was gone.


In the city streets, below the great dome that separated the lives of the colonists from the cold harshness of space, a tall huntress strode through the shadows. The fires in the streets set by panicked looters reflected in her cold eyes as she stepped over a lifeless android. She was making her way to the eastern side of the great ship to get a better view of the planet she should be calling home at this time. Quietly, she walked, her feet rarely making a sound on the hard road. The woman's name was Grey.

The damage from the explosion was substantial. Not that the explosion itself physically harmed more than the area directly centered in the blast, but because of the tremendous number of airborne cars and transports that came crashing down into the streets below after they had lost power. Rescue crews were hard at work, but now their job was harder than ever. Without electricity to power their tools, they were forced to resort to more primitive, and sometimes savage, means of extrication in order to save lives. In her heart, Grey felt a great need to confront the cause of the devastation, and she planned to be ready.

Once Grey finally made it to the window, she looked longingly at the lush greenery and deep blue waters on the tiny sphere in the ocean of space. A new world with no boundaries and nearly unlimited potential was almost within reach, but it was still miles and miles away. She held her hand to the glass, and imagined touching the soil, walking through forests, and running her hand through the boundless waters of the seas. When will that world be hers?

Suddenly, she heard voices. They seemed gruff and loud, and Grey knew that trouble was on its way. Swiftly, her lithe body sprung over to a wall and she ducked behind a nearby street barrier as a large group of armed men strode into view.
"What do we do know?" one voice asked.
"I don't know," another answered, "He was supposed to be there, but he wasn't."
"Now isn't that a flawless conclusion of a likewise brilliant mind."
"Ah, can it, Connors. You know what I meant."
"Both of you, shut it!" someone shouted. Grey deduced that this was the leader based on his more decorated uniform. "We don't have time for this. He must have gotten away somehow. We just have to find him."
"But where do we start?"
"That warehouse was definitely the center of the blast, and the boss usually gives us the right information."
"It didn't seem so right this time."
"You saying the boss messed up?"
"No, I'm saying his info is cracked."
"His info doesn't matter to me right now," the leader said, "It's obviously lacking in reliability this time. It's good enough that he managed to get backup power running again in this sector. That was some strange energy, but somehow I think they've seen it before. We know our job, we just need to track down this guy before anyone else finds him."
"Who else would be looking for him?"
"Don't be daft, man. Look what he was able to do. Who wouldn't want to get their grubby hands on the ability to drain power from an entire ship?"
"But how do we know it's a person?"
"I've been assured of his identity. Someone was able to see him on a surveillance screen just before the power went out. He matches the description of some freak that blasted out of a high-rise hospital room just a little while ago. Some rich guy named Angelus."
"Angelus? Like in Davion Angelus the son of Artemis Angelus? Isn't he the guy who murdered his father to take over his assets?"
"I heard he sacrificed him in an unholy rite to a dark lord of some kind."
"You're both wrong. He's the guy who fought his father, brothers, and butler in a mortal battle for control of the future Angelus vineyards on Ragol."
Everyone stopped walking and stared at the speaker. "Where'd you hear that, Mosley? That doesn't even make sense."
"Enough, enough. Could everyone just please focus on finding this Angelus and not debating his personal life? It's hard enough in this light without all you ridiculously simpleminded toadstools gumming up the works with your mindless banter."
"What'd he say?"
"Shut up, just shut up will you!" The leader shouted back, "Confound it, that Davion Angelus sure couldn't have it any worse than me."
"Well, you're half right." A dark voice cackled in the street. The group was silent and looked behind them. There, leaning with his back against a wall, was the object of their search. His sword was lifelessly stabbed into the floor at an awkward angle with his hand resting on the hilt, and his face was staring down at the street. Grey's eyes opened wide in amazement. Not only was she looking at the apparent cause of the explosion, but the cause was also the man she'd heard so many strange stories about. "You're half right in the assumption that you are most certainly in a mountain of trouble, but you're half wrong in the assumption that you could even possibly relate to the damnation Angelus' future holds."
"Why are you talking about yourself like that?" the leader asked just as a crashing noise was heard behind the group. Everyone turned to see what is was, but the sound was just an animal in a trashcan. When they turned back, Davion and his sword were gone.
"Heh heh heh." A laugh echoed all around the panicked men, "Such is the knowledge that mustn't be wasted on the damned." In a flash, Davion was in the midst of them.

The lifeless sword sprang to fiery life in the warrior's hand and instantly three men were dead on the ground. "You wanted to find me, now try and stop me!" Shouts and screams were cried out as some men fled and some men fought, but they all ultimately shared the same fate. When someone attacked, Davion would simply let the blow hit him as he felt no pain in his rage and these grunts were utterly incapable of even damaging him. All comers took either a blade through the body, a slam of a mighty fist, or the fierce burning of hellfire that the warrior spouted volcanically at his victims. To them, any hit was fatal. If someone tried to run, they were swiftly cut down by an energy blast from Davion's fist. In an instant, the hunters became the prey. Grey could scarcely look as she witnessed the massacre. Even she felt the horror and blind fear that so gripped the doomed men fighting.

The leader of the group had stayed back from the fight as not to become a target, but he remained close enough so Davion wouldn't notice his flight and send him to a burning end. "What were they thinking sending us after this man?" he thought as he watched another two of his men fall to the ground burning, "What kind of power did they think we had over the likes of him?" He watched in horror as nearly all of his men fell to the power they had been sent to find. Those that remained fell soon later, and before long, the leader found himself standing alone against the horror that was once Davion Angelus. The bloodstained hunter stood straight and stared deep into the fearful man's eyes. The once dashing face was gripped with unadulterated fear. The once mighty weapon in his hand paled in comparison to the massive war maker held against him. The once brilliant mind failed to think up any escape plans, and the once powerful voice that commanded many men was without a word as he felt the beginning of the end, the beginning of his end.

The man stood there knowing escape was not an option. He dropped his weapon and pleaded for mercy.
"Mercy?" Davion laughed as he slowly stepped forward, "Mercy you ask of me? Had you truly known what you stood against, you would have known the only mercy you could expect would be a swift death." Davion stopped and held his blade high as the man closed his eyes preparing for death, "That is the kind of mercy I will show you this day."

At that instant, Grey sprang forward and slammed the full force of her Twin Brand against Davion's sword. Davion brought his knee to slam into her, but she jumped out of the way and struck at his side. Davion blocked and swung at his opponent, but once again she leapt back and out of the way. The leader, discovering the new object of Davion's attention, wasted no time in making his way to a far hiding place where he could observe in relative safety. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked around the corner at the two warriors standing against each other.
"This stops now!" Grey yelled, "I won't have you slaughtering any more innocents today!"
"Innocent? Innocent!? Do you have any idea what kind of people they are? I might have just done the only noble act of my life in riding the world of their filth!"
"That doesn't matter. You can't be the one choosing who dies for what, and I will stop you before you harm anyone else!"
"Good, he's busy, now's my chance." the leader of the destroyed squad made his escape.
"Who do you think you are, she-newm? What power do you lay claim to in order to stop me from doing my will? For indeed I am the one who chooses whether or not someone dies by my hand! I am the darkness that resides in all of their wicked hearts." Davion shook his fist and dark flames burst forth from the cracks between his fingers. "Why should I hesitate when I decide to rip out what's mine!?"
"No one has that right!"
"It's my right, and I will not let a child dictate my future to me!"
"I'm no child!" Grey yelled as she thrust herself at Davion. She swung her blade down at her opponent's head, only to have her grip grabbed tightly by Davion's mighty grasp. With his other arm, Davion grabbed Grey's waist and pulled her face close to his.
"Heh, you're a child to me." Davion laughed as he ripped the blade from Grey's hand and tossed her like a rag doll into the wall behind them. She was knocked unconscious upon impact.

The dark warrior crossed his arms and aimed his hands at Grey. The fires of his blade danced ever higher as another dark double helix encircled Davion's arms. "You should have remained hidden. Even though I knew you were there, I would have let you live. There is something inside you that intrigues me; you might have been useful. However, your offence must not go unpunished. Indeed, you will burn."
"Davion, stop!" a strong voice called, "Cease this at once!" the cloaked warrior appeared behind. With him stood Aravis and Sedyne.
"Davion?" the hunter laughed as he lowered his arms and turned his head to look at the man behind him, "Who is this Davion you speak of. You of all people must know that the host no longer has any control over this frail frame! Your power is useless here, Magnus!"
The figure pulled back his hood and starred forward with his brilliant eyes. "Spare me this mockery, demon! Don't begin to think you have him completely. You're still weak from the battle with him in the first place, and you know I could never let you get away with stealing him from us."
"Oh, so now you know more about me than I do. Davion is mine as was Mikhail before him. Just like it has been for ages upon ages. I fight, I win, I gain more power, that's the flawless enterprise I've so wisely been pursuing these past millennia."
"Flawless isn't the word I'd choose. You know that you change with every soul you steal, and every soul is flawed. That was Mikhail's humor you just spouted at me. You may have devoured them, but you do not remain uninfluenced. As the souls of men are flawed, you become more imperfect with every one you steal."
"Silence! I am what I am, and no force a mortal can muster can change that!"
"They did four thousand years ago, when you were locked in the rift." This statement triggered an unseen rage in Davion's face as he pounced at Magnus flailing his blade. Magnus skillfully deflected each blow with stunning precision until the possessed Davion jumped back, heaving with wrath.
"Never mention that again or I will wipe not only you, but every trace of your existence from the face of this dimension and beyond!"
"You remember, don't you? Every painful, trapped day you spent in that prison after all your power had been stripped from you. The souls of a hundred worlds lost to your grasp leaving you weak with only memories of the grandiose power you once held closer than anything else. The day you could stand against the very gods of this world passed away and left you barren and wasted, a one time god reduced to mere energy in an 'ancient battery'."
"I just told you never to mention that!" the demon's rage began to weaken his hold on Davion's mind, "Have you no fear of me? I am a god!"
"Even though the traitor Mikhail brought you a tablet with the souls of the ancients trapped in its shell and the sword that had slain hundreds upon hundreds in the wars of antiquity you are still nothing like you once were!"
"But still I am far more powerful than anything these mortal men can create! Their blades fall before me and their magics are weak and foolish; they are nothing like the mages of old. Guns, can you believe it, Magnus, guns! They imagine that those laughable pieces of machinery could deal with me, but they only make me stronger! These photons they use in their weapons, they are powerless compared to what I faced long before their ancestors even conceived the word 'weapon'. Back in those times I faced trials that I overcame with hardship, but today I might as well just walk through my quest and ignore the soldiers in my path!"
"In those ancient times, demon, there were people who stood against you and ripped you down from your pedestal, and there are those today that will do the same!" Magnus threw off his cloak and pulled out his massive Tachi sword as Aravis and Sedyne stepped to the sides. "I've had enough of this talk!" Magnus shouted, "Release Angelus, or you can have every assurance that we will make you!"
"You want this man?" The demon within Davion asked as he stepped forward holding out his sword, "Then come and take him!"

Magnus' voice echoed in the minds of Sedyne and Aravis, "Get ready. I'll try to keep his mind off balance. We should be able to jar Davion loose."Sedyne and Aravis nodded as Magnus flipped over Davion's body and landed behind him. He swung the flat edge of his sword at Davion's waist, but it was blocked. The demon swung his elbow at Magnus' face, but it was caught and pushed away. After knocking his opponent off balance with that parry, Magnus kicked at Davion's legs, but the demon jumped over the blow and dove forward, away from Magnus. He landed on his hands, bent his arms low, then pushed off into the air. The demon twisted in the air and landed behind Magnus where he pounded the warrior in the back with a horizontal jump kick. Magnus was slammed into a wall, and the demon jumped at him hoping to impale his body against it. Magnus waited till the last possible second before he ducked and let the blade burry itself in the wall behind him. Magnus stood back up and bashed his gloved fist into Davion's stomach followed by a backhanded blow to the face. Reeling from the attacks, the demon kneed Magnus in the chest and ripped his blade up through the metal wall until it was free. As Magnus caught his breath and barely made it to block the downward slice from the demon's sword. Magnus slammed the hilt of his sword into his foe's chest.

The demon jumped back, "You'll never beat me that way, old friend." Stop being so scared about hurting this child. Come on! Let me taste your blade!"
"There are other ways of winning a battle, hellspawn. Complete destruction isn't always the justified conclusion. True power, and through it, ultimate victory, doesn't rely on the power to kill, but the will to protect."
"I wish you fools would stop saying that, it's enough to make me vomit. You protectors know nothing about true power. What is power if you must bridle it with morality? What is power without the will to dominate?"
"I'll tell you what it is." Magnus held his blade to his side, "It's wisdom. You desire power, but wisdom is an even greater force. You've made enough demonstrations of power, now I'll show you what wisdom yields!" the warrior lowered his eyes as a slight glow began to form around his hands and forearms. "Divine Resonance!" he yelled out as the golden light crept up his sword from the hilt and quickly spread to the tip. Magnus' eyes met the flaming orbs that once were the eyes of Davion, and the combatants dove at each other.

