Of Seraphs and Apparitions

Chapter 20- Dearly Beloved, A Brief Hysteria.

Shallow water. It's too shallow. Purple hair whooshed around in clear water. A bandaid washed away, and as the oracle removed her face from the shallow pool, she watched it wash away with one eye while the other hid behind dripping hair. "Why do you hide from me, Choir boy?" She was not allowed to know. Of all things! Why could she not have one? For her curse, she only asked for one thing. It was not meant to be hers. A head of long red hair. Deeply tanned skin, rippling abs. Long, dark wings, feathers of which she collected after his dissapearance. Intense hazel eyes. Hers for a short time. But not any longer. This, she decided, will ruin me.

XXX

Bait lay like Snow White in a glass cass, locked in a slumber with wings folded over exposed bosoms. Spinkled with rose petals, she looked like a meal fit for a cannibal. Farouse, atleast not to his knowledge, wasn't such. He kicked the case, but then sat on it. Comfortable, durable. It had been a long trip to take her with him, but it'd be worth it. He couldn't go ahead and get himself killed by Amon, and it appeared the dead fool was blindly in love, which was perfectly fine. A perfect advantage. To blind his focus, it was a fair plan. With Amon distracted by the virgin mary, he had a chance to take down the crow. And bam! End of story, and hopefully a little prize from the ever so frightful boss. What ever could he do with that kind of acceptance? The respect, the women...Ah, yes, don't skip ahead of yourself, Farouse. Wouldn't want to be caught off guard. His hands glowed, and he hopped off the case and slammed his hands down on it. The glass broke, and Desiree's eyes shot open. "Good morning, Mary. How have you been sleeping?" Farouse grinned.

Desiree got up, but found herself fairly unstable and had a hard time with balance. She imagined this was what a hangover felt like, but she had never been much of a drinker. She rubbed her eyes, and took on a brave front. "Get away from me, creep!" The fire in her eyes made Farouse grin widly. She hid her exposed body with her wings, the wings Amon awarded her. She sensed him nearby, which made her more relaxed. He held his hand out, and she felt gravity pull her inward to him. He took a strong rope, and tied her up by her wings to a tree. She felt the painful pull at her wings, and the cold air arouse goosebumps on her vulnerable flesh.

Amon had picked up a steel scrap on the way, and Carmen had been sharpening her arrows. She thought she'd operate in the distance, catching the enemy offguard if Amon was about to get attacked. Sill and Zeke wanted to lend a hand as well. Sill enhanced his perception, which would give him an almost oracle-like sense of existance in battle. He'd get a feeling before an attack, and how obvious it was depended on how bad the attack would be. Zeke enhanced Amon's force, so all his anger and rage could be focused better. It seemed like a perfect setup. Amon didn't compliment it or downgrade it. He just said, "Okay." with a look of darkness in his eyes. Zane flew overhead, and cawed when he saw Farouse and Desiree. Amon's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" he shouted, and ran ahead, Carmen, Sill and Zeke followed. "Farouse has Desiree..." Carmen said softly, and looked up at Zane. "Don't get too close!" She said to him, piecing together that he'd be vulnerable. Zane landed in a tree, and watched carefully.

Amon and Farouse stood face to face. "Have you been crying? Your make-up is running." Farouse spat. Amon grabbed him, and drove him into the ground. He began to punch him over and over again, relentlessly as his knuckles became bloody. With her hands tied back and her ankles closed together, Desiree concealed a scream, not wanting to distract Amon. Zane flew over and began pecking at the rope that held her wings. Farouse decked Amon in the face, and while Amon recovered, he held his hand out, and the blue glow lifted Zane away from the rope and sent him flying. Amon drove his fist into Farouse's chest to conceal the pain. Zane rolled over, and slowly lifted himself up, stretching his wings halfway before retracting them from the pain. Farouse threw Amon off of him, and held his hand out to throw Zane again. One more shot was all it would take.