The two fighters' blades struck hard against each other as they battled on. Each time the golden sword Magnus held struck the tainted calibur there was a flash of light and the demon felt a surge of pain run down the length of sword and into his arms. The glow around Magnus' blade began to brighten as his attacks became faster and faster, and for the first time in this battle, the demon felt fear.
"No! I've waited too long for this! I've sacrificed too much to lose this body now!"
"Davion is not yours to wait for!" Magnus shouted as the demon roared in rage and swung the calibur hard at the warrior's head. Magnus reached up with his glowing hand and grabbed the blade midair. "And his body shall not be your temple!" Magnus shoved the blade back, grabbed the hilt of his own sword with both arms, and thrust his massive blade through Davion's stomach and out his back. "Powers of Light," he prayed as the body in front of him lurched in agony, "let your servant free this boy from his bondage. Defend the boy, but let the power of your blade strike true against the demon that enslaves him."

The demon roared in raging pain as Aravis' eyes opened wide in horror at the sight of the golden blade sticking through the young man's body. The fear, however, was lost in resolve when she heard her father's voice shout over the chaos, "Now!"

At this signal, Sedyne and Aravis each fired a beam of golden energy out from their outstretched arms at Davion. Their beams of light collided with Davion's back and engulfed him in pure energy.

Deep in a dark abyss, a chained warrior, blinded by the eternal night, looked up to see a single ray of light shining above him in the shadows.

"NO! HE'S MINE! YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!"

Deep in the dark abyss, the chained warrior struggled to his feet and raised his arm towards a glorious hand amidst the light.

"STOP IT! STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"

Deep in the dark abyss, the chained warrior's hand grasped the hand of light above and the chains that bound him shattered into dust. "The light shines in the darkness, and he darkness could not extinguish it."

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" the demon's voice began to fade away, and Magnus pulled his blade out from the young warrior's body. There wasn't so much as a tear in Davion's clothing as Aravis and Sedyne stepped back and extinguished their beams. The flames on Davion's body and the flames in his eyes flickered on and off violently as he staggered around in circles.
"Wha...what's going on?" Davion's voice asked as his eyes regained their normal form.
"NO!" the demon's voice yelled as Davion's head jerked to the side and his eyes flashed back to hellish light, "You're mine, and you always will be!"
"You again!?" Davion cried as once again the flames went out, "I belong to no one!"
"Fool! You belong to me!"
"No!"
"Yes!"

Aravis and Sedyne were about to step in, but Magnus' voice in their minds told them to stay back, "We've done our part. Davion must now prove that he is the one we've been searching for."

"Give in, don't you know that I will forever own you!?"
"No, I'll never give you what you want! ge...get out! OUT!"
"Never!"
"Now! I command it!"
"I listen to the commands of no one!"
Davion's grip on the sword loosened, "I will be free of you!"
The Demon's grip on the sword tightened, "Not while you live! I've been taking hold of you a little bit each day, and I'm not about to release you now!"
Davion turned towards the window; "No... I won't let you bind me to... to you! Not to you, and not to anything else! Not while there is still breath in me... will I be... I will not be!" Davion lunged up at the window, "I WILL NOT BE BOUND!"

Davion's cry echoed loudly throughout the expanse as he slammed sword first into the giant clear wall. The thick window shattered sending shards flying out into the ship before the vacuum caught them and sucked them out into the void with the warrior.






<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-09-04 08:55 ]</font>

Kadou
Sep 3, 2003, 06:35 PM
Ah, finally! Another chapter! I don't think I've posted here yet, but I read through up to chapter 22, 3 or 4 months ago. I have to say that, of all the fanfics I've read on this site and others, this one is definitely my favorite. I feel completely outclassed. Ah well, I think you said somewhere that the next chapter or two will end this fic and that you already have one of them written, so I can't say to keep writing. Maybe you'll write another fiction sometime later, though. If so, I can't wait to see it.

Namevah
Sep 3, 2003, 07:20 PM
Great chapter. Not sounding to much of a kiss up but I like to think all the other stories are shows on TV while yours is a movie at a theator. Your style of writing and quality of this is really well done. No offence to any fanfic writers out there. Anyways, good job.





<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Namevah on 2003-09-04 15:55 ]</font>

HUmarNecron
Sep 3, 2003, 10:15 PM
i knew it, the waiting was definatly worth it, awesome chapter dav, i love how davion was arguing with the demon, but there was a part when dav said "No" and then i dont know if either dav said it or the demon said "Yes", maybe you forgot to put it in bold or maybe i'm an idiot and cant read, lol. well i'm lookin forward to the next chapter, seeya

Necron



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: HUmarNecron on 2003-09-03 20:16 ]</font>

Sharkyland
Sep 3, 2003, 10:33 PM
Good grief, you're way ahead in your fanfic, and I need to catch up with it. Grey is almost protrayed exactly, but she doesn't do much name calling for she is rather shy about it... mostly an action speaks more than words type character, mostly she learns it all from Marina since she didn't have much friends on Pioneer 2 and is kinda hiding from the army. Though I thought Grey would be putting up a greater fight, for she is strong, but it's okay for I really don't know how strong Davion is.

Still an awesome fanfiction (I'm running out of those good words, might try different languages now).

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sharkyland on 2003-09-03 20:44 ]</font>

M_BlackHawk
Sep 4, 2003, 08:38 AM
Dav, this is another great chapter in one of the longest, yet one of the best fics on this forum. I would say to keep it up, but..(you get the idea).

I can't wait to start working on the next few fics. BTW: If you can be on AIM sometime soon, please log in, because I need to talk to you about a couple of plot lines in one of my fics.

later

M_BlackHawk

StrikerMeganani
Sep 4, 2003, 03:08 PM
Dav, That is by far the BEST CHAPTER EVER! A truly epic battle... One thing that made it cool for me was that I was listening to CKY Inhuman Creation Station for the whole masacre part. I thought it fit really good and I'm like in awe of it all. Keep it coming...lets see if you can out do that chapter.

-Striker Meganani

cajun
Sep 4, 2003, 04:29 PM
A-W-E and then some Davion, but seriously this chapter truly rocked to the max. Keep up the awesome work my good fellow lol.

-Cajun (the badass)

Davion
Sep 5, 2003, 10:01 AM
Thanks alot everyone. The next chapter should be up in a bit because I've already written it. Of course, there are some things I'm going to add and/or change throughout it before it gets posted, and I don't want to post it too soon after this one. Expect it within the week or a week even. Of course, certain events or things may or may not allow me to do so. My computer blowing up, the draft, Soul Calibur 2, school, Soul Calibur 2, girls, Soul Calibur 2, and insanity are examples of what might keep me from posting. Did I mention girls or Soul Calibur 2? yeah? Ok, just checking.

Lol, well, I hope you guys'll like the next chapter. It's going to be the last for this fic.

Namevah
Sep 5, 2003, 01:57 PM
Ah yes Soul Calibur 2. I love that game.Just for conversation, Davion, which version did you buy?

Davion
Sep 5, 2003, 02:46 PM
On 2003-09-05 11:57, Namevah wrote:
Ah yes Soul Calibur 2. I love that game.Just for conversation, Davion, which version did you buy?



GC version. I'll tell you this, I never expected Link to be such a good fighter.

cajun
Sep 5, 2003, 09:47 PM
Oh yeah link is the baddest badass (next to me) lol.

Davion
Sep 6, 2003, 11:18 PM
Ok, I thought I'd post some things.

First off, I'm starting work on the next fiction in the Angelus series. I'm renaming the fic line "Angelus" Just by itself because it turns out that there is a book already published named the Angelus Saga. It's a mafia book about a magical suit of armor. Dang.

I'm planning a projected 3 books in this series, and I'll be naming them "Angelus: Something", "Angelus: Something", and "Angelus: Something". Similar to how the .hack games are named, and obviously I don't have the names for them fics yet.

The new information on the Ep3 plot will force me to make some changes in things I had planned for awhile, and it's going to wreak havoc on M_BlackHawk's fics (all of which should be read by any readers of my fic).

Secondly, as some of you might be able to notice, 3 posters in this thread rarely post outside this fic. I'm talking about the users who have the intellectual rights (so to speak) on the characters Striker, Necron, and Cajun. Sharkyland's Grey has just appeared in the latest chapter, and M_BlackHawk's characters have been involved since very early on. This is what I was asking for on one my very first posts on this website. People to give me their characters to use in the fic. I'm still open to more people giving me their characters to use, but only if they aren't already involved with any fic other than one by Sharkyland or M_BlackHawk. The reason for this is continuity. Now that I'm pursuing being published, I'll be needing to make sure everything works smoothly. Also, give anyone who gives me characters credit for what's their intellectual property in a bibliography for characters.

I'm also not closed to someone wanting to write alongside the Angelus fics. I've gotten many proposals from writers of all skill types to combine forces, so to speak. I can't work with everyone for the reasons I've already mentioned, but I'm open to what I can work with. There are restraints on this as well (again for continuity). The fic can't be contrary to any event so far posted in this fiction, and it also has to work with M_BlackHawk's posted works. If you don't want to work under those restraints, going your own way is a better choice, but I'm saying this because of the large amount of proposals I've recieved.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who's read this fiction, whether you've posted or not. You've made the time I've been working on this fiction very enjoyable. I'm going to like starting a new slate with the new fic, but I'm going to miss the big numbers, lol. I emplore all of you readers who haven't posted to please post what you think. At least do it when I post the final chapter.

Thanks for the reads!

-Dav

Sagasu
Sep 6, 2003, 11:44 PM
Ok


It was long, really long, I mean really really long.

But even when some parts became dull, your story still pulled me through to the very last word
{so far anyways}
And I would like to say that there is no surprise that many would like to work alongsid seeing how mush you have accomplished.

I myself have no such wish, I'll try to create my own world as you have done, but try to go farther. I dont like to limit myself.

When you are working on these three stories Angelus somthin Angelus somethin and Angelus somethin do you mean three seperate books/whatever for each char? or somethin along those lines?


I would take a moment to really think about trying to work together with so many people. I mean, that, this is going to be EEXTREMELY time taking. Are you willing to comit this time? Is it really this important to you to put yourself through this?

Its almost half sad to see people trying to get their characters into stories. I find it better to encourage one to write on there own. Many may feel that they will not be able to create a good story. Yet allowing other characters, others thoughts, into a story can have several effects.

A. its not exactly your thought there, someone gave you a foundation of a character, and you may have developed off of it.

B. People who may say, that they just dont have the time, or somethin, can realize a few things. These people, instead of developing their own world, their own characters, their characters thoughts, their behavior. If they want to see their char in a story, then they should problably most of the time write their own. No-one can read your mind, and tell exactly what type of character this is, what they would do in this situation, all is distorted by any but the origonal owner of the thought.

Many may think, I'll never be as good as Davion, or M_BlackHawk. Yet they dont need to be, Nobody would like it if every one could write just like you/davion/ it would be the same.

In short, the opportunity to exercise our most valuable tool, usually goes to waste by foolish thoughts. I'm problably spoiling a lot of people's fun here, but think about when you are promoting other peoples ideas, their chars, ect...

Sorry if I've rambled off here a bit, but I think its something that should come to your attention, more than once.

Namevah
Sep 7, 2003, 08:10 AM
-You need characters. I got a character in the character bank you can use. His name is Skett Namevah. His not in any fics, too. Besides, my story Im writing will be set in the same world. Thanks if you do use him. Great publicity.
-On another note, Link in Soul Calibur 2 is pretty strong but hes second to Nightmare. I, sadly, didn't buy it yet. Its an expensive month for me. Trial of PSO Ep.3, Soul Calibur 2, F-Zero GX, Otogi: Myth of Demons, Boktai: Sun is in your Hand, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. That is around $250 right there. Oh, poor wallet in going to be on a diet.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Namevah on 2003-09-07 06:15 ]</font>

M_BlackHawk
Sep 7, 2003, 08:50 AM
Good lord, will it ever wreak havoc on my works. I just got through reading all the available information on Ep. 3's setting, and I must say that now I've got to go and edit everything from the end of "Darkness Falz", all the way to "Back From The Abyss". I've got a lot of work ahead of me, and not a lot of time.

In closing, I'd like to say, "CURSE YOU, EPISODE 3!"

LATER

M_BlackHawk

Raiten
Sep 7, 2003, 05:06 PM
Very cool fic Dav, it's been a joy to read and I can't wait for the next chapter. Also, if you need characters, I'd be more than happy to donate my HUmar Raiten to the cause. Keep up the good work dude, so far it rocks!

Sharkyland
Sep 7, 2003, 11:08 PM
(... feels sorry for M_Blackhawk...)

I don't know what to say... but to tell you the truth, you're fanfiction is great though I'm not really good at criticing people's works because everyone has a style of writing, expressing, and explaining things. It's like art, everyone has their own tastes, and our tastes are refined by the world we live in. Though as for my taste, I still like reading your fanfiction... so keep up the good work, and you'd better finish this fanfiction (sorry about hearing that the title was taking).

I'm currently having difficulty with my characters right now because I'm having trouble being them. I mess up and give them all the same personality, but I'm planning right now to correct way how each character should act. Even if my ability isn't good at writing, my talent of drawing which isn't too far off isn't that bad either but I'm seriously in need for improvements (like drawing hands and making the body the good proportion) though I will still write.

With Episode 3 storyline semi-somewhat told, it's rather difficult for me to figure out the future of my fanfiction because I'm not that far, but ideas still infatuate(sp?) me and sometimes a better idea comes which really makes me peeved off (me and my idiotic perfectionist mind) but I'll fix it one day and go on ahead with my original plan.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sharkyland on 2003-09-07 21:11 ]</font>

Sagasu
Sep 8, 2003, 06:41 AM
A problem many people have is that they dont create origonal characters, they create another version of themselves, in anpther situation. Wich is not really creating a new and unique person that thinks, acts, entirely different from another.

This was a problem I had writing my short book{66 pages}, and then I got advice from my dad, who was a writer, and then I started on my own fic, Final Assassination.

Davion
Sep 8, 2003, 10:11 AM
On 2003-09-08 04:41, Sarunakai wrote:
A problem many people have is that they dont create origonal characters, they create another version of themselves, in anpther situation. Wich is not really creating a new and unique person that thinks, acts, entirely different from another.

This was a problem I had writing my short book{66 pages}, and then I got advice from my dad, who was a writer, and then I started on my own fic, Final Assassination.



Well, I only posted the idea in the first place to give some ideas to the people who would ask me to put their characters in my fic anyway. I've gotten dozens of requests by people, and that post was my way of answering anyone else who would want me to put them in the fic or work a connection between my fic and his or hers.

I'm not trying to damage my creative writing or anyone else's. Not everyone wants to be completely original. Some people wants to be a part of the fic I created (or one someone else did for that matter) for one reason or another. The post just makes my life a bit easier because people will know the basic ground rules they'd have to follow if they want to be in my fic.

Sagasu
Sep 8, 2003, 03:27 PM
And the ground rules establish an understanding that you cant just dump a character on you... At least from what I understand.

But I'm just one of those guys...

M_BlackHawk
Sep 8, 2003, 09:29 PM
On 2003-09-08 13:27, Sarunakai wrote:
And the ground rules establish an understanding that you cant just dump a character on you... At least from what I understand.

But I'm just one of those guys...



Excuse me, but just where are you going with this argument, Sarunakai?

The ground rules are in place to maintain continuity with works that are already posted.

Take, for example, in my fic, "Dark History", the Lavis Cannon weapon was found in a temple. So, in other words, we can't have a bunch of HUmars or what not running around with Lavis Cannons, Blades or Double Cannons, due to an existing plotline.

I hope that now you'll understand the need for the ground rules set forth by Davion, which I happen to agree with.

later

M_BlackHawk

Sagasu
Sep 9, 2003, 06:33 AM
I never suggested that the ground rules where out of place, yet it problably easy to misunderstand me.

Davion
Sep 9, 2003, 08:36 AM
On 2003-09-09 04:33, Sarunakai wrote:
I never suggested that the ground rules where out of place, yet it problably easy to misunderstand me.



Yeah, I wasn't sure what you were getting at anyway. Well, it's good we got that cleared up.

Thanks anyway, M_BlackHawk.

EDIT: Anyway, I've finished the last chapter. I'm going to post it Thursday.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-09-09 08:26 ]</font>

M_BlackHawk
Sep 9, 2003, 01:35 PM
to compliment Davion's fic..and the numerous ones I've finished already, I've got a music video in pre-production at this juncture. I posted the director's notes on this forum, at this address: http://www.pso-world.com/viewtopic.php?topic=65371&forum=12&0

I'll probably have it finished sometime soon, granted I get a chance to actually work on it very long before I'm called away for anything.

later

M_BlackHawk

Namevah
Sep 10, 2003, 07:49 PM
-Ugh, I envey (spelling?) all you guys and gals who can create great stories. I am trying to write a story but I always run into road blocks with my characters or what to do next. It is so hard to create a story that dives into the rich history I have created for my character (working on it since age 6).
-Enough of my complaning. I have to admit that when you first started to write this story I was not at all interested but now it is one of my favorate fics in the site.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Namevah on 2003-09-10 17:52 ]</font>

Sharkyland
Sep 11, 2003, 09:54 PM
It takes a lot of brainstorming... though I wish I could write well, I feel like I'm writing when I was in elementary school or something, but nevertheless, I'm free this weekend, and you know what that means... try to work on PSO stuff. School's been killing me lately.

I hate statistics.

Davion
Sep 12, 2003, 01:09 PM
Chapter 25: Through tears

Aravis held on to a nearby pipe as her body was lifted into the air. She closed her eyes as the tears she cried were sucked into space and frozen into crystals shining like diminutive stars in the darkness. For some reason, Magnus and Sedyne didn't seem to be affected by the tremendous power of the vacuum. Magnus dove at Grey's floating body and held her tight as Sedyne lifted his arms at the shattered window and formed a massive barrier separating Pioneer 2 from the lifeless expanse. Air pressure returned to a balance and Aravis landed on the ground as she looked to see Davion's body flying away through space.

Finally, Pioneer 2's backup power system projected its own containment field and Sedyne backed down as he stared dumbfounded into space. Magnus placed Grey's body down near a wall and gently laid her face down on the ground. Aravis knelt on her knees and buried her face into her hands as she wept quietly. "Why, father?" she asked, "Why did you let him do it?"
Magnus seemed to ignore the question as he and Sedyne glanced at each other.


All was quiet on Pioneer 2, but moments later; a fierce explosion from the eastern side of the ship shattered the silence as a fireball rose into the dome above. With small sections of the ship running under auxiliary power, paramedics rushed to the scene. After they managed to get the fires under control they found the body of a Newman woman and several other mutilated corpses that had not been sucked out into space.
"My, god," one of the paramedics said as he looked at the shattered wall, "Would you take a look at that window."
"I understand the window, the explosion seems to explain that, but take a look at these bodies. No explosion did this."
"Lets get a clean up crew here. Wait, this woman's still alive!"
"Hurry, get her help. What monster could have done this?"
"A monster?" asked a trembling voice from behind, "Yes...yes, that's what you could call him. My men?these bodies?"
"Him?" a paramedic asked, "What do you mean? What happened here?"
The sullen man looked up, "I'll tell you...I'll tell you everything."


It was several days until power was completely restored on Pioneer 2 and civilian services were finally up and running. The first thing that came on the news was a live official statement from the government. Families watched in their homes while others watched on the screens outside as Principal Tyrell walked up to a microphone behind a podium.

"My fellow refugees. A great terror has beset itself upon us these past days, and all of us have been in grave danger. However, thanks to the brave men and women of our peacekeepers and emergency response teams, greater tragedy has been averted. I ask all of you to remain calm during these trying times and show those who would do us harm that they have no true power against us. I've asked Professor Marcus Greene from the lab to explain some of the events in greater detail."

The Principal stepped back and a man in a lab coat stepped to the mic. He was holding some papers that he hesitantly shuffled through as he tried to find his place. "Thank you, Principal." the professor said as he looked up at the camera, "The initial explosion that drained all the power from this fine vessel is believed to be a new kind of weapon created for the sole purpose of causing havoc among the people of Pioneer 2. A certain terrorist group is believed to be behind the attack. This is the same group believed to be behind several kidnappings and murders during the years we have spent in space on our way to Ragol. If they had succeeded to the full extent of their wishes, all systems onboard this craft would have ceased for good and eventually life support itself would have failed. This shows the extent some will go for their misguided beliefs. Using the isolated power grid of the control tower, we managed to regain control over various sections of Pioneer 2 before too much damage was done."

The professor shuffled the papers in front of him again, "I'm sure you're all worried about the second explosion on the eastern side of the ship. We believe that it was also a terrorist strike aimed at the eastern airlock in hopes of destabilizing the artificial atmosphere of this ship. We believe that the same terrorist group is responsible for both explosions. Our ship's security systems managed to close down the breach and repair crews have almost finished their patching duties."

The professor sighed as he flipped the page over, "We've only recently discovered who was behind all of these attacks, and the person who brought him to justice." Two faces appeared on the screen beside the doctor, Grey and Davion's. "You've all undoubtedly heard the rumors of this man, Davion Angelus. Stories ranging from the comical to the insane have been circulated by untamed mouths following the tragic murder of our great benefactor, Artemis Angelus. Rumors and stories pertaining to young Davion's role in his death have spread like wildfire and have done more damage than good. However, we have reasons to believe that there are certain rumor that have a healthy dose of fact behind them. Our experts have discovered that it was Davion who murdered his father, but we need more information about that before we can go into greater detail. No occult practices are believed to be part of the murder. Davion Angelus has been uncovered as the brain behind the several kidnappings and murders onboard this ship over the past few years as well as the two attacks on Pioneer 2 itself. His involvement with the Central Dome explosion is being looking into as a possibility.

"The woman you see next to the picture of Angelus is a hunter by the name of Grey. One of our reliable associates watched this woman fight Angelus to the death and finally defeat him moments before the second explosion occurred. Grey was found unconscious at the scene and security cameras captured an image of Angelus' body flying off through space. We can only assume that Grey was able to banish Angelus into the void of space during the explosion in the airlock. In doing this, Grey put her life on the line to protect the rest of us.

"The fall of Angelus shines as a bright star of hope in this time of trouble as his minions will undoubtedly cease operations and regroup allowing us time to close in on them. The woman Grey is hereby announced a hero of Pioneer 2 by the Principal and the leadership council. She is to be given our thanks and praises for standing up and fighting for our salvation. Also, we implore you not to show any hatred or violence towards the rest of the Angelus family or their manor. We all owe so much to that family, and we can't forget that just because there was a serpent in the midst of gold. On other matters..."

"I've heard enough!' Seifer shouted as he turned off the screen, "I can't believe they're saying this. I'm going to get out there and show them what happens when they spout out crap like this!"
"Master Seifer," Willem said calmly, "I'm sure Master Davion wouldn't do anything even closely resembling anything they say he did, but we have to be careful now. People will still hate your family because of this regardless of what they might have said in that broadcast. We can't go about doing or saying anything rash."
"Rash!?" Seifer yelled at the butler, "They just labeled Davion a terrorist!"
"Yes," Diego said, "And he did cause that first explosion. They aren't lying about everything."
"Would you people stop saying that already!? Don't any of you get that it's not Davion's fault that any of those things happened? It's not like he asked for that curse!"
"I understand that, Seifer. We all do." Willem said, "But no one else knows that."

Just as Seifer was about to reply, the vid-phone rang. Diego rushed over and checked the I.D. box. "It's the BlackHawks," he said as he activated the screen.
"Hello, Diego."
"Hello, Mike. I guess you saw the report too."
"Did we ever." Mike replied, "Lara's furious at her father right now. She can't believe he said any of that bull."
"Yeah, Seifer's pretty enraged himself."

At that time, Dash's voice came over the intercom, "Hey guys. Look, I have a suspicion that we might be getting a few visits from some of those 'big brother' types that used to hang around here just after Mr. Angelus died. I'm upping our security level and hiring some more security guards."
"That sounds like a good idea Dash." Janus said as he got up from the seat next to Hal, "Hal and I will see what we can uncover on the underground information circuits."
"Be careful." Diego said, "I'm pretty sure any information relating to Davion, or the government's business with him, will be heavily monitored. People will be able to know that you've been looking."
"We'll be careful." Hal said, "Janus and I know how to handle these types of operations."

"Diego, did any of that broadcast seem kind of odd to you?"
"Well, he did seem to mention a lot of speculation. That's not very typical of an official announcement."
"It's almost like they want people to speculate."
"Of course they do!" Seifer shouted, "They want to ruin Davion's reputation. How better to do that than to basically promote gossip."
"But why?" Mike asked, "Why do they want to do this? Why fake his death? Do you think they're trying to get their hands on him?"
"I know they are, Mike!" Seifer exclaimed, "Caris and I overheard it all over at the hospital. There's something going on in the government and I don't like it. Maybe this would be a good time to go public with the conversation Caris recorded."
"No, it's certainly not." Willem replied, "This home is already under the scrutiny of every media or entertainment group on this vessel. We don't want to bring any more attention to this family. At least, not yet."
"Hmm, so they're saying he's dead so they can do whatever they want with him." Diego said, "That reminds me of that message we received from Ragol some time ago. Heathcliff Flowen was announced dead, but if I remember right, the government and military weren't particularly fond of him for some reason. If there is any connection between Davion and FLowen at all, maybe Flowen himself isn't dead after all."
"That's a fine observation, Master Diego." Willem said, "I have a friend who served his family for quite some time. He remembers many strange conversations surrounding Sir Flowen's death, and if the similarity between Sir Flowen and Master Davion is more than coincidental, we might have something big on our hands."
"Willem's right," Diego said, "Do you guys see a trend?"
"I see more than a trend, Diego." Mike said over the speaker, "I see the beginning of a conspiracy."
"So, we have to find Davion." Seifer said, "We have to get him before they do so we can show the people the truth."
"That doesn't look like an option anymore, Seifer." Caris said over the intercom.
"What do you mean?" Diego asked.
"The cameras did pick up an image of Davion's body in space, and my tracker, the chip in the brain that connects Davion - like the rest of the Angelus family - to my systems, has been deactivated. There's only one thing that could mean."
Everyone was silent.
"Brain death... I'm sorry, everyone, but they were right about another thing. Davion is gone for good."

Back in the control tower, Prof. Greene stepped down from the platform after the camera had been turned off, "You can point that thing away from me now, Carl, I've done your bidding."
A strong man holding a handgun stepped from the shadows, "I'll let you know when I'm through with you. Now get back to work, we need to know everything there is to know about that energy and how Angelus was able to project it. Also, begin a scan of all the space surrounding Pioneer 2 and Ragol. I want energy readings of everything within range of our short range scanners. If Angelus is out there, his body would have been caught by Ragol's gravity. We need his body to take our experiments to the next level."
"Yes sir." Prof. Greene said as he walked out of the room.
"I don't know about this, Carl," the Principal said, "Fabricating this story could only bring us trouble in the future."
"What are you worried about?" Carl answered, "We're at the top of the food chain here. We control what information gets out and when. Besides, if anything does get out it wouldn't be through anyone the public would rush to believe. They would always trust their benevolent leaders over any crazed doomsayer."
"Maybe, but I feel great displeasure in what we've done to Artemis' family."
"Davion is dead. We can't change that, and the rest of his family are expendable when our reputation is put into the equation."
"I know, but Artemis upheld his part of the bargain. He stayed quiet and assisted us even though he suspected our intentions. To him, the safety of his family and the people on Coral were worth the risk. All we had to do was take care of the things he cared about most, his family. Look at what we're doing to them now, Carl. Defacing them in front of all the people of Pioneer 2? That's not the caring I'd hope you'd show my family."
"It really depends on what kind of care we're administering." Carl replied as the two men stepped from the room, "We are taking care of the Angelus family. If you look at it my way, we're still holding up our part of the bargain."
"I hate the way you do business."
"But not enough to stop me. Eh, Tyrell?" Carl smirked as the Principal looked down at the floor.
The Principal opened the door to his office and stepped through it, "I can't wait till we're finished with this whole mess. I've grown sick of this ordeal. Now, I just want to find my daughter. She has to still be on Ragol somewhere. You can do what you want with Artemis' family, just leave mine alone." The saddened man leaned his arm against the frame, "How did I get dragged into this."
"You weren't dragged, Tyrell. You wanted the power just like the rest of us. You're just as guilty as I am, whether you like it or not."
The Principal sighed, "I have work to do. We'll finish this later." At those words, the Principal walked into his office and closed the door.
"Heh heh," Carl thought as he made his way towards his office, "This is going along splendidly."
Principal Tyrell sat at his desk with a sigh and rubbed his hands over his forehead, "What am I doing?" he thought as he pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Irene, get me the Hunter's Guild."


Mike and Lara were in their living room with Jessica. Lara had the little girl on her lap as Mike paced back and forth in front of his young family. Lara's eyes were red; you could tell she had been crying at the news. Mike's face was sullen and shockingly distressed.
"Davion...dead?" Mike asked, "What does this mean? All our hopes for the future, all his life yet to live, how can this be?"
"I guess it helps you to understand how fragile life can be. Even someone as strong as Davion can lose his life in an instant. No one is promised even the next second of their life."
"That's the thing, Lara. I don't think I've ever met someone as strong as Davion, and I'm not talking physically. You remember what they told us about him. You remember the powers at work in his body. There is...no, there was something powerful inside him. It wasn't a power that came from the inside, it went deeper. If anyone had a future, he did."
"I know what you mean. We all felt it. Diego would tell me of the changes he could see in his brother since the night their father was murdered. Davion changed; he wasn't the same person. We only knew him after he was...I guess infected would be the right word for it. That's what I think hurts me the most. We might have spent all this time knowing someone who was already dead, and the Davion we knew was just a shadow."
Mike sat down on the seat next to his wife, "What hurts me that those jackasses in the government are willing to trash all he has left, his reputation. That's what they're doing, it's all just a big show to save their own skin, and I won't let it go unpunished."

Mike looked over at his young daughter, "I want a future that she can grow up in, Lara. I don't want her to have to live in these times."
"I'm sure every parent thinks that now. I'm sure Artemis didn't plan on this happening to his family. There are things no one can face by themselves. They're ruined unless something dramatic happens."
"I know, and I'm not going to let them go down alone."

The BlackHawks sat quietly for a while as they thought about what the future held in store for them while elsewhere, Mike's master, "Great Sword" Zoke Miyama received a strange message on his computer. It was signed M. F.

Back at Angelus Manor, Seifer had locked himself in his room. He wasn't talking to anyone, and he made sure people knew that when they came to his door. Diego had taken the news slightly better. He didn't like the idea of being the head of the family, but he was willing to take on that role. No one in the manor really did anything for the rest of the day. Losing Artemis was bad enough, but now his eldest son was gone too.

The three hunters that had been brought back to the manor stayed away from everyone once they had been let out of the medical quarters. They all shared a room in the lower section of the manor, and they talked about the occurrences of the past few days.
"What do you think, Striker?" Necron asked, "Do you think he really was a terrorist?"
"No way," Striker replied, "There's no chance he could have been after what we saw him do for us."
Cajun joined the conversation, "We know that there was no strange weapon that caused the explosion. Heck, we were there. The question we need to ask is did the government know it wasn't a bomb or did they say that to distract us from a greater problem."
"Good question," Striker replied, "But I don't think we have any way of discovering the answer."
"I might be able to help you with that."
"Wha? Who's there?" Necron asked.
"My name is Caris. I'm the artificial intelligence inside Angelus Manor's main computer."
"An A.I.?" Cajun asked, "Hey, have you been spying on us?"
"Oh no, of course not. I'm aware of everything that happens within these walls, and even some things outside them. I just decided that you could use some help."
"What kind of help?" Striker asked.
"Well, I can tell you're men of action based on what you did against the demon that's been plaguing my family for these past few years."
"Your family?" Necron asked.
"Yes, I do consider them that. It's more in a motherly way really. At any rate, based on what I've seen of your collective character, I can tell that you don't want to just be bystanders in these times. You want to partake in the events firsthand."
"You're right about that." Striker said, "If there's something big going on, I want to be a part of it."
"Same here."
"Me too."
"Good, good. Then allow me to help you in your search of knowledge." Caris turned on all the screens in the walls that made up the room. On them she placed all sorts of information that pertained to the subjects relating to the major events of the day. "Here's something you might find interesting, hospital surveillance data."