Suddenly an arrow went through his palm. Straight through, and nearly hit Desiree afterwards. Carmen bit her lower lip. She'd apologize later. Farouse cursed, grasping his hand trying to stop the pain. "Little bitch!" He shouted, and went for Carmen. Until Amon rammed the steel scrap through Farouse's back. Desiree's eyes became wide when she saw. Farouse saw the blood metal sricking out of his stomach, and grabbed it, and pulled it out. He gritted his teeth and held in his pain. He brought it back to hit Amon in the head with, but Amon caught it and rammed it backwards, where it hit Farouse in the chest and sent him back. He wiped his face, smearing blood across his forehead. Carmen fired another arrow, and it found itself in Farouse's shoulder. He tore it out and threw it to the side. He went towards Amon, and lifted up the metal scrap, and scraped him across the chest. The cut was deep, and with Zane injured, it would take longer to heal. Amon grabbed it the second time it came for him, and tossed it away. He grabbed Farouse by the arm, and pushed it upwards, dislocating his shoulder. Farouse grasped his shoulder, and popped it back in with a painful cry. Carmen ran through and cut Desiree down. She helped her out of the area. Desiree and Carmen watched the battle with their fingers laced for luck. Farouse suddenly hit his knees. Amon stood over him. "You will not get away with it." Amon said darkly.

{To Be Continued...}

-Chapter twenty by Adrianna. ( www.xanga.com/sendmeallthesorrow )

The chains locked onto her waist shimmered in the light of day. They dragged onto the grass, and with each step, they clanked against each other. Amon knew this sound; But what was it? Who was it? Not many people carry such a heavy set of chains just to make a unique fashion statement. The jingling, jangling sound began to anger him, and he darted into a run. Carmen cocked her head to the side, running to follow. Amon stopped, and barked at her, "STAY HERE!" Carmen winced at his anger, and sat down by a tree.

"Fiiiine..." She sighed.

Amon nearly sprinted himself into a thorn bush but stopped short. "All right, where are you?!" He shouted in rage. He heard the jangling slowly encroach upon him from behind. He jerked himself around, his eyes widening for a moment before narrowing in anger once again. Ofcoarse, the royal purple-haired, dead eyed oracle. She placed her hands in her pockets. "Sorry. But you really shouldn't stray from your goal just because I was passing through."

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want! Just SHUT UP!"

"...Ooh. Okay." She chuckled. "I realize you're on edge. But honestly, neither of us have time for this so."

He growled angrily. "I thought I told you to shut up!"

She nodded, her fingers lifting upon those chains of hers. "Very well. It could do us both some good, couldn't it?"

He charged for her, and she dodged to the right, her right foot carved into the grassy dirt. She whipped a chain into his back, and he stumbled further, but turned quickly and jolted right back at her. He threw a punch which she caught, beggining to crush his fist in her hand. She forced him back, and shook her head. "To think, I favored your skills over my choir boys."

His eyes sparked with rage, and as his bones healed and Zane cawed over head, he tackled her and nailed her to the ground. He began hitting her over and over, in the face and sometimes driving his knuckles into her stomach. She groaned before rolling over ontop of him, reversing the position. She pinned his hands and sank her knees onto his legs. "Why didn't you warn me! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME DESIREE WAS IN DANGER?! WHY?!!"

"Life isn't easy like that, Amon." She released him and stood back up. "We all have to fight sometimes."

He quickly got up, and with lightning speed, drove Yuri into the thorn bush. He made his way back to where his companions were, and Zane cawed as Yuri got up and began to pick the thorns from her skin. She wiped some blood from her face. "I could've ratted you out, y'know." She stuck her tounge out at Zane. Zane cawed twice, and she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

Of Seraphs and Apparitions

Chapter 17- Of The Oasis

Carmen was freezing as Sill escaped her necklace and the chains that bound her snapped. She hit the ground and Sill gave her Amon's coat. Carmen was in tears, until she looked up and saw Amon as his fangs pierced the rough flesh of the man who had taken advantage of her. Before he did so, they were BOTH Amon, which confused her. But as he bit the man transformed back to that piece of crap he was. Rage built in Carmen's young heart, and she clenched a fist. Sill glowed, feeling Carmen's energy within herself. Carmen stumbled as she slowly stood up, taking a step forward.