The tragic events of the past few days held within them a terrible price to be paid by the Angelus family. In one dreadful swipe, fate destroyed the very honor and reputation of the Angelus name itself as well as the future for the young man who held that name. Some people had heeded the words spoken to them by the government concerning how they should act towards the Angelus family, but many people used this time to exact their own means of perceived justice on the family that had become their new target for hatred and ridicule. Some people chose to verbalize their feelings in online chatrooms or forums while other daring souls took to the streets with signs. Some even chose to degrade themselves so much as to vandalize the front of Angelus Manor. "Demon Manor" It came to be known to some not knowing the half true implications of the title.

Still there were those who had known Davion personally. They were those who didn't believe the rumors from the start and had fought the lies spread by their friends and the other inhabitants of the vessel. The teachers who taught him at the academy, his fellow students, and those whom he had helped over the years still believed in the young man and the broken family he left behind. Those people are an example of the only true way history will remember someone. Men are judged by the way they lived, not by what the news annalists say. Davion will be known as a hero to some, and a monster to others. The question people must ask themselves is: what do they think?








<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Davion on 2003-09-13 14:56 ]</font>

cajun
Sep 12, 2003, 04:38 PM
AWESOME great way to send off the last chapter of this awesome fic, with the camio apperence of yours truly lol jk. Anywho that was great and i can't wait to read more of your great work.

-Cajun (semi-badass)

Sagasu
Sep 12, 2003, 08:02 PM
I feel truly small now...
If I ever reach 25 chapters I vow to improve my writing skills to those beyond Davions, 13 chapers to go.... hmmm.... Well setting a high goal is a good way to get somewhere =]

DOG21313
Sep 12, 2003, 09:13 PM
That was a great way to end this fic, I can't wait for the continuation. Keep it up Davion!

Davion
Sep 13, 2003, 02:53 PM
Thanks a lot, everyone. I really appreciate all the posts and comments. Since this is the last chapter, I ask that if you have at one time or another read this fic please post and tell me what you think.

I'm working on the outline of the sequal now, and a few edits to this fic. Don't expect it to come very soon, I still have a lot to work on.

M_BlackHawk
Sep 13, 2003, 07:18 PM
I think we've discussed that already, Dav. Your fic has become one of my faves, and I've enjoyied working with you on all or plotlines.

can't wait for the next fic.

later

M_BlackHawk

Namevah
Sep 13, 2003, 08:15 PM
Ok, this is my summary thing.
I will admit it. When it first came out I was put off by it. Why? I dont know but I bet it had to do with New Ultimate's fic Ultimate Hunters. It was still awhile until I finally sat down and read it. Long story short, I liked it enough to keep reading it. Now I can safely safe this may be the best fic in PSOWorld history. Bold words I know but it is really that good.
Namevah fic rating: 10/10.

HUmarNecron
Sep 13, 2003, 09:29 PM
pft, 10 out of 10, are u insane?!?!?, i give it a........100/10, by far the best fic, and if u dont mind i'd like to print it and let some of my friends at school read it. i'm positive they will enjoy it as much as i did, though i didnt always post what i thought, i thought it, lol, well i'm off to uhhh, talk to dav, he's online lol.

Namevah
Sep 13, 2003, 10:22 PM
I was being a little realistic with my score. But if you want it that way then...
Namevah Fic Score: 100/100
And I know it has been said time and time again but get this story published. Or send it to Sega and get it published. I bet if you gave this to Yuji Naka (and he understood English) he would be proud.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Namevah on 2003-09-13 20:28 ]</font>

Skett
Sep 14, 2003, 09:39 PM
Bravo! Braco! This fic is so great that I created a screenname just to say how great it is. Thats right! My first post is on your fic. Its a making of a legend: both yours and mine! Cant wait for the sequal...

Davion
Sep 14, 2003, 09:44 PM
On 2003-09-13 18:15, Namevah wrote:
Ok, this is my summary thing.
I will admit it. When it first came out I was put off by it. Why? I dont know but I bet it had to do with New Ultimate's fic Ultimate Hunters. It was still awhile until I finally sat down and read it. Long story short, I liked it enough to keep reading it. Now I can safely safe this may be the best fic in PSOWorld history. Bold words I know but it is really that good.
Namevah fic rating: 10/10.



Lol, wow. I mean, being put above New Ult's fic is really something. I don't think there is really anything more flattering than that post. May be the best fic in PSOWord History? Wow, I mean I really don't think that's really the case. M_BlackHawk has written more than I have, he just posts it in smaller stories. I think all of those fics are on par if not above my story. I mean, the first few chapters in this fic are crap and I really should get around to rewriting them.

I'd say, Davion fic rating = 7/10

Sagasu
Sep 15, 2003, 06:43 AM
Davion... no matter what you say this is still not just not a short story thats kind of fun to read. Its more like a compact novel, it has complex thoughts, firm histories and intriging ideas that keep the reader reading even when it kinda gets boring, and long. Yet dont be TOO humble, take some comnfidence in your work. yes I understand that you where thanking them...

Sharkyland
Sep 15, 2003, 10:20 AM
*sigh* I'm so far behind... I got my ideas but all I have to do is write it. School is eating most of my time. /_ Anyway, another great chapter... err and a great ending to the first part of your story.

Namevah
Sep 15, 2003, 03:49 PM
Your being way to modist. This really is a great story. But if you want it different then...
Best stories that I have actually read through awards go to (in no particular order):
The Angelus Saga
All of M_Blackhawks stories
Ultimate Hunters
Dark Treachery
Do Hucast 1, 2, & 3
Sharkeyland's fic
The tale of the dark Samurai
I believe that these are all must read stories. Anyways, as my final post on PSOWorld.com I must say that it was a very enjoying time with everyone and wish them the best of luck. I leave one last thing:

To Laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the effection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82)

StrikerMeganani
Sep 15, 2003, 04:08 PM
Dav,
Theres not much i can say that many others haven't said already so all im going to say is congratulations on a great piece of literature.

-Striker Meganani