The man shot Amon back, sending him hard into a tree. Zane cawed overheard, Amon getting up. He stretched, the disturbing sound of bones in his back, neck and arms, cracking viciously through his flesh. The man grimaced inwardly, his eyes becoming an abyss of black. An abyss Amon planned on ripping out with his fingernails and squeezing in his fist. Amon grinned, as did the man. He turned, feeling a tug on his arm. Carmen stood there, staring at him with a darkness that unsettled him. Her eyes flashed to Amon as she decked the man in the face. He stumbled back, but grabbed her by the hair and jerked her to the ground, kicking her side hard. The area reddened. Carmen got up, ramming her foot right inbetween his legs. He roared, and lifted her up by the neck. Before he could punish her, Amon was there behind him, a long branch from a tree in hand. He shoved the branch right through the man, and it exited via his abdomen. Carmen was dropped. The man casually turned, looking down at the thick branch jutting out from his stomach."...Huh." He smirked, and ripped it out, dark, thick blood spilling to the ground. He went at Amon with it and the two dodged each others rage filled attacks.

Carmen and Sill looked at each other. Carmen's fingers stroked the crystal around her neck and she closed her eyes tightly, bringing herself away from the battle and finding herself in the desert. She winced as hot sand whipped her sensitive skin. She tredged her bare feet through the scorching sands, and held onto her necklace. She had to hurry and find her next guardian. She had to save Amon. She could still feel that man inside of her, violating her. She was unfocused and the sands beat harder against her skin. She couldn't open her eyes to see what was going on. She gripped the crystal. She tried her hardest to clear her head. She wanted to stop to concentrate but the sand was so hot against her feet, she couldn't bare to stand in one spot for more than a second. She cried out as she stumbled, her hands and knees slamming against the flaming sands. She collapsed into it all together, embracing the pain that burrowed into her with intense heat. She cried out again and again, unable to move. She was running out of time, the sands of the hourglass burying her. She whimpered as she struggled to move, crawling through the sand as best she could. Her mind was everywhere and nowhere all at once. She felt like she had been struggling for an eternity, when she spotted a pool of water through the vicious sands. She stumbled upward through the sand that buried her, and slid through, falling into a wave of heat that caused her to cry loudly in pain. She collapsed into the mirage, and a man lifted her up. "I'm sorry, it was cruel of me to trick you like that."

He was handsome, his features soft yet powerful. His eyes were turqoise and shimmering. His hair was long and dark like Amon's, although longer. His skin was tanned, and his body was hard and toned. Carmen smiled, and hugged him. "Will you help me save Amon?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Always at your service, Lady Carmen. But might I have a name?"

"...Um...Zeke!" She said, and grabbed his hand. The two dissapeared back to the real world. Amon and the man were still deep in combat. Carmen was unable to see who was winning. She jumped up and rooted for Amon, and clapped when Amon landed a deep plunge with his fist into the man's skull. She grimaced when the man got Amon by the leg and sent him spiralling up in the trees. Amon's wings opened up to save himself, and he felt the pain Desiree had felt when her wings had been torn apart. Branches would tear through his wings, and a pile of feathers would descend down the trees. Carmen gasped. Zeke entered the battlefield, and a whip appeared in his hands. He grinned, viciously, and cracked the whip. A sand serpent emerged from the ground and wrapped around the man, biting into his neck. The man's eyes bled profusely until they escaped his sockets completely, hitting the ground. His body began to rot, his skin decomposing and fall apart. The serpent burrowed back into the ground, and the man's ashes sparkled and blew away. Zeke wiped his hands and stretched, raising a brow. That was damn quick. He looked at Carmen, who was busy trying to figure out how to get Amon out of the trees. Sill glowed, and Amon would float to the ground. Zeke bent beside him, inducing sleep. Amon passed out, and Carmen began treating his wings. "Poor Amon!" She cried, patching him up and trying to place the feathers back where they belonged. It really didn't work that way, to her dismay. Zane circled them, and Amon's wings healed. Sill looked at Zeke, and Carmen collapsed, out cold, beside Amon. Sill fetched a blanket from town, and put it over the two. Carmen was already beggining to look a little ill. Amon stirred as he slept.

He was lost in a dream. He could almost hear Carmen's voice as she asked the question, "Do dead people dream?" He had not had a real answer, because he had never dreamed before, until now, when he felt clouds of fog close around him. He batted them away, refusing to be shielded from what lay ahead of him. He could feel Desiree's prescense in his dream, and reached out to her, called out to her.

Sill looked down at Amon as he called out to Desiree. "They are both dreaming. I wonder if they are strong enough to find each other...before he wakes up." She contemplated.

[ Chapter 17 brought to you by Adrianna!